Orrin Porter Rockwell, some amazing Joseph Smith Prophesy, Governor Ford implication in Martyrdom

[kirtland r.m.]

Let's start with this quote, George Q Cannon wrote, “There seemed no human possibility of Porter Rockwell's deliverance; his murder was decreed before his arrest; and no one of the brethren would be permitted to enter Missouri to assist him with advice or bail, under penalty of death. And yet on the 15th day of March the Prophet publicly declared: ‘In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I prophecy that Orrin P. Rockwell will get away honorably from the Missourians.” (HC 5:305)
Porter Rockwell was a childhood friend of the Prophet Joseph. "The Church of Jesus Christ, organized in accordance with commandments and revelations given by Him to ourselves in these last days, as well as according to the order of the Church as recorded in the New Testament. Several persons who had attended the above meeting, came forward shortly after, and were received into the Church; among the rest, my own father and mother were baptized, to my great joy and consolation; and about the same time, Martin Harris and Orrin Porter Rockwell." On the official records of the Church, Porter is listed as the Tenth member to be baptized into the Church and since he was only sixteen years of age he was also the youngest member of the Church for many months afterward, and so at the time of his death was the longest living member of the Church. Porter’s mother and sister were also baptized that day, his father, although a great supporter of the work, waited two more years.

He was later arrested and charged with attempting to murder Missouri Gov. Lilburn Boggs, a man who served much distress upon Smith and his followers in the church. A reward of $1,300 was posted for him, though he didn't match the description of the shooter.

Rockwell vehemently denied the shooting and was acquitted by a grand jury for lack of evidence after spending eight to nine months in jail.

The Prophet had told the Saints that Nauvoo was not to be the final resting place of the Church and had talked to many leaders of the Church of the Rocky Mountains. He had even drawn a map to the Salt Lake Valley for Brigham Young. Illinois Governor Thomas Ford wrote to Joseph Smith, insisting that the city council members stand trial before a non-Mormon jury on a charge of causing a civil disturbance on account of the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor Press. He said that such a trial would satisfy the people He also promised all the men complete protection during the trial. Even though he thought Ford, at the time, had the best intentions, the Prophet did not believe he could fulfill this pledge. They decided it was now time to start the journey west. The Prophet told the Saints before he left that all the mobs wanted was his own blood, but if he left, he promised them “that not a hair of your head should be harmed.” Joseph, Hyrum, Willard Richards and Rockwell crossed the Mississippi in a boat owned by Aaron Johnson. The boat was leaky and while Rockwell rowed, the others bailed water with their boots and shoes to keep it from sinking. They crossed to the Iowa side of the river and the next day Rockwell went back to Nauvoo for horses, returning in the afternoon with Reynolds Cahoon, who had been guarding the Mansion House, Hiram Kimball and Lorenzo Wasson, Emma Smith's nephew. Reynolds Cahoon gave Joseph a letter from Emma and at the same time he reminded the Prophet that he had always said that if the Church would stick with him, he would stick with the Church. These three men chastised Joseph for running away. After accusations of cowardice, and much persuasion, Joseph decided to go back. He remarked, "If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself.” Porter Rockwell, when asked what he thought should be done, replied to the Prophet with a nineteenth-century phrase-"As you make your bed, I will lie with you." Said Joseph, "Hyrum, you are the oldest, what shall we do?" Hyrum answered, "Let us go back and give ourselves up." The Prophet responded, "If you go back I will go with you, but we shall be butchered." Rockwell again rowed them back, as the Prophet prepared to leave Nauvoo for the county seat of Carthage, about 20 miles away, he knew that he was seeing his family and friends for the last time. He prophesied, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer’s morning.”

Although Porter and several others accompanied the Prophet on the way to Carthage, the Prophet stopped them about half way and ordered them to go home. During his stay at the Carthage jail, the Prophet wrote several letters home and to the Twelve Apostles. One of those letters was to instruct Porter not to come to Carthage for fear of his life.

