[376]
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO.
_________
I.
IT is by no means improbable that some future text-book, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most
High, -- such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his
memory with unsavory epithets. Fanatic, imposter, charlatan, he may have
been; but these hard names furnish no solution to the problem he presents to
us. Fanatics and impostors are living and dying every day, and their memory
is buried
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 377
with them; but the wonderful influence which this founder of a
religion exerted and still exerts throws him into relief before us, not as a
rogue to be criminated, but as a phenomenon to be explained. The most vital
questions Americans are asking each other today have to do with this man and
what he has left us. Is there any remedy heroic enough to meet the case, yet
in accordance with our national doctrines of liberty and toleration, which
can be applied to the demoralizing doctrines now advanced by the sect which
he created? The possibilities of the Mormon system are unfathomable.
Polygamy may be followed by still darker "revelations." Here is a society
resting upon foundations which may at any moment be made subversive of every duty which we claim from the citizen. Must it be reached by that last
argument which quenched the evil fanaticisms of Mulhausen and Munster? A
generation other than mine must deal with these questions. Burning questions
they are, which must give a prominent place in the history of the country to
that sturdy self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith, claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity such as few men have ever attained, and, finally, forty-three days after I saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When he surrendered his person to Governor Ford, in order to prevent the shedding of blood, the prophet had a presentiment of what was before him. "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter," he is reported to have
378 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
said; "but I am calm as a summer's
morning. I have a conscience void of offense and shall die innocent." I have
no theory to advance respecting this extraordinary man. I shall simply give
the facts of my intercourse with him. At some future time they may be found
to have some bearing upon the theories of others who are more competent to
make them. Ten closely written pages of my journal describe my impressions
of Nauvoo, and of its prophet, mayor, general, and judge; but details,
necessarily omitted in the diary, went into letters addressed to friends at
home, and I shall use both these sources to make my narrative as complete as
possible. I happened to visit Joseph Smith in company with a distinguished
gentleman, who, if rumor may be trusted, has been as conscientious a
journal-writer as was his father. It is not impossible that my record may
one day be supplemented by that of my fellow-traveller, the Hon. Charles
Francis Adams.
It was on the 25th of April, 1844, that Mr. Adams and myself left Boston for
the journey to the West which we had had for some time in contemplation. I
omit all account of our adventures -- and a very full account of them is
before me -- until the 14th of May, when we are ascending the clear, sparkling
waters of the Upper Mississippi in the little steamboat "Amaranth." With one
exception we find our fellow-passengers uninteresting. The exception is Dr.
Goforth. A chivalric, yet simple personage is this same doctor, who has
served under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans and is now
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 379
going to Nauvoo, to promote the election of the just nominated Henry Clay. It is
to this gentleman we owe our sight of the city of the Saints, which,
strangely enough, we had not intended to visit. Though far from being a
Mormon himself, Dr. Goforth told us much that was good and interesting about
this strange people. He urged us to see for ourselves the result of the
singular political system which had been fastened upon Christianity, and to
make the acquaintance of his friend, General Smith, the religious and civil
autocrat of the community. "We agreed to stop at Nauvoo," says my journal,
"provided some conveyance should be found at the landing which would take us
up to General Smith's tavern, and prepared our baggage for this contingency.
Owing to various delays, we did not reach the landing till nearly midnight,
when our friend, who had jumped on shore the moment the boat stopped,
returned with the intelligence that no carriage was to be had, and so we
bade him adieu, to go on our way. But, as we still lingered upon the
hurricane deck, he shouted that there was a house on the landing, where we
could get a good bed. This changed our destiny, and just at the last moment
we hurried on shore. Here we found that the 'good bed' our friend had
promised us was in an old mill, which had been converted into an Irish
shanty. However, we made the best of it, and, having dispossessed a cat and
a small army of cockroaches of their quarters on the coverlet, we lay down
in our dressing-gowns and were soon asleep."
