INTERESTING FROM NAUVOO.
The Murder.
[From the Times and Seasons]
GEN. JOSEPH SMITH, who was murdered in cool blood, in Carthage Jul, 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 lustre 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 against him, are as unsullied as virgin snow; on about fifty prosecutions for supposed cri-minal offences, he came out of the legal tire, heat-ed 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 house-hold, 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 ail 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 chuff, 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 ad-vantage of his weakness. Their triumph, how-ever, is one that disgrace their state and nation, ruins them in time and in eternity. They cannot out grow it: they cannot out live it: and they cannot out die it; from him that winked at it, to him that shot the fatal ball, wherever there is mo-ral honesty, humanity, love of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, there the breath of indigna-tion, the whisper of “those murders"—the story of moboeracy and the vengeance of God, will haunt the whole gang and their offspring and abet-tors 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 as-sassins, 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 tongue of the vilest slanderer could not touch his reputation. He lived godly and he died godly, and his murder-ers will yet have to confess that it would have been better tor 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 murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith will be first and worst, without for-giveness 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, but offences 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 of 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, Missouri-ans, Christians, even freemen, the lives of mostly all these good men, the servants of God, not omit-ting his own Son, have been taken from them by those who professed to be the most wise, enlight-ened, 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 that did the solemn act No wonder the heathen nations will be God's in the day of his power: they have not killed the pro-phets.
When General 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 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 know-ledge 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 free-men, 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? Every good man will do it when he remembers, that these two innocent men were confined in jail for a sup-posed 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 com-manded the interposition and benevolence of sa-vages 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 na-tion on the globe that would not be moved on this occasion, as the trees of the forest are moved by a mighty wind? Joseph's last exclamation was, "O Lord my God!"
If one of these murderers, their abettors or ac-cessories before or after the fact, are suffered to cumber the earth, without being dealt with accord-ing to law, what is life worth, and what is the be-nefit of laws? and more than all, what is the use of institutions which savages would honor, where ci-vilized beings murder without cause of 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 inhabi-tants 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 fiith ball, which had it not been for his watch in his left vest pock-et, would have passed into his vitals and destroy-ed 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 20 seconds" as the moment when so small a machine interposed between time and eter-nity. Dr. Richards was not wounded by a single ball, though one passed no 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 pause! solemnly pause for the opinion of mil-lions, 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 com-mon 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 Illi-nois: 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 methinks I see a "union of all honest men," aside from religion, stand forth to magnify the law, who will never rest till justice and judgment have made the offenders, abettors and accessories, whether apostates, officers, or mere men, atone for the innocent blood of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.
Lamentation of a Jew
Among the afflicted and mourning Sons and Daughters of Zion, at the assassination of the two Chieftains in Israel,
JOSEPH AND HYRUM SMITH.
Blessed the people knowing the shout of Jehovah,
In the light of his countenance they will walk.
How can we, a people in sackcloth,
Open our lips before thee?
They have rejected and slain our leaders,
Thine anointed ones.
Our eyes are dim, our hearts heavy;
No place of refuge being left.
Redeem the people that in thee only trusts:
There is none to stand between and inquire:
Thou art our helper,
The refuge of Israel in time of trouble—
O look in righteousness upon thy faithful servants
Who have laid bare their lives unto death,
Not witholding their bodies:
Being betrayed by false brethren, and their lives out off,
Forbiding their will before thine:
Having sanctified thy great name,
Never polluting it;
Ready for a sacrifice—standing in the breach,
Tried, proved and found perfect.
To save the blood of the fathers;
Their children, brothers, and sisters;
Adding theirs unto those who are gone before them;
Sanctifying thy holy and great name upon the earth:
Cover and conceal not their blood.
Give ear unto their cries until thou lookest
And showest down from heaven—taking vengeance
And avenging their blood—avenging thy people and thy law,
According to thy promises made
Unto our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Hasten the acceptable and redeeming year;
SHADDAY: remember unto us thy covenants;
All this heaviness has reached us:
Can any one be formed to declare
What has befallen us?
All this we bear, and the name of our God
We will not forget, nor deny,
The "Hebrew's" God he is called,
Thou art clothed with righteousness,
But we are vile.
Come not in judgment with us.
Before thee nothing living is justified by their works.
But be with us as thou wast with our fathers.
Help thou, O Father; unto thee
We will lift our souls,
Our hearts in our hands,
We look to heaven,
Lifting our eyes unto the mountain,
From whence cometh our help.
Turn away thine anger,
That we be not spoiled.
