* * * Would you think it strange if I relate what I have seen in

vision in relation to this interesting theme? Those who have died

in Jesus Christ may expect to enter into all that fruition of joy,

when they come forth, which they possessed or anticipated here.

So plain was the vision, that I actually saw men, before they had

ascended from the tomb, as though they were getting up slowly. They

took each other by the hand, and said to each other, "My father,

my son, my mother, my daughter, my brother, my sister." And when

the voice calls for the dead to rise, suppose I am laid by the side

of my father, what would be the first joy of my heart? To meet my

father, my mother, my brother, my sister and when they are by my

side, I embrace them, and they me. It is my meditation all the

day, and more than my meat and drink, to know how I shall make the

Saints of God comprehend the visions that roll like an overflowing

surge before my mind. * * * Lay hold of these things, and let not

your knees or joints tremble, nor your heart faint; and then what

can earthquakes, wars and tornadoes do? Nothing. All your losses

will be made up to you in the resurrection, provided you continue

faithful, by the vision of the Almighty I have seen it.

* * * More painful to me are the thoughts of annihilation than

death. If I had no expectation of seeing my father, mother,

brothers, sisters and friends again, my heart would burst in a

moment, and I should go down to my grave. The expectation of seeing

my friends in the morning of the resurrection cheers my soul and

makes me bear up against the evils of life. It is like their taking

a long journey, and on their return we meet them with increased

joy. God has revealed His Son from the heavens, and the doctrine

of the resurrection also, and we have a knowledge that those we

bring here God will bring up again clothed upon and quickened by

the Spirit of the Great God, and what mattereth it, whether we

lay them down, or we lay down with them, when we can keep them no

longer? Then let them sink down like a ship in a storm--the mighty

anchor holds her safe. So let these truths sink down in our hearts,

that we may even here begin to enjoy that which shall be in full

hereafter. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to Almighty God, that rays of

light begin to burst forth upon us even now!

GOD'S AND ANGELS' TIME.

In answer to the question, "Is not the reckoning of God's time,

angels' time, prophets' time and man's time according to the planet

on which they reside?" I answer, yes. But there are no angels who

minister to this earth but those who belong or have belonged to

it. The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth; but they

reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and

fire, where all things for their glory are manifest--past, present

and future, and are continually before the Lord.

THE EARTH IN ITS SANCTIFIED STATE.

The following is an entry in his journal:

Saturday, 18th of February [1843.] While at dinner I remarked to my

family and friends present, that when the earth was sanctified and

became like a sea of glass, it would be one great Urim and Thummim

and the Saints could look in it and see as they are seen.

Later in public, on the same subject, he said:

The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim. This

earth in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto

crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell

thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom

or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who

dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ's. Then the white stone

mentioned in Revelation II: 17, will become a Urim and Thummim to

each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a

higher order of kingdoms, will be made known, and a white stone is

given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon

is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth

it. The new name is the key word.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT--PROPHECIES.

THIS period under consideration was rich in prophecies. The boldness of

Joseph Smith's predictions was startling; but it is to be remarked that

they have been fulfilled as fast as the wheels of time have brought

them due.

A PREDICTION UPON THE PRESENT GENERATION.

I prophesy, in the name of the Lord God of Israel, anguish and

wrath and tribulation and the withdrawing of the Spirit of God from

the earth await this generation, until they are visited with utter

desolation. This generation is as corrupt as the generation of the

Jews that crucified Christ; and if He were here today and should

preach the same doctrine He did then, they would put Him to death.

I defy all the world to destroy the work of God, and I prophesy

they never will have power to kill me till my work is accomplished,

and I am ready to die.

PROPHECY ON WAR.

I prophesy in the name of the Lord God, that the commencement of

the difficulties which will cause much bloodshed previous to the

coming of the Son of Man will be in South Carolina. It may probably

arise through the slave question. This a voice declared to me while

I was praying very earnestly on the subject, December 25th, 1832.

These remarks were made in April, 1843, at a place called Raymus, near

Nauvoo; and the incidental reference to what a voice had declared to

him respecting the war to begin in South Carolina, is doubtless an

allusion to the more formal prophecy on that great subject, and which I

consider of so much importance that while it does not strictly belong

to the period under consideration, I give it _in extenso_, as connected

with the lesser prophecy quoted above.

PROPHECY ON THE WARS OF THE LAST DAYS.

Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly

come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which

will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls.

The days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations,

beginning at that place;

For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the

Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other

nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and

they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend

themselves against other nations; and thus war shall be poured out

upon all nations.

And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up

against their masters, who shall be marshalled and disciplined for

war:

And it shall come to pass also, that the remnants who are left of

the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceeding angry,

and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation;

And thus with the sword, and by bloodshed, the inhabitants of the

earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquakes,

and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also,

shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and

indignation and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the

consumption decreed, hath made a full end of all nations;

That the cry of the saints, and of the blood of the saints, shall

cease to come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, from the

earth, to be avenged of their enemies.

Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day

of the Lord come; for behold it cometh quickly, saith the Lord Amen.

I do not hesitate to refer to this prophecy as one of the boldest,

most forceful and remarkable ever uttered by a prophet of God in

either ancient or modern times; and its exact and minute fulfillment

to be read in the history of the United States and other countries

is as astonishing as the prediction is bold. [1] This prophecy was

given in December, 1832; and the Elders in those days, at least a

number of them, carried manuscript copies of it with them on their

missionary journeys, and frequently read it to their congregations in

various parts of the United States. In Volume XIII of the _Millennial

Star_, published in 1851, pages 216, 217, is an advertisement of a new

publication to be called the _Pearl of Great Price_. In the announced

contents is named this revelation of December, 1832, on war, with the

statement that it had "never before appeared in print." Subsequently,

but in the same year, 1851, the _Pearl of Great Price_ with this

prophecy in it, word for word as it is here quoted, was published by

Franklin D. Richards, in Liverpool, England. There are copies of the

first edition still extant.

PREDICTION THAT THE SAINTS WOULD REMOVE TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND

BECOME A GREAT PEOPLE.

No less remarkable perhaps was the Prophet's great prediction of

the sixth of August, 1842, given in his history under that date and

published in the _Millennial Star_, [2] concerning the removal of the

Latter-day Saints to the Rocky Mountains, then a thousand miles beyond

the frontiers of the United States; but of which I shall not say more

here as it is to receive consideration in a subsequent chapter.

PROPHECY UPON THE HEAD OF STEPHEN A. DOUGLASS.

In the daily journal of Wm. Clayton, who at the time the following

prophecy was made was private secretary of the Prophet, and almost his

constant companion--under date of May 18th, 1843, occurs the following

entry concerning a visit with the Prophet to Judge Douglass at Carthage:

Dined with Judge Stephen A. Douglass, who is presiding at court.

After dinner Judge Douglass requested President Joseph to give him

a history of the Missouri persecutions; which he did in a very

minute manner for about three hours. He also gave a relation of

his journey to Washington City, and his application in behalf of

the Saints to Mr. Van Buren, the President of the United States,

for redress, and Mr. Van Buren's pusillanimous reply: "Gentlemen,

your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you," and the cold,

unfeeling manner in which he was treated by most of the senators

and representatives in relation to the subject, Clay saying, "You

had better go to Oregon," and Calhoun shaking his head and solemnly

saying, "It's a nice question; a critical question, but it will not

do to agitate it." The judge listened with the greatest attention,

and then spoke warmly in deprecation of the conduct of Governor

Boggs and the authorities of Missouri, who had taken part in the

extermination, and said that any people that would do as the mobs

of Missouri had done ought to be brought to judgment; they ought

to be punished. President Smith, in concluding his remarks, said

that if the government which received into its coffers the money

of citizens for its public lands, while its officials are rolling

in luxury at the expense of its public treasury, cannot protect

such citizens in their lives and property, it is an old granny

anyhow, and I prophesy, in the name of the Lord God of Israel,

unless the United States redress the wrongs committed upon the

Saints in the State of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by

her officers, that in a few years the government will be utterly

overthrown and wasted and there will not be so much as a potsherd

left, for their wickedness in permitting the murder of men, women

and children and the wholesale plunder and extermination of

thousands of her citizens to go unpunished, thereby perpetrating a

foul and corroding blot upon the fair fame of this great republic,

the very thought of which would have caused the high-minded and

patriotic framers of the Constitution of the United States to hide

their faces with shame. _Judge, you will aspire to the presidency

of the United States; and if you ever turn your hand against me

or the Latter-day Saints you will feel the weight of the hand of

the Almighty upon you; and you will live to see and know that I

have testified the truth to you, for the conversation of this day

will stick to you through life. He appeared very friendly and

acknowledged the truth and propriety of President Smith's remarks_.

This prophecy was published in Utah, in the _Desert News_ of September

24th, 1856; and afterwards in England in the _Millennial Star_ of

February, 1859. It is well known that Douglass did finally aspire

to the Presidency of the United States, that he was nominated by a

confident, aggressive party in 1860; and it is also known that in the

elections of that year that party which had controlled the destinies

almost uninterruptedly for forty years became demoralized; that Abraham

Lincoln was triumphantly elected, receiving one hundred and eighty

electoral votes, while Mr. Douglass received but 12; that Mr. Douglass

some six weeks later died a disappointed not to say heart-broken man.

All this is known, but it is not so generally known that on the twelfth

of June, 1857, about one year after the prediction of his friend Joseph

Smith was published in the _Desert News_, in Utah, he most cowardly

betrayed the people of that friend and united with their enemies in

a most unjustifiable assault upon them, and in the fervor of his

eloquence and to gain the favor of the populace, he cried out against

them--

The knife must be applied to this pestiferous, disgusting cancer

which is gnawing into the very vitals of the body politic. It

must be cut out by the roots, and seared over by the red hot

iron of stern and unflinching law. * * * Repeal the organic law

of the Territory, on the ground that they are alien enemies and

outlaws, unfit to be the citizens of a Territory, much less to ever

become citizens of one of the free and independent States of this

confederacy. [3]

He little dreamed that in these utterances he was sealing his own

political doom, and leaving on record an event that was to stand as a

monument to the inspiration of Joseph Smith.

Footnotes:

1. For the consideration of the fulfillment of this prophecy the reader

is referred to the writer's "New Witness for God," ch. XXIII.

2. Vol. xix, page 630.

3. The speech is published in the _Missouri Republican_ for June 18,

1857. For a more complete consideration of the prophecy, the reader is

referred to the author's "New Witness for God," chapter xxii.

CHAPTER XXIX.

DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT AT NAUVOO--OF THE BEING AND NATURE OF GOD.

