CRISIS AT KIRTLAND IV.
MURDEROUS THREATS & PLOTS
Section 3: Information & Analysis
From Early Mormons
3-A. Apostle Wilford Woodruff's Journal Entries
"The Kirtland Diary of Wilford Woodruff"
Dean C. Jessee, editor
BYU Studies
Vol. 12, No. 4 (Summer 1972)
[p. 384]
31st [Jan 1837]
Met in the house of the Lord at 10 oclock AM & herd an address from Presidents J. Smith jr & S Rigdon on the temporal business of the Church & Petitioned for a charter to the Assembly of the State for the Kirtland Safety Society & the presidency of the Church bought the Monroe charter [[57 The bank at Monroe, Michigan, had been organized under a legislative act approved on 29 March 1827, with John Anderson, Josiah Wendell, Robert Clarke, Oliver Johnson, Charles J. Lanman, Dan B. Miller, and Harry Conant as its directors. Stock was fixed at $100,000, with an option to increase to $500,000, provided 12% percent should be paid at time of subscription. The bank issued currency to the amount of $50,000. In common with many other financial institutions, the Bank of Monroe failed in 1837. Evidence of Mormon connection with the Bank of Monroe is seen on notes in the Historical Department of the Church that contain the signature of "O. Cowdery"]] & we all lent a hand in establishing it that it might be beneficial to us in forwarding the building of the temporal Kingdom...
Comment 1: In attempting to reconstruct events from the Mormon past, it is almost always helpful to have a few contemporary letters and journals available for consulatation. Few such resources survive from the Kirtland period, and those which are available are generally missionary journals that record very little of events in the Mormon capital. All of which makes the Kirtland Diary of Wilford Woodruff a particularly valuable resource. Woodruff is known to have re-written portions of his journals long after their original composition, altering their contents to some degree. Still, his entries for early 1837 appear to be generally reliable. It is useful, for example, to know that Joseph Smith, Jr. announced the purchase of the charter of the failing Bank of Monroe on Jan. 31, 1837. Very shortly after this Joseph and Hyrum Smith traveled to Monroe "on business for the Church" and upon their return, according to Hyrum, interviewed Solon W. Denton, an alleged conspirator in the 1835 plot to murder Grandison Newell. Some sources indicate that the Kirtland Safety Society secured a loan from the still solvent Michigan bank at about this time. If so, that loan may have been paid out in bank notes as worthless at the Kirtland currency. Perhaps the actual business deal then contemplated was a sort of merger of the two tottering financial institutions. Whatever the case may have been, both were in a hopeless state of collapse by the end of March.
[p. 385]
Feb. 19th [Jan 1837]
I repaired to the house of the Lord & stood in the midst of the congregation of the Saints whare I beheld President Joseph Smith Jr arise in the stand & for several hours addressed the Saints in the power of God. Joseph had been absent from Kirtland on business for the Church, though not half as long as Moses was in the mount, & many were stird up in their hearts & some were against him as the Israelites were against Moses but when he arose in the power of God in their midst, as Moses did anciently, they were put to silence for the complainers saw that he stood in the power of a Prophet, O how weak is man.
Comment 2: Here Woodruff makes his first entry since Jan. 31 in which Jseph Smith is mentioned. Other sources help confirm that his absence from Kirtland was due to his having been conducting "business for the Church" in Monroe, Michigan. Woodruff's telling that upon Smith's arrival back in Kirtland "many were stirred up in their hearts" and that "some were against him..." substantiates the fact that the Mormon leader returned from Michigan to a hostile (and perhaps even dangerous) reception among his own followers at Kirtland.
[p. 393]
April 9, 1837
"Joseph Smith... proclaimed that severe judgment awaited those characters
that professed to be his friends & friends to humanity & the 'Kirtland
Safety Society' but had turned traitors & opposed the currency & its
friends which has given power into the hands of the enemy & oppressed
the poor saints such have become covenant breakers for which they will
feel the wrath of God."
Comment 3: Woodruff's record of Smith's message here is more than a little disturbing, even to the reader separated from those events by the passage of over 160 years. By April 1837 it should have been obvious to the major stockholders of the Kirtland Bank that their enterprise had failed for just the opposite reason than the one proposed by Smith. That is to say, had the venture proceeded to establish itself at a less breakneck pace, maintaining a much higher ratio of precious metals backing each bank note issued, the bank might have eventually been a success, even without having a charter, and even in the midst of the "Panic of 1837." The fact that both Smith and Rigdon were later convicted for illegal banking activities, and the fact that they never showed up to establish their appeals of those convictions, all only goes to show that the blame for the bank failure rested more upon the shoulders of its chief officers than upon those "traitors" who had "opposed the currency" by not trading off all their valuable good for worthless paper. Smith's tirade, invoking the "wrath of God" upon many of his previously faithful followers may have temporarily served to obscure the blame he shared with Rigdon, but the harsh condemnation was flung upon the hapless Saints with fewer good results than bad.
Comment 4: Smith's saying then that "some were against him as the Israelites were against Moses" indicates that members of his own Kirtland congregation were then opposing him. This report helps to substantiate Brigham Young's recollection of there being a plot afloat then among some Mormons "for the purpose of taking his [Joseph's] life." Adding in some elements from Hyrum Smith's testimony at the June 9, 1837 trial, it appears that the Smith loyalists' fears of an assassination of their leader were directed at dissident members still within the LDS Church at Kirtland. Smith's threatening "the wrath of God" upon these same "traitors" during his speech at the end of the Church's annual spring Conference perhaps also anticipated the possibility of certain high-ranking members testifying against him in upcoming court actions.
[p. 394]
April. 13th 1837
Marriage being an institution of heaven & honourable in all. I accordingly accepted the honour, upon this memorial day, by joining hands with Miss. PHEBE. W. CARTER in the bonds of matrimony... President. J. Smith Jr was expecting to solemnize the ceremony. but his life was so beset & sought for by wicked and ungodly men for the testimony of JESUS, that he was under the necessity of fleeing from his house & home for a few days. O when will the prophets of God rest upon the earth...
