Radio Free Mormon

On this week’s episode we take a deeper look at the 1826 trial in Bainbridge, NY. We examine what led to the trial, what witnesses claimed, what we know about the trial proceedings, how Smith and Stowell got introduced to each other, and a few other interesting facts along the way that make this such an interesting episode in Church history. This outline was used in preparation for Mormonism LIVE: 099 : The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith, The Glass Looker – https://youtu.be/A2JxyoOtNlM On this week’s episode we take a deeper look at the 1826 trial in Bainbridge, NY. We examine what led to the trial, what witnesses claimed, what we know about the trial proceedings, how Smith and Stowell got introduced to each other, and a few other interesting facts along the way that make this such an interesting episode in Church history. A.) SET THE STAGE Spring of 1825, Joseph Smith is at Simpson (Simeon in some records) Stowell’s home in palmyra when Simpson’s father Josiah Stowell visits him and Joseph Smith uses his seer ability, presumably the stone in the hat and proceeds to amaze those in attendance with a couple of “Remote Viewing” performances such as describing Josiah’s house and outhouses correctly while all of them are at palmyra and Stowell’s property for which presumably Joseph Smith had never seen, is located in Bainbridge NYJosiah Stowell, so amazed at the Prophet’s ability, hires him to both work the farm and to lead treasure digs near Stowell’s property in NY (SLIDE 1)Several Members of Stowell’s family, Joseph Smith Jr. and Sr., Isaac Hale and other members of the Hale family and a few others make a “mining” agreement on Nov 1st 1825 (SLIDE 2 & 3) and the Church agrees it is Authentic Joseph Smith is living on Stowell’s property for about half a year working the farm and doing these treasure digs but they are finding absolutely nothing and these digs are failing at every turn.Members of Stowell’s family along with others in the community perceive that Stowell is being taken advantage of and on March 20th 1826 Joseph Smith is brought before the court on charges of being a “disorderly person and an imposter”The trial is first printed in Fraser Magazine February 1873 Edition and then reprinted again in the Utah Christian Advocate January 1886 Edition (SLIDE 4 & 5)Frasers Magazine 12 July 1873 http://www.fullerconsideration.com/images/frasersmagazine08unkngoog_0243-0244.jpg (Document page 229 [pdf 248])https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-docket-entry-20-march-1826-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1 B.) Where does the author in Fraser’s Magazine locate this trial record? In Bainbridge? Nope. From enemies? Nope. Rather from an old lady in Salt Lake City who kept records of Joseph Smith’s altercations with the Law. (SLIDE 6)It gets worse though because the Utah Christian Advocate says this was taken directly from the record books of a bainbridge justice of the peace by a daughter or niece (suspicion since he doesn’t know) who tore the record out of the books and the author claims he verified. (SLIDE 6) C.) Capt’n Kidd W.D Purple is in 1877 in the Chenango Union is giving us info about these treasure Digging activities and implies that Stowell is looking for Capt’n Kidd’s treasure.Notice the implication that Stowell knows the story of Capt’n Kidd – hence we should expect that Joseph is informed about said stories too. Not appropriate to start with the assumption he may not have known them. More rational to start with he did. (SLIDE 7)According to J. H. Kennedy, Joseph “made confession” that the autobiography of Captain Kidd “made a deep impression upon him.” Kennedy does not say in what context Smith made this “confession.” Palmyra native Philetus B. Spear recalled in an 1873 interview that as a boy Joseph “had for a library a copy of the ‘Arabian Nights,’ stories of Captain Kidd, and a few novels.”89 Pomeroy Tucker also mentions Joseph’s youthful fascination with Captain Kidd, Stephen Burroughs the counterfeiter, and others, noting that such stories “presented the highest charms for his expanding mental perceptions.”90 Ellen E. Dickinson similarly wrote: It is said that Joseph at an early age could read, but not write; and when quite young committed these lines to memory from the story of Captain Kidd, the notorious pirate, which seemed to give him great pleasure: “My name was Robert Kidd, As I sailed, as I sailed; And most wickedly I did As I sailed, as I sailed.”91 D.) The Proceedings themselves Living w/ Stowell (5 Months) most of the time and a small part of time out looking for mines. But mostly farm work and going to schoolSome quotes indicate that Smith used treasure digging as a way to get out of farm work while still bringing in the needed income.Had been employed to work at the farm part time E.) Joseph Smith claims he is in Bainbridge “spending a small time looking for mines but mostly working for Stowell on the farming and “Going to School” He is 20/21 during the time of these digs. What school would a frontier adult go to that he could be speaking of? College/university? Trade School? F.) He mentions his seer stone and his seeing ability. Work had slowed down because this line of work was bad for his eyes. They were soreHe was turning down most workBut with stowell he found some “oar” (ore) that looked like goldBut its not gold…. So why is such promising?They would find a tail feather though not the buried treasure that was supposed to be with it. (Could the foretold item have been planted by Smith before or during the dig? Does this not best explain what is happening?)He describes Stowell’s house and outhouse from Palmyra while staying at “Simpson Stowell’s” (Is this a relative of Josiah? Sources claim this is Josiah’s son) Could Stowell’s son have described Josiah’s property at an earlier time? Could Joseph have had enough info to make an educated guess? (This is how psychics work) G.) Testimony of Others Horace Stowell testifiedArad Stowell TestifiedPretends to read a book with his back turned to the book, with the book open lying upon a white cloth, while using the stoneThis seems significant as if it points to a photographic memory and that as far as an outside observer could tell, he is doing the same sort of “translation work” as he did with the Book of MormonRather than exclude all light he instead places his stone near a candleSeveral seem disgusted as the fraud was so noticeable that they said it was palpable (almost a physical knowledge that he was a frauding them)McMaster said Joseph claimed if he held his stone to the sun or candle (excluding light hurt his eyes so he declined to use the hat and instead choosing instead the Sun (or a candle) Johnathon Thompson – Joseph told them where a trunk was buried and they dug 5’ and (someone or the group) heard the shovel hit what sounded like a plank or board.“Two indians had buried the chest” – Lamanites. Joseph’s tales already have “Indians” involved. These indians fought and one killed the other and buried him in the hole “to Guard It”.Isn’t Moroni a guardian Spirit of the same sort? (SLIDE 11 then back to 12) Below is a second hand report of how Joseph Smith Sr. described his son’s interaction with Moroni He believes without seeing a chest that he certainly must of hit it (most rational explanation in his mind for the sound)in spite of it sinking into the earth but as outsiders can we see how irrational that perspective is. That a sound can provide one a conclusion in spite of needing magic in order to not see what should have been there and visible?The trunk stayed at distance, just out of reach to touch or to be seen.Isn’t that convenient“Salt might be found in bainbridge”Stolen items, ancient treasures, salt depositsThompson believes JS can discern with his stone and hat“Witness lost some money and Joseph was able to describe the man Witness thought had taken it.” H.) Court Costs The costs themselves Court Charges: (Is this all in cents?) Court found defendant guilty Cost warrant – 19 cents Complaint upon Oath – 25.7 Witnesses – 87.5 Recognizince – 25 Mitimus – 19 Recognizince for Witness – 75 Subpoena – 18 TOTAL? $2.68 (verified by the docket commentary on such in next section) IF THIS PROCEEDING IS TRUE, LDS APOLOGISTS STATE IT WOULD BE THE MOST DAMNING EVIDENCE AGAINST MORMONISM The Mormon writer Francis W. Kirkham just could not allow himself to believe that the 1826 court record was authentic. He, in fact, felt that if the transcript were authentic it would disprove Mormonism: “A careful study of all facts regarding this alleged confession of Joseph Smith in a court of law that he had used a seer stone to find hidden treasure for purposes of fraud, must come to the conclusion that no such record was ever made, and therefore, is not in existence…. had he [Joseph Smith] made this confession in a court of law as early as 1826, or four years before the Book of Mormon was printed, and this confession was in a court record, it would have been impossible for him to have organized the restored Church. (A New Witness For Christ In America, vol. 1, pages 385-387) “If a court record could be identified, and if it contained a confession by Joseph Smith which revealed him to be a poor, ignorant, deluded, and superstitious person — unable himself to write a book of any consequence, and whose church could not endure because it attracted only similar persons of low