They Said It

Joseph Smith

At a time when persecutions ran high at Far West, Joseph was visiting his parents home when an armed mob broke in with every intention of killing the Prophet. Joseph Smith reasoned with them. When Joseph excused himself to go home, what did two members of the mob say?

A)     “I don’t think so. We came here to kill you.”

B)     “You can’t go home by yourself! It’s dangerous out there! We will go with you and guard you.”

C)     Joseph asked them to kneel down with him for the evening prayer

D)     “You’re not a prophet. You look like a regular man.”

Yesterday’s answer:

(A)     Indians

The Newspaper Editors in London are either very ignorant of Geography west of the Mississippi, or they believe and publish lies rather than truth; for instance, the past fortnight. One day they publish Brigham Young arrested by Col. Sumner and on his way to Washington guarded by troops. In a day or two they publish he is gone on a secret tour to hide away from the rebellious Mormons. In a day or two after that we hear he is in Russian America establishing a new colony. Next he is at the head of the Utah troops within a 100 miles of Omaha City come to fight the U.S. Troops. In a day or two after we learn he is in Council with Col. Van Vleit in the Social Hall, threatening to burn every house in the Valley and go into the Mountains leaving all a desolate waste. And today I learn that a large company of Mormons dressed as Indians, have killed 500 U.S. Soldiers somewhere in Minnesota. Such conflicting statements appear, and they are all believed to be true. No apology for the previous lies, no qualification for the rapid change of events. No telling how time and distance is annihilated or how he has the power to be in several places hundreds, yea thousands of miles apart at one time.

Thomas Bullock to Henrietta Rushton Bullock, 25 November 1857, Thomas Bullock Collection, LDS Church Archives. Most of Bullocks’ letters to Henrietta during 1857-58 can be found in the Henrietta Ruston Bullock Collection.