Documents, Volume 10, Part 4 Introduction: August 1842
Part 4: August 1842
August 1842 was another tumultuous
month for JS and the Latter-day Saints. Many
of their difficulties were rooted in letters had begun to
publish in July—which presented JS as a
licentious fraud. The situation became more precarious as
authorities undertook attempts to extradite JS from to . As this external threat took more concrete
form in August, disagreements between JS and erstwhile friends,
including and , continued to play out in public. An
understanding of this unsettled situation provides crucial context
for the documents in part 4 of this volume. During this tense time,
JS received letters from members in the
eastern , some of whom
commented on the negative publicity and damaging effects of
Bennett’s claims. JS also continued
to act as editor of the Times and Seasons and to
perform his civic duties, including those related to his roles as
lieutenant general of the , mayor of
, Illinois, and
presiding officer of the mayor’s court. These and other
responsibilities were interrupted on 8 August when three officers
arrested JS and on a
warrant issued by Illinois governor in connection with the attempted murder of
former Missouri governor . JS and Rockwell
petitioned for and received a writ of from Nauvoo’s municipal court.
Uncertain about whether the city court had the authority to grant
the writs, the officers left Nauvoo to receive further instructions
from Carlin, and
local authorities released JS from their custody. By 10 August, JS had gone into
hiding, first across the in
, Iowa Territory, and then back to Illinois, in
and around Nauvoo. During his two-week absence from public life, he
continued to meet and correspond with his wife and with church
leaders.
While in hiding, JS grew concerned
that a mob might attack , so he wrote to , major general
of the Nauvoo Legion, instructing him to protect the Saints if
circumstances required. Believing he was being
“hunted by the Missourians,” JS also consulted with Law, , and others about the
possibility of leaving the . Meanwhile, Emma
followed up earlier petitions by writing to and asking him to terminate efforts to extradite
JS.
JS’s time in hiding seems to have
made him pensive. Reflecting on those who had sacrificed on his
behalf, he recorded their names in the Book of
the Law of the Lord, which was also used to record tithing
donations and JS’s journal. In addition to recording their
sacrifices, he pronounced blessings on them. He also asked and , as
well as their daughter —with whom JS had entered into plural
marriage in late July—to
meet with him in secret. During this
time, , who also had been
sealed to JS, penned a poem lamenting his absence.
In contrast to his time in hiding, when JS remembered and blessed those
individuals who had supported him, upon his return to public life he
openly condemned those whom
he considered enemies. On 29 August, within days of returning
to his home in , he presided
over a public meeting in which he castigated individuals he believed
had been spreading false rumors about him, including and . He also directed
available church to travel throughout the eastern to counteract
’s efforts and to bring to
light the unjust actions of and .
Two days later, in a meeting of the , he echoed many of the sentiments of his 29 August
discourse, celebrated his escape from his enemies, and thanked the
sisters for their support. However, his enthusiasm
was short-lived: within a few days, a renewed attempt to arrest JS
drove him back into hiding.
Documents in this part of the volume provide insight into
the effect of extradition efforts on JS and the Saints, as well as their
concerns for his well-being. The documents here include
correspondence, editorials, legal and financial papers, discourses,
a military order, a journal entry, a poem, and an authorization to use the baptismal font in
the unfinished
.