On the 27th day of June, Porter went to an upper room in the Mansion House to get a hat he had left there. As he entered the room, he was surprised to find it occupied by Governor Ford of Illinois and a few of his militia officers, the man who had promised protection to the Saints, but who had done nothing to safe-guard them. The men were listening to the governor, who was standing behind a chair. Just as Port entered the room, the governor stated, “The deed is done by now.” All was suddenly quiet in the room when Porter walked in, and with apologies he hastily left. It appeared that Ford had deliberately absented himself from Carthage. Shortly after five o’clock in the afternoon, a mob of about 200 men with painted faces stormed the Carthage Jail, shot and killed Joseph and his brother Hyrum, and seriously wounded John Taylor. Only Willard Richards remained unharmed. Upon hearing shouts of “the Mormons are coming,” the mob fled, as did most of Carthage’s residents. Willard Richards cared for the wounded John Taylor, both of them mourning their slain leaders. Hyrum’s body was inside the jail, while Joseph, who had fallen from a window, lay beside the outside well. The mobbers then propped up his body against the well and shot him four more times

President James E Faust commented, “Some of the enemies of Joseph Smith exulted in their infamous deeds; and many proclaimed that the Church, which he had restored and for which he had given his life, would die with him. But, to the surprise of its enemies, the Church did not die nor did the work of Joseph Smith cease with his mortal death. What has transpired in a century and a half bears eloquent testimony to the eternal nature of the work of this singularly remarkable man, Joseph Smith."

The first actual record of Porter killing anyone is on this same day of murder and conspiracy. Carthage Gray, Frank Worrell was a Commander in the Grays and is still held as being most responsible for the attack on the jail. The full meaning of Ford's words in the Mansion House did not impress themselves upon Porter's mind until a short time later when he was talking it over with Gilbert Belnap. Belnap had rode into Nauvoo with news of an attack on Carthage, Rockwell with Belnap then rode full speed toward Carthage. Not far into the journey they saw a man in a buckboard racing wildly in their direction fleeing for his life and being pursued by a mob. Upon closer inspection it was Nauvoo Sherriff Jacob Backenstos, who shouted for help upon seeing Rockwell and Belnap, calling on them to save his life. Porter and his companion dismounted, drew their guns and Rockwell fired. This one shot hit Worrell center in the chest and flipped him from the back of his horse. The rest of the horsemen from Carthage decided to retreat upon their leader’s sudden death.


He was told by Smith never to cut his hair and he would be protected from bullet and blade. He kept his hair long until 1855, when he cut it to provide a wig for Agnes Smith, the widow of Smith's brother who had lost her hair from a bout with typhoid fever.

Here is more on Porter's amazing story, read on.https://sites.google.com/site/lifeandle ... errockwell

[kirtland r.m.]

One more Nauvoo mob experience.
The following is in reference to Gilbert Belnap being chased by the mob from Carthage to Nauvoo after it was discovered that he was a spy for the Prophet Joseph. I afterward sat in council with delegates from different parts of the country and secured the resolutions passed by that assembly. I then returned in safety to Nauvoo, but not without a close pursuit by those demons in human shape, uttering the most awful imprecations, and bawling out to meet almost every jump to stop or they would shoot. My greatest fear was that my horse would fall under me. I thought of the instance of David Patton [Patten] administering to a mule which he was riding when fleeing before a similar band of ruffians. I placed my hands on either side of the animal and as fervently as I ever did, I prayed to God that his strength might hold out in order that I might bear the information which I had obtained to the Prophet. There were no signs of failure in accomplishing this purpose until just opposite the tomb. My horse fell on his side in the mud. This seemed to be a rebuke for me for urging him on to such a tremendous speed. We were entirely out of danger and covered with mud by reason of the fall. I rushed into the presence of the Prophet and gave him a minute detail of all that had come under my observation during that short mission. . . .
Autobiography of Gilbert Belnap, Typescript, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University


“At this time, strong attempts are making to take the Twelve. It seems as though earth and hell are made to see the work of the priesthood proceeding so rapidly. The United States Marshall has been here for some time searching and laying in wait for the Twelve and some others. He searched the [Nauvoo] temple through but in vain. The brethren have had to disguise themselves and conceal themselves to escape them. The charge is treason. You may see the Twelve, etc. wherever they go with six shooter pistols in their pockets, but thus far they have been preserved and are ministering in the [Nauvoo] temple and teaching the way of life and salvation.”
Joseph Fielding, Diary (1843-1846), Church Archives in "They Might Have Known That He Was Not a Fallen Prophet"--The Nauvoo Journal of Joseph Fielding," transcribed and edited by Andrew F. Ehat, BYU Studies 19
The following took place in the Nauvoo Temple December 11, 1845. Thursday: At 1 o’clock Elder Orson Pratt came up into the rooms while we were attending to washing and anointing [Nauvoo]. He had just returned from his mission to the east and brought with him $400 worth of six shooters. An Intimate Chronicle: The Journal of William Clayton, edited by George D. Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1995).

