Notes From Our 2002 Nauvoo Trip

NOTES FROM NAUVOO TRIP JUNE 3 -9, 2002
In l827 Independence, Missouri was a small trading post representing the furthermost outpost of civilization. One of the merchants in the outpost was Lillburn W. Boggs. One year after the Church was organized a contingent of four brethren were called to take the Book of Mormon to the Lamanites in Missouri. These included: Oliver Cowdrey who was twenty-years old and the leader; Parley P. Pratt, recently baptized by Oliver Cowdrey; Peter Whitmer Jr., a teen-ager and a tailor (He made a suit for Boggs and even stayed in his house. He was the worrier, especially about money); Zibah Peterson, also a teen-ager who had an eye for women. The mission was not successful. Indian agents who read the B of M were alarmed by the accounts of wars, strategies of war, description of implements of war, etc. There were concerned such descriptions would incite the Indians so they banned the missionaries from the reservation. Many of the frontier settlers shared their fears. Parley Pratt was designated to return to New York to ask Joseph Smith what they should do. He learned on the way that the Church had moved to Kirtland. Meanwhile, Oliver and Peter Whitmer returned to Independence. Zibah Peterson left the group - and the Church - and ended up as sheriff in Hangtown, California.
Joseph Smith received revelation that Missouri was to be the new Zion. In l833 Sidney Rigdon dedicated Missouri as the land of Zion and the gathering place for the Saints. This was in Independence. He also dedicated sixty-four acres for a temple with Martin Harris giving the money for purchase of the land. The deed was in Edward Partridge’s name. Unfortunately, he died without deeding the property over to the Church. Today the property has four owners: The Community of Christ Church (formerly the Reorganized LDS) with approximately 40 acres; the Mormon Church with 20 acres; the Hedrikites with 3 and the Missouri Pacific RR with minimal acreage on one corner of the property.

Joseph Smith envisioned a temple in Independence with 24 satellite temples; one for each office of the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, three dedicated for “Communications” plus buildings to house the records of the twelve tribes.

The Reorganized Church had its origin among members in Iowa who chose not to go west with Brigham Young. In l851 this group made a decision to reorganize the Church. Five years later they approached Joseph Smith III and asked if he would be their prophet. He refused, saying he wanted to continue to run his father’s store. He failed and was approached again and again he refused. This time he wanted to be a lawyer. After two years of struggling with being a lawyer he was approached a third time but said “No” again. He now wanted to work on the railroad. Meanwhile, the Church had grown to l500 members. At a conference in Amboy, Iowa in l860 Joseph Smith III walked into the conference with Emma on his arm and was sustained as a prophet, nine years after the church was organized. The conference also voted to accept Emma’s original baptism.

Today the RLDS church has between 220 - 240,000 members, mostly in the United where they describe their growth as “moderate“. In the last decade they claim to have increased from four to thirteen the number of foreign countries where they have a presence. Several years ago they appointed a new president who holds a degree from a Methodist theological school. At the same time they applied for membership in the World Council of Churches. To do so they had to renounce many of their long-held beliefs. For example, they now accept the Trinity so explain the First Vision as Joseph Smith seeing a light but no personages. They have a dichotomy with the Book of Mormon. On the one hand they reluctantly say they accept it while on the other they raise questions about its origins. Their current position is they accept the Book of Mormon until someone proves it wrong. They rejected baptism for the dead long ago. Their Doctrine and Covenants contains l65 “revelations”. Other areas where they have made changes to become more acceptable to the secular world include:

*Women receive the priesthood. Three of the apostles are women. One large painting in their “temple” shows women giving priesthood blessing.
*The patriarch is called an “evangelist” because she is a woman. They use grape juice for the sacrament.
* Tithing is paid on net after other needs and wants are taken care of.
* Their “prophet” retires at 65.
* They hold conference in April every two years. One purpose is to vote on whether to accept any new “revelations”. Sometimes the discussions can get quite heated. The “revelations” originate with the apostles who then vote to accept it. If there is a tie they call in a layman who makes the final decision. When it is presented to the main body of the church a 2/3 majority is required before it is accepted as doctrine.

