The Mormons in Northern Missouri
The Mormon War
In Missouri, the Mormons continued to build up Daviess County with its headquarters in Far West. A temple plot was selected and the foundations were begun. The Church was organized there and converts from around the United States and Canada began to assemble there ultimately spilling over into neighboring Caldwell County. Joseph fled to Far West in January 1838 along with Sidney Rigdon. In Missouri, fall out from the collapse of the bank continued and many were excommunicated. Even many formerly loyal members like David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery left the Church, claiming that the Book of Mormon was still true, but that the leaders had fallen. Ultimately, most of these dissenters returned to the Mormon Church.
In the early summer of 1838, there was some peace in northern Missouri and most of the two thousand Mormons living in Kirtland began to relocate to Far West, Missouri, along with Joseph Smith. By 1840, virtually all the Mormons would leave Kirtland. By 1838, just 8 years after the organization of the Mormon Church, there were over 15,000 members, most of them centered in Missouri, but thousands of others scattered throughout Ohio, the eastern United States, Iowa, Canada, and England.
On June 17, 1838, Sidney Rigdon delivered his infamous “salt sermon” declaring that those mobs that repeatedly attack the Mormons were like the salt which had lost its savor and was good for nothing. This speech inflamed tensions among the Mormons and their neighbors. The Mormons organized militias for defense, which was a common practice at the time as most cities had militias, but a certain segment of the militia, calling themselves Danites and led by a recent convert named Sampson Avard, began to be more active in their defense. They warned some who had threatened Joseph Smith and the Mormons to leave the county. This group eventually got out of control and began to attack non-Mormon villages. Avard and others were later excommunicated for their actions.
With mounting tensions, the militias remained vigilant. On July 4, 1838, Mormon settlers at DeWitt were attacked, but no one was killed. In August, as citizens gather to vote in Gallatin, Missouri, mobs attacked all Mormons who tried to vote. Joseph Smith lead 150 men from the militia to protect the Mormons in the area, but fortunately no fighting is needed. The next day, on August 8, 1838, Joseph Smith and others approach the local judge and demanded that their rights as legal property owners and enfranchised voters be protected. The judge promised to support the Mormon’s constitutional rights, but on August 20, 100 vigilantes march on the city of DeWitt in Carroll County. They demanded that the Mormons leave. During the siege, several Mormons die. The settlers ultimately move to Far West.
Governor Lilburn Boggs ordered the state militia to go and keep the peace in Northern Missouri. During the following weeks, the Danites determined to drive out their persecutors and began to fight back. Some who have apostatized from the Mormons swear out affidavits claiming that the Mormons and Joseph Smith in particular support the Danites and plan to begin attacks. As the state militia marched to Far West, one of the Mormon militias not associated with the Danites and led by Mormon apostle David Patten attacked the state militia at Crooked River believing it to be a vigilante mob. Patten was killed.
The Expulsion from Missouri and Joseph’s Imprisonment
The battle with the militia, and the rumors about possible attacks by the Danites which never materialized, lead Governor Boggs to issue the Extermination Order on October 27. It declares that all Mormons must either leave the state, or face execution. Two days later at the Mormon settlement of Haun’s Mill 18 men, women, and children were massacred by a militia. Joseph Smith and several other leaders surrendered on October 31 in order to save the lives of the Mormons, who under the agreement will be given time to leave the state.
On November 1, a court martial was held and ordered that Joseph Smith and the other leaders of the Mormon Church be executed. General Alexander Doniphan refused to carry out the order claiming that it would be murder, particularly since the court martial was illegal as Joseph Smith was a private citizen and not the member of either the army or a militia. Furthermore, during most of the trouble, Joseph had not even been present, but had been living 1000 miles away in Ohio.
Hundreds of Mormons were arrested, but most are released quickly. During the winter, the Mormons in Missouri began to move once again in the dead of winter to a new home. They fled eastwards to Illinois. The Mormon leaders, Joseph Smith included, were transferred from jail to jail. Most of the prisoners were released for lack of evidence, but Joseph and five others were imprisoned in Liberty Jail on November 30. Parley Pratt and four others were jailed in Richmond.
The remaining Mormon apostles, led by Brigham Young who was by this time the senior Apostle, and other Mormon leaders, draft a petition to the state legislature claiming that the had been wronged in the conflict. The proposal is debated, but ultimately rejected. The Extermination Order, as Mormons called Governor Bogg’s executive order, remained on the Missouri Law Books until 1977. Meanwhile, Brigham Young and the leaders of the Mormon Church drafted a compact which bound every Mormon to help one another until everyone had safely escaped to Illinois where the people of Quincy took them in and sheltered them.
Joseph Smith remained in the drafty basement cell of the Liberty Jail from November 1838 until April 16, 1839. Overcome for a time with despondency about what has occurred, he prayed fervently. Ultimately he obtains two revelations (D&C 121 and 122) which comforted him and the Mormons. It told him that while they suffered because of their sins, God still accepted them and would help them be successful in the end. Another revelation commanded the Mormons to collect affidavits and testimony about their persecutions in Missouri and to seek redress from the United States Government. Joseph and his fellow inmates remained in jail and were repeatedly abused and mistreated. Their appeals for lawyers and even for the right to call witnesses on their behalf were denied. Finally, on April 16, 1839, as they were being led Columbia, Missouri, the jailer permitted them to escape. They rejoined their families on April 22, 1839, and on May 10 the Mormons move to Commerce, Hancock County, Illinois which they rename Nauvoo.