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80-458: On June 1, 1841, Sidney Rigdon had been ordained by Joseph Smith as a "Prophet, Seer and Revelator"—which was one of the same ecclesiastical titles held by Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ maintains that as First Counselor to Smith, Rigdon should naturally have been the leader of the church after Smith's death. With this understanding, The Church of Jesus Christ disagrees that the Quorum of Twelve had

160-639: A Standing High Council , Quorum of the Seventy , Presiding Bishopric , and other quorum presidencies were established. In addition, Rigdon called seventy-three men and boys to a "Grand Council," perhaps an adaptation of the Council of Fifty . Also at the conference, the new church organization formally returned its name to the 1830 church's original name, the " Church of Christ ." At a General Conference held that fall in Philadelphia , Rigdon announced that

240-528: A Mr. Allen (possibly the fourth man) were all indicted for the murder of the Smith brothers. Wills, Vorhease, and Gallaher, perhaps conscious that their wounds could prove that they were involved in the mob, fled the county after being indicted and were never brought to trial. Apart from Taylor's report of what he had heard, there is no evidence that Wills, Vorhease, Gallaher, or Allen died from their wounds. Joseph and Hyrum Smith's bodies were returned to Nauvoo

320-618: A body that had led the Latter Day Saint movement since 1832. At the time of Smith's death, he was estranged from Smith due to differences in doctrinal beliefs. Young, president of the Quorum of the Twelve , claimed authority was handed by Smith to the Quorum. Strang claimed that Smith designated him as the successor in a letter that was received a week before his death. Later, others came to believe that Smith's son, Joseph Smith III ,

400-628: A counterfeiter when he killed two people to cover his crimes. In the aftermath of these crimes, the LDS Church discovered McLellin's writings were already in the church's possession, having been acquired and forgotten in 1908. These were later published in two works, The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 , edited by Jan Shipps and John W. Welch in 1994, and The William E. McLellin Papers, 1854–1880 , edited by Stan Larson and Samuel J. Passey in 2007. However, these collections were missing

480-409: A criminal indictment against Smith on the charges of perjury based on the statements of Joseph Jackson and Robert Foster. A second indictment, for “ fornication and adultery ”, was issued based on the statements of William and Wilson Law who swore Smith had been living with Maria Lawrence “in an open state of adultery” since the prior October 12. In 1844, in the city of Nauvoo, Illinois where Smith

560-526: A dead man!” After emptying his pistol towards the attackers, Joseph tried to escape from a second-story window, but was shot several times and fell to the ground, where he was again shot by the mob. Five men were indicted for the killings, but were acquitted at a jury trial. At the time of his death, Smith was also running for president of the United States , making him the first U.S. presidential candidate to be assassinated. Smith’s death marked

640-540: A large and active man, went to the sheriff and asked for the privilege of flogging the Prophet; permission was granted, on condition that Joseph would fight. The sheriff made McLellin's earnest request known to Joseph, who consented to fight, if his irons were taken off. McLellin then refused to fight, unless he could have a club, to which Joseph was perfectly willing; but the sheriff would not allow them to fight on such unequal terms. Previous to that incident, Smith authored

720-488: A letter to the church from Liberty Jail on December 16, 1838, in which he made allusions to actions by McLellin that he vilified as sins. In that letter, Smith likened McLellin to the biblical magician Balaam whose ass refused to help Balaam curse the Israelites, in the era of Moses . The letter may have been what provoked McLellin to attempt to fist-fight Smith. After Smith's death in 1844, McLellin first accepted

800-555: A local militia, were assigned to protect the brothers. Jones, who was present, relayed to Ford several threats against Joseph made by members of the Greys, all of which were dismissed by Ford. On Thursday morning, June 27, church leader Cyrus Wheelock , having obtained a pass from Ford, visited Smith in jail. The day was rainy, and Wheelock used the opportunity to hide a small pepper-box pistol in his bulky overcoat, which had belonged to Taylor. Most visitors were rigidly searched, but

880-420: A long walking stick in order to deflect the guns as they were thrust inside the room, from behind the door. Smith fired Wheelock's pistol. Three of the six barrels misfired, but the other three shots are believed to have wounded three of the attackers. Taylor was shot four or five times and was severely wounded, but survived. It has been popularly believed that his pocket watch stopped one shot. The watch

