Part 3: 12–20 June 1844

During the nine days of June 1844 covered in part 3, JS grappled with the fallout from the of the Nauvoo Expositor. After JS and sixteen others were arrested for allegedly committing a riot during the destruction of the newspaper’s printing equipment, they were discharged by the , Illinois, municipal court at hearings held on 12 and 13 June. As a result, JS’s adversaries accused him of resisting arrest and defying the law, inflaming the already volatile situation in the county. Subsequently, citizens resolved to drive the living outside of Nauvoo into the city and to wage “a war of extermination” against the Saints unless they surrendered JS “and his miscreant adherents.”

In the days that followed, JS tried to calm the agitated conditions in . On 14 June he wrote a letter to governor explaining the City Council’s proceedings against the Nauvoo Expositor and pledging his willingness to stand trial at , Illinois, should Ford feel that further investigation was necessary. JS then issued a proclamation on 16 June to the citizens of the county and neighboring areas explaining the events surrounding the destruction of the Expositor’s press. That same day, he delivered public addresses defending his teachings on the plurality of gods, which had been criticized in the Expositor, counseling Nauvoo citizens to prepare to defend their city, and calling for delegates to visit nearby towns to explain the reasons for destroying the Expositor’s press and show that Nauvoo was at peace.

Also on 16 June, after having surveyed the threats against the Latter-day Saints, JS concluded that the only way to avoid violence was for to come to . JS consequently wrote to him, informing him of the dangers facing church members and requesting that he come to investigate the matter and restore peace. Then, as lieutenant general of the , JS issued an order to , the legion’s adjutant general, instructing him to travel to to deliver the letter to Ford.

Even as he appealed to , JS continued trying to mollify his critics in . Acting on their understanding of advice from circuit court judge , JS and others charged with riot appeared in a preliminary hearing on 17 June before , a alderman and justice of the peace, who was friendly to the Saints although not a member of the church. After hearing testimony, Wells discharged the accused.

Despite JS’s peacemaking efforts, church members in who lived outside of found themselves in perilous circumstances. On 16 June, wrote a letter to JS from , in southern Hancock County, informing him of trouble in the area. A group of men had approached the Saints there and given them the choice of taking up arms and helping arrest JS, leaving immediately for Nauvoo, or surrendering their weapons and remaining quietly at their homes during the anticipated conflict. The same day, JS replied to Morley with instructions regarding how the Latter-day Saints under Morley’s direction should proceed amid the growing threat of violence. JS’s uncle , who lived in the eastern part of Hancock County in , also wrote JS a letter on 16 June asking him for counsel regarding what the Saints in his area should do. JS replied to Smith’s query on 17 June, directing the Saints in Macedonia not to surrender their arms but to defend themselves if attacked.

The looming threat of mob violence led JS to take various measures on 17 June to protect his people. As mayor, JS ordered the city marshal, , to keep the peace in with the assistance of the city’s police and militia. JS also issued several orders as lieutenant general of the . One instructed the legion’s acting major general, , to muster the legion, and another directed the commander of JS’s guard, , to have JS’s military staff report to the legion’s headquarters prepared for duty. The Nauvoo Legion gathered at the on the morning of 18 June and marched to the later that day. There, standing atop a wooden platform across the street, JS addressed the legion, declaring martial law in the city. Later, in a second speech to the legion, he called for volunteers to come and defend Nauvoo and instructed the Saints in the city to prepare to defend their families from extermination. Following this address, JS issued a written proclamation that repeated his declaration of martial law and ordered the Nauvoo Legion’s officers and city police to prevent people and property from moving into or out of Nauvoo without a pass.

While JS sought to shield against mob violence, he also sent letters to several individuals requesting their assistance. and JS dictated a letter, which was ultimately not sent, informing of mounting tensions in the and encouraging him and the other to return to Nauvoo without delay. On 18 June, JS composed a letter asking attorney to use his influence in behalf of the Latter-day Saints to help curb mob activity. Two days later JS also wrote a letter to , the president of the , and had write a letter to resident asking them to come to the Saints’ aid.

Part 3 features twenty-seven documents. In addition to those described above, it includes a letter from JS responding to ’s request that a Latter-day Saint preacher be sent to , Arkansas; a letter from asking about wharf fees in and denying a rumor that his steamboat was involved in hostilities against the city; a letter from notifying JS that an attempt to obtain an indictment against members of the Nauvoo Municipal Court from a federal grand jury in had failed; a letter from JS counseling church members and to bring wheat or other provisions in their possession to Nauvoo; and a letter from informing JS about a potential site for a new settlement.