mentality — if such a court record confession could be identified and proved, then it follows that his believers must deny his claimed divine guidance which led them to follow him…. How could he be a prophet of God, the leader of the Restored Church to these tens of thousands, if he had been the superstitious fraud which ‘the pages from a book’ declared he confessed to be?” (Ibid., p. 486-487) The noted Mormon apologist Hugh Nibley published a book in which this statement appeared: “…if this court record is authentic it is the most damning evidence in existence against Joseph Smith.” (The Myth Makers, 1961, page 142) On the same page we read that such a court record would be “the most devastating blow to Smith ever delivered.” Because he could see the serious implications of the matter, Dr. Nibley tried in every way possible to destroy the idea that the court record was an authentic document. I.) Additional Documentation Neeley’s Fee Bill – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/fee-bill-circa-9-november-1826-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1 (SLIDE 13) Why this is important – Because once we find the additional documentation that verifies $2.68 as the total, we add credibility to the trial proceeding retelling (SLIDE 14) 2nd Fee Bill – Philip M. De Zeng https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/fee-bill-1826-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1 (SLIDE 15) J.) Surrounding Statements that shape our perception Oliver Cowdery claims Joseph was acquitted at the 1826 trial“Oliver Cowdery, who did not attend the hearing (he met Joseph Smith about three years later), mentioned the most likely result in light of missing documentation, that Joseph was acquitted of being a disorderly person.”(SLIDE 16) Cowdery may be confusing an 1830 trial that he took part in where Joseph actually was acquitted though the Church’s footnote makes sense to me.Should Cowdery’s non first hand telling be considered strong enough evidence to dismiss the alleged court proceeding? noDefer to RFMThe first 1830 Trial – Court Case before Justice of the Peace Joseph Chamberlin, South Bainbridge, Chenango County, New York: Constable Ebenezer Hatch arrested Joseph Smith on June 30, 1830, held him over night, and brought him before Justice Joseph P. Chamberlin on a charge of being a disorderly person.Abram Willard Benton, the man who filed the disorderly person complaint against Smith in 1830, also wrote an account of this 1830 trial.8 Benton also relates Stowell’s testimony: (https://user.xmission.com/~research/early/court1830.htm)Josiah Stowell, a Mormonite, being sworn, testified that he positively knew that said Smith never had lied to, or deceived him, and did not believe he ever tried to deceive anybody else. (SLIDE 17)“Did Smith ever tell you there was money hid in a certain place which he mentioned? Yes.Did he tell you, you could find it by digging?Yes.Did you dig?Yes.Did you find any money?No.Did he not lie to you then, and deceive you?NO, the money was there, but we did not get quite to it!How do you know it was there?Smith said it was. ( A. W. Benton, “Mormonites,” Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, April 9, 1831, p. 120, as reprinted in Francis W. Kirkham, A New Witness for Christ in America*, (Brigham Young University, 1959) II:467-468)*This is called circular reasoning and it is exemplified by Kerry Muhlstein (soundbite) “It is reported, and probably true, that he commenced his juggling by stealing and hiding property belonging to his neighbors, and when inquiry was made, he would look in his stone, (his gift and power) and tell where it was.”Remember the Miners hill episode where in the “Mormon Cave” were found various animal remains and debris or items. (I think every instance of claims that Joseph Smith found lost property through a seer stone should note the most rational explanation is something other than the supernatural or magic.)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4qiP2hZtcACompare to the feather story – Could Joseph have hid the feather before or during the dig? How’s that not the most rational answer especially in light of not finding the treasure that went with it.SECOND 1830 TRIAL(actual newspaper article) – https://user.xmission.com/~research/early/court1830.htm (easier to read transcript)Church description“that he had been acquainted with Smith, the prisoner, for several years; that prisoner pretended to look in a certain glass, or stone, and said he could tell where stolen goods were, and could discover mines of gold and silver under ground (THOUGH NONE EVER FOUND); made some pretence at telling fortunes, but he, witness, never knew of prisoner’s finding any thing by his pretended art.”Harris Stowell “hid a bag of grain in his barn, told Smith he had lost a bag of grain, and wished prisoner to find it; prisoner looked in his glass in vain, for he could not find it; prisoner, after using all his art for a number of days, offered to give witness’ brother fifty cents (so his brother told witness,) to find where the grain was, and tell him, prisoner, unbeknown to witness, so that Smith, the prisoner, might have the credit of finding the grain.” – https://user.xmission.com/~research/early/court1830.htmAgain we have Joseph Smith allegedly using deception to to give off the impression that he can find lost items.Could not Joseph Smith have employed a similar tactic to have Simpson Stowell describe his father’s property so that Smith could later imply supernatural ability in describing Josiah Stowell’s farm?The 2 1830 Trials (Only important as Cowdery said Smith was acquitted and likely was misremembering the 1830 rather than 1826https://user.xmission.com/~research/early/court1830.htm K.) Other Interesting data points Ronald Jackson, a believing member forged a reprint of Wesley Walters discovery of the 1826 court docket http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no68.htm. Why does Jackson feel the need to do this? Because he believes the original is damning to Mormonism. CONCLUSION: Witness testimony implies that Joseph never found any treasure and that while many believed him to have real power, it was them accepting such on his word with either no results OR the belief on others that he had deceptively created the appearance of supernatural abilitySetting up the deception so that objects could be hidden and then discovered later under alleged magicThrough stealing property and then locating it for the victimPlacing items in places to be found laterBribing individuals to give him information that he could then “reveal” to others later (feather but not the accompanying treasure, stolen items, bribing a person’s family to tell him where their loved one hid the thing When the rubber met the road and Joseph had any ample opportunity to actually locate something of value, he came up empty every single time. RESOURCES: http://www.fullerconsideration.com/sources.php?cat=GP-T26 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/joseph-smiths-1826-trial?lang=eng https://www.shields-research.org/General/LDS_Leaders/1stPres/Joseph_Smith/1826_Trial_Walters.htm Joseph Smith and the 1826 Trial https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1504&context=byusq https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/introduction-to-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/fee-bill-circa-9-november-1826-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-docket-entry-20-march-1826-state-of-new-york-v-js-a/1 https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/220141943.pdf https://www.jstor.org/stable/45225965#metadata_info_tab_contents https://watermark.silverchair.com/45227184.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAArowggK2BgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKnMIICowIBADCCApwGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMUJ6sRlPRmWN-EOEsAgEQgIICbdN47lit91anjntjBGUirES28IfmW249Mm-oEc8iXOiv-KT6ryM16M0YSHmj1vHN8Gs1h78CZnAg_3SwoPAA_MN5WDxWWN3WZ2S9TYVhhgbciCC6-VrApRswCYJLnhapCnHNEw6e-MUOPyF6LwbkwWG3VVMcWtO73IRWV8zy89aeTsy13t_uJZlJoT0pmIXhsM6rE5KULGjqEKAW97gaAW9NMJhWNBvS3ayJGcCEfimJ7GqN4FGZjItkOLzK0a49Sqg5oBHDvxi2L5l5KE3LSDwDGlU0Ux2hayjmJw1mUpiW0b-KUT8FuDmxxiPGQCGpWnghWKOf3kQaZs8CqVBFTMakXSaBplrw-kJMyEF7Lt7hDxOHdMx0L4lplEujRkQSAPbd299bOgKy3PCDWstnbGckbLLXW_2P2g17dhd4WQFLGpedntbWdTMinZHY4hfHxCF2qCLjFH54aSGGTe286zslE7Uv4AHZJco0LGO15tkDsju2wplN4hRmRe9YCLKBtJY6SMWwOuquJ1cuzMuKUVeL6bcowdP4cb9foLRLXT4PdEeBjilU9pd3MJDNeLLDWgYHwVSdHEfa5ZPBususc1DXIZgJGwhF9zkT3gNgIkCQrUlZGugMJKgbCp-k5sdLSDrhpsPzek8Mz3ss6KqMQY3wRvoDMx9oT5OT-NMG9qKYKws-xvmYzgc6ufxmQsV3IAOd0DlBeylpJgQyDqQr0r5GGDK2R2W5BMFBseh4hPxEBDn_OX204I_VzxkyMxCRVf20p06j2Apu6h8henels8KeYM66zinNRVB33i4Zv7FW0L4hoWRZHkzEqGKTcQ https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/appendix-1-agreement-of-josiah-stowell-and-others-1-november-1825/1 http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no68.htm https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/48 https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letters_by_Oliver_Cowdery_To_W.W._Phelps_on_the_Rise_of_the_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints/Letter_VIII https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/107 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2287&context=byusq

RFM delves into four fascinating items related to Mormonism he has only recently discovered. You won’t want to miss this one!