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960-530: A man goes at the Book of M. he touches the apple of my eye. He fights against truth—against purity—against light—against the purist, or one of the truest, purist books on earth. […] Fight the wrongs of L.D.S.ism as much as you please, but let that unique, that inimitable book alone. McLellin died on April 24, 1883, in Independence, Missouri . McLellin kept journals and notebooks during and after his time in

1040-591: A messenger informed the group that the Governor had gone to Nauvoo and "there is nobody in Carthage [that] you can [depend on]". When the group approached the building, jailers became alarmed, but Smith, mistaking the mob for the Nauvoo Legion, told a jailer: "Don't trouble yourself ... they've come to rescue me." Smith did not know that Jonathan Dunham, major general of the Nauvoo Legion, had not dispatched

1120-567: A new First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve only had seven of the original twelve members present to represent a council to decide the Presidency. William Smith , John E. Page , and Lyman Wight had previously denounced the proceedings and were not present (Young had called replacement apostles, but Rigdon saw these callings as invalid). John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt were in the Salt Lake Valley and could not have known of

1200-607: A new settlement that he named Nauvoo . Smith, travelled to Washington, D.C. , to meet with President Martin Van Buren , seeking intervention and compensation for lost property. Van Buren said he could do nothing to help. Smith returned to Illinois and vowed to join the Whig Party . Most of his supporters switched with him to the Whig party, adding political tensions to the social suspicions in which Smith's followers were held by

1280-690: A rival organization of the church. Ebenezer Robinson, founding publisher of the Times and Seasons , became publisher of a new church periodical, the Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate , (later the Messenger and Advocate of the Church of Christ .) The Rigdonite paper sought to expose and condemn the practice of plural marriage . Church elder Benjamin Winchester commented that Young and

1360-542: A theocratic community under Smith's leadership, or 'Zion' , first in Kirtland, Ohio and later in Independence, Missouri . In 1833, a mob of settlers attacked a Mormon newspaper's printing office, destroyed the press, and tarred and feathered two Mormon leaders. Mormons were driven from Jackson county . After losing the 1838 Mormon War , Smith was jailed and his followers were forced out of Missouri. After Smith escaped custody , he fled to Illinois, where he founded

1440-497: A turning point for the religion he founded. In 1830, Joseph Smith, aged 24, published the Book of Mormon , which he described as an English translation of ancient golden plates he received from an angel . The same year he organized the Church of Christ, calling it a restoration of the early Christian Church. Members of the church were later called “Latter Day Saints” or “Mormons”. Smith and his followers sought to assemble together in

1520-610: Is displayed in the LDS Church History Museum in Salt Lake City , Utah ; the watch was broken and was used to help identify the time of the attack. In 2010, forensic research by J. Lynn Lyon of the University of Utah and Mormon historian Glen M. Leonard suggested that Taylor's watch was not struck by a ball, but rather broke against a window ledge. Columbia University historian Richard Bushman ,

1600-794: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) . In the 1860s, those who felt that Smith should have been succeeded by Joseph Smith III established the RLDS Church, which later changed its name to the Community of Christ . Modernly, Joseph Smith is known to have married women who were already married as well as girls as young as 14 . Some accounts say Smith may have had sexual relations with one wife, who later in her life stated that he fathered children by one or two of his wives, however DNA evidence does not support this . Some Mormons, especially those belonging to splinter groups such as

1680-416: The Community of Christ continue to deny that Joseph ever practiced polygamy in any sense. However, in 2014, LDS church spokesman Eric Hawkins said "(The church) publicly asserted Joseph Smith's practice of polygamy over a century and a half ago, especially in debate with other faith groups who traced their origin to Joseph Smith and who asserted that he did not practice plural marriage". Mainstream Mormons on

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1760-613: The Expositor , the Nauvoo City Council passed an ordinance declaring the newspaper a public nuisance which had been designed to promote violence against Smith and his followers. They reached this decision after some discussion, including citation of William Blackstone ’s legal canon, which defined a libelous press as a public nuisance . According to the Council's minutes, Smith said he “would rather die tomorrow and have

