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Appendix: Account of the Murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, between Mid-July and Mid-August 1844 [D&C 135]

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Appendix: Account of the Murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, between Mid-July and Mid-August 1844 [D&C 135]

Source Note

Account of the murders of JS and , [, Hancock Co., IL, between mid-July and mid-Aug. 1844]. Featured version published [ca. Aug. 1844] in “Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum,” in The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God. By Joseph Smith, President of Said Church, 2nd ed. (Nauvoo, IL: John Taylor, 1844), 444–445. The copy used for transcription is held at CHL; includes marginalia and archival markings.
This account appears in the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the text block of which measures 5⅞ × 3⅝ inches (15 × 9 cm) and consists of 446 pages. The account of the murders was printed on two pages. Because this account was a late addition to this edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and because space was limited, it was printed with smaller fonts and closer spacing than the other sections in the book.
The volume is in a presentation binding of red sheepskin with gilt edges. The volume measures 6 × 3⅞ × 1 inches (15 × 10 × 3 cm). The spine contains the title, “Doctrine | and | Covenants”, and the name of the original owner, “J. Glenn.”, in gilt. The verso of the front flyleaf contains an ink inscription in the handwriting of Leonora Cannon Taylor: “Jane Glenn | from her friend | Leonora Taylor | Oct 27th | 1844”. In this copy, the first leaf of the first gathering, which is blank in other extant copies, is missing.
Leonora Taylor was married to apostle , the editor working in the church’s Times and Seasons office, where the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was edited and published. She apparently helped him with the printing business while he was away with JS in and possibly during his subsequent convalescence. She likely acquired the featured copy of the Doctrine and Covenants from her husband or directly from the Times and Seasons printing office. As the aforementioned ink inscription indicates, Leonora Taylor presented this copy of the book to Jane Glenn the same year it was published. The chain of custody over the next fourteen decades is unknown. Around 1983, the book was acquired by the Church Historical Department (now CHL). See also the source note for Doctrine and Covenants, 1844.

Footnotes

  1. John Taylor, Carthage, IL, to Leonora Cannon Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, 25 June 1844, John Taylor, Collection, CHL.

    Taylor, John. Collection, 1829–1894. CHL. MS 1346.