In this Episode Bill and RFM will go into a story few members know about in regards to the Prophet Joseph Smith and one of his young plural wives. It involves some re-gifting, a land deal, and Harsh Measures T-Shirt Contest Voting takes place here – https://forms.gle/MzBroWzRvk7EFEpQ9 A.) Lucien Woodworth born April 3rd 1799 becomes a close associate of Joseph Smith around the year 1841  a.) Appointed aide-de-camp in Nauvoo Legion, May 1841 b.) Member of Nauvoo Masonic Lodge c.) Admitted to Council of Fifty, 11 Mar. 1844 d.) Traveled to Texas to negotiate with Sam Houston for possible Latter-day Saint settlement, 1844. e.) Sent by JS to deliver letter explaining Latter-day Saint difficulties to Illinois governor Thomas Ford, 22 June 1844. Married Phebe Watrous in 1825 and had at least 3 children (seen in 1850 Census) The oldest of those children is Flora Ann Woodworth born June 12, 1826 according to one genealogy site and November 14, 1826 according to Brian Hales B.) The Interactions between The Woodworth family and the Smiths generally March 31, 1843 ~ Friday On the 31 friday I spent the afternoon at Mr Lucian Woodworth’s in company with Joseph Smith, Hiram Smith, Heber C. Kimball Orson Hyde, a Br Chase with our wives we had a feast of a fat turkey & had a good time (Before her Sealing to JS most likely) –   C.) Strange Interactions with potential suitor nineteen-year-old Orange Wight (Son of Lyman Wight) pursued Flora Ann and is interrupted and offered a ride by Joseph Smith He wrote, “[Having just returned from a mission] I concluded to lo[o]k about and try to pick up one or more of the young Ladies before they were all Gone, so I commenced keeping company with Flora Woodworth… [We were walking near Joseph’s home when he (JS) rode up in a carriage and invited us to take a ride]  D.) William Clayton records multiple visits by the Prophet to see young Flora Ann Woodworth March 31, 1843 ~ Friday On the 31 friday I spent the afternoon at Mr Lucian Woodworth’s in company with Joseph Smith, Hiram Smith, Heber C. Kimball Orson Hyde, a Br Chase with our wives we had a feast of a fat turkey & had a good time (Before her Sealing to JS most likely) May 2nd: “Joseph rode out today with Flora W.”   June 1st: “Evening Joseph rode in the carriage with Flora.”   August 26th: “Hyrum and I rode up to my house and Joseph met Mrs. Wdth and F[lora] and conversed some time.”   August 28th: “President Joseph met Ms Wdth at my house.”   August 29th: “A.M. at the Temple. President Joseph at my house with Miss Wdth.”  E.) Joseph Smith seems to be in the picture a lot but this is because 16 year old Flora Ann has by the Spring of 1843 become a plural wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith 1.) In the spring of 1843 Joseph Smith was sealed to 16 year old Flora Ann Woodworth According to Brian Hales “A March 4, 1843, entry in the Prophet’s diary appears to have been written “Woodworth,” which is crossed out and is difficult to discern. The name “Woodworth” appears interlineally above in shorthand, so it is possible they were sealed that day.” Those visits by Smith to Flora recorded by Clayton – they have already been sealed/married by then  2.) That story w/ Orange Wight…  here is the rest of the story “I was walking along the street with Flora near the Prophet’s residence when he, Joseph, drove, up in his carriage, stopped and spoke to I and Flora and asked us to get in the carriage and ride with him. He opened the door for us and when we were seated opposite to him he told the driver to drive on. We went to the [Nauvoo] temple lot and many other places during the afternoon and then he drove to the Woodworth house and we got out and went in. After we got in the house Sister Woodworth took me in another room and told me that Flora was one of Joseph’s wives. I was aware or believed that Eliza R. Snow and the two Partridge girls were his wives but was not informed about Flora. But now Sister Woodworth gave me all the information necessary, so I knew Joseph believed and practiced polygamy…Now as a matter of corse I at once—after giving her Flora/ a mild lecture left her and looked for a companion in other places, and where I could be more sure. I was now called on a mission to go up the river 5 or 6 hundred miles to make lumber for the Nauvoo house and Temple.” Mild Lecture Joseph gets him out of town sending him on a mission 500 to 600 miles away….   F.)  The Gift Giving of a Gold Watch Emma somehow becomes aware that Flora Woodworth has on her person a Gold watch which she comprehends is the Gold Watch of her Husband and the Prophet Joseph Smith (RFM to give most rational explanation).  We know this because William Clayton records the following “President Joseph told me that he had difficulty with E[mma] yesterday. She rode up to Woodworths with him and called while he came to the Temple. When he returned she was demanding the gold watch of F[lora]. He reproved her for her evil treatment.” No record exists of the exact date of the marriage or the gift-giving of the watch (According to Hales) The story implies that Joseph didn’t knowwhen dropping off emma at the woodworths that a conflict would ensue over the watch.  The Smith’s and Woodworths hung out a lot it seems so it likely it all seemed normal when he dropped Emma off RFM – when did Emma discover Flora had JS watch? Joseph seems to only figure out that he has been caught when he returns to pick Emma up and she is in the middle of a confrontation with Flora demanding the watch backHow embarrassing for Emma Joseph seems to have a history of giving Gold watches to his plural wives The Prophet may have given a gold watch to several of his plural wives. Mary Ann Barzee Boice remembered that she was “acquainted with Eliza R. Snow Smith, his [Joseph Smith’s] wife and saw his gold watch which she carries.” Mary Ann Boice in John Boice and Mary Ann (Barzee) Boice “Record,” MS 8883, Microfilm of manuscript, 174. link to an image of the gold watch Joseph Smith gave to Eliza R. Snow  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eliza_R_Snow_pocket_watch_given_by_Joseph_Smith.jpeg  G.) According to Clayton the argument that started when Smith showed up on the scene to find Emma in a confrontation with Flora continued on the carriage ride home and once the Smith’s got back to their home.  George D. Smith, ed., An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1995), 119. “President Joseph told me that he had difficulty with E[mma] yesterday. She rode up to Woodworths with him and called while he came to the Temple. When he returned she was demanding the gold watch of F[lora]. He reproved her for her evil treatment. On their return home she abused him much and also when he got home. He had to use harsh measures to put a stop to her abuse but finally succeeded.” What are Harsh Measures in this context that could stop “the abuse” by Emma? This speaks volumes about how Emma might feel in this situation was disregarded.  How she isn’t seen as having a right to her hurt and anger. It addresses the quote from last week where Bednar suggests these women pursued Joseph for a sealing when the reality is that He pursued them.   It also runs counter to Bednar’s imposing these were adoptions and not marriages and certainly not sexual.  (Gold watch, Orange Wight, Emma’s being caught off guard)  We should spend a few minutes sorting this out)This instance demonstrates the brethren are either naive and ignorant and speak out of turn on such things or they intentionally play on the naivete and ignorance of members or a combination of both. Oh and what happened to the watch you ask – Seymour B. Young recalled in 1912 that Emma destroyed the watch: “The name of the Prophet’s plural wives [included] … Flora Woodward [sic] to whom he is said to have given a gold locket or watch which was stamped under foot by Emma.” – Seymour B. Young, Journal, April 2, 1912, CHL, restricted; excerpt copied in D. Michael Quinn Papers—Addition—Uncat WA MS 244 (Accession:19990209–c), Box 1—Card file—Topic: Polygamy, Joseph Smith’s  Or is that what happened? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLLtMuXtEPITime Stamp 1.18.30 for a story about Joseph’s Gold Watch. H.) Coincidence or Women scorned Flora apparently had a serious life event the very next day after the confrontation. The marriage index of Hancock County records Flora Ann marrying Carlos Gove, a non-member, the very next day after her confrontation with Emma. – Marriage of Flora Woodworth to Carlos Gove, August 23, 1843, in Marriage index of Hancock County, Ill., 1829–1849, Tri-County Genealogical Society, comp. (Augusta, Ilinois: Tri-County Genealogical Society, 1983), 19. Helen Mar Kimball recalled a different chain of events: “A young man boarding at her father’s after the death of Joseph not a member of the Church had sought her hand, in time won her heart, and in a reckless moment she was induced to accept his offer and they eloped to Carthage, accompanied by a young lady friend, and were there married by a Justice of the Peace.” Helen Mar Whitney, “Travels Beyond the Mississippi,” Woman’s Exponent (November 1, 1884), 87; italics mine. This marriage is not listed in Lyndon Cook, Nauvoo Deaths and Marriages, 1839–1845 (Orem, Utah: Grandin Book Co., 1994), undoubtedly because his marriage records are extracted from Church publications and records. According to Hales – “The level of friendship between Gove and Flora prior to their legal marriage is unknown, but it is probable that Emma encouraged the nuptial” – and his evidence for that is “Emily Partridge recalled that Emma: “once proposed to a young man to ask Eliza [Partridge, Emily’s sister] to take a ride with him.” Emily Dow Partridge Young, “Incidents in the early life of Emily Dow partridge,” MS d 2845, fd 1, typescript in possession of the author.” I.) And as I was digging into this story…… I found a couple more things Land Deed between Lucien Woodworth and Joseph Smith Mention the transfer of money into the hand of Joseph Smith of $250 Note that I am not saying there is anything odd about this Land deed But It is odd when juxtaposed against this Land Deed