[kirtland r.m.]

Thomas Ford, Governor of the State of Illinois, at the time of the martyrdom had this to say:
“The murder of the Smiths, instead of putting an end to . . . the Mormons and dispersing them, as many believed it would, only bound them together closer than ever, gave them new confidence in their faith.” He then stated, “Some gifted man like Paul, some splendid orator who will be able by his eloquence to attract crowds of the thousands . . . may succeed in breathing a new life into [the Mormon Church] and make the name of the martyred Joseph ring . . . loud and stir the souls of men.” It was Governor Ford’s greatest fear that his name would become a Pilate or Herod, forever mentioned in history as a villain of the innocent, “dragged down to posterity.” Needless to say this was all fulfilled due to his own merits.
Thomas Ford, A History of Illinois, ed. Milo Milton Quaife, 2 vols. (1946), 2:217, 221-223.

June 27, 1844 the governor left those of our brethren in prison with only eight men to guard them while he, the governor, went to Nauvoo with three to four hundred men to guard him. When he arrived at Nauvoo, he gave an insulting speech and drove away.
Autobiography of Joseph Grafton Hovey, Typescript, Harold B. Lee Library, BYU.

[kirtland r.m.]

...Brian 57:18 So they were trying to follow that. So, while Thomas Sharp’s talking, a messenger comes from Carthage. There’s a guard there named Frank Worrell. Frank Worrell writes a note and he says, “Now is the time to do the deed.” He sends it to Sharp. Sharp reads it and he rallies the troops and they go on to Carthage and commit the crime of murdering Joseph and Hyrum. hen he ran into Porter Rockwell while trying to kill the Nauvoo sheriff as mentioned above. It was the last thing Frank Worrell would ever attempt in mortality, as mentioned above.https://gospeltangents.com/2019/08/gov- ... dom-trial/

[mahalanobis]

These stories never get old to me. It's like mixing the Old Testament, a Western, and a conspiracy drama all while being a non-fiction.

It's too bad we can't trust anyone to make a television series. The church would likely whitewash it, Hollywood would make Porter Rockwell gay or something, and any other indy producer would either have anti-mormon bias and/or have cringy production quality. I guess for now we'll have to stick to the text.

[Robin Hood]

Thanks for posting these interesting historical extracts kirtland r.m.
Much appreciated.

[David13]

Some years ago I read the big book on Porter Rockwell. Really a lot of fun stories to read about his life.
dc


I should add, I just finished all (6?) of the Tom McCourt books. If you like Utah and church stories and all written by someone from Utah, they are all good.

[Teancum]

These stories never get old to me. It's like mixing the Old Testament, a Western, and a conspiracy drama all while being a non-fiction.

It's too bad we can't trust anyone to make a television series. The church would likely whitewash it, Hollywood would make Porter Rockwell gay or something, and any other indy producer would either have anti-mormon bias and/or have cringy production quality. I guess for now we'll have to stick to the text.

Back 20- 30 years ago, there was a producer who was wanting to do a feature film about Orrin P. Rockwell. Long story - short, it never happened. Grenade Curran was the one who wanted to do it, and had the story. He worked on star wars and Battlestar Galactica, (if I recall right) among others.

[kirtland r.m.]

These stories never get old to me. It's like mixing the Old Testament, a Western, and a conspiracy drama all while being a non-fiction.

It's too bad we can't trust anyone to make a television series. The church would likely whitewash it, Hollywood would make Porter Rockwell gay or something, and any other indy producer would either have anti-mormon bias and/or have cringy production quality. I guess for now we'll have to stick to the text.

Interesting, and spot on. My grandmother loved reading old western stories and novels. She said that Zane Grey would use "Mormons" as shadowy, mysterious characters you would avoid. Lol, some like Bonanza(who had Church member Dan Blocker in staring roll as a member of the Cartwright family) did a much better job.

[JohnnyL]

The assassination conspiracy was nationwide. Each state, with the exception of two states (never made known, as far as I know), sent a delegate to Illinois, and the conclusion was to get rid of Joseph Smith, who otherwise would become President of the United States of America. They told Ford he would not be brought to justice for any of it.

[mahalanobis]

The assassination conspiracy was nationwide. Each state, with the exception of two states (never made known, as far as I know), sent a delegate to Illinois, and the conclusion was to get rid of Joseph Smith, who otherwise would become President of the United States of America. They told Ford he would not be brought to justice for any of it.

