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The Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844)

Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-Day Saints

 

Nauvoo plays prominently in the history of the Latter-Day Saint church. Having been driven out of Kirtland, Ohio, the Saints had fled to Independence, Missouri, which the Lord had identified as the site He had chosen to be the New Zion. However, that was not to be, for the Saints encountered much hatred and persecution, resulting in their being driven into exile once more, and in the imprisonment for a time of the Prophet in the Liberty, Missouri jail. The Saints, having left Independence, sought refuge in the state of Illinois, where they were granted land in what was then the town of Commerce, which was mostly swamp.

Nauvoo became the headquarters for the church. From Nauvoo, missionaries were sent out across the East, and into Europe. In 1841, the Prophet received the revelation commanding the Saints to build a new house to the Lord. The completed temple would be the center piece of the prosperity of the Saints as a faith, and would be the most costly building in the frontier. The Saints had begun to feel as if they had finally achieved a measure of peace, but this was not to be. By 1844, persecution continued, as jealousy and envy arouse amongst the neighbors of the Saints. Joseph Smith would not live to see the new temple completed, as he and his brother Hyrum were murdered in cold blood on June 27, 1844. The temple was completed under the direction of Joseph's successor to the presidency of the church, Brigham Young, but was abandoned when the Saints were driven out of Nauvoo two years later. Fortunately, the work established in the temple as pertaining to the eternities was not lost, but lives on today in the many temples of the church across the face of the earth. The original temple was destroyed a few years later by fire and a windstorm.

 

Modern Nauvoo-photo taken one block East of the Temple.

 

Modern Nauvoo still retains an air of its historical past. Though the streets were crowded with cars and other signs of our modern age, the buildings and settings gives one a feeling of what Nauvoo was like. There are many wonderful shops that catered to the LDS visitors, and nonmembers alike. I felt very grateful to the residents, who were very gracious towards the sudden influx of tourists. I hope that Nauvoo will in the future be the same as it is today- a small, wonderful, peaceful community.

Nauvoo Temple-taken from the West (photo taken by 8 year-old Robert, Jr.)

 

Of course, the centerpiece of modern Nauvoo is the Temple, taking its rightful place as the most eloquent structure in town. Rebuilt to look as it once was, the interior itself is gorgeous, with furniture and design from the same period. I would dare to go so far as to say that the Nauvoo temple is unique, and to me, the most beautiful. It stands as a testament to the LDS faith, and its members, in that while many in the past sought to destroy the church, going even so far as to commit murder, those who sacrificed their all in building the original temple, only to lose it, would eventually settle in a land as destitute as the Great Basin was, and would grow to become the fastest growing church in the U.S. The temple stands as a symbol to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Southeast view

Nauvoo-looking West towards the Mississippi

Smith Memorial, located in the Smith Memorial Park, located to the southeast of the Temple.

Historic Nauvoo

Smith Homstead-Historic Nauvoo

 

We had arrived for our tour of Nauvoo at 12:30, and since we had five hours until our scheduled open house tour, we decided to pass some time in visiting some of the sights. The first place that we noted was a park, dedicated to the Smith family, which has a memorial marker, and a statue of the Prophet (see above photos). We then went in search of the Smith residence, which we found in the historic district, where, we were told, we would find the Prophet's resting place.

 

Smith Family Cemeteries Marker

Marker erected by the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church) explaining the history of the Smith Family Cemetery.

Gravesites of Joseph Smith, Sr. (12 July 1771-14 Sept. 1840) & Lucy Mack Smith (8 July 1771-14 May 1856)

Resting place of Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith, Jr., and Emma Hale Smith, the Prophets Wife.

Hyrum's grave

Joseph's grave

Emma's grave

 

The Smith family cemetery is placed in a beautiful setting, in the historic district, close by the Mississippi. We found it to be a very solemn place, and indeed an appropriate setting for the family. There was a very quiet and spiritual feeling being there. I found it wonderful in how they set up the gravesite for Hyrum, Joseph, and Emma, with Hyrum on Joseph's right, and Emma on the left. History has taught us how close the Prophet and his brother were in life, and were not separated in death. The day will be wonderful when together they shall be brought forth together on the morning of the Resurrection.

