Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/23

* MORMONS. H MORMONS. amounling to $1,.381.044.55>{.. Failinfr to ob- tain rt'diess from Congress, he addressed letters of appeal to Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. On receiving non-committal answers from tlicse rival Presidential candidates, he ran for Presi- dent himself. Smitli was assassinated in jail at Carthage, 111., .June 27, 1844. The causes leading up to his deatli were not merely political, but also financial and social. He secured relief from his Kirtland creditors only by taking advantage of the bankruptcy act, and the numerous thefts around Nauvoo were laid to the Slormons. Smith was also in trouble with his associates; in 184.3 he deposed Rigdon as his adviser. On July 12, 1843, there came the famous "Revela- tion on the Eternity of the Marriage Covenant, including Plurality of Wives. (iiven tlirough Joseph, the Seer, in Nauvoo, Hancock County. 111." Tliis document was not promulgated until 1852; its authenticity is, however, proved by its similarity in style with the Book of Mormon. In this document the authority for polygamy is derived from the example of the Old Testament patriarchs, but the ilormon harem is confined to ten virgins. The Prophet's ideas on 'spiritual wifeisni.' like his early gospel, appear to have been 'phiin and simple' and without any philo- sophic basis. Whatever Smith taught on the 'mysteries of the kingdom' is derivable from the writings of the two Pratts, who excogitated a system of metaphysics justifying plurality of wives. According to Orson, called the Gauge of Philosophy, "celestial marriage opens the way for all women who wish to marry to fill the measure of their creation. ... It shows how the innumerable creations of God [i.e. this world and other planets] may be peopled with intelligences. . . . Woman without man and man without woman cannot be saved. The larger the progeny a man has. the greater will be the fullness of his eternal glory." These were the esoteric teachings of the Saints, whispered as early as 1840. Smith's plural wives numbered over a score, most of whom were taken by the Apostles Kimball and Young after the Prophet's death. Outward proof of the practice of polyg- amy in the forties is to be sought in such virulent persecutions as caused the expulsion of fifteen thousand Saints from Jlissouri. and in such publications as the Times and »SV«.sojis' 'extract from a letter from the vicinity of Nauvoo,' which says, "The excitement on botli sides of the river against the Jlormons is in- creasing very fast. The conduct of Joseph Smith and the other leaders is such that no community of irhitc men can tolerate." Turmoil now arose in the Mormon camp itself. Three well-informed men. Dr. Foster and the two Laws, started a paper called the Exposilnr, which, besides advocating 'disobedience to political revelations,' sought to 'explode the vicious principles of .Joseph Smith.' The first and only number condemned the Church appro- priation of property without accounting, the preaching of the doctrine of plural gods, sealing, and the plurality of wives. The wanton destruction of the Expositor press and property on .June 10th imder the order of .Joseph Smith, as lieutenant- general of the Nauvoo Legion, was succeeded by great commotion among non-Mormons. Outlying counties raised men and money for a 'war* against the Saints, for Nauvoo was now declared Vol. XIV.— 2. under martial law. On June 22d the Prophet and a few others started to tlee to the Rocky Mountains, but upon Governor Ford's promise of protection, Smith surrendered himself at Car- tilage on the 24th. The first arrest was made on a cliarge of riot, the second on a charge of treason in le'ying war against the State. In appointing the Carthage Grays, who were the avowed enemies of the Smiths, as a guard over the jail, the Governor made a fatal blunder. On June 27th. with the evident collusion of the guard, a band of disguised assailants, presumably from the Warsaw regiment, brutally murdered the Prophet and his brother Hyrum. With the death of Smith rival claims to the proplietic successorship arose between Brigham Young, J. .J. Strang, and Smith's own son. The 'Strangites' disappeared with the killing of their leader in )8.5 because of his polygamous prac- tices. The "Young .Josephites,' however, founded in 1852 the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of LuUer-Dnij Haints. and the body still exists tinder the presidency of .Joseph Smith, 3d. It claims to be the continuation of the original Church of L.atter-Day Saints, and has been recog- nized as such by the courts. It maintains that the doctrines of plurality and community of wives are heresies. The headquarters of the Church are at Lamoni, Iowa. It has a publishing house, and issues two weekly papers tZion's Hope, for Sunday-.schools, and the Saints' flerald, a general religious weekly and the official organ), a month- ly magazine (Autumn Leaver) for young people, and books and tracts. It maintains Graceland College and a home for the aged poor. There is another establishment at Independence, Mo., with a printing press, whence are issued Zion's Ensigti. a weekly paper, books, and tracts. The Church has about 4.5.000 members. The logical successor of Smith was Brigham Y'oung. Y'oung joined the Mormon Church in New Y'ork State on April 14, 1832, and in the same year was sent by the Prophet from Kirt- land on a missionary tour in Canada. Returning to Ohio with a band of converts in 1834. he went with the 'Army of Zion' to Missouri as one of the 'captains of tens.' In 183.5 he was appointed one of the original Quorum of Twelve. Young as- sisted Smith in his flight to Missouri in 1838, and two years after sailed to I.,iverpool on a mis- sion. The Prophet was fond of him, and Young's faithfulness to the cause is shown by his being left President of the Twelve upon Smith's assassi- nation. The Prophet's tragic death was of no avail against the domestic enemies of the Chtirch. In .January, 1845, the Nauvoo charter was repealed. The situation being recognized as intolerable, Y'oung officially arranged to leave the country In the spring, a delegation having previously been sent out to investigate locations in California and Oregon. The final choice of Utah was due to a chance meeting with some trappers from the Great Salt Lake Valley. The organization of the Mormon exodus was in many respects re- markable. A pioneer company of young men was first sent ahead to plant crops, which the follow- ing companies should reap. Meanwhile Nauvoo had been turned into a vast wagon shop, so that the first company comprised a train of one thou- sand wagons. This 'Camp of Israel,' which in- cluded President Young and the Twelve Apostles, was subdivided into companies of from fifty to