Because of these changes a substantial number of members have broken away from the main body of the church. The call themselves “Restorationists” . Our missionaries have had success with this group.

When the Saints were driven from Independence they settled in Clay and Caldwell and Davies counties. Far West became the central gathering place. Joseph had previously designated David Whitmer as President of the church in Missouri with Peter Whitmer and W.W. Phelps as counselors. He gave them $5000 to help the “poor and needy.” The three, along with Oliver Cowdrey, went to Far West and used the money to buy up land and establish their own businesses (hotel, store, livery stable, blacksmith shop, etc.). They also deeded themselves the best lots near the temple site and then sold the others for exorbitant prices. When Joseph came to Far West he asked , What happened to the $5000 for the poor and needy? The reply was, We’re helping the poor and needy by employing them to run our enterprises. Joseph asked to see the books and they refused. David Whitmer told Joseph that, while he was President of the Church in Kirtland, David was President in Missouri and Joseph had no jurisdiction here. Joseph said, “We’ll see about that” and called for a court to be held in a few days. Meantime, the three members of the presidency determined if they each offered Joseph $l000 he would not pursue the matter. When they made the proposal, Joseph replied, “Court is now in session”. The three were excommunicated and moved to Richmond, along with Oliver Cowdrey and Thomas Marsh and others, particularly apostates.

Richmond was called a “rumor-mongering” town. The many excommunicated members living there were continually reporting to Governor Boggs about the Mormons and accusing them of all kinds of misdeeds. David Whitmer became a respected member of the community, running a livery stable and eventually was elected mayor. In his later life when rumors were published he had denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon, he went to General Doniphan (who also lived in Richmond) to have Doniphan record David’s testimony and attest to his character. He then used that testimony and character reference as part of an ad he published in newspapers in the area. The Church has erected a monument in the city cemetery honoring him and Oliver Cowdrey.
A word about Oliver Cowdrey. When he was in the Whitmore home he met David’s l3-year old daughter Elizabeth. He waited until she was age and then proposed to her when both of them were living in Independence. Their children died in infancy so they had no posterity. While in Far West Oliver sold his “land of inheritance”. That was one of the charges brought against him when he was excommunicated. He said he did so because he had no children to claim the land. After his excommunication he went to Richmond with his father-in-law. He studied law and then moved to Wisconsin, Michigan(?) and finally Ohio. After l0 years he went to Kanesville, said he had “made a mistake” and was re-baptized by Orson Hyde. He and his wife made plans to go to Utah but his wife requested they return to Richmond so she could say goodbye to her father. While there Oliver contracted “lung fever” (pneumonia) and died. David Whitmer died shortly thereafter.