WHEN Joseph Smith in 1820 declared that he had in open vision seen God

the Father and His Son Jesus Christ standing together above him in the

air, surrounded by a glorious brilliancy of light which defied all

description, and that God the Father pointed to Jesus and said:

"_Joseph, this is my beloved Son, hear Him_"--

it is quite evident that new ideas pertaining to God were about to

be promulgated among men. The facts of this vision were quite at

variance with the orthodox notions entertained about the Godhead.

It is quite true that Christians talked about the Father and the

Son, and as for the latter they had to concede that He was in the

form of man, and remains so to this day, as they have no reason to

believe that the all-glorious resurrected body of flesh and bones

with which Jesus ascended to His Father has been dissolved and become

incorporeal; but no orthodox Christian believed that the Father and the

Son of the Scriptures were two distinct and separate individuals--a

conclusion which this very first vision of the Prophet's forces upon

the understanding if it is believed. The anthropomorphism of the

vision is also too emphatic for the orthodox conception of God; for

notwithstanding the Scriptures teach that man was created in the image

of God; [1] and that Jesus Christ was the express image of His Father's

person [2]--and certainly Jesus was in the form of man--yet the

Christian orthodoxy gave such explanations of these facts of Scripture

that they accepted not at all the idea that God the Father was a

personage like unto man in form and as distinct as to His person from

His Son Jesus Christ as is any father and son among men. The orthodox

creed of the Godhead is as follows:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of all

things visible and invisible; and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the

Son of God begotten of the Father, only begotten (that is) of the

substance of the Father; God of God, Light of Light, very God

of very God; begotten, not made; of the same substance with the

Father, by whom all things are made, that are in heaven and that

are in earth; who for us men, and for our salvation, descended and

was incarnate, and became man; suffered and rose again the third

day, ascended into the heavens and will come to judge the living

and the dead; and in the Holy Spirit. But those who say there was

a time when He [the Son] was not, and that He was not before He

was begotten, and that He was made out of nothing or affirm that

He is of any other substance or essence, or that the Son of God

was created, and mutable, or changeable, the Catholic Church doth

pronounce accursed.

This is the creed of St. Athanasius, formulated at the Council of

Nice, A.D. 325, and is universally accepted by orthodox Christians.

The explanation of the creed as given by Athanasius will also be of

interest:

We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity; neither

confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. For there

is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of

the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost

is all one: The glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. Such as the

Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father

uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father

incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible. The Father eternal,

the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet these are

not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three

incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated and one

incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son

Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty, and yet there are not three

Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God,

and the Holy Ghost is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but

one God.

It is of course apparent at a glance that the first great revelation

to Joseph Smith declared facts in relation to the nature of God--His

personality--the fact that the Father was distinct from the Son--the

fact that the there were two--or a plurality of Gods--which are at

variance with the orthodox creed on the subject of Deity. This truth

he continued to unfold from time to time, though the fullness and

climax respecting this doctrine was reached at Nauvoo; and as it is the

teachings of the Prophet and not a defense of them which I here wish to

exhibit, I quote his own words:

GOD'S DISTINCT PERSONALITY.

The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as a man's,

the Son also, but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones,

but is a personage of spirit. Were it not so the Holy Ghost could

not dwell in us. A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may

descend upon him and not tarry in him.

THE HOLY GHOST A PERSONAGE.

The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the

world, a witness of the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come

in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in

the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form

of a dove, but in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost cannot be

transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John

to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token

of truth and innocence.

IGNORANCE AS TO THE CHARACTER OF GOD.

It is necessary for us to have an understanding of God Himself in

the beginning. There are but a very few beings in the world who

understand rightly the character of God. The great majority of

mankind do not comprehend anything, either that which is passed,

or that which is to come, as it respects their relationship to

God. They do not know neither do they understand the nature of

that relationship, and consequently, they know but little above

the brute beast, or more than to eat, drink and sleep. This is all

man knows about God or His existence, unless it is given by the

inspiration of the Almighty.

WHAT KIND OF A BEING GOD IS.

I want to ask this congregation, every man, woman and child, to

answer the question in their own heart, what kind of a being God

is. * * * God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted

man, and sits enthroned in yonder heaven! That is the great secret.

If the veil was rent today and the great God who holds this world

in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His

power, was to make Himself visible, I say, if you were to see Him

today, you would see Him like a man in form--like yourselves in

all the person, image and very form as a man, for Adam was created

in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received

instruction from and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as

one man talks and communes with another. * * * It is the first

principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of

God and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses

with another, and that He was once a man like us; yea that God

Himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus

Christ Himself did, and I will show it from the Bible.

PLURALITY OF GODS ESTABLISHED BY THE LANGUAGE OF GENESIS.

I shall comment on the very first Hebrew word in the Bible; I

will make a comment on the very first sentence of the history of

creation in the Bible--_Berosheit_. I want to analyze the word.

_Baith_--in, by, through and everything else. _Rosh_--the head.

_Sheit_--Grammatical termination. When the inspired man wrote it

he did not put the _baith_ there. An old Jew without any authority

added the word: he thought it too bad to begin to talk about the

head! It read first, "The head one of the Gods brought forth the

Gods." That is the true meaning of the words. _Baurau_ signifies

to bring forth. If you do not believe it, you do not believe the

learned man of God. Learned men can teach you no more than what

I have told you. Thus the head God brought forth the Gods in the

grand council. * * * The head God called together the Gods and sat

in grand council to bring forth the world. The grand councilors sat

at the head in yonder heavens and contemplated the creation of the

worlds which were created at that time. * * * In the beginning,

the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods, and they came

together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.

Later in dwelling on the same subject he said:

I will show from the Hebrew Bible that I am correct, and the first

word shows a plurality of Gods, and I want the apostates and

learned men to come here and prove to the contrary, if they can.

An unlearned boy must give you a little Hebrew. _Berosheit baurau

Eloheim ait aushamayeen uenhau auratis_, rendered by King James'

translation: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the

earth." I want to analyze the word _Berosheit_. _Rosh_, the head;

_sheit_, a grammatical termination. The _Baith_ was not originally

put there when the inspired man wrote it, but it has been since

added by an old Jew. _Baurau_ signifies to bring forth; Eloheim

is from the word _Elio_, God, in the singular number, and by

adding the word _heim_, it renders it Gods. It read first, "In the

beginning the head of the Gods brought forth Gods," or as others

have translated it, "The head of the Gods called the Gods together."

SUSTAINED BY JOHN THE REVELATOR.

President Joseph Smith read the third chapter of Revelations, and

took for his text first chapter, sixth verse: "And hath made us

kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and

dominion for ever and ever. Amen." It is altogether correct in the

translation. Now you know that of late some malicious and corrupt

men have sprung up and apostatized from the Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-day Saints, and they declare that the Prophet believes

in a plurality of Gods, and lo and behold! we have discovered a

very great secret, they cry: "The Prophet says there are many

Gods, and this proves that he has fallen." * * * I will preach on

the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for that express

purpose. I wish to declare I have always, and in all congregations

when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the

plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders fifteen

years. I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus

Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and

the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit; and these

three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods. If this

is in accordance with the New Testament, lo and behold, we have

three Gods anyhow, and they are plural, and who can contradict it?

BY THE TESTIMONY OF PAUL.

Our text says: "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and

_his Father_." The Apostles have discovered that there were Gods

above, for Paul says God was the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

* * * John was one of the men, and the Apostles declare they were

made kings and priests unto God the Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ. It reads just so in the Revelation. Hence the doctrine

of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other

doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible. It stands beyond

the power of controversy. "A wayfaring man, though a fool, need

not err therein." Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many. I

want to set it forth in a plain and simple manner, but to us there

is but one God--that is _pertaining_ to us, and He is in all and

through all. But if Joseph Smith says there are Gods many and Lords

many, they cry, "Away with him, and crucify him, crucify him!"

Mankind verily say that the Scriptures are with them. Search the

Scriptures, for they testify of things that these apostates would

gravely pronounce blasphemy. Paul, if Joseph Smith is a blasphemer,

you are. I say there are Gods many, and Lords many, but to us only

one; and we are to be in subjection to that one, and no man can

limit the bounds or the eternal existence of eternal time. * * *

Some say I do not interpret the Scriptures the same as they do.

They say it means the heathen's gods. Paul says there are Gods many

and Lords many, and that makes a plurality of Gods, in spite of the

whims of all men. Without a revelation I am not going to give them

the knowledge of the God of heaven. You know and I testify that

Paul had no allusion to the heathen gods. I have it from God, and

get over it if you can. I have a witness of the Holy Ghost, and a

testimony that Paul had no allusion to the heathen gods in the text.

BY THE PHILOSOPHY OF ABRAHAM.

I want to reason a little on this subject. I learned it by

translating the papyrus which is now in my house. I learned a

testimony concerning Abraham, and he reasoned concerning the God

of heaven. "In order to do that," said he, "suppose we have two

facts; that supposes another fact may exist--two men on the earth,

one wiser than the other, would logically show that another who is

wiser than the wiser one may exist. Intelligences exist one above

another, so that there is no end to them. If Abraham reasoned thus:

If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God,

the Father of Jesus Christ, had a Father, you may suppose that He

had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? And

where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever

did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor?

And everything comes in this way. Paul says that which is earthly

is in the likeness of that which is heavenly. Hence, if Jesus had a

Father, can we not believe that He had a Father also? I despise the

idea of being scared to death at such doctrine, for the Bible is

full of it.

BY THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS.

I believe all that God ever revealed, and I never hear of a man

being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for

unbelief. They found fault with Jesus Christ because He said He

was the Son of God, and made Himself equal with God. They say of

me like they did of the Apostles of old, that I must be put down.

What did Jesus say? "Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are

Gods? If he called them Gods unto whom the word of God came, and

the Scripture cannot be broken, say ye of him whom the Father has

sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I

said I am the Son of God?" It was through Him that they drank of

the spiritual rock.

Of course He would take the honor Himself. Jesus, if they were

called Gods unto whom the word of God came, why should it be

thought blasphemy that I should say I am the Son of God? [3]

HOW GOD CAME TO BE A GOD.

We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I

will refute that idea, and will take away the vail, so that you may

see. * * * The Scriptures inform us that Jesus said, "As the Father

hath power in Himself, even so hath the Son power"--to do what?

Why, what the Father did. The answer is obvious--in a manner to

lay down His body and take it up again. Jesus, what are you going

to do? To lay down My life as My Father did and take it up again.

Do you believe it? If you do not believe it you do not believe the

Bible. Here then is eternal life, to know the only wise and true

God, and you have got to learn to be Gods yourselves, and to be

kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before

you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a

small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation

to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead and

are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory as

do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.

