Winter, 1982. Constable David Bettisworth was tasked with arresting Smith and conveying him to the Hancock County Court. Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill, Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1979). Afterwards, Joseph and the Mormons navigate the strong reaction to the press' destruction. Book of Mormon Central / Archive / Legally Supressing the Nauvoo Expositor in 1844. Expositor, entitled "The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor, published in the "Utah Law Review," vol. The Expositor was planned as an exposé of church practices which Law and his associates opposed.[1]. The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, that published only one issue, on June 7, 1844.Its destruction set off a chain of events that led to the death of Joseph Smith.. [14]:15 On June 12, the Hancock County Justice of the Peace issued a warrant for the arrest of Smith and 17 other named individuals under the jurisdiction of the Hancock County Court. The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, that published only one issue, on June 7, 1844. [23], After the defendants were granted bail on the riot charge, Justice R. F. Smith heard testimony from Augustine Spencer and issued a writ for the arrest of Joseph and Hyrum Smith on the charge of treason against Illinois. Dallin H. Oaks, “The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor,” Utah Law Review, vol. 9, no. 4 (Winter 1965), 862–903. Under the leadership of Mayor Joseph Smith, the Nauvoo City Council suppressed that opposition newspaper by destroying the press, scattering the type, and burning the remaining copies. Note: Citations are based on reference standards. American Legal and Political Institutions, Christian Churches in Joseph Smith’s Day, Daily Life of First-Generation Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith’s 1844 Campaign for United States President, Lectures on Theology (“Lectures on Faith”), Martin Harris’s Consultations with Scholars, Printing and Publishing the Book of Mormon, Religious Beliefs in Joseph Smith’s Day, Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood, Temple Dedications and Dedicatory Prayers, “Nauvoo Expositor,” Church History Topics, On Friday, June 7, 1844, dissenters from the Church published the one and only issue of an opposition newspaper they called the Nauvoo Expositor. The Smiths were placed under arrest and transported to Carthage Jail.[23]. What is telling is that the Nauvoo City Council did not discuss these claims, and they deliberated quite some time on the matter. "[6] On January 8, 1844, Smith removed Law from the First Presidency. In 1839, a beleaguered, exiled group known as the Church of Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ—also known as the Mormons—crossed the Missouri border into Jackson County, Illinois. The Nauvoo Expositor and ‘presentism’ When Joseph Smith was serving as mayor of Nauvoo, the Nauvoo City Council destroyed the press, scattered the type and burned copies of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper that opposed the Church. During the council meetings, Joseph Smith cited both American legal precedent and William Blackstone’s commentary (an influential treatise on common law), interpreting these sources as allowing the destruction of the Expositor on the grounds that it was a public nuisance—something that posed a danger to the safety and welfare of society. We give this week to the following Preamble, Resolutions and Affidavits, of the Seceders from the Church at Nauvoo.-- In response, Smith defended the Expositor's destruction to Governor Thomas Ford, writing: In the investigation it appeared evident to the council that the proprietors were a set of unprincipled men, lawless, debouchees, counterfeiters, Bogus Makers, gamblers, peace disturbers, and that the grand object of said proprietors was to destroy our constitutional rights and chartered privileges; to overthrow all good and wholesome regulations in society; to strengthen themselves against the municipality; to fortify themselves against the church of which I am a member, and destroy all our religious rights and privileges, by libels, slanders, falsehoods, perjury & sticking at no corruption to accomplish their hellish purposes. The winter of 1845–46 saw the enormous preparations for the Mormon Exodus via the Mormon Trail. In addition to more mundane content such as poetry and marriage announcements, it contained a statement from the "Seceders from the Church at Nauvoo" and sworn statements from multiple individuals attesting to the teaching of "the plurality of wives". Its publication, and the destruction of the printing press ordered by Joseph Smith, set off a chain of events that led to Smith's death. Seeking relief from the state courts, Francis M. Higbee, one of the Expositor's publishers, gave a sworn statement about the events of June 10. From Resolution 10, Michael does not quote a specific part of the expositor, but makes several statements (read his comment below).In summary, Michael asserts that Joseph did not engage in land speculation, use donated funds for personal purposes, or personally profit from the arrangement in Nauvoo. ↑ "Today in History, November 7," United States Library of Congress. The single edition of the newspaper was critical of Smith and other church leaders. ‎Joseph Smith, as mayor of Nauvoo, orders the city Marshall to destroy the Nauvoo Expositor's press. The members of the Nauvoo municipal government were:[13]. NAUVOO, ILLINOIS, JUNE 7, 1844. 