The story of Thomas Marsh and his life in the early days of the Church deserve review, if only to point out the consequences of what sometimes happen when a man forsakes counsel and then loses his testimony. Marsh was president of the Quorum of Twelve in Kirtland and a neighbor of George Harrison. The two families milked a common cow, one one week, one the other. The strippings (cream) were used to make cheese. One day Thomas Marsh’s wife accused Sister Harrison of cheating by holding out some of the cream. Thomas Marsh took the matter to the Bishop - Orson Hyde - and was told that if anyone was cheating it was his wife. Not satisfied, he took it to the High Council, of which George Harrison was a member. Again, he was told his wife was the problem and to forget it. Still angry, he took it to the First Presidency. Joseph Smith told him to remember the Lord’s revelation to him to look after his family and to forget the incident. Marsh became incensed and moved to Far West. There he wrote an incendiary letter to Governor Boggs accusing Joseph of all sorts of misconduct. This letter was one of several reports that prompted Boggs to issue the Extermination Order. Thomas Marsh was eventually excommunicated and for l8 years was outside the Church. His wife left him and took the children. He spent time in five states earning a living as a school teacher. He eventually realized he had made a “great mistake” and found his way to Council Bluffs to apologize to Sister Harrison. Sister Harrison had died but her husband was still living. Marsh apologized to Brother Harrison and asked his forgiveness. George Harrison said he had forgiven Thomas Marsh long ago. He took him into his home and fed and clothed him. He was rebaptized by Orson Hyde but the Saints were not satisfied as to his sincerity vs. the enormity of his crime. They felt Brigham should be the judge. So they took up a collection ($50) and sent Marsh to Salt Lake. He went to Brigham Young who did not recognize him. President Young asked Marsh to talk to him so he could be sure who it was. After a few minutes he was satisfied it was the same Thomas Marsh because, Brigham Young said, … “he was the only man he knew who chattered so much and said nothing.” Later Thomas Marsh attended conference and sat next to Brigham Young. President Young told the congregation to remember their hardships in Missouri. Then he introduced Thomas Marsh, pointing out the two were approximately the same age. (Marsh was 2 ½ years older.) Brigham Young then told the congregation they could see what happens when the Spirit of the Lord leaves a man. Marsh then spoke. He told the audience he wanted to be “accepted again by the Lord God of Israel”. The voting was unanimous to accept him back. Marsh then said he would “never again leave the Church”. At this point Brigham Young leapt to his feet and told Marsh that he was “as ignorant as ever” by making that statement. Brigham Young said he prayed every day he would remain true to the Church. He then prophesied Thomas Marsh would again leave the Church. Marsh settled in Ogden. Records of the RLDS church in Ogden mention his name nine times, indicating he participated in their church services as a High Priest. However, when he died he was buried in his priesthood robes.

Hauns Mill also figured prominently in the history of the Missouri period. It was located about 35 miles from Far West and was founded by a German immigrant named Jacob Haun. Joseph Smith had commissioned the seven presidents of the Seventy to return to Kirtland to gather the remaining Saints. About eight hundred made the trek and had stopped at Hauns Mill on the final leg of their journey. Jacob Haun invited them to stay, promising employment for all the men and women. The Seventies said they were commissioned to bring the Saints to Far West so Haun wrote a letter to the prophet requesting permission for the Saints to stay. Joseph replied, telling Haun the Saints to come to Far West and if they didn’t they would “lose their lives”. However, when Haun read the letter to the people he changed the wording so it would appear Joseph was saying they should stay in Hauns Mill. At this time (1838) Boggs issued his Extermination Order which, for the militia (mob), was like a license to kill. The Hauns Mill settlers thought a truce had been affected and were not prepared to defend themselves when the militia appeared. When the shooting started the women and children fled to the woods while many of the men headed to the blacksmith shop. It was a log cabin which allowed the mob to put their rifles through the cracks and slaughter those inside. One elderly man, Thomas McBride, was in a tent and was hacked to pieces. Other gross atrocities were committed. Amanda Barnes Smith came back from the woods after the mob left. She found her husband and sons dead. However, one boy had part of his hip shattered. She nursed his wounds and saved his life. The aftermath included the town being leveled and seventeen members killed

During one of Brigham Young’s visit to Liberty jail he asked the prophet where the Saints should go since the Missouri persecutions were becoming intolerable. Joseph told Brigham to find a place. Brigham chose Illinois which was about 200 miles from Far West and other Mormon settlements. Illinois was founded by Northerners and, therefore, was not a slave state. In addition, the people didn’t like the Missourians. They called them “pukes”. It was the winter of l839. The Saints were desperate, many living in tents with no food or heavy clothing. Brigham Young then undertook the daunting task of organizing the Saints for the trek to Illinois. He demonstrated again his leadership ability when he asked the Saints to assist the “poor and the bleeding”. He wrote in a book the names of those who committed, promising them he would remember their names before the Lord “forever”. Thus began what has subsequently been called the Trail of Tears. General Doniphan heard of the plight of the Saints and demanded the legislature appropriate $4000 to help relieve their suffering. Unfortunately, the money went to small town judges along the trail who used the money to buy swine. When the Saints came to their town they were told there was food (swine) but they would have to pay for it. When the Saints arrived at the Mississippi they found it filled with chunks of ice. Brigham Young had hoped the ferry service to Quincy - a town of l500 on the other side of the river - would be operating but it had shut down. The Saints began piling up on the river bank. A tent city began to spring up. The people in Quincy saw what was happening but didn’t know why because they had not heard of the Extermination Order. They made a decision they must do something so they filled canoes with food and clothing and negotiated the river. After a few days the river froze so the Saints were able to cross. Twelve hundred people welcomed some 6000 saints into their homes. It was pure charity. In recognition of their kindness Brigham Young asked what were the political leanings of the town. He was told, “Democrats”. From that time on the Church voted straight Democrat. Ezra Taft Benson, Sara Cleveland and George Miller were some of Quincyites who joined the Church during this period. When the Saints crossed the Mississippi many of them “shook the dust off their feet” and cursed Missouri.

