The Prophet's Last Earthly Act

THE PROPHET'S LAST EARTHLY ACT. BY JAMES G. DUPPIN, FORMERLY PRESIDENT OF THE CENTRAL STATES MISSION. The life of Joseph Smith is full of examples that have left their impress upon the hearts and minds of mankind in every quarter of the globe. Unselfish, his first thought was the will of the Father in heaven, and the good of men. His life might pay the penalty, but where duty called he never faltered. Whether it was declaring to a scoffing world that he had seen a vision, administering stinging rebukes to hypocrisy in high places, silencing a profane guard while chained a prisoner, or excommunicating licentious men from the Church, in the face of conspiracy to take his life, he was ever the fearless advocate of truth, the unselfish champion of liberty, the courageous defender of virtue. He died as he lived, the great apostle, to this generation, of all the noblest virtues. Yet, strange as it may seem, with the life that he lived before them, by many, even among those who believe in his divine mission, the last act of Joseph's mortal life has not been understood. When he sprang to the window of Carthage jail, after his brother Hyrum had been killed and John Taylor savagely wounded, what motive had he? Was it to desert his brethren with the thought of saving his own life? Willard Richards was still in the room unharmed, John Taylor lying on the floor helpless from the assassins' bullets, but not dead. Were it true that Joseph's motive in rushing to the window was to save his own life, the character of the man, formed by a life of devotion to eternal principles and his brethren, must, in that trying moment, be changed. A nobler purpose was his.

THE PROPHETS LAST EARTHLY ACT 289 It will be remembered by those who have visited Carthage jail that the roum in which Joseph and his brethren were held as prisoners, is in the southeast part of the building. The door that opens into the room is near the northwest corner, while there is a window on the east, and one on the south side of the room. These windows are about fourteen feet from the ground. When the mob, numbering two hundred or more, made the attack on the building, a part of them rushed up the stairway leading to the upper rooms, and the balance surrounded the building to cut off any possible chance of escape of their victims. The mob that entered the building hurled themselves against the door and forced it partly open, while the brethren in the room attempted to prevent their entrance into the room by bracing themselves against the other side of the door. Hyrum Smith was facing the door, and a ball fired through it entered his face, and he fell exclaiming, "I am a dead man?' As he fell, two other balls entered his body, fired through the opening in the doorway, and another entered it> fired from the outside and through the window. It will thus be seen that the brethren were subjected to a cross fire, from the mob firing through the doorway, and from those on the outside firing through the windows. Let us keep these facts before us while we consider some other circumstances connected with this terrible tragedy. A few days before the martyrdom, Joseph had crossed the Mississippi river, preparatory to commencing his trip of exploration to the Rocky Mountains where he hoped to find an asylum for his people in which they could live in peace. Being accused of cowardice by some, while others pleaded for his return to Nauvoo, he said: "If my life is worth nothing to you, it is worth nothing to me." He then recrossed the river and gave himself into the hands of the officers. When starting to Carthage, he turned to those with him and said: "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter." He knew the time for the sacrifice had come. Let us now return to Carthage jail. The building was surrounded by an armed mob thirsting for the blood of the prophet. To make an attempt to escape by way of the window, Joseph knew he would be exposed to the fire of the mob on the outside as well as of those on the inside of the building, and should

L" •< i IMP HO VEMENT ERA . he succeed in getting through the window alive, there was still the leap of fourteen feet to the ground, in the face of that howling mob. He knew what the result would be, but he did not hesitate. There were lives in that fatal room most precious to him. It was his blood, not theirs, for which the mob was thirsting. Could he succeed in drawing the mob from the building, the lives of his brethren might be spared. He leaped to the window, instantly he was pierced by balls fired from the door at the rear, and one entered his breast from the outside. Throwing himself outward, he fell to the ground exclaiming: "Oh Lord, my God!" The mob now rushed down the stairs and out of the building, and the lives of John and Willard were saved. To save the lives of his brethren — that was the inspiration for the last mortal act of our beloved Prophet. "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his brethren. " Provo, Utah, Dec. 23, 1908.