THE APPOINTMENT OF GODS.

The Scriptures are a mixture of very strange doctrines to the

Christian world, who are blindly led by the blind. I will refer

to another Scripture. "Now," says God, when He visited Moses in

the bush, (Moses was a stammering sort of a boy like me,) God

said, "Thou shalt be a God unto the children of Israel." God said,

"Thou shalt be a God unto Aaron, and he shall be thy spokesman." I

believe those Gods that God reveals as Gods to be sons of Gods, and

all can cry, "Abba Father!" Sons of God who exalt themselves to be

Gods, even from before the foundation of the world and are the only

Gods I have a reverence for.

THE APPOINTMENT OF OUR GOD.

The head of the Gods appointed one God for us; and when you take

a view of the subject, it sets one free to see all the beauty,

holiness and perfection of the Gods. All I want is to get the

simple, naked truth, and the whole truth.

THE ONENESS OF GOD--IN WHAT IT CONSISTS.

Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy

Ghost are only one God! I say that is a strange God anyhow--three

in one, and one in three! It is a curious organization. "Father, I

pray not for the world, but I pray for them which Thou hast given

me." "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast

given me, that they may be one, as we are." * * * I want to read

the text to you myself: "I am agreed with the Father and the Father

is agreed with Me, and we are agreed as one." The Greek shows that

it should be "agreed." "Father, I pray for them which Thou hast

given me out of the world, and not for these alone, but for them

also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all

may be agreed as Thou, Father, art agreed with me, and I with Thee,

that they also may be agreed with us--" and all come to dwell in

unity, and in all glory and everlasting burnings of the Gods; and

then we shall see as we are seen, and be as our God, and He as His

Father.

OF MAN AND HIS IMMORTALITY.

The doctrines which Joseph Smith taught respecting God were also

calculated to have an effect on his teachings respecting man, and that

it did so is evident from the following:

I have another subject to dwell upon which is calculated to exalt

man. * * * It is associated with the subject of the resurrection of

the dead, namely, the soul--the mind of man--the immortal spirit.

Where did it come from? All learned men, and doctors of divinity

say that God created it in the beginning; but it is not so: the

very idea lessens man in my estimation. I do not believe the

doctrine. I know better. Hear it, all ye ends of the world, for God

has told me so, if you don't believe me, it will not make the truth

without effect. * * * We say that God Himself is a self-existent

being. Who told you so? It is correct enough, but how did it get

into your heads? Who told you that man did not exist in like manner

upon the same principles? God made a tabernacle and put a spirit

into it, and it became a living soul. [Refers to the old Bible.]

How does it read in the Hebrew? It does not say in Hebrew that God

created the spirit of man. It says, "God made man out of earth and

put into him Adam's spirit, and so became a living body." * * * I

am dwelling on the immortality of the spirit of man. Is it logical

to say that the intelligence of spirits is immortal, and yet that

it had a beginning? The intelligence of spirits had no beginning,

neither will it have an end. That is good logic. That which has a

beginning may have an end. There never was a time when there were

not spirits, for they are co-equal with our Father in heaven.

THE PROPHET'S VIEWS ON IMMATERIALITY AND ON CREATION.

There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter,

but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer

eyes. We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified, we shall

see that it is all matter.

* * * You ask the wise doctors why they say the world was made out

of nothing, and they will answer, "Don't the Bible say He created

the world?" And they infer from that word _create_ that it must

be made out of nothing. Now the word create came from the word

_baurau_, which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to

organize, the same as man would organize material and build a ship.

Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world out

of--chaos--chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells

all the glory. Elements had an existence from the time He [God]

had. The pure principles of elements can never be destroyed, they

may be organized and reorganized, but not destroyed. They had no

beginning, and can have no end.

In order to present a more complete view of the importance of man as

connected with the work of his redemption, his future exaltation and

glory, as taught by the Prophet, I quote two discourses of his preached

in Nauvoo some time previous to the period under consideration. The

first is an excerpt from remarks of the Prophet made in reply to

certain questions about the Priesthood and other subjects; the second

is from an article presented by him at the October conference of 1840:

I.

The Priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the First

Presidency, and held the keys of it from generation to generation.

He obtained it in the creation, before the world was formed,

as in Gen. 1, 20, 26, 28. He had dominion given him over every

living creature. He is Michael, the Arch-Angel, spoken of in

the Scriptures. Then to Noah, who is Gabriel; he stands next in

authority to Adam in the Priesthood; he was called of God to this

office, and was the Father of all living in his day, and to him was

given the dominion. These men held keys first on earth, and then in

heaven.

The Priesthood is an everlasting principle, and existed with God

from eternity, and will to eternity, without beginning of days or

end of years. The keys have to be brought from heaven whenever

the Gospel is sent. When they are revealed from heaven it is by

Adam's authority. Daniel VII, speaks of the Ancient of Days; he

means the oldest man, our Father Adam, Michael; he will call his

children together and hold a council with them to prepare them for

the coming of the Son of Man. He (Adam) is the father of the human

family, and presides over the spirits of all men, and all that have

had the keys must stand before him in this grand council. This may

take place before some of us leave this stage of action. The Son of

Man stands before him, and there is given Him glory and dominion.

Adam delivers up his stewardship to Christ, that which was

delivered to him as holding the keys of the universe, but retains

his standing as head of the human family.

The spirit of man is not a created being; it existed from eternity,

and will exist to eternity. Anything created cannot be eternal;

and earth, water, &c., had their existence in an elementary state,

from eternity. Our Savior speaks of children and says, their angels

always stand before my Father. The Father called all spirits

before Him at the creation of man, and organized them. He (Adam)

is the head and was told to multiply. The keys were first given to

him, and by him to others. He will have to give an account of his

stewardship and they to him.

The Priesthood is everlasting. The Savior, Moses, and Elias, gave

the keys to Peter, James, and John, on the mount, when He was

transfigured before them. The Priesthood is everlasting--without

beginning of days or end of years; without father, mother, &c. If

there is no change of ordinances, there is no change of Priesthood.

Wherever the ordinances of the Gospel are administered, there is

the Priesthood.

How have we come at the Priesthood in the last days? It came down,

in regular succession. Peter, James, and John had it given to them,

and they gave it to others. Christ is the great High Priest; Adam

next. Paul speaks of The Church coming to an innumerable company

of angels--to God, the Judge of all--the spirits of just men made

perfect; to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, &c., (Heb.

III, 23.)

I saw Adam in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. He called together

his children and blessed them with a patriarchal blessing. The

Lord appeared in their midst, and he (Adam) blessed them all, and

foretold what should befall them to the latest generation. (See D.

C., sec. III, pars. 28, 29.)

This is why Abraham blessed his posterity; he wanted to bring them

into the presence of God. They looked for a city, &c. Moses sought

to bring the children of Israel into the presence of God, through

the power of the Priesthood, but he could not. In the first ages of

the world they tried to establish the same thing; and there were

Eliases raised up who tried to restore these very glories, but

did not obtain them; but they prophesied of a day when this glory

would be revealed. Paul spoke of the Dispensation of the Fullness

of Times, when God would gather together all things in one, &c.;

and those men to whom these keys have been given, will have to be

there; and they without us cannot be made perfect.

These men are in heaven, but their children are on earth. Their

bowels yearn over us. God sends down men for this reason. (Matt.

XIII, 41.) And the Son of Man shall send forth His angels, &c. All

these authoritative characters will come down and join hand in hand

in bringing about this work.

II.

In order to investigate the subject of the Priesthood, so important

to this, as well as every succeeding generation, I shall proceed

to trace the subject as far as I possibly can from the Old and New

Testaments.

There are two Priesthoods spoken of in the Scriptures, viz., the

Melchisedek and the Aaronic or Levitical. Although there are two

Priesthoods, yet the Melchisedek Priesthood comprehends the Aaronic

or Levitical Priesthood, and is the grand head, and holds the

highest authority which pertains to the Priesthood, and the keys of

the Kingdom of God in all ages of the world to the latest posterity

on the earth, and is the channel through which all knowledge,

doctrine, the plan of salvation, and every important matter is

revealed from heaven.

Its institution was prior to "the foundation of this earth, or

the morning stars sang together, or the Sons of God shouted for

joy," and is the highest and holiest Priesthood, and is after the

order of the Son of God, and all other Priesthoods are only parts,

ramifications, powers, and blessings belonging to the same, and are

held, controlled, and directed by it. It is the channel through

which the Almighty commenced revealing His glory at the beginning

of the creation of this earth, and through which He has continued

to reveal Himself to the children of men to the present time, and

through which He will make known His purposes to the end of time.

Commencing with Adam, who was the first man, who is spoken of in

Daniel as being the "Ancient of Days," or in other words, the first

and oldest of all, the great grand progenitor of whom it is said in

another place he is Michael, because he was the first and Father

of all, not only by progeny, but the first to hold the spiritual

blessings, to whom was made known the plan of ordinances for the

salvation of his posterity unto the end, and to whom Christ was

first revealed, and through whom Christ has been revealed from

heaven, and will continue to be revealed from henceforth. Adam

holds the keys of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times; i. e.,

the dispensation of all the times, have been and will be revealed

through him from the beginning to Christ, and from Christ to the

end of all the dispensations that are to be revealed: Ephesians,

1st chap., 9th and 10th verses, "Having made known unto us the

mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he has

purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fullness of

times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both

which are in heaven and which are on earth in him."

Now the purpose in Himself in the winding up scene of the last

dispensation is that all things pertaining to that dispensation

should be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding

dispensations.

And again: God purposed in Himself that there should not be eternal

fullness until every dispensation should be fulfilled and gathered

together in one, and that all things whatsoever, that should be

gathered together in one in those dispensations unto the same

fullness and eternal glory, should be in Christ Jesus; therefore He

set the ordinances to be the same forever, and set Adam to watch

over them, to reveal them from heaven to man, or to send angels to

reveal them: Hebrews I, 14,. "Are they not all ministering spirits,

sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation?"

These angels are under the direction of Michael or Adam, who acts

under the direction of the Lord. From the above quotation we learn

that Paul perfectly understood the purposes of God in relation

to His connection with man, and that glorious and perfect order

which He established in Himself, whereby He sent forth power,

revelations, and glory.

God will not acknowledge that which He has not called, ordained

and chosen. In the beginning God called Adam by His own voice.

See Genesis 3rd Chapter, 9th, 10th v., "And the Lord called unto

Adam and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy

voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and hid

myself." Adam received commandments and instruction from God; this

was the order from the beginning.