  2. See the full bibliographic entry for Glenn’s copy of the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

Sometime between mid-July and mid-August 1844, a formal account of the murders of JS and was composed in , Illinois, and printed in the Times and Seasons printing office as section CXI (111) in the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. On 24 June, JS and others had journeyed from Nauvoo to —the seat of , Illinois—to answer a charge that they had committed a during the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor’s press. The following day, JS and fourteen other men appeared at a hearing on the riot charge and were released on bail. That same day, however, JS and Hyrum Smith were arrested on charges of . As treason was an unbailable offense, they were committed to the Hancock County jail, in Carthage, where they were to remain in custody until a formal hearing on the charge could be held.
Although several men voluntarily spent the nights of 25 and 26 June in the jailhouse with JS and , by the midafternoon of 27 June, only and remained with the two prisoners. By a quarter past three o’clock in the afternoon, Richards noted in his diary that the guards had become “more severe in their ope[r]ations,” brazenly stating what they intended to do when the hostilities in the county had ceased. To calm the spirits of JS and his companions, Taylor sang a favored hymn, “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief,” and Hyrum Smith read aloud from his copy of the works of the Romano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. Later, JS and his friends shared part of a bottle of wine.
Sometime after five o’clock in the afternoon on 27 June, an armed mob rushed the jail, broke through the guards, ascended the stairway, and attempted to force entry into the bedroom where JS, , , and were. The four men quickly barricaded themselves in the room, bracing themselves against the door. Richards reported that Hyrum was shot first, hit almost simultaneously by a ball fired from the upstairs landing through the door and another fired from outside through the window. The former struck Hyrum in the face “on the side of his nose,” causing him to fall backward and die. Responding to Hyrum’s death, JS opened the door slightly and repeatedly fired a revolver, which he had received from earlier that day, into the crowd of assailants, though it “missed fire 2 or 3 times.” As the room filled with gunfire, Taylor attempted to escape through a window but was immediately struck by balls fired from both the doorway and outside. He fell back into the room and rolled under the bed, seeking shelter. Sometime during Taylor’s scrape with death, his pocket watch broke, causing it to stop and thus mark the time of the events at 5:16. After Taylor rolled under the bed, JS attempted to escape through the same window and, like Taylor, was shot. Richards related that JS was hit by two balls fired from the doorway and another fired from outside, whereupon he fell from the window to the ground below, landing close to a well.
That night, , who had not been shot during the attack, sent a letter from to governor and , , and . Richards informed them that he and the others in Carthage had been attacked by a mob of “from 1— to 200” men, whom he identified as Missourians, that JS and had been murdered, that had been wounded, and that the mob may have then “fled towards .” The following day, Richards returned to Nauvoo in company with a group of Saints who transported the bodies of JS and Hyrum Smith back to Nauvoo for burial. Taylor was so seriously injured that he remained in Carthage, convalescing for several more days.
Sometime in July, church leaders evidently determined that the nearly completed 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants should include a formal announcement of the murders of JS and . , who directed the printing office, had already prepared the edition for printing. While work on the volume had begun in 1841, Taylor became involved in 1843. Together with , , and others, Taylor helped stereotype much of the new edition between January 1843 and June 1844. Just two days before the murders, he directed his wife Leonora Cannon Taylor to ensure that a thousand copies were “printed [and bound] as quick as possible.”
The text of the announcement itself is unattributed. During the twentieth century, it became commonplace for Latter-day Saints to attribute the document’s authorship to , presumably because he was listed as the publisher and printer of the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and was in the jail with JS at the time of his murder. But while Taylor likely provided input on the document, evidence suggests it is unlikely he was the sole or even the principal author. Taylor was still convalescing from the wounds he had sustained in the jail when the announcement was written. Owing to the absence of any manuscript copies of this document, it is not clear who wrote this account of the murders. While and John Taylor were witnesses, the text speaks of both men in third person. The wording of the document, however, closely matches phrases and ideas that were previously included in editorials and other accounts of the murders written during late June and early July 1844, including material by Richards and Taylor. Other contributors to these accounts were and . The document also seems to have drawn ideas from two poems—one composed by and the other by an anonymous writer—in the wake of the murders.
These textual similarities suggest that the announcement was either authored by a single person who incorporated the ideas of these other authors into the document or composed by multiple individuals. Due to 's convalescence, the individuals who were most likely to have authored this announcement are and . This account seems to draw upon Richards’s journal and his published eyewitness account of the murders for details about the event. Furthermore, on 7 July, Richards evidently told Taylor that he “would assist in the times & seasons offices,” which suggests that he was at least somewhat involved in the church’s publishing efforts while Taylor was healing. Accordingly, even if Richards did not write the account, he was almost certainly consulted about its contents. Similarly, Phelps was heavily engaged in the day-to-day work of the printer’s office during this period. Records seem to indicate that he took on much of the responsibility for the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in Taylor’s absence. Additionally, Phelps helped prepare the issues of the Nauvoo Neighbor and the Times and Seasons that directly addressed the murders and was a signatory on two published letters to the Saints on the subject.
The similarities to other published works also seem to suggest that the announcement was most likely composed sometime during or after the middle of July, following the publication of most of the compositions with similar passages. Furthermore, evidence indicates that the new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants had become publicly available by early September. Because the announcement was typeset, printed, and bound with the volumes of the Doctrine and Covenants by early September, it seems likely that its authors had composed the document by mid-August.
The announcement summarized the details of the 27 June assault upon the jail, including the murders of JS and and the wounding of . It then eulogized the two brothers, giving special attention to JS’s prophetic accomplishments. The final analysis proclaimed that the Smith brothers were trapped in the jail “by the conspiracy of traitors and wicked men” and that the “innocent blood” of the “martyrs” had stained not only the floorboards of the Hancock County jailhouse but also the escutcheon of as well as the flag and the Constitution of the of America. The account concluded by asserting that “the Lord of Hosts” would avenge their murders “on the earth.”
The announcement was added to the end of the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants as the 111th section. Because space was limited in that edition, the printers used smaller fonts and closer spacing to fit the announcement onto the final two pages of the book.
As early as September 1844, at least one Latter-day Saint drew upon the announcement to describe the murders and express his feelings about JS and . , who had been in the jail with JS on 25 and 26 June, wrote a letter that is emblematic of the way that this announcement shaped the feelings of the Saints. Writing to his uncle on 27 September, Fullmer quoted the final words of both JS and Hyrum Smith as they appear in the document. Drawing upon the eulogistic language of the announcement, Fullmer explained that 27 June would live on in the memory of the Saints as “a day on which was shed the best blood of the nineteenth century.” Then, further expanding his feelings, Fullmer wrote, “Thus fell two men who had no supperior, I will venture the assertion, since the days of Adam. . . . I will venture another assertion, & that is that the earth never produced two as great men at the same time.” For Fullmer, JS and Hyrum Smith had been greater than “Peter, James, & John or Paul.”
Because the original manuscript of this document is not extant, the version printed in the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants is featured here. Although the account does not constitute a JS document on its own, it provides important details about the final moments of JS’s life and is thus featured here as an appendix item. Similarities in phraseology and ideas from items published during late June and July 1844 are noted.

