CURIOUS AND IMPORTANT
FROM NAUVOO.
Our readers have already noticed by our ac-counts from Nauvoo, that Jo Smith and the Mor-mons are again getting into exceedingly hot water. Jo has declared the city under martial law, and is preparing to defend himself against the enemy which is organizing against him at Warsaw and other places. There is every prospect now of a civil war, in which blood will be shed. As Smith is determined to run himself for the Presidency, he asks no favor of either of the great political parties of the day, and there is reason to apprehend that he and his party may suffer entire extermination from the State of Illinois. One thing may be re-garded as certain, that Jo will never surrender peaceably—he will fight to the death.
We now propose to exhibit the causes which have led to this most curious and extraordinary excitement.
First, in relation to the schism among the Mor-mons themselves. On 7th June, the Laws, Higbees and others, issued a new paper at Nauvoo under the title of the "Nauvoo Expositor." From this paper we shall now give some extracts, which, taken in connextion with what we have already published, will explain the whole of this very curious affair.
We commence with the preamble of the Se-ceders from the Church at Nauvoo. Showing that these Seceders are good and true Mormons, who claim to be the true Mormon church.
"As for our acquaintance with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we know no man, or set of men, can be more thoroughly acquainted with its rise, its organization, and its History, than we have every reason to believe we are. We all verily believe, and many of us know of a surety, that the religion of the Latter Day Saints, as originally taught by Joseph Smith, which is contained in the Old and New Testaments, Book of Covenants, and Book of Mormon, is verily true; and that the pure principles set forth in those books, are the immuta-ble and eternal principles of Heaven, and speaks a language which, when spoken in truth and virtue, sinks deep into the heart of every honest man. His precepts are invigorating, and in every sense of the word, tend to dignify and ennoble man's concep-tions of God and his attributes. It speaks a lan-guage which is heard amidst the roar of artillery, as well as in the silence of midnight- it speaks a language understood by the incarcerated spirit, as well as he who is unfettered and free: yet to those who will not see, it is dark, mysterious, and se-cret as the grave."
The Seceders determine to expose Jo Smith's vicious principles and abominable practices.
"We are earnestly seeking to explode the vicious principles of Joseph Smith, and those who practise the same abominations and whoredoms; which we verily know are not accordant and consonant with the principles of Jesus Christ and the Apostles; and for that purpose, and with that end in view, with an eye single to the glory of God, we have dared to gird on the armor, and with God at our head, we most solemnly and sincerely declare that the sword of truth shall not depart from the thigh, nor the buckler from the arm, until we can enjoy those glor-ious privileges which nature's God and our country's laws have guaranteed to us—freedom of speech, the liberty of the press, and right to worship God as seemeth us good. We are aware, however, that, we are hazarding every earthly blessing, particularly property, and probably life itself, in striking this blow at tyranny and oppression; yet notwithstand-ing, we most solemnly declare that no man or set of men combined, shall, with impunity, violate ob-ligations as sacred as many which have been vio-lated, unless reason, justice and virtue have become ashamed and sought the haunts of the grave, though our lives be the forfeiture"
Jo thinks Hell is quite an agreeable place. He proposes to convert it into Heaven.
"Joseph has stated that if he had sinned, and was guilty of the charges we would charge him with, he would not make acknowledgment, but would ra-ther be damned: for it would detract from his dig-nity, and would consequently ruin and prove the overthrow of the Church. We would ask him on the other hand, if the overthrow of the Church was not inevitable, to which he often replied, that we would all go to Hell together, and convert it into a heaven, by casting the Devil out; and says he, Hell is by no means the place this world of fools suppose it to be, but on the contrary, it is quite an agreeable place: to which we would now reply, he can enjoy it if he is determined not to desist from his evil ways; but as for us, and ours, we will serve the Lord our God!"