That he received revelations, commandments and ordinances at the

beginning is beyond the power of controversy; else how did they

begin to offer sacrifices to God in an acceptable manner? And if

they offered sacrifices they must be authorized by ordination. We

read in Gen. 4th chap., 4th v., that Abel brought of the firstlings

of the flock and the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect to Abel

and to his offering. And, again. Hebrews XI, 4th, "By faith Abel

offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which

he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his

gifts; and by it he being dead, yet speaketh." How doth he yet

speak? Why, he magnified the Priesthood which was conferred upon

him, and died a righteous man, and therefore has become an angel

of God by receiving his body from the dead, holding still the keys

of his dispensation; and was sent down from heaven unto Paul to

minister consoling words, and to commit unto him a knowledge of the

mysteries of Godliness.

And if this was not the case, I would ask, how did Paul know so

much about Abel, and why should he talk about his speaking after he

was dead? Hence, that he spoke after he was dead must be by being

sent down out of heaven to administer.

This, then, is the nature of the Priesthood; every man holding the

presidency of his dispensation, and one man holding the presidency

of them all, even Adam; and Adam receiving his presidency and

authority from the Lord, but cannot receive a fullness until Christ

shall present the Kingdom to the Father, which shall be at the end

of the last dispensation.

Footnotes

1. Genesis I, 26, 27.

2. Heb., I, 3.

3. I think in this last sentence the report is imperfect. The Prophet

doubtless meant to represent Jesus as still talking, that is, as if the

Prophet had said--_Jesus continues:_ "If they were called," etc.

CHAPTER XXX.

DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT AT NAUVOO--MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

In this chapter I quote the sayings and instructions of the Prophet

on a variety of topics, uttered principally within the period under

consideration--from January to June 1843--though there are some

exceptions.

THE VARIOUS KINDS OF BEINGS IN HEAVEN.

There are two kinds of beings in heaven, viz: Angels who are

resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones. For

instance, Jesus said, "Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not

flesh and bones as you see me have." Second, the spirits of just

men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the

same glory.

HOW TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF AN ADMINISTRATION.

When a messenger comes, saying he has a message from God, offer

him your hand, and request him to shake hands with you. If he be

an angel, he will do so, and you will feel his hand. If he be the

spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory, for

that is the only way he can appear. Ask him to shake hands with

you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of

heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his

message. If it be the Devil as an angel of light, when you ask him

to shake hands, he will offer you his hand but you will not feel

anything; you may therefore detect him. These are three grand keys

whereby you may know whether or not any administration is from God.

THE PROPHET'S VIEW ON THE CREEDS OF MEN.

I cannot believe in any of the creeds of the different

denominations, because they all have some things in them I cannot

subscribe to, though all of them have some truth. I want to come up

in the presence of God, and learn all things; but the creeds set up

stakes and say, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further," which I

cannot subscribe to.

THE PROPHET ON FRIENDSHIP.

Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of

"Mormonism" to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars

and contentions to cease, and men to become friends and brothers.

Even the wolf and the lamb shall dwell together; the leopard shall

lie down with the kid; the calf and young lion, and the fatling;

and a little child shall lead them; the bear and the cow shall lie

down together, and the sucking child shall play on the hole of the

asp and the weaned child shall play on the cockatrice's den, and

they shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the

Lord of hosts. It is a time-honored adage that love begets love.

Let us pour forth love--show forth all kindness unto all mankind

and the Lord will reward us with everlasting increase; cast our

bread upon the waters, and we shall receive it after many days,

increased to a hundredfold.

ON THE POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD.

Every word that proceedeth from the mouth of Jehovah has such

an influence over the human mind--the logical mind--that it is

convincing, without other testimony. Faith cometh by hearing. If

ten thousand men testify to a truth you know, would it add to your

faith? No. Or will ten thousand testimonies destroy your knowledge

of a fact? No. I don't want any one to tell me I am a prophet, or

attempt to prove my word.

THE PROPHET ON THE LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE

UNITED STATES.

It is one of the first principles of my life and one that I have

cultivated from my childhood, having been taught it by my father,

to allow every one the liberty of conscience. I am the greatest

advocate of the Constitution of the United States there is on the

earth. In my feelings I am always ready to die in the protection of

the weak and oppressed in their just rights. The only fault I find

with the Constitution is, it is not broad enough to cover the whole

ground. Although it provides that all men shall enjoy religious

freedom, yet it does not provide the manner in which that freedom

can be preserved, nor for the punishment of government officers

who refuse to protect the people in their religious rights, or

punish those mobs, States or communities who interfere with the

rights of people on account of their religion. Its sentiments are

good, but it provides no means of enforcing them. It has but this

one fault. Under its provision, a man or people who are able to

protect themselves can get along well enough, but those who have

the misfortune to be weak or unpopular are left to the merciless

rage of popular fury. The Constitution should contain a provision

that every officer of the government who should neglect or refuse

to extend the protection guaranteed in the Constitution should be

subject to capital punishment; and then the President of the United

States would not say "Your cause is just but I can do nothing for

you;" governors issue exterminating orders; or judges say, "The men

ought to have the protection of law, but it won't please the mob;

the men must die anyhow to satisfy the clamor of the rabble; they

must be hung, or Missouri be damned to all eternity." Executive

writs could be issued when they ought to be, and not be made

instruments of cruelty to oppress the innocent, and persecute men

whose religion is unpopular.

THE PROPHET'S COMMENT ON GOOD MEN.

I do not think there have been many good men on the earth since

the days of Adam; but there was one good man and His name was

Jesus. Many persons think a prophet must be a great deal better

than anybody else. Suppose I would condescend--yes, I will call

it condescend--to be a great deal better than any of you, I would

be raised up to the highest heavens, and who should I have to

accompany me? I love that man better who swears a stream as long as

my arm, yet deals justice to his neighbors and mercifully deals his

substance to the poor, than the long, smooth-faced hypocrite. I do

not want you to think I am very righteous, for I am not. God judges

men according to the use they make of the light which He gives them.

THE PROPHET'S ESTIMATE AND DESCRIPTION OF HIMSELF.

I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain,

and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by

coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated

force against religious bigotry, priest-craft, lawyer-craft,

doctor-craft, lying editors, suborned judges and jurors, and the

authority of perjured executives, backed by mobs, blasphemers,

licentious and corrupt men and women, all hell knocking off a

corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and

polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty, who will give me

dominion over all and every one of them, when their refuge of lies

shall fail, and their hiding place shall be destroyed, while these

smooth polished stones with which I come in contact become marred.

* * * I am a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and chisel was

never heard on me until the Lord took me in hand. I desire the

learning and wisdom of heaven alone. I have not the least idea, if

Christ should come to the earth and preach such rough things as He

preached to the Jews, but that this generation would reject Him for

being so rough.

OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS AND THEIR REDEMPTION.

Commenting on Revelation v: 13--"And every creature which is in heaven,

and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and

all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory,

and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb,

for ever and ever"--the Prophet said:

I suppose John saw beings there of a thousand forms, that had

been saved from ten thousand times ten thousand earths like this,

strange beasts of which we have no conception; all might be seen in

heaven. The grand secret was to show John what there was in heaven.

John learned that God glorified Himself by saving all that His

hands had made, whether beasts, fowls, fishes or men, and He will

gratify Himself with them.

THE PROPHET'S DEFINITION OF THE WORD MORMON.

Before I give a definition, however, to the word Mormon, let me say

that the Bible, in its widest sense, means good, for the Savior

says, according to the Gospel of John, "I am the good shepherd,"

and it will not be beyond the common use of terms to say that good

is among the most important in use, and though known by various

names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and

is ever in opposition to bad. We say from the Saxon good; the Dane

god; the Goth goda; the German gut; the Dutch goed; the Latin

bonus; the Greek kalos; the Hebrew tob, and the Egyptian mon.

Hence, with the addition of more, or the contraction mor, we have

the word Mormon, which means, literally, more good.

MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE.

Commenting on II Peter I, 5-10, and also verse 19, the Prophet

said: Now there is some grand secret here, and keys to unlock the

subject. Notwithstanding the Apostle exhorts them to add to their

faith virtue, temperance, etc., yet he exhorts them to make their

calling and election sure. And though they had heard an audible

voice from heaven bearing testimony that Jesus was the Son of God,

yet he says we have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do

well that ye take heed as unto a light shining in a dark place.

Now, wherein could they have a more sure word of prophecy than to

hear the voice of God saying, "This is my beloved Son?" etc. Now

for the secret and grand key. Though they might hear the voice

of God and know that Jesus was the Son of God, this would be no

evidence that their election and calling was made sure; that they

had part with Christ, and were joint heirs with Him. They then

would want that more sure word of prophecy, that they were sealed

in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom

of God. Then, having this promise sealed unto them, it was an

anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. Though the thunder might

roll and the lightning flash and earthquakes bellow, and war gather

thick around, yet this hope and knowledge would support the soul

in every hour of trial, trouble and tribulation. Then knowledge

through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the grand key that

unlocks the glories and mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven.

THE VALUE OF AGED MEN IN COUNCIL.

The way to get along in any important matter is to gather unto

yourself wise men, experienced and aged men, to assist in council

in all times of trouble. Handsome men are not apt to be wise

and strong-minded; but the strength of a strong-minded man will

generally create coarse features, like the rough, strong bough of

the oak. You will always discover in the first glance of a man, in

the outline of his features, something of his mind.

SALVATION--IN WHAT IT CONSISTS.

Salvation is nothing more nor less than to triumph over all our

enemies and put them under our feet. And when we have power to

put all enemies under our feet in this world, and a knowledge to

triumph over all evil spirits in the world to come, then we are

saved as in the case of Jesus, who was to reign until he had put

all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy was death.

DESIRABILITY OF POSSESSING EARTHLY TABERNACLES.

Now, in this world mankind are naturally selfish, ambitious and

striving to excel one above another, yet some are willing to build

up others as well as themselves. So in the other world there are a

variety of spirits. Some seek to excel. And this was the case with

Lucifer when he fell. He sought for things which were unlawful.

Hence he was cast down, and it is said he drew away many with him,

and the greatness of his punishment is that he shall not have a

tabernacle. This is his punishment. So the Devil, thinking to

thwart the decree of God by going up and down in the earth seeking

whom he may destroy--any person that he can find that will yield to

him, he will bind him, and take possession of the body and reign

there, glorying in it mightily, not thinking that he had gotten a

stolen tabernacle, and by and by some one having authority will

come along and cast him out and restore the tabernacle to its

rightful owner. But the devil steals a tabernacle because he has

not one of his own, but if he steals one, he is always liable to be

turned out of doors.

OF THE SPIRITS IN PRISON.

