Chapter XXXIII

POLITICAL PERPLEXITIES--JOSEPH SMITH A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

THE events related in the last two chapters occurred on the eve of an election for United States representatives, State and county officers. The Whig and Democratic parties were so divided in Illinois that the citizens of Nauvoo held the balance of power in the congressional district where they were located, and also in the county. Whichever party they voted with, as they voted unitedly, gained the election. This circumstance brought to the people of Nauvoo many concessions, and caused the candidates of both political parties to fawn at their feet. It was a case where "Bell boweth down, and Nebo stoopeth." But we shall see that it also brought with it serious difficulties that contributed in no small degree to hasten the fall of Nauvoo; and yet it was a situation forced upon the Saints rather than a policy deliberately chosen by them. The Prophet himself has given the very best explanation of the enforced necessity of the Saints voting unitedly while in Illinois, and I here quote that explanation:

With regard to elections, some say all the Latter-day Saints vote
together and vote as I say. But I never tell any man how to vote,
or who to vote for. But I will show you how we have been situated
by bringing a comparison. Should there be a Methodist society here
and two candidates running for office, one says, "If you will vote
for me and put me in governor I will exterminate the Methodists,
take away their charters, etc." The other candidate says "If I am
governor, I will give all an equal privilege." Which would the
Methodists vote for? Of course they would vote _en masse_ for the
candidate that would give them their rights. Thus it has been
with us. Joseph Duncan said, if the people would elect him, he
would exterminate the Mormons and take away their charters. As to
Mr. Ford he made no such threats, but manifested a spirit in his
speeches to give every man his rights; hence The Church universally
voted for Mr. Ford, and he was elected governor. [1]

In the election above referred to a circumstance occurred which greatly intensified the political bitterness. It will be remembered that Cyrus Walker refused to assist Joseph when under arrest at Dixon, unless he would pledge him his vote in the then pending election. This Joseph did and Walker was satisfied that he would go to Congress, as he expected that Joseph's vote would bring to him the entire vote of Nauvoo, which would insure his election; and so expressed himself to Stephen Markham. But the day before election, which was Sunday, Hyrum told Joseph that the Spirit had manifested it to him that it would be to the best interests of the people to vote the Democratic ticket, including Mr. Hoge, the Democratic candidate for Congress. Joseph made that announcement in a public meeting, but in addressing the people he said:

I am not come to tell you to vote this way, that way, or the other.
In relation to national matters I want it to go abroad to the whole
world that every man should stand on his own merits. The Lord has
not given me a revelation concerning politics. I have not asked Him
for one. I am a third party, and stand independent and alone. I
desire to see all parties protected in their rights.

Referring to what Hyrum had communicated to him he said:

I never knew Hyrum to say he ever had a revelation and it failed.
Let God speak, and all men hold their peace.

Joseph kept his pledge personally, and voted for Cyrus Walker; but the Democratic ticket was overwhelmingly successful in Nauvoo.

It ought to be said here in justification of the course of the people of Nauvoo, that very good evidence existed to the effect that the whole difficulty connected with the arrest of Joseph at Dixon on the old Missouri charges of "treason, arson," etc, etc., was a political scheme planned with a view of securing the Mormon vote for the Whig party. The _Illinois State Register_ in July published the following on the subject of the arrest of the Prophet at Dixon, to justify the charge it made that the whole affair was but a Whig plot to secure the Mormon vote:

The public is already aware that a demand was lately made upon the
governor of this State for the arrest of Joseph Smith, and that a
writ was accordingly issued against him. We propose now to state
some of the facts, furnishing strong grounds of suspicion that the
demand which was made on the governor here was a manoeuvre of the
Whig party.

1st. A letter was shown to a gentleman of this city, by the agent
of Missouri, from the notorious John C. Bennett to a gentleman in
one of the western counties of that State, urging the importance of
getting up an indictment immediately against Smith, for the five or
six years old treason of which he was accused several years ago.