In the Spring of l839 Joseph Smith was to have a Grand Jury trial in Davies county. During the transfer the sheriff got to know Joseph and was impressed. When they came to a lodging the sheriff told Joseph the guards and sheriff would get drunk and Joseph and Hyrum could steal their horses and escape. As the escapees headed for Illinois, Mother Smith awakened her husband and said, “Our sons are alive. They will be coming here soon.“ She urged her husband to stoke the fire but he wasn’t so sure so he refused. So she did the chore so her sons would have a warm homecoming. Incidentally, the sheriff was whipped for allowing the escape.
In July l838, the Lord commanded the Twelve to leave for a mission to England (D&C 118). They were to depart from the Far West temple site, April 26, l839. By Spring of l839 the Saints were safely in Illinois but the apostates in Missouri knew of the revelation and alerted the militia (mobbers) to be on the lookout for any of the Twelve trying to return to Far West. Brigham Young resolved to take the Twelve and fulfill the Lord’s command. Father Smith counseled against it but Brigham Young was determined. John Taylor announced he was going as Brigham Young’s bodyguard. (He had been called by Joseph Smith as an apostle but had not been set apart). Brother Taylor was a small-boned man and not too imposing so George A. Smith, who weighed 350 pounds, announced he was going as John Taylor’s bodyguard. When the group came to the Mississippi they prayed the Lord would “blind the eyes of their enemies.” As they rode through one town Brigham Young recognized Isaac Brusley who was an apostate. Brigham Young greeted him and asked Brusley what he was doing. “Looking for Brigham Young,” was the reply. Brigham Young doffed his hat and said, “Good day. Keep looking and I’m sure you’ll find him.”

The brethren arrived at Far West on midnight of April 26. They found Wilford Woodruff waiting for them. He had been on a mission to Fox island off the coast of Maine and had received a letter from Thomas Marsh stating that he (Marsh) had received a revelation that someone was to fall from the Quorum and Wilford was to take his place. Wilford was ready to return to the mission field but instead they called and set him apart as an Apostle as well as John Taylor and George A. Smith. Brigham did the ordinations. They then put a stone in place on the southeast corner of the temple lot and prayed for the success of their mission. It is interesting to note Brigham Young had given his coat to a needy person and had a blanket as a covering. He wore that blanket all the time he was in England where he helped bring over l000 converts into the Church.

When they began the return trip to Quincy Brigham Young told the brethren to take different routes and stop and speak with those members of the Church who remained in Missouri. It was easy to recognize their homes because they were the only ones not burned to the ground. It was understandable why they remained. When the mobs came to each home they asked, “Do you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet?” And, “Do you believe the Book of Mormon is true?” If the answer was “Yes” their homes were burned , women sometimes raped, children kidnapped from their parents and sent to orphanages so they wouldn’t be raised as Mormons. In the face of such pressures, many men answered “No” and they and their families were spared. And now, after months with no contact from the Church, here was a member of the Twelve standing on their doorstep inviting them to return. Many gladly did. It was like the second exodus from Missouri. And it could be called the first instance of the Priesthood Reactivation program in action.