1840-862: The First Presidency , John C. Bennett and William Law and also by former Apostle William E. McLellin . On April 6, 1845—fifteen years after the original organization of the church—Rigdon presided over a General Conference of Rigdonite Latter Day Saints in Pittsburgh, establishing a new hierarchy. He himself was sustained as President of the Church . The new Quorum of the Twelve Apostles consisted of: William E. McLellin , George W. Robinson , Benjamin Winchester , James Blakeslee, Josiah Ells, Hugh Herringshaw, David L. Lathrop, Jeremiah Hatch, Jr., E.R. Swackhammer, William Small, Samuel Bennett. Carvel Rigdon became Presiding Patriarch , and

1920-481: The First Presidency , claimed to have received a vision sustaining him as the leader of the Church. The subsequent succession crisis caused a large amount of confusion about who should succeed the slain prophet. Rigdon claimed the right to lead the church as the senior surviving member of the church's highest ruling body, the First Presidency. Up until Smith's death, the First Presidency had made nearly all

2000-567: The Latter Day Saint church came to an abrupt halt in 1838, when he declared that he had no confidence in the presidency of the church . This may have been due to the mismanagement of the church's financial institution, the Kirtland Safety Society . McLellin was excommunicated on May 11, 1838, and subsequently actively worked against the Latter Day Saints, becoming involved with Missouri mobs. According to members of

2080-507: The Latter Day Saint church. Because he was a prominent insider in the early church, these were of great interest to Latter Day Saint historians . In the early 1980s, collector Mark Hofmann claimed to have obtained the McLellin collection, which he described as embarrassing to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). This generated interest that allowed Hofmann to sell it to two simultaneous buyers before being exposed as

2160-491: The Latter Day Saint movement. Hyrum Smith, the Assistant President of the Church , was intended to succeed Joseph as President of the Church , but because he was killed alongside his brother, the proper succession procedure became unclear. Initially, the primary contenders to succeed Smith were Sidney Rigdon , Brigham Young , and James Strang . Rigdon was the senior surviving member of the First Presidency ,

2240-521: The Legion to Carthage and stage a jailbreak. Smith and the other prisoners were guarded only by six members of the Carthage Grays, led by Sgt. Frank Worrell. A division of militia began marching away from Carthage, but soon received orders from the Governor to disband. Learning that the Governor had dismissed the troops, a group from Warsaw set out to Carthage to see the Governor. Enroute,

2320-699: The Lord was "not pleased with my servant William E. McLellin". An experienced schoolteacher and a self-proclaimed physician, McLellin taught penmanship in the Kirtland School for Temporal Education in 1834. He was also the assistant teacher at the School of the Prophets . He served as a member of the church's high council in Clay County, Missouri , also in 1834, and was chosen and ordained to be one of

2400-419: The Quorum of the Twelve had: The Rigdonites came to believe that Joseph Smith had become a fallen prophet when he began to practice polygamy and that, as a result the "Lord smote him for this thing—cut him off from the earth." ( Messenger and Advocate , Jan. 1, 1845) Rigdon toured the eastern branches of the church in late 1844 and early 1845, gathering leaders to his cause. He was joined by former members of

2480-507: The Smith brothers were charged with treason against the State of Illinois for declaring martial law in Nauvoo, by a warrant founded upon the oaths of A. O. Norton and Augustine Spencer. At a preliminary hearing that afternoon, the Council members were released on $ 500 bonds , pending later trial. The judge ordered the Smith brothers to be held in jail until they could be tried for treason, which

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2560-611: The Smith homestead. In 1928, Frederick M. Smith , president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) and grandson of Joseph Smith, feared that rising water from the Mississippi River would destroy the gravesite. He authorized civil engineer William O. Hands to conduct an excavation to find the Smiths' bodies. Hands conducted extensive digging on the Smith homestead and located

2640-522: The State of Illinois with inciting a riot. Joseph Smith was apprehended, but freed by the Nauvoo municipal court. Smith declared martial law and called out the Nauvoo Legion . After briefly fleeing Illinois, Smith received a personal statement from Governor Ford , who “pledged his faith and the faith of the state (Illinois) to protect him while he underwent a legal and fair trial”, convincing Joseph Smith along with Hyrum to return voluntarily. When

2720-430: The attackers died when Smith shot them with his pistol. Most accounts seem to agree that at least three attackers were wounded by Smith's gunfire, but there is no other evidence that any of them died as a result. John Wills was shot in the arm, William Vorhease was shot in the shoulder, and William Gallaher was shot in the face. Others claimed that a fourth, unnamed man was also wounded. Wills, Vorhease, Gallaher, and

