Why blow blue smoke up Wentworth's dress?

[_sock puppet]

JSJr was one of the most prolific scofflaws of the first half of the 19th Century in America. As explained by Ron Esplin about a series of the Joseph Smith Papers Project regarding legal matters:

Unraveling obscure references, trying to understand unusual settings, and exploring long-forgotten history has taken us into many nooks and crannies, shedding light on things we didn't understand well before. Nowhere is this more true than with the legal series. There are several times more cases and other entanglements before the law than we knew about, and our legal experts are, perhaps for the first time in a hundred years, coming to really understand prevailing law in the jurisdictions where Smith functioned. Only now have we come to appreciate the extent of his legal entanglements--nearly two hundred times before a magistrate as plaintiff or defendant—and the time and resources these demanded. The extensive toll in terms of time and energy, not to mention finances, required to fend off legal challenges makes one wonder how he had resources enough for anything else.

So, what was that master spin doctor, JSJr, trying to pull when writing the Wentworth letter (since canonized as the LDS Articles of Faith), specifically in #12:

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

From JSJr, that's about as believable as it would be for me to claim to believe the truth claims of the LDS Church.

So, why did this prolific scofflaw claim that Mormons believe in obeying and sustaining the law? Did he really think by saying it Wentworth would belief such tripe?

[_Dr. Shades]

So, why did this prolific scofflaw claim that Mormons believe in obeying and sustaining the law? Did he really think by saying it Wentworth would belief such tripe?

He probably meant it when referring to Mormons other than himself.

[_Drifting]

Sock, when Joseph Smith Junior stated that he believed in obeying the law he meant HIS law rather than THE law. Simples...

[_sock puppet]

Oh, I get it now, Dr Shades and Drifting. It was a precursor statement to the formation of the Council of 50, where JSJr would himself be the 'kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates' to which Mormons would be subject.

[_Dr. Shades]

It was a precursor statement to the formation of the Council of 50, where JSJr would himself be the 'kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates' to which Mormons would be subject.

Good observation! I hadn't made that connection before.