directly to Flora Ann WoodworthThe Land Deed itself between Joseph and FloraNotice the date of May 13th 1843 is just two months after the “march 4th” possible sealing date between Flora and JosephNotice it appears to be part of the same lotNotice the amount of $1000Which 16 year old girl has $1000Did actual money change hands or was Flora given land valued at $1000 as a inheritance for her marriage?My hunch is nothing was paid but the wording is a formality for a gift.Other Land DealsLand Deed to Sarah Ann Whitney – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-sarah-ann-whitney-6-september-1842/1But then, of course, there was Sarah herself. Only seventeen years old at the time, and by all accounts well liked by her peers, this was an event that would change the course for her whole life. Even while she was initiated into the Mormon church’s inner circle, and linked forever to the faith’s prophet, she must have known that she risked alienation from everyday life. Could she survive as the secret wife of an already much-married man? There had to be compensation. Six weeks after the secret sealing, and two weeks after Smith’s request for a clandestine meeting, Smith deeded to Sarah a lot of land only one block from his own. It was rare for a woman to own land in Nauvoo, especially a woman as young as Sarah; indeed, it was so rare that whoever filled out the deed had to strike out “his” and write in “hers” to match the inheritor’s gender. FOOTNOTE 1 – While the land deed states that the property cost one thousand dollars, a figure slightly higher than most plots sold that year, it is very unlikely that Sarah herself paid that amount. It is possible that Sarah’s parents provided the money, or that Smith merely covered it himself but desired not to leave a paper” trail.https://benjaminepark.com/2017/10/16/sarah-ann-whitney-blessing/ Joseph Kingsbury (sham) marriage to Sarah Ann Whitneyhttps://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/marriage-certificate-for-joseph-kingsbury-and-sarah-ann-whitney-29-april-1843/1 Emma Smith Land Deed – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-emma-smith-and-others-12-july-1843/1 $10,000 Patty Bartlett Sessions – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-patty-bartlett-sessions-9-august-1843/1 Mary Elizabeth Rollings Lightner – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-mary-elizabeth-rollins-lightner-5-july-1843/1 Helen Mar Kimball – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-helen-mar-kimball-7-june-1843/1 Sylvia Sessions Lyon – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-sylvia-sessions-lyon-5-june-1843/1 Sarah Scott Mulholland – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-sarah-scott-mulholland-13-may-1843/1 Four years later [1843], Sarah is thought to have married Joseph Smith in a union concealed by her October 25, 1843, civil marriage to Alexander Mullinder –a ceremony performed by Apostle John Taylor.  On February 3, 1846, Sarah was sealed to Mulholland, Heber C. Kimball acting as proxy for her deceased first husband.  There are two reasons for concluding that Sarah was joined to Joseph for time and eternity.  First, in her 1846 sealing ceremony, she was identified as Sarah Smith, indicating a prior marriage to Joseph.  [NO FOOTNOTE OR REFERENCE.]  Second, in a biography of Heber Kimball, family tradition lists her among “the wives of the prophet” whom Kimball adopted as his own, 1844-46  –   George D. Smith, Nauvoo Polygamy: “… but we called it celestial marriage”, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2008, 218. Sarah Scott, who had married James Mulholland (1810–39) in early1839, wed Alexander Mullinder/Mullander (born ca. 1810) civilly on October 25, 1843, with Apostle John Taylor performing the ceremony. Mulholland was probably a “front” husband to conceal Sarah’s plural marriage to Smith—much the same arrangement by whichSmith had authorized Joseph Kingsbury and Sarah Whitney’s “prete[n]ded marriage” on April 29, 1843. Scott was sealed to Mulholland for eternity and to Heber Kimball, not Mullinder, for time on February 3, 1846, in the Nauvoo Temple. The record of that ceremony identifies her explicitly as “Sarah Smith,” implying an earlier sealing to Joseph Smith – Gary J. Bergera, “Identifying the Earliest Mormon Polygamists, 1841-1844,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought38, no. 2 (Fall 2005): 31 Elizabeth Buchannan Coolidge (Plural Wife)- https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-elizabeth-buchannan-coolidge-30-march-1843/1 Elizabeth Davis Durfee – (Brian Hales) https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-elizabeth-davis-durfee-10-march-1843/1 Partridge Sisters – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-eliza-partridge-and-others-10-february-1843/1 Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-marinda-nancy-johnson-hyde-10-february-1843/1 Hyrum Smith’s Plural Wives Lydia Dibble Granger – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-lydia-dibble-granger-15-march-1843/1 Mary Fielding Smith – https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-mary-fielding-smith-15-march-1843/1  J.) Other Interesting facts Flora’s marriage/sealing to Joseph happened right around the same time to Lucy Walker and Helen Mar Kimball Speak again to Bednar’s imposition on JS’s Polygamy Joseph Smith, May 1844: “What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one.” JOSEPH SMITH’S WIVES as of May 1844: Emma Hale, Louisa Beaman, Mrs. Zina Diantha Huntington (Jacobs), Mrs. Presendia Lathrop Huntington (Buell), Agnes Moulton Coolbrith (Smith), Mrs. Lucinda Pendleton (Morgan Harris), Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Rollins (Lightner), Mrs. Sylvia Porter Sessions (Lyon), Mrs. Patty Bartlett (Sessions), Mrs. Sarah M. Kingsley (Howe Cleveland), Mrs. Elizabeth Davis (G. Brackenbury Durfee), Mrs. Marinda Nancy Johnson (Hyde), Delcena Diadamia Johnson (Sherman), Eliza Roxcy Snow, Mrs. Sarah Rapson (Poulterer), Sarah Ann Whitney, Martha McBride (Knight), Mrs. Ruth Daggett Vose (Sayers), Flora Ann Woodworth, Emily Dow Partridge, Eliza Maria Partridge, Almera Woodward Johnson, Lucy Walker, Sarah Lawrence, Maria Lawrence, Helen Mar Kimball, Mrs. Elvira Anna Cowles (Holmes), Rhoda Richards, Hannah S. Ells, Mary Ann Frost (Stearns Pratt), Olive Grey Frost, Nancy Maria Winchester, Desdemona Catlin Wadworth Fullmer, Melissa Lott, Sarah Scott (Mulholland), Mrs. Phebe Watrous (Woodworth), Mary Huston, Fanny Young (Carr Murray). (George D. Smith, Nauvoo Polygamy [2008]). Here are the wives of Joseph Smith who were under the age of 20: Fanny Alger (16); Sarah Ann Whitney (17); Flora Ann Woodworth (16); Lucy Walker (17); Sara Lawrence (17): Helen Mar Kimball (14); Nancy Winchester (14) K.) Sad Ending 1850 Census record of Flora – middle of the page That same year Flora was staying in Kanesville Iowa Never making it to Utah, Flora passed away in Kanesville, Iowa around 1850.  Helen Mar wrote, “I never saw her again as she died at that place, leaving two or three children.”  Flora would have been in her mid-twenties at the time. RESOURCES: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-flora-ann-woodworth-13-may-1843/1 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-flora-ann-woodworth-13-may-1843/2 https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,58572 Some of my issues with the Nauvoo Polygamy Essay from exmormon Flora Ann Woodworth https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/flora-ann-woodworth-gove http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/19-FloraAnnWoodworth.htm https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/flora-ann-woodworth-24-1g3l7rw Flora Ann Woodworth https://www.yearofpolygamy.com/tag/flora-ann-woodworth/ https://s3.amazonaws.com/researchties-uploads-553de69e5551e9.40089907/18/32385-LR%203102%2027_f0004_00014.JPG http://nauvoo.byu.edu/ViewExtract.aspx?Record=1850Pop&ID=15928 http://www.mormonthink.com/QUOTES/jsplural.htm Flora Ann Woodworth · Collection https://shemwellfamily.com/webtrees/individual.php?pid=I26226&ged=Shemwell https://www.yearofpolygamy.com/tag/flora-ann-woodworth/ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80764619/flora-ann-gove https://www.ldscleardoctrine.com/Doctrine-and-Covenants/Joseph-Smiths-Personal-Practice-of-Plural-Marriage.php https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Historical_Record/Is1LAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA224&printsec=frontcover http://www.withoutend.org/emmas-awareness-response-brian-hales-jmh-letter-editor/ This list the plural marriages around the same time  (should be an interesting read) https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/person/lucien-woodworth (Father) https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/deed-to-lucien-woodworth-and-others-31-may-1843/1 (Deed to parents) May 1, 1843 Nauvoo, Illinois Joseph Smith paid Lucien Woodworth, general contractor, monies toward the building of the Nauvoo House. Sources: History of the Church,(link is external) Joseph Smith, 5:366, 372 March 31, 1843 ~ Friday On the 31 friday I spent the afternoon at Mr Lucian Woodworth’s in company with Joseph Smith, Hiram Smith, Heber C. Kimball Orson Hyde, a Br Chase with our wives we had a feast of a fat turkey & had a good time http://www.joylogan.com/LDS/Parallel/1843/21Feb43.html Some book on Clayton’s recording plural marriagehttps://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/history/orange-l-wight/https://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/1978-B39-The-Feuding-Gunsmiths-Of-Denver.pdf  https://mdpodcast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/10/1843-Land-Plot.png Joseph Smith, Sarah Ann Whitney, and the Familial Dynamics of Nauvoo Polygamy https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/the-papers/documents

A listener was able to have a candid chat with Elder Bednar recently and agreed to share with us how it went! This is part 2 of that conversation. Join us live!

One General Conference. Five Sessions. Ten hours. Thirty-Six Talks. ALL IN UNDER SIXTY MINUTES!!!

