Nauvoo, IL
A good estimate of the life of Joseph Smith says, "And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. Judge ye for yourselves. God knoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad. But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it." (D&C 127:2)
While beign held prisoner under false charges at Carthage jail, a mob broke into the jail first killing Hyrum by a random shot through the door striking him in the face and then a shot into his back from outside the window. Elder John Taylor was also shot several times but lived. Willard Richards remained unharmed at the door fighting off the muzzles being forced in. Joseph recieved four musket balls to the torso.
After the attack, Elder Richards and Samuel Smith arranged for the removal fo the bodies to the Hamilton House, where they also carried the wounded John Taylor. Branches were placed over the bodies in the back of the wagon to shade them on the trip to Nouvoo the next morning at the Mansion House, the Prophet's home. The Nauvoo Guard stayed withe bodies the entire way, and carried them into the dining room. Viewing was opened to the public, but by noon the scene around the bodies were too horribel to witness. Hyrum did not bleed but was so swollen that no one could recognize him. Joseph's blood continued to pour out of his wounds, which was stuffed with cotton. As his body settled and his muscles relaxed blood continued to trickle and form puddles across the room. Tar, vinegar, and sugar were kept burning on the stove to enable visitors to stay. The viewing closed in the early evening, forty-eight hours after the murder. The bodies were placed in coffins and buried secretly underneath the Nauvoo House, which was then under construction. Several evenings later they were moved underneath the brick floor of the ice house in the backyard of the Homestead. Emma spent the remainder of her life in the Mansion House.
In the 1930's the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints excavated the bodies of Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma (although done in poor taste, documenting and photographing the entire process and the remains). They replaced the coffins with more durable & elegant ones, then pooring a concrete slab encasing all three. The LDS Church then donated the present marker in now what is considered the Smith Family Cemetery.
Lucy Mack Smith (the Prophet's mother), Joseph Smith Sr. (Father and Patriarch), Samuel H. Smith (the Prophet's brother and first missionary of the Church), Don Carlos Smith (a brother), and even Emma's second husband are all also buried here. However, with the Missisippi River still rising Lucy Mack's remains have since gone down the river. Whether or not the rest of the cemetery's remains are in danger has not been determined.
