Posted on 06/28/2009 7:01:22 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
As the print edition of this issue of the Church News appears, it is 165 years to the day since the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage, Ill., on June 27, 1844.
Today, perhaps more precisely than at any time in history, the prophecy of the visiting angel Moroni is being fulfilled that Joseph's name "should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people" (Joseph Smith — History 1:33).
With the advent of the Information Age and the pervasiveness of the World Wide Web, material about the Prophet Joseph Smith is widely and instantly accessible today. Regrettably, much of it distorts history and capitalizes on misunderstanding in an effort to vilify the Prophet, bringing to pass that portion of Moroni's prediction.
Conversely, the restored Church of Christ is larger today than at any time in its 179-year history. Consequently, more people today than ever before recognize and revere Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the dispensation of the fulness of times, the vessel God chose for establishing His Church, restoring His gospel and bringing priesthood authority again to the earth.
Joseph Smith's mission was foretold in ancient times by another prophet named Joseph, he who was sold into Egypt (see 2 Nephi 3). With striking clarity, that earlier Joseph prophesied that in latter-days, the Lord would raise up a choice seer, one who would be named Joseph and would be called after the name of his own father. The latter-day Joseph would bring the Israelite descendants to a knowledge of the covenants the Lord had made with their fathers (see verses 7 and 15).
Consistent with that prophecy, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith in March 1829, "This generation shall have my word through you" (Doctrine and Covenants 5:10).
It was a mission the Prophet fulfilled with honor, but not without paying a dear price, as he was victimized by persecution culminating in his death. It is that sacrifice we remember on this day.
Today, the scene of that sacrifice, the jail in Carthage, Ill., is preserved as a Church historic site, a visitor attraction, where the anniversary of the martyrdom is commemorated annually by local Church leaders and missionaries.
In Nauvoo, just a 20-minute drive to the west of Carthage, stands the magnificent Nauvoo Illinois Temple, completed in 2002 on the precise location and with an identical exterior to the sacred edifice that was still under construction when Joseph and Hyrum were killed.
Among other things, the temple is, like the preserved Carthage Jail, a monument to the Prophet's mission and sacrifice. By design, its opening dedication session was planned and conducted by President Gordon B. Hinckley to coincide with the precise day and hour — June 27 at 5 p.m. — when the Prophet and his brother were killed.
Some today dispute Joseph's status as a martyr. They reason that the Prophet and his supportive companions resisted the advance of the murderous mob that took the lives of Joseph and Hyrum and that a martyr would have given up his life willingly.
Yet, the deaths of such recognized martyrs as the apostle Paul illustrate that a martyrdom consists not so much in willingly giving up one's life as it does in refusing to renounce one's convictions and beliefs as a condition for being allowed to remain alive. In this, Joseph qualifies in every whit.
We, therefore, declare in the words of W.W. Phelps' laudatory hymn:
Praise to his mem'ry, he died as a martyr;
Honored and blest be his ever great name!
(Hymns, "Praise to the Man," No. 27)
On this anniversary day, the words of Joseph Smith's current successor in the presidency of the Church, President Thomas S. Monson, are especially appropriate: "We are provided comfort as we realize that Joseph Smith's martyrdom was not the last chapter in this account. Although those who sought to take his life felt that the Church would collapse without him, his powerful testimony of truth, the teachings he translated, and his declaration of the Savior's message go on today in the hearts of over 12 million members throughout the world who proclaim him a prophet of God" (October 2005 general conference).
....Some today dispute Joseph's status as a martyr. They reason that the Prophet and his supportive companions resisted the advance of the murderous mob that took the lives of Joseph and Hyrum and that a martyr would have given up his life willingly. Yet, the deaths of such recognized martyrs as the apostle Paul illustrate that a martyrdom consists not so much in willingly giving up one's life as it does in refusing to renounce one's convictions and beliefs as a condition for being allowed to remain alive. In this, Joseph qualifies in every whit....
Praise to his mem'ry, he died as a martyr;
Honored and blest be his ever great name!
(Hymns, "Praise to the Man," No. 27)
The Mormon church is a cult. Where are the tablets? Where are the magic glasses? Why do the mormons have a different record of history? Why were black people excluded for many years?
Sure they are a cult and a cult group... and so is Romney, a cult-member... which is why he won’t ever get into office, not from this side of the electorate, anyway...
BUT..., I notice that the only comment I made, on Post #1 disappeared...