380 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
We left our lowly bed in the gray light of the morning, to find the rain
descending in torrents and the roads knee-deep in mud. Intelligence of our
arrival had in some mysterious manner reached General Smith, and the
prophet's own chariot, a comfortable carryall, drawn by two horses, soon
made its appearance. It is probable that we owed the alacrity with which we
were served to an odd blunder which had combined our names and personalities
and set forth that no less a man than ex-President John Quincy Adams had
arrived to visit Mr. Joseph Smith. Happily, however, Dr. Goforth, who had
got upon the road before us, divided our persons and reduced them to their
proper proportions, so that no trace of disappointment was visible in the
group of rough-looking Mormons who awaited our descent at the door of the
tavern. It was a three-story frame house, set back from the street and
surrounded by a white fence, that we had reached after about two miles of
the muddiest driving. Pre-eminent among the stragglers by the door stood a
man of commanding appearance, clad in the costume of a journeyman carpenter
when about his work. He was a hearty, athletic fellow, with blue eyes
standing prominently out upon his light complexion, a long nose, and a
retreating forehead. He wore striped pantaloons, a linen jacket, which had
not lately seen the washtub, and a beard of some three days' growth. This
was the founder of the religion which had been preached in every quarter of
the earth. As Dr. Goforth introduced us to the prophet, he mentioned the
parentage of my companion.
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 381
"God bless you, to begin with!" said Joseph
Smith, raising his hands in the air and letting them descend upon the
shoulders of Mr. Adams. The benediction, though evidently sincere, had an
odd savor of what may be called official familiarity, such as a crowned head
might adopt on receiving the heir presumptive of a friendly court. The
greeting to me was cordial -- with that sort of cordiality with which the
president of a college might welcome a deserving janitor -- and a blessing
formed no part of it. "And now come, both of you, into the house!" said our
host, as, suiting the action to the word, he ushered us across the threshold
of his tavern.
A fine-looking man is what the passer-by would instinctively have murmured
upon meeting the remarkable individual who had fashioned the mould which was to shape the feelings of so many thousands of his fellow-mortals. But Smith
was more than this, and one could not resist the impression that capacity
and resource were natural to his stalwart person. I have already mentioned
the resemblance he bore to Elisha R. Potter, of Rhode Island, whom I met in
Washington in 1826. The likeness was not such as would be recognized in a
picture, but rather one that would be felt in a grave emergency. Of all men
I have met, these two seemed best endowed with that kingly faculty which
directs, as by intrinsic right, the feeble or confused souls who are looking
for guidance. This it is just to say with emphasis; for the reader will find
so much that is puerile and even shocking in my report of the
382 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
prophet's conversation that he might never suspect the impression of rugged power that was given by the man.
On the right hand, as we entered the house, was a
small and very comfortless-looking bar-room; all the more comfortless,
perchance, from its being a dry bar-room, as no spirituous liquors were
permitted at Nauvoo. In apparent search for more private quarters, the
prophet opened the door of a room on the left. He instantly shut it again,
but not before I perceived that the obstacle to our entrance was its prior
occupancy by a woman, in bed. He then ran up-stairs, calling upon us to
follow him, and, throwing open a door in the second story, disclosed three
Mormons in three beds. This was not satisfactory; neither was the next
chamber, which was found, on inspection, to contain two sleeping disciples.
The third attempt was somewhat more fortunate, for we had found a room which held but a single bed and a single sleeper. Into this apartment we were
invited to enter. Our host immediately proceeded to the bed, and drew the
clothes well over the head of its occupant. He then called a man to make a
fire, and begged us to sit down. Smith then began to talk about himself and his people, as, of course, we
encouraged him to do. He addressed his words to Mr. Adams oftener than to
me, evidently thinking that this gentleman had or was likely to have
political influence, which it was desirable to conciliate. Whether by subtle
tact or happy accident, he introduced us to Mormonism as a secular
institution
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 383
before stating its monstrous claims as a religious system.
Polygamy, it must be remembered, formed no part of the alleged revelations
upon which the social life at Nauvoo was based; indeed, the recorded
precepts of its prophet were utterly opposed to such a practice, and it is,
at least, doubtful whether this barbarism was in any was sanctioned by
Smith. Let a man who has so much to answer for be allowed the full benefit
of the doubt; and Mormonism, minus the spiritual wife system, had, as it has
today, much that was interesting in its secular aspects. Its founder told us
what he had accomplished and the terrible persecutions through which he had
brought his people. He spoke with bitterness of outrages to which they had
been subjected in Missouri, and implied that the wanton barbarities of his
lawless enemies must one day be atoned for. He spoke of the industrial
results of his autocracy in the holy city we were visiting, and of the
extraordinary powers of its charter, obtained through his friend, Governor
Ford. The past had shown him that a military organization was necessary. He
was now at the head of three thousand men, equipped by the State of Illinois
and belonging to its militia, and the Saints were prepared to fight as well
as to work. "I decided," said Smith, "that the commander of my troops ought
to be a lieutenant-general, and I was, of course, chosen to that position. I
sent my certificate of election to Governor Ford, and received in return a
commission of lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo Legion and of the militia of
the state of Illinois. Now, on examining
384 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
the Constitution of the United States, I find that an officer must be tried by a court-martial composed of his equals in rank; and as I am the only lieutenant-general in the country, I think they will find it pretty hard to try me."
