The events that took place after the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor led to the assassination of Joseph Smith by an angry mob.
Joseph Smith is vilified by people who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or the other Restorationist groups that split off from the main organization after its founder's death. But those who belong to what is termed the Restorationist Movement remember him as a martyr, and the prophet's assassination lives on as an important moment in their faith.
Why Joseph Smith Was at the Carthage Jail
The events that led up to the first Mormon prophet's assassination started when the Nauvoo Expositor saw the publication of its first and only issue. The Nauvoo militia quickly destroyed the newspaper's presses on the orders of Joseph Smith. Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested shortly afterwards but were released after appearing before an LDS Tribunal. It seemed, for a time, that the events that led to the assassination of Joseph Smith would not occur.
Despite exoneration of the charges, there was a public outcry over the charges they faced which caused the public in Illinois to talk of extermination of the Mormons. Similar rhetoric led to the expulsion of the members of the new religious movement from Missouri in 1838. Several days before his assassination at the hands of a mob, Joseph Smith order the mobilization of the Nauvoo militia to protect the Saints that had gathered there.
The Illinois Governor Orders Joseph Smith to Stand Trial a Second Time
The growing threats of mob violence fueled by fears of the temporal, economic and spiritual power the first Mormon prophet commanded in Nauvoo caused the Illinois governor, Thomas Ford, to order Joseph Smith to stand trial a second time. Joseph Smith guilty of destroying the printing presses of the Expositor, but the governor's order violated the United States constitution by putting Smith in double jeopardy. This chain of events would lead up to the prophet's assassination and caused him to be considered a martyr by the faithful.
When the governor issued the order for Joseph Smith to head to the Carthage Jail where the assassination attempt would be made, he fled across the Missouri River. Joseph Smith eventually gave in to Governor Ford's demand. Joseph Smith said days before his assassination that he would go to Carthage like a lamb to the slaughter and would be murdered in cold blood.
The Charge Against Joseph Smith Changes
The charge against Smith by Governor Ford would change several days before the assassination of the Mormon prophet. The initial charges against Smith was inciting a riot, but the charge was changed to treason for his declaration of martial law in Nauvoo. Despite promises of protection from Governor Ford, Smith was imprisoned by his enemies, and he was held without bail.
Joseph Smith's Assassination
The governor's promises of protection in the end did not outweigh Ford's other consideration of having to satisfy the people of his state. Rather than leaving the most dependable troops under the command of the governor to guard the Mormon prophet, he returned the most dependable troops to Nauvoo. The people left watching over Smith the night of his assassination were the Greys, a group extremely unfriendly to the Mormon prophet.
The Carthage Greys put up a token resistance as the mob descended on the Carthage Jail. Within two minutes, the mob ascended to the second floor of the prophet and killed many of the early Mormon leaders who had been imprisoned there. Hyrum Smith would be killed in the incident, John Taylor would survive and become the third Mormon prophet, and Willard Richards would survive unharmed. The bullet that killed Joseph Smith on the night of his assassinationwould hit him as he attempted to go out a window to draw attention away from the people who survived the event.
Resources:
"American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith." PBS.org