RFM and Bill Reel will sit down with author Cheryl Bruno to discuss her book “Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration”. Synopsis of her book – “While no one thing can entirely explain the rise of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the historical influence of Freemasonry on this religious tradition cannot be refuted. Those who study Mormonism have been aware of the impact that Freemasonry had on the founding prophet Joseph Smith during the Nauvoo period, but his involvement in Freemasonry was arguably earlier and broader than many modern historians have admitted. The fact that the most obvious vestiges of Freemasonry are evident only in the more esoteric aspects of the Mormon faith has made it difficult to recognize, let alone fully grasp, the relevant issues. Even those with both Mormon and Masonic experience may not be versed in the nineteenth-century versions of Masonry’s rituals, legends, and practices. Without this specialized background, it is easy to miss the Masonic significance of numerous early Mormon ordinances, scripture, and doctrines. Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration offers a fresh perspective on the Masonic thread present in Mormonism from its earliest days. Smith’s firsthand knowledge of and experience with both Masonry and anti-Masonic currents contributed to the theology, structure, culture, tradition, history, literature, and ritual of the religion he founded.” Resources: Cheryl’s Book – https://www.amazon.com/Method-Infinite-Freemasonry-Mormon-Restoration/dp/1589587537 http://www.skirret.com/archive/misc/misc-m/mormonsmasonryandthemorganaffair.html Mormon Discussion: 363: Signs, Tokens & Penalties – The LDS Mormon Temple Ceremony 139: Greg Kearney: Mormonism & Masonry https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/masonry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism_and_Freemasonryhttps://www.mrm.org/masonry-and-the-mormon-temple-endowment-ceremony

A listener was able to have a candid chat with Elder Bednar recently and agreed to share with us how it went! Join us live!

Dan Vogel joins RFM to discuss the Occult in the Life of Joseph Smith and his family.

Evidence has recently come to my attention that the LDS Church is currently engaged in removing miraculous elements from some of its cherished stories in Church History. This episode presents that evidence. Let me know what you think in the comments section below!

In Mormon parlance, the Tar and Feathering of Joseph Smith is a faith promoting story about a mob of mean men punishing Joseph Smith for being a prophet. But it doesn’t take one long when their ears are to the ground in non-correlated circles to hear rumblings that the tar and feathering is connected to something more devious on Joseph Smith’s end. In this episode Bill & RFM explore the story of Joseph Smith’s being tarred and feathered to see what info there is that can best explain this mob mentality in the wee hours of the morning of March 25, 1832. A.) Setup of the story with the context of how Joseph Smith was in Hiram Ohio and what other historical context is needed to help people grasp this moment historically (Leaving out the possible scandalous context) In 1818, John and Alice (known as Elsa) Johnson came to Hiram, Ohio, about 31 miles southeast of Kirtland. The family lived in several log cabins while they built a home directly across the road. The Johnsons had 15 children; 9 lived to adulthood: Alice, Fanny, John Jr., Luke, Olmstead, Lyman, Emily, Marinda, and Justin.Sidney Rigdon became a pastor in Mentor Ohio(adjacent & NE of Kirtland). He became converted to Mormonism via Parley Pratt’s mission whom he knew, while Smith lived in NY. After Sidney Rigdon baptized John and Elsa’s 19-year-old son, Lyman, in February 1831, the couple read the Book of Mormon and believed.  By May, all members of the Johnson family were baptized except Olmstead, who had moved to Mexico.Later that year, the Prophet, seeking a peaceful, secluded place in which to continue his work of translating the Bible, accepted an invitation from the Johnsons to live in their home. Joseph and Emma came on 12 September 1831 with their four-month-old adopted twins, Joseph and Julia. Converts Sidney and Phebe Rigdon settled with their six young children across the road in a log cabin.Elsa Johnson the wife of John Johnson, who had suffered from chronic rheumatism in her arm for years, asked John to take her to Kirtland so the Prophet Joseph Smith could heal her. When the Prophet blessed her, she was completely healed. (Even some quakers make mention of this healing)Some of the following is overlap but it also contains additional facts After returning to Ohio from Missouri in late August 1831, JS made preparations to move his family from Kirtland to Hiram, Ohio, where he planned to resume his “translation,” or revision, of the Bible—a project he had been working on since 1830. The move occurred on 12 September 1831, following a conference held in Kirtland that same day.1 In Hiram, JS and his family stayed at the John and Alice (Elsa) Jacobs Johnson home, sleeping probably in a back room on the main level. In the end of October, the Johnsons partitioned an upstairs room, creating a work space for JS in the southeast portion of the house, where he worked on the Bible revision.2 Beginning in September, John Whitmer served as scribe for this project, working on the books of Matthew and Mark, until Sidney Rigdon assumed this responsibility in November.3 Periodically, JS traveled to Kirtland or other townships in northeastern Ohio to conduct church business,4 but he spent most of the fall in Hiram. B.) How the mob mentality was built up and tensions arose In the early 1831, Ezra Booth and Symonds Ryder, both ministers joined Mormonism. Booth and Ryder became strong supporters of Smith and Rigdon.  While Booth was on a church mission to Jackson County, Missouri, he witnessed a dispute between Edward Partridge, Bishop of the Mormon Church in Jackson County, and Joseph Smith. Booth became disillusioned with Mormonism and returned to Ohio to report what he had seen in Missouri.  Symonds Ryder also became disaffected for mulitple reasons though one of those is that after Joseph alleged a revelation calling Ryder to serve a mission. Smith and Rigdon both signed the official call but misspelled Ryder’s name. Ryder thought a real revelation from God would never do such a thing.(Didn’t he read the Book of Mormon) When Booth and Ryder met in the fall of 1831, they shared their experiences and concluded that they had been deceived. They both left Mormonism and returned to their former faiths. Both men became strong critics of Mormonism in Ohio, focusing on Smith and Rigdon. Booth, at the encouragement of a Reverend Ira Eddy, wrote nine letters to the Ohio Star newspaper published between October and December, 1831.  The letters criticized Mormon doctrines and Smith’s and Rigdon’s character and accused the Mormon leaders of a scheme to get control of their followers’ property (D&C 51 United Order/Law of Consecration). These letters were widely circulated and generated fierce local opposition to the Mormons. By December of 31, Smith and Rigdon temporarily paused their revision of the bible to start rebutting the accusations by Booth and Ryder. Rigdon had his own letters published to the Ohio Star pushing back against Booth and Ryder to discuss their charges in public. In one article, Rigdon purposefully misspelled Ryder’s name apparently to irritate him. Tensions increased on both sides.(The letters are reprinted in their entirety in Eber Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville: E.D. Howe, 1834).also  (Ohio Star, Plainesville, Ohio, 12 January 1832)A short time before the tar and feathering attack a hole was bored in the door of the house where Rigdon was staying and filled with black powder in an attempt to kill Rigdon. (Short Portage County Democrat, Ravenna, Ohio 15 February 1860)Mob consisted of 10 to 11 men minimum and as many as 25-30 based on eyewitness accounts and second hand sources C.) The event as described by Joseph Smith (Where Joseph abbreviates the mob’s language we have inserted the actual swearing) Joseph’s telling reiterated in Lucy Mack Smith’s History and published originally in the Times and Seasons, vol. 5, p. 611. Millennial Star, vol. 14, p. 148. –  “On the twenty-fourth of March [1832], the twins before mentioned, which had been sick of the measles for some time, caused us to be broken of our rest in taking care of them, especially my wife. In the evening I told her she had better retire to rest with one of the children, and I would watch with the sicker child (Murdock Boy).[iv] In the night she told me I had better lie down on the trundle bed, and I did so, and was soon after awakened by her screaming murder! when I found myself going out of the door in the hands of about a dozen men; some of whose hands were in my hair, and some had hold of my shirt, drawers, and limbs. The foot of the trundle bed was towards the door, leaving only room enough for the door to swing.  “My wife heard a gentle tapping on the windows, which she then took no particular notice of (but which was unquestionably designed for ascertaining whether we were all asleep), and, soon after, the mob burst open the door and surrounded the bed in an instant,[v] and, as I said, the first I knew I was going out of the door in the hands of an infuriated mob. I made a desperate struggle, as I was forced out, to extricate myself, but only cleared one leg with which I made a pass at one man and he fell on the door steps.[vi] I was immediately confined again, and they swore by God, they would kill me if I did not be still, which quieted me. As they passed around the house with me, the fellow that I kicked came to me and thrust his hand into my face all covered with blood (for I hit him on the nose), and with an exultant horse laugh, muttered, ‘God, God, God damn ye, I’ll fix ye.’ “They then seized me by the throat and held on till I lost my breath. After I came to, as they passed along with me, about thirty rods from the house,[vii] I saw Elder Rigdon stretched out on the ground, whither they had dragged him by the heels. I supposed he was dead. “I began to plead with them, saying, ‘you will have mercy and spare my life, I hope.’ To which they replied, ‘God damn ye, call on yer God for help, we’ll show ye no mercy’; and the people began to show themselves in every direction; one coming from the orchard had a plank and I expected they would kill me and carry me off on a plank.[viii] They then turned to the right and went on about thirty rods farther-about sixty rods from the house[ix] and about thirty from where I saw Elder Rigdon-into the meadow, where they stopped, and one said, ‘Simonds, Simonds,’ (meaning, I supposed, Simonds Rider), ‘pull up his drawers, pull up his drawers, he will take cold.’ “Another replied, ‘Ain’t ye going to kill ‘im? Ain’t ye going to kill ‘im?’ when a group of mobbers collected a little way off and said, ‘Simonds, Simonds, come here’; and Simonds charged those who had hold of me to keep me from touching the ground (as they had done all the time), lest I should get a spring upon them. They went and held a council, and as I could occasionally overhear a word, I supposed it was to know whether it was best to kill me. “They returned, after a while, when I learned that they had concluded not to kill me, but pound and scratch me well, tear off my shirt and drawers, and leave me naked. One cried, ‘Simonds, Simonds, where is the tar bucket?’ “‘I don’t know,’ answered one, ‘where ’tis, Eli’s left it.’ They ran back and fetched the bucket of tar, when one exclaimed, with an oath, ‘Let us tar up his mouth’; and they tried to force the tar paddle into my mouth; I twisted my head around so that they could not, and they cried out, ‘God damn ye, hold up yer head and let us giv ye some tar.’ They then tried to force a vial into my mouth and broke it in my teeth.[x] All my clothes were torn off me, except my shirt collar; and one man fell on me and scratched my body with his nails like a mad cat, and then muttered out, ‘God damn ye, that’s the way the Holy Ghost falls on folks.’ “They then left me, and I attempted to rise, but fell again; I pulled the tar away from my lips, etc., so that I could breathe more freely, and after a while I began to recover and raised myself up, when I saw two lights. I made my way towards one of them and found it was Father Johnson’s. When I had come to the door I was naked, and the tar made me look as though I was covered with blood; and when my wife saw me, she thought I was all mashed to pieces and fainted. During the affray abroad, the sisters of the neighborhood had collected at my room. I called for a blanket, they threw me one and shut the door; I wrapped it around me, and went in. “In the meantime, Brother John Poorman heard an outcry across the cornfield, and running that way met Father Johnson, who had been fastened in his house at the commencement of the assault, by having his door barred by the mob, but on calling to his wife to bring his gun, saying he would blow a hole through the door, the mob fled, and Father Johnson, seizing a club, ran after the party that had Elder Rigdon, and knocked one man, and raised his club to level another, exclaiming: “What are you doing here?”[xi] when they left Elder Rigdon and turned upon Father Johnson, who, turning to run towards his own house, met Brother Poorman coming out of the cornfield; each supposing the other to be a mobber, an encounter ensued, and Poorman gave Johnson a severe blow on the left shoulder with a stick or stone, which brought him to the ground. Poorman ran immediately towards Father Johnson’s, and arriving while I was waiting for the blanket, exclaimed: ‘I’m afraid I’ve killed him.’ ‘Killed who?’ asked one; when Poorman hastily related the circumstances of the encounter near the cornfield, and went into the shed and hid himself. Father Johnson soon recovered so as to come to the house, when the whole mystery was quickly solved concerning the difficulty between him and Poorman, who, on learning the facts, joyfully came from his hiding place.[xii] “My friends spent the night in scraping and removing the tar, and washing and cleansing my body, so that by morning I was ready to be clothed again. This being Sabbath morning, the people assembled for meeting at the usual hour of worship, and among them came also the mobbers, viz., Simonds Rider, a Campbellite preacher and leader of the mob; one McClentic, who had his hands in my hair; one Streeter, son of a Campbellite minister; and Felatiah Allen, Esq., who gave the mob a barrel of whisky to raise their spirits; and many others. With my flesh all scarified and defaced, I preached to the congregation as usual, and in the afternoon of the same day baptized three individuals. “The next morning I went to see Elder Rigdon and found him crazy, and his head highly inflamed, for they had dragged him by his heels, and those, too, so high from the ground that he could not raise his head from the rough, frozen surface, which lacerated it exceedingly; and when he saw me he called to his wife to bring him his razor. She asked him what he wanted of it; and he replied, to kill me. Sister Rigdon left the room, and he asked me to bring his razor. I asked him what he wanted of it, and he replied he wanted to kill his wife; and he continued delirious some days. The feathers which were used with the tar on this occasion, the mob took out of Elder Rigdon’s house. After they had seized him, and dragged him out, one of the banditti returned to get some pillows; when the women shut him in and kept him a prisoner some time. “During the mobbing, one of the twins contracted a severe cold, and continued to grow worse till Friday and died.[xiii] The mobbers were composed of various religious parties, but mostly Campbellites, Methodists and Baptists, who continued to molest and menace Father Johnson’s house for a long time.”   D.) Details of story as suggested by those involved as well as additional researchers after the fact.  Some of these came out in the narrative we just read others are added from additional sources. March 24 1832Tapping on the windowThey were perhaps testing to see who was asleepJoseph Smith was occupying the room of a house brother Johnson was living in, at the same time; it was a two story building, had steps in front. The mob surrounded the house, the twins being afflicted with measles, Joseph was lying upon a trundle bed with one of them. The mob rushed in, gathered up Joseph while in his bed (apparently separating him from the Murdock boy in doing so), took him out in his night clothes, and carried him out on to the top of the steps.Joseph got a foot at liberty and kicked one of the men, and knocked him down off the steps, and the print of his head and shoulders were visible on the ground in the morning.Warren Waste – Warren Waste, who was the strongest man in the western reserve considered himself perfectly able to handle Joseph alone, but when they got hold of him Waste cried out, “do not let him touch the ground, or he will run over the whole of us.” Waste suggested in carrying him to cross his legs, for they said that would make it easier for the Prophet, but that was done in consequence of the severe pain it would give to the small of the back.Tar and Feathering – Someone brought forward a bucket of hot tar which they then smeared over Joseph’s lacerated body, at the same time trying to force the tar paddle into his mouth. He resisted.Observer & Telegraph, a local Ohio newspaper –  “TRIUMPHS OF THE MORMON FAITH” — Several verbal statements agree in establishing the following facts.” “That on Saturday night, March 24, a number of persons, some say 25 or 30, disguised with coloured faces, entered the rooms in Hiram, where the two Mormonite leaders, Smith and Rigdon were sleeping, and took them, together with the pillows on which they slept, carried them a short distance and after besmearing their bodies with tar, applied the contents of the pillows to the same. What sort of harm tar and feathering caused – The notion that hot tar caused severe, sometimes fatal burns is based on the assumption that “tar” meant the asphalt we use on roads, which is typically stored in liquid state at about 300°F (150°C). But in the eighteenth century “tar” meant pine tar, used for several purposes in building and maintaining ships. As any baseball fan knows, pine tar doesn’t have to be very hot to be sticky. Shipyards did warm that tar to make it flow more easily, but pine tar starts to melt at about 140°F (60°C). That’s well above the ideal for bathwater, but far from the temperature of hot asphalt. Pine tar could be hot enough to injure someone. The Loyalist judge Peter Oliver complained that when a mob attacked Dr. Abner Beebe of Connecticut, “hot Pitch was poured upon him, which blistered his Skin.”[i] But other victims of tarring and feathering didn’t mention severe or lasting burns among their injuries. Rioters probably applied the tar with a mop or brush, lowering its temperature. Sometimes they tarred people more gently over their clothing. Castration – Dr. Dennison had been employed to perform a surgical operation, but he declined when the time came to operate.Castration was often a punishment for a sexual misdeed but not always.Poison – He was daubed with tar, feathered and choked, and aquafortis was attempted to be poured into his mouth. Aqua fortis, in the old chemistry ( now called nitric acid.Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary). The liquid they poured into his mouth was so powerful, that it killed the grass where some of it had been scattered on the ground. Joseph Clenched his teeth hard to prevent them from poisoning him and in the process apparently chipped a toothJoseph is reported by the mob to have said, be merciful, when they told him to call upon his God for mercy. They immediately, as he began to pray, heard an alarm which made them think they were about to be surprised, and left suddenly. (I looked for the source of this and like many other alleged data points, was unable to locate a source and verify the detail)Rigdon also assaulted – Sidney Rigdon, who resided near by, had been dragged by the heels out of his bed at the same time, and his body stripped and a coat of tar and feathers applied. The next morning he was crazy, his head greatly inflamed and lacerated.Some records indicated he was abused after Joseph but the most reliable statements have him being abused first including how Joseph reported the event.  