2nd. This charge had been made once before, and afterwards
abandoned by Missouri. It is the same charge on which Smith was
carried before Judge Douglass and discharged two years ago. After
that decision, the indictment against Smith was dismissed, and the
charge wholly abandoned.

3rd. But in the letter alluded to, Bennett says to his Missouri
agent, Go to the judge, and never leave him until he appoints
a special term of court; never suffer the court to adjourn
until an indictment is found against Smith for treason. When an
indictment shall have been found, get a copy and go immediately to
the governor, and never leave him until you get a demand on the
governor of Illinois for Smith's arrest; and then dispatch some
active and vigilant person to Illinois for a warrant and let him
never leave the governor until he gets it; and then never let him
come back to Missouri without Smith.

4th. A special term of the circuit court of Daviess County,
Missouri, was accordingly called on the 5th day of June last. An
indictment was found against Smith for treason five years old. A
demand was made and a writ issued, as anticipated, by the 17th of
the same month.

5th. Bennett it is well known has for a year past been a mere tool
in the hands of the Whig junto at Springfield. He has been under
their absolute subjection and control, and has been a regular
correspondent of the _Sangamo Journal_, the principal organ of
the Whig party. He has been a great pet of both the _Journal_ and
the junto; and that paper has regularly announced his removals
from place to place, until latterly; and within the last year has
published more of his writings than of any other person, except the
editor.

6th. Cyrus Walker, a short time after his nomination, as the Whig
candidate for Congress in the 6th district, made a pilgrimage
to Nauvoo, for the purpose of currying favor with the Mormons,
and getting their support. But in this he was disappointed and
dejected; and it was generally believed that, failing to get the
Mormon vote, he would be beaten by his Democratic opponent.

7th. Let it be also borne in mind that the treason of which Smith
was accused was five or six years old; that it had been abandoned
as a charge by Missouri; that the circuit court of that State
sat three times a year; that Smith was permanently settled at
Nauvoo, no person dreaming that he would leave there for years
to come; that they might have waited in Missouri for a regular
term of the court, if the design was simply to revive a charge
of treason against Smith, with a perfect assurance that he would
always be found at home, and be as subject to arrest at one time
as another. But this delay did not suit the conspirators as it
would put off an attempt to arrest Smith until after the August
election. Let it be borne in mind also that the agent of Missouri,
after he had obtained the custody of Smith at Dixon, refused to
employ a Democratic lawyer, and insisted upon having a Whig lawyer
of inferior abilities, simply upon the ground as he stated, that
the Democrats were against him. Let it also be borne in mind
that Cyrus Walker, the Whig candidate for Congress, miraculously
_happened_ to be within six miles of Dixon when Smith was arrested,
ready and convenient to be employed by Smith to get him delivered
from custody; and that he was actually employed and actually did
get Smith enlarged from custody; and withal let it be remembered
that John C. Bennett is the pliant tool and pander of the junto
at Springfield; and that he was the instigator of an unnecessary
special term in Missouri, on the 5th day of June last, for the
purpose of getting Smith indicted. We say let all these facts
be borne in mind, and they produce a strong suspicion, if not
conviction, that the whole affair is a Whig conspiracy to compel
a Democratic governor to issue a writ against Smith, pending the
congressional elections, so as to incense the Mormons, create a
necessity for Walker's and perhaps Browning's professional services
in favor of Smith, to get him delivered out of a net of their own
weaving, and thereby get the everlasting gratitude of the Mormons
and their support for the Whig cause. (_Illinois State Register_,
quoted in History of Joseph Smith, Millennial Star, vol. XXI, p.
762.)

Such a plot coming to the knowledge of Joseph and the citizens of Nauvoo would certainly justify them in voting against the perpetrators of such an outrage. Of course it cannot be denied that Cyrus Walker was justified in believing that the vote of Joseph Smith pledged to him at Dixon, and which by him was made a condition precedent to his coming to the assistance of Joseph, was understood as meaning something more than the individual vote of the Prophet, nor do I think the Prophet censurable for using any means at his command under the circumstances to deliver himself from the hands of his enemies. But if afterwards the people of Nauvoo learned--as they evidently did--that a plot had been laid to ensnare them, to secure their vote though it involved the liberty, and perhaps the life of their Prophet-leader, they were justified in casting their votes against the men guilty of such perfidy.