Next follows a history of the spiritual arts and wiles by which this great prophet accomplished the seduction of the fair sisterhood:—
"It is a notorious fact, that many females in fo-reign climes, and in countries to us unknown, even in the most distant regions of the eastern hemis-phere, have been induced, by the sound of the gospel, to forsake friends, and embark upon a voy-age across waters that lie stretched over the greater portion of the globe, as they supposed, to glorify God, that they might thereby stand acquitted in the great day of God Almighty. But what is taught them on their arrival at this place? They are visited by some of the Strikers—for we know not what else to call them—and are requested to hold on and be faithful, for there are great bles-sings awaiting the righteous; and that God has great mysteries in store for those who love the Lord, and cling to brother Joseph. They are also notified that brother Joseph will see them soon, and reveal the mysteries of Heaven to their full understanding, which seldom tails to inspire them with new confidence in the Prophet, as well as a great anxiety to know what God has laid up in store for them, in return for the great sacrifice of father and mother, of gold and silver, which they gladly left far behind, that they might be gathered into the fold, and numbered among the chosen of God. They are visited again, and what is the re-sult? They are requested to meet brother Joseph, or some of the Twelve, at some insulated point, or at some particularly described place on the bank of the Mississippi, or at some room, which wears upon its front—Positively no admit-tance. The harmless, inoffensive, and unsuspec-ting creatures, are so devoted to the Prophet, and the cause of Jesus Christ, that they do not dream of the deep laid and fatal scheme which prostrates happiness, and renders death itself desirable; but they meet him, expecting to receive through him a blessing, and learn the will of the Lord concerning them and what awaits the faithful followers or Jo-seph, the Apostle and Prophet of God, when in the stead thereof, they are told, after having been sworn in one of the most solemn manners, to never divulge what is revealed to them, with a penalty of death attached, that God Almighty has revealed it to him, that she should be his (Joseph's) spiritual wife; for it was right anciently, and God will tole-rate it again—but we must keep these pleasures and blessings from the world, for until there is a change in the government, we will endanger ourselves by practicing it—but we can enjoy the blessings of Ja-cob, David, and others, as well as to be deprived of them, if we do not expose ourselves to the law of the land. She is thunder-struck, faints, recovers, and refuses. The Prophet damns her if she rejects. She thinks of the great sacrifice, the many thousand miles she has travelled over sea and land, that she might save her soul from pending ruin, and replies, God's will be done and not mine. The Prophet and his devotees in this way are gratified. The next step to avoid public exposition from the common course of things, they are sent away for a time, un-til all is well; after which they return, as from a long visit. Those whom no power or influence could seduce, except that which is wielded by some individual feigning to be a God, must realize the re-marks of an able writer, when he says, "if woman's feelings are turned to ministers of sorrow, where shall she look for consolation!" Her lot is to be wooed and won; her heart is like some fortress that has been captured, sacked, abandoned, and left de-solate. With her, the desire of the heart has fail-ed—the great charm of existence is at an end; she neglects all the cheerful exercises of life, which gladden the spirits, quicken the pulses, and send the tide of life in healthful currents through the veins. Her rest is broken. The sweet refreshment of sleep is poisoned by melancho-ly dreams; dry sorrow drinks her blood, un-til her enfeebled frame sinks under the slight-est external injury. Look for her after a lit-tle while, and you find friendship weeping over her untimely grave; and wondering that one who, but so recently glowed with all the radiance of health and beauty, should so speedily be brought down to darkness and despair; you will be told of some wintry chill, of some casual indisposition that laid her low! But no one knows of the men-tal malady that previously sapped her strength, and made her so easy a prey to the spoiler. She is like some tender tree, the pride and beauty of the grove—graceful in its form, bright in its foliage, but with the worm praying at its heart; we find it withered when it should be most luxuriant. We see it drooping its branches to the earth, and shedding leaf by leaf, until wasted and perished away, it falls in the stillness of the forest; and as we muse over the beautiful ruin, we strive in vain to recollect the blast or thunder-bolt that could have smitten it with decay. But no one knows the cause except the foul fiend who perpetrated the diabolical deed.
"Our hearts have mourned and bled at the wretch-ed and miserable condition of females in this place; many orphans have been the victims of mi-sery and wretchedness, through the influence that has been exerted over them, under the cloak of religion, and afterwards, in consequence of that jealous disposition which predominates over the minds of some, have been turned upon a wide world, fatherless and motherless, destitute of friends and fortune, and robbed of that which nothing but death can restore."
The seceders next proceed to state how they were cut off from the Church without trial, or be-ing permitted to be heard in their defence.
"On Thursday evening, the 18th of April, there was a council called, unknown to the Church, which tried, condemned, and cut off brothers Wm. Law, Wilson Law, and sister Law, (Wm's wife,) brother R. D. Foster, and one brother Smith, with whom we are unacquainted; which we contend is contrary to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, for our law condemnest no man until he is heard. We abhor and protest against any council or tribu-nal in this Church, which will not suffer the accu-sed to stand in its midst and plead their own cause. They were not notified, neither did they dream of any such thing being done."
Here follow some 15 or 20 resolutions of the se-ceders, among which are the following:
Joe Smith's plurality of Gods, and of wives, and other curious matters.