Footnotes

  1. Letter to Thomas Ford, 23 June 1844; Historical Introduction to Military Orders, 24 June 1844.

  2. Hugh T. Reid, “Statement of Facts!,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 30 June 1844, [1]; Hugh T. Reid, “Statement of Facts!,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:562; Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  3. Historical Introduction to Warrant, 24 June 1844; Letter to Thomas Ford, 26 June 1844.

  4. On the night of 25–26 June, Latter-day Saints John P. Greene, Stephen Markham, Dan Jones, Lorenzo D. Wasson, John S. Fullmer, and Wall Southwick stayed in the jail along with JS, Hyrum Smith, Willard Richards, and John Taylor. Fullmer, Jones, and Markham also spent the following night in the jail along with the Smith brothers, Taylor, and Richards. Fullmer returned to Nauvoo at around eight o’clock in the morning on 27 June. Jones left the jail shortly after twelve thirty in the afternoon, carrying a letter from JS to Orville Browning. Stephen Markham left the jail at about one thirty in the afternoon to procure a pipe and tobacco to settle the stomach of Willard Richards, who was ill. When Markham attempted to return to the jail, he was “surrounded— by a mob” and escorted out of Carthage at “the points of their Baynots [bayonets].” (Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; Letter to Orville Browning, 27 June 1844; Stephen Markham, Fort Supply, Utah Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, 20 June 1856, [5], Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.)

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

  5. Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844. For a discussion of shifting understanding and application of JS’s 27 February 1833 revelation that became known as the Word of Wisdom, see the glossary entry for Word of Wisdom; and Historical Introduction to Revelation, 27 Feb. 1833 [D&C 89].

  6. The men had been staying in a bedroom on the second floor of the jailhouse that was distinct from jailer George Stigall’s living quarters. The bedroom was furnished with a bed, a “chair or two, and some mattresses.” That afternoon, Stigall suggested that JS and his companions “would be safer” in the holding cell on the same floor, but JS indicated that they would wait until “after supper” to relocate there. (Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; John S. Fullmer, Preston, England, to George A. Smith, 27 Nov. 1854, p. 8, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860; Ford, History of Illinois, 338; Jones, “Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” 6.)

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

    Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois, from Its Commencement as a State in 1818 to 1847. Containing a Full Account of the Black Hawk War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonism, the Alton and Lovejoy Riots, and Other Important and Interesting Events. Chicago: S. C. Griggs; New York: Ivison and Phinney, 1854.

    Jones, Dan. The Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, 1855. CHL. MS 153.

  7. Cyrus Wheelock, London, England, to George A. Smith, 29 Dec. 1854, [12], Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

  8. Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; Willard Richards, “Two Minutes in Jail,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 24 July 1844, [3].

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  9. Taylor also signed the letter. Given Taylor’s condition at the time, however, the letter was almost assuredly composed by Richards alone. The letter stated, “Taylor wounded not very bad,” but this assessment of Taylor’s wounds was intended to downplay the severity of his condition out of fear that his family “might be seriously affected by the news.” The draft of the letter originally stated, “Taylor wounded not fatally.” (Willard Richards and John Taylor, Carthage, IL, to [Thomas Ford et al., Nauvoo, IL], 27 June 1844, fair copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; John Taylor, Statement, 23 Aug. 1856, 57, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, CHL; Willard Richards and John Taylor, Carthage, IL, to Thomas Ford et al., Nauvoo, IL, 27 June 1844, draft, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.)