I tried to search for this and failed (granted, I only spent a minute looking).

Where can one read more about this?

[Robin Hood]

Porter Rockwell said he never killed anyone who didn't deserve it.
His loyalty to Joseph was solid. I would like to have, and to be, a friend like Porter.
He was a good bloke.

[JohnnyL]

Porter Rockwell said he never killed anyone who didn't deserve it.
His loyalty to Joseph was solid. I would like to have, and to be, a friend like Porter.
He was a good bloke.

I have one like Porter. Unfortunately for others, they can't get past his looks and social inabilities--I guess kind of like most were with Porter. Maybe he'll have to die before he becomes the hero he already is.

I'll bet there are hero friends around us, if we looked beneath the surface...

[kirtland r.m.]

Just one paragraph from o.p., Let's start with this quote, George Q Cannon wrote, “There seemed no human possibility of Porter Rockwell's deliverance; his murder was decreed before his arrest; and no one of the brethren would be permitted to enter Missouri to assist him with advice or bail, under penalty of death. And yet on the 15th day of March the Prophet publicly declared: ‘In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I prophecy that Orrin P. Rockwell will get away honorably from the Missourians.” (HC 5:305)

Here is a bit more about that future release. Rockwell was released after months in prison and returned to Nauvoo on Christmas Day in 1843 (HC 6:134). A truly amazing prophesy considering the facts. Highly unlikely and yet it was fulfilled.

[kirtland r.m.]

The following is from a non L.D.S. source(bada**oftheweek.com) lol,

"...The cops threw him in a cell anyways, and then left him to rot in a dungeon for nine months with no bed, no light, and very limited food. Rockwell never broke, never confessed, and never complained. He just sucked it up, tried to escape a couple times, and then eventually walked out of there when they finally conceded that they didn't have anything on him. Rockwell left prison, dehydrated, exhausted, emaciated, and weak from months in the hole, then proceeded to walk a couple hundred miles through uncharted bandit and creature-infested snow-covered wilderness to link back up with his old posse. He walked from Missouri to Illinois, through dense forest and knee-deep snow, crashed Joseph Smith's Christmas Party unannounced..." more on this further down.

He was known as the “Destroying Angel”

Porter Rockwell killed more outlaws than Wyatt Earp, Doc Holladay, Tom Horn, and Bat Masterson combined, earning him the menacing title, the “Destroying Angel.” Rockwell’s hawk-like vision was so acute he could spot landmarks along the trail days before his fellow pioneers. His accuracy was so deadly he once shot a bank robber attempting to escape on horseback in the pitch-black of night. It didn’t take long for Rockwell’s legendary abilities to draw the attention, and sometimes even the competition, of outlaws all throughout the Wild West.

Porter Rockwell and Joseph Smith grew up on neighboring farms in Palmyra, New York. Despite their eight years difference in age, both men had a noticeable limp that cemented their close friendship—Joseph’s resulted from a childhood surgery and Rockwell’s resulted from an improperly set bone that left one leg two inches shorter than the other. When Joseph became imprisoned at Liberty Jail, Rockwell served as his personal messenger and smuggler, sneaking two augers into the jail that the prophet used to chisel a hole through the four-foot wall. When Joseph Smith was finally released from Liberty Jail, he had progressed so far in his digging that only a few inches stood between the inmates and freedom. Rockwell remained close to Joseph until the end of the Prophet’s life, saying when he learned of Joseph’s death, “They killed the only friend I ever had.”

After a nine-month stint in Missouri awaiting trial for the attempted assassination of Governor Lilburn Boggs (the same Governor Boggs who signed the Mormon extermination order), Porter Rockwell showed up at Joseph Smith’s house in Nauvoo on Christmas night, shaggy and skeletal. Joseph Smith ordered the gruff-looking ruffian out only to find it was his childhood friend, Porter Rockwell. After hearing Rockwell’s story, Joseph Smith made a Samson-like prophecy: as long as Rockwell did not cut his hair and remained faithful to the Gospel, his enemies could never touch him. Rockwell lived by the prophet’s promise, cutting his hair only once to make a wig for Joseph’s widowed sister-in-law recovering from typhoid fever. And until his dying day, the prophecy held true for Rockwell who escaped dozens of showdowns with notable marksmen without a scratch. On one such occasion, sharp-shooter Loren Dibble unloaded both his guns at Rockwell on Lehi Main Street in broad daylight without even ruffling Rockwell’s composure.