Why were the Saints driven from Missouri? Here are nine reasons.
l. Land - the Saints were competing with the locals for cheap land which drove the price up for newcomers.
2. Political - they held the balance of power in the state.
3. Social - members were mainly from the Northeast and New York areas while the Missourians were from the South, primarily Kentucky.
4. Economic - Missourians looked on the Mormon general merchandise store as a threat to their already established businesses.
5. Envy - the Saints were hard-working, industrious and co-operative. The Missourians were rough and uncultured.
6. Law - Missourians lived on the edge of civilization. The state attracted hard-living frontiersmen. Enforcement of laws were lax. Governors were all-powerful, often exceeding the power of the federal government. The country at that time was really a confederation of states.
7. Religion - Mormons violated the traditional religious tenets with their “strange”, “peculiar” theology.
8. Saints Action - Sidney Rigdon dedicated the state of Missouri as the place where a modern Zion would be built. That attitude prevailed in the Saint’s minds and the locals resented it.
9. Apostates - they undermined the Church at every opportunity, claiming Joseph Smith was a fallen prophet. They incited mobs to turn out the Saints, expecting they would profit by taking over the abandoned property.

Incidentally, the Church owns 3500 acres at Adam-Ohn-Diaman. The RLDS church has built a small country church nearby. Saints settled in the area and were the last to be driven from their homes.

As soon as the Saints arrived in Quincy and the surrounding area they began to look for land where they could establish their own community. Some ten miles north of Quincy was a tract of land called Commerce that was populated with a few poor settlers. Isaac Gallatin had bought the land for speculation to be sold to Easterners who would never see the land. The deal was all set when the bank failure of l837 put an end to the venture. In desperation Gallatin agreed to sell the land to the Church with no down payment and the first payment in twenty years. At the time there were four settlers in Commerce and the people were afflicted with a “strange fever” (malaria). The Saints moved into the area in l839. The area was known as “half breed” land. The flats were half breed and the bluffs, being higher, were preferred because the water from the bluffs drained into the flats. The first job of the Saints was to drain the flats, then create a drainage system from the bluffs through the flats and into the Mississippi. That first year l800 Saints died from exposure, cholera and malaria. Some were so discouraged they complained that even Missouri was better than Commerce. Monday and Thursday were set aside for public funerals and Joseph Smith was usually the speaker. Sometimes the funeral processions were a mile long.

Seymour Bronson was the prophet’s bodyguard. He was also on the high council at Far West and was the one who brought charges against the Whitmer’s and Oliver Cowdrey. Unfortunately he died at Nauvoo. The prophet was severely impacted by his death. It was said the funeral procession was two miles long. It was at Brother Bronson’s funeral the Joseph introduced the doctrine of baptism for the dead. When Brother Bronson’s widow, Jane, heard the doctrine she turned to a priesthood holder and said, “Let’s hurry to the river so I can be baptized for my sons“ The witness was a woman on horseback. There are two different accounts of what happened next. Susan Easton Black says that Joseph stood in the water and baptized while people lined the banks 2-300 deep waiting their turn. Truman Madsen states that Joseph had to hurry to the river and stop the indiscriminate baptisms, claiming that this is now how was to be done. There had to be records kept and witnesses used.

In Commerce, Wilford Woodruff was called to go on a mission. He got as far as the Post Office and stayed on a bench, sick. Joseph Smith talked with him and commanded him to take up his bed and walk. Wilford replied “I can’t, I’m too sick.” George A. Smith came by, picked up Wilford - bench and all - and put them in the wagon. And that’s how Wilford Woodruff got started on his mission.

CARTHAGE - In June l944 the Twelve and other members were called on political missions to 26 states to promote Joseph Smith’s candidacy for President. The Prophet said he needed two men to stay. He selected John Taylor and Willard Richards.