At this point breakfast was announced, and a substantial meal was served in
a long back kitchen. We sat down with about thirty persons, some of them
being in their shirt-sleeves, as if just come from work. There was no going
out, as the rain still fell in torrents; and so, when we had finished
breakfast, the prophet (who had exchanged his working dress for a broadcloth
suit while we lingered at the table) proposed to return to the chamber we
had quitted, where he would give us his views of theology. The bed had been
made during our absence and the fire plentifully replenished. Our party was
now increased by the presence of the patriarch, Hiram Smith; Dr. Richards,
of Philadelphia, who seemed to be a very modest and respectable Mormon; Dr.
Goforth; and a Methodist minister, whose name I have not preserved. No
sooner were we seated than there entered some half-dozen leaders of the
sect, among whom, I think, were Rigdon and Young; but of their presence I
cannot be positive. These men constituted a sort of silent chorus during the
expositions of their chief. They fixed a searching, yet furtive gaze upon
Mr. Adams and myself, as if eager to discover how we were impressed by what
we heard. Of the wild talk that we listened to I have preserved but a few
fragments. Smith was
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 385
well versed in the letter of the scriptures, though he
had little comprehension of their spirit. He began by denying the doctrine
of the Trinity, and supported his views by the glib recitation of a number
of texts. From this he passed to his own claims to special inspiration,
quoting with great emphasis the eleventh and twelfth verses of the fourth
chapter of Ephesians, which, in his eyes, adumbrated the whole Mormon
hierarchy. The degrees and orders of ecclesiastical dignitaries he set forth
with great precision, being careful to mention the interesting revelation
which placed Joseph Smith supreme above them all. This information was
plentifully besprinkled with cant phrases or homely proverbs. "There, I have
proved that point as straight as a loon's leg." "The curses of my enemies
run off from me like water from a duck's back." Such are the specimens which
my journal happens to preserve, but the exposition was constantly garnished
with forcible vulgarisms of a similar sort. The prophet referred to his
miraculous gift of understanding all languages, and took down a Bible in
various tongues, for the purpose of exhibiting his accomplishments in this
particular. Our position as guests prevented our testing his powers by a
rigid examination, and the rendering of a few familiar texts seemed to be
accepted by his followers as a triumphant demonstration of his abilities. It
may have been an accident, but I observed that the bulk of his translations
were from the Hebrew, which, presumably, his visitors did not understand,
rather
386 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
than from the classical languages, in which they might more easily have caught him tripping.
"And now come with me," said the prophet, "and I will show you the
curiosities." So saying, he led the way to a lower room, where sat a
venerable and respectable-looking lady. "This is my mother, gentlemen. The
curiosities we shall see belong to her. They were purchased with her own
money, at a cost of six thousand dollars;" and then, with deep feeling, were
added the words, "And that woman was turned out upon the prairie in the dead
of night by a mob." There were some pine presses fixed against the wall of
the room. These receptacles Smith opened, and disclosed four human bodies,
shrunken and black with age. "These are mummies," said the exhibitor. "I
want you to look at that little runt of a fellow over there. He was a great
man in his day. Why, that was Pharaoh Necho, King of Egypt!" Some parchments inscribed with hieroglyphics were then offered us. They were preserved under glass and handled with great respect. "That is the handwriting of Abraham, the Father of the Faithful," said the prophet. "This is the autograph of Moses, and these lines were written by his brother Aaron. Here we have the
earliest account of the creation, from which Moses composed the first book
of Genesis." The parchment last referred to showed a rude drawing of a man
and woman, and a serpent walking upon a pair of legs. I ventured to doubt
the propriety of providing the reptile in question with this unusual means
of locomotion.
