The Martyrdom and Testimony

PRESIDENT HEBER J. GRANT ¶

If this were a picture show or an entertainment of some kind, the people would willingly stay to the close even if we had to be together two hours; or, if it were amusing, three hours. Therefore I am going to take your time and keep you here a little longer than usual. ¶

THE MARTYRDOM ¶

I am going to read something that I believe was written by John Taylor, who received four rifle balls in his body, as I remember, at the martyrdom of the Prophet and the Patriarch. ¶

"To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch ¶

They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o'clock p. m., by an armed mob— painted black — of from 150 to 200 persons. Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly, exclaiming: / am a dead man! Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming: O Lord my God! They were both shot after they were dead, in a brutal manner, and both received four balls. ¶

"John Taylor and Willard Richards, two of the Twelve, were the only persons in the room at the time; the former was wounded in a savage manner with four balls, but has since recovered; the latter, through the providence of God, escaped, without even a hole in his robe. ¶

"Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting Gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men;, gathered many thousands of Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated ! ¶

"When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said:'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.'The same morning, after Hyrum had made ready to go — shall it be said to the slaughter? yes, for so it was — he read the following paragraph, near the close of the twelfth chapter of Ether in the Book of Mormon, and turned down the leaf upon it: ¶

"'And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore'thy garments are clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. And now I * * * bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea, and also unto my brethren, whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood.'The testators are now dead, and their testament is in force. ¶

"Hyrum Smith was forty-four years old in February, 1844, and Joseph Smith was thirty-eight in December, 1843; and henceforward their names will be classed among the martyrs of religion; and the reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the Church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world; and that if the fire can scathe a green tree for the glory of God, how easy it will burn up the dry trees tc purify the vineyard of corruption. They lived for -glory; they died for glory; and glory is their eternal reward. From age to age shall their names go down to posterity as gems for the sanctified. ¶

"They were innocent of any crime, as they had often been proved before, and were only confined in jail by the conspiracy of traitors and wicked men; and their innocent. blood on the floor of Carthage jail is a broad seal affixed to "Mormonism" that cannot be rejected by any court on earth, and their innocent blood on the escutcheon of the state of Illinois, with the broken faith of the state as pledged by the governor, is a witness to the truth of the everlasting Gospel that all the world cannot impeach; and their innocent blood on the banner of ¶

liberty, and on the magna charta of the United States, is an ambassador for the religion of Jesus Christ, that will touch the hearts of honest men among all nations; and their innocent blood, with the innocent blood of all the martyrs under the altar that John saw, will cry unto the Lord of Hosts till he avenges that blood on the earth. Amen." ¶

John Taylor lived, notwithstanding those frightful wounds, to be the Prophet, Seer and Revelator of God. A son of Hyrum Smith lived to be the Prophet, Seer and Revelator in your day and mine. Today you have listened to the testimony from this stand of a grandson of Hyrum Smith, and you have just listened to the testimony of a grandson of Willard Richards, who was with the Prophet and Patriarch at the time of the martyrdom. ¶

ENDORSES REMARKS ¶

I endorse with all my heart the many words of inspiration that we have heard from the opening of this conference until the present time. I join with others in praying Almighty God to bless those who go forth to proclaim the Gospel, who go forth to proclaim the restoration again to the earth of the plan of life and salvation. ¶

TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH SMITH AND SIDNEY RIGDON ¶

I rejoice that the wonderful vision recorded in the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants was given not only to Joseph Smith, but to Sidney Rigdon: ¶

"And this is the Gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us — ¶

"That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness. ¶

"That'through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him; ¶

"Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him." ¶

T thank the Lord that Joseph Smith was not alone, but that Sidney Rigdon was with him and that they were able to declare to all the world: ¶

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives ! ¶

"For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father — ¶

"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." ¶

God lives. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the true and the living God. The power of the priesthood of God is upon the earth and will remain, and those who think that possibly something may arise that will prevent this Church from progressing know not the truth, or they would declare to all the world that it has been established never again to be taken from the earth. ¶