For Joseph Smith and his family and friends in , Illinois, the story of 1844 was one of overriding conflict. During the months treated in this volume—from the beginning of the year to mid-May—tensions continued to escalate between the and their neighbors in , , and . In addition to dealing with regional antipathy, Smith wrestled with internal strife as he confronted increasing animosity from former church and civic leaders, once his friends and associates. Despite these obstacles, he bolstered the church and the Nauvoo community, expanded the Saints’ theological understanding with new doctrine and revelations, corresponded with missionaries in the and Great Britain, and participated in the creation of a new theocratic governing body known as the . After receiving unsatisfactory answers from potential candidates for the presidency on how they would address persecution of the Saints if elected, Joseph Smith announced his own campaign for the country’s highest political office. He continued to lead the church, command Nauvoo’s militia unit, and serve as mayor of the city. As mayor, Smith not only sat with the city council on matters of legislation but presided over the mayor’s court and municipal court—all while himself becoming increasingly embroiled in litigation. The ninety-nine letters, deeds, accounts of discourses, minutes of meetings, memorials to the nation’s leaders, poems, and other documents in this volume tell of a tumultuous period in Joseph Smith’s life and depict a region on the brink of civil war.

Fresh conflict ignited between the Saints and their neighbors in the area after church member brought tidings to on 5 December 1843. She bore news that her husband and son, and , had been abducted from their homes in (a small settlement in southern , Illinois) and conveyed across the on allegations of horse stealing several years earlier in . Although both men returned safely to their homes by the end of the year, the kidnappings set off a flurry of activity in Nauvoo and the surrounding area. Joseph Smith ordered the , the city’s independent unit of the state militia, to be ready to defend against possible attack. Later in the month, local state militia leader (who was also one of the Averys’ abductors) gathered an opposing force near , Illinois. Fearing that the Avery abductions foreshadowed yet another attempt by Missouri officials to extradite Smith, the Nauvoo City Council passed extensive legislation that aimed to protect him and other Nauvoo citizens from violence and outside legal process.

At the same time, the Saints and others in the community petitioned the federal government for military protection and territorial powers for the city.

The new year dawned with Joseph Smith in continued correspondence with governor about the kidnappings and how the Saints should respond to the threat of armed conflict. Smith promised Ford that if violence ensued the aggressors would be Missourians and “disaffected Illinoisans” and swore that ’s citizens would not “move without counsel, and not then but for self defence.” Apparently receiving correspondence from community leaders on both sides of the conflict, Governor Ford responded with a plea to all citizens of to keep the peace and a warning that he would take action against any assailants. Although Ford’s letter seems to have been addressed to the editor of the Warsaw Signal, it was soon printed in both of Nauvoo’s newspapers, the Times and Seasons and the Nauvoo Neighbor, with a laudatory introduction in an article titled “Pacific Innuendo.” Seeing in Ford’s instruction an opportunity for the region to rest from hostility, the editorial proclaimed, “Our motto then, is, peace with all. If we have joy in the love of God, let us try to give a reason of that joy, which all the world cannot gainsay or resist.”

The settled into a tenuous peace, and in early February the City Council passed an ordinance repealing two of the protective ordinances it had passed in December 1843. Originally created because of the “ difficulties,” the first of these ordinances stipulated that any law officers coming to Nauvoo intending to arrest Joseph Smith based on charges stemming from the earlier Missouri conflicts would themselves be subject to arrest. If found guilty, the offenders would be imprisoned for life, subject to pardon only by the governor with the consent of the mayor of Nauvoo, who, at the time, was Smith. The second ordinance required that any warrant issued outside of Nauvoo be examined and approved by the mayor prior to being executed within the city. The city council deemed these radical ordinances necessary due to an apparent “determined resolution by the State of Missouri to continue these unjust, illegal, and murderous demands for the body of General Joseph Smith.” The two ordinances quickly met with opposition in the region. Possibly fearing that the criticism would engender antipathy among Nauvoo’s neighbors, the city council repealed the ordinances in February 1844, stating that the ordinances “have had their desired effect in preserving the peace happiness, persons and property of the Citizens of Nauvoo according to their intent and meaning.”

