The Death of a Prophet

The Martyrdom Question

On June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob at Carthage Jail in Illinois. Latter-day Saints remember this event as a martyrdom—the sealing of prophetic testimony with blood. The anniversary is observed as a solemn occasion, and Smith's death is compared to that of Jesus Christ and other religious martyrs who died peacefully for their faith.

However, the historical record presents a more complex picture than the traditional martyrdom narrative suggests. Understanding what actually happened at Carthage—and the events leading up to it—provides important context for evaluating Joseph Smith's prophetic claims. A true examination of the evidence reveals not a passive martyr but a man who died in circumstances largely of his own making, fighting for his life with a smuggled pistol.

Nauvoo: A Kingdom Rising

Building a Theocratic City

After being driven from Missouri, the Latter-day Saints established the city of Nauvoo on the banks of the Mississippi River in Illinois. Through aggressive recruitment and the gathering of converts from America and Europe, Nauvoo grew rapidly. By 1844, it rivaled Chicago in population and was the largest city in Illinois.

Joseph Smith accumulated unprecedented power in Nauvoo. The city charter, granted by the Illinois legislature, gave Nauvoo unusual autonomy. Smith served simultaneously as mayor, chief justice of the municipal court, and lieutenant general of the Nauvoo Legion—a militia of several thousand men, making it one of the largest military forces in the country. He also served as trustee-in-trust controlling church property and, of course, as prophet, seer, and revelator of the church.

This concentration of religious, political, military, and economic power in one man alarmed non-Mormons in the region. But it also began to trouble some within the church itself, particularly as rumors of plural marriage spread and Smith's ambitions expanded.

The Council of Fifty and Presidential Ambitions

In March 1844, Smith established the Council of Fifty, a secret organization intended to prepare for a coming theocratic government. The council's full name was "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Power thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ." The council crowned Smith as "King" of this coming kingdom, though this was kept secret from most church members.

That same year, Smith announced his candidacy for President of the United States, with plans to establish a "theo-democracy" in which God's laws would govern the nation. Hundreds of missionaries were dispatched across the country to campaign for him. His platform included purchasing freedom for slaves using proceeds from the sale of public lands, reducing Congress, and annexing Texas and Oregon.

While Smith had no realistic chance of winning, his presidential campaign and secret coronation reveal the scope of his ambitions. He was not merely leading a religious movement; he was building a parallel government that he expected to eventually replace existing civil authority.

The Nauvoo Expositor Crisis

Dissent from Within

By 1844, several prominent church members had become disillusioned with Joseph Smith. Their concerns included the secret practice of plural marriage, Smith's growing political power, financial improprieties, and what they saw as theological innovations departing from earlier revelations. Among the dissenters were William Law (a member of the First Presidency), Wilson Law, Robert Foster, and several others.

These men established a newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor, specifically to expose what they considered Smith's abuses of power. The first and only issue was published on June 7, 1844. It contained affidavits and testimony documenting plural marriage, accused Smith of teaching heretical doctrines (including the plurality of gods), and charged him with mixing religious and civil authority in dangerous ways.

The Expositor was not sensationalized anti-Mormon propaganda from outsiders. It was produced by believing Latter-day Saints who considered themselves reformers trying to restore the church to what they believed were its original principles. They specifically affirmed faith in the Book of Mormon while rejecting Smith's later innovations.

The Destruction of the Press

Joseph Smith's response was swift and fateful. On June 10, 1844, the Nauvoo city council—under Smith's direction as mayor—declared the Expositor a public nuisance. Smith ordered the city marshal to destroy the press. That night, the marshal and a company of men broke into the Expositor office, scattered the type, burned the remaining newspapers, and destroyed the press.

This action was, by any measure, a violation of the freedom of the press guaranteed by both the federal and Illinois constitutions. Smith and the city council justified it by claiming the newspaper was libelous and would incite mob violence against the Saints. But whatever their fears, destroying a printing press was an extraordinary overreach of civil authority and became the immediate catalyst for the events that followed.

The Road to Carthage

Warrants and Flight

The destruction of the Expositor inflamed public opinion against the Mormons. Thomas Sharp, editor of the anti-Mormon Warsaw Signal, called for "extermination" of the Mormon leaders. Warrants were issued for Smith and the city council members who had ordered the press destroyed. When they were brought before the Nauvoo municipal court (over which Smith himself presided as chief justice), they were predictably acquitted.

Non-Mormons demanded that Smith face trial outside Nauvoo, where he could not control the outcome. Governor Thomas Ford traveled to Carthage to address the crisis and demanded that Smith surrender to face charges. Initially, Smith fled across the Mississippi River into Iowa, apparently planning to escape to the Rocky Mountains. But after appeals from family and followers—and accusations of cowardice—he returned and agreed to surrender.

Smith reportedly said, "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning." This statement, often quoted in LDS contexts, frames his death as a Christ-like sacrifice. But the full picture is more complicated than this single quote suggests.