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 387
"Why, that's as plain as a pikestaff," was the rejoinder. "Before the Fall snakes always went about on legs, just like chickens. They were deprived of
them, in punishment for their agency in the ruin of man." We were further
assured that the prophet was the only mortal who could translate these
mysterious writings, and that his power was given by direct inspiration.
It is well known that Joseph Smith was accustomed to make his revelations
point to those sturdy business habits which lead to prosperity in this
present life. He had little enough of that unmixed spiritual power which
flashed out from the spare, neurasthenic body of Andrew Jackson. The
prophet's hold upon you seemed to come from the balance and harmony of
temperament which reposes upon a large physical basis. No association with
the sacred phrases of scripture could keep the inspirations of this man from
getting down upon the hard pan of practical affairs. "Verily I say unto you,
let my servant, Sidney Gilbert, plant himself in this place and establish a
store." So had run one of his revelations, in which no holier spirit than
that of commerce is discernible. The exhibition of these August relics
concluded with a similar descent into the hard modern world of fact.
Monarchs, patriarchs, and parchments were very well in their way; but this
was clearly the nineteenth century, when prophets must get a living and
provide for their relations. "Gentlemen," said this bourgeois Mohammed, as he closed the cabinets, "those who see these curiosities generally pay my mother a quarter of a dollar."
388 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
II.
The clouds had parted when we emerged from the chamber of curiosities, and
there was time to see the temple before dinner. General Smith ordered a
capacious carriage, and we drove to that beautiful eminence, bounded on
three sides by the Mississippi, which was covered by the holy city of
Nauvoo. The curve in the river enclosed a position lovely enough to furnish
a site for the Utopian communities of Plato or Sir Thomas More; and here was
an orderly city, magnificently laid out, and teeming with activity and
enterprise. And all the diligent workers, who had reared these handsome
stores and comfortable dwellings, bowed in subjection to the man to whose
unexampled absurdities we had listened that morning. Not quite unexampled
either. For many years I held a trusteeship which required me to be a
frequent visitor at the McLean Asylum for the Insane. I had talked with some
of its unhappy inmates, victims of the sad but not uncommon delusion that
each had received the appointment of vicegerent of the Deity upon earth. It
is well known that such unfortunates, if asked to explain their confinement,
have a ready reply: "I am sane. The rest of the world is mad, and the
majority is against me." It was like a dream to find one's self moving
through a prosperous community, where the repulsive claim of one of these
pretenders was respectfully acknowledged. It was said that Prince Hamlet had
no need to recover his wits
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 389
when he was despatched to England, for the
demented denizens of that island would never detect his infirmity. If the
blasphemous assumptions of Smith seemed like the ravings of a lunatic, he
had, at least brought them to a market where "all the people were as mad as
he." Near the entrance to the Temple we passed a workman who was laboring
upon a huge sun, which he had chiselled from the solid rock. The countenance
was of the negro type, and it was surrounded by the conventional rays.
"General Smith," said the man, looking up from his task, "is this like the
face you saw in vision?"
"Very near it," answered the prophet, "except" (this was added with an air
of careful connoisseurship that was quite overpowering) -- "except that the
nose is just a thought too broad."
The Mormon Temple was not fully completed. It was a wonderful
structure, altogether indescribable by me. Being, presumably, like something
Smith had seen in a vision, it certainly cannot be compared to any
ecclesiastical building which may be discerned by the natural eyesight. It
was built of limestone, and was partially supported by huge monolithic
pillars, each costing, said the prophet, three thousand dollars. Then in the
basement was the baptistery, which centered in a mighty tank, surrounded by
twelve wooden oxen of colossal size. These animals, we were assured, were
temporary. They were to be replaced by stone oxen as fast as they could be
made. The Temple, odd and striking as it was, produced no effect that was
commensurate with its cost. Perhaps it would
390 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
have required a genius to have
designed anything worthy of that noble site. The city of Nauvoo, with its
wide streets sloping gracefully to the farms enclosed on the prairie, seemed
to be a better temple to Him who prospers the work of industrious hands than
the grotesque structure on the hill, with all its queer carvings of moons
and suns. This, however, was by no means the opinion of the man whose fiat
had reared the building. In a tone half-way between jest and earnest, and
which might have been taken for either at the option of the hearer, the
prophet put this inquiry: "Is not here one greater than Solomon, who built a
Temple with the treasures of his father David and with the assistance of
Huram, King of Tyre? Joseph Smith has built his Temple with no one to aid
him in the work."
