Thirty-Nine (1844)the veracity of the plates turned on Joseph and supported his enemies’ efforts to get rid of
him. John Whitmer stood by Bennett and Law with his face painted black to conceal his true
identity and watched Joseph fall dead to the ground. This experience left John Whitmer a
changed man. Although he wanted to see Joseph gone, the actuality of the event drew out a
part of his real humanity and the testimony of Joseph he once had. Whitmer went away by
himself from the event and wept deeply. His heart was once again turned toward his
prophet and friend.
John Whitmer had become very close to Joseph during his tenure as a leader in the
Church in Independence and Far West, Missouri in the early 1830’s. At Far West, shortly
before the Missouri Wars that expelled the Saints, Joseph and John occasioned to drink
together and ended up quite inebriated. In a drunken state, Joseph often said things that he
would not have otherwise have said. On this occasion, Joseph expressed his deep love for
John. Whitmer never forgot this experience and ended up moving to Far West and dying
there with a sadness in his heart that only ended with the exhale of his last breath.
Joseph’s Immediate Family
It was never revealed to Joseph exactly how Hyrum was going to continue his
mission. He knew that a true messenger who did disclose his true identity would be
called to translate the sealed part of the plates and give the people the opportunity to
know all of the mysteries of God in full—if they had the desire and would listen. He knew
Hyrum was the one chosen for this role. Because of Joseph’s love for his brother, he would
have prevented Hyrum from remaining at his side to be martyred too. Joseph would have
sent Hyrum on a mission as far away from Nauvoo as he could. But Hyrum was destined
to die by his brother’s side. Not knowing the full details of Hyrum’s involvement, Joseph
gave his final prophecy about the continuation of his work a few hours before the
brothers’ lives were ended. A detailed account of this event is presented in the
Introduction to this biography.
Joseph’s love for his brother Samuel was also as strong. Joseph knew that his meek
little brother would be no match for Rigdon’s, Law’s, or Young’s extroverted personalities.
He knew that Samuel would be a strong help and support to Hyrum when he left them, so
his mind was resolved to accept this more positive fate for Samuel. In Joseph’s mind, he
thought Hyrum would live on after his death.
Samuel later gave up his life voluntarily, shortly after he was informed of his
brothers’ deaths. History reported the cause as sickness^51 in some accounts. The truth is that
Samuel committed suicide by ingesting poison. It was well that his mother and others
thought his death had been from the strain of the injury, as reported in other accounts, that
he had received the day his brothers died together.^52 Joseph’s mother had been through
more than what would be required of most mortal women.
Lucy Mack’s strength never ceased to amaze Joseph. Her later years in Nauvoo
with her son as the “prophet, seer, and revelator” of a worldly church gave her the
things in life that she had always desired. She received a great amount of respect among
the Saints and enjoyed material goods that she had been deprived of for many years.
Regardless of her worldly state of mind, she was the strength that held the Smith family
together while Joseph was preparing for his role. Her tenacity kept Brigham Young from
enticing more people than he did to follow him out West. And her fortitude kept Emma
together when she faced the news of Joseph’s death.