Hiram 1800-1850, Portage County, Ohio Genweb – Sidney Rigden, who furnished the brains for the Mormon movement in its infancy, took up his abode in a log house across the street from the Johnsons.Others may have been assaulted as well – Hiram 1800-1850, Portage County, Ohio Genweb – In the confusion Miss Vashti Higley (Vastali Higley) was dragged from her bed. The mistake was soon discovered. Miss Higley afterward married Peter Whitmer, one of the original witnesses to the “golden plates” on which the Mormon bible was based.Joseph after being cleaned up the best that could be done preached a sermon the next morning and 3 people were baptized.  Joseph found his way in from the light of the house, the mob having abandoned him. While he was engaged in getting off the tar by the application of grease, soap and other materials, Philemon Duzette, the father of our celebrated drummer, came there, and seeing the Prophet in this condition, took it as an evidence of the truth of “Mormonism,” and was baptized.Philemon joined the group of volunteers who followed the Prophet Joseph Smith on the march for Zion’s Camp. They left Ohio 6th of May 1834 and headed towards Missouri to aid the suffering Latter-day Saints there. It was a grueling journey wrought with danger, hunger, and fatigue. Philemon did not return from this march; the family never saw him again. We surmise that he died somewhere along the way. Murdock twins (Julia and Joseph) – the murdock boy died later proposedly from the exposure to the cold during the tar and feathering event.  These circumstances exposed the life of the child, the measles struck in and caused its death, and the whole of this persecution was got up through the influence of those apostates; and it made it necessary to keep up a constant watch lest some violence should be repeated.Various Books on Mormonism have additional facts/conjectureAccording to recorded accounts of the event, the mob broke down the front door, took Smith’s oldest surviving adopted child from his arms,[5  McKiernan, F. Mark (1971), The Voice of One crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer, 1793-1876, Lawrence, KS: Corondao Press, ISBN 978-0-87291-024-9 ] dragged Smith from the room, leaving his exposed child on a trundle bed and forcing Emma and the others from the house, the mob threatening her with rape and murder.[6 Johnson, Luke (1864), “History of Luke Johnson, by Himself”, The Latter Day Saints’ Millennial Star, 26: 834] The child was knocked off the bed onto the floor in the doorway of the home as Smith was forcibly removed from his home.[7Joseph Smith: The First Mormon – Donna Hill 1977] The child died from exposure (many accounts say pneumonia) five days after the event [8Newell, Linda King; Avery, Valeen Tippetts (1984), Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, Prophet’s Wife, “Elect Lady,” Polygamy’s Foe, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, ISBN 0-252-02399-4] from the condition that doctors said he developed the night of the mob violence.[9 Smith, Lucy Mack (1853), Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations, Liverpool: S.W. Richards, archived from the original on 2004-04-30 ] E.) The additional data that is left out of Faith promoting tellings, recognizing some of it may be unsubstantiated. Injuries and fate of the assailants – Luke Johnson informed us that Warren Waste was afterwards a cripple, rendered so by weakness in the small of the back, and Dr. Dennison died in the Ohio Penitentiary where he was incarcerated for procuring an abortion, which caused death; Luke’s history does not mention the fate of Warren Waste but does say that Carnot Mason “had an attack of the spinal affection” and Dr. Dennison died in prison (does not cite offense).  They tore out a patch of his hair by the roots that never grew back. They injured his side in such a way that it pained him the rest of his life and Joseph claimed an out of body near death experience – Joseph would later describe standing above his body and watching as the mob beat him and poured the acid over his face and neck. Then a noise was heard and the mob fled in fear leaving Joseph upon the ground. Slowly, he regained consciousness. He tried to sit up but couldn’t. Unable to breathe, he pulled the tar from his mouth. After a time, he made his way home. Emma stood in the doorway and fainted at the sight of him. Joseph asked for a blanket for cover and went inside by the fire. His friends spent the night peeling and scraping the tar from his body, sometimes taking off layers of skin with it.Alibi of Symonds Ryder – “At Symonds Ryder’s funeral (in 1870), his son Hartwell Ryder spoke of his father and said all these glowing things. Then he said, ‘On the books of the Mormon Church out in Utah, it says that Symonds Ryder led the tarring and feathering of Joseph Smith,’” Hartwell, his son, then said, “I well remember that night. My father was extremely ill and spent the night in the outhouse.” a.) But it appears that perhaps Susan Easton Black was distorting the story.  The source found said the following – After the event, if anyone inquired of the whereabouts of any of the mobbers of 24 March, an appropriate alibi was ready. These alibis were even passed to the next generation. For example, according to Ryder’s son, Hartwell, Ryder was not involved in the tarring and feathering of Joseph Smith. Nor did he preach on the following Sunday in the south schoolhouse on Ryder Road and glory that he had been an instrument of the Lord in driving the Mormons out of Hiram. Instead, Hartwell wrote, Ryder was “ill in bed at the time.” Clark Braden: Marinda Nancy Johnson (Hyde)’s brother “Eli” led the mob against Joseph in Hiram because he had been “too intimate with his sister Marinda (17 – born june 28, 1815), who afterwards married Orson Hyde.  Brigham Young, in after years, twitted Hyde with this fact, and hyde, on learning its truth, put away his wife, although they had several children”Genealogical archives in SLC show that Hyde did in fact take “Nancy” on July 31st 1857 and have her sealed “for eternity” to Joseph Smith.  (Sealing? April 1842)Joseph Smith in the handwriting of Thomas Bullock  – Joseph Smith’s journal contains a list of a few of his plural wives written after the July 14, 1843, entry in the handwriting of Thomas Bullock: “Apri 42 marinda Johnson to Joseph Smith.” – Photography of hologram in Richard E. Turley, Jr. Selected Collections from the Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2002)Brian Hales: “It is not known whether the statement “let my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph in all things whatsoever he shall teach unto her” is a general admonition or a specific reference, perhaps to plural marriage.”Hales – Generally, a signed affidavit is considered more reliable than an entry in a journal by a scribe from an unknown source, but whether the first date is in error or two sealing ceremonies were performed is unclear.Brian Hales – “Marinda personally testified concerning a second sealing through a signed affidavit “that on the [blank] day of May A.D. 1843, at the City of Nauvoo, County of Hancock, State of Illinois, She was married or Sealed to Joseph Smith, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by Brigham Young, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, of Said Church, according to the laws of the same, regulating Marriage; in the presence of Eliza Maria Partridge Lyman, and Emily Dow Partridge Young.”Brian Hales- “The relationship between Joseph Smith and Marinda Nancy Johnson is difficult to decipher due to a lack of evidence. Todd Compton assessed: “For such an important woman, Marinda is surprisingly under-documented. I know of no holograph by her and have found only four letters to her.” “Marinda left no known reference to the marriage [with Joseph Smith], beyond signing an affidavit attesting that it happened.””John D Lee – “Hyde’s wife, with his consent, was sealed to Joseph for an eternal state.”Brian Hales – “If the 1842 date for the sealing between Joseph and Marinda’s marriage is correct, then Joseph may have been sealed to Marinda in an eternity-only sealing without Orson Hyde’s knowledge.”Marinda, while Orson was on his mission in Jerusalem “had to live in a little log house whose windows had no glass but in place of which were pieces of greased paper…A little cornmeal and a few groceries were all the provisions remaining to sustain her and the little ones.”.  Noting Marinda’s living conditions, Joseph Smith received the following revelation dated December 2, 1841: “Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph. that inasmuch as you have called upon me to know my will concerning my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde  Behold it is my will that she should have a better place prepared for her than that in which she now lives…and let my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph in all things whatsoever he shall teach unto her…”Hales “The details of the relationship between Marinda and the Prophet will probably never be known. If Marinda had chosen Joseph as her eternal husband, she apparently changed her mind because she chose to be sealed to her legal husband Orson Hyde in the Nauvoo temple on January 11, 1846”Hales – “Marinda Nancy Johnson relocated to Salt Lake City in 1852 and later divorced Orson Hyde and was resealed by proxy to Joseph Smith. She died in 1886, having kept the faith in the Church.”William Hall – Hall, William, The Abominations of Mormonism Exposed; containing many Facts and Doctrines concerning that singular people during seven years’ membership with them, from 1840 to 1847, Cincinnati: I. hart, 1852, excerpts. – Hall claims that Orson hyde agreed to give Joseph all his money and his wife in order to be permitted back into the Church after his apostasyArthur Deming 3rd hand from Rev. Whitney (Newell K Whitney’s Brother – hostile to the church) – He stated that one of the party who tarred and feathered Sydney Rigdon and Jo Smith at John Johnson’s, in Hiram, O., informed him that Rigdon said to their assailants he presumed they were gentlemen, but Jo Smith fought until overpowered. A doctor present offered to castrate Jo and said he would warrant him to live. It was not done. Several of Johnson’s sons were of the party. They were angry because their father was urged by Jo and Rigdon to let them have his property. He finally did give them some of it, and moved to Kirtland and kept tavern, and his son Luke became one of the first Mormon Twelve Apostles.Marinda Nancy Johnson – “Here I feel like bearing my testimony that during the whole year that Joseph was an inmate of my father’s house I never saw aught in his daily life or conversation to make me doubt his divine mission.”Van Wagoner perhaps quoting Marvin Hill – That an incident between Smith and Nancy Johnson precipitated the mobbing is unlikely. Sidney Rigdon was attacked just as viciously by the group as was Smith. And the leader of the mob, Simonds Ryder, later said that the attack occurred because members of the mob had found some documents that led them to believe “the horrid fact that a plot was laid to take their property from them and place it under the control of Smith” (Hill 1977, 146).John Johnson had no son Eli . His only sons were John, Jr., Luke, Olmstead, and Lyman (Newell and Avery 1984, 41).”