 

Looking across the Cemetery to the Mississippi

 

After having visited the Cemetery, we then headed to Carthage, to visit the jail where the Martyrdom took place. The following pictures are of a series of markers that follow the walkway to the jail, which I have arranged in the order they appear.

Carthage Jail

 

I WAS BORN IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE

THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIVE, ON THE

TWENTY-THIRD DAY OF DECEMBER. SO GREAT

WERE THE CONFUSION AND STRIFE AMONG THE

DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS (IN MY FIFTEENTH

YEAR}, THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR A PERSON

YOUNG AS I WAS... TO COME ANY CERTAIN

CONCLUSION WHO WAS RIGHT AND WHO

WAS WRONG...

 

WHILE I WAS LABORING UNDER THE EXTREME

DIFFICULTIES CAUSED BY THE CONTESTS OF

THESE PARTIES OF RELIGIONISTS... I WAS ONE DAY

READING THE EPISTLE OF JAMES, FIRST CHAPTER

AND FIFTH VERSE, WHICH READS: IF ANY OF

YOU LACK WISDOM, LET HIM ASK OF GOD

THAT GIVETH TO ALL MEN LIBERALLY AND

UPBRAIDETH NOT; AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN HIM...

 

I AT LENGTH CAME TO THE DETERMINATION TO

"ASK OF GOD"... I RETIRED TO THE WOODS TO

MAKE THE ATTEMPT. IT WAS ON THE MORNING

OF A BEAUTIFUL, CLEAR DAY, EARLY IN THE SPRING

OF EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY... I KNEELED

DOWN AND BEGAN TO OFFER UP THE DESIRES

OF MY HEART TO GOD... I SAW A PILLAR OF

LIGHT EXACTLY OVER MY HEAD, ABOVE THE

BRIGHTNESS OF THE SUN, WHICH DESCENDED

GRADUALLY UNTIL IT FELL UPON ME.

--JOSEPH SMITH, JR (1838)

 

WHEN THE LIGHT RESTED UPON ME I SAW TWO

PERSONAGES, WHOSE BRIGHTNESS AND GLORY

DEFY ALL DESCRIPTION, STANDING ABOVE ME IN

THE AIR. ONE OF THEM SPAKE UNTO ME, CALLING

ME BY NAME AND SAID, POINTING TO THE OTHER

THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, HEAR HIM...

 

I HAD BEHELD A VISION... I HAD ACTUALLY SEEN

A LIGHT. AND IN THE MIDST OF THAT LIGHT I SAW

TWO PERSONAGES. AND THEY DID IN REALITY

SPEAK TO ME; AND THOUGH I WAS HATED AND

PERSECUTED FOR SAYING THAT I HAD SEEN A

VISION, YET IT WAS TRUE... FOR I HAD SEEN A

VISION; I KNEW IT, AND I KNEW THAT GOD KNEW

IT, AND I COULD NOT DENY IT.

--JOSEPH SMITH, JR (1838)

 

 

I NEVER FEEL TO FORCE MY DOCTRINE UPON

ANY PERSON: I REJOICE TO SEE PREJUDICE

GIVE WAY TO TRUTH, AND THE TRADITIONS

OF MEN DISPERSED BY THE PURE PRINCIPLES

OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

--JOSEPH SMITH, JR (1844)

 

(L to R) Robert, Sr, Brigette, Robert, Jr, Charlie, and Amanda. Harriett was hiding behind the marker.

PATIENCE IS HEAVENLY, OBEDIENCE IS NOBLE,

FORGIVENESS IS MERCIFUL, AND EXALTATION

IS GODLY; AND HE THAT HOLDS OUT FAITHFUL

TO THE END SHALL IN NO WISE LOSE HIS REWARD.

A GOOD MAN WILL ENDURE ALL THINGS TO

HONOR CHRIST, AND EVEN DISPOSE OF THE

WHOLE WORLD, AND ALL IN IT, TO SAVE

HIS SOUL.

--JOSEPH SMITH, JR

AND HYRUM SMITH

WHEN A MAN HAS OFFERED IN SACRIFICE ALL

THAT HE HAS FOR THE TRUTH'S SAKE, NOT EVEN

WITHHOLDING HIS LIFE, AND BELIEVING BEFORE

GOD THAT HE HAS BEEN CALLED TO MAKE THIS

SACRIFICE BECAUSE HE SEEKS TO DO HIS WILL,

HE DOES KNOW, MOST ASSUREDLY, THAT GOD

DOES AND WILL ACCEPT HIS SACRIFICE AND

OFFERING, AND THAT HE HAS NOT, NOR WILL

NOT SEEK HIS FACE IN VAIN.