This sudden and unexpected change in the vote of the citizens of Nauvoo, stirred up to the very depths the enmity of the defeated political party; and when, shortly after the election, R. D. Foster, who had been elected school commissioner, and G. W. Thatcher, who had been elected clerk of the commissioner's court for the county, appeared at the courthouse in Carthage to take the oath of office, and file their bonds, an attempt was made to keep them from doing so; and the court was threatened with violence if the Mormons were permitted to qualify.

They qualified, nevertheless; whereupon a call was issued for an anti-Mormon meeting to convene in Carthage on the following Saturday, August the 19th, to protest against the Mormons holding office. The people of Carthage and vicinity assembled at the appointed time, organized with a chairman, Major Reuben Graves; and a secretary, W. D. Abernethy; and a committee of nine to draft resolutions. After listening to speeches by Valentine Wilson, Walter Bagby and others, the meeting adjourned to meet again on the sixth of September.

To enumerate the crimes alleged against the Saints in general and in particular against Joseph Smith, in the preamble to the resolutions adopted at their second meeting, would be drawing up a list of all the crimes that ever threatened the peace, happiness, prosperity and liberty of a nation. They resolved that from recent movements among the Mormons, there were indications that they were unwilling to submit to the ordinary restrictions of law; and therefore concluded that the people of Illinois must assert their rights in some way. That while they deprecated anything like lawless violence, they pledged themselves to resist all wrongs the Mormons should inflict upon them in the future--"peaceably if they could, but forcibly if they must." They called upon all good and honest men to assist in humbling the pride of that "audacious despot," Joseph Smith; pledged themselves to raise a posse and take him if the authorities of Missouri made another demand for him; that it might not be said of them, that they allowed the most outrageous culprits "to go unwhipped of justice." They agreed to support no man of either political party who should truckle to the Mormons for their influence, and finally

Resolved that when the government ceases to afford protection, the
citizens of course fall back upon their original inherent right of
self-defense.

One of the principal movers in these meetings was Walter Bagby, the county collector, with whom Joseph had some difficulty in relation to the payment of taxes. In the dispute that arose Bagby told Joseph he lied, and for this insult Joseph struck him, and would doubtless have thrashed him soundly but for the interference of Daniel H. Wells. From that time on, Bagby became the relentless enemy of Joseph and the inspirer of these meetings at Carthage; and afterwards went to Missouri where he conferred with the Prophet's old enemies, and brought about that concerted action between the Missourians and the anti-Mormons of Illinois which resulted finally in his assassination.

Later in the fall, acts of violence began to be perpetrated upon the Mormon people who lived at a distance from Nauvoo; and threats of violence were frequent. In December of the year of which I am now writing--1843--a member of The Church living near Warsaw, by the name of Daniel Avery, and his son Philander, were kidnapped by Levi Williams, of Warsaw, John Elliot and others, and run across the Mississippi to Missouri, where for several weeks Daniel Avery was kept a prisoner in Clark County, while one Joseph McCoy was hunting up witnesses to prove that he had stolen a mare from him. Philander Avery escaped and returned to Illinois; but his father remained a prisoner, and suffered great cruelty at the hands of his captors. Finally, however, he was released by writ of _habeas corpus_, and went to Nauvoo where he made affidavit as to his treatment.

Wild rumors abounded also as to what the Missourians intended to do; and some of the letters from Missouri that fell into Joseph's hands, through friends of his, threatened Illinois with invasion, and for a season it would seem that a border war was inevitable. Joseph was careful to keep Governor Ford informed as to all acts of violence perpetrated upon his people, and especially as to the threats of the Missourians respecting an attack, and went so far as to tender the services of the Legion to repel any attempted invasion of the State should it occur. Governor Ford, however, refused to believe there was any danger in the threats, and therefore would detail no portion of the Legion, or of the other State militia, to be ready for such an assault.