Comment 5:
Just four days after the Mormon leader issued these threats, Mentor businessman Grandison Newell lodged a complaint before Painesville Justice of the Peace Flint, charging Joseph Smith for conspiring to murder him. Newell apparently expected Warren Parrish to provide important testimony against Smith in the pre-trial hearing. Smith, however, bought some time by running away from Woodruff's marriage ceremonies on April 13th, and "fleeing from his house & home for a few days."
Alluding the posse assembled to apprehend him, Smith bought some time in which to consult with his attorneys, and perhaps also in which to convey more personalized threats of "the wrath of God" to "traitors" like Kirtland Bank official and likely trial witness, Warren Parrish. When Warren Parrish finally arrived to testify at Smith's pre-trial hearing, he strangely failed to say anything helpful to Newell's cause.
Comment 6:
It was in the context of this very poisonous atmosphere at Kirtland that Grandison Newell filed his legal complaint against Smith. In the eyes of many Mormon "covenant breakers," Newell's charge of an attempted murder plot issuing forth from the same mouth that was then condemning his own past followers as "covenant breakers" about to "feel the wrath of God," must have seemed more than a little probable.
3-B. Emma Smith Letter
"Joseph Smith Letterbook"
LDS Archives
cited in: Newell & Avery, Mormon Enigma...
[pp. 62-63]
Your letter [of late April, 1837] was welcomed both by friends and foes... We are glad to hear that you was well, and our enemies think they have almost found you, by seeing, where the letters were mailed...[[27 E[mma] S[mith] to J[oseph] S[mith], 25 April 1837...]]
Comments: On p. 62 of their Emma Smith biography authors Newell & Avery perface the above letter excerpt by saying: "In April 1837 Joseph went into hiding without seeing Emma before he left..." The authors also quote a second Emma Smith letter dated May 3, 1837 to her fugitive husband. According to Woodruff's account (above) Joseph Smith, Jr. went into hiding on April 13, 1837 immediately after hearing that Grandison Newell had that day, lodged "a complaint before Justice Flint, of Painesville, charging Smith with conspiring to take his life" (words of J. H. Kennedy, 1888). By the last days of May Smith was either apprehended or had agreed to obey the mandate of the writ and had turned himself in at Painesville. His pre-trial hearing was scheduled there on May 30, 1837. After a short postponment it was held on June 3, followed by a state trial at Chardon on June 9, where Smith was aquitted of the charges.
3-C. President Joseph Smith, Jr.'s Statement
Elders' Journal
Vol. I. No. 4. (August 1838)
(Far West: LDS Church)
"TO THE SUBSCRIBERS OF THE JOURNAL"
[pp. 57-58]
... After this affair, Parrish began to discover that there was great iniquity in the church, particularly in the editor of this paper, and began to make a public excitement about it, but in a short time, he had an opportunity of proving to the world the truth of his assertion. A poor persecuting booby, by the name of Grandison Newel, and who in fact was scarcely a grade above the beast that perish, went and swore out a state's warrant against the editor of this paper, saying that he was afraid of his life. In so doing, he swore a palpable lie and everybody knew it, and so did the court and decided accordingly.
One of the witnesses called in behalf of Mr. Newel, was Warren Parrish. Newel had no doubt but great things would be proven by Parrish. -- When the day of trial, however, came, Parrish was not forth coming. Newel's council demanded an attachment to bring him forth with and accordingly, Parrish was brought. But, behold, the disappointment when Parrish was called! Instead of fulfilling Newel's expectation, when asked by the lawyers, "Do you know of anything in the character or conduct of Mr. Smith, which is unworthy of his profession as a man of God," the answer was, "I do not." The countenance of Newel fell, and if he had possessed one grain of human feelings, would went off with shame, but of this, there is about as much in him as in other beast[s].
In giving the answer Parrish did, he has given the lie, to all he has said, both before the since, and his letter that is now going the rounds in the priest's papers, is an outrageous pack of lies, or else he took a false oath at Painesville; and take it which way you will, and the priests have but a feeble helpmate in granny Parrish.
The truth is, at the time Parrish was called on to give testimony in Painesville, he had not gotten his nerves so strengthened as to take a false oath, and though he could lie most insufferably, still he had some fear about swearing lies. But no doubt, if he were called upon now, he would swear lies as fast as tell them; since he denies all revelation, all angels, all spirit, &c. and has taken the liar Sylvester Smith by the hand, and become his companion.
Some time after Parrish had given in his testimony at Painesville, he began again to rail, the church would hear it no longer and cut him off...
Comment 1: It is likely that at least part of Smith's August 1838 "To the Subscribers of the Journal" article was ghost-written by First Counsellor Sidney Rigdon. The phraseology and smirking style is reminiscent of Rigdon's May 27, 1839 letter to the editor and publisher of the Quincy Whig, as well as some of the purple prose emanating from Rigdon's hand, published earlier in the Messenger & Advocate. In reference to the above quotation regarding Warren Parrish, etc., Orson Hyde later wrote: "Such kind of language I never heard from Joseph and Hiram Smith; neither did they ever preach a "salt sermon," nor tell a 'Granny Parish story'..." (Oct. 21, 1844 open letter to Sidney Rigdon, intended for publication in the Nauvoo Neighbor or New York Prophet, typescript in RLDS Library and Archives)
Comment 2: It is probably a significant fact that Joseph Smith, Jr, is not known to have elsewhere made mention of the charges filed against him by Grandison Newell (for conspiring to commit murder), nor of the June hearing and trial, nor of the partly adverse testimony provided against him by Church members at that time, nor even of his own aquittal on June 9, 1837. What Joseph does say (probably with Sidney's assistance) in the Elders' Journal, is that Grandison Newell "was scarcely a grade above the beast..." Whether by this Smith means the beast of the wilds or the infamous "Beast" of the Book of Revelation remains unclear, but neither application of the term squares well with the fact that Newell was a successful businessman, with no known criminal convictions, and no known unsociable defects, other than his anti-Mormon activities. The Mormon leader's statement may preserve more than a grain of historical truth, in his saying that Grandison Newell, when he swore out his complaint against Smith, said that "he was afraid of his life." Also, that "In so doing, he swore a palpable lie..." Since all of Newell's evidence of a Mormon plot directed against him was confined to the year 1835, and since he had suffered no physical harm from the Mormons since that time, it is reasonable to suppose that he was not particularly afraid of a Mormon attempt upon his life coming in 1837. Still, if Newell was only informed of the attempted attacks upon his person shortly before he filed his complaint, some new and grim realizations may have left him more than a bit uneasy, and especially so, if rumors of Smith's recent talk about putting him "where the crows could not find him" had reached his ears.