At Carthage Jail

Joseph and Hyrum Smith, along with John Taylor and Willard Richards, were held in Carthage Jail. Though officially imprisoned, they were given considerable freedom, receiving visitors, eating meals brought in, and occupying the jailer's bedroom rather than the dungeon cells.

Critically, they were also armed. A friend named Cyrus Wheelock smuggled in a six-shot pepper-box pistol, which he gave to Joseph Smith. This small but significant detail is often omitted from faith-promoting accounts of the martyrdom.

On the afternoon of June 27, 1844, a mob of 150-200 men with blackened faces stormed the jail. The Carthage Greys, a militia unit assigned to guard the prisoners, offered only token resistance.

The Final Moments

A Prophet's Death

The attack was sudden and violent. As the mob rushed up the stairs and began forcing the door, the men inside tried to hold it shut. Hyrum Smith was shot through the door and killed almost immediately.

What happened next is well-documented but often omitted from faith-promoting accounts. Joseph Smith fired back with the smuggled pistol, shooting into the mob gathered outside the door. According to witnesses, Smith fired all six rounds, hitting at least three men and possibly killing two of them. John Taylor, who was present and survived despite being shot multiple times, later acknowledged that Smith "snapped the pistol six successive times."

After emptying the pistol, Smith ran to the window and attempted to escape by jumping or climbing out. He was shot from both inside and outside the building. As he fell from the window, he reportedly cried out the opening words of the Masonic distress signal: "Oh Lord, my God!" He landed on the ground outside, where he was shot several more times. He was dead at age thirty-eight.

The Aftermath

The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were returned to Nauvoo, where thousands mourned. Nine men were eventually tried for the murders, but all were acquitted by a non-Mormon jury—a predictable outcome given the anti-Mormon sentiment in the area.

The church faced a succession crisis, with several leaders claiming the right to lead. Eventually, Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve gained control and led the majority of Saints to the Salt Lake Valley. Joseph Smith III, Joseph's eldest surviving son, later led a reorganized church that remained in the Midwest.

Evaluating the Martyrdom Narrative

Martyr or Gunfighter?

The traditional LDS martyrdom narrative presents Joseph Smith as an innocent lamb going meekly to slaughter, sealed his testimony with his blood like ancient prophets and like Christ himself. But the historical evidence complicates this picture considerably:

The circumstances were of his own making. Smith was not persecuted for preaching the gospel. He was arrested for ordering the destruction of a printing press—an illegal act that violated constitutional protections for the press. While murder was certainly not a just punishment, his imprisonment was for a crime he had actually committed.

He did not die passively. Unlike Jesus, who "when he was reviled, did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten" (1 Peter 2:23), Smith returned fire with a pistol, shooting multiple attackers. This is not the behavior traditionally associated with martyrdom. He died fighting, not surrendering.

He attempted to escape. Smith's move to the window was an attempt to flee, not a passive acceptance of death. Again, this contrasts with Jesus, who told Peter to put away his sword and willingly submitted to arrest despite having legions of angels at his disposal.

False Parallels to Christ

The LDS church frequently compares Smith's death to Christ's crucifixion. But the parallels break down under examination:

Jesus was innocent of all charges—indeed, of all sin. Smith was guilty of the crime for which he was arrested. Jesus could have called down twelve legions of angels but chose not to defend himself. Smith smuggled in a pistol and used it. Jesus forgave his executioners from the cross. Smith tried to shoot his.

This is not to say that the mob was justified or that murder is acceptable. The killing of Joseph and Hyrum Smith was a crime. But acknowledging it as a crime is not the same as celebrating it as a martyrdom. Many guilty men have been murdered. Their deaths are tragedies, not testimonies.

A Prophet's Legacy

The death of Joseph Smith reveals much about both the man and the movement he founded. The official narrative, which portrays him as an innocent martyr, requires significant editing of the historical record. The truth is more complex: a man who had accumulated extraordinary power, who practiced plural marriage in secret while publicly denying it, who crushed dissent by destroying a printing press, and who died in a gunfight while trying to escape.

None of this proves that Smith was not a prophet. God can use flawed vessels, and moral failure does not automatically negate a divine calling. But it does raise serious questions. Biblical prophets were sometimes flawed, but they did not systematically deceive their followers, accumulate personal power and wealth, or use their position to acquire dozens of wives while lying about it.

For our Mormon friends, learning the full truth about Carthage can be deeply unsettling. Many were taught a sanitized version that doesn't include the pistol, the gunfight, or the circumstances leading to Smith's arrest. As Christians, we can acknowledge their pain while gently pointing them to a better foundation— Jesus Christ, whose character is unimpeachable, whose death was truly sacrificial, and whose resurrection is the ground of our hope.

"For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). Not Joseph Smith, not Brigham Young, not any human prophet—but Christ alone is the rock on which we build. And unlike every human leader, he will never disappoint those who trust in him.