No, Jeff, you never called me any of those things.
You remained silent in the thread as did others as I was called those things.
You apologized for that a few weeks later and I appreciate it.
I would not have stood by and watched others calling you a liar when I knew the truth...when I saw what was being said about Joseph and Hyrum I responded indicating that they were in fact armed.
I am sorry some said what they did...that was based on their own problems and inaccuracies regarding the matter which is there in the History of the Church for all to see.
If for any reason you felt that I stood by and let others falsely accuse you, I am sorry you felt that way...but that is not as I remember it, nor is it in character for me to do so.
Joseph Smith and Hyrum were armed. They knew they were likely to be attacked and killed and they defended themsleves as best they could, dieing in the effort.
As I recollect it, when the mob attacked some remained outside, firing through the windows while others rushed the stairs. Joseph Smith, Taylor and Richards went to the door trying to force it closed and deflect the rifle barrels that were being pushed inside and fired into the room. Hyrum was moving back away from the door, tried to fire his own single shot pistol through the door but it misfired when a ball hit him on the left side of his nose and he fell over backwards exclaiming, "I am a dead man." A he fell, another ball entered his body on the left side and passed through, smashing the watch he wore in his other vest pocket, when another ball grazed his breast and entered his head through his throat whiel yet a fourth ball hit him in the leg. He was indeed, dead, hit foiur times within just two or three seconds.
When Hyrum fell, Joseph exclaimed, "Oh my dear borther Hyrum," and took his own six barreled revolver and pushed it around the door and discharged all six barrels into the crowd on the stairs, where several of the barrels (three?) misfired, but the others hit some of those on the staris.
John Taylor saw that the defense was vain and ran to the window to jump when he was hit first from within and then from without four times, those from without knocking him onto the floor in the room where he rolled under a bed, where two more bullets hit him, wounding him severely, but, unbelievably and (to us)m miracuously) he survived and would later become the leader of the Church after Brigham Young.
Joseph, after dcharging his weapon, also saw that defense was vain, also ran to the window and was hit from the door by two balls, one in his right breast,knocking him out of the window when he exclaimed, "Oh Lord my God," as he fell. He was shot several times more as he lay on the ground below the window. He too being dead at that point.
Willard Richards was not touched by a single ball and gave his eyewitness account of the events soon after, which are recorded on page 619-620 of Volume Six of the History of the Church.
All of this took place in a very short period of time.
That's the way the history was recorded by the people who were in the room with Joseph and Hyrum while it was happening. The reports from the guard who left the area...and who, BTW, made a show of defense by firing their own muskts above the heas of the attackers before the left the area, also agree. As do the accounts of many of the attackers regarding the shooting coming from the room, and Taylors attaempt at the window and being knocked back in and Joseph Smit being shot out of the window and then shot as he lay (most probably already dead) on the ground.
It was a literal hail of gunfire, gunfire that the prisoners, though armed (and not very adequately obviously) did not initiate.
Anyhow, I thank you for your integrity regarding the historical side of it, and your reasonable discourse whenever we have had dialog.
As I said, it was all a terrible period in American history and I pray those types of bloody mobbings, persecutions, and massacres are behind us in this nation...on either side of such religious differences.