2800-416: The author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling , also supports this view. Richards, physically the largest of Smith's party, escaped unscathed; Lyon speculates that after the door opened, Smith was in the line of sight and Richards was not targeted. After using all of the shots in his pistol, Smith made his way towards the window. As he prepared to jump down, Richards reported that he was shot twice in

2880-427: The back and that a third bullet, fired from a musket on the ground outside, hit him in the chest. Taylor and Richards' accounts both report that as Smith fell from the window, he called out, “Oh Lord, my God!” Some have alleged that the context of this statement was an attempt by Smith to use a Masonic distress signal. There are varying accounts of what happened next. Taylor and Richards’ accounts state that Smith

2960-440: The bodies, as well as the remains of Joseph's wife, Emma , who was buried in the same place. The remains—which were badly decomposed —were examined and photographed, and then reinterred close by in Nauvoo. After the killings, there was speculation about who was responsible. Ford denied accusations that he knew about the plot to kill Smith beforehand, but later wrote that it was good for Smith's followers to have been driven out of

3040-424: The brothers arrived at the county seat of Carthage to surrender to authorities, they were charged with treason against Illinois for declaring martial law . The Smith brothers were detained at Carthage Jail awaiting trial when an armed mob of 150–200 men stormed the building, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder. Hyrum was killed almost immediately when he was shot in the face, shouting as he fell, “I am

3120-517: The call and was instead tasked with traveling south with Luke Johnson in January 1832. McLellin was excommunicated for the first time in December of that year but was restored to full fellowship by 1833. That year, McLellin served a mission for the church, traveling with Parley P. Pratt to Missouri and Illinois . However, in a revelation given to Joseph Smith on March 8, 1833, it was said that

3200-543: The charge of riot. On June 12, Smith was arrested by David Bettinger, constable of Carthage. Bettinger sought to convey Smith to the Hancock County Court that issued the warrant, Smith was freed when the charges were dismissed in Nauvoo municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus . Smith declared martial law on June 18 and called out the Nauvoo Legion , an organized city militia of about 5,000 men, to protect Nauvoo from outside violence. In response to

3280-517: The church would re-establish a communitarian society on what was named "Adventure Farm" near Greencastle, Pennsylvania . Like many attempts to live the Law of Consecration in the Latter Day Saint movement , this experiment proved a failure. Rigdonite apostles William E. McLellin and Benjamin Winchester grew disgusted with Rigdon's leadership and found a new church president and organization in

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3360-418: The church's original twelve apostles on February 15, 1835, at age 29. When the Book of Commandments was about to be published, some Latter Day Saints criticized the wording of some of the revelations Smith said he had received. According to Smith, the Lord issued a challenge to see if the wisest member of the church could write a revelation comparable to the least of Smith's revelations. If they could, then

3440-465: The church, McLellin ransacked and robbed Smith's home and stable while Smith was being held in jail, pending charges on the Safety Society's financial problems. No charges were ever filed against Smith or against McLellin. A history published in the Latter Day Saint periodical Millennial Star in 1864 related the incident: While Joseph was in prison at Richmond, Mo., Mr. McLellin, who was

3520-411: The church, thunder and lightning frightened off the mob. Mob members fled, shouting, “The Mormons are coming,” although there was no such force nearby. After the attack was over, Richards, who was trained as a medical doctor, went back to see if anyone besides himself had survived, and found Taylor lying on the floor. Richards dragged Taylor into the jail cell (they had not been held in the cell, but in

3600-711: The crisis, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford traveled to Hancock County, and on June 21 he arrived at the county seat in Carthage . On June 22, Ford wrote to Smith and the Nauvoo City Council, proposing a trial by a non-Mormon jury in Carthage and guaranteeing Smith's safety. Smith fled the jurisdiction to avoid arrest, crossing the Mississippi River into the Iowa Territory . On June 23, a posse under Ford's command entered Nauvoo to execute an arrest warrant, but they were unable to locate Smith. After he

