Some say natural causes, heavy metal poisoning, just like his oldest brother Alvin.
Both Joseph Smith and his younger brother accumulated large amounts of the highly toxic element lead, even though with Alvin the doctor administered too high a dose of mercury.
All three were perhaps accidental human targets for heavy metal receptacles not ideal nor compatible for living organisms.
Accumulating such a rapid influx of heavy metals into their system, naturally they died.
First, do not forget to well up when you tall the story of a poor innocent farm boy whose search for truth made him the greatest foe Satan had ever been up against.
Satan inspired Joseph's enemies at every turn to stop Joseph thereby stopping the Restoration. (Cuz, uh, the omniscient God of the Ages couldn't manage it any other way.)
So Joseph and Hyrum were just sitting there praying,(crapping their pants) and communing with the spirit, (also known as a glass of wine), and Satan got some people so worked up that they stormed the place. They shot Hyrum and Joseph got shot just standing by the window and got shot and fell out and lay there on the ground like an angel.
It was just horrible the way all those people believed Satan's lies. The Governor Bogs, the Masons, and so many fathers and husbands.
.....and thankfully MORmON Jesus is also a genius!!!!
There is Joseph Smith, the greatest prophet ever right in the middle of attempting the critically needed great restoration of the original church, and then MORmON Jesus remembered.....because Joseph inquired about the topic -Joseph Smith must start a wife collection/ MORmON harem in the interest of "the restoration of all things" which causes all kinds of problems .....but the holy wife collecting could NOT be dispensed with.
Next big thing, the greatest prophet EVER ends up dead over matter, because even though MORmON Jesus could provide Joseph Smith with divine manifestations, the golden plates, the power to translate the gold plates, an angel with a sword to compel Joseph Smith into following through on having plural wives, MORmON Jesus can NOT do enough to prevent his greatest prophet from being shot down like a rabid dog over the wife collecting that MORmON Jesus mandated. . ...BRILLIANT!!!!
I think there is a huge divide over pre and post correlation.
In the 60s we learned of the two pistols, the singing of a poor wayfering man of grief, the multiple gunshots to John Taylor and the relative unscathing of Willard Richards.
Richards was the only one wearing temple garments and contributed to the legend of their protective powers.
In fact the pistols were on display for decades in Salt Lake.
What we didn't really focus on was why Joseph was in Jail other than the standard "trumped up" charges.
There was also the story of the "ruffian" that tried to behead Joseph after he died but a "beam of light" paralysed him and caused the mob to flee.
As for a written account, John Taylor's account is part of the doctrine and covenants. We studied it in church and seminary.
We were never told about JS having a pistol smuggled to him in jail, but the emphasis was on him saying that he was going like an innocent lamb to the slaughter.
As Heartless said, no one ever explained the real reasons why JS and the others were put in jail.
One of the Sunday School teachers knew all about the history and tried to tell the truth; that went over like a lead balloon. He was soon called into the bishop's office for a come to Jesus meeting and was immediately released from that "calling".
I have learned that Joseph Smith was an innocent lamb going to the slaughter. Just like Jesus Christ who died innocent on the cross so was Joseph Smith murdered so that we can have our eternal covenant back on this earth today.Joseph Smith has restored to full gospel of Jesus Christ back on this earth. No I did not know that Joseph Smith drank alcohol, had a gun when the mop came in. I did not know about the printing press that Joseph Smith had ordered to be destroyed because they had printed the Nauvoo Expositor. I knew that polygamy was so that the widows would be taken care of but I did not know that JS had married women who had already husbands. In my mind JS was almost as important as Jesus Christ. I admired him that he even died for the truth.
I learned Joseph Smith’s use of a Masonic distress signal failed to save him and he fell out of an upper story window and landed by a well. I’m sure the mob was having fun with him until someone shouted the Mormon Legion is coming and the mob scattered.
Anyways the idiots made Joseph Smith a martyr instead of letting him self-destruct and ruin his image. Now we are stuck with hearing how the con artist womanizer sealed his testimony with his blood and was the best prophet next to Jesus Christ.