On returning to the tavern, dinner was served in the kitchen where we had
breakfasted. The prophet carved at one end of the board, while some twenty
persons, Mormons or travellers (the former mostly coatless), were scattered
along its sides. At the close of a substantial meal a message was brought to
the effect that the United States marshal had arrived and wished to speak to
Mr. Adams. This officer, as it turned out, wanted my companion's advice
about the capture of some criminal, for whom he had a warrant. The matter
was one of some difficulty, for, the prophet being absolute in Nauvoo, no
man could be arrested or held without his permission. I do not remember what
was the outcome of this interview, which was so protracted that it caused
Mr.
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 391
Adams to miss one of the most notable exhibitions of the day.
"General Smith," said Dr. Goforth, when we had adjourned to the green in
front of the tavern, "I think Mr. Quincy would like to hear you preach."
"Then I shall be happy to do so," was the obliging reply; and, mounting the
broad step which led from the house, the prophet promptly addressed a sermon
to the little group about him. Our numbers were constantly increased from
the passers in the street, and a most attentive audience of more than a
hundred persons soon hung upon every word of the speaker. The text was Mark
xvi. 15, and the comments, though rambling and disconnected, were delivered
with the fluency and fervor of a camp-meeting orator. The discourse was
interrupted several times by the Methodist minister before referred to, who
thought it incumbent upon him to question the soundness of certain
theological positions maintained by the speaker. One specimen of the
sparring which ensued I thought worth setting down. The prophet is asserting
that baptism for the remission of sins is essential for salvation. Minister.
Stop! What do you say to the case of the penitent thief? Prophet. What do you mean by that? Minister. You know our Savior said to the thief, "This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise," which shows he could not have been baptized before his admission. Prophet. How do you know he wasn't baptized before he became a thief? At this retort the sort of laugh that is provoked by an unexpected hit ran through the audience;
392 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
but this demonstration of sympathy was rebuked by a severe look from Smith, who went on to say: "But that is not the true answer. In the original Greek, as this gentleman (turning to me) will inform you, the word that has been translated paradise means simply a place of departed spirits. To that place the penitent thief
was conveyed, and there, doubtless, he received the baptism necessary for
his admission to the heavenly kingdom. " The other objections of his
antagonist were parried with a similar adroitness, and in about fifteen
minutes the prophet concluded a sermon which it was evident that his
disciples had heard with the heartiest satisfaction.
In the afternoon we drove to visit the farms upon the prairie which this
enterprising people had enclosed and were cultivating with every appearance
of success. On returning, we stopped in a beautiful grove, where there were
seats and a platform for speaking. "When the weather permits," said Smith,
"we hold our services in this place; but shall cease to do so when the
temple is finished." "I suppose none but Mormon preachers are allowed in
Nauvoo," said the Methodist minister, who had accompanied our expedition.
"On the contrary," replied the prophet, "I shall be very happy to have you
address my people next Sunday, and I will insure you a most attentive
congregation." "What! do you mean that I may say anything I please and that
you will make no reply?" "You may certainly say anything you please; but I
must reserve the right of adding a word or two, if I judge best. I promise
to speak of you in
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 393
the most respectful manner." As we rode back, there was
more dispute between the minister and Smith. "Come," said the latter,
suddenly slapping his antagonist on the knee, to emphasize the production of
a triumphant text, "if you can't argue better than that, you shall say all
you want to say to my people, and I will promise to hold my tongue, for
there's not a Mormon among them who would need my assistance to answer you." Some back-thrust was evidently required to pay for this; and the minister,
soon after, having occasion to allude to some erroneous doctrine which I
forget, suddenly exclaimed, "Why, I told my congregation the other Sunday
that they might as well believe Joe Smith as such theology as that." "Did
you say Joe Smith in a sermon?" inquired the person to whom the title had
been applied. "Of course I did. Why not?" The prophet's reply was given with
a quiet superiority that was overwhelming: "Considering only the day and the
place, it would have been more respectful to have said Lieutenant-General
Joseph Smith." Clearly, the worthy minister was no match for the head of the
Mormon Church.