--JOSEPH SMITH, JR (1835)

 

AND NOW, AFTER THE MANY TESTIMONIES

WHICH HAVE BEEN GIVEN OF HIM (JESUS

CHRIST), THIS IS THE TESTIMONY, LAST OF

ALL, WHICH WE GIVE OF HIM: THAT HE LIVES!

 

FOR WE SAW HIM, EVEN ON THE RIGHT HAND

OF GOD; AND WE HEARD THE VOICE BEARING

RECORD THAT HE IS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF

THE FATHER--

 

THAT BY HIM, AND THROUGH HIM, AND OF HIM,

THE WORLDS ARE AND WERE CREATED, AND THE

INHABITANTS THEREOF ARE BEGOTTEN SONS

AND DAUGHTERS UNTO GOD.

--JOSEPH SMITH, JR (1832)

 

Joseph and Hyrum (photo taken by 5 year-old Harriett)

Visitor's Center

Carthage Jail-The second story window in the upper-left is the open that Joseph Smith was attempting to leap from when he was shot by the mob.

The Anthony children exploring the well that stands near to the Jail entrance.

This tree, which would have been only a sapling at the time, stands as a silent of the martyrdom.

The above photos are from the Jailer's residence, which is what you first visit upon entering the jail. All of the furnishings in the jail are not the original, but from the same period.

Upstairs bedroom door-It was here that Hyrum suffered his fatal wound. The door still has the bullet hole, which may be seen in the upper left panel. Hyrum was attempting to keep the door shut, thereby keeping the mob out. At first, the mob shot at the doorknob, and they then fired the round through the door. Hyrum fell, exclaiming "I am a dead man!", and was dead. (Doctrine and Covenants 135:1).

The above photos are from inside the upstairs bedroom. John Taylor, one of the three companions of Joseph in the jail, hid under the bed after having been wounded with four shots. Willard Richards, the fourth companion, amazingly escaped the carnage without a single shot.

Looking out from the window where Joseph attempted to escape.

 

The visit to the jail was a very uplifting experience. The saddest moment for us was in standing in the upstairs bedroom, listening to the hymn "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" being sung. Shortly before his death, Joseph requested that John Taylor sing it for him, the hymn being the Prophet's favorite. This hymn has always been a favorite of mine, too, but to stand there and here it, in the place where Joseph and Hyrum died, was very heart-wrenching.

 

(photo taken by 5 year-old Harriett)

The above photos were taken inside of the jail, which is upstairs. Willard Richards had brought John Taylor here after the mobs had fled and hid him under the straw until later in the night, when the future third President of the Church was taken to a hospital.

I would like to close herein by quoting from the Doctrine and Covenants, 135:3-5, of John Taylor's account of the martyrdom. No words could be more fitting:

3 Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and may other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood ; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated.

4 When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended requirments of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said: "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm like 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 WAS MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD."-The same morning, after Hyrum had made ready to go-shall it be said to the slaughter? yes, for so it was-he read the following paragraph, near the close of the twelfth chapter of Ether, in the Book of Mormon, and turned down the leaf upon it:

5 And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful;, wherefore thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. And now I...bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgemt-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood. The testators are now dead, and their testament is in force.

I would bear testimony herein myself that indeed the Gospel has grown since the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. Brigham Young would lead the Saints to the Great Basin, and would found a new city for the Saints. Since that time, membership has grown to sixteen million, and there are over one hundred temples are in operation, of which I believe Nauvoo to be the most beautiful, and which stands a new symbol of the strength of the Latter-day Saint people. I know of a surety of the divinity of the work that Joseph Smith set forth, and that the true Gospel is here upon the earth today, for all to receive. In Jesus' Holy Name. Amen.

The Anthony family (standing, L to R): Robert, Charlie, Harriett, Brigette, Robert' mother Harriett, Robert's father Charles. (seated, L to R) Amanda and Robert (R.J.) Jr.

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Posted on 8 July, 2002


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