I learned that whoever killed him would be in BIG BIG trouble.
I read the book "The Fate of the Persecutors of JS" -- or some such title. I learned later it was full of lies, but when I first read it, it scared me out of my mind. I swore that I would never kill any prophet of God, because if I did, God would zap me with lightning.
I learned that a true Prophet must seal his testimony with blood, so despite the fact that the bad guys were VERY VErY bad, it was important that JS's blood be shed so his testimony could be sealed. Same thing with Jesus. It was important that he die so we could be saved, but the Roman soldiers were still the bad guys, or maybe it was the Jews. Anyway Jesus HAD to die, or be sacrificed so he could come alive again and we could all be saved, so maybe Judas did a Good Thing.
I RECENTLY learned that the song Praise to the Man was written shortly after JS's death by WW Phelps, who was real tore up about it. I think it was originally sung to a different tune, but despite the fact that I know "the truth" I always get worked up when I hear the MTC or "The choir at Temple Square," or whatever they call themselves these days -- anyway they do a rousing job of singing it, and I feel worked up and severely annoyed at the same time.
Here is the last verse of the song as ww phelps penned it.
" Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven; Earth must atone for the blood of that man. Wake up the world for the conflict of justice. Millions shall know "Brother Joseph" again."
So take THAT, planet earth. You are going to have to atone for the blood of that man.
Tho in my humble opinion, Earth has been thru enough already.
I have told this story before, but not been regularly on the board, for a long time. so I was in a Sunday school lesson, where we had been watching a film on the martyrdom of JS. You may have even seen the same one yourself.... JS gets sent to jail for trumped up charges, goes willingly, gets shot by angry mob.
after the film the SS teacher invited us to ask questions. fair enough. I asked 'what about JS's gun?' HPGL, 2nd councilor on the bishopric - almost apoplectic - told me to step outside the classroom...
Outside he angrily asked me where I had heard such an outrageous lie. I told him I had read it, and it was in the 'History of the Church'. He did not believe me (or would not accept it) and declined an offer to step over to the cupboard we called 'the ward library' to check our copy of the HoC.
HPGL was an old man, quite well respected in the ward - even by me - and it was quite unsettling to see him in such a light. At that time I had already started my journey out of the cult, but that experience accelerated it immensely
UKexmo101 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have told this story before, but not been > regularly on the board, for a long time. > so > I was in a Sunday school lesson, where we had been > watching a film on the martyrdom of JS. You may > have even seen the same one yourself.... JS gets > sent to jail for trumped up charges, goes > willingly, gets shot by angry mob. > > after the film the SS teacher invited us to ask > questions. fair enough. I asked 'what about JS's > gun?'
Wow, such a tiny detail producing such a gigantic overblown reaction from leadership.
Little did you know, tiny as a pin locking the fuse used in hand grenades.
They knew, they new a pebble could topple a faulty lead bowling pin positioned up front, allowing it to then begin smashing into every domino stacked precariously behind the unstable thing.
Heartless Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Odd reaction from an old timer. The guns were on > display in temple square and later the museum in > Salt Lake for decades.
This was in the UK, hence my screen name HPGL was a convert and - although he converted before I knew him, he may well have converted as an older person.
His main sources of info would have been the limited info provided by missionaries and SS lessons. He wasnt the type to go looking in any other sources, especially not [gasp] any anti-mo literature
I get a bit touchy when people try to say 'Are you sure that's how it went down?' because - after I left the church - I shared that story a few times on some of the old internet 'Bulletin boards'. I was called an outright 'Liar' by some people who decided that 'everyone knew that JS had a gun' and also a Liar by some people who were 100% certain that 'JS never had a gun'
He was killed JUST BECAUSE OF HIS BELIEFS! *cue the weeping and sniffling* He was a MARTYR!! And it had nothing whatever to do with trying to have sex the wives of the wrong men!
that Joseph Smith was (inevitably) killed because Joe was so gosh darn good and virtuous ....just like Jesus!!!!!!!...... .....which was also the same reason that MORmONS were so viciously attacked in Missouri and then forced to go to Utah