Comment 3: Smith's story of Warren Parrish being an uncooperative witness for the prosecution is not told elsewhere among early Mormon sources. Assuming that what he says is true, Smith's account does not provide any clue as to why "Newel's expectation" was that Parrish could (or would) supply damning testimony in regard to Joseph Smith, Jr. Considering the fact that Smith elsewhere provides a very low estimation of Parrish's character and veracity, it appears strange that the man apparently neither engaged in "a false oath" (perjury, in order to get Smith convicted) nor said anything harmful to Newell at the personal level. It is possible that Parrish's unexpected uncooperativeness came as a result of coercion or bribery. If so, in later years, even though he publicly charged Smith with all kinds of wrongdoing, he provided no hint of such coercion or bribery.
3-D. First Counselor Sidney Rigdon's Sworn Testimony
The Painesville Telegraph
June 9, 1837
"The State of Ohio vs. Joseph Smith, Jr."
... Sidney Rigdon being called on the part of the defence, testified -- That about two years since he had heard Davis and Denton had conspired against the life of Mr. Newell; that on receiving this information, he went to Smith and stated the case to him, requesting him to see to it. Witness had never had any conversation with either Davis or Denton on the subject: Smith said he had known nothing of the conspiracy until then. Witness together with Smith, was often at the Bank when the prosecution of its officers was spoken of, but never heard Smith make any threats, though we often discussed the question, how far we should suffer, before we offered violence in self-defence.
Comment 1: Although this published account faithfully preserves the gist of the official court transcript, that transcript itself is little more than a greatly abridged paraphrase of the testimony given in the court house at Chardon in June of 1837. This report of Rigdon's sworn testimony should not be viewed as a full and perfectly true rendering of his statements and answers as given during the trial. Nevertheless, the fact that the testimony was published in the local newspaper and not subsequently contested nor corrected by the Mormon leadership lends considerable credibility to the essence of Rigdon's reported words.
Comment 2: Rigdon agrees with Denton's own testimony that there was a plot hatched among the Mormons to murder Grandison Newell "about two years" prior to June 1835. At least that is when Rigdon says he first heard of the conspiracy between LDS High Priest Denton and LDS Seventy Davis. Denton himself placed the beginning of the conspiracy in "April or May, 1835," when Kirtland gunsmith Marvel C. Davis first recruited him as an assistant in the plot to murder Grandison Newell. Rigdon does not state how he first learned of the plot, but, according to Mormon convert Fanny Brewer "Davis [i. e. M. C. Davis] ... frankly acknowledged to me that he was prepared to do the deed under the direction of the Prophet, and was only prevented by the entreaties of his wife..."
Assuming that murder conspirator Davis confided in his wife some portion of the plot to kill Newell, it is possible that a worried Mrs. Davis carried this revelation to First Counselor in the Presidency, Sidney Rigdon. If M. C. Davis told to his wife that President Joseph Smith was the instigator of the murder plans, it might be logical to assume that Mrs. Davis would approach Smith's closest assistant to try and thwart the evil deed,
Comment 3: Up to this point Rigdon's sworn testimony substantially agrees with that provided by Solomon W. Denton. Where the two testimonies diverge is in Rigdon's saying that he next reported the plot to Joseph Smith, Jr. and that "Smith said he had known nothing of the conspiracy until then." Rigdon's statement, as recorded in the court transcript, is a vague one, but it appears to indicate that Smith denied being responsible for any plan then underway to murder Newell. At least, Rigdon recalled Smith saying he knew "nothing" of a "conspiracy" to accomplish that bloody task.
Comment 4:
Rigdon does not give the date when he met with Smith to discuss this matter, but he does indicate that it was after he heard of the alleged Davis-Denton conspiracy, that is "about two years" prior to June 1835. Joseph and Hiram Smith, (reportedly along with F. G. Williams) left Kirtland on an extended trip to eastern Michigan not long after Smith purchased Michael H. Chandler's collection of Egyptian mummies on July 6, 1835. If Rigdon had not yet heard of the alleged Davis-Denton conspiracy by that date, or, if he delayed a few days before attempting to approach Smith on the matter, then Rigdon's reported interview with Smith would have necessarily transpired after Smith's return from Michigan (six days after Rigdon presided over a special Church Conference held at Kirtland on August 17, 1835). According to his own statement, by about August 24, 1835, at the very latest, Rigdon must have informed Smith of what he had heard concerning the alleged Davis-Denton murder conspiracy.
Cross examined -- The reason he did not go to Davis and Denton himself on hearing of the conspiracy, was because Smith had more influence with them. Davis was never considered strictly subservient to the rules of our society. Denton was excommunicated about two or three months since.
Comment 5: Sidney Rigdon's reply here is somewhat at variance with his earlier testimony. If, as he says, "Smith said he had known nothing of the conspiracy" until Rigdon spoke with him about that matter, then it seems logical to assume that Sidney Rigdon questioned his ecclesiastical superior as to whether he (Joseph Smith, Jr.) already knew of a murder plot being hatched among Smith's own associates. Such a line of questioning on Rigdon's part would be understandable if he first heard of the plot from a person like Mrs. Davis, that is, a loyal Mormon who nevertheless alleged Smith himself was involved in the conspiracy. Rigdon comes close to admitting some of this, in his saying that Joseph Smith, Jr. "had more influence with" Davis and Denton than he did. This confirms that Smith, the busy leader of the entire Mormon Church, had the time and opportunity to share personal relationships with BOTH Davis and Denton, when his likely less obligated First Counselor did not. All of which supports the possibility that M. C. Davis served as one of Smith's bodyguards during the winter of 1833-34, and that Smith developed an equally close relationship with Soloman W. Denton during the Zion's Camp trek and during their months of living in the same house in Kirtland prior to Denton's 1835 marriage.