O, return and leave a blessing behind thee.
MORMON AFFAIRS.—It appeals that troubles among the Mormons and others are still antici-pated. We find the following address in the St. Louis papers relative thereto.
To the People of Warsaw, in Hancock County:
I am continually into med of your preparations and threats to renew the war, and exterminate the Mormons. One would suppose that you ought to rest satisfied with what you have already done. The Mormon leaders, if they ever resisted the law, have submitted to its authori-ty. They have surrendered the public arms, and appear-ed to b ready to do any thing required, to make atone-ment for whatever wrong may have been done. Since the assassination of their own principal leaders, under circumstances well calculated to inflame their passions, and drive them to excesses for the purpose of revenge, they have been entirely peaceful and submissive; and have patiently awaited the slow operation of the laws to redress the wrongs of which they complained. There has been no retaliation; no revenge; and nor any thing I can ascertain, there will be none. Those of your peo-ple, who are charged with being the most hostile to them, have lived, if they knew it, in perfect security from il-legal violence I am anxious for a pacification of your difficulties. You cannot drive out, or exterminate the Mormons. Such an effort would be madness, and would not be permitted by the people of the State. You can-not be sustained in it either by force or law. You are blinding yourselves to your weakness, and keeping up an agitation which must tail of the purpose intended, and recoil with terrible energy upon your own heads. I exhort you to reconsider your infatuated resolutions —Try your Mormon neighbors again, and it you cannot dwell together in amity, you may at least refrain from injuring each other. From the moderation of the Mor-mons, under what they conceive to be the deepest inju-ry, you might well hope that if they ever entertained designs inconsistent with your liberty and happiness, that those designs have been abandoned. They are also interested in preserving the peace. It is not natural to suppose that they, any more than yourselves, wish to live in continual alarm. They hope for quiet, and will be peaceful and submissive in order to enjoy it. But you are continually driving them to desperation by an insane course of threatening and hostility, and depriving your-selves of peace by the same means used to disquiet them. If I have said anything severe in this address, I pray you, attribute it to my deep conviction that your course is im-proper and unwarrantable. Such is the opinion of the people at large in the state, and all over the country. From being right in the first instance, you have put your-selves in the wrong, and there are none who sustain you. As men of sense you are bound to see, if you will open your eyes, that you cannot effect your purposes. Never-theless you are still training and drilling and keeping to-gether and threatening a renewal of the war. I have said to you often that you cannot succeed; by this time you ought to see it yourselves. What can your small force do against two thousand armed men, entrenched in a city, and defending themselves, their wives and their children? Besides, if you are the aggressors. I am determined that all the power of the state shall be used to pre-vent your success. I can never agree that a set of infatu-ated and infuriated men shall barbarously attack a peace-ful people, who have submitted to all the demands of the law; and when they had full power to do so, refrained from inflicting vengeance on their enemies You may count on my most determined opposition—upon the op-position of the law, and upon that of every peaceful law ab-iding citizen of the country. This is not s-poken in anger. God knows, I would do you no injury unless compelled to do so to sustain the laws. But mob violence must be put down. It is threatening the whole country with anarchy and ruin. It is menacing our fair form of government, and destroying the confidence of the patriot in the institutions of his country. I have been informed that the Mormons about Lima and Macedonia, have been warned to leave the settlements. They have a right to remain and enjoy their property. As long as they are good citizens they shall not be molested; and the sooner those misguided persons withdraw their warning and re-trace their steps, the better it will be for them.
July 25, 1844. THOMAS FORD.
Mrs. Emma Smith, the widow of the late Proph-et, came down as far as Quincy on board the stea-mer Osprey; on the last trip of the Ione the widow of Hiram Smith also visited Quincy. The object of th-ese visits is said to be to induce the civil au-thorities to do something towards arresting some of the persons concerned in the murder of their hus-bands.
The Nauvoo Neighbor still upholds the absurdi-ties of Mormonism as a true system of religion, and we suppose this is because that paper is under the control of the priesthood and leaders, who ex-pect to retain their greatness by retaining their sys-tem of priestcraft. This is a usual occurrence among bigots and fanatics, who expect to rule the common people by means of superstition.
THE MORMONS —The Warsaw Signal is still afloat, and appears to prosper. It is earnestly de-fending the conduct of the anti-Mormon party. It still insists that it is impossible for the Mormons and anti-Mormons to live together in the same county; that one party or the other must remove. It censures severely the conduct of Governor Ford, in applying for five hun-dred U. S troops to keep peace in Hancock county.