3680-548: The disordered state of Mormonism, and in March Rigdon responded to Post's letter with a revelation commanding him to assist in reestablishing the Rigdonite organization. Post embraced Rigdon's prophetic claims and became an advocate of his cause, with an 1866 revelation designating him Rigdon's "spokesman." Post's non-Mormon wife, Jane, converted to the Rigdonite church in 1865 and was ordained an elder in 1868. In 1871, Post

3760-399: The door open to fire into the room, though Smith and the other prisoners pushed back and prevented this. A member of the mob fired a shot through the door. Hyrum was shot in the face, just to the left of his nose, which threw him to the floor. He cried out, “I am a dead man!” and collapsed. He died instantly. Smith, Taylor, and Richards attempted to defend themselves. Taylor and Richards used

3840-531: The founder and leader of the Latter Day Saint movement , and his brother, Hyrum Smith , were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois , United States, on June 27, 1844, while awaiting trial in the town jail on charges of treason . The Nauvoo Expositor was a newly-established newspaper published by anti-polygamist ex-Mormons who had recently been excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints . The newspaper's first (and only) issue criticized Smith and other church leaders, reporting that Smith

3920-449: The guards forgot to check Wheelock's overcoat, and he was able to smuggle the gun to Smith. Smith took Wheelock's gun and gave Fullmer's gun to his brother Hyrum. Before a trial could be held, a mob of about 200 armed men, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder , stormed Carthage Jail in the late afternoon of June 27, 1844. Early on June 27, Smith authored an order to Nauvoo Legion commander Jonathan Dunham instructing him to bring

4000-462: The guard’s room across the hallway). He dragged Taylor under some of the straw mattress to put pressure on his wounds and slow the bleeding and then went to get help. Both Richards and Taylor survived. Taylor eventually became the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Richards had escaped all harm except for a bullet grazing his ear. Joseph and Hyrum’s younger brother Samuel Harrison Smith had come to visit

4080-515: The local populace. Despite public denials of polygamy, Joseph Smith had a practice of secretly marrying his female followers. As early as 1838, Smith had faced accusations of polygamy. On April 18, anti-polygamists William Law, Wilson Law, Jane Law, and Robert Foster were excommunicated . On May 10, a prospectus announcing the Expositor was circulated. On May 23, a grand jury from the Hancock County Circuit Court issued

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4160-404: The major decisions and led the Church of Christ both naturally and spiritually. The Quorum of Twelve Apostles , led by Brigham Young , also claimed the right to lead the church. The Quorum of the Twelve's claim was derived from a revelation of Joseph Smith allowing them to stand equal to the First Presidency in attending to natural matters of the church. On December 27, 1847, when Young organized

4240-487: The members of the church would be justified in claiming that the revelations did not come from God. McLellin, who was trained as a schoolteacher, was selected by the critics for the challenge. According to Smith's history, McLellin failed to produce a credible text, and the controversy died away. McLellin was appointed to be a captain in the Missouri State Militia in 1837. McLellin's association with

4320-579: The missionaries of the Church of Christ Smith founded in Paris, Illinois , during 1831. He was baptized on August 20, 1831, by Hyrum Smith and was ordained an elder . During 1831, he traveled with Smith, and the two of them preached in Tennessee. On October 25, 1831, McLellin was called through a revelation Joseph Smith said he received to serve a mission in the eastern United States with Samuel H. Smith , Joseph's brother. McLellin complained against

4400-413: The murders of the Smith brothers. All five defendants were acquitted by a jury, which was composed exclusively of non-Mormon members after the defense counsel convinced the judge to dismiss the initial jury, which did include Mormon members. The defense was led by Orville Hickman Browning , later a United States senator and cabinet member. After the killing of Smith, a succession crisis occurred in

4480-475: The new First Presidency: Orson Hyde , Wilford Woodruff , George A. Smith , and Orson Pratt . The Church of Jesus Christ views this action as a violation of church law compromising the authority of Sidney Rigdon without a majority quorum vote. The LDS Church does not agree with this view of the proceedings, as they recognize newly ordained apostles under Joseph Smith as authorized to offer a sustaining vote. Undaunted, Rigdon relocated to Pittsburgh and established

4560-484: The next day. The bodies were cleaned and examined, and death masks were made, preserving their facial features and structures. A public viewing was held on June 29, 1844, after which empty coffins weighted with sandbags were used at the public burial to prevent theft or mutilation of the bodies. The coffins bearing the actual bodies of the Smith brothers were initially buried under the unfinished Nauvoo House , then disinterred and reburied deep under an out-building on