Comment 6: Ridon's remarks regarding the degree of faithfulness to the Mormon cause shared by Davis and Denton do not square well with the fact that the former was a Seventy in the Church and the latter a High Priest. Whatever their feelings about Mormonism may have been by the spring of 1837, both were almost certainly faithful members during the period in 1835 when they conspired together to commit murder. It is unreasonable to assume that two high ranking LDS elders would have plotted to kill Grandison Newell, in contradiction to the public teachings of their church, unless they (like Nephi in the story of Laban) they were assured that their contemplated lethal actions already met with divine approbation.
Ques. -- Why did you let them continue in your Church so long after you considered them guilty of such conduct?
Ans. -- We supposed they had desisted from their evil course
Ques. -- Does Smith exert much influence over his followers?
Ans. -- Yes, they regard him as an inspired man, and have regarded him in that light since I became acquainted with them and their religion, which will be eight years the next fall.
Comment 7: This is Sidney Rigdon's only known public statement regarding his becoming acquainted with Joseph Smith and the Mormon religion ever published during his lifetime. While the history of Sidney Rigdon published in the Nauvoo Times and Seasons says some things supportive of his June 3, 1837 court testimony, the authorship of that history is nowhere credited directly to Rigdon himself. Here, in a condensed paraphrase of the pre-trial hearing testimony, Sidney Rigdon says that he "became acquainted with them [Smith and his followers] and their religion" at a time "eight years" prior to "the next fall." That "next fall" began on Sep. 22, 1838. Deducting "eight years" from that date leaves the period between Sep. 22 and Oct. 28, 1830 (the latter date being the time when Oliver Cowdery and Parley P. Pratt first arrived at Rigdon's home in Mentor). Although he does not specifically say that he had never heard of Joseph Smith, Jr., the "golden bible," or the Mormons prior to this period, Rigdon does swear under oath that it was then that he "became acquainted with them and their religion."
Ques. -- Do you believe Joseph Smith, Jr. to be a Prophet?
Ans. -- I do not believe he is such a Prophet as yourself or Mr. Howe...
3-E. Elder Hyrum Smith's Testimony
The Painesville Telegraph
June 9, 1837
"The State of Ohio vs. Joseph Smith, Jr."
Hiram Smith called. -- Witness is a brother of the defendant: went with him to Michigan last February; on their return, they were informed that Denton had said he would take defendant's life, and that he (Denton) would swear the defendant had threatened to destroy Mr. Newell. Witness and his brother on arriving in Kirtland, went to the Bank: there met Denton; spoke to him on the subject. -- Denton declared it was an absolute falsehood: a lie as black as the depths of hell....
Comments: Hyrum gives the time of the Smith brothers' return to Kirtland from Michigan as "last February" (February 1837). In some ways Hyrum's testimony seemingly conflicts with that voiced by Rigdon. Hyrum says nothing about an 1835 Davis-Denton plot to murder Grandison Newell, but he does say that he and Joseph learned of a murder plan attributed to Solomon W. Denton upon their return from Michigan in February 1837, and that Denton's reported intended victim was none other than "the defendant," Joseph Smith, Jr.! Since Joseph and Hyrum are not known to have taken any preemptive action against Denton at that time, they presumably placed no confidence in the murder plot allegations. See Brigham Young's similar report of Joseph arriving from Michigan at this time, fearing for his life, but then suffering no actual harm upon his return to Kirtland. One possible reconciliation of these divergent testimonies would entail Sidney Rigdon questioning Joseph Smith, Jr. about a supposed murder plot involving Davis and Denton during the summer of 1835, and that matter being one entirely separate from reports of a murder plot directed against Smith himself in February 1837. If this is an accurate reconstruction of the events, the only connection between the two alleged murder plots is that Solomon W. Denton was named as a potential assassin in both cases, once in 1835 and again in 1837. Other than Solomon W. Denton's own testimony, there is little evidence supporting Hyrum's claim that he confronted Denton in the Kirtland Bank, during February 1837, concerning his reported involvement in a scheme to murder Joseph Smith, Jr. Denton's statement on the matter merely says that "such has been the report" -- that he had obtained "pistols to waylay Smith" (presumably with the intention of killing the Mormon leader). See also Bishop N. K. Whitney's testimony, stating that "a meeting" among the Mormons was "called to inquire into his [Denton's] conduct," regarding Denton's having borrowed some pistols. Whitney came away from that meeting "satisfied by the witnesses then called on, that he had borrowed them." All of which seems to show that a Church inquiry was conducted into the matter of Denton having borrowed pistols (possibly with the intention of waylaying and killing Joseph Smith, Jr.) at about the time of Smith's return from Michigan in Feb. 1837. No documentary evidence of such a Church trial exists, so it appears that this was a case put before the Kirtland Council in 1837. More than likely none of the Painesville hearing witnesses who testified in regard to this shadowy event were particularly forthcoming with any lucid information. If this Church inquiry was simply a device to destroy Denton's character in anticipation of his providing damning evidence in Newell's upcoming prosecution of Smith and Rigdon on illegal banking charges, perhaps the Church leaders thought it best to demonstrate, early on, that Denton's known access to Cowdery's pistols was as problematic to Denton's reputation as to Smith's.
3-F. Apostle Orson Hyde's Testimony
The Painesville Telegraph
June 9, 1837
"The State of Ohio vs. Joseph Smith, Jr."
