Doctrine and Covenants
Week 29: Martyrdom of Joseph & Hyrum Smith; Brigham Young led the Saints west
Sections 135–136
◀ Week 28 | D&C home page | Week 30 ▶
15 May 2025
Lesson Materials
Notes and slides will be posted after the class has been held.
Notes
Slides
Download PowerPoint slides with animation
Handout
ardc29_handout.pdfLesson video
Additional reading and links
Alexander L. Baugh and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, “‘I Roll the Burthen and Responsibility of Leading This Church Off from My Shoulders on to Yours’: The 1844/1845 Declaration of the Quorum of the Twelve Regarding Apostolic Succession,” BYU Studies 49, no. 3 (2010): 4–19.
Dallin H. Oaks, “The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor,” Utah Law Review 9, no. 4 (Winter 1965): 862–903. Oaks argued that the Nauvoo city council’s action to destroy the Expositor press was legal within the understanding of the law in Joseph’s time.
Joseph L. Lyon and David W. Lyon, “Physical Evidence at Carthage Jail and What It Reveals about the Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” BYU Studies 47, no. 4 (2008): 4–50.
Mark Lyman Staker and LaJean Purcell Carruth, “John Taylor’s June 27, 1854, Account of the Martyrdom,” BYU Studies 50, no. 3 (2011): 25–62.
D. Michael Quinn, “The Mormon Succession Crisis of 1844,” BYU Studies 16, no. 2 (Winter 1976): 187–233. Quinn argued that Joseph did not leave clear directions on who should succeed him and this spurred a crisis that was resolved only when the majority of the Saints threw their support behind Brigham Young and the Twelve.
Ronald K. Esplin, “Joseph, Brigham and the Twelve: A Succession of Continuity,” BYU Studies 21, no. 3 (Summer 1981): 301–41. Esplin countered Quinn’s article by arguing that the path of succession was clear from Joseph’s statements and the canonized revelations.
Russel R. Rich, “Nineteenth-Century Break-offs,” Ensign (September 1979): 68–71. Rich described some of the schismatic groups that broke away from the restored Church during the Prophet Joseph’s life and after his death.
R. Jean Addams, “Aftermath of the Martyrdom: Aspirants to the Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 62 (2024): 335–402. Addams examines the individuals who claimed the mantle of the Joseph Smith, their motives, and the churches or organizations they founded in the decade following the death of the Prophet.
Audio
Road to Carthage: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is an eight-part documentary miniseries that explores the history of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in 1844. The episodes focus on the historical events that led to the assassination of the Prophet and his brother by a mob, as well as the aftermath of that tragic event. Series host Spencer W. McBride interviewed historians and Church leaders for this podcast.
The episodes can be listened to on the Church website at the link above. You can also listen through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or by subscribing to the podcast’s RSS feed in your podcast app.
Videos
While he was incarcerated in Carthage Jail, Joseph Smith received a six-shot pepperbox pistol from Cyrus Wheelock. Hyrum Smith remarked, “I hate to use such things, or to see them used.” The Prophet replied, “So do I, but we may have to, to defend ourselves.” When the armed mob stormed the jail, they fired first, killing Hyrum almost instantly. In defense of himself, John Taylor and Willard Richards, Joseph opened the door to their room slightly and snapped the pistol six times; only three of the barrels discharged. At least three members of the mob were injured by Joseph’s gun, but there is no evidence that any of them died.
Joseph’s pistol was a six-barrel Allen & Thurber pepperbox, patented in 1837 and manufactured in Massachusetts. Each smoothbore barrel was individually packed with gunpowder, a .32 caliber ball, and a wad. The double-action trigger rotated the barrel assembly and actuated a bar hammer that struck the six individual percussion caps that ignited the powder and discharged the ball and wad. It had no sights and was exceptionally difficult to aim beyond point-blank range (which is how Joseph used it).
This video from the Forgotten Weapons YouTube channel explains the history of the Allen & Thurber pepperbox and demonstrates how it was operated.