4640-610: The other hand tend to accept that he practiced polygamy, but emphasize the sealings as a spiritual bonding ritual which was platonic and intended to unify the human race into one family. William E. McLellin William Earl McLellin (January 18, 1806 – April 24, 1883) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement . One of the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles , McLellin later broke with church founder Joseph Smith . McLellin

4720-557: The person of David Whitmer and the Church of Christ (Whitmerite) . One of the replacements in the Quorum was William Bickerton . Bickerton, however, disagreed with Rigdon's proposed move to Greencastle and severed his ties to the Church. Bickerton remained in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, and never moved to Greencastle. By April 1847, the Adventure Farm community had collapsed and Rigdon had abandoned his flock, living out

4800-727: The press, including charges of treason and inciting a riot . Violent threats were made against Smith and the Latter Day Saints. On June 12, Thomas C. Sharp , editor of the Warsaw Signal in Warsaw, Illinois , a newspaper hostile to the church, editorialized: War and extermination is inevitable! Citizens ARISE, ONE and ALL!!!—Can you stand by, and suffer such INFERNAL DEVILS! To ROB men of their property and RIGHTS, without avenging them. We have no time for comment, every man will make his own. LET IT BE MADE WITH POWDER AND BALL!!! Warrants from outside Nauvoo were brought in against Smith for

4880-424: The proceedings. This left just seven present, a majority of one meaning Young would have to vote for himself in order to gain a majority quorum vote in favor of his leadership. Young chose two of the other apostles, Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards , as his counselors in the First Presidency. This left only four members of the Quorum of the Twelve, as recognized by Sidney, present to vote in favor of creation of

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4960-470: The rest of his life on the charity of relatives in New York state. Bickerton continued to live in the Monongahela area and in 1849 began meeting informally with other believers whom he had converted to the faith, few of which had ever been associated with Rigdon. In 1862, he formally organized his Pennsylvania followers into The Church of Jesus Christ . In January 1856, Stephen Post wrote to Rigdon about

5040-483: The right to lead the church. The Church of Jesus Christ argues that Rigdon should have been allowed to be what he claimed to be—a "guardian" over the church until proper proceedings could decide the next president—and that proceedings which resulted in Brigham Young leading the church constituted a procedural violation. After the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, Sidney Rigdon , who had been the first counselor in

5120-448: The same day and, after evading capture from a group of attackers, is said to have been the first Latter Day Saint to arrive and helped attend the bodies back to Nauvoo. He died thirty days later, possibly as a result of injuries sustained avoiding the mob. There have been conflicting reports about injuries to members of the mob during the attack, and whether any died. Shortly after the events occurred, Taylor wrote that he heard that two of

5200-489: The state and said that their beliefs and actions were too different to have survived in Illinois. He said Smith was "the most successful impostor in modern times," and that some people "expect more protection from the laws than the laws are able to furnish in the face of popular excitement." Ultimately, five defendants— Thomas C. Sharp , Mark Aldrich , William N. Grover , Jacob C. Davis and Levi Williams —were tried for

5280-479: The succession claims of Sidney Rigdon and was appointed one of the Twelve Apostles in Rigdon's organization on April 8, 1845. In 1847, at Kirtland, Ohio, he joined with several others to create a reorganization of the church, designated the Church of Christ . McLellin called on David Whitmer to assume the presidency, claiming that Whitmer had been ordained by Smith as his successor on July 8, 1834. This organization

5360-516: The teachings taught by Joseph Smith. However, they accepted the Bible and the Book of Mormon as the word of God. In addition, Sidney Rigdon wrote many revelations in letters to Stephen Post, who then distributed it to Rigdon's adherents.     * ^  Membership worldwide; generally church-reported; with an occasional exception     ^ Once larger Death of Joseph Smith Joseph Smith ,

5440-413: The thing smashed, than live and have it go on, for it was exciting the spirit of mobocracy among the people, and bringing death and destruction upon us.” Under the Council's new ordinance, Smith, as Nauvoo's mayor, in conjunction with the Council, ordered the city marshal to destroy the Expositor and its printing press on June 10, 1844. By the city marshal's account, the destruction of the press type