Mr. Hyde, for the prosecution called. He testified, that some time in January or February last, he was in the Bank, called the Mormon Bank, where others were in conversation: Smith recounting the hardships and privations they had endured, and were still subject to: and that threats had been uttered against the Bank and its officers; that it was possible a suit might be commenced against them; but, said he, I know of no one who would do such a thing, except it is Mr. Newell. Smith seemed much excited and declared that Newell should be put out of the way, or where the crows could not find him: he said destroying Newell would be justifiable in the sight of God, that it was the will of God, &c. Witness said he had never heard Smith use similar language before. Not long after witness conversed with Smith on the subject, asked him what he meant by using such language; he said he had no intention to hurt Newell, but that the course [followed] by Newell [ ------ ------- --- ] him, that he felt injured, and had spoken rashly and inadvertently in the heat of passion. To the question "does Smith claim to be a Prophet." witness answered, "he does sometimes." Question -- Do the members of your society feel bound to receive Smith's words as revelation? Answer -- We do when what he reveals is in accordance with the work of God, but feel bound to receive nothing, farther than it agrees with Scripture. -- Question -- Was there ever a revelation made by Smith, which was doubted by you? Ans. Yes, there have been things advanced by Smith which we did not believe. Myself and others have conversed together on the expressions of Smith, made in reference to Newell; we thought we were not bound to receive it as the revealed will of God.
Comment 1: Grandison Newell's April 13, 1837 complaint charging Joseph Smith, Jr. with conspiracy to commit murder upon his person in 1835 has not survived. Some sources indicate that when he filed the 1837 complaint Newell expressed fears for own safety -- fears that Smith was trying to have him killed. It is possible that the prosecution in the June 3 pre-trial hearing. felt the need to substantiate these alleged fears on the part of Grandison Newell. If so, this may help explain why Orson Hyde was questioned on matters seemingly not directly related to the supposed 1835 Mormon murder scheme. It is also possible that the prosecution developed this line of questioning simply to show that Joseph Smith, Jr. was the kind of man who might call for the killing of an opponent and ascribe his reason for that bloody command to "the will of God." In either instance, Hyde's statement branding Smith as a potential killer was ameliorated somewhat when he added that Smith had merely "spoken rashly and inadvertently in the heat of passion." This portion of Hyde's testimony resonates with what Luke S. Johnson said that same day: that a person like Grandison Newell should be killed by Smith's followers "should head a mob against him..." In both the cases relating Smith's murder threats, as detailed by these two LDS Apostles, there were implied extenuating circumstances. In the case presented by Orson Hyde, Smith had only "spoken rashly" and "in the heat of passion." In the case presented by Luke S. Johnson, Smith was apparently only speaking of how he might be defended should a mob come to attack him. Putting these two statements together, it is not difficult to picture an excited, angered, and fearful Joseph Smith calling for his followers to kill Grandison Newell, before Newell's mob could harm him. This sort of response on the part of a highly pressured Smith in 1837 may be understandable; it is not so easily understandable if the time frame is moved back to the much calmer days of 1835.
Cross examined -- Witness thinks the meeting at the Bank was in January or February. -- There were a number present with myself, Mr. Parish, Mr. Cahoun and others whose names I do not recollect at this time.
Question -- Who participated with Smith in this conversation about Newell?
Answer -- I heard no one make any reply to what he said.
Ques -- Does the witness think that Smith intended to take the life of Newell?
Ans -- I cannot say that I do; though I felt some alarm, spoke to others of it.
Ques. -- How was the expression of Smith concerning Newell received by you?
Ans. -- We did not receive it as a revelation; we receive nothing as such, except what accords with the Old and New Testaments.
Ques. -- How long have you been acquainted with Smith, and what is your opinion of his character as a man?
Ans -- I have known him for some time and think him to be possessed of much kindness and humanity toward his fellow beings.
Ques. -- Does Mr. Newell come among you frequently, or does he seem to shun your place through fear?
Ans. -- I have seen him at Kirtland once or twice lately, apparently without fear of coming among us.
Direct examination resumed -- All who were present at the conversation in the Bank were both officers of the Society and of the Bank.
Cross examination resumed -- I have conversed with Mr. Newell on the subject of the prosecution of the officers of the Bank and the threats of Smith against him: he inquired of me whether I would support Smith or turn against him; I told him that I hoped truth might ever prevail with me, but there was much prejudice existing among the members of our society against him, in consequence of his heading a mob to disturb us; should not swerve from truth and fairness, even should it go against Smith.
Comment 2: Hyde's testimony at this point could must have been particularly unpleasant to the defendant's ears. The fact that one of his own "Twelve Apostles" had been consulting with an enemy of the Church like Grandison Newell may have brought Joseph Smith recollections of Judas' similar betrayal of his Master to the enemy nearly 2000 years before. It does little violence to Hyde's words concerning Grandison Newell to say that Apostles like Hyde were willing to deal directly with the man, and perhaps even promise him greater cooperation in his prosecution of Smith, if Newell would disavow the use of mob force against the Mormons. That Apostle Orson Hyde was then willing to consider taking any course that would "go against Smith" is an extraordinary fact, especially given the general Mormon view of Joseph Smith, Jr. being a divinely led and protected prophet of God. To "go against Smith" in those days was tantamount to saying that Smith was either a fallen prophet or a false prophet from the beginning. Given the fact that several prominent Mormons stood upon the verge of going "against Smith" in the spring of 1837, yet choosing to remain in the church he founded, it appears that LDS leaders like Orson Hyde were then fully prepared to brand Joseph Smith, Jr. as a fallen prophet.
Ques. -- Has there ever been any difficulty between yourself and Smith?
Ans. -- Yes, there has been at times about the printing business and concerning Newell.
3-G. Former High Priest S. W. Denton's Testimony
The Painesville Telegraph
June 9, 1837
"The State of Ohio vs. Joseph Smith, Jr."
Solomon W. Denton called -- Witness says that in April or May, 1835, he lived with Smith, and was a member of the society. At that time there was much excitement among the members about Newell, his raising a mob, &c.
