Documents, Volume 12, Part 1 Introduction: March 1843
Part 1: March 1843
In March 1843, JS balanced ecclesiastical, civic,
and family responsibilities while continuing to respond to continual
fallout from attacks on the by former
Latter-day Saint . During the first week of March
1843, JS—acting as a justice of the peace for ,
Illinois—presided in a medical malpractice suit, Charles Dana
v. William Brink. JS’s decision, delivered on 10 March, was subsequently printed
in the Wasp, the church’s community newspaper
published in ,
Illinois.
Sometime during the
first half of March, JS also addressed a group of
Latter-day Saint youth in Nauvoo, encouraging them to organize and
perform charitable service.
From 11 to 14
March, JS visited the of the church in , Illinois, and regulated a leadership
dispute.
Upon his return to , JS learned that had been
arrested in for allegedly shooting former
Missouri governor
the previous year. After accused Rockwell of
the crime, Boggs made two affidavits on 20 July 1842, the first claiming
that Rockwell was the shooter and the second alleging that JS was an
“accessary before the fact.” Based on the affidavits, Missouri
officials initiated extradition proceedings for Rockwell and JS as
fugitives from justice. governor complied by issuing arrest warrants for
them. When the
arresting officers tried to take JS and Rockwell into custody on
8 August 1842, the Nauvoo Municipal
Court granted the two men writs of , a common
law remedy that permitted an authorized court to review the legality
of a prisoner’s detention. Unsure how to proceed, the officers left
the city to consult with the governor. Meanwhile, JS went into
hiding in and around Nauvoo, and Rockwell departed for the area.
In early 1843, decided to return to
. In January 1843, the Circuit Court
for the District of discharged JS from custody on the grounds that
’s affidavit—the foundation of
the extradition attempt—did not claim that JS had committed a crime
in or that he had fled from the justice of that
state, meaning Missouri had no authority under the United States
Constitution to extradite him. The
charge against Rockwell, however, was still outstanding. On 5 March, when he attempted to pass
through under
an assumed name, he was apprehended and incarcerated.
’s arrest prompted the
creation of several JS documents during
March 1843. While in the County
jail, Rockwell received a visit from prominent attorney , who
wrote to Latter-day Saint
on 7 March, offering to defend
Rockwell. On 17 March, Whitney passed
Blennerhassett’s letter to JS, prompting him to send instructions
regarding Rockwell to the lawyer. Two former church
members, and Joseph Wood, likewise learned of Rockwell’s situation and
sent letters to JS relaying information; they also reported that had been lecturing
against the church in St. Louis. JS also corresponded
about Rockwell’s plight with , the
attorney for the district of , who had represented
JS in the January 1843 hearing before the
federal court.
During March 1843, Latter-day Saints and
others wrote letters to JS on a variety of
other subjects. Church members reported on conditions of outside of
and explained events affecting the church in such places as , , and ,
the capital of . They also asked for
guidance on regulating immigration to Nauvoo. Other letter writers
requested information about the Latter-day Saint city and the
church, offered to sell guns to church members, asked to borrow a
cannon, and advised JS about the land situation in Nauvoo.
On 23 March, JS gave a blessing to promising that he and his recently deceased
wife, , would “be crowned and enthrowned to dwell together
in a Kingdom in the in the presents of
God, And you Shall Enjoy each other Society & Embraces.” The
blessing gave Caroline the same promise “as though She was present
herself.” On the same day, JS composed a handwritten blessing for —Caroline’s niece and JS’s plural
wife—promising her eternal blessings if she remained faithful to her
covenant with JS.
Toward the end of
March, JS corresponded with , his counselor in the . JS accused Rigdon of conspiring with
to undermine JS and
the church, and he threatened to withdraw fellowship from Rigdon at
the upcoming April
of the church. Rigdon denied that he
maintained contact with Bennett and affirmed his loyalty to the church. On the last day of March, an unidentified
individual purporting to be
attorney general Hugh Legaré forged a letter to JS alleging that JS had been indicted for
treason. JS and his scribes and
determined that the
letter was a hoax, in part because Rigdon had received a similar
letter claiming falsely that the
post office had been closed.
Part 1 includes thirty JS documents from
March 1843, including correspondence,
blessings, and other documents.