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  10. Richards, Journal, 28 June 1844.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  11. John Taylor, Statement, 23 Aug. 1856, 57, 65–66, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, CHL; “The Editor, Mr. Taylor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 3 July 1844, [3].

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  12. Historical Introduction to Doctrine and Covenants, 1844.

  13. John Taylor, Carthage, IL, to Leonora Cannon Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, 25 June 1844, John Taylor, Collection, CHL.

    Taylor, John. Collection, 1829–1894. CHL. MS 1346.

  14. Woodford, “Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants,” 3:1794. In 1922 Heber J. Grant stated that it was his understanding that Taylor wrote the document. Perhaps drawing upon Grant’s comments, a 1958 commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants attributed the document to Taylor. (Heber J. Grant, Discourse, Salt Lake City, UT, 6 Oct. 1922, in Ninety-Third Semi-annual Conference, 7; Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, 855.)

    Woodford, Robert J. “The Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants.” 3 vols. PhD diss., Brigham Young University, 1974.

    Ninety-Third Semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, [1922].

    Smith, Hyrum M., and Janne M. Sjodahl. Doctrine and Covenants Commentary. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1958.

  15. On 22 July, Leonora Taylor wrote a letter to Illinois governor Thomas Ford explaining that her husband was “slowly healing” and that, despite some progress, he was “still ill and obliged to be lifted in and out of bed.” Recounting the experience in the jail a little more than a year later, John Taylor stated that he had been “shot nearly to pieces,” which left his body “mangled.” (Leonora Cannon Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, 22 July 1844, [1], copy, CHL; Taylor, Remarks, 25 Oct. 1845, [2], CHL.)

    Taylor, Leonora Cannon. Letter, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Ford, 22 July 1844. Copy. CHL.

    Taylor, John. Remarks, 25 Oct. 1845. CHL.

  16. See William W. Phelps, Willard Richards, and John Taylor, “To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:568; “The Murder,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:585; Parley P. Pratt et al., “To the Saints Abroad,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:586; and Willard Richards, “Two Minutes in Jail,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 24 July 1844, [3].

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  17. Eliza R. Snow, “The Assassination of Gen’ls Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, First Presidents of the Church of Latter Day Saints,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:575; “Lamentation of a Jew among the Afflicted and Mourning Sons and Daughters of Zion, at the Assassination of the Two Chieftains in Israel, Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:591; Bitton, Martyrdom Remembered, 24–26, 30–32, 34–35. Snow was one of JS’s plural wives. (Eliza R. Snow Smith, Affidavit, Salt Lake Co., Utah Territory, 7 June 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1:25; Lorenzo Snow, Affidavit, Box Elder Co., Utah Territory, 28 Aug. 1869, in Joseph F. Smith, Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 2:19–20; “Joseph the Seer’s Plural Marriages,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City], 22 Oct. 1879, 604–605.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Bitton, Davis. The Martyrdom Remembered: A One-Hundred-Fifty-Year Perspective on the Assassination of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1994.

    Smith, Joseph F. Affidavits about Celestial Marriage, 1869–1915. CHL. MS 3423.

    Deseret News. Salt Lake City. 1850–.

  18. See Richards, Journal, 27 June 1844; and Willard Richards, “Two Minutes in Jail,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 24 July 1844, [3].

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  19. Richards, Journal, 7 July 1844.

    Richards, Willard. Journals, 1836–1853. Willard Richards, Papers, 1821–1854. CHL. MS 1490, boxes 1–2.

  20. Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 28 July 1844, [2]; 8 Aug. 1844, 4, draft copy.

    Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL

  21. See Crawley, Descriptive Bibliography, 1:219; “For the Warsaw Signal,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 25 [24] Apr. 1844, [4]; William W. Phelps, Willard Richards, and John Taylor, “To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:568; “The Murder,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:585; and Parley P. Pratt et al., “To the Saints Abroad,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:586–587.