Comment 1: It is almost impossible, at this separation in time, to know how much credibility should be given to Solomon W. Denton's sworn testimony. Certain parts of his statement may, however, be accepted as being possible, if not fully estbalished by supporting evidence. His saying that, early in 1835, "there was much excitement among the members about Newell, his raising a mob, etc." is believeable, but not well supported by any contemporary documentation. There is no known evidence to indicate that Grandison Newell was then actually raising an armed force with the intention of physically attacking the Kirtland Mormons. Smith had generated a similar perception among his close-knit followers during the winter of 1833-34 in Kirtland. That fortress mentality was developed in the context of apostasy within his church generating active enemies like D. P. Hurlbut and Joseph Wakefield. Whether or not hostile ex-members like those men actually attempted to attack the Saints and murder their leader, the embattled Mormons were ready to accept that possibility as a real threat and make preparations to meet it. Although there is little in the historical record to indicate the reappearance among the Mormons in 1835 of any similar threat (either real or perceived), Denton's reference to witnessing such a mentality of excitement and fear among the Saints is likely true.
One afternoon I saw Mr. Davis, who said he wished to speak to me privately: we withdrew to a private room and after consulting together about putting Newell out of the way, I went to Mr. Cowdery's, borrowed a pair of pistols, cleaned, loaded and fired them once, then loaded them again,
Comment 2: Denton's testimony to this point remains believable. He was approached by the 33 year old Kirtland gunsmith, and probable former Smith bodyguard, to join in what was very likely termed a secret mission to save the entire Church from a forthcoming mob attack. "Wilbur" Denton at the time was a 21 year old bachelor who was probably still living with the Smith family. He says he used pistols to guard the Mormon leader's house in Kirtland, and so he too may have been a Smith bodyguard. Denton had already demonstrated his loyalty and trustworthiness in his accompanying Joseph Smith, Jr. in the armed Mormon expedition to Jackson county, Missouri the year before. It is even conceivable that Davis had arranged beforehand to obtain Cowdery's pistols for the project. Most handguns of that era were notoriously unreliable at long range, but gunsmith M. C. Davis would have known which firearms among the Saints were the best suited for the secret death scheme.
and as I returned saw Smith, who said he wished to speak with me. We retired to the garden, he said to me I know where you are going and what your business is; that he had seen Davis and told him I would be a good hand to go with him: said this was a great work, and we must be very wise; then spake of Newell; said he had injured the society, and that it was better for one man to suffer than to have the whole community disturbed; that it was the will of Heaven that Newell should be put out of the way, and that he would take the responsibility, for the deed was justifiable in the sight of God, and would be rewarded: but when we had killed him, he wanted his body secreted if possible.
Comment 3: It would be pure speculation to attempt to establish the reliability of Denton's testimony here. For a faithful Latter Day Saint of the modern era it is practically inconceivable that the acknowledged Prophet of God and holder of the keys to the last dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the fullness of times, could possibly engage in bloody murder. It is one thing to recall that Smith carried guns to Missouri in 1834, ready to fire upon opposing Gentiles -- or to recall that Smith died firing a six-shooter at his assailants in Carthage Jail. It is quite another thing to attempt to picture that same man ordering his loyal followers to kill an innocent (under the laws of that day, at least) Gentile like Grandison Newell in cold blood. Modern Mormons must reject the truthfulness of this scenario in the same way that they reject the stories of Smith having ordered the assassination of Lilburn W. Boggs, of his having threatened the life of John C. Bennett with a loaded gun, and of his having solicited Indians to assassinate President William Law. To admit to such a possibility would also be admitting that the latter day Church was founded by a liar and potential killer.
{Here the witness was about to detail the conversation between Davis and Smith, as related to him by Davis, which was objected to by the Counsel of the defendant, and declared inadmissible by the Court.}
The witness then proceeded to say that Smith told him he wished to God the deed had been done, and hoped it would not be given up; that Heaven would reward the doers of a deed so just, &c. After supper, witness met Davis on the east and west road not far from Elijah Smith's house; after some hurried expressions from each on the atrocity of the crime, they separated.
Ques. -- Was Smith held as a prophet by his followers?
Ans. -- He was: I had ever been taught by both Smith and Cowdery to regard him as such.
Cross examined -- I first saw Smith in the state of New York, in the year 1830; did not embrace his religion until I came to Kirtland in 1831. Since then I have been to Missouri; was a member of the society there; returned in 1833 or '34. When I returned to Kirtland I engaged in the printing business carried on by Davis, Rigdon, Cowdery and Smith. -- Smith was sometimes called into the office to reprimand me for not obeying what I considered unjust and tyrannical requirements.
Comment 4: Denton's linking "Davis" (presumably M. C. Davis) to the Messenger and Advocate printing office in Kirtland is inexplicable. There is no substantiating evidence to show that such a person ever held an interest in the business or was employed in its office.
Ques. -- Did you ever use pistols for any other purpose than destroying Newell?
Answer -- Yes, I have used them to guard Smith's house.
Ques. -- Did you never get pistols to waylay Smith?
Ans. -- No, though such has been the report.
Comment 5: Denton's statement here might be taken as substantiating the testimony of Hyrum Smith, saying that he and his brother "were informed that Denton had said he would take defendant's [Joseph Smith's] life..." See also Bishop N. K. Whitney's testimony, stating that "a meeting called to inquire into his [Denton's] conduct" regarding Denton's having borrowed some pistols (seemingly in 1837 and not in 1835).
Ques. -- Are you a member of the society now?
Ans. -- I am not: I was excommunicated about two months since for lack of faith, non-observance of duties and contempt of the quorum of High Priests. I left Kirtland about five weeks ago; went to Michigan to visit my family.
Ques. -- Had you any conversation with Smith about the Newell affair before you went to Michigan?
Ans. -- I had: he told me he expected to be prosecuted, and that he had heard I would swear against him: he then urged upon me the necessity of favoring him and the society.