A group of anti-Mormon residents - calling themselves the Nauvoo Conspirators - were formed to attempt to stop the rising popularity of Joseph Smith. They concluded the best way was to publish a paper. They called it the Nauvoo Expositor. The first issue came was published June 7, l844 and contained scurrilous and outrages charges against the Prophet as well as calling for the repeal of the Nauvoo charter. The next day the city council met to determine what action to take. . The core argument centered around the Bill of Rights and freedom of the press versus freedom of religion. The council debated the issue for 7½ but could not come to a conclusion. On June 10 (Monday) Joseph Smith called an emergency meeting of the council to further discuss the problem. After 6-1/2 hours of debate it was agreed the Expositor must go. The council told Sheriff John P. Green to stop the press. So Green ran through the streets of Nauvoo asking if anyone wanted to go down and stop the Expositor. The next day the employees came to work to find the press destroyed. So they set fire to the building and then rode 27 miles to the county seat in Carthage to obtain a warrant for the arrest of Hyrum and Joseph Smith.
On June 12 Sheriff Butterworth from Carthage came to Nauvoo to serve the warrant. Joseph had already seen 28 warrants in his lifetime so he read it thoroughly and in the fine print found he could appear before any judge in Hancock county. So he appeared before Judge Aaron Brown, a Mormon, and was immediately released. The next day Sheriff Butterworth came with another warrant, this time not only for Joseph and Hyrum but for the entire city council on the pretext of “inciting a riot”. But with the same notation appearing on the bottom of the warrant allowed them to appear before any judge in Hancock county. So Joseph opted to go before a non-Mormon magistrate, Daniel Wells. Judge Wells asked Joseph about his background and the Prophet promptly launched into the history of the Church - first vision, Book of Mormon, etc. When he finished the Judge said, “You are free men, with one exception - that Joseph Smith take me down to the Mississippi river and baptize me.”

That evening Joseph called ten young men to his home and told them to find the Twelve and bring them home. (By the time of Joseph’s death, they had not found them.)
During the June 14 - 18 period l800 Missourians gather in Carthage. They call themselves the Wolf Hunters and had as their avowed purpose to capture and kill Joseph Smith. Meantime, in Nauvoo, Joseph called for 100 men to go on a mission to Carthage to try and assuage feelings. Those that couldn’t go were urged to write friends, relatives, congressmen and the President of the United States telling them who the Mormons are and what was happening in Carthage. Emma galvanized the Relief Society to do the same thing.

June l8 - Joseph made his last journal entry. Its about Hyrum. Joseph wanting him to leave but Hyrum won’t. Joseph’s last journal entry words were, “I love my brother Hyrum.”
That evening Nauvoo is surrounded by the Wolf Hunters. Joseph calls out the Nauvoo legion and suspends all civil law. He instructs the Legion to hold their ground and not break ranks. The mob disperses.

June 22 - Governor Ford sends a posse to Nauvoo with a warrant for Joseph’s arrest on the charge of “inciting a riot”. They came to the Mansion House and Joseph made the decision to not go to Carthage. So he hid in a false closet and then slipped out the back door. He and Hyrum were then rowed across to the Iowa side of the Mississippi. Joseph had previously prophesied the Saints would go to the Rocky Mountains and so he planned to go ahead and then have the Twelve follow with the rest of the Saints. Joseph asked Porter Rockwell to come and see him. The word gets to Orin and also Emma who is five months pregnant. Some members accuse Joseph of being a coward, Emma is more optimistic. She urges Joseph to return because she feels she has a special relationship with Governor Ford and Joseph will be freed.

Joseph returns to Nauvoo but not without first uttering that tragic phrase, “If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of no value to me“. Joseph now prepares to go to Carthage. His last words to his son are, “Never forget me. I will die for the truth.”

Joseph met with Governor Ford at Carthage. Joseph told Ford he felt safe in his presence and asks Ford to take both he and Hyrum with him when Ford left Carthage. Ford assures him he will. There is a knock at the door and a Sheriff Bettisner appears with a new warrant for “treason”. Joseph and Hyrum are now taken to jail.
June 27 - Have about 40 visitors, the last being John Taylor and Willard Richards. Meanwhile, the Carthage Grays (so-called because they had to be over 45 and have gray hair) began their heinous work. Ironically, at the time of Joseph and Hyrum’s murder Emma was entertaining Governor For at the Mansion House.