    Crawley, Peter. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. 3 vols. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1997–2012.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  22. Extant sources do not indicate when the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was printed and bound. On 28 July, William W. Phelps announced at a meeting of the church that copies of the edition would be sold for $1.25 per book and that those who were interested could pay for them the following day. A week and a half later, on 8 August, Phelps told those assembled that “the 1000 copies are not all yet taken up,” suggesting subscriptions were still being taken. During a sermon on 25 August, Brigham Young informed the Saints that the edition was “nearly ready.” Then, an editorial in the 2 September issue of the Times and Seasons cited a page number in the new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. Although dated 2 September, that issue of the Times and Seasons included a notice of the same date, which suggests that the issue was published sometime after 2 September. Accordingly, the book most likely became available to the public between 25 August and 2 September, suggesting that the first copies were printed sometime during late August. This announcement would likely have been written at least one week in advance of the first copies of the volume becoming available to the public. (Historian’s Office, General Church Minutes, 28 July 1844, [2]; 8 Aug. 1844, 4, draft copy; 25 Aug. 1844, [2]; “Ten Virgins,” and Brigham Young, Notice, Times and Seasons, 2 Sept. 1844, 5:636, 638; Historical Introduction to Doctrine and Covenants, 1844.)

    Historian’s Office. General Church Minutes, 1839–1877. CHL

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  23. Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844.

  24. John S. Fullmer, [Carthage], IL, to “Uncle John,” 27 Sept. 1844, in Fullmer, Letterbook, 209–211, underlining in original.

    Fullmer, John S. Letterbook, 1836–1881. John S. Fullmer Journal and Letterbook, 1836–1881. CHL.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation.
*Appendix: Account of the Murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, between Mid-July and Mid-August 1844 [D&C 135]
Doctrine and Covenants, 1844

Page 444

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SECTION CXI.
Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and his Brother .
1 To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we close with the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the prophet and the . They were shot in jail on the 27th of June, 1844, about 5 o’clock P. M., by an armed mob, painted black—of from 150 to 200 persons. was shot first and fell calmly exclaiming “I am a dead man!” Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming “O Lord my God!”— They were both shot after they were dead in a brutal manner, and both received four balls.
2  and , two of the , were the only persons in the room at the time; the former was wounded in a savage manner with four balls, but has since recovered: the latter, through the promises of God escaped “without even a hole in his robe.”
3 Joseph Smith, the prophet and of the Lord, has done more, (save Jesus only,) for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents: has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men: many thousands of the : founded a great city: and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people, and like most of the Lord’s annointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and works with his own blood—and so has his brother . In life they were not divided, and in death they were not seperated!
4 When Joseph went to to deliver himself up, to the pretended requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said: “I am going [p. 444]
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Appendix: Account of the Murders of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, between Mid-July and Mid-August 1844 [D&C 135]
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Footnotes

  1. In his diary entry for 27 June, Willard Richards originally placed the time of the events sometime after six o’clock in the evening. On 28 June, Warsaw resident James Gregg wrote to his brother Thomas Gregg that the previous day, “about 4 Oclock the Jail was attacked by some thre[e] hundred armed men.” On 29 June the Warsaw Signal stated that the mob stormed the Hancock County jail at “about four o’clock P. M.” Writing to Brigham Young on 30 June, Willard Richards stated that the murders had occurred “a little before six PM.” That same day, an extra issue of the Nauvoo Neighbor published an account of the events, which similarly placed the time of the events around six o’clock in the evening. Writing to Reuben Hedlock on 9 July, Richards and Taylor placed the time of the events “between 5 and 6 o’clock P. M. of that day.” The following day, the Nauvoo Neighbor noted that Taylor’s shattered watch, which had been damaged during the events in the Hancock County jail, had captured the time of the events at 5:16. Accordingly, Taylor’s watch presumably became the rationale for revising the timing of the murders from around six o’clock to around five o’clock. (Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844; James Gregg, Warsaw, IL, to Thomas Gregg, Rock Island, IL, 28 June 1844, [1], Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954, Chicago History Museum; “Events of the Week,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 29 June 1844, [2]; Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Brigham Young, 30 June 1844, [1], copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; “Awful Assassination! The Pledged Faith of the State of Illinois Stained with Innocent Blood by a Mob!,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 30 June 1844, [1]; Willard Richards and John Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, to Reuben Hedlock, England, 9 July 1844, 3, fair copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; “Goodness Shall Be Rewarded,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 10 July 1844, [2].)

