History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 5Smith, Joseph, Jr.
History
History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 5
Smith, Joseph, Jr.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
_Friday, 30_.--Started at eight this morning, and arrived at Judge
Adams', in Springfield, at half past two o'clock in the afternoon,
where I saw Justin Butterfield, Esq., United States district attorney,
who told me that Judge Pope had continued the {212} court two or three
days on account of my case, and would close on the morrow, and that he
should try my case on its merits, and not on any technicality.
Sheriff Pitman, of Adams county, was in the place, but would not say
whether he had the original writ which had previously been demanded of
the officers of Adams county, King and Pitman. I gave Mr. Butterfield
a general history of my Missouri persecution, and it was agreed by
him that I should be arrested on the writ. Had an interview with my
Brother, William Smith, who was a member of the Legislature at the
time, and spent the evening with Judge Adams and the brethren from
Nauvoo. We all lodged at Judge Adams'.
[Sidenote: The Reign of Christ on Earth Expounded.]
While in conversation at Judge Adams' during the evening, I said,
Christ and the resurrected Saints will reign over the earth during the
thousand years. They will not probably dwell upon the earth, but will
visit it when they please or when it is necessary to govern it. There
will be wicked men on the earth during the thousand years. The heathen
nations who will not come up to worship will be visited with the
judgments of God, and must eventually be destroyed from the earth.
[Sidenote: The Prophet's Trial Before Judge Pope.]
_Saturday, 31_.--At nine in the morning, Mr. Butterfield called and
informed me that King had the original writ, and I signed a petition to
Governor Ford to issue a new writ, that my case may be tried thereon,
as well as on the proclamation. My petition was granted, and at eleven
o'clock I was arrested thereon by a deputy, Mr. Maxey, in presence of
Mr. Butterfield, my attorney, who immediately wrote a petition to Judge
Pope for a writ of habeas corpus, which I signed, and at half-past
eleven in the morning went before Judge Pope.
Mr. Butterfield read my petition, and stated that the writ and warrant
were different from the requisition of the governor of Missouri. He
then read Governor Ford's {213} warrant, Watson's affidavit; Governor
Reynolds' requisition on the governor of Illinois, and the proclamation
of Governor Carlin, showing that Reynolds had made a false statement,
as nothing appeared in the affidavits to show that Smith was in
Missouri. He also stated that all the authority for transportation of
persons from one state to another rests on the Constitution and the law
of Congress. We ask for habeas corpus because the papers are false, and
because that we can prove that Joseph Smith was in this state at the
time of the commission of the crime.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account