Back at Carthage the jailer moved Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor and Willard Richards to the upper room, claiming it would be safer there. Willard Richards told Joseph that if the Prophet is to be hung, Willard will take his place. At 5:l5 p.m. John Taylor sings “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” two times. Shortly after the carnage begins. When Joseph landed on the ground outside the jail the crowd started to howl like a wolf - the signal to those inside the jail that Joseph is dead.

In the jail cell John Taylor had been shot four times with one bullet striking his pocket watch, thereby saving his life. He crawled under a bed after he is hit. Willard Richards pulled him from under the bed and covered him with a mattress. Richards went outside and found no one near the Prophet’s body because the mob has dispersed upon hearing a shout, “The Mormons are coming!” (Some go back to Missouri, others to Warsaw for a drunken party.) Willard Richards picks up Joseph Smith’s body and began to sob. Some of those called to try and change public opinion in Nauvoo and heard the shots and rushed to the jail. There they found Willard Richards who instructed them to return to Nauvoo and tell the Saints that Joseph and Hyrum are dead and not to respond. The returning group met Governor Ford on the way. He tried to turn them back. Some went ahead anyway. Governor Ford went to Nauvoo and told the people to prepare for war.

When Mary Fielding (Hyrum’s wife) learned of the tragedy she sobbed all night.
Willard Richards returned to the jail and carried John Taylor to the Hamilton Hotel. He sent for a doctor who wanted John Taylor to take alcohol while he operated. (He didn’t). The doctor took bullets out of the right leg, wrist and arm. He did not take the bullet out of the left leg. Thereafter John Taylor walked with a cane. Later in life a blood clot formed around the bullet which eventually caused his death. John Taylor is sometimes called the third martyr.
When Joseph and Hyrum’s bodies were brought back to Nauvoo the entire town lined Parley Street in mourning. The funeral cortege was a military type with the Nauvoo Legion leading the way. The wagons with the bodies were brought to the Mansion House and Willard Richards spoke to the crowd, telling them he had given his word that “we would not retaliate”. (Some “loose cannons” were out for revenge, notably Porter Rockwell)

Mary Fielding was a stoical, English bred lady. At the viewing she lifted her oldest son Joseph Fielding to see his father. She said, “Your father died for the church (truth), now you live for it.”
Emma was totally distraught. She clung to Joseph and repeatedly cried, “Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me”.

Lucy Mack Smith plaintively asked, “Oh God, why hast thou forsaken this family?”
At the viewing only the faces are seen. At 5 p.m. the viewing was closed and everyone went to the temple grounds for the eulogy. Joseph’s body was then hidden in a fake closet and Hyrum’s body also sequestered. The coffins were filled with sand and taken to the temple. “Praise to the Man”, specially written for the funeral, was sung. Joseph had previously requested a vault in the temple for his burial. The sand-filled caskets were placed there. The bodies were secretly taken to the Nauvoo House and buried. In September l894 Brigham Young went back to Nauvoo.

Emma didn’t want Joseph and Hyrum’s bodies buried in “her” house so she had them removed to the Bee(?) House - without telling Brigham or consulting the twelve. In l929 the RLDS had an archeological dig to find the bodies. They only found some disconnected bones. Emma and Brigham also clashed over who owned the JST translation of the scriptures. Emma claimed they were her personal property and Brigham said they belonged to the Church. There was also the question of the Mansion House ownership that was resolved in Emma’s favor.

Joseph Smith’s daughter, Julia Murdock, married, became a Catholic and moved with her husband to Texas. He died, she moved to Illinois to be with her mother and died at 49 as an alcoholic.

Emma married Colonel Lewis Bidemon in l849. He was an atheist who went to California during the gold rush fever. He did not bring back any gold but he did bring back a mistress. She was pregnant and Emma insisted she stay at the Mansion House. Emma said she did not tell her children about the Church because she did not want them to suffer as she had.