.  BUT WAIT – Joseph Smith or scribe Willard Richards says in the manuscript history of the church – “I would remark that nothing important had occurred since I came to reside at father Johnson’s house in Hiram; I had held meetings on the sabbaths and evenings and baptized a number. Father Johnsons Son, Olmsted Johnson, about this time [March, 1832] came home on a visit, during which I told him if he did not obey the gospel, the spirit he was of would lead him to destruction, and when he went away, he would never return or see his father again…. In addition to the apostate Ezra Booth, Symonds Rider, Eli Johnson, Edward Johnson and John Johnson jr. had apostatized…. soon after [at the Johnson house on the 24th of March] the mob burst open the door and surrounded the bed in an instant, and, as I said, the first I knew I was going out of the door in the hands of an infuriated mob… I was immediately confined… they swore by God, they would kill me if I did not be still, which quieted me…. one cried, ‘Simonds, Simonds, where’s the tar bucket?’ ‘I don’t know’ answered one, ‘where ’tis, Eli’s left it.’… by morning I was ready to be clothed again. This being Sabbath morning, the people assembled for meeting at the usual hour of worship, and among those came also the mobbers; viz: Simonds Rider, a Campbelite preacher, and leader of the mob; one McClentic, son of a Campbelite preacher, and Pelatiah Allen, Esq. who gave the mob a barrel of whiskey to raise their spirits; and many others.”Fawn Brodie was in fact incorrect in naming Eli Johnson as Mirinda’s brother. Eli was actually a name of one of her uncles. According to LDS family search.com. Eli was a uncle, brother to Mirinda’s father, John. Son of Israel Johnson wich may have been enough to be motivated by Joseph ‘s sexual advances with his niece not his sister and the fact that he believed that Joseph was also using his position to take the Johnson farm…it should be pointed out that in this Joseph succeeded since John Johnson did in fact give a portion of his property to smith and did eventually marry Mirinda as one of his plural wives.Luke Johnson – “[W]hile Joseph was yet at my father’s, a mob of forty or fifty came to his house, a few entered his room in the middle of the night, and Carnot Mason dragged Joseph out of bed by the hair of his head; he was then seized by as many as could get hold of him, and taken about forty rods from the house, stretched on a board, and tantalized in the most insulting and brutal manner; they tore off the few night clothes that he had on, for the purpose of emasculating him, and had Dr. Dennison there to perform the operation [castration]; but when the Dr. saw the Prophet stripped and stretched on the plank, his heart failed him, and he refused to operate. The mob … in attempting to force open his jaws, they broke one of his front teeth to pour a vial of some obnoxious drug [aqua-fortis, a poison] into his mouth. The mob [then] became divided [because they] did not succeed, … but [instead had to settle for] poured tar over him, and then stuck feathers in it and left him … [then] part of the mob went to the house that Sidney Rigdon occupied, and dragged him out, and besmeared him with tar and feathers. Persons identified as being part of this attack besides Mason and Dr. Dennison, included Simonds Ryder, Warren Waste, Jacob Scott, a man named Fullar, and Eli Johnson. Many of these men had recently apostatized from the church” “The History of Luke Johnson (By Himself.,),” Deseret News 8 (May 26, 1858)Strange he would refer to his brother or uncle without mentioning the relationship.Also is it possible that Eli is short for Lyman aks Ly/Eli? Lyman also has an alibi, he was on an eastern mission for much of 1832.  he was with Orson Pratt continuously from Feb 3 to Nov 8FairMormon- Eli was partially blind, fond of drink, disgruntled, the village tale-bearer, and lived in outhouses (apparently not a big property owner). He is known to have lived his last 50 years in Battleboro, NH (1809-1859), posing further difficulty for him being in Ohio for long and being Clark Braden’s source. He would have been around 50 when Joseph was tarred and feathered and not easily mistaken for Marinda’s brother.Richard Bushman – The men who attacked Joseph Smith were respectable people who for some reason detested him. https://www.byutv.org/db5b29ab-142f-45fd-bbb6-d49ee6e7c34b/joseph-smith-papers-visions-and-blessings-tar-and-feathers?player-open=true&listid=874e14b6-098f-453a-b472-39c19a18f20e&listindex=25&content-id=db5b29ab-142f-45fd-bbb6-d49ee6e7c34b F.) Conclusion While there is some data lending credibility to the claim of sexual misconduct being at least part of the motive of the 24th March 1832 such as the attempted Castration and the later allegations and sealing/marriage of Smith to Marinda Nancy Hyde, this is weak at best and is clouded by the errors created by Fawn Brodie and perpetuated by critics who wish to see misconduct on the part of Mormon Leaders at every turn.There may have been multiple motives of the mob but it seems the clearest explanation for the events of that night can be best understood by the words of Symonds Ryder himself.Symonds Ryder later defended his actions against Smith and the Mormons, explaining that the attack was not a manifestation of religious intolerance. In fact, the people of Hiram were “liberal” and “disposed to turn out and hear” the Mormons and other religions. The attacks, Ryder argued, came in response to “the horrid fact that a plot was laid to take their property from them and place it under the control of Joseph Smith the prophet.” Ryder defended his actions and was pleased with the result of the violence.  “This had the desired effect, which was to get rid of them. They [the Mormons] soon left for Kirtland.”  ( Symonds Ryder, “Letter to A.S. Hayden,” 1 February 1868, in Amos Sutton Hayden, Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve (Cincinnati: Chase and Hall, 1875), 220-21)Hence we (myself included) need to quit perpetuating the story about Eli and his sister Marinda Nancy Hyde and focus on the thousand other legitimate places to raise criticism and expose problematic history.Possible Concluding Statement – Thesis TARRED AND FEATHERED: MORMONS, MEMORY, AND RITUAL VIOLENCE by John Kimball Alexander “The motives of the mob are best understood as a public manifestation of the personal feud between Smith and Rigdon, and Ryder and Booth. When Booth and Ryder left Mormonism, they seemed to believe that their attacks against Smith and Rigdon would go unchallenged and result in the fall of Mormonism. One man wrote that Booth gave Mormons “such a coloring, or appearance of falsehood, that the public feeling was, that ‘Mormonism’ was overthrown.”51 Yet Smith and Rigdon launched a campaign against Booth and Ryder that rebuffed their accusations and discredited both men. Particularly Ryder, the likely organizer and leader of the mob, seemed determined to pursue a personal vendetta against Smith and Rigdon. Ryder claimed that the central factor was property, especially the perceived loss of property among Smith’s followers and the corresponding accumulation of property in Smith’s hands. The doctrine of Mormonism that would come to be called the Law of Consecration required members to deed their property to the Church to be used collectively for the benefit of all Mormons under the oversight of Mormon leaders. Individual Mormons would then receive land back from the Church as “stewardships’ from which they were to provide for their families and then distribute any excess for the care of the poor. This redistribution of property and wealth caused a fury amongst some Mormons who viewed private property ownership as a central component of their broader American identity. Ryder and Booth’s war of words against Smith and Rigdon, combined with charges of property aggrandizement against Smith, generated an atmosphere wherein generally peaceful Ohioans resorted to violence in an effort to protect both reputation and property.”RESOURCES: The Tarring and Feathering of Joseph Smith https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/primary-5/lesson-21?lang=eng https://www.loc.gov/item/2003654762/ https://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/57996-why-was-joseph-smith-really-tarred-and-feathered/ Joseph and Sidney Are Tarred and Feathered http://www.fourth-millennium.net/family-travels/warren-waste-articles.html https://collections.lib.utah.edu/dl_files/90/95/90952bc05f541dc324afb5725a0dc6a7e34be159.pdf https://www.ldsliving.com/when-a-mob-failed-to-murder-the-prophet-joseph-smith-twice/s/89143 https://www.byutv.org/player/db5b29ab-142f-45fd-bbb6-d49ee6e7c34b/joseph-smith-papers-visions-and-blessings-tar-and-feathers?listid=874e14b6-098f-453a-b472-39c19a18f20e&listindex=25 Tarred & Feathered http://scottgemmell.blogspot.com/2010/10/tar-and-feathering-of-prophet-joseph.html?m=1 Some Events following the Tarring and Feathering of Joseph Smith https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/minutes-17-february-1833/1#foot-notes https://journals.tplondon.com/ijor/article/view/1104/854 Brief Timeline of Events in Hiram, Ohio https://texags.com/forums/15/topics/606504 https://www.ranker.com/list/history-of-tarring-and-feathering/rachel-souerbry http://www.mormonthink.com/essays-peace-and-violence.htm https://cdm15999.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15999coll31/id/18156 http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/oh/paintel2.htm