    Chicago Historical Society, Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8136.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  2. On 28 June, Warsaw resident James Gregg estimated the number of men in the mob to be around three hundred. The Warsaw Signal placed the number at “about one hundred armed men,” while the Nauvoo Neighbor gave an initial estimate of “from 150 to 250 men.” In letters to both Brigham Young and Reuben Hedlock, Willard Richards estimated that the mob had consisted of “from 150 to 200” men. (James Gregg, Warsaw, IL, to Thomas Gregg, Rock Island, IL, 28 June 1844, [1], Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954, Chicago History Museum; “Events of the Week,” Warsaw [IL] Signal, Extra, 29 June 1844, [2]; “Awful Assassination! The Pledged Faith of the State of Illinois Stained with Innocent Blood by a Mob!,” Nauvoo Neighbor, Extra, 30 June 1844, [1]; “Wilful Murder!,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 3 July 1844, [3]; Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Brigham Young, 30 June 1844, [1], copy; Willard Richards and John Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, to Reuben Hedlock, England, 9 July 1844, 3, fair copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.)

    Chicago Historical Society, Collection of Manuscripts about Mormons, 1832–1954. Microfilm. CHL. MS 8136.

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  3. Willard Richards noted in his diary that as Hyrum fell back onto the floor, he said, “I am a dead man.” (Willard Richards, Journal Excerpt, 23–27 June 1844, underlining in original.)

  4. According to Willard Richards and John Taylor, after Taylor attempted to leap from the window, JS attempted “to leap from the same window, was shot, & fell on the out-side.” An editorial published in the 15 July issue of the Times and Seasons stated, “Joseph’s last exclamation was ‘O Lord my God!’” Richards later included that same line in his short account of the murders of JS and Hyrum Smith. Because JS had become a Mason in March 1842, some early Saints postulated that JS was issuing a Masonic cry of distress, “O Lord, my God, is there no help for the widow’s son,” with these words. (Willard Richards and John Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, to Reuben Hedlock, England, 9 July 1844, 3, fair copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL; “The Murder,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:585, italics in original; Willard Richards, “Two Minutes in Jail,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 24 July 1844, [3]; Minutes, 15–16 Mar. 1842; Woodruff, Journal, 19 Aug. 1860; “Woman’s Mass Meeting,” Woman’s Exponent, 1 Dec. 1878, 7:98; Whitney, “History of the Church from Journal of H. C. Kimball Written for Womans Ex,” [1]; Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, 27; Lucis, National Mirror of Masonry, 18.)

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Woman’s Exponent. Salt Lake City. 1872–1914.

    Whitney, Helen Mar. “History of the Church from Journal of H. C. Kimball Written for Womans Ex,” no date. CHL.

    Whitney, Orson F. Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle: The Father and Founder of the British Mission. Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1888.

    Lucis, Philo. The National Mirror of Masonry, Containing Such Plain and Conclusive Reasons, as Fairly Prove That the Unauthorized Oaths and Obligations of the Fraternity, Are Not Morally nor Legally Binding on Its Members. Boston: By the author, 1829.

  5. Writing to Reuben Hedlock on 9 July, Willard Richards and John Taylor stated, “Joseph & Hyrum received each four balls & were killed instantly.” (Willard Richards and John Taylor, Nauvoo, IL, to Reuben Hedlock, England, 9 July 1844, 3, fair copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.)