Resolved, 2d, Inasmuch as we have for years borne with the individual follies and iniquities of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and many other official characters in the Church of Jesus Christ (conceiving it a duty incumbent upon us so to bear,) and having labored with them repeat-edly with all christian love, meekness and humility, yet to no effect, feel as if forbearance has ceased to be a vir-tue, and hope of reformation vain; and inasmuch as they have introduced 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, by a perversion of their priestly authority, and thereby forfeiting the ho-ly priesthood, according to the word of Jesus: "If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is wither-ed, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and and they are burned," St. John, XV. 6 " Whosoever trans-gress eth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God, he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, hath both the Father and the Son; it there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed, for he that biddeth him God speed is a partaker of his evil deeds;" we therefore are constrained to denounce them as apostates from the pure and holy doctrines of Jesus Christ.
The seceders still further tread on Jo's toes in the matter of revelling, dancing, drinking, thea-tres, &c.
Resolved 7th, That we discountenance and disapprobate the attendance at houses of revelling and dancing dram shops and theatres, verily believing they have a tendency to lead from paths of virtue and holiness, to those of vice and debauchery.
Jo's management in financial matters—Curious and extraordinary developments.
Resolved 8th, That we look upon the pure and holy doctrines set forth in the Scriptures of Divine truth, as being the immutable doctrines of salvation; and he who abideth in them shall be saved, and he who abideth not in them can not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
Resolved 9th, That we consider the gathering in haste, and by sacrifice, to be contrary to the will of God; and that it has been taught by Joseph Smith and others for the purpose of enabling them to sell property at most exor-bitant prices, not regarding the welfare of the Church, but through their covetousness reducing those who had the means to give employment to the poor, to the necessity of seeking labor for themselves; and thus the wealth which is brought into the place is swallowed up by the one great throat, from whence there is no return, which, if it had been economically disbursed amongst the whole, would have rendered all comfortable.
Resolved 10th, That notwithstanding our extensive ac-quaintance with the financial affairs of the Church, we, do not know of any property which in reality belongs to the Church (except the Temple), and we therefore con-sider the injunction laid upon the saints compelling them to purchase property of the Trustee in trust for the Church, is a deception practiced upon them; and that we look upon the sending of special agents abroad to collect funds for the Temple and other purposes, as a humbug practised upon the saints by Joseph and others, to aggran-dize themselves, as we do not believe that the monies and property so collected, have been applied as the donors ex-pected, but have been used for speculative purposes, by Joseph, to gull the saints the better on their arrival at Nauvoo, by buying the lands in the vicinity, and selling again to them at tenfold advance; and further, that we verily believe that the appropriations said to have been subscribed by shares for the building of the Nauvoo House to have been used by J. Smith and Lyman Wight, for other purposes, as out of the mass of stock already taken, the building is far from being finished even to the base.
Resolved 11th, That we consider all secret societies, and combinations under penal oaths and obligations (pro-fessing to be organized for religious purposes) to be anti-Christian, hypocritical and corrupt.
Here follow several affidavits in relation to Joe Smith's revelation authorizing certain privileged men to have more wives than one. Joe probably draws on heaven for such revelations as he desires to receive:—
AFFIDAVITS.—I hereby certify that Hyrum Smith did, (in his office,) read to me a certain written document, which he said was a revelation from God; he said that he was with Joseph when it was received. He afterwards gave me the document to read, and I took it to my house and read it, and showed it to my wife, and returned it next day. The revelation (so called) authorized certain men to have more wives than one at a time, in this world and in the world to come. It said this was the law, and commanded Joseph to enter into the law and also that he should administer to others. Several other items were in the revelation, supporting the above doctrines.
WM. LAW.
STATE OF Illinois, Hancock County, I, Robert D. Foster, certify that the above certificate was sworn to before me, as true in substance, this fourth day of May, A. D 1844.
ROBERT D. FOSTER, J. P.
I certify that I read the revelation referred to in the above affidavit of my husband; it sustained in strong terms the doctrine o more wives than one at a time, in this world, and ii the next, it authorized some to have to the number of ten, and set forth that those women who would not allow their husbands to have more wives than one, should be under condemnation before God.
JANE LAW.
Sworn and subscribed before me this fourth day of May, A. D. 1844.
ROBERT D. FOSTER, J. P.