A petition signed by nearly all the citizens of Nauvoo, asking the governor to issue no more warrants at the demand of Missouri for the arrest of Joseph Smith on the old charges, was presented to the executive, but the governor refused to give the people any encouragement that he would favorably entertain their suit.

In the meantime another important event began to take shape. As the time of the presidential election was now approaching the probable candidates for the office began to be discussed.

It was well known that the vote of the citizens of Nauvoo would be important, as it would most likely determine whether Illinois would go Whig or Democratic. The political friends of John C. Calhoun at Quincy, early perceived the importance of securing their favor, and began to work for it. A Colonel Frierson, of Quincy, the political friend of John C. Calhoun, expressed great sympathy for the Saints because of the injustice and persecution they had received at the hands of Missouri, and intimated to Brother Joseph L. Heywood that the Hon. B. Rhett, a representative from South Carolina to the United States Congress, and also a political friend to Mr. Calhoun, had expressed a willingness to present to Congress a memorial for a redress of wrongs suffered by the Saints in Missouri; but was careful to intimate to Brother Heywood, and through him to the citizens of Nauvoo, that he supposed that Mr. Calhoun would be a more acceptable candidate to them than Mr. Van Buren.

Colonel Frierson afterwards went to Nauvoo, met in council with the leading citizens, and drafted a memorial to Congress; a copy of which he took with him to Quincy to obtain signers, but I think it never reached the House of Representatives.

The incident, however, suggested to the Prophet the propriety of addressing letters to each of the candidates for the presidency--five in number, viz.,--John C. Calhoun, Lewis Cass, Richard M. Johnson, Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren--to ascertain what policy they would adopt respecting the Saints and redressing the wrongs done them by Missouri. Only two out of the number, however, gave a reply. They were Calhoun and Clay. The former was of the opinion that the general government possessed such limited and specific powers, that the Missouri troubles did not come within its jurisdiction. As to his treatment of the Latter-day Saints, as the Constitution and the laws of the Union made no distinction between citizens of different religious creeds, he should make none; but so far as the executive was concerned all should have the full benefit of both, and none should be exempted from their operation. [2]

Clay partially disclaimed being a candidate for the presidency, but said if he ever entered into that high office, he must do so free and unfettered, with no guarantees but such as might be drawn from his whole life, character and conduct. But he was careful to say, that he had watched the progress of the Saints, and sympathized with them in their sufferings under injustice, which had been inflicted upon them; and thought that they, in common with other religious communities, should enjoy the security and protection of the Constitution and laws.

To these letters the Prophet Joseph wrote scathing replies. The particular portion of Calhoun's answer with which he dealt, was that which claimed that the general government had no jurisdiction in the case of the Saints and Missouri, and handled rather severely the senator's doctrine of the limited powers of the general government. [3]

In reply to Henry Clay he dealt chiefly with his "no pledge nor guarantee" doctrine, only such as could be drawn from his whole life, character and conduct; and drew such a picture of that statesman's past conduct, that the Kentucky senator could not feel flattered withal, to say the least; and in good round terms he denounced the subterfuges of politicians, and demanded of the nation justice in behalf of his afflicted people. In reading this correspondence one cannot but think that the Prophet is unnecessarily harsh of expression, and some phrases we cannot help but feel are certainly unworthy of him. The faults of these letters, however, are not so much the fault of the individual as the fault of the times. Those were days when moderation in language was certainly not characteristic of the political literature of the times. Personal abuse often seems to have been mistaken for argument, and severity of expression was often thought to out-weigh reason. One other thing should be remembered also, and that is the Prophet Joseph very largely depended upon others for the expression, for the literary form of those ideas which he advanced, and these secondary persons yielded too often to the spirit of the times in what they set down as coming from the Prophet.

When it was ascertained that from none of the candidates in the field, the citizens of Nauvoo could hope for assistance in obtaining justice for the wrongs they suffered in Missouri, Joseph allowed a convention at Nauvoo to put his name in nomination for the office of president; and he published his "Views on the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States," a document of great strength and one which excited considerable comment from the press of the country, very much of which was favorable.