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  6. Taylor remained at Carthage for several days to recover from his wounds, returning to Nauvoo on 3 July on a bed attached to James Allred’s wagon to minimize the pain of the trip. That same day, the Nauvoo Neighbor reported that Taylor was “slowly recovering from his wounds.” On 4 July, William Clayton recorded in his journal that he had visited Taylor at the home of William Marks and “saw some of his wounds which are bad but he is recovering.” On 10 July the Nauvoo Neighbor briefly reported that Taylor was “recovering as fast as can be expected” and that “his wounds do very well.” (John Taylor, Statement, 23 Aug. 1856, 57, 65–66, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, CHL; “The Editor, Mr. Taylor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 3 July 1844, [3]; Clayton, Journal, 4 July 1844; “Mr. Taylor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 10 July 1844, [2].)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  7. This alludes to an earlier prophecy of JS about Willard Richards that evidently was not recorded contemporaneously. In their account of the murders of JS and Hyrum Smith, written in the 1850s, the Church Historian’s Office staff recorded, “Dr. Richards’s escape was miraculous, he being a very large man and in the midst of a shower of balls, yet he stood unscathed with the exception of a ball taking away the lip end of the lower part of his left ear, which fulfulled literally a prophecy which Joseph made about four months previous, that the time wd. come that the balls wd fly around him like hail, and he sh[oul]d. see his friends fall on the right and on the left, but that there shd. not be a hole in his robe if he wd. continue to wear it.” In 1861 Brigham Young recalled a promise that JS evidently made to Richards in reference to special clothing Richards had been given as part of a temple-related ordinance called the endowment. According to Young, JS said, “Willard, never go without this Garment on your body, for you will stand where the balls will fly around you like hail, and men will fall dead by your side and if you will never part with this Garment, there never shall a ball injure you.” (History of the Martyrdom, 24–28 June 1844, [54b], draft, Historian’s Office, JS History, Draft Notes, CHL; Brigham Young, Discourse, [Salt Lake City, Utah Territory], 14 July 1861–A, 6, Historian’s Office, Reports of Speeches, 1845–1885, CHL.)

    Historian’s Office. Reports of Speeches, 1845–1885. CHL.

  8. In a letter to the church printed in the 1 July 1844 issue of the Times and Seasons, William W. Phelps, Richards, and Taylor used similar language, stating that they were “deeply impressed for the welfare of all, while mourning the great loss of President Joseph Smith, our ‘prophet and seer,’ and President Hyrum Smith, our ‘patriarch.’” (William W. Phelps, Willard Richards, and John Taylor, “To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:568, italics in original.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  9. Writing to Brigham Young on 30 June 1844, Richards called the murders of JS and Hyrum Smith “the great Event of 1844” and a moment “without a perallul [parallel] sin[c]e the birth of Adem.” (Willard Richards, Nauvoo, IL, to Brigham Young, 30 June 1844, [3], copy, Willard Richards, Journals and Papers, CHL.)

    Richards, Willard. Journals and Papers, 1821–1854. CHL.

  10. An editorial in the 15 July 1844 issue of the Times and Seasons stated, “The work he has thus far performed, towards establishing pure religion, and preparing the way for the great gathering of Israel, in the short space of twenty years since the time when the angel of the Lord made known his mission and gave him power to move the cause of Zion, exceed any thing of the kind on record.” (“The Murder,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:584.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  11. The title page of the Book of Mormon explained that the book had been prepared “to come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof.” JS reiterated that the translation came “by the gift and power of God” in the preface to the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, as did the Three Witnesses—David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris—in their published testimony of the Book of Mormon. JS continued to use this phrase to describe the book’s translation throughout his life. (Title Page of Book of Mormon, ca. Early June 1829; Preface to Book of Mormon, ca. Aug. 1829; Testimony of Three Witnesses, Late June 1829; see also, for example, Letter to Noah C. Saxton, 4 Jan. 1833; Conversations with Robert Matthews, 9–11 Nov. 1835; and “Church History,” 1 Mar. 1842.)

  12. Three editions of the Book of Mormon had been published in the United States by 1844, and a single edition had been published in England in 1841. (The Book of Mormon [Palmyra, NY: E. B. Grandin, 1830]; The Book of Mormon, 2nd ed. [Kirtland, OH: P. P. Pratt and J. Goodson, 1837]; The Book of Mormon, 3rd ed. [Nauvoo, IL: Robinson and Smith, 1840]; The Book of Mormon, 1st European ed. [Liverpool: Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Parley P. Pratt, 1841].)