(Rockwell always professed his innocence in the Governor Boggs’ assassination attempt, using as his evidence, “I’ve never shot at anybody. If I shoot, they get shot. He’s still alive, isn’t he?”)

Though a trail blazer for the pioneer’s moving west, Rockwell returned to Nauvoo on an unusual mission for Brigham Young: to shift persecution from the poverty stricken Saints left behind to himself. Rockwell was to accomplish this feat by getting arrested for the murder of Frank Worrell(what a joke. as was written above Frank Worrell was about to gun down Sheriff Backenstos and was implicated in the outright assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith), a man Rockwell shot in self-defense while serving as a deputy. Despite his previous harrowing imprisonment and acquittal, Rockwell obeyed the prophet’s wishes to their fullest. In a stunt crazy enough to capture everyone’s attention, Rockwell barricaded himself in an old boardinghouse after chasing an old enemy through Nauvoo’s streets while firing his pistols above the man’s head. The plan worked: the Saints remained peacefully in Nauvoo until the spring and Rockwell was acquitted.

This next experience happened after the saints arrived in Utah. After stealing a horse from outside the bishop’s house, Lot Huntington—nephew to Brigham Young—fled to Camp Floyd where he met up with two other petty outlaws. An expert tracker, Rockwell followed the trail all the way to a Pony Express station in Tooele, arriving in the middle of the night. At sunup, the situation quickly escalated into a standoff. The outcome: Lot Huntington tried taking on Porter Rockwell and ended up shot clean through the heart.

He was one of the first members of the Church, baptized in the June of 1830 just a few months after the Church was organized. Later in his life, he was ordained as a member of the Seventy and held the position throughout his life. Amidst the slander and accusations stirred up by his sudden death on June 9, 1878, President Joseph F. Smith praised Porter Rockwell in his eulogy, saying, “They say he was a murderer; if he was he was the friend of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and he was faithful to them, and to his covenants, and he has gone to Heaven . . . clothed with immortality and eternal life, and crowned with all glory which belongs to a departed saint.”https://www.ldsliving.com/Porter-Rockwe ... ow/s/77142

There is even still more to tell about Porter, I might make another post or two on this tread. As a bodyguard and personal friend of the Prophet Joseph, Porter was hated by a very large number of folks. It is said he was a very gentle young man. Here is an interesting story from his youth.

One day, when Joseph Smith, Jr. was about fifteen years of age, he and Porter Rockwell, who was eight, set out on an errand for Joseph’s father. Walking along the Canadaigua Road, they neared a small log shack. Suddenly they heard the crises and pleadings of a woman’s voice accompanied by the sharp resounding of a lash on human flesh. Joseph, with Porter at his heels, sped to the back of the log cabin. There they saw a brutal husband beating his wife with a leather strap. Bruised and bleeding, she sobbingly pled for mercy. Joseph, sickened at the sight of this heartless cruelty, rushed upon the brutal fellow, and grabbing him by the collar, snatched the leather strap from his hand. Joseph raised his fist and laid a sledge hammer blow on the whiskered jaw of the wife beater. The impact of Joseph’s slug sent the fellow sprawling on his back against a wood pile. He staggered to his feet, shaking his head and holding his jaw he gasped, “Who hit me?”

Seeing a fifteen-year-old boy standing there ready for action maddened the man beyond control and with an oath, he rushed towards Joseph muttering, “I’ll kill this lad.” But the agile youth was ready, and quickly springing to the side, he whanged the wife beater a blow on the back of the neck that sent him face down in the dirt. As the fellow rose to his knees, he grabbed for Joseph and caught his trousers, whirling the boy around. From that moment on, the fight was nip and tuck. When it seemed as though Joseph would have to give up, he remembered that this man had whipped his wife and that gave him courage. Watching from an opening in the man’s guard, he punched a powerful blow to his stomach with a left fist and with a splintering right on the jaw, felled the man, three times his age and almost twice his size. Battered and beaten by the youthful Joseph, the man said he’d had enough.

Twenty-three years after this in his remarks to the workmen on the Nauvoo Temple, Joseph alluded to this boyhood experience. “The finishing of the Nauvoo House is like a man finishing a fight; if he gives up he is killed; if he holds out a little longer, he may live. I’ll tell you a story: A man who whips his wife is a coward. When I was a boy, once fought with a man who had whipped his wife. It was a hard contest