In this document the Prophet-candidate reviews the growth and development of the American government until it reached the "_Acme_ of American glory, liberty, and prosperity" under the administration of General Jackson; and then the beginning of its decline under the "withering touch of Martin Van Buren." He advocated prison reform. Advised the people of the south to petition their respective legislatures to abolish slavery by the year 1850, or now, "and save the abolitionist from reproach and ruin, infamy and shame." He recommended the payment of a reasonable price to the slave-holders of the south for their slaves, to be paid by the surplus revenue, arising from the sale of public lands, and reduction in the wages paid to congress-men. The southern people, said he, are hospitable and noble. They will help to rid so free a country of every vestige of slavery, whenever they are assured of an equivalent for their property. He recommended more economy in the national and state governments, and more equality among the people.

For the accommodation of the people he proposed the establishment of a national bank, with branches in each State, the directors thereof to be elected yearly by the people; and the profits arising from the business to be used as revenue, in defraying the expenses of government, the profits from the branch banks, being used in the respective States where they existed; and those arising from the parent institution by the general government; and reduce taxation to the extent of the net profits of these institutions.

In the light of the experience he and the Latter-day Saints had passed through in Missouri, he advocated the idea of giving the president full power to send an army to suppress mobs, "and appealed to the States to repeal that relic of folly," which made it necessary for the governor of a State to make a demand of the president for troops in case of invasion or rebellion. "The governor himself," he goes on to say, "may be a mobber; and instead of being punished, as he should be, for murder or treason, he may destroy the very lives, rights and property he should protect."

He favored the annexation of Texas, and the extension of the authority of the United States over contiguous territory on the west, and said:

When a neighboring realm petitioned to join the Union of the Sons
of Liberty, my voice would be, _come_--yea, come Texas, come
Mexico, come Canada, and come all the world; let us be brethren,
let us be one great family, and let there be a universal peace. [4]

On the seventeenth of June, 1844, a State convention was held at Nauvoo, which ratified the views of Joseph on the "Powers and Policy of the Government," passed a series of resolutions inviting all men of all parties to assist in the work of reforming the government, and in a formal manner putting in nomination General Joseph Smith for President of the United States, and Sidney Rigdon for vice-president.

James Arlington Bennett, of New York, was asked to take the second place on the ticket first; but, he being of foreign birth, was not eligible. Then the position was offered to Colonel Solomon Copeland, but for some reason he did not accept; so the next choice was Sidney Rigdon, who by that time had removed from Nauvoo to Pennsylvania.

Arrangements were entered into, to hold a national convention in New York on the thirteenth of July following, and preparations were made for an active campaign in favor of the Prophet-nominee; but before the time for the national convention had arrived, the standard bearer of the new party of reform, Jeffersonian Democracy, [5] free trade and sailors' rights, fell pierced by assassins' bullets--the victim of a cruel mob.

Of course Joseph had no hope that he would be elected to the presidency, but by becoming a candidate, he gave the citizens of Nauvoo an opportunity to act consistently with their views of what ought to be done for the general good of the nation, and at the same time, avoid the wrath of the political parties in the State of Illinois by affiliating with neither of them in the ensuing election; for whenever they voted with one of those parties the other became enraged and _vice versa_. Doubtless the best reasons for, and the best justification of, this movement on the part of the people of Nauvoo is to be found in an editorial article from the _Times and Seasons_ for February, 1844--with which I close this chapter:

WHO SHALL BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT?

This is an inquiry which to us as a people is a matter of the most
paramount importance, and requires our most serious, calm, and
dispassionate reflection. Executive power, when correctly wielded,
is a great blessing to the people of this great commonwealth, and
forms one of the firmest pillars of our confederation. It watches
the interests of the whole community with a fatherly care; it
wisely balances the other legislative powers when overheated by
party spirit or sectional feeling; it watches with jealous care our
interests and commerce with foreign nations, and gives tone and
efficacy to legislative enactments.

