Nauvoo Expositor, June 7, 1844
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Nauvoo Expositor NAUVOO, ILLINOIS, JUNE 7, 1844. We give th is week to th e follow ing Pream ble, his atributes [sic]. It speaks a language which is heard Resolutions and Affidavits, of the Seceders from the amidst the roar of A rtill ery , as w ell as in the silence Church at N auvoo.-- T he r equ est is complied with of m idn igh t: i t spe ak s a language understood by the on account of their deeming it very important that incarcerated spirit, as wel l as he w ho is unfettered the pu blic sh ou ld k no w the tr ue cause of their and free; yet to those who w ill not see, it is dark, dissenting, as all manner of falsehood is spread my steriou s, and secret as th e grave. abroad in rel ati on to th e sch ism in th e C hu rch . In We believe that all men, professing to be the our subsequent numbers several affidavits will be ministers of God, should keep steadily in view, the published, to substantiate the facts alleged. Hereafter, honor and glory of God, the salvation of souls, and no further Church proceedings will appear in our the am eliorati on of man's condition: and among col um ns, except in the fo rm of brief their cardinal virtues ought to be found those of communications.--ED. faith, hope, virtue and charity; but with Joseph Smith, and many other official characters in the Pream ble. Church, they are w ords w itho ut an y meanings attached-worn as ornaments; exotics nurtured for It is with the greatest solicitude for the salvation of display; virtues which, throwing aside the existence the Human Family , and of our own souls, that we of a God, the peace, happiness, welfare, and good have this day assembled. Feign would we have order of society, require that they should be slumbered, and "like the Dove that covers and preserved pure, imm aculate and uncorroded. conceals the arrow that is preying upon its vitals," We most solemnly and sincerely declare, God this for the sake of avoiding the furious and turbulent Day being w itn ess of the t ru th and sincerity of our storm of persecution which will gather, soon to designs and statements, that happy will it be with bu rst upon ou r heads, have cover ed and concealed th ose wh o examine and scan Joseph Smith's that which, for a season, has been brooding among pretensions to righteousness; and take counsel of the ruins of our peace: but we rely upon the arm of hum an affairs, and of the experience of times gone Jehovah, the Supreme Arbiter of the world, to by. Do not y ield up tranquilly a superiority to that whom we th is day, and upon this occasion, appeal man which the reasonableness of past events, and the for the rec tit ud e of o ur inten tio ns. laws of our country declare to be pernicious and If that God w ho gave bounds to the mighty deep, diabolical. W e hope man y item s of doctrine, as now and bade the ocean cease--if that God w ho organized taught, some of which, however, are taught secretly, the physical world, and gave infinity to space, be our and denied openly, (which we know positively is the front guard and our rear ward, it is futile and vain case,)and others publicly , considerate men will treat for man to raise his puny arm against us. God will with contempt; for we declare them heretical and inspire his ministers with courage and with damnable in th eir in fluence, though they find many understanding to consummate his purposes; and, if dev otees. How shall he, who had drank of the it is necessary, he can snatch them from the fiery poisonous draft, teach virtue? In the stead th ereof, furnace, or the Lion's den; as he did anciently the when the criminal ought to plead guilty to the court, three H ebrew s from the former, and Daniel from the the court is obliged to plead guilty to the criminal. latter. We appeal to hu manity and ask, what shall we do? As for ou r acquaintance w ith the C hur ch of Jesus Shall we lie supinely and suffer ou rselves to be C hr ist of L att er D ay Sain ts, we kn ow , no m an or set metamo rphosed into beasts by the Sy ren to ngue? We of men can be more thoroughly acquainted with its amsw er that our country and our God requ ire that rise, its organization, and its history, than we have we should rectify the tree. We have called upon him every reason to believe w e are. W e all verily believe, to repent, and as soon as he shewed fruits meet for and many of us know of a surety, that the religion of repentance, we stood ready to seize him by the hand the