The Prophet's Last Ride, Nauvoo, IL (2)
Nauvoo, IL (Hancock County)
“I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; But I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me — he was murdered in cold blood.”
Joseph Smith uttered these prophetic words June 24, 1844, in the final moments of what would be his final horse ride from his beloved Nauvoo. He was dead three days later.
Yet much about the man, his life and his faith can be gleaned from that mounted journey to Carthage, Ill. It wasn't a pleasure ride. He had been ordered by Illinois Gov. Thomas Ford to ride to Carthage from Nauvoo and turn himself in to state authorities to answer treason charges. Though resigned to his fate, Joseph Smith perhaps took comfort that he didn't travel alone. He was flanked by his older brother, Hyrum, who would himself become a martyr inside Carthage Jail. Death awaited, yet Joseph was calm. His conscience was clear.
Now Nauvoo visitors can better visualize Joseph's and Hyrum's final moments of freedom. A heroic-sized bronze statue capturing the Smith brothers' historic horseback sojourn to Carthage was placed Dec. 8 in a pedestrian plaza west of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple. (1)
References (1) Deseret News www.deseret.com/2003/12/13/20783878/prophet-s-last-ride-i...
The Prophet's Last Ride, Nauvoo, IL (2)
Nauvoo, IL (Hancock County)
“I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; But I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me — he was murdered in cold blood.”
Joseph Smith uttered these prophetic words June 24, 1844, in the final moments of what would be his final horse ride from his beloved Nauvoo. He was dead three days later.
Yet much about the man, his life and his faith can be gleaned from that mounted journey to Carthage, Ill. It wasn't a pleasure ride. He had been ordered by Illinois Gov. Thomas Ford to ride to Carthage from Nauvoo and turn himself in to state authorities to answer treason charges. Though resigned to his fate, Joseph Smith perhaps took comfort that he didn't travel alone. He was flanked by his older brother, Hyrum, who would himself become a martyr inside Carthage Jail. Death awaited, yet Joseph was calm. His conscience was clear.
Now Nauvoo visitors can better visualize Joseph's and Hyrum's final moments of freedom. A heroic-sized bronze statue capturing the Smith brothers' historic horseback sojourn to Carthage was placed Dec. 8 in a pedestrian plaza west of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple. (1)
References (1) Deseret News www.deseret.com/2003/12/13/20783878/prophet-s-last-ride-i...