Part 4: 21–23 June 1844

Part 4 covers the events that led JS to travel to , Hancock County, Illinois, to answer a charge of in relation to the destruction of the press used to print the Nauvoo Expositor. On 21 June 1844, governor arrived in Carthage to investigate the recent troubles in surrounding the of the Expositor and requested by letter that the , Illinois, city council send representatives to Carthage to explain their perspective on these events. In response, JS called a special meeting of the city council to prepare affidavits and other papers to forward to Ford. During this meeting, the city council also read and accepted a letter of resignation from , who had earlier been suspended from his seat on the council for things he had written as the editor of the Nauvoo Expositor. Because the messengers who had delivered Ford’s 21 June letter were anxious to return to Carthage, the city council had and carry to Ford the fifteen affidavits that were ready along with an explanatory letter from JS. Following this, additional affidavits were taken, including one from JS that recounted a warning he received from in May 1844 about a plot to take JS’s life.

The next day, 22 June, member started for carrying the additional affidavits to along with another letter from JS inviting the governor to come to to investigate the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor. Meanwhile, and delivered the first batch of affidavits to Ford. After meeting with JS’s emissaries, Ford wrote a lengthy letter to JS and the Nauvoo City Council condemning their actions against the Expositor and urging those who had been charged with riot in relation to the press’s destruction to come to Carthage to answer the charge. Upon finishing the letter, Ford gave it to Taylor and Bernhisel, who carried it back to Nauvoo and delivered it to JS that night at about ten o’clock. Around midnight, JS wrote a response to Ford rebutting the governor’s accusations and stating that he intended to leave Nauvoo that night to take his case before the federal government.

Early in the morning on 23 June, JS and a few others crossed the into . While there JS composed two letters. The first was to his wife . In this letter, JS conveyed certain financial information to her and stated his intention to travel to if possible. Later that day, messengers from visited JS and urged him to return to the city. JS and ultimately decided to go back, and they subsequently dictated a letter to in which they agreed to surrender themselves at the following day. JS and his companions returned to Nauvoo around five o’clock that evening.

To prepare for his hearing in , JS wrote three letters on 23 June. Two of them requested the legal services of attorneys in . The third letter was addressed to , a resident of , Iowa Territory, whom JS asked to serve as a witness at the hearing. On 23 June one of the attorneys, , wrote a response to JS’s letter explaining that he was unable to assist in JS’s case.

Part 4 features sixteen documents. In addition to those described previously, it includes a petition from several members of the to JS requesting that he preach to them and a military order from JS to acting major general instructing him to have the legion fortify against a possible mob attack.