  13. In 1837 the first Latter-day Saint missionaries were sent to the British Isles. Five years later, JS explained that missionaries were “in Germany, Palestine, New Holland, the East Indies, and other places.” In May 1843 Addison Pratt was assigned to lead a group of missionaries to the Sandwich Islands. They eventually made their way to the Society Islands instead. (Recommendation for Heber C. Kimball, between 2 and 13 June 1837; “Church History,” 1 Mar. 1842; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Minutes, 11 May 1843; Cannon, “Tahiti and the Society Island Mission,” 334.)

    Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Minutes, 1840–1844. CHL.

    Cannon, Eugene M. “Tahiti and the Society Island Mission.” Juvenile Instructor 32, no. 11 (1 June 1897): 334–336.

  14. While the Saints had made earlier efforts to publish JS’s revelations, including in the 1833 Book of Commandments, the Doctrine and Covenants was first published in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1835. In late 1840 church leaders discussed plans to print new editions of the Doctrine and Covenants in both Nauvoo and England. Despite these discussions, however, no additional editions of the Doctrine and Covenants were printed until the 1844 edition in which this account appeared. (Book of Commandments; Doctrine and Covenants, 1835; Letter from Brigham Young and Willard Richards, 5 Sept. 1840; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Report of the First Presidency, 4 Oct. 1840; Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 Dec. 1840.)

  15. For example, at the time of the murders, JS’s missionary force had spread throughout the eastern and southern United States, electioneering for his presidential campaign and distributing copies of a pamphlet outlining his political positions. (General Smith’s Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States, ca. 26 Jan.–7 Feb. 1844; see also McBride, Joseph Smith for President, chap. 9; and Sainsbury, Unknown Contributions of Joseph Smith’s Political Missionaries, 48–52, 57–68, 93–96.)

    McBride, Spencer W. Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.

    Sainsbury, Derek R. Storming the Nation: The Unknown Contributions of Joseph Smith's Political Missionaries. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2020.

  16. Nauvoo. In 1839 JS and other church leaders filed the plat of the city of Nauvoo with Hancock County. JS also served on the committee charged with drafting a bill to incorporate Nauvoo. JS presided at a general conference in late 1839 that organized the church in Nauvoo (then called Commerce). JS may also have been considered Nauvoo’s founder because of the heavy debt he incurred for land purchases that became the foundation of the Latter-day Saint settlement there. (Hancock Co., IL, Plat Books, 1836–1938, vol. 1, pp. 37–39, Nauvoo Plat, 3 Sept. 1839, microfilm 954,774, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Minutes and Discourse, 3–5 Oct. 1840; Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839; Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841; see also “Joseph Smith Documents from February 1838 through August 1839”; “Part 4: 24 April–12 August 1839”; Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–A; Bond from Horace Hotchkiss, 12 Aug. 1839–B; and “Joseph Smith Documents from September 1839 through January 1841.”)

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  17. The language in an editorial in the 15 July 1844 issue of the Times and Seasons is similar to this statement, declaring of Hyrum, “He lived so far beyond the ordinary walk of man, that even the tongue of the vilest slanderer could not touch his reputation. He lived godly and he died godly.” (“The Murder,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:585.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  18. An editorial in the 15 July 1844 issue of the Times and Seasons stated, “Prophets have been sent, according to the sacred history, which all enlightened nations use as a guide of morality here, or for a rule to obtain heaven hereafter, to instruct and lead the people according to the pure purposes of God, and yet from Cain, down to two or three hundred Americans, Illinoians, Missourians, Christians even freemen, the lives of mostly all these good men, the servants of God, not omitting his own Son, have been taken from them by those who professed to be the most wise, enlightened, intelligent, and religious, (that is nationally) that were on the earth when the hellish deeds were done.” (“The Murder,” Times and Seasons, 15 July 1844, 5:585, italics in original.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

  19. In a poem published in the 1 July 1844 issue of the Times and Seasons, Eliza R. Snow wrote, “The blackest deed that men or devils know / Since Calv’ry’s scene, has laid the brothers low! / One in their life, and one in death—they prov’d / How strong their friendship—how they truly lov’d: / True to their mission, until death, they stood, / Then seal’d their testimony with their blood.” (Eliza R. Snow, “The Assassination of Gen’ls Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, First Presidents of the Church of Latter Day Saints,” Times and Seasons, 1 July 1844, 5:575.)

    Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

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