I will say something about the spirits in prison. There has been

much said by modern divines about the words of Jesus (when on the

cross) to the thief, saying, "This day shalt thou be with me in

paradise." King James' translation makes it out to say paradise.

But what is paradise? It is a modern word, it does not answer at

all to the original word that Jesus made use of. Find the original

of the word paradise. You may as easily find a needle in a haymow.

Here is a chance for battle, ye learned men. There is nothing in

the original word in Greek from which this was taken that signifies

paradise, but it was, "This day thou shalt be with me in the world

of spirits: then I will teach you all about it and answer your

inquiries." And Peter says he went out and preached to the world of

spirits (spirits in prison, 1st Peter, 3rd chapter, 19th verse), so

that they who would receive it could have it answered by proxy by

those who live on the earth. * * * Hades, the Greek, or Sheol, the

Hebrew, these two significations means a world of spirits. Hades,

Sheol, paradise, spirits in prison, are all one, it is a world of

spirits. The righteous and the wicked will go to the same world of

spirits until the resurrection. "I do not think so," says one. If

you will go to my house any time, I will take my lexicon and prove

it to you. The great misery of departed spirits in the world of

spirits, where they go after death, is to know that they come short

of the glory that others enjoy, and that they might have enjoyed

themselves, and they are their own accusers.

THE PERSISTENCE OF OBTAINED INTELLIGENCE.

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life,

it will rise with us in the resurrection, and if a person gains

more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence

and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in

the world to come. There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven

before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are

predicated, and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by

obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

THE DESIRABILITY AND POWER OF KNOWLEDGE.

If we get puffed up by thinking that we have much knowledge, we

are apt to get a contentious spirit, and correct knowledge is

necessary to cast out that spirit. The evil of being puffed up with

correct [though useless] knowledge is not so great as the evil of

contention. Knowledge does away with darkness, suspense and doubt,

for these cannot exist where knowledge is. * * * In knowledge there

is power. God has more power than all other beings, because He has

greater knowledge, and hence He knows how to subject all other

beings to Him. He has power over all. * * * It is not wisdom that

we shall have all knowledge at once presented before us, but that

we should have a little at a time; then we can comprehend it. *

* * Add to your faith knowledge, etc. The principle of knowledge

is the principle of salvation. This principle can be comprehended

by the faithful and diligent; and every one that does not obtain

knowledge sufficient to be saved will be condemned. The principle

of salvation is given us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE PROPHET ARRESTED ON MISSOURI'S OLD CHARGES.

IF it should be asked what class of men can do the State the most harm,

or the church most mischief, the universal answer would be--_traitors_!

So patent is the correctness of the statement, that we deem it

unnecessary to inquire into the reasons that lead to the conclusion.

What state has perished but by traitor's hands? What patriot suffered,

but by a traitor's perfidy? And so, as we proceed, we shall see that it

was principally through the schemes of traitors that Nauvoo's budding

prospects were blighted, and her virtuous people driven into the

wilderness.

It will be remembered that in a former chapter a letter written by John

C. Bennett to Sidney Rigdon and Orson Pratt is reproduced, in which

he stated that he was then _en route_ for Missouri for the purpose

of getting out an indictment against Joseph for treason against that

State, said to have been committed during the troubles at Far West, in

the fall of 1838. Whether Bennett went to Missouri or not I cannot say,

but through his influence the old charge of treason was revived, and

an indictment found at a special term of the circuit court for Daviess

County, Missouri, on the fifth of June, 1843; and on the thirteenth of

the same month Governor Reynolds issued a requisition on the governor

of Illinois for Joseph Smith, and appointed Joseph H. Reynolds the

agent of Missouri to receive the Prophet from the authorities of

Illinois. Accordingly the warrant for the arrest was placed in the

hands of Harmon T. Wilson by Governor Ford, of Illinois, and Wilson and

Reynolds started to find the Prophet.

In the meantime Joseph's friends were not inactive. The day before

Governor Ford issued the warrant for the apprehension of the Prophet,

he incidentally mentioned to Judge James Adams that a requisition had

been made by Missouri for the arrest of Joseph, and that he should

issue it the next day; where-upon Judge Adams dispatched an express

from Springfield to Nauvoo with this information. The express arrived

in Nauvoo on the sixteenth of June; but three days before, Joseph with

Emma had left Nauvoo to visit Emma's sister, a Mrs. Wasson, living near

Dixon in Lee County, a little more than two hundred miles north of

Nauvoo. On the arrival of the messenger from Judge Adams, Hyrum Smith

at once dispatched Stephen Markham and William Clayton to Joseph with

the information. They left Nauvoo about midnight of the eighteenth, and

sixty-six hours later arrived at Wasson's, having ridden two hundred

and twelve miles in that time, changing horses only once and that

near the end of the journey. Shortly after the arrival of Clayton,

a Mr. Southwick of Dixon rode out to Inlet Grove, where Mr. Wasson

lived, to inform Joseph that a writ was out for him, and for his pains

and interest the Prophet paid him twenty-five dollars, though he had

already been informed by Clayton and Markham.

After the receipt of this information, however, Joseph concluded to

remain where he was, for, if he started for home, he might meet the

officers where he had no friends, and be run over into Missouri among

his enemies.

Just how the officers Wilson and Reynolds came to know of the

whereabouts of Joseph is not known. But at any rate they went directly

to Dixon, nearly killing their horses by hard driving. At the village

of Dixon they represented themselves as Mormon Elders, wanting to see

the Prophet. They succeeded in hiring a man with a two-horse team to

drive them out to Wasson's. On the way they passed William Clayton,

who had been sent by Joseph to see if he could learn anything of the

movements of the officers at Dixon. But as the sheriffs were disguised,

Clayton did not recognize them.

The officers arrived at Wasson's and found Joseph walking down the path

leading to the barn. They sprang upon him like wild beasts upon their

prey, presenting their pistols, and Reynolds exclaimed--"G-- d-- you,

sir, if you stir, I'll shoot!" and this with slight variations he kept

repeating. Joseph asked them what was the meaning of all this, for they

attempted to serve no process, and to their oft-repeated threats of

violence, which they sought to make emphatic with blood-curdling oaths,

the Prophet bared his breast and told them to shoot, if they desired

to, for he had endured so much oppression that he was weary of life.

By this time Stephen Markham arrived on the scene, and immediately

started to the Prophet's assistance, despite the threats of the

officers to shoot him if he advanced another step. Nor did the brave

man check his advance until Joseph cautioned him not to resist the

officers of the law.

Reynolds and Wilson, with much rudeness and many unnecessary

imprecations, hustled their prisoner into the wagon they had hired in

Dixon, and were for starting off without giving the prisoner a chance

to say one word to his friends, bid his wife or children good-by, or

even get his hat and coat. But Markham, regardless of the threats of

the officers to shoot him, seized the team by the bits and said there

was no law requiring an officer to take a man to prison without his

clothes, and held on until Emma could bring out Joseph's hat and coat.

All this time they had served no process on their prisoner, and had

repeatedly thrust the muzzles of their pistols against his sides until

he was badly bruised by the uncalled-for violence.

Joseph shouted to Markham as he was driven away, to go to Dixon and

obtain a writ of _habeas corpus_, but as the horse Markham rode was

jaded, and the officers ordered their driver to whip up, they kept up

with him, and both parties went into the town together.

The sheriffs thrust their prisoner into a room in a tavern kept by Mr.

McKennie, and ordered fresh horses to be ready in five minutes. Joseph

told them he wanted to obtain counsel. "G-- d-- you, you shan't have

counsel, one more word and G-- d-- you, I'll shoot you!" was the brutal

answer. Just then, however, a man passed the window and to him Joseph

shouted, "I am falsely imprisoned here, and I want a lawyer." Presently

Lawyer Southwick, the gentleman who a few days before had rode out

to Wasson's to inform the Prophet that a writ was out for him, came

to the house, but only to have the door slammed in his face, and be

denied admittance. Another lawyer, Shepherd G. Patrick, tried to gain

admission to the prisoner but met with the same treatment as the first.

But at last, through the influence of a Mr. Sanger and a Mr. Dixon,

owner of the hotel building where the Prophet was detained a prisoner,

Reynolds was given to understand that his prisoner must have a fair

trial, and all the protection the laws afforded him. A writ of _habeas

corpus_ was sued out before Mr. Chamberlain, the master in chancery,

who lived some six miles from Dixon, made returnable before Hon. John

D. Caton, judge of the ninth judicial circuit at Ottawa.

Before starting for Ottawa, however, Joseph learned that Cyrus Walker,

Esq., was in the vicinity on an electioneering tour, he being the Whig

candidate for Congress from that district; and the Prophet attempted

to secure his services in his defense, as he was the greatest criminal

lawyer in that part of Illinois. Walker, however, refused to engage in

his defense unless Joseph would agree to vote for him at the coming

election, and the Prophet promised him his vote.

Writs were sued out before the justice of the peace against Reynolds

and Wilson for making threats against the lives of Markham and Joseph;

and another writ for a violation of the law in relation to writs of

_habeas corpus_; and still another, this time from the circuit court

of Lee County, for private injuries, false imprisonment, claiming

$10,000 damages. Whether or not the sheriffs were released from the

first writ, I cannot learn; but on the last writ they were held in

$10,000 bonds, and as they could get no bondsmen this side of Missouri,

they were taken in charge by the sheriff of Lee County, and were under

the necessity of obtaining a writ of _habeas corpus_ themselves. So

that while Joseph was the prisoner of Reynolds and Wilson, pending

the hearing on the writ of _habeas corpus_ he had sued out, they were

prisoners under the same circumstances, in charge of the sheriff of Lee

County. And in this manner all started for Ottawa for a hearing on the

several writs before Judge Caton.

The whole company left Dixon on the twenty-fourth of June, and the

same day arrived at Pawpaw Grove, a distance of thirty-two miles. The

arrival of the Prophet and party at Pawpaw Grove created no little

excitement, and the next morning the people gathered into the largest

room in the hotel, and insisted upon hearing the Prophet preach. To

this Sheriff Reynolds objected and said to the people, "I wish you to

understand this man (pointing to Joseph) is my prisoner, and I want you

should disperse." At this an old gentleman by the name of David Town

spoke up and said:

You damned infernal Puke, [1] we'll learn you to come here and

interrupt gentlemen! Sit down there, pointing to a very low chair,

and sit still. Don't open your head till General Smith gets through

talking. If you never learned manners in Missouri, we'll teach you

that gentlemen are not to be imposed upon by a nigger-driver. You

cannot kidnap men here. There's a committee in this grove that

will sit on your case; and, sir, it is the highest tribunal in the

United States, as _from its decision there is no appeal_.

