The Murder

Gen. Joseph Smith, who was murdered in cool [cold] blood, in Carthage Jail, on Thursday, the 27th day of June, was one of the best men that ever lived on the earth. 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. Without learning, without means and without experience, he has met a learned world; a rich century; a hard hearted, wicked, and adulterous generation, with truth that could not be resisted; facts that could not be disproved; revelations, whose spirit had so much God in them that the servants of the Lord could not be gainsaid or resisted, but like the rays of light from the sun, they have tinged every thing they lit upon, with a luster and livery which has animated, quickened, and adorned.

The pages of Gen. Smith's history, though his enemies never ceased to persecute him and hunt for offences [offenses] against him, are as unsullied as virgin snow; on about fifty prosecutions for supposed criminal offences [offenses], he came out of the legal fire, heated like Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, seven times hotter than it was wont to be, without the smell of fire, or a thread of his garments scorched. His foes of the world and enemies of his own household, who have sought occasions against him, in order, secretly to deprive him of his life, because his goodness, greatness and glory exceeded theirs, have a poor excuse to offer the world, for shedding his innocent blood; and no apology to make to the judge of all the earth, at the day of judgment. They have murdered him because they feared his righteousness.

His easy good natured way, allowing every one was honest, drew around him hypocrites, wicked and mean men, with the virtuous, and in the hour of trouble, or trial, when the wheat was cleansed by water, the light kernels and smut, rose upon the top of the water and had to be poured off, that the residue might be clean, or to be still plainer, when they went through the machine for cleansing the grain, the chaff, light grain and smut were blown off among the rubbish.

False brethren, or to call them by their right name, "apostates," have retarded the work more, and combined more influence to rob him of life, than all christendom: for they having mingled in his greatness, knew where and when to take advantage of his weakness. Their triumph, however, is one that disgrace their state and nation, ruins them in time and in eternity. They cannot out grow it: they cannot outlive it: and they cannot out die it: from him that winked at it, to him that shot the fatal ball, whereever [wherever] there is a moral honesty, humanity, love, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, there the breath of indignation, the whisper of "those murders"-the story of mobocracy and the vengeance of God, will haunt the whole gang and their offspring and abettors with a fury like Milton's gates of hell:

"-- grating harsh thunder."

In thus descanting upon the glory of General Joseph Smith and the cowardly disgrace of his assassins, let his noble minded brother Hyrum have no less honor shown him: he lived so far beyond the ordinary walk of man, that even the tongne [tongue] of the vilest slanderer could not touch his reputation. He lived godly and he died godly, and his murderers will yet have to confess that it would have been better for them to have a mill-stone tied to them, and they cast into the depths of the sea, and remain there while eternity goes and eternity comes, than to have robbed that noble man of heaven, of his life. If there be such a thing as the greatest and least crimes, among the archives of the better world, the wilful [willful] murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith will be first and worst, without forgiveness in this world or the world to come;-"for no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."

The Savior said, wo unto the world because of offences [offenses], but offences [offenses] must needs come; but wo unto him by whom they come! Prophets have been sent, according to the sacred history, which all enlightened nations use as a guide to 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. But what has the next generation said? Ah! time, thou art older and abler to tell the story, than they did the solemn act. No wonder the heathen nations will be God's in the day of his power: they have not killed the prophets.

When Gen. Smith went to Carthage just as the cavalry met him for the purpose of obtaining the 'State Arms,' he said to a friend, I am going like a lamb to the slaughter: but I am calm as a summer's morning: I have a conscience void of offence [offense] toward God, and toward all men: I shall die innocent. Now ye great men who boast of great wisdom, what think ye of the prophet's last prediction? How glorious! How mild! How god like! No wonder the sympathies of all honest men, are kindled in his behalf: the goodness of his deeds merit them.-The want of a perfect knowledge of the servants of God, of the Son of God, in all ages, down to this last, horrid, heart sickening butchery of those two unoffending American freemen, must have been the great first cause of taking life contrary to the law of God or man.

Leaving religion out of the case, where is the lover of his country, and his posterity, that does not condemn such an outrageous murder, and will not lend all his powers, energies and influence to bring the offenders to justice and judgement [judgment]? Every good man will do it when he remembers, that these two innocent men were confined in jail for a supposed crime, deprived of any weapons to defend themselves: had the pledged faith of the State of Illinois, by Gov. Ford, for their protection, and were then shot to death, while, with uplifted hands they gave such signs of distress as would have commanded the interposition and benevolence of Savages or Pagans. They were both Masons in good standing. Ye brethren of "the mystic tie" what think ye! Where is our good master Joseph and Hyrum? Is there a pagan, heathen, or savage nation on the globe that would not be moved on this great occasion, as the trees of the forest by a mighty wind? Joseph's last exclamation was "O Lord my God."

If one of these murderers, their abettors or accessories before or after the fact are suffered to cumber the earth, without being dealt with according to law, what is life worth, and what is the benefit of laws? and more than all, what is the use of institutions which savages would honor, where civilized beings murder without cause or provocation? Will the Americans look over the vast concerns that must, sooner or later, touch their welfare at home and abroad, and exalt or disgrace them among the kingdoms of the great family of man, and learn whether anarchy, mobbery, and butchery are not swiftly hurrying the constituted

authorities of our country, into irretrievable ruin, while the inhabitants of the land must sink into wretchedness, bloodshed, revenge and wo?

Elder John Taylor, and Dr. Willard Richards who were in the jail at the time, innocently as friends of these men, have only to thank God that their lives were spared. Elder Taylor was wounded with four bullets, and a fifth ball, which had it not been for his watch in his left vest pocket, would have passed into his vitals and destroyed his life instantly. This memorable and very valuable watch saved his life, and will remain with its hands permanently pointing to "5 o'clock, 16 minutes and 26 seconds" as the moment when so small a machine interposed between time and eternity.-Dr. Richards was not wounded by a single ball, though one passed so near his ear as to leave a "mark." If such scenes do not awaken the best feelings of freemen for personal safety, what will? we solemnly pause for the opinion of millions, because all are interested: life is the last boon-all is blank without it, death blots the rest-and where is man?

To conclude, if the good people of our common country, and our common world, do not arise with a union of feeling and energy to help wash off the blood of these two innocent men, from Hancock county: from the plighted faith of Illinois: from the boasted and wide spreading fame of the United States, and from the dignity of our globe; then let all but the righteous be smitten with a curse:-but me-thinks I see a "union of all honest men", aside from religion, stand forth to magnify the law, who will never rest till justice and judgement [judgment] have made the offenders, abettors and accessories [accessories], whether apostates, officers, or mere men, atone for the innocent blood of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.