Life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1838 to 1842

The life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1838 to 1842 covers a period beginning when Smith left Missouri and settled in Nauvoo, Illinois, to 1842.

Imprisonment

Instead of execution, Smith and others spent several months in Liberty Jail awaiting a trial that never came. With shaky legal grounds for imprisonment, guards, likely on the instructions of other authorities, eventually allowed their escape. They joined the rest of the church in Illinois.

Life in Nauvoo, Illinois

After leaving Missouri in 1839, Smith and his followers made headquarters in a town called Commerce, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi River, which they renamed Nauvoo (meaning "to be beautiful"; - the word is found in the Hebrew of "Isaiah" 52:7 - Latter Day Saints often referred to Nauvoo as "the city beautiful", or "the city of Joseph"—which was actually the name of the city for a short time after the city charter was revoked—or other similar nicknames) after being granted a charter by the state of Illinois. Nauvoo was quickly built up by the faithful, including many new arrivals.

In October 1839, Smith and others left for Washington, D.C. to meet with Martin Van Buren, then the President of the United States. Smith and his delegation sought redress for the persecution and loss of property suffered by the Saints in Missouri.

In 1840, the Illinois State Legislature passed a city-state charter for Nauvoo. On December 16 the governor signed it into law, granting Smith and the city of Nauvoo broad powers.

Work on a temple in Nauvoo began in the autumn of 1840. The cornerstones were laid during a conference on April 6, 1841. Construction took five years and it was dedicated on May 1, 1846; about four months after Nauvoo was abandoned by the majority of the citizens.

Notes

References

#Harvard reference
Last=Johnson
First=Luke
Title=History of Luke Johnson, by Himself
Journal=The Latter Day Saints' Millennial Star
Volume=26
Year=1864
Pages=834 .
#Harvard reference
Last=McKiernan
First=F. Mark
Title=The Voice of One crying in the Wilderness: Sidney Rigdon, Religious Reformer, 1793-1876
URL=http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=br_ss_hs/102-2883470-2803352?search-alias=aps&keywords=The%20Voice%20of%20One%20crying%20in%20the%20Wilderness:%20Sidney%20Rigdon,%20Religious%20Reformer,%201793-1876
Publisher= Lawrense, KS, Corondao Press
Year = 1971
ID = ISBN not available .
#Harvard reference
Last=Newell
First=Linda King and Valeen Tippetts Avery
Title=Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, Prophet's Wife, "Elect Lady," Polygamy's Foe
Publisher=Garden City, NY, Doubleday
Year=1984
ID=ISBN 0-252-02399-4 .
#Harvard reference
Author=Roberts, B. H., ed.
Authorlink=Brigham Henry Roberts
Last=Roberts
First=B. H.
Title=History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 1
Publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Year=1902
URL=http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC04890306
alternate-URL=http://www.boap.org/LDS/History/HTMLHistory .
#Harvard reference
Author=Roberts, B. H., ed.
Authorlink=Brigham Henry Roberts
Last=Roberts
First=B. H.
Title=History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 2
Publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Year=1904
URL=http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC04890306 .
#Harvard reference
Last=Smith
First=Lucy Mack
Authorlink=Lucy Mack Smith
Title=Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations
Publisher=Liverpool: S.W. Richards
Year=1853
URL=http://relarchive.byu.edu/19th/descriptions/biographical.html .