Old Mr. Town was lame and carried with him a heavy, hickory walking

stick with which he emphasized the significant parts of his speech

by striking the end of it on the floor. It had the desired effect

on Reynolds, who humbly took his seat, while the Prophet without an

interruption addressed the company for about an hour and a half on the

subject of marriage.

At this point it was learned that Judge Caton was absent in the State

of New York, hence the party returned to Dixon, and the officers

made returns on the respective writs of _habeas corpus_ by endorsing

thereon--"Judge absent." New writs, however, were sued out, and at

Markham's request, the one in behalf of Joseph was made to read:

"Returnable before the nearest tribunal in the Fifth judicial district

authorized to hear and determine writs of _habeas corpus_"--and thereby

hangs a tale, as the sequel will show.

Arrangements were made with a Mr. Lucien P. Sanger, who was in the

stagecoach business, to take the respective prisoners to Quincy, a

distance of two hundred and sixty miles, to obtain a hearing on the

several writs before Judge Stephen A. Douglass.

_En route_ for Quincy, Joseph convinced his lawyers and Sheriff

Campbell, of Lee County, and others, that the municipal court of Nauvoo

had the right to try cases under writs of _habeas corpus_, and since

the writ that he had sued out and served on Reynolds of Missouri was

made "returnable before the nearest tribunal in the Fifth judicial

district authorized to hear and determine writs of _habeas corpus_," he

insisted on being taken to Nauvoo for a hearing. He prevailed, too, and

for that place the now large party directed its course.

Footnotes

1. A common nick-name for Missourians in those days.

CHAPTER XXXII.

MINOR MATTERS IN THE NEW MOVE AGAINST THE PROPHET.

IT now becomes necessary to note a few minor events that occurred. As

soon as the sheriffs started for Dixon with Joseph in their power, Emma

Smith had her carriage made ready and at once started for Nauvoo with

her children, in order to set some scheme or other on foot looking to

her husband's deliverance.

Joseph, when arriving at Dixon a prisoner, dispatched William Clayton

with a message to his brother Hyrum telling what had befallen him, and

requesting that assistance be at once sent to him. Clayton boarded the

steamer _Amaranth_, at Rock Island, and arrived in Nauvoo about two

o'clock in the afternoon of Sunday, the twenty-fifth of June. Meeting

was in progress when Hyrum stepped into the stand and interrupted the

proceedings, by announcing that he wanted to meet with the brethren at

the Masonic Hall.

The quiet of the Sabbath was immediately changed into excitement, and

the brethren rushed to the hall in such numbers that not one-fourth

could gain admittance, so the meeting was adjourned to the green, where

a hollow square was formed about Hyrum, who related the story Clayton

had told him respecting the capture of his brother, and called for

volunteers to go to his assistance, and see that he had his rights.

Immediately three hundred offered their services and from them a

company was selected such as was needed; and before sunset, one hundred

and seventy-five men were in the saddle under command of Generals

Wilson Law and C. C. Rich, _en route_ for Peoria.

Before the company left Nauvoo Elder Wilford Woodruff opened a barrel

of gunpowder and invited every man that was going to the assistance

of the Prophet to fill his flask or powder horn. The company was well

armed and well mounted, and presented rather a formidable appearance.

Besides sending out this company to find and protect his brother, Hyrum

sent about seventy-five men on the steamer _Maid of Iowa_, a small

steamboat purchased by the people of Nauvoo some months before, and

placed under the command of Captain Dan Jones.

The company was to go down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Illinois

river, thence up that stream as far as Peoria; for it was expected

that Joseph was being conveyed to Ottawa, and it was feared by Hyrum

that an attempt would be made when the party approached the Illinois

river to convey Joseph to one of the crafts plying between Peoria and

St. Louis and so take him to Missouri. Hence this company on the _Maid

of Iowa_ was instructed to take the course mentioned, and to examine

the steamboats they met, and if they learned that the Prophet was a

prisoner on any one of them, they were to render whatever assistance

might be within their power.

The command under Brothers Law and Rich divided and subdivided in going

through the country, and on the twenty-seventh a small company under

the command of Captain Thomas Grover met Stephen Markham, whom Joseph

had dispatched to find the brethren that he suspected had been sent

from Nauvoo to his assistance; Markham had instructions to meet the

Prophet with any company of brethren he might find at Monmouth.

Near Monmouth, and before the arrival of the main body of Joseph's

friends, Reynolds and Wilson planned a scheme of going into that town,

raising a mob and taking the Prophet by force into Missouri. The plot

failed, however, as it was overheard by P. W. Conover, and Sheriff

Campbell took both Wilson and Reynolds into his immediate custody.

These men had a strong dislike of going to Nauvoo, as they feared

they would never leave the place alive. But the Prophet pledged his

word that no harm should befall them. As the friends of Joseph kept

dropping in singly, or in squads, the fear of his enemies increased.

Reynolds made special inquiries as to whether "Jem Flack" was in the

company, and on being answered in the affirmative, he exclaimed, as he

turned deathly pale, "I am a dead man!" for he had given Flack a deadly

provocation. When Flack rode up, however, the Prophet called him up to

him and strictly charged him that whatever insult he had received from

Reynolds, not to injure a hair of his head, since he had given his word

of honor that he should not be injured; and Flack agreed to let him

alone.

Before noon of the thirtieth, Joseph's company, which now numbered

about one hundred and forty, approached Nauvoo. Word had previously

been sent in as to the probable time of his arrival, and the people

prepared to give him a royal reception.

Hyrum Smith and Emma, accompanied by the brass band and a long train

of carriages, met the Prophet's company a mile and a half north of the

city, and received him. The enthusiasm of the people knew no bounds.

The Prophet met his brother and wife with a fond embrace; from the

latter, only a few days before, he had been torn away in the most

arbitrary and cruel manner, and their reunion was a joy indeed.

Joseph now mounted his favorite horse, "Old Charley," and with Emma

riding proudly at his side, and surrounded by his body guard, he led

the procession into the city, amid the enthusiastic cheers of the

people, the firing of musketry and cannon, and the lively strains of

the band. At the gate of the Mansion stood the Prophet's mother, with

tears of joy rolling down her aged cheeks, to welcome her son, whom

she had seen so many times in the hands of his enemies. Here, too, his

children flocked about him and welcomed him with unreserved, childish

delight.

The vast crowd that had gathered in front of the Mansion appeared

unwilling to leave without some word from their revered leader. When

he observed this, he mounted the fence, thanked them and blessed them

for their kindness to him, and told them he would address them in the

grove, near the temple, at four o'clock.

A company of fifty sat down at the Prophet's table to partake of

the feast provided, and Wilson and Reynolds, who had treated him so

inhumanly when he was in their power, were placed at the head of

the table, and waited upon by Emma with the utmost regard for their

comfort, though they had denied her speech with her husband, and were

not even willing that she should take to him his hat and coat. Gall to

them indeed must have been the kindness of the Prophet and his wife,

whom but a few days before they had treated with such harshness.

In the afternoon, several thousand people assembled at the grove, and

at four o'clock, the Prophet addressed them in an animated speech of

considerable length, in which he related to them his adventures while

in the power of his enemies, and contended that the municipal court

had the right to hear cases arising under writs of _habeas corpus_. In

the course of his speech he allowed himself to be carried away by the

fervor of his eloquence beyond the bounds of prudence; a circumstance,

however, that will create no astonishment when the excitement and the

indignation under which he was laboring, and that arose out of sense of

outraged justice and humanity is taken into consideration. Under such

circumstances and from such temperaments as that of the Prophet, we

shall look in vain at such times for dispassionate discourse, and more

than human must that man be, who, under the accumulated wrongs of years

of oppression, can always confine his speech, when recounting those

wrongs, within the lines that cold, calculating wisdom would draw. The

speech, however, was doubtless one of the most characteristic that we

have of the Prophet, and for that reason I give it _in extenso_, as

reported by Elders Willard Richards and Wilford Woodruff. It should

also be remarked that the report was made in long-hand, and doubtless

there exist many imperfections in it, and it should only be regarded as

a synopsis of his speech:

The congregation is large. I shall require attention. I discovered

what the emotions of the people were on my arrival at this city,

and I have come here to say, "How do you do?" to all parties; and

I do now at this time say to all, "How do you do?" I meet you with

a heart full of gratitude to Almighty God, and I presume you all

feel the same. I am well--I am hearty. I hardly know how to express

my feelings. I feel as strong as a giant. I pulled sticks with the

men coming along, and I pulled up with one hand the strongest man

that could be found. Then two men tried, but they could not pull me

up, and I continued to pull, mentally, until I pulled Missouri to

Nauvoo. But I will pass from that subject.

There has been great excitement in the country since Joseph H.

Reynolds and Harmon T. Wilson took me; but I have been cool and

dispassionate through the whole. Thank God, I am now a prisoner in

the hands of the municipal court of Nauvoo, and not in the hands of

Missourians.

It is not so much my object to tell of my afflictions, trials, and

troubles as to speak of the writ of _habeas corpus_, so that the

minds of all may be corrected. It has been asserted by the great

and wise men, lawyers, and others, that our municipal powers and

legal tribunals are not to be sanctioned by the authorities of the

State; and accordingly _they_ want to make it lawful to drag away

innocent men from their families and friends, and have them put to

death by ungodly men for their religion!

Relative to our city charter, courts, right of _habeas corpus_,

etc., I wish you to know and publish that we have all power; and if

any man from this time forth says anything to the contrary, cast it

into his teeth.

There is a secret in this. If there is not power in our charter and

courts, then there is not power in the State of Illinois, nor in

the Congress or Constitution of the United States; for the United

States gave unto Illinois her constitution or charter, and Illinois

gave unto Nauvoo her charters, ceding unto us our vested rights,

which she has no right or power to take from us. All the power

there was in Illinois she gave to Nauvoo; and any man that says to

the contrary is a fool.

The municipal court has all the power to issue and determine

writs of _habeas corpus_ within the limits of this city that the

legislature can confer. This city has all the power that the State

courts have, and was given by the same authority--the legislature.

I want you to hear and learn, O Israel, this day, what is for the

happiness and peace of this city and people. If our enemies are

determined to oppress us and deprive us of our constitutional

rights and privileges as they have done, and if the authorities

that are on the earth will not sustain us in our rights, nor give

us that protection which the laws and Constitution of the United

States and of this State guarantee unto us, then we will claim them

from a higher power--from heaven,--yea, from God Almighty!

I have dragged these men here by my hand, and will do it again; but

I swear I will not deal so mildly with them again, for the time has

come when _forbearance is no longer a virtue_; and if you or I are

again taken unlawfully, you are at liberty to give loose to blood

and thunder. But be cool, be deliberate, be wise, act with almighty

power; and when you pull, do it effectually--make a _sweepstakes_

for once!

