What Happened in Carthage? A Careful Walk-Through of the Martyrdom

It was near midnight on June 24 that Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum, and over a dozen members of the Nauvoo City council arrived in Carthage, Illinois to answer, for a third time, the charge of “riot” for their destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor press. Although the case for this charge had already been heard and dismissed by two separate judges, Governor Thomas Ford insisted that they needed to be tried in Carthage specifically in order to prove to the general public that they were willing to be governed by law. And in response to Nauvoo leaders’ resistant fears of being tried in the extremely unsafe environment of Carthage due to the number of their enemies prowling about there, Ford “pledged his faith as Governor and the faith of the State [of Illinois] that [they] should be protected, and that he would guarantee [their] perfect safety.” And so they had now arrived in Carthage, reluctantly throwing themselves “under the immediate protection of Governor Ford, … to trust … his word and faith for [their] preservation.” Within three days Joseph and Hyrum were dead. In this episode of Church History Matters, we carefully walk through a play-by-play from the historical record of what happened from the time Joseph, Hyrum, and the city council arrived at Carthage on June 24 under the supposed protection of Governor Ford to the time of the Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum on June 27.
This is the fifth episode of our 8-part podcast series on the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at doctrineandcov...
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Originally published June 18, 2024
DISCLAIMER: While we try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[@Watchers4theKing]

I don't know if it's super common, but the sister missionaries who gave our tour at Carthage, sang a cappella "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" to our group in the room where Joseph was martyred. I'll never forget that experience.

[@kallilovell1339]

I visited Carthage Jail many years ago. It was a spiritual experience to be there. I am enjoying learning new information about the martyrdom. Thanks for sharing.

[@hfelt]

Super intetesting

[@RyanMercer]

👍 👍 😊

[@shannonsymondsauthor]

I know Joseph Smith wasn’t the Savior, but while listening I felt the type of Christ right down to the martyrdom, something I wish hadn’t been restored or reenacted again.

[@samuelmoon3051]

I didn’t even know they transferred some JS properties from the CoC to our Church!!! Wow

[@haleystiles1773]

❤

[@Americanus-jrsl70ad]

It is clear that Joseph and Hyrum were killed by friends