I have before me some relics of my visit to Nauvoo. Here is the Book of
Mormon, bearing the autograph which its alleged discoverer and translator
wrote, at my request; and here are some letters addressed to the same
personage, which I came by strangely enough. I took them from a public
basket of wastepaper, which was placed for the service of the inmates of the
tavern. Three of these abandoned epistles I asked leave to keep as memorials
of my
394 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
visit, and no objection was made to my doing so. The most interesting
of these letters is dated "Manchester, August 29, 1842," and comes from an
English convert to Mormonism. The man writes four pages of gilt-edged paper
to his "beloved brother in the Lord," and sends him by the favor of Elder
Snider the following presents: "A hat, a black satin stock with front, and a
brooch." He would fain join the prophet in Nauvoo; but the way in blocked by
that not-unheard-of obstacle, a mother-in-law, and until this excellent lady
"falls asleep" the disciple must deny his eyes the sight of the master's
face. The account of himself given by this correspondent shows with what
pathetic sincerity the divine commission of Smith was accepted by a class of
men which would seem to be intellectually superior to so miserable a
delusion. Suppressing the name of the writer, I shall give a portion of this
letter, as it furnishes food for reflection, and shows that the secret of
the Mormon prophet is not to be fathomed at a glance: --
"I take the liberty of writing a few lines, being assured that you are a man
of God and a prophet of the Most High, not only from testimony given by the
brethren, but the Spirit itself beareth witness. It is true that mine eyes
have not seen and mine ears heard you; but the testimony I have received
shows plainly that God does reveal by his Spirit things that the natural man
has not seen by his natural eyes. You may perhaps wonder who the individual
is that has written this letter. I will tell you, in a few words: My father
died about twenty-four years since,
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 395
leaving my mother a widow with seven
children... I remember her teachings well, which were these: Fear God, be
strictly honest, and speak the truth. I remember, when about three or four
years old, being with her in a shop. I saw a pin on the floor. I picked it
up and gave it to her. She told me to give it to the shopman, with a sharp
reprimand, showing me that it was a sin to take even a pin. The remembrance
of this slight circumstance has followed me from that time to the present.
(An account of the writer's conversion to Mormonism follows, after which he
goes on thus.)
Previously to joining this Church, I was a singer in the
Church of England, had eight pounds a year, and a good situation in the
week-time at a retail hat shop. My wife's brother told me I was robbing my
children of their bread in giving up the eight pounds. I told him I was not
dependent on that for bread, and said unto him the Lord could make up the
difference. He laughed at me; but, beloved brother, in about one month from
the time I left the Church of England my master raised my wages four
shillings a week (which was about one shilling per week more than that just
sacrificed), and this has continued on ever since, which is now two years
this month, for which I thank the Lord, together with many other mercies."
I have quoted enough to show what really good material Smith managed to draw into his net. Were such fish to be caught with Spaulding's tedious romance and a puerile fable of undecipherable gold plates and gigantic spectacles?
Not these cheap and
396 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
wretched properties, but some mastering force of the man
who handled them, inspired the devoted missionaries who worked such wonders. The remaining letters, both written a year previous to my visit, came from a certain Chicago attorney, who seems to have been the personal friend as well as the legal adviser of the prophet. With the legal advice come warnings of
plots which enemies are preparing, and of the probability that a seizure of
his person by secret ambush in contemplated. "They hate you," writes this
friendly lawyer, "because they have done evil unto you... My advice to
you is not to sleep in your own house, but to have some place to sleep
strongly guarded by your own friends, so that you can resist any sudden
attempt that might be made to kidnap you in the night. When the Missourians
come on this side and burn houses, depend upon it they will not hesitate to
make the attempt to carry you away by force. Let me again caution you to be
every moment upon your guard." The man to whom this letter was addressed had long been familiar with perils. For fourteen years he was surrounded by
vindictive enemies, who lost no opportunity to harass him. He was in danger
even when we saw him at the summit of his prosperity, and he was soon to
seal his testimony -- or, if you will, to expiate his imposture -- by death at
the hands of dastardly assassins. If these letters go little way toward
interpreting the man, they suggest that any hasty interpretation of him is
inadequate.
