Without Disclosing My True Identity
to whom Bennett would plead to sign a charter bill for Nauvoo had, a few months previous,
signed a warrant for his arrest and extradition to Missouri to stand trial for treason.
For Bennett, this was not a problem. When he pushed the Nauvoo city charter bill
through the legislature, he never once mentioned Joseph’s name, or the fact that the
Mormons would be the primary occupants and principal benefactors of the city’s charter.
Neither did Governor Thomas Carlin^26 know this when he signed the bill in December of
- Of note and with a great sense of humor, the advanced monitors setting up the
LDS/Mormon experiment subtly influenced the Governor to use the exact same inkpot and
quill to sign the Nauvoo charter that he used to sign the writ ordering Joseph’s arrest. It was
one of the Governor’s most treasured quills—the feather of a bald eagle, the symbol of
American power and authority. The very pen that gave the LDS people their own city of
Zion, signed the warrant for Joseph’s arrest and eventual death!
For almost two years, until the next election in 1842, Carlin’s mind was subtly
subverted—without impeding his free will—to never give Joseph Smith and the Mormons
another thought. Because Joseph had almost completed his role, the divine mental restraint
was not placed on Carlin’s successor, Thomas Ford,^27 who succeeded Carlin as Governor.
Once Ford reviewed how Carlin had neglected the law in the case of an escaped felon who
was a fugitive of justice, Ford concluded that he would not rest until “Joe Smith and his
damn Mormons” were out of his state.^28 And who would become responsible for bringing
Ford’s attention to Joseph and the Mormons and causing him to spend a good deal of his
gubernatorial energy getting them expelled from Illinois? None other than John C. Bennett.
The Nauvoo Legion was officially organized on February 4, 1841.^29 Joseph was
suspiciously absent when Bennett presented his “bill for an ordinance organizing the Nauvoo
Legion” to the City Council of the City of Nauvoo.^30 Upon writing the ordinance for the
Legion, Bennett had asked Joseph who he thought would be a “fine officer and serve the
people with pride and nobility.” A wide smile showed on Joseph’s face; “Don Carlos should
have the honor. He’s a giant among men and would scare the best of the enemy,” said Joseph.
At the age of 24, Don Carlos Smith was “six feet four inches high, was very straight
and well made, had light hair, and was very strong and active. His usual weight when in
health was 200 pounds. He was universally beloved by the Saints.”^31 Joseph knew his little
brother didn’t have any interest in being a military commander, and that he only had a few
more months to live. Don Carlos had some serious health problems that would soon take his
life. Joseph had one thing in mind in recommending his brother—ensuring that his mother
would see one of her sons buried with all the honors and glories that she would have
wanted for her sons, something she would not experience when he died. As Joseph knew
would happen, six months later on Sunday, August 8, 1841, Don Carlos was buried with full
military honors, something his mother would not have experienced had Joseph not
recommended Don Carlos for military service in the Nauvoo Legion.
The Pressure and Burden of Acting Contrary to the Gospel
From the first time that Bennett pushed for the establishment of the Nauvoo Legion,
Joseph felt the depressive pressure to conduct himself according to the desires of the people,
who, again, were acting completely contrary to the “fullness of the everlasting Gospel
delivered by the Savior.” His heart was greatly burdened that the people did not learn their
lesson by the failed Zion’s Camp military effort. He knew that Bennett and others wanted
him to have “command again of their armies.”^32 The morning of February 4th, the day he