Comment 6: This statement is also credible. Apparently Smith spoke to Denton after the latter had been excommunicated but before he left for Michigan. This would have been at about the same time Grandison Newell filed his April 13, 1837 complaint against Smith. Assuming that Newell derived most of his information concerning the 1835 conspiracy to take his life from Denton himself, this testimony may indicate that Denton admitted the same to Smith just before Smith went into hiding to escape the April 13th writ authorizing his arrest. It is perhaps possible that Denton's subsequent quick departure for Michigan was motivated by more than a desire to visit there with his relatives.
Direct examination resumed -- I borrowed the pistols of Mr. Cowdery, in obedience to the command of Smith communicated to me by Davis.
3-H. Bishop N. K. Whitney's Testimony
The Painesville Telegraph
June 9, 1837
"The State of Ohio vs. Joseph Smith, Jr."
Mr. Whitney called. -- He had no remembrance of hearing such conversation as had been related by witnesses to have taken place in the Bank; though he has often heard Newell's name mentioned. He has heard others say and has said himself, that if Newell should attack them at the head of a mob, he should be the first to suffer. Many rumors were afloat, which caused us to expect a mob, and prepare ourselves for defence. I never heard Smith threaten Newell's life.
Ques. -- Does Smith exert much influence over his people?
Ans. -- Considerable: we feel found to follow his directions so far as they agree with the doctrines of the Bible.
Cross examined -- Witness is an officer of the society and present at all their deliberations; has never known anything of a conspiracy against Newell: their Articles of Faith forbid any such thing. Have heard of Denton's borrowing pistols, and at a meeting called to inquire into his conduct, was satisfied by the witnesses then called on, that he had borrowed them.
Comments: It may be useful to point out here that the Mormon "Articles of Faith," as embodied in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants also forbid polygamy. In order to secretly engage in "plural marriage" activities, contrary to the Church's officially accepted and published "Articles of Faith," Joseph Smith, Jr. found it necessary to lie in public about his personal life. Thus, Bishop Whitney's statement, as presented here, may not be so constraining upon the secret activities of Joseph Smith, Jr. as it appears when taken at face value. Smith was obviously able to occasionally contravene the supposedly divinely established rules and obligations enforced upon other members of the Church. He accomplished this seemingly impossible feat by proclaiming a secret divine revelation, given to himself alone, the contents of which could not be shared with the general membership of the Church.
3-I. Apostle Luke S. Johnson's Testimony
The Painesville Telegraph
June 9, 1837
"The State of Ohio vs. Joseph Smith, Jr."
Luke Johnson called -- Has heard Smith and others say, if Newell or any other man should head a mob against him, they ought to be put out of the way, and it would be our duty to do so. There has been much excitement prevailing among us in consequence of the attack on Smith and Rigdon, in Portage co., where they were tarred and feathered, and we have been ordered to arm ourselves for defense, that we might be prepared to resist similar aggressions.
Cross examined -- I believe our only means of safety was to arm ourselves [ ------- --------- ------] have [ ----- ------- ------- ------ ] frighten or injure [ ----------- ---------- ------ ] near our place and fired cannon, but Smith always told us to hurt none unless they were the aggressors. I believe Smith to be a tender-hearted, humane man.
Comment 1: Apostle Johnson here adds some interesting information to the record. The tarring and feathering of Smith and Rigdon took place in Johnson's own home and members of his family were probably involved in the unfortunate affair. However, that single, measured act of violence was directed only upon the persons of Smith and his closest associate, after it was rumored that the leaders of the Mormon Church were about to take over the Johnson farm and property at the expense of family members who not members of the Church. Other rumors said that Joseph Smith was engaging in extramarital intercourse with one of the female members of the Johnson family. Given that context, it is more correct to term the Hiram incident an "anti-Smith" attack than it is to call it a purely "anti-Mormon" outrage. By 1837 (and well before that, as a matter of fact), Smith successfully transferred fears of a subsequent attack upon his person to the members of the Kirtland congregation as a whole. In other words, an assault upon Smith, for whatever reason, was taken as an assault upon the entire membership of the Church, even if those members other than Smith himself were not especially endangered by external threats (real of imagined).
Comment 2: Given the dangerous circumstances prevalent in Kirtland between 1831 and 1838, it is understandable that the Saints felt the need to arm themselves and stand ready to meet the perceived threat of an impending attack. What is less understandable is how it came to pass that any threat directed at Smith, for whatever reason, was met by the Mormon leadership ordering the Saints "to arm [them]selves for defense" and to "resist similar aggressions." It is likely that some of the animosity expressed against Joseph Smith, Jr. by his own top followers in 1837 sprang from the unhappy outcomes of this very phenomenon. If Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon were found guilty in a court of law for criminal activities (which eventually they were) would the armed Saints stand ready to lay down their lives to prevent those leaders legal imprisonment? Such thoughts must have crossed many minds in Kirtland during the course of that eventful year.
3-J. Former Kirtland Bank Officer Warren Parrish's Testimony
The Painesville Telegraph
June 9, 1837
"The State of Ohio vs. Jospeh Smith, Jr."
Mr. Parish called. -- Does not recollect distinctly, but thinks he has heard Newell's name mentioned at the Bank: was often there when Smith was present, but has no remembrance of hearing Smith utter any threats against Newell or others.
Cross examined -- Am an officer in the church: have been acquainted with Smith for some time: think him to be of kind and charitable disposition: have often heard him exhort his people to do no violence.
Comments: Warren Parrish subsequently availed himself of several opportunities to denounce Joseph Smith in public. In all his known utterances on such matters, however, he is strangely silent as to the role played by Grandison Newell in the expulsion of Smith and his top followers at the beginning of 1838. Parrish also avoids saying anything about his own connections to Newell or about the plot among the Mormons to murder Newell in 1835.
3-K. Apostle Brigham Young's Statement
Deseret News Weekly
VII, No. 49 (February 10, 1858)
At this time [Oct. 1836 - Feb. 1837] the spirit of speculation, disaffection and apostasy imbibed by many of the Twelve, and which ran through all the quorums of the Church, prevailed so extensively that it was difficult for any to see clearly the path to pursue...
