Part 2: 7–11 June 1844

Tensions that had been mounting for months between JS and his adversaries in , Illinois, came to a head in the five days of June 1844 covered in part 2. Despite attempts at reconciliation, sent JS a letter on 7 June rejecting any potential settlement. That same day, Foster and others published the first and only issue of the Nauvoo Expositor. This newspaper, which was owned and operated by JS’s adversaries in Nauvoo, attacked JS’s character, actions, and religious teachings and advocated the repeal of the act incorporating Nauvoo, also known as the Nauvoo charter.

In meetings on 8 and 10 June, the City Council heard testimony from various individuals regarding the newspaper’s proprietors and and deliberated what measures the council should take against the Expositor. On 10 June the council passed an ordinance penalizing those who committed libel, slander, or other actions deemed to disturb the peace in Nauvoo. During this same meeting, the city council also approved a resolution declaring the Nauvoo Expositor a nuisance and directing JS, as mayor of Nauvoo, to have it removed.

Acting as mayor, JS accordingly issued an order directing city marshal to go to the printing office of the Nauvoo Expositor, destroy its press, jumble its type, and burn any copies of the paper and other libelous materials discovered in the office. JS also issued an order as the lieutenant general of the to the legion’s acting major general, , instructing him to have the city’s militia ready to assist Greene if necessary. That evening, a posse led by Greene gathered around sundown and carried out JS’s order. Some members of the posse then went to JS’s home, the , where he spoke to them about their actions.

In the wake of the Nauvoo Expositor’s destruction, its proprietors threatened vengeance against JS and . JS responded on 11 June by instructing , one of his clerks, to compose a proclamation ordering the city officers and people of Nauvoo to assist JS in keeping the peace.

Part 2 features fourteen documents. In addition to those described previously, it includes two letters from reporting on his activities in , a recommendation authorizing to serve as a missionary in Russia, a pay order for for his service in ’s police force, and a letter from requesting that JS pay an overdue debt contracted in 1836.