The President stands at the head of these United States, and
is the mouth-piece of this vast republic. If he be a man of an
enlightened mind and a capacious soul,--if he be a virtuous man,
a statesman, a patriot, and a man of unflinching integrity,--if
he possess the same spirit that fired the souls of our venerable
sires, who founded this great commonwealth, and wishes to promote
the universal good of the whole republic, he may indeed be made a
blessing to the community.

But if he prostrates his high and honorable calling to base
and unworthy purposes,--if he makes use of the power which the
people have placed in his hands for their interests to gratify
his ambition, for the purpose of self-aggrandizement or pecuniary
interest,--if he meanly panders with demagogues, loses sight of the
interest of the nation, and sacrifices the Union on the altar of
sectional interests or party views, he renders himself unworthy of
the dignified trust reposed in him, debases the nation in the eyes
of the civilized world, and produces misery and confusion at home.
"When the wicked rule the people mourn."

There is perhaps no body of people in the United States who
are at the present time more interested about the issue of the
presidential contest than are the Latter-day Saints. And our
situation in regard to the two great political parties is a most
novel one. It is a fact well understood that we have suffered
great injustice from the State of Missouri, that we petitioned to
the authorities of that State for redress in vain, that we have
also memorialized Congress under the late administration, and have
obtained the heartless reply that "Congress has no power to redress
your grievances."

After having taken all the legal and constitutional steps that
we can, we are still groaning under accumulated wrongs. Is there
no power anywhere to redress our grievances? Missouri lacks the
disposition, and Congress lacks both the disposition and power (?);
and thus fifteen thousand inhabitants of these United States can
with impunity be dispossessed of their property; have their houses
burned, their property confiscated, many of their numbers murdered,
and the remainder driven from their homes and left to wander as
exiles in this boasted land of freedom and equal rights: and after
appealing again and again to the legally constituted authorities of
our land for redress, we are coolly told by our highest tribunals,
"We can do nothing for you."

We have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars into the coffers
of Congress for their lands, and they stand virtually pledged
to defend us in our rights, but they have not done it. If a man
steals a dollar from his neighbor, or steals a horse or a hog, he
can obtain redress; but we have been robbed by wholesale, the most
daring murders have been committed, and we are coolly told that we
can obtain no redress. If a steamboat is set on fire on our coast
by foreigners, even when she is engaged in aiding and abetting the
enemies of that power, it becomes a matter of national interference
and legislation; or if a foreigner, as in the case of McLeod,
is taken on our land and tried for supposed crimes committed by
him against our citizens, his nation interferes, and it becomes
a matter of negotiation and legislation. But our authorities
can calmly look on and see the citizens of a country butchered
with impunity: they can see two counties dispossessed of their
inhabitants, their houses burned, and their property confiscated;
and when the crys of fifteen thousand men, women and children
salute their ears, they deliberately tell us that we can obtain no
redress!

Hear it, therefore, ye mobbers! Proclaim it to all the scoundrels
in the Union! Let a standard be erected around which shall rally
all the renegadoes of the land: assemble yourselves and rob at
pleasure; murder till you are satisfied with blood; drive men,
women and children from their homes: there is no law to protect
them, and Congress has no power to redress their grievances; and
the great father of the Union (the President) has not got an ear to
listen to their complaints.

What shall we do under this state of things? In the event of either
of the prominent candidates, Van Buren or Clay, obtaining the
presidential chair, we should not be placed in any better situation.

In speaking of Mr. Clay, his politics are diametrically opposed to
ours. He inclines strongly to the old school of Federalists, and
as a matter of course would not favor our cause; neither could we
conscientiously vote for him. And we have yet stronger objections
to Mr. Van Buren on other grounds. He has sung the old song of
Congress--"Congress has no power to redress your grievances."

But did the matter rest here, it would not be so bad. He was in
the presidential chair at the time of our former difficulties. We
appealed to him on that occasion, but we appealed in vain, and his
sentiments are yet unchanged.