A desire for government protection stayed foremost in the minds of ’s citizens due to the perennially unresolved issue of redress for the ’ losses when they were expelled from as well as recent tensions within . During the first half of 1844, Joseph Smith and other church and civic leaders simultaneously sought to enlist the aid of the government and to explore options for relocating outside the country, if necessary. In late 1843, Smith wrote to five men expected to run for the United States presidency, asking each what he would do for the Saints if elected. , , and responded but did not commit to assist the Saints. Consequently, on 29 January 1844, Joseph Smith met with members of the and other Nauvoo leaders to discuss the upcoming election. The assembled men determined to put forward their own presidential candidate and selected Smith as their nominee. Scribe recorded Smith’s response to his nomination: “Tell the people we have had whig & democrats presidnts long enough we want a Presedint of the Unitd States If I ever get in the presedental [presidential] chair— I will protect the people in their rights & libe[r]ties.”

Joseph Smith’s campaign features prominently in the documents produced during the final months of his life—in correspondence with missionaries and interested outsiders, in discourses and meeting minutes, and in his published platform. The twelve-page pamphlet General Smith’s Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States outlined plans for constitutional, economic, and social reform. His proposals included the abolition of slavery, the expansion of the ’ territorial holdings, and the bolstering of federal authority in state affairs. In Smith’s call for constitutional reform, he primarily advocated for empowering the president of the United States to dispatch the army to suppress mobs in individual states without first receiving a request from a state’s governor to do so. Smith’s proposal for economic reform centered on banking. He recommended the establishment of a national bank with branches in every state and territory. Regarding slavery, Joseph Smith proposed that the federal government phase out the practice by 1850 through gradual manumission and the compensation of slaveholders with money raised by the federal government through the sale of its public lands in the West. As soon as the pamphlet was printed, citizens of held a meeting on the second floor of Smith’s , during which they prayed that the pamphlet “might be [s]pread far & wide— & be the means of op[en]ing the hea[r]ts of th[e] people.” A large force of hundreds of missionaries was soon appointed to canvass the country, campaigning for Smith and spreading information about his political platform.

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In addition to seeking to elect Joseph Smith as president, the Saints continued to appeal to the federal government for more immediate protections. The City Council sent apostle —a city councilor—to to deliver a memorial to Congress requesting that Nauvoo be granted the rights and powers belonging to a territory of the . The memorial also requested that federal troops be made available to protect Nauvoo citizens in case of aggression from their neighbors. Another memorial proposed a bill that would authorize Smith “to raise a Company of one hundred thousand armed volunteers, in the United States and Territories,” to protect American interests on the western frontier. As part of the effort to secure the Saints’ position in the region, Smith commissioned scribe to write an open letter to the citizens of extolling the virtues of peace and requesting that they make restitution.

Even as Joseph Smith and other leaders sought to protect the Latter-day Saints in , they began to explore options for relocating the Saints outside of the . and apostle , the leaders of the church’s lumber operations in , wrote to Smith recommending that the church send an expedition to scout the as a possible gathering place. The day following the receipt and discussion of these letters, Smith and other Nauvoo leaders formally established an organization that would soon be known as the . Joseph Smith chaired the growing assembly of men—eventually numbering approximately fifty—whose purpose was to form the nucleus of a theocratic government meant to secure the protection of the Saints’ religious and civil rights and to prepare the world for the millennial return of Jesus Christ. , Smith’s first counselor in the church’s , articulated a key component of the council’s intent: “We will hunt a spot somewhere on the earth where no other government has jurisdiction and cannot interfere with us and there plant our standard.” Joseph Smith stated that the council “was designed to be got up for the safety and salvation of the saints by protecting them in their religious rights and worship.” He met frequently with the council over the following months, pursuing different options for leaving the country as the church’s situation became increasingly precarious.

Threats to the Saints’ security were not purely external. Longstanding rivalries and newly hostile relationships between Joseph Smith and other church and community leaders brought continual conflict during the first half of 1844. In early January, ’s city council investigated rumors that First Presidency member and Nauvoo president were among a group of dissidents opposed to Smith and the church. At one council meeting, testified that Law, Marks, and others “could not subscribe to all things in the church, and it might make trouble.” After Higbee left the meeting unceremoniously, Joseph Smith criticized his behavior and character, addressing allegations of Higbee’s immoral actions as well as rumors that he was “conniving with .” A report of Smith’s comments later reached Higbee. In response, Higbee sent a letter expressing his indignation and launched into a series of legal actions that spanned the remainder of Joseph Smith’s life. This disagreement was but one facet of a conflict raging during these months between Smith and other Nauvoo leaders and erstwhile friends.

