{"id":5623,"date":"2025-12-16T15:53:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T22:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/?p=5623"},"modified":"2025-12-16T16:11:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T23:11:53","slug":"carthage-conspiracy-unmasked-how-lds-scholars-twist-joseph-smiths-demise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/2025\/12\/16\/carthage-conspiracy-unmasked-how-lds-scholars-twist-joseph-smiths-demise\/","title":{"rendered":"Carthage Conspiracy Unmasked: How LDS Scholars Twist Joseph Smith’s Demise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Detailed Summary of “Carthage Conspiracy” <\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

by Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

“Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith” by Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill exemplifies a hallmark of modern Mormon apologetics, where rigorous legal and historical analysis serves as a veneer for reframing inconvenient facts\u2014such as Joseph Smith’s provocative destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor, declaration of martial law, and mobilization of the Nauvoo Legion\u2014within a faithful narrative of victimhood and political persecution.<\/p>\n

Despite its secular publication and scholarly acclaim, the book’s central thesis of a “deliberate political assassination” by Hancock County elites subtly preserves the martyrological essence of traditional LDS accounts by shifting emphasis from spontaneous frontier backlash to calculated Gentile conspiracy, thereby minimizing Smith’s agency in escalating the Nauvoo conflicts.<\/p>\n

This approach mirrors contemporary apologists affiliated with institutions like FAIR or the Neal A. Maxwell Institute, who deploy sophisticated source criticism and philosophical framing\u2014drawing on Thoreau, Calhoun, and others\u2014to interpret primary evidence through a pre-existing belief system that privileges Mormon exceptionalism and portrays the church as an aggrieved force for higher law amid democratic failures. Oaks’s later ascent to LDS apostle and Utah Supreme Court justice further underscores how such works integrate academic objectivity with confessional loyalty, whitewashing the theocratic brinkmanship of early Mormonism as mere religious persecution.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake: for a religion that elevates Joseph Smith to a status second only to Jesus Christ\u2014portraying him as a modern prophet whose revelations birthed a restored gospel\u2014its leaders, apologists, and adherents spare no evidentiary effort, contrived or otherwise, to buttress that exalted view. This imperative manifests in works like “Carthage Conspiracy,” where Oaks and Hill meticulously dissect trial transcripts and legal doctrines not merely to illuminate history, but to recast Smith’s fatal provocations\u2014such as razing the Nauvoo Expositor press under color of municipal authority and summoning the Nauvoo Legion amid cries of martial law\u2014as mere symptoms of Gentile intolerance rather than escalatory theocratic overreach. Contemporary parallels abound in outlets like FAIR Mormon or the Interpreter Foundation, which deploy nuanced source criticism, probabilistic modeling of witness testimonies, and appeals to “higher law” philosophy to sanitize doctrinal polygamy scandals, Book of Mormon anachronisms, or Smith’s multiple conflicting First Vision accounts, all while framing critics as conspiratorial antagonists. Such tactics ensure that even damning primary evidence, from affidavits of Nauvoo dissenters to non-Mormon depositions on bloc voting intimidation, is subordinated to a faithful metanarrative of perpetual persecution and divine vindication.<\/p>\n

Here is the description of Joseph Smith’s work written by then Elder John Taylor in the obituary that he wrote after the “Martyrdom” and which is currently recorded as Doctrine and Covenants 135:3. It reads:<\/p>\n

Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord\u2019s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the
\nAccused Assassins of Joseph Smith”<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Publication & Reception<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Published in 1975 by the University of Illinois Press, “Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith” won the Mormon History Association Award for Best Book of the Year in 1976. The work emerged from research the authors began during their student days at the University of Chicago, where they discovered extensive original documents in the Carthage, Illinois, courthouse.<\/p>\n

Central Thesis<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The book’s fundamental argument is that the murders of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum at Carthage jail on June 27, 1844, were not spontaneous acts of mob violence but rather a deliberate political assassination committed or condoned by prominent citizens of Hancock County, Illinois. This reframes the traditional Mormon narrative of martyrdom as a calculated political murder designed to resolve the growing tensions between Mormon and non-Mormon populations in the region.<\/p>\n

Historical Context<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The book situates the murders and subsequent trial within the broader framework of Mormon-non-Mormon conflict in 1840s Illinois. The growing Mormon population in Nauvoo had created significant political, economic, and social tensions with surrounding communities. The immediate trigger for the violence was Joseph Smith’s destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor<\/em>, an anti-Mormon newspaper, which led to charges against him and his imprisonment in Carthage jail.<\/p>\n

The Murder and Defendants<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Five men were indicted for the murders: Thomas C. Sharp, William N. Grover, Jacob C. Davis, and two others. The trial took place in May 1845, nearly a year after the murders, in the same Carthage courthouse. The defendants were all acquitted despite evidence suggesting a broader conspiracy involving leading citizens of the county.<\/p>\n

Legal Analysis<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the book’s major contributions is its sophisticated legal analysis. The authors examine the prosecution’s strategy, which relied on proving conspiracy since only establishing who pulled the trigger would not implicate the broader network of perpetrators. The prosecution faced enormous challenges: unfriendly witnesses, a hostile environment, and remarkably, the refusal of Mormon Church leaders to cooperate. Even Apostle John Taylor, who was present during the murders and was himself wounded, actively avoided being subpoenaed, going to great lengths not to testify. This Mormon reluctance to participate stemmed from a desire to maintain peace and avoid further conflict.<\/p>\n

Throughout the narrative, Oaks (who would later become a Utah Supreme Court justice and LDS apostle) provides expert legal commentary, analyzing the attorneys’ arguments, explaining relevant law, and critiquing the legal strategies employed by both sides.<\/p>\n

Philosophical Framework<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

A central intellectual contribution of the book involves exploring profound questions about authority and justice in a democratic society. The authors examine the tension between the rule of law and popular sovereignty, asking: What is the ultimate source of authority in a democracy? Should citizens recognize a “higher law” above statutory law? Can juries legitimately excuse crimes through appeal to popular approval or community sentiment?<\/p>\n

These philosophical questions are addressed primarily in the introduction and concluding chapter, drawing on thinkers including Henry David Thoreau, John C. Calhoun, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Roscoe Pound. However, the trial participants themselves provide compelling practical answers to these theoretical questions throughout the proceedings.<\/p>\n

Trial Proceedings<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The book provides extensive detail on the trial itself, including:<\/p>\n