Joseph did NOT "seal his testimony with his blood"

[_Tommy]

Oh ye fools! I grow tired of these games. Wait, this is a public forum correct? Not a private meeting with church-paid employees? My apologies.

What I wanted to ask, my dear brothers and sisters is, have ye not read the many testaments of Elder Holland? I am particularly disappointed in Brother Shades, for not long ago, brother Ray brought to us a feast of the Spirit. He recounted a story of Elder Holland and his son lost in the wilderness as Nephi of old. When presented with a fork in the road they prayed and the Spirit unanimously testified that they should continue onward, left. They went left and quickly reached a dead end. The boy then was due for a moment of teaching from a senior apostle. Elder Holland explained that now they could proceed right with full confidence that this would be the right path.

Now hearken brother Shades and others as I reveal unto you a mystery. When General Smith headed for the window, it was a supreme act of selflessness. By bravely hurling himself through the window in prayer and then falling to his soon death, he gave confidence to the other brethren that this was the wrong way to go. Because of this selfless act, John Taylor became president of the church as the Lord had planned.

[_Danna]

The threat was at the door. Hyrum was dead, John Taylor seriously wounded. Richards was barely holding the door, so the prophet headed out the window. If he wanted to sacrifice himself, he would have opened the door. He had earlier stated that the apostates/mob only wanted the Smith brothers.

Analytics analysis looks spot on. Here is a copy of the Nauvoo Expositorfrom Uncle Dale's site.

Polygamy may have been seen as but one of the abuses arising from the growing theocracy.

[_Inconceivable]

Analytics & Danna,

Yours is the perspective I see from as well.

I honestly think there were basically God fearing good people that felt the man needed to be taken out. The Smiths twisted the laws to suit them. The Nauvoo Charter was a slap in the face of what the U.S. Constitution stood for (and what many had given their lives for). Frontier justice, in this particular instance, made the world a better place to raise one's family in peace.

[_Dr. Shades]

Now hearken brother Shades and others as I reveal unto you a mystery.

O.K.

When General Smith headed for the window, it was a supreme act of selflessness. By bravely hurling himself through the window in prayer and then falling to his soon death, he gave confidence to the other brethren that this was the wrong way to go. Because of this selfless act, John Taylor became president of the church as the Lord had planned.

Oh, so Joseph used it as his one final object lesson? How 'bout that.

You know, I hadn't thought of it that way. I now see the error of my previous assumption. Thank you for taking the time to set me straight, President Monson.

Have a wonderful day.

[_bcspace]

Having the Nauvoo Expositor declared a nuisance (as mayor, and over the objections of non-mormon councilors). (to prevent the NE printing further accounts of illicit sexual activity).

Engaging in illicit sexual relationships (which were exposed by the Nauvoo Expositor).

Was the Expositor correct about these sexual relationships? CFR

[_Dr. Shades]

Was the Expositor correct about these sexual relationships?

Yes.

CFR

FamilySearch.org

[_Analytics]

Was the Expositor correct about these sexual relationships?

Yes.

CFR

FamilySearch.org

Also, see the revelation known as Section 132.

[_Black Moclips]

I would like a CFR on the whole content of the Expositor. Of course its the TBM response that it was "full of lies", while the critic advocates that it was a truthful expose. Has someone done a critical analysis/fact check on the contact? Did the Expositor claim something that has been proven untrue? I know that some of the content makes unverifiable assertions. But there are some things that can be investigated. For example, the document makes the claim that many of those involved with the Expositor were tried by the church without prior notice and excommunicated without a chance to defend themselves. Did that happen or not? Does anyone know?

An interesting side note is that Quinn believes the Expositor was really destroyed because it threatened to detail in future releases the political ambitions that Joseph Smith was aspiring to and his negotiations with foreign countries. That was something I hadn't heard before. And if you read through it, much of the issue does deal with politics, local elections, the bid for president, etc.

[_Inconceivable]

..For example, the document makes the claim that many of those involved with the Expositor were tried by the church without prior notice and excommunicated without a chance to defend themselves. Did that happen or not? Does anyone know?

It's been a couple years since I researched this issue. I recollect that the Law brothers were to testify at their excommunication proceedings. The day prior to the meeting, the leadership assembled and excommunicated them.

[_The Nehor]

If we insist on saying there is one thing that he “sealed with his blood”, I’d say that he sealed his denials of polygamy with his own blood. He destroyed the Expositor because it told the truth about polygamy.

I think the possibility of mobs was the bigger fear.

But to really understand why Joseph Smith was so hated, it was because of his unchecked political power. In Nauvoo, he had a city charter which granted the city council powers which, according to his interpretation, superseded the authority of the state and federal governments.

Yes.

He had one of the biggest militias in the nation to enforce his power when challenged by state authorities.

The biggest militia. And when he was threatened and things were destabilizing he disbanded them. Probably a bad move on his part.

He has a huge body of loyal followers who vote as a block in state elections. He flagrantly promises politicians in state-wide elections the vote of his followers in exchange for personal favors. When he didn’t need political favors, he indicated for the saints to vote in the way which gave him the most power.

And?

He controlled all branches of the local government, and had layers of loyal followers in secret combinations including those endowed, his free masonry connections, and his council of the 50. Like a power-drunk hypocrite, he ran around secretly practicing polygamy, not only in flagrant violation of society’s norms but also in flagrant violation of the laws of his own church. His followers were totally in the dark about this. He was the general, mayor, and prophet.

Yeah.

In a free society, how does one combat a tyrant with so much power and an insatiable appetite for more power?

Insatiable appetite for power? If that was the case, you would've thought he would have had the Saints fight (and win). Generally, in this case you arrest the guy which is what happened. Then they murdered him in jail. This wasn't self-defense or some idealistic fight. This was taking out what they thought was a nuisance because they hated him.

On the frontier, there were two schools of thought: use the freedom of the press to try to persuade his followers to stop empowering this guy, or simply resort to frontier justice and take the tyrant out.

After the authorities have already captured him and he's beyond help, of course.

When understood in that context, the reaction to the destruction of the Expositor takes on a new level of significance.

Yeah, there are people on the Internet who'll defend murderers who attack jails to kill prisoners who have already offered to pay for property damage that supposedly kicked off the attack.