As Joseph Smith continued introducing plural marriage to trusted associates through private ceremonies, rumors spread of the practice, and the quietly unfolding marital system broke some relationships even as it formed others. While the practice appears only infrequently in the documents featured in this volume, it was at the heart of some of the discord between Joseph Smith and his former associates. Only days after the city council investigation at which testified, Smith approached and informed him that he had been removed from the First Presidency and the “quorum of anointing”—a prayer group that participated in sacred ordinances. Law’s concerns with the legitimacy of plural marriage were at the root of his increasing opposition to Joseph Smith. Law recorded in his journal, “I thank God that he opened my understanding to know between truth and error, in relation to plurality & community of wives . . . and that I had fortitude to tell Joseph that it was of the Devil.”

Plural marriage also played a role in some of the litigation in which Joseph Smith became involved. In February, resident alleged that Joseph Smith’s brother had several “spiritual wives” and that many Nauvoo women lived as prostitutes. Hyrum Smith responded by making a complaint against Bostwick for using “slanderous language,” and Bostwick was tried by the Nauvoo mayor’s court, presided over by Joseph Smith, who ruled against Bostwick. , serving as Bostwick’s attorney, stated his intent to appeal the ruling to the Circuit Court in , Illinois. Joseph Smith believed that Higbee possessed an ulterior motive to “stir up the mob— & bring them upon us.” Although there is no record that Bostwick’s appeal was brought before the circuit court, Smith’s fear that litigation would be used as a tool to turn public sentiment against the Saints was warranted. According to Hancock County Circuit Court records, Smith was the defendant during the May term of the court in at least seven cases, several of which were filed in response to charges made by Higbee, and , and other dissenters.

To answer ’s claims and combat rumors that might turn regional sympathy against the Saints, one of Joseph Smith’s clerks, , wrote a tract titled “The Voice of Innocence from .” The piece urged that “polygamy bigamy, fornication, adultery and prostitution, be frowned out of the hearts of honest men.” Phelps read the text before “six or eight thousand saints” near the construction site on 7 March 1844, and apostle recorded in Joseph Smith’s journal that on hearing the document “all the assembly said amen. Twice.” The women of the considered the document and unanimously approved it in a series of four meetings in March. It was then published with slight revisions in the Nauvoo Neighbor over society president ’s name and titled “Virtue Will Triumph.” Public denials of plural marriage, appearing at the same time that rumors and firsthand knowledge of the practice were becoming more widespread, brought increased scrutiny on the church.

Some of the criticism of plural marriage came from church members who had little direct access to information about the practice. In April 1844, church member brought a complaint to the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles against her husband, , on the grounds that he was teaching the principle of plural marriage and had abandoned his family. Lucinda requested that church leaders take punitive action against Harrison, though the heard Harrison’s case and ultimately determined that he should retain his church membership.

Negative public perception of the Saints within the region was exacerbated by conflict among prominent citizens. Longstanding differences between Joseph Smith and , a prominent land speculator and physician, flared into open hostility in April, in part because Smith believed that Foster’s brother had authored a letter that severely berated the Saints. The letter had been written to and recently published in a newspaper. Despite his efforts to bring about a reconciliation in each of the cases mentioned previously, Smith learned in late March of a rumored conspiracy against his life involving several prominent members of Nauvoo society: , a former counselor in the church’s First Presidency; his brother , a major general in the ; Robert D. Foster; , a new arrival to Nauvoo; and ’s brother , who had been excommunicated in 1842. Two Nauvoo residents swore affidavits in late March saying that Chauncey L. Higbee, Jackson, and Robert D. Foster had given them information about the “spiritual wife system.” These residents reported Jackson saying that “he should not be surprised if in two weeks there should not be one of the Smith family left alive in Nauvoo.” Robert D. Foster, the Law brothers, and William’s wife, , were excommunicated the following month for “unchristianlike conduct,” as was Francis M. Higbee in May. These dissidents and their supporters organized a new church, with William Law as its president.