My lot has always been cast among the warmest-hearted people. In

every time of trouble, friends, even among strangers, have been

raised up unto me and assisted me.

The time has come when the vail is torn off from the State of

Illinois, and its citizens have delivered me from the State of

Missouri. Friends that were raised up unto me would have spilt

their life's blood to have torn me from the hands of Reynolds

and Wilson, if I had asked them, but I told them no, I would be

delivered by the power of God and generalship; and I have brought

these men to Nauvoo, and committed them to her from whom I was

torn, not as prisoners in chains, but as prisoners of kindness. I

have treated them kindly. I have had the privilege of rewarding

them good for evil. They took me unlawfully, treated me rigorously,

strove to deprive me of my rights, and would have run with me into

Missouri to have been murdered, if Providence had not interposed.

But now they are in my hands; and I have taken them into my house,

set them at the head of my table, and placed before them the best

which my house afforded; and they were waited upon by my wife, whom

they deprived of seeing me when I was taken.

I have no doubt but I shall be discharged by the municipal court.

Were I before any good tribunal, I should be discharged, as the

Missouri writs are illegal and good for nothing--they are "without

form and void."

But before I will bear this unhallowed persecution any

longer--before I will be dragged away again among my enemies for

trial, _I will spill the last drop of blood in my veins, and will

see all my enemies_ IN HELL! To bear it any longer would be a sin,

and I will not bear it any longer. Shall we bear it any longer?

[One universal "NO!" ran through all that vast assembly, like a

loud peal of thunder.]

I wish the lawyer who says we have no powers in Nauvoo may be

choked to death with his own words. Don't employ lawyers, or pay

them money for their knowledge, for I have learnt that they don't

know anything. I know more than they all.

Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel. He that believeth

in our chartered rights may come here and be saved; and he that

does not shall remain in ignorance. If any lawyer shall say there

is more power in other places and charters with respect to _habeas

corpus_ than in Nauvoo, believe it not. I have converted this

candidate for Congress [pointing to Cyrus Walker, Esq.,] that

the right of _habeas corpus_ is included in our charter. If he

continues converted, I will vote for him.

I have been with these lawyers, and they have treated me well;

but I am here in Nauvoo, and the Missourians too. I got here by a

lawful writ of _habeas corpus_ issued by the master of chancery

of Lee County, and made returnable to the nearest tribunal in the

fifth judicial district having jurisdiction to try and determine

such writs; and here is that tribunal, just as it should be.

However indignant you may feel about the high hand of oppression

which has been raised against me by these men, use not the hand

of violence against them, for they could not be prevailed upon to

come here, till I pledged my honor and my life that a hair of their

heads should not be hurt. Will you all support my pledge, and thus

preserve my honor? [One universal "YES!" burst from the assembled

thousands.] This is another proof of your attachment to me. I

know how ready you are to do right. You have done great things,

and manifested your love towards me in flying to my assistance on

this occasion. I bless you, in the name of the Lord, with all the

blessings of heaven and earth you are capable of enjoying.

I have learnt that we have no need to suffer as we have heretofore:

we can call others to our aid. I know the Almighty will bless all

good men; He will bless you; and the time has come when there will

be such a flocking to the standard of liberty as never has been or

shall be hereafter. What an era has commenced! Our enemies have

prophesied that we would establish our religion by the sword. _Is

it true?_ No. But if Missouri will not stay her cruel hand in her

unhallowed persecutions against us, I restrain you not any longer.

I say in the name of Jesus Christ, by the authority of the Holy

Priesthood, I this day turn the key that opens the heavens to

restrain you no longer from this time forth. I will lead you to

the battle; and if you are not afraid to die, and feel disposed to

spill your blood in your own defense, you will not offend me. Be

not the aggressor: bear until they strike you on one cheek; then

offer the other, and they will be sure to strike that; _then defend

yourselves_, and God will bear you off, and you shall stand forth

clear before His tribunal.

If any citizens of Illinois say that we shall not have our rights,

treat them as strangers and not friends, and let them go to hell

and be damned! Some say they will mob us. Let them mob and be

damned! If we have to give up our chartered rights, privileges, and

freedom, which our fathers fought, bled, and died for, and which

the Constitution of the United States and of this State guarantee

unto us, we will do it only at the point of the sword and bayonet.

Many lawyers contend for those things which are against the rights

of men, and _I can only excuse them because of their ignorance_. Go

forth and advocate the laws and rights of the people, ye lawyers!

If not, don't get into my hands, or under the lash of my tongue.

Lawyers say the powers of the Nauvoo charter are dangerous; but

I ask, is the Constitution of the United States or of this State

dangerous? No. Neither are the charters granted unto Nauvoo by

the legislature of Illinois dangerous, and those who say they are

are fools. We have not enjoyed unmolested those rights which the

Constitution of the United States of America and our charters grant.

Missouri and all wicked men raise the hue and cry against us, and

are not satisfied. Some political aspirants of this State also are

raising the hue and cry that the powers in the charters granted

unto the city of Nauvoo are dangerous; and although the general

assembly have conferred them upon our city, yet the whine is

raised--"Repeal them--take them away!" Like the boy who swapped

off his jack-knife, and then cried, "Daddy, daddy, I have sold my

jack-knife and got sick of my bargain, and I want to get it back

again."

But how are they going to help themselves? Raise mobs? And what

can mobocrats do in the midst of Kirkpatrickites? No better than a

hunter in the claws of a bear. If mobs come upon you any more here,

dung your gardens with them. We don't want any excitement; but

after we have done all, we will rise up, Washington-like, and break

off the hellish yoke that oppresses us, and we will not be mobbed.

The day before I was taken at Inlet Grove, I rode with my wife

through Dixon to visit my friends, and I said to her, "Here is a

good people." I felt this by the Spirit of God. The next day I was

a prisoner in their midst, in the hands of Reynolds, of Missouri,

and Wilson, of Carthage. As the latter drove up, he exclaimed,

"Ha, ha, ha! By G--, we have got the Prophet now!" He gloried

much in it, but he is now our prisoner. When they came to take

me, they held two cocked pistols to my head, and saluted me with,

"G-- d-- you, I'll shoot you! I'll shoot you, G-- d-- you,"--repeating

these threats nearly fifty times, from first to last. I asked them

what they wanted to shoot me for. They said they would do it, if I

made any resistance.

"Oh, very well," I replied, "I have no resistance to make." They

then dragged me away, and I asked them by what authority they did

these things. They said, "By a writ from the governors of Missouri

and Illinois." I then told them I wanted a writ of _habeas corpus_.

Their reply was, "G-- d-- you, _you shan't have it_." I told a man

to go to Dixon, and get me a writ of _habeas corpus_. Wilson then

repeated, "G-- d-- you, _you shan't have it:_ I'll shoot you."

When we arrived at Dixon, I sent for a lawyer, who came; and

Reynolds shut the door in his face, and would not let me speak

to him, repeating, "G-- d-- you, I'll shoot you." I turned to him,

opened my bosom, and told him to "shoot away. I have endured so

much persecution and oppression that I am sick of life. Why, then,

don't you shoot and have done with it, instead of talking so much

about it?"

This somewhat checked his insolence. I then told him that I

_would_ have counsel to consult, and eventually I obtained my

wish. The lawyers came to me and I got a writ of _habeas corpus_

for myself, and also a writ against Reynolds and Wilson for

unlawful proceedings and cruel treatment towards me. Thanks to the

good citizens of Dixon, who nobly took their stand against such

unwarrantable and unlawful oppression, my persecutors could not get

out of the town that night, although, when they first arrived, they

swore I should not remain in Dixon five minutes, and I found they

had ordered horses accordingly to proceed to Rock Island. I pledged

my honor to my counsel that the Nauvoo city charter conferred

jurisdiction to investigate the subject; so we came to Nauvoo,

where I am now a prisoner in the custody of a higher tribunal than

the circuit court.

The charter says that "the city council shall have power and

authority to make, ordain, establish and execute such ordinances

not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, or of

this State, as they may deem necessary, for the peace, benefit,

and safety of the inhabitants of said city." And also that "the

municipal court shall have power to grant writs of _habeas corpus_

in all cases arising under the ordinances of the city council."

The city council have passed an ordinance "that no citizen of this

city shall be taken out of this city by any writ, without the

privilege of a writ of _habeas corpus_." There is nothing but what

we have power over, except where restricted by the Constitution of

the United States. "But," says the mob, "what dangerous powers!"

Yes--dangerous, because they will protect the innocent and put down

mobocrats. The Constitution of the United States declares that

the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be denied.

Deny me the writ of _habeas corpus_, and I will fight with gun,

sword, cannon, whirlwind, and thunder, until they are used up like

the Kilkenny cats. We have more power than most charters confer,

because we have power to go behind the writ and try the merits of

the case.

If these powers are dangerous, then the Constitution of the United

States and of this State are dangerous; but they are not dangerous

to good men: they are only so to bad men who are breakers of the

laws. So with the laws of the country, and so with the ordinances

of Nauvoo: they are dangerous to mobs, but not to good men who wish

to keep the laws.

We do not go out of Nauvoo to disturb anybody, or any city, town,

or place. Why, then, need they be troubled about us? Let them

not meddle with our affair, but let us alone. After we have been

deprived of our rights and privileges of citizenship, driven

from town to town, place to place, and State to State, with the

sacrifice of our homes and lands, our blood has been shed, many

having been murdered, and all this because of our religion--because

we worship Almighty God according to the dictates of our

conscience, shall we longer bear these cruelties which have been

heaped upon us for the last ten years in the face of heaven, and in

open violation of the Constitution and laws of these United States

and of this State? God forbid it. _I will not bear it_. If they

take away my rights, I will fight for them manfully and righteously

until I am used up. We have done nothing against the rights of

others.

You speak of lawyers. I am a lawyer, too; but the Almighty God

has taught me the principle of law; and the true meaning and

intent of the writ of _habeas corpus_ is to defend the innocent

and investigate the subject. Go behind the writ, and if the form

of one that is issued against an innocent man is right, he should

not be dragged into another State, and there be put to death, or

be in jeopardy of life and limb, because of prejudice, when he is

innocent. The benefits of the Constitution and laws are alike for

all; and the great Eloheim has given me the privilege of having the

benefits of the Constitution and the writ of _habeas corpus_; and I

am bold to ask for this privilege this day; and I ask, in the name

of Jesus Christ and all that is sacred, that I may have your lives

and all your energies to carry out the freedom which is chartered

to us. Will you all help me? If so, make it manifest by raising the

right hand. [There was a unanimous response, a perfect sea of hands

being elevated.] Here is truly a committee of the whole.