In March l7 l842 in the upper room of the red brick store Emma was voted first president of the Relief Society Or “Benevolent Society“ as it was initially called. She was never set apart because JS said her setting apart was in the 25th section of the D & C. Emma served for eight months. She was not ill, just not “feeling well“. Prayers were offered in her behalf but the sisters did not know she had just learned about plural marriage and was quite distraught. She would go to meetings, look around, and silently ask, ”Is it you? Is it you?” Incidentally, her favorite hymn was “Nay Speak No Evil.”

In l844 Emma shut down the Relief Society. There were no meetings when the Saints crossed the plains. When the exodus began Emma’s friends in Relief Society left her. She was used to having people come to the Mansion House for meals and to stay over. Lucy Smith said Emma was the “most compassionate person she had ever met.” She really had two lives. The naturally gregarious, compassionate, outgoing person Lucy Mack knew and the estranged, embittered person that remained at Nauvoo. Her goal in life was to outlive Brigham Young. She did, by two years, and was proud of it. Emma and Brigham Young’s last words were, “Joseph, Joseph, Joseph.“

A well-to-do sister, Sarah Kimball, had a young maid named Margaret who noticed men with tattered shirts going to work on the temple. So, during the first meetings the sisters would sing “How Firm a Foundation” and then sew shirts for the workers. Later, they would poll the sisters to determine if they had performed any acts of charity during the week and if they hadn’t they were asked to leave and do so. In the beginning Joseph Smith and Willard Richards would teach the members. Eliza Snow always took notes. Any quotes came directly from the prophet. Visiting teaching consisted of the sisters going door-to-door with a basket and asking if the occupants had anything for the poor. Everything was brought to Emma and she would distribute it.

After the temple was dedicated in Nauvoo the saints did endowments for about nine weeks They were told to bring food for themselves and temple workers. They would start about 3 p.m. and end around midnight. In the brick store a “Quorum of the Anointed” (“Believers?”) was formed. They became the first temple workers. At one time some brethren were told to take some of the “Quorum of the Anointed” to Kirtland, slip into the temple, re-dedicate the rooms, have their endowments, then quietly leave before arousing any suspicion.

During the exodus no Relief Society meetings were held. After the arrival in Salt Lake Eliza R. Snow was called as President. She was a fastidious, accomplished woman who wore silk dresses and pearls instead of a sunbonnet and calico. She was reserved and not necessarily loved. The first meetings were devoted to making blankets and clothes for the poor and the Indian children. During one quilting bee Sister Snow prophesied that Heber Grant would be an apostle some day if his mother could control him. It was sister Snow that recommended the sisters teach the lessons because they “knew more about children and house care than men.“

On May l0, 1869 Union Pacific and Southern Pacific joined their railroads at Promontory Point in Utah. This signaled the end of the pioneer era for the Church. With the arrival of the railroad gentile merchants brought fashion to Utah women. Brigham Young called Sister Snow to stop the movement. The Relief Society continued to grow and accumulate wealth including the growing of mulberry trees to start a silk industry from which silk dresses were sewn and sold through ZCMI. They also bought granaries, flour mills, etc. They were so successful that in the l880 General Conference President John Taylor advised the Relief Society to not charge interest on the grain they sold to the brethren. Meetings were very business-like. Parlimentery procedure was observed with a secretary taken notes. Dues were also collected.

Iowa Period

Brigham Young is President of the Twelve and had two primary goals: a) finish the Nauvoo Temple and b) take the Saints west. “Turn your living rooms into wagon boxes. Get food ready. Flee Babylon” was his clarion call. And in February l846 the exodus began. The first man to cross the Mississippi was Charles Shumway. On February 7 Brigham was still in the temple. He called the twelve to the temple altar and asked the Lord for help in crossing the Plains and also to preserve the temple but if it is not preserved to allow it to be rebuilt some day. The first encampment in Iowa was at Sugar Creek. Here they built log cabins and started a blacksmith shop. Some families stayed two years to assist others as they began their trek across Iowa. The initial movement across Iowa was not in single file but different routes. They were

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