Meanwhile, problems with public perception of the church in were aggravated by the return of Smith’s nemesis, . The young editor of the newspaper in , who had been vociferously antagonistic toward Smith and the Latter-day Saints, resumed control of the paper from the more moderate in February 1844 and renamed it the Warsaw Signal. Sharp thereafter renewed his attacks on Joseph Smith and in almost every issue of the weekly paper, inciting further animosity among the Saints’ neighbors. For Sharp and other critics, Smith’s repeated successes in avoiding the state of ’s extradition attempts made him seem beyond the reach of the legal system. His control of Nauvoo’s legislative and judicial bodies, command of a large military force, economic influence, political ambition, and rumored teaching of culture-threatening religious doctrines were seen as evidence of too much power.

Amid legal battles and opposition from inside and outside the community, Joseph Smith continued to lead the church and his people, meeting with and preaching to them often. Accounts of fifteen discourses he gave between January and mid-May are featured herein. Most of these discourses either were political in nature or centered on conflict within and the region. Smith spoke about unfaithfulness among some of the Saints, rumored conspiracies to take his life and the lives of his family members, editorial attacks on the church in national newspapers, and criticisms of his leadership. In a few sermons, he expanded on earlier religious teachings and introduced new doctrinal concepts, but even these discourses were laced with tension. On a cold Sunday in January, for example, Smith spoke to several thousand Saints gathered on Mulholland Street regarding the prophecy about Elijah in the book of Malachi. “My ownly trouble at the present time,” he stated, “is concerning ourselves that the Saints will be divided & broken up & scattered before we get our salvation secure.”

Notable among Joseph Smith’s discourses was a sermon he delivered at the church’s semiannual conference in on 7 April 1844. Before what was reportedly the largest congregation ever assembled in the city—estimates of attendees varied between ten and twenty thousand—he preached a funeral sermon for church member . Smith spoke on the topic of death broadly and then focused his message on the nature of God and humankind. He taught that God was once mortal and progressed to godhood and that men and women could similarly become deities. The response to the Follett sermon was divided, with some attendees afterward claiming that Smith’s nontraditional instruction at the conference was evidence that he was a fallen prophet and others remarking on powerful manifestations of his inspired leadership.

Directing church affairs occupied much of Joseph Smith’s time during these months. His incoming and outgoing correspondence reveals the myriad issues that required his attention. In the fifty-seven letters featured in this volume, the most frequently recurring topics of business are his presidential campaign, land transactions, the affairs of the , and the efforts of proselytizing missionaries. Particularly noteworthy among these letters are Joseph Smith’s responses to missives from presidential hopefuls and and a mission report from in Great Britain. Serving as president of the church’s British mission, Hedlock sent Smith a twenty-four-page letter recounting his activities in and Scotland. Reporting on the many he had visited, Hedlock included detailed notes on the tremendous growth of the church in the British Isles, where over 8,500 members remained despite thousands emigrating to the each year. He estimated that over 4,600 individuals had joined the church in the past two years. Hedlock also wrote at length about the tragic accidental drowning of convert Sarah Cartwright during her in Crewe, England, and the challenges the church faced amid the ensuing trial of her husband and the president who performed the baptism.

Some of Joseph Smith’s correspondence during this period addressed the typical mundane business or personal matters he always managed as a religious and civic leader. In early February, for example, church member wrote a friendly letter to Smith inviting the prophet and his family to visit him in , Illinois. Smith reciprocated Heywood’s kindness, thanking him warmly for the invitation, updating him on affairs in , and passing along his and ’s respects to Heywood and his family. But Joseph Smith’s rationale for politely declining the invitation reflected an undercurrent of anxiety that can be traced in the documents presented in this volume. Smith expressed to Heywood his ongoing fear of abduction to should he leave the protections of and his concern for the growing hostility in surrounding communities. However, Smith also tried to reassure Heywood: “Although the mobocrats of this county breath[e] out their shame with a continual foam and threaten extermination &c the citizens of Nauvoo are at peace.”

Despite Joseph Smith’s expressions of optimism and his efforts to protect his people and expand the power of his city and community, the thread of conflict is woven inextricably throughout these pages. These were weighty months of escalating regional hostility, disputes within the city and the church, and friendships broken beyond repair. But the documents in this volume also present Joseph Smith leading his people as he fought through these challenges—promoting peace, unfolding new doctrines, building up the young city, and seeking to prepare his people for the kingdom of God.

Joseph Smith Documents from 1 January through 15 May 1844

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