But all these thing are tolerable in comparison to what we have
yet to state. We have been informed from a respectable source that
there is an understanding between Mr. Benton, of Missouri, and Mr.
Van Buren, and a conditional compact entered into, that if Mr.
Benton will use his influence to get Mr. Van Buren elected, Van
Buren, when elected, shall use his executive influence to wipe away
the stain from Missouri by a further persecution of the Mormons,
and wreaking out vengeance on their heads, either by extermination
or by some other summary process. We could scarcely credit the
statement; and we hope yet for the sake of humanity, that the
suggestion is false: but we have too good reason to believe that we
are correctly informed.

If, then, this is the case can we conscientiously vote for a man
of this description, and put the weapon in his hands to cut our
throats with? We cannot. And however much we might wish to sustain
the Democratic nomination, we cannot--we will not vote for Van
Buren. Our interests, our property, our lives, and the lives of our
families are too dear to us to be sacrificed at the shrine of party
spirit and to gratify party feelings. We have been sold once in the
State of Missouri, and our liberties bartered away by political
demagogues, through executive intrigue, and we wish not to be
betrayed again by Benton and Van Buren.

Under these circumstances, the question again arises, Whom shall
we support? General Joseph Smith--a man of sterling worth and
integrity and of enlarged views--a man who has raised himself
from the humblest walks in life to stand at the head of a large,
intelligent, respectable and increasing society, that has spread
not only in this land, but in distant nations,--a man whose
talents and genius are of an exalted nature, and whose experience
has rendered him in every way adequate to the onerous duty.
Honorable, fearless, and energetic, he would administer justice
with an impartial hand, and magnify and dignify the office of Chief
magistrate of this land; and we feel assured that there is not a
man in the United States more competent for the task.

One great reason that we have for pursuing our present course is,
that at every election we have been made a political target for
the filthy demagogues in the country to shoot their loathsome
arrows at. And every story has been put into requisition to blast
our fame from the old fabrication of "walk on the water" down to
"the murder of ex-Governor Boggs." The journals have teemed with
this filthy trash, and even men who ought to have more respect
for themselves--men contending for the gubernatorial chair have
made use of terms so degrading, so mean, so humiliating, that a
Billingsgate fisherwoman would have considered herself disgraced
with. We refuse any longer to be thus bedaubed for either party.
We tell all such to let their filth flow in its own legitimate
channel, for we are sick of the loathsome smell.

Gentlemen, we are not going either to "murder ex-Governor Boggs,
nor a Mormon in this State for not giving us his money," nor are we
going to "walk on the water," nor "drown a woman," nor "defraud the
poor of their property," nor send "destroying angels after General
Bennett to kill him," nor "Marry spiritual wives," nor commit any
other outrageous act this election to help any party with. You must
get some other persons to perform these kind offices for you for
the future. We withdraw.

Under existing circumstances, we have no other alternative; and
if we can accomplish our object, well: if not, we shall have the
satisfaction of knowing that we have acted conscientiously, and
have used our best judgment. And if we have to throw away our
votes, we had better do so upon a worthy rather than upon an
unworthy individual, who might make use of the weapon we put in his
hand to destroy us with.

Whatever may be the opinions of men in general in regard to Mr.
Smith, we know that he needs only to be known to be admired; and
that it is the principles of honor, integrity, patriotism, and
philanthropy that have elevated him in the minds of his friends;
and the same principles, if seen and known, would beget the esteem
and confidence of all the patriotic and virtuous throughout the
Union.

Whatever, therefore, be the opinions of other men our course is
marked out, and our motto from henceforth will be--GENERAL JOSEPH
SMITH.

Footnotes

1. History of Joseph Smith, Mill. Star, vol. xxi, p. 668.

The remarks were made at a public meeting soon after the Prophet's release by the municipal court of Nauvoo from the custody of Reynolds and Wilson.

2. See Appendix I.

3. See Appendix II.

4. See Appendix III.

5. The fifth resolution adopted at the Nauvoo convention read as follows:

_Resolved_, that the better to carry out the principles of liberty and equal rights, Jeffersonian Democracy, free trade, and sailors' rights, and the protection of person and property, we will support General Joseph Smith for the President of the United States at the ensuing election.