The Story of the Mormons, from the Date of Their Origin to the Year 1901Linn, William Alexander
History
The Story of the Mormons, from the Date of Their Origin to the Year 1901
Linn, William Alexander
Latter Day Saints -- History; Utah -- History
Among the leading members of the church at Nauvoo at this time were two
brothers, William and Wilson Law. They were Canadians, and had brought
considerable property with them, and in the "revelation" of January 19,
1841, William Law was among those who were directed to take stock in
Nauvoo House, and was named as one of the First Presidency, and was made
registrar of the University. Wilson Law was a regent of the University
and a major general of the Legion. General Law had been an especial
favorite of Smith. In writing to him while in hiding from the Missouri
authorities in 1842, Smith says, "I love that soul that is so nobly
established in that clay of yours." * At the conference of April, 1844,
Hyrum Smith said: "I wish to speak about Messrs. Law's steam mill. There
has been a great deal of bickering about it. The mill has been a great
benefit to the city. It has brought in thousands who would not have come
here. The Messrs. Law have sunk their capital and done a great deal of
good. It is out of character to cast any aspersions on the Messrs. Law."
* Millennial Star, Vol. XX, p. 695.
Dr. Foster, the Laws, and Counsellor Sylvester Emmons became greatly
stirred up about the spiritual wife doctrine, and the effort of Smith
and those in his confidence to teach and enforce the doctrine of plural
wives; and they finally decided to establish in Nauvoo a newspaper that
would openly attack the new order of things. The name chosen for this
newspaper was the Expositor, and Emmons was its editor.* Its motto
was: "The Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth," and its
prospectus announced as its purpose, "Unconditional repeal of the
city charter--to correct the abuses of the unit power--to advocate
disobedience to political revelations." Only one number of this
newspaper was ever issued, but that number was almost directly the cause
of the prophet's death.
* Emmons went direct to Beardstown, Illinois, after the
destruction of the paper, and lived there till the day of his death,
a leading citizen. He established the first newspaper published in
Beardstown, and was for sixteen years the mayor of the city.
The most important feature of the Expositor (which bore date of June 7,
1844) was a "preamble" and resolutions of "seceders from the church at
Nauvoo," and affidavits by Mr. and Mrs. William Law and Austin Cowles
setting forth that Hyrum Smith had read the "revelation" concerning
polygamy to William Law and to the High Council, and that Mrs. Law had
read it.*
* These were the only affidavits printed in the Expositor. More
than one description of the paper has stated that it contained many
more. Thus, Appleton's "American Encyclopedia," under "Mormons," says,
"In the first number (there was only one) they printed the affidavits
of sixteen women to the effect that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon and
others had endeavored to convert them to the spiritual wife doctrine."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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