I should not say quite all that struck me about
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 397
Smith if I did not mention
that he seemed to have a keen sense of the humorous aspects of his position.
"It seems to me, General," I said, as he was driving us to the river, about
sunset, "that you have too much power to be safely trusted to one man." "In
your hands or that of any other person," was the reply, "so much power
would, no doubt, be dangerous. I am the only man in the world whom it would
be safe to trust with it. Remember, I am a prophet!" The last five words
were spoken in a rich, comical aside, as if in hearty recognition of the
ridiculous sound they might have in the ears of a Gentile. I asked him to
test his powers by naming the successful candidate in the approaching
presidential election. "Well, I will prophesy that John Tyler will not be
the next president, for some things are possible and some things are
probable; but Tyler's election is neither the one nor the other." We then
went on to talk of politics. Smith recognized the curse and iniquity of
slavery, though he opposed the methods of the Abolitionists. His plan was
for the nation to pay for the slaves from the sale of the public lands.
"Congress," he said, "should be compelled to take this course, by petitions
from all parts of the country; but the petitioners must disclaim all
alliance with those who would disturb the rights of property recognized by
the Constitution and foment insurrection." It may be worthwhile to remark
that Smith's plan was publicly advocated, eleven years later, by one who has
mixed so much practical shrewdness with his lofty philosophy. In
398 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
1855, when
men's minds had been moved to their depths on the question of slavery, Mr.
Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that it should be met in accordance "with the
interest of the South and with the settled conscience of the North. It is
not really a great task, a great fight for this country to accomplish, to
buy that property of the planter, as the British nation bought the West
Indian slaves." He further says that the "United States will be brought to
give every inch of their public lands for a purpose like this." We, who can
look back upon the terrible cost of the fratricidal war which put an end to
slavery, now say that such a solution of the difficulty would have been
worthy a Christian statesman. But if the retired scholar was in advance of
his time when he advocated this disposition of the public property in 1855,
what shall I say of the political and religious leader who had committed
himself, in print, as well as in conversation, to the same course in 1844?
If the atmosphere of men's opinions was stirred by such a proposition when
war-clouds were discernible in the sky, was it not a statesmanlike word
eleven years earlier, when the heavens looked tranquil and beneficent?
General Smith proceeded to unfold still further his views upon politics. He
denounced the Missouri Compromise as an unjustifiable concession for the
benefit of slavery. It was Henry Clay's bid for the presidency. Dr. Goforth
might have spared himself the trouble of coming to Nauvoo to electioneer for
a duelist who would fire at John Randolph, but was
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 399
not brave enough to
protect the Saints in their rights as American citizens. Clay had told his
people to go to the wilds of Oregon and set up a government of their own. Oh
yes, the Saints might go into the wilderness and obtain justice of the
Indians, which imbecile, time-serving politicians would not give them in the
land of freedom and equality. The prophet then talked of the details of
government. He thought that the number of members admitted to the Lower
House of the National Legislature should be reduced. A crowd only darkened
counsel and impeded business. A member to every half million of population
would be ample. The powers of the President should be increased. He should
have authority to put down rebellion in a state, without waiting for the
request of any governor; for it might happen that the governor himself would
be the leader of the rebels. It is needless to remark how later events
showed the executive weakness that Smith pointed out, -- a weakness which cost
thousands of valuable lives and millions of treasure; but the man mingled
Utopian fallacies with his shrewd suggestions. He talked as from a strong
mind utterly unenlightened by the teachings of history. Finally, he told us
what he would do, were he President of the United States, and went on to
mention that he might one day so hold the balance between parties as to
render his election to that office by no means unlikely.
Who can wonder that the chair of the National Executive had its place among
the visions of this
400 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
self-reliant man? He had already traversed the roughest
part of the way to that coveted position. Born in the lowest ranks of
poverty, without book-learning and with the homeliest of all human names, he
had made himself at the age of thirty-nine a power upon earth. Of the
multitudinous family of Smith, from Adam down (Adam of the "Wealth of
Nations," I mean), none had so won human hearts and shaped human lives as
this Joseph. His influence, whether for good or for evil, is potent today,
and the end is not yet.
I have endeavored to give the details of my visit to the Mormon prophet with
absolute accuracy. If the reader does not know just what to make of Joseph
Smith, I cannot help him out of the difficulty. I myself stand helpless
before the puzzle.
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