During this siege of darkness I stood close by Joseph, and, with all the wisdom and power God bestowed upon me, put forth my utmost energies to sustain the servant of God and unite the quorums of the Church.
Ascertaining that a plot was laid to waylay Joseph for the purpose of taking his life, on his return from Monroe, Michigan to Kirtland, I procured a horse and buggy, and took Brother William Smith along to meet Joseph. We met him returning in the stagecoach. Joseph requested William to take his seat in the stage, and he rode with me in the buggy. We arrived in Kirtland in safety...
Comments: The same Young statement is printed in Elden Jay Watson, editor Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1801-1844 (Salt Lake City: Smith Secretarial Service, 1968). The Smith brothers' trip to Monroe Michigan apparently transpired during the first half of February 1837. Thus, Brigham Young's account helps to corroborate Hyrum's Smith's testimony, saying that he and his brother learned of death-plot rumors directed against Joseph Smith, Jr. upon their return from Michigan in February of 1837. Wilford Woodruff pinpoints the date of there return as being on (or very shortly before) Feb. 19, 1837. According to Mormon reports, when Joseph Smith, Jr. arrived back in the Kirtland area, there was a suspicion on the part of some members that Solomon W. Denton had borrowed pistols with the intention of waylaying Smith and killing him. Hyrum Smith says that the Smith brothers questioned Denton in regard to those rumors. Bishop Whitney says that a meeting was held to investigate the rumors. All of this apparently happened well before Denton's excommunication
3-L. Former Apostle William E. McLellin's Statement
The Salt Lake City Daily Tribune
Wednesday Morning, Oct. 6, 1875.
"Jackson County..."
"... At Kirtland there was a wealthy citizen, Grandison Newell, who brought a number of civil suits against Joseph Smith -- estimated as high as thirty. Dr. McLellin was a witness in some of these cases. About that time a devout Saint whispered to the Doctor that "men had slipped their wind for smaller things then Newell was guilty of." Upon this the Doctor saw one of Joseph Smith's intimates privately, and the latter confessed that he and another were employed by Smith to assassinate Grandison Newell! The Doctor satisfied himself fully that the man's statement was true, and thought it about time to leave. He accordingly put his wife on one horse, took another himself and "lit out." Soon after he settled in Upper Missouri, and was soon surrounded by the Saints again, but was careful to keep still and have no intimacies with them...."
Comments: Apostle McLellin was apparently in Kirtland from the end of June to the middle of August in 1836. This is the likely period during which he spoke with "one of Joseph Smith's intimates" who "confessed that he and another were employed by Smith to assassinate Grandison Newell." The obvious name here would be either Marvel C. Davis or Solomon W. Denton. Denton served a mission in 1836, but was probably back in Kirtland by the end of July. Davis seemingly remained in Kirtland throughout 1836, so either man could have been McLellin's informant. McLellin's statement about moving to Missouri and having "no intimacies" with the Mormons is not an exactly correct telling of his story. Although he tried to withdraw from the Church he was carried on its rolls until his formal excommunication on May 11, 1838. During the interim period he was at least partly and occasionally reconciled with the Mormon leadership.
3-M. Former Mormon Fanny Brewer's Statement
in: John C. Bennett
The History of the Saints...
(Boston: Leyland A. Whiting Co. 1842)
[p. 85]
Testimony of Fanny Brewer, of Boston.
"BOSTON, September 13, 1842.
"TO THE PUBLIC: -- ... In the spring of 1837, I left Boston for Kirtland, in all good faith, to assemble with the Saints, as I thought, and worship God more perfectly. On my arrival I found brother going to law with brother, drunkenness prevailing to a great extent, and every species of wickedness. Joseph Smith, A Prophet of God, (as he called himself,) was under arrest for EMPLOYING TWO OF THE ELDERS TO KILL A MAN BY THE NAME OF GRANDISON NEWELL, belonging to Mentor; but was acquitted, AS THE MOST MATERIAL WITNESS DID NOT APPEAR!!! I am personally acquainted with one of the employees, Davis by name, and he frankly acknowledged to me that he was prepared to do the deed under the direction of the Prophet, and was only prevented by the entreaties of his wife....
Comment 1: Mormon convert Fanny Brewer arrived in Kirtland "in the spring of 1837" at the time when Joseph Smith "was under arrest" in consequence of Grandison Newell's obtaining a writ against him on April 13, 1837. It is not otherwise stated that Smith was apprehended by officers of the law that spring, so the period Brewer speaks of must have been about the time Max H. Parkin speaks of when he says Smith"traveled to Painesville accompanied by a sizable entourage of witnesses on Tuesday, May 30 [1837]." If this is so, then Brewer's first weeks in Kirtland were spend amidst the excitement surrounding Smith's June hearing and trial. This would have been a logical time for the new convert to have inquired into the circumstances of the prosecution against Smith and to have learned some details of particular interest to her.
Comment 2: Immediately after her speaking of "the most material witness" being a person who "did not appear" at the hearing and trial, Brewer names Elder "Davis" as her informant for secret information regarding the plot against Grandison Newell. The logical conclusion to be drawn from her words is that Davis {i. e. Marvel C. Davis} was the sought after "witness" who managed to avoid testifying in court. This deduction is borne out by the facts that M. C. Davis would indeed have been a most important witness (for either side in the case, depending upon how he testified) and that he was not present among the known witnesses at either of the legal proceedings. Since Davis would have been an important witness in helping the defense to clear Smith's name, were he innocent of the charges, it is reasonable to assume that Smith's lawyers would have wanted Davis present at the hearing and trial. However, since Brewer was able to encounter the man so easily in Mormon Kirtland (while he was yet a member of the Church), the overwhelming probability is that Smith's lawyers did not want M. C. Davis placed on the witness stand in Painesville or in Chardon. None of this does much to enhance Smith's image as a totally innocent victim dragged into a perilous prosecution by a biogoted enemy of Mormonism.
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