I was just saying that the only event that I was going to attend, with Romney in it, was his ownfuneral... and I didn’t think that this was so bad... (a lot of people attend other people’s funerals, doncha know... :-) ...)
I didn’t say I was going to kill the guy.... there is a difference there... LOL...
(Oh, give me a break. The apostle Paul didn't go down in some knife-to-knife or sword-to-sword battle. If you're a prisoner, like Smith was, and you have on your possession a loaded weapon which you are in the process of shooting & taking out a few people in the process, of course, you're going to (continue) to be fired upon & killed!)
From the article: ...the teachings he translated...
Where's the Bible version Smith translated? (JST) Why hasn't that version been the one offered by Lds on its commercials for the past 25 years? Wasn't he commanded by the Mormon god several times in the D&C to finish the translation? Didn't he have over a decade to finish it?
Forget about the temple in Nauvoo, where's Temple Lot? Where's the temple that Joseph prophesied in D&C 57:1-3 would be built not far from the courthouse (Jackson County, Missouri) where the Mormon jesus would return?
Praise to the man who communed with
Fanny Alger
Lucinda Morgan Harris
Louisa Beaman
Zina Huntington Jacobs
Presendia Huntington Buell
Agnes Coolbrith
Sylvia Sessions Lyon
Mary Rollins Lightner
Patty Bartlett Sessions
Marinda Johnson Hyde
Elizabeth Davis Durfee
Sarah Kingsley Cleveland
Delcena Johnson
Eliza R. Snow
Sarah Ann Whitney
Martha McBride Knight
Ruth Vose Sayers
Flora Ann Woodworth
Emily Dow Partridge
Eliza Maria Partridge
Almera Johnson
Lucy Walker
Sarah Lawrence
Maria Lawrence
Helen Mar Kimball
Hanna Ells
Elvira Cowles Holmes
Rhoda Richards
Desdemona Fullmer
Olive Frost
Melissa Lott
Nancy Winchester
Fanny Young
And yet they deny praising him and elevating to Christ's equal.
PR is a wonderful thing, a blessing from the gods...
The famous last words of Joey Smith...
Joseph Smith’s Death—Masonic Cry
(Excerpt Mormonism—Shadow or Reality? p. 485)
Although Joseph Smith found himself in trouble with the Masons, he gave the Masonic signal of distress just before he was murdered. In his book concerning Masonry, William Morgan gives this information concerning what a Mason is supposed to do “in case of distress”: “The sign is given by raising both hands and arms to the elbows, perpendicularly, one on each side of the head, the elbows forming a square. The words accompanying this sign, in case of distress, are, ‘O LORD, MY GOD! is there no help for the widow’s son?’ “ (Freemasonry Exposed, p. 76)
John D. Lee claimed that Joseph Smith used the exact words that a Mason is supposed to use in case of distress: “Joseph left the door, sprang through the window, and cried out, ‘OH, LORD, MY GOD, IS THERE NO HELP FOR THE WIDOW’S SON!’” (Confessions of John D. Lee, reprint of 1880 ed., p. 153)
Other accounts seem to show that Joseph Smith used the first four words of the distress cry. According to the History of the Church, Joseph Smith “fell outward into the hands of his murderers, exclaiming. ‘O LORD, MY GOD!’ “ (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 618) Less than a month after Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered, the following appeared in the Mormon publication, Times and Seasons:
“...with uplifted hands they gave such SIGNS OF DISTRESS as would have commanded the interposition and benevolence of Savages or Pagans. They were both MASONS in good standing. Ye brethren of ‘the mystic tie’ what think ye! Where is our good MASTER Joseph and Hyrum? Is there a pagan, heathen, or savage nation on the globe that would not be moved on this great occasion, as the trees of the forest are moved by a mighty wind? Joseph’s last exclamation was ‘O LORD MY GOD!’ “ (Times and Seasons, Vol. 5, p. 585)
The Mormon writer E. Cecil McGavin admitted that Joseph Smith gave the Masonic signal of distress: “When the enemy surrounded the jail, rushed up the stairway, and killed Hyrum Smith, Joseph stood at the open window, his martyr-cry being these words, ‘O Lord My God!’ This was NOT the beginning of a prayer, because Joseph Smith did not pray in that manner. This brave, young man who knew that death was near, started to repeat THE DISTRESS SIGNAL OF THE MASONS, expecting thereby to gain the protection its members are pledged to give a brother in distress. “In 1878, Zina D. Huntington Young said of this theme, ‘I am the daughter of a Master Mason; I am the widow of the Master Mason who, when leaping from the window of Carthage jail, pierced with bullets, MADE THE MASONIC SIGN OF DISTRESS, but those signs were not heeded except by the God of Heaven.’ “ (Mormonism and Masonry, by E. Cecil McGavin, page 17)
On page 16 of the same book, Mr. McGavin quotes the following from the Life of Heber C. Kimball, p. 26: “ ‘Joseph, leaping the fatal window, GAVE THE MASONIC SIGNAL OF DISTRESS.’ “
[Web-editor: For more information see Changing World, Joseph Smith Becomes a Mason.]