5520-411: The unit to Carthage to protect him. Allen Joseph Stout later contended that by remaining inactive, Dunham disobeyed an official order written by Smith after he was jailed in Carthage. The Carthage Greys reportedly feigned defense of the jail by firing shots or blanks over the attackers’ heads, and some of the Greys even reportedly joined the mob, who rushed up the stairs. The mob first attempted to push

5600-469: Was a capital offense . The Smith brothers were detained at Carthage Jail , and were soon joined by Willard Richards , John Taylor and John Solomon Fullmer . Six other associates accompanied the Smiths: John P. Greene , Stephen Markham, Dan Jones , John S. Fullmer , Dr. Southwick, and Lorenzo D. Wasson. Ford left for Nauvoo not long after Smith was jailed. The anti-Mormon “Carthage Greys”,

5680-562: Was born in on January 18, 1806, in Smith County, Tennessee , to Charles and Sarah McLellin. His mother was a Cherokee . He married Cynthia Ann in 1829, but she died two years later in 1831. McLellin then married Emeline Miller in 1832 in Portage County, Ohio . They moved to Independence, Missouri that same year. McLellin and Miller were the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters. McLellin first had contact with

5760-408: Was carried out orderly and peaceably. However, Charles A. Foster , a co-publisher of the Expositor, reported on June 12 that not only was the printing press destroyed, but that “several hundred minions ... injured the building very materially”. Smith’s critics said that the action of destroying the press violated freedom of the press . Some sought legal charges against Smith for the destruction of

5840-416: Was criticized by some followers, Smith returned and was reported to have said, “If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself.” He reluctantly submitted to arrest. He was quoted as saying, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter ; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he

5920-432: Was dead when he hit the ground. Eyewitness William Daniels wrote in his 1845 account that Smith was still alive when members of the mob propped his body against a nearby well, assembled a makeshift firing squad , and shot him before fleeing. Daniels’ account also states that one man tried to decapitate Smith for a bounty but was prevented by divine intervention an affirmation later denied. According to modern leaders of

6000-530: Was mayor, several anti-polygamist Mormons, recently excommunicated from Smith's church, joined together to publish a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor . It put out its first and only issue on June 7, 1844. Based on sworn statements, the Expositor revealed that Smith practiced polygamy , marrying at least eight other men’s wives, and he had tried to marry the wives of some of the Expositor' s publishers. In response to public outrage generated by

6080-442: Was murdered in cold blood.” During the trip to Carthage, Smith reportedly recounted a dream in which he and Hyrum escaped a burning ship, walked on water , and arrived at a great heavenly city . On June 25, 1844, Smith and his brother Hyrum , along with the other fifteen Council members and some friends, surrendered to Carthage constable William Bettisworth on the original charge of riot. Upon arrival in Carthage, almost immediately

6160-434: Was practicing polygamy , marrying the wives of other men, teaching a “ plurality of Gods ”, and intended to set himself up as a theocratic king . After a vote of the Nauvoo City Council , mayor Joseph Smith ordered the Expositor 's press destroyed. The destruction of the press led to broader public outrage in the surroundings of the city, and the Smith brothers and other members of the Nauvoo City Council were charged by

6240-416: Was sent on a mission to Manitoba , Canada, where he spent the rest of his life. After Rigdon's death, Post succeeded him as leader of the church, but died three years later. In 1880, Andrew J. Hinckle was appointed President of the Church in his stead, but was replaced by Jane Post in 1882. After Jane Post's death, the remaining organization quickly collapsed. Sidney Rigdon and his followers rejected many of

6320-449: Was short-lived. McLellin later associated with churches led by George M. Hinkle , James J. Strang , and Granville Hedrick . By 1869, McLellin had broken completely with "all organized religion," though he expressed a firm belief in the Book of Mormon in 1880: I have set to my seal that the Book of Mormon is a true, divine record and it will require more evidence than I have ever seen to ever shake me relative to its purity. […] When

6400-435: Was the rightful successor under the doctrine of lineal succession . A schism resulted, with each claimant attracting followers. The majority of Latter Day Saints followed Young; these adherents later emigrated to what became Utah Territory and continued as the LDS Church. Rigdon's followers were known as Rigdonites , some of which later established The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) . Strang's followers established

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