When at Dixon, a lawyer came to me as counsel. Reynolds and Wilson

said I should not speak to any man, and they would shoot any man

who should dare to speak to me. An old, grey-headed man came up and

said I should have counsel, and he was not afraid of their pistols.

The people of Dixon were ready to take me from my persecutors, and

I could have killed them, notwithstanding their pistols; but I had

no disposition to kill any man, though my worst enemy--not even

Boggs. In fact, _he_ would have more hell to live in the reflection

of his past crimes than to die. After this, I had lawyers enough,

and I obtained a writ for Joseph H. Reynolds and Harmon T. Wilson,

for damage, assault, and battery, as well as the writ of _habeas

corpus_.

We started for Ottoway, and arrived at Pawpaw Grove, thirty-two

miles, where we stopped for the night. Esquire Walker sent Mr.

Campbell, sheriff of Lee County, to my assistance, and he came and

slept by me. In the morning, certain men wished to see me, but I

was not allowed to see them. The news of my arrival had hastily

circulated about the neighborhood, and very early in the morning

the largest room in the hotel was filled with citizens, who were

anxious to hear me preach, and requested me to address them.

Sheriff Reynolds entered the room and said, pointing to me, "I

wish you to understand this man is my prisoner, and I want you

should disperse. You must not gather around in this way." Upon

which, a aged gentleman, who was lame and carried a large, hickory

walking-stick, advanced towards Reynolds, bringing his hickory upon

the floor, and said, "You damned infernal puke, we'll learn you

to come here and interrupt gentlemen! Sit down there, (pointing

to a very low char,) and sit still. Don't open your head till

General Smith gets through talking. If you never learned manners

in Missouri, we'll teach you that gentlemen are not to be imposed

by a nigger-driver. You can _not_ kidnap men here, if you do in

Missouri; and if you attempt it here, there's a committee in this

grove that will sit on your case. And, sir, it is the highest

tribunal in the United States, _as from its decision there is no

appeal_."

Reynolds, no doubt, aware that the person addressing him was at the

head of a committee who had prevented the settlers on the public

domain from being imposed upon by land speculators, sat down in

silence, while I addressed the assembly for an hour and a half on

the subject of marriage, my visitors having requested me to give

them my views of the law of God respecting marriage.

My freedom commenced from that hour. We came direct from Pawpaw

Grove to Nauvoo, having got our writ directed to the nearest court

having authority to try the case, which was the municipal court of

this city.

It did my soul good to see your feelings and love manifested

towards me. I thank God that I have the honor to lead so virtuous

and honest a people--to be your leader and lawyer, as was Moses

to the children of Israel. Hosannah! _Hosannah!!_ HOSANNAH!!! to

Almighty God, who has delivered us thus from out of the seven

troubles. I commend you to His grace; and may the blessings of

heaven rest upon you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Smith then introduced Mr. Cyrus Walker to the assembled

multitude, and remarked to him, "these are the greatest dupes, as a

body of people, that ever lived, or I am not as big a rogue as I am

reported to be. I told Mr. Warren I would not discuss the subject

of religion with you. I understand the Gospel and you do not. You

understand the quackery of law, and I do not." Mr. Walker then

addressed the people to the effect that, from what he had seen in

the Nauvoo city charter, it gave the power to try writs of _habeas

corpus_, etc. After which, President Smith continued as follows:

"If the legislature have granted Nauvoo the right of determining

cases of _habeas corpus_, it is no more than they ought to have

done, or more than our fathers fought for. Furthermore if Missouri

continues her warfare, and to issue her writs against me and this

people unlawfully and unjustly, as she has done, and to take away

and trample upon our rights, I swear, in the name of Almighty God,

and with uplifted hands to Heaven, I will spill my heart's blood

in our defense. They shall not take away our rights; and if they

don't stop leading me by the nose, I will lead them by the nose,

and if they don't let me alone, I will turn up the world--I will

make war. When we shake our own bushes, we want to catch our own

fruit. The lawyers themselves acknowledge that we have all power

granted us in our charters that we could ask for--that we had more

power than any other court in the State; for all other courts were

restricted, while ours was not; and I thank God Almighty for it. I

will not be rode down to hell by the Missourians any longer; and it

is my privilege to speak in my own defense; and I appeal to your

integrity and honor that you will stand by and help me according to

the covenant you have this day made."

In the meantime, a requisition was made on Sheriff Reynolds, to bring

his prisoner before the municipal court of Nauvoo, that the validity

of the writ, by virtue of which he held him, might be tested. Reynolds

refused to recognize the summons of the court; therefore, his prisoner

petitioned the court for a writ of _habeas corpus_ to be directed to

Sheriff Reynolds, commanding him to bring his prisoner before said

court, and there state the cause of his capture and detention, in order

that the lawfulness of his arrest might be inquired into. Reynolds

complied with the attachment, and the Prophet was delivered into the

charge of the city marshal. The next day, the municipal court held

a session, William Marks, acting chief justice, D. H. Wells, N. K.

Whitney, G. W. Harris, Gustavus Hills and Hiram Kimball, associate

justices.

When Joseph was on trial for this same offense before Judge Douglass,

on a writ of _habeas corpus_ in 1841, as already related in a previous

chapter, the court refused to enter into the consideration of the

merits of the case, as the judge doubted whether on a writ of _habeas

corpus_ he had a right to go behind the writ and inquire into the

merits of the case. The same point was avoided by Judge Pope in

the hearing Joseph had before him on a similar writ, when charged

with being accessory before the fact in an assault upon the life of

ex-Governor Boggs. But the municipal court had no such scruples, and

at once proceeded to try the case _ex parte_, on its merits; and Hyrum

Smith, P. P. Pratt, Brigham Young, G. W. Pitkin, Lyman Wight and Sidney

Rigdon were examined as witnesses. Their affidavits before that court

concerning events that happened to the Saints in Missouri, afford the

most circumstantial, reliable, and exhaustive data for the history of

The Church while in that State that has ever been published.

After hearing the testimony of these witnesses, and the pleading of

counsel, the court ordered that Joseph Smith be released from the

arrest and imprisonment of which he complained, for want of substance

in the warrant by which he was held, as well as upon the merits of the

case.

At the conclusion of the trial the citizens of Nauvoo held a mass

meeting and passed resolutions thanking the people of Dixon and

vicinity, and of Lee County generally, for the stand they had taken in

defense of the innocent, and in favor of law and justice.

A copy of the proceedings of the municipal court of Nauvoo, and of

all the papers connected with the case were immediately sent to the

governor, as also were affidavits from leading counsel and gentlemen

from Dixon, as to the treatment of Wilson and Reynolds, that the

governor and the world might know that they had not been injured.

We may conclude the account of this adventure of Joseph's by saying

that about a year afterwards, a jury in Lee County awarded forty

dollars damages, and costs, against Wilson and Reynolds, for false

imprisonment and abuse of the Prophet--a verdict which, while it

confirms the unlawful course of those officers, and the fact that their

prisoner was abused, insults justice by awarding such an amount for

damages.

At the time of this action before the municipal court of Nauvoo, it was

a question in Illinois whether said court had the authority to hear and

determine writs of _habeas corpus_ arising from arrests made by virtue

of warrants issued by the courts of the State or of the governor, as in

the foregoing case; or whether the clause in the city charter granting

the right of issuing such writs was not confined to cases arising from

arrests made on account of the violation of some city ordinance. The

clause in the charter giving to the municipal court the power to issue

writs of _habeas corpus_ was as follows:

The municipal court shall have power to grant writs of _habeas

corpus_ in all cases arising under the ordinances of the city

council.

And in addition there was the general welfare provision, which provided

that the

City council shall have power and authority to make, ordain,

establish and execute such ordinances not repugnant to the

Constitution of the United States, or of this State, as they may

deem necessary for the peace, benefit and safety of the inhabitants

of said city.

It was maintained on the part of those who believed that the municipal

court had the right to issue writs of _habeas corpus_ against process

issued from the State courts that all the power there was in Illinois

she gave to Nauvoo, and that the municipal court had all the power

within the limits of the city that the State courts had, and that power

was given by the same authority--the legislature. A number of lawyers

of more or less prominence in the State professed to hold the same

views; but little reliance can be put in the support they bring to the

case, since they were seeking political preferment and would, and did,

in their interpretations of the powers granted by the charter, favor

that side of the controversy most likely to please the citizens of

Nauvoo.

Governor Ford, too, at the time, gave a tacit approval of the course

taken by the municipal court in issuing the writ of _habeas corpus_,

though he afterwards became very pronounced in his opposition to the

exercise of such powers. It occurred in this way: As soon as Joseph

was liberated, Sheriff Reynolds applied to Governor Ford for a posse

to retake him, representing that the Prophet had been unlawfully taken

out of his hands by the municipal court of Nauvoo. The governor refused

to grant the petition. Subsequently the governor of Missouri asked

Governor Ford to call out the militia to retake Joseph, but this he

also refused to do, and gave as a reason that "no process, officer,

or authority of the State had been resisted or interfered with," and

recited how the prisoner had been released on _habeas corpus_ by

the municipal court of Nauvoo. The governor acted in this instance

with perfect knowledge of what had taken place, for the petition and

statement of Reynolds were in his possession as were also complete

copies of all the documents, which contained the proceedings before

the municipal court of Nauvoo; and in addition to these sources of

information, the governor had dispatched a trusted, secret agent, a Mr.

Brayman, to Nauvoo who investigated the case and reported the result to

him.

On the other hand it was contended that the grant in the charter was

intended by the legislature only to give the power to the municipal

court to issue writs of _habeas corpus_ in cases of arrest for

violation of city ordinances, and that giving power to the municipal

court to test the warrants or processes issued from the State courts,

was never contemplated by the legislature, and that the passage of any

ordinance by the city council that would bring about or authorize any

such unusual proceeding was an unwarranted assumption of power, utterly

wrong in principle and consequently subversive of good government.

But whatever opinion may be entertained on the point under

consideration, there can be no question but what upon the broad

principles of justice the Prophet Joseph ought to have been set free.

The State of Missouri had no just claims upon him. He had been arrested

and several times examined on these old charges now revived by the

personal malice of John C. Bennett, and after being held a prisoner

awaiting indictment and trial for five months, so conscious were the

officers of the State that they had no case against him that they

themselves connived at his escape. After such proceedings to demand

that he be dragged again into Missouri among his old enemies was an

outrage against every principle of justice.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

POLITICAL PERPLEXITIES--JOSEPH SMITH A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE

UNITED STATES.