Part 4: April 1844

JS began the busy month of April 1844 by presiding over the ’s semiannual in , Illinois. He also delivered several discourses both to the public and to the and corresponded with missionaries and others. Amid this work on behalf of his church and people, tensions continued to grow between JS and a group of prominent dissenters—, , , , and —resulting in legal battles and excommunications.

From 6 through 8 April 1844, Latter-day Saints gathered by the thousands for a conference in a near the under-construction . JS spoke repeatedly at this conference. Of particular significance was a funeral sermon for church member on 7 April, in which JS spoke at length on the nature of God and humankind. In addition to addressing ’s citizens and visitors on all three days of the conference, JS spoke to the newly organized Council of Fifty at least three times in April. On 25 April, he dictated a revelation to the council, instructing its members that the organization was to serve as a constitution for the political kingdom of God on earth.

As in prior months, JS continued to receive letters from missionaries providing accounts of their labors. In April and wrote to JS from and , respectively, about their efforts and the status of the church in those areas. Other correspondence related to JS’s campaign for the presidency of the . JS wrote letters to congressman and Daily Globe editor responding to criticism of JS’s platform that Blair had published in his newspaper. On 20 April, and six other members of ’s National Reform Association wrote to JS as a presidential candidate, asking what his position would be regarding the association’s plan for public land distribution. Toward the end of the month, apostle wrote three letters from detailing his efforts on behalf of the Council of Fifty to deliver a memorial to Congress requesting JS’s leadership of a proposed military force to protect settlers of the western part of the continent. One item among JS’s April correspondence was a letter from requesting that church leaders take ecclesiastical action against her husband for preaching plural marriage and abandoning his family.

Plural marriage and the concept of “spiritual wives” were the catalyst for a legal notice issued to JS by resident in the case Bostwick v. JS and Greene. Bostwick’s 9 April notice and a 29 April order that JS issued as lieutenant general of the to Brigadier General are the only documents featured in this part that directly relate to the increased tension between JS and some dissenting Nauvoo leaders. JS ordered Rich to take command of the Nauvoo Legion temporarily because of the suspension of Major General . Growing animosity between JS and Law had been fueled the previous month when JS heard allegations that Law and his brother—former member —as well as , , and were plotting to kill JS and his family members. The conflict resulted in several legal cases, trials before the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge, and the excommunication of the Law brothers, Foster, and others by the and the Nauvoo .

Part 4 features twenty-three documents. In addition to those mentioned previously, they include a baptismal certificate that JS signed for , a letter from explaining his inability to attend a Council of Fifty meeting, and three documents dealing with land transactions.