To all whom it may concern: Forasmuch as the public mind hath been much agitated by a course of procedure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by a number of persons declaring against certain doctrines and practices therein, (among whom I am one.) it is but meet that I should give my rea-sons, at least in part, as a cause that hath led me to declare myself. In the latter part of the summer, 1843, the Patriarch, Hyrum Smith, did in the High Council, of which I was a member, introduce what he said was a revelation given through the Prophet; that the said Hyrum Smith did essay to read the said revelation in the said Council, that ac-cording to his reading there was contained the following doctrines: 1st, the sealing up of persons to eternal life against all sins, save that of shedding innocent blood, or of consenting thereto; 2d, the doctrine of a plurality of wives, or marrying virgins ; that "David and Solomon had many wives, yet in this they sinned not save in the matter of Uriah." This revelation, with other evidence, that the aforesaid heresies were taught and practiced in the Church, determined me to leave the office of first counsellor to the president of the Church of Nauvoo, in-asmuch as I dared not teach or administer such laws.—And further deponent saith not. AUSTIN COWLES.
STATE OF ILLINOIS, Hancock County, ss.
To all whom it may concern hereby I certify that the above cer-tificate was sworn and subscribed before me, this fourth day of May, 1844. ROBERT D. FOSTER, J. P.
The foregoing extracts, with much more off of the same cloth, were published in the first number of the Expositor, which was in fact the first and also the last number published. For the publica-tion so exasperated the Prophet Joe, that he imme-diately drew on heaven for another revelation, which directed him to proclaim the "Expositor a nuisance," and "to destroy the press" and "pi the type." The revelation was obeyed to the letter, as we have already published.
We shall look with much curiosity and interest to further developments and doings at Nauvoo.
Still Later from Nauvoo and Vicinity.
From St. Louis Paper, June 21.]
The Die Vernon left Nauvoo on the 18th inst.; things appeared to be quiet. Her offi-cers put us in possession of another extra from the Warsaw Sig-nal, issued on the 18th inst, the day before the one fixed for the rendezvous of the forces that were to assist in arresting Joe Smith and others concerned in the late destruction of the printing establishment of the Expositor.
[From Warsaw Signal. Extra, June 18]
Our town for the last week has been in a con-stant state of excitement. Business has been almost entirely suspended; and every able bodied man is under arms and almost constantly in driil. Never did we see exhibited a more determined spirit. An injured and insulted community suffering under their long born grievances, are determined by an appeal to arms, as a last resort, to redress wrongs that have become insupportable. On Monday last, about 150 men mustered, in this place, under the command of Gen Knox. The attention paid by every man, and the anxiety manifested to acquire knowledge of military movements, is a full guar-antee for the good conduct of our men in the com-ing emergency. In Carthage and Green Plains, the citizens are all in arms and as far as we can hear, throughout the county, every man is ready for the conflict We have assurances that our neighbors in Missouri and Iowa will aid us. In Clark Co., Mis-souri, we understand that many are holding them-selves in readiness to march so soon as wanted. From Rushville we have just learned by express that 300 men have enlisted for the struggle. Mc-Donough county is all alive and ready for the word of command. From Keosaqua, Iowa, we have just received intelligence, by a resident of that place, that the citizens are in arms in our behalf, and only wait our call. From Keokuk and the river towns we learn that all are arming. Gen. Stapp of this Brigade, is requested to call out the Militia, and hold themselves in readiness. Joe is evidently much alarmed, but he has gone too far to back out. He must toe the mark or run. Compromise is out of the question. The delegates sent to the Go-vernor have not yet returned. If they fail to pro-cure his interference a day will be set forthwith, for a general rally as a posse, to assist the officers of justice. As soon as this is done, we will is-sue a handmil giving notice of the fact. Our friends in surrounding communities who de-sire to aid us, will please hold themselves in readiness for this general order. When the word is given, every thing depends on promptness. Capt. Grover last week obtained from Quincy 59 muskets. Men and arms are promised from St. LOUIS, and every thing betokens prosperity to our enterprise. To our friends at a distance we say, come! We are too weak in this county, without aid to effect our object. Come! you will be doing your God and your country service, in aiding us to rid earth of a most Heaven daring wretch.
6 o'clock, P.M.—D. W. Mathews, who was sent last Sunday to St. Louis, has just returned by the Die Vernon. He has succeeded in procuring cannon; and has brought up a good supply of am-munition. Mr. Simpson and Mr. Thompson, have just returned from their trip to Missouri, and report all right and ready. A gentleman who conversed with Governor Ford last week, reports that his ex-cellency said, that he would do all he could in case Jo again defied the laws, to bring him to jus-tice. This was before the news of our present dif-ficulties reached them. We expect a six pounder to-morrow night from Quincy.
