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Mad Viking wrote:with my lovely wife. It was a 5th Sunday, so the Priesthood and Relief Society were in a combined class. The lesson was about temples. The instructor was talking about the Nauvoo era. At one point he indicated that Brigham Young was under threat of arrest and death and thus needed to leave Illinois post haste. It reminded me of the days surrounding the destruction of the Expositor where Joseph fled Illinois for a brief period since he was under threat of arrest. To be honest, I had never heard that Brigham was under threat of either death or arrest. What was Brigham to be arrested for?

When enemies of the Church observed this increased temple activity, they renewed their oppression. A new threat against the Church leadership soon came in the form of an indictment issued by the United States District Court in Springfield against Brigham Young and eight other Apostles on charges of instigating and harboring a counterfeiting operation in Nauvoo. On 23 December, government officials approached the temple, hoping to find and arrest Brigham Young. Knowing they were there, Brigham Young knelt down and asked for guidance and protection so that he could “live to prove advantageous to the Saints. 20 He noticed William Miller in the hall, who agreed to act as a decoy. Brother Miller, who was the same height as Brigham, left the temple dressed as Brigham Young and stepped into the president’s carriage. Waiting marshals arrested him and took him to the Mansion House where friends and relatives of Brigham joined in on the charade. Miller was then taken to Carthage. Only after someone there identified him did his captors learn that they had a “bogus Brigham.” Meanwhile Brigham Young and his brethren had gone into safe hiding.

Mad Viking wrote:Counterfieting!?! I've never heard this before. Was there any substance to the charge?

Perhaps before the Civil War the line between « legitimate » and « illegitimate » activity was (in social terms) more permeable than it later became, and the route between « criminality » and « respectability » a two-way one ? It is noteworthy, for instance, that Nauvoo, Illinois, became part of a 'western' counterfeiting nexus in the 1840s. Johnson attributes this to economic decline after the Mormons left for Utah, apparently overlooking early Mormonisms close association with. rural coiners and forgers and, hence, the possibility that Nauvoo's importance as a counterfeiting centre was due not to the Mormons' departure, but to their presence. More attention to the shifting ground of cultural meaning in the nineteenth century might have rounded out this thought-provoking study more fully.

COUNTERFEITS. --" There is a species of counterfeit, extensively circulated in this community, called Nauvoo Bogus. They are half dollars, dated 1828. They are a pretty good imitation of the genuine coin -- so good, that some of our business men have been imposed upon by them. It is said they are manufactured in the City of the Saints.

hatersinmyward wrote:Makes a person wonder how far the deception went. Hopefully Brother Miller got the chance to go at it with some of Brigham's wives while the accused were in hiding.

Fence Sitter wrote:

hatersinmyward wrote:Makes a person wonder how far the deception went. Hopefully Brother Miller got the chance to go at it with some of Brigham's wives while the accused were in hiding.

Have you seen pictures of BY's wives?