862-903. A mob stormed Carthage Jail and murdered him and his brother Hyrum. At the next session of the Illinois state legislature the following December, the Nauvoo Charter was repealed by a vote of 25–14 in the Senate and 75–31 in the House. On June 12, a hearing was held in the Municipal Court of Nauvoo. off-site ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church … Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook. The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor: Oaks, Dallin H. 1965 Journal Article 32 The Nauvoo City and High Council Minutes: Dinger, John S. 2011 Book 26 The 'Expositor' Affair, Prelude to the Downfall of Joseph Smith: Gayler, George R. 1961 indietro Restaurazione e storia della Chiesa Chiudi pannello. Most significantly, the Saints had experienced violence in Missouri and Ohio and, with tension mounting in Illinois, the council members were concerned about the Expositor’s potential to incite further violence against both the Saints and the owners of the press.3 Additionally, in the honor culture of 19th-century America, men were expected to respond to public attacks on their character, a social norm that made it difficult to let offenses pass.4. The Nauvoo Expositor was the newspaper voice of apostates determined to destroy the Prophet Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the spring of 1844. Nauvoo Expositor (part 1) First and only issue: June 7, 1844 (Published by William Law) Historical Note: This was the newspaper published by dissident Mormons which was declared a "public nuisance" by the Nauvoo City Council on June 8, 1844. This kind of language is misleading. The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositort By Dallin H. Oaks* The suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor by the Mormons in Nauvoo, Illi- nois, in 1844 has interest for historians because it was the first in a series of events that lead directly to the murder of the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith.' On June 10, 1844, Joseph Smith, who was the mayor of Nauvoo, and the Nauvoo city council ordered the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor and the press on which it was printed. In 1842, former church leader John C. Bennett made public allegations of Smith's unorthodox marriages. Therefore. Whereas said Smith and others refuse to obey the mandate of said writ; and whereas in the opinion of this meeting, it is impossible for said officer so raise a posse of sufficient strength to execute said writ; ... it is the opinion of this meeting that the circumstances of the case require the interposition of executive power. Although he publicly denied being involved in polygamy, it was known within the church that Smith was married to multiple women. On Monday evening, June 10, the marshal and his posse of approximately 100 men removed the press, scattered the type, and burned the remaining copies of the newspaper. "The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor." During the last few months of Joseph Smith's life, an opposition party of disgruntled members, apostates, and excommunicants coalesced into a dissenting church. The publishers were a former First Counselor in the First Presidency, William Law; Law’s brother, Wilson; Charles Ivins; Charles and Robert Foster; and Francis and Chauncey Higbee.1 The dissenters, several of whom had been recently excommunicated, published the Expositor to stir up controversy over practices and teachings with which they strongly disagreed. In Mormon-controlled Nauvoo, Illinois, in… We give this week to the following Preamble, Resolutions and Aff idavits , of the Seceders from the Chu rch at Nauvoo.-- The request is compli ed with on acco unt of their deeming it very important that the public should know the true cause of their dissenting, as all manner of falsehood is spread Suppression of that newspaper led “directly to the arrest and murder of Joseph Smith,” President Oaks said. The following day, the Warsaw Signal published the resolutions, editorializing that "[r]epeated attempts have been made to arrest Smith, but he has been uniformly screened from the officers of Justice, by the aid of the Municipal Court [of Nauvoo], which is the tool and echo of himself."[19]. During the last few months of Joseph Smith”s life, an opposition party of disgruntled members, apostates, and excommunicants coalesced into a dissenting church. Alfabeto Deseret. Oaks is now a high-ranking authority in the LDS Church, an Apostle. FOSTER. Nauvoo Expositor 1844. Also excommunicated were Robert D. Foster and Howard Smith. (10.2 MB) BYU Studies. The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor: Oaks, Dallin H. 1965 Journal Article 32 A Question: 1915 Journal Article The Church and the Law: Alexander, Thomas G. 1966 Journal Article 1 The 'Expositor' Affair, Prelude to the Downfall of Joseph Smith This disincorporated the City of Nauvoo and dissolved its municipal institutions. Nauvoo Expositor. 1, p. 47-72. Adam-ondi-Ahman. J. E. Hallwas, “Mormon Nauvoo from a Non-Mormon Perspective,” Journal of Mormon History (1990), 53–69. Scholars have concluded that the Nauvoo City Council acted legally to destroy copies of the newspaper but may have exceeded its authority by destroying the press itself. The statement criticizes the process behind the recent excommunication, writing "Smith has established an inquisition"—a process they "contend is contrary to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, for our law condemnest no man until he is heard. They accuse Smith and other church officials of introducing "false and damnable doctrines into the Church, such as a plurality of Gods above the God of this universe, and his liability to fall with all his creations; the plurality of wives, for time and eternity, the doctrine of unconditional sealing up to eternal life, against all crimes except that of shedding innocent blood.". [17] The Court dismissed the charges against Smith. 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