It was cause Joey Smith didnt wear his magic BVDs...
His “Bullet Vanquishing Drawers”...
LOL
So declared two eventual Mormon Church presidents:
“Brigham Young and Joseph F. Smith condemned Smith for taking off his garments before he went to Carthage Jail. Part of their reason was that it was a sign he had regretted his practice of polygamy:
“’Smith removed his own endowment “robe” or garment before he went to Carthage Jail and told those with him to do likewise. His nephew Joseph F. Smith later explained, “When Willard Richards was solicited [by Smith] to do the same, he declined, and it seems little less than marvelous that he was preserved without so much as a bullet piercing his garments.’” To be sure and as fate would have it, not only did the self-destructive, fallen Mormon prophet Joseph Smith remove his own garments before becoming a Carthage Jail inmate, he “instructed other to do the same.”
(D. Michael Quinn, “The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power,” p. 146; see Quinn’s citation of Heber J. Grant’s journal sheets, 7 June 1907, LDS Archives; see also: “The Mormon Temple As a Lasting Relic of Polygamy,” at: http://www.i4m.com/think/temples/temple_legacy.htm ; and “Joseph Smith—the Work and the Glory,” at: http://www.i4m.com/think/history/fallen_prophet.htm)
_____
Besides the claim of Brigham Young and Joseph F. Smith that Joseph Smith discarded his garments as personal penance for polygamy, “[m]any in Smith’s inner circle recorded sentiments that Joseph Smith had denounced and regretted his practice of polygamy.”
(”Creation of the Temple Endowment & Secret Garments,” at:
http://www.whymormons.net/2008/03/creation-of-temple-endowment.html)
_____
Ironically enough, one observer notes of Joseph F. Smith’s condemnation of Joseph Smith for ditching his sacred underwear prior to going to Carthage that a garment-wearing cellmate of Joseph’s survived the assassination assault:
“. . . Joseph went to Carthage without any garments on [and got himself killed] . . . .
“D&C 134:2 . . . explains that [Willard] Richards went [away] unharmed.
“This is where the rumor started that the garments SUPPOSEDLY protect you from physical harm, too, though this is simply a traditional myth founded upon the true story of Willard Richards being the only one unharmed and superstitiously attributed to his being the only one who rebelled against the prophet’s command and wore his garments anyway.
“Moral of the story of Willard Richards: Apparently we believe that God will sometimes reward us for disobeying the prophet. . . . .”
(”Joseph Smith Ordered Destruction of the Garments (& How the ‘Magic Underwear’ Myth Began),” at: http://jonrcarver.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!47A0DDB97138E2FF!1137.entry , original emphasis)
_____
It was indeed not until a garment-less Joseph Smith got blown away at Carthage that Mormons started believing in the magical protective power of their temple underwear—thanks to garment-garbed Willard Richards’ survival:
“Garments were not originally believed to provide any physicial protection. However, this idea came about by the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in the jail at Carthage, Illinois. Neither Joseph, Hyrum, nor John Taylor had been wearing their garments. Willard Richards, who had been wearing his garments, escaped unscathed in the attack.”
(”Mormon Underwear Garments,” at: http://www.i4m.com/think/temples/mormon-garments.htm)
Why did the murders at Haun’s mill occur? Why were Joseph and Hyrum Smith murdered? By protestants!!!!!!!
bump
LOL!
Quite the physical and spiritual profligate, our “ol’ buddy Joey-boy”...
I think if he were around in this day and age, he would already have been jailed for trying to entice underage girls in some online chatroom - or busted in one of those “Catch a predator” sting homes (all rigged up with video cameras) trying to meet and impress a juvenile “date”.
A.A.C.
We don’t. Just because you say we do does not mean that we do.
OMM that is blasphemy.
False accusation alert!
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