Latter Day Saints, as originally taught by Joseph of fellowship, and throw arou nd him the mantle of Smith, which is contained in the Old and N ew protection; for it i s the salv ati on of soul s w e desi re, Testam ent s, Book of Covenants, and Book of and not our own aggrandizement. Mormon, is verily true; and that t he pu re pri ncipl es We are earnestly seeking to explode the vicious set forth in those books, are the immutable and prin ciples of Joseph Smith, an d tho se wh o practice eternal principles of Heaven, and speaks a langu age the same abominations and whoredoms; which we which, when spoken in truth and virtue, sinks deep verily kno w are not accordant and consonant with into the heart of every honest man.--Its precepts are the principles of Jesus Ch rist and the A postles; and invigo rating, and in every sense of the word, tend to for that p urp ose, and w ith that end in view , with an dignify and ennoble man's conceptions of God and eye single to the glory of God, we have dared to gird on the armo r, and w ith G od at our h ead, we m ost portion of th e glo be, as th ey supposed, to glo rify solemnly and sincerely declare that the sword of God, that they might thereby stand acquitted in the truth shall not depart from the thigh, nor the great day of God Al mighty . But what is tau ght th em buck ler from the arm, until we can enjoy th ose on their arrival at this place?- They are visited by glorious privileges which nature's God and our some of the Strikers, for we know not w hat else to country's law s have guarantied to us-freedom of call them, and are requested to hold on and be speech, the liber ty of the press, and the right to faithful, for there are great blessings awaiting the w orship God as seemeth u s good.-W e are aw are, righteous; and that God has great mysteries in store however, that we are hazarding every earthly for those wh o lov e the lord, an d cling to br other blessing, particul arl y propert y ,an d pr obabl y life Joseph. They are also notified that Brother Joseph itself, in striking this blow at tyranny and oppresion: will see them soon, and rev eal the m ysteries of yet notw ithstanding we m ost solemnly declare that H eaven to their full understanding, which seldom no man, or set of men combined, shall, with fails to inspire them with new confidence in the impunity , violate obligations as sacred as many Prophet, as w ell as a great anxiety to kn ow wh at which have been violated unless reason, justice and God has laid up in store for them, in return for the virtue have become ashamed and sought the haunts great sacrifice of father of mother, of gold and silver, of the grave, th ough our lives be th e forfeiture. which they gladly left far behind, that they might be Many of us have sought a reformation in the gathered into th e fold, and num bered among the church, without a public exposition of the chosen of God.--They are visited again, and what is enormities of cr im es pr acticed by its l eaders, the result? They are requ ested to m eet bro ther thinking that if they would hearden to counsel, and Joseph, or som e of the T welve, at som e insulated shew fruit meet for repentance, it w ould be as point, or at some particularly described palce on the acceptable with G od, as though they were expo sed bank of the Mississippi, o r at som e room , w hich to pu blic gaze, wears upon its fron t--Positively NO Admittance. The harmless, inoffensive, and unsuspecting "Fo r t he pr ivate pat h, th e secr et acts o f men, If creatu res, are so devoted to the Prophet, and the noble, for the noblest of their lives." cause of Jesus Christ, that they do not dream of the deep laid and fatal scheme which prostr ates but our petitions were treated with contempt; and in hap piness, and ren der s death itself desireable; but many cases the petitioner spurned from their they meet him, expecting to receive through him a presence and particularly by Joseph, w ho would blessing, and learn the will of the Lord concerning state that if he had sinned, and was guilty of the them , and w hat awaits the faithful follower of charges we would charge him with, he w ould not Joseph, the Apostle and Prophet of God, W hen in make acknow ledgment, but would rather be the stead thereof, th ey are told, after having been damned; for it would detract from his dignity, and sworn in on e of the m ost solem n manners, to never wou ld consequently ruin and prove the overthrow divulge what is revealed to them, with a penalty of of the Chur ch.