As of lately, I have been reading the Joseph Smith Papers. It is compilation of the words, writings, teachings, of Joseph Smith. I cannot express my great gratitude towards this man. It was his sacrifice that allowed us to receive the restored gospel in our day. I decided to write down the dramatic experience of Joseph's tar and feathering in Hiram, OH March 24th, 1832. Not too many people know about the specific details that went on. Thanks to the help of Susan Easton Black and some further research of my own, I compiled this amazing story of personal sacrifice of the prophet Joseph Smith.
While Joseph Smith was in Hiram, OH he was betrayed by a fellow friend and member of the church, Symons Ryder. Symons fell away from the church after Joseph Smith spelled his name wrong which is still spelled wrong in today's edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. He began to be irritated with all that Joseph had going on for him, he was worried a temple would be built next to his farm and would not have anything of it. On March 24th, 1832 Symons says this is the night Joseph dies. He sends letters to places all around Hiram, to all those that despise the prophet and the Mormon church. The men that volunteer know that close to midnight, they are to meet in the brickyard of Hiram. When the men get to the brickyard, they become drunk with whiskey as to be out of their minds to accomplish their plans of murdering Joseph.
Because of jealousy, pride and anger sixty men plot to kill Joseph Smith in the night. Twelve men approach the house of Joseph and Emma. Joseph and Emma are laying in the front room with their two newly acquired twins who were ill. Suddenly Emma begins to hear what she thinks is knocking against the house, like a tree blowing in the wind. Within a few moments the twelve men broke through the front door into the front room and Emma wakes Joseph up by screaming "Murder!" After the scream the twelve men are now beginning to grab Joseph. One of the men, Warren Waste, whom had prior to this event bragged in the saloon about being able to take down Joseph, made a mistake. He grabs Joseph's right leg, which is the strong leg, and is kicked in the face so hard that knocks Mr. Waste out of the front bedroom out onto the front porch. Years later, Mr. Waste was asked if Joseph was a prophet. He said he didn't know about that but he knew that he was the strongest man he had ever tangled with in the Ohio's. Another man in the room, Carnit Mason, grabs Joseph's head and eventually grabs his hair. He pulls so hard on his hair that he pulls out part of Joseph's scalp. Years later, a short man and an ancestor of mine Levi Hancock, was walking the Streets of Nauvoo and saw Joseph. Levi said to Joseph, "Joseph, I understand you lost part of your hair in the tar and feathering, could you show me?" Joseph bends over and shows that yes, Joseph was missing part of his scalp. Levi Hancock is my ancestor.
Eleven of the twelve men now succeed in taking Joseph outside. They get him out to the porch. Warren Waste is now standing up after being kicked in the face; he is bleeding tremendously from the wound. He notices the blood on his hands and is very upset. He chokes Joseph trying to strangle him; he does so until Joseph loses consciousness. The interesting part about this is that the other mobbers are the ones who stopped Mr. Waste from killing Joseph, because they wanted Joseph to die another way, they already planned a premeditated murder. Joseph is now taken about thirty yards farther from the house. When Joseph regains consciousness he now sees all sixty men around him and there he sees his stride, Sidney Rigdon. Sidney was pulled out of his home by his feet and hit his head on the frozen ice causing it to bleed profusely and was lying in a pool of his own blood; Joseph thought his friend Sidney was dead. For the first time now, Joseph speaks to his captors and says, "You will spare my life won't you?" At which point, they say, "Call unto your God for mercy, for we will show you none."
They now take him 30 yards further and take off all of his clothing except his shirt collar. It used to be back then that men's shirts were flat without collars, but the important people would put on a collar to show respectability, much like we do when we enter church in a suit and tie. Joseph, once naked, is then put on boards and suddenly he is introduced to the man who had been determined to kill him, Dr. Dennison. Dr. Dennison was the doctor that delivered baby Joseph in Sharon, Vermont December 23rd, 1805. Dr. Dennison was known for saying, "If I had known what this baby would become I would have smothered the gus." Dr. Dennison was planning to kill Joseph by castrating him. He has a knife in his hand and comes close to Joseph. As he comes closer to Joseph, his hand with the knife begins to shake and he eventually drops the knife. This was the plan of the mob to have Joseph be killed by castration but they had back up plans in case their first plan did not work. Once the doctor drops the knife, he pulls out of his pocket a vile of nitric acid. The doctor's plan is to put this nitric acid into Joseph's mouth and have him swallow it. Once it is swallowed it causes a cruel death of burning the body from inside out. The doctor attempts to put this small vile into Joseph's mouth, but Joseph keeps his teeth clenched very tightly as to not let anything pass through. Between the clenched teeth and the pushing so hard with the vile, one tooth or another will be broken off. It is not until 1843, when a dentist joins the church in Nauvoo, Joseph will get his teeth fixed. From 1832 to 1843, you could always tell Joseph was preaching because he had a whistle.
Once the vile was dropped, the mob wondered how do they kill him? All of a sudden you hear, "Symon, Symon, where is the tar bucket?" Some run to get a tar bucket, some break into the home of Sidney Rigdon and grabbed pillows. Joseph now describes that a man fell on him like a mad cat and scratched him well. When the tar is ready and the paddle is put into his mouth, Joseph has no fight left. He knows he is going nowhere and he is done. They splash the tar all over his body and throw the feathers from the pillows over the tar. The last Joseph heard was, "The Mormons are coming." When you say the Mormons are coming, you have Orin Porter Rockwell and similar members who are there to protect Joseph. The mob disperses and leaves Joseph for dead in the street.
When the tar was put into his mouth, Joseph fell unconscious. He regains himself and rips out the tar of his mouth, when he does so he loses consciousness again. Joseph later regained consciousness and crawled back to the front porch of his home. He discovers Emma and the future Relief Society sisters walking and worried on the porch. Joseph is not happy to have company. Joseph now yells to Emma, "Throw me a blanket." Emma is sure it is Joseph and looks towards the direction of the voice spoken, she sees the tar on him and concludes that it is blood and faints straight onto her back. Emma is helped by the other sisters there and Joseph receives his blanket. Many men come to find Joseph and see him at his home. The men then excuse the ladies from helping Joseph and send them to take care of the sick children. They then pull out their knives and begin to scrape away the tar off Joseph's body. These were not normal knives, they were corn husker knives, thick bladed and dull.
The next day is church and Joseph speaks as usual, no matter what happens to him, it seems he preaches the gospel. After church, they break the ice on the river and Joseph baptizes three people. In coming days, Joseph and Emma lose one of their twins very likely because of the freezing air that entered the home when the mob came. Joseph and Emma had already lost three children prior to this child.
Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. No greater man has ever lived and done a greater work, save Jesus Christ alone. I love Joseph; he is my brother and friend. Through the song, "Praise to the Man" (my favorite), we learn that "sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven." Joseph sacrificed everything to do the will of God, to bring the restoration of the gospel in this last and great dispensation. And now we see the blessings in this church because of what Joseph sacrificed. What can we learn from Joseph? What are we doing to sacrifice so that we too may have the blessings of heaven unto ourselves and unto the rest of the world?
Millions truly have come to know who Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God and millions and millions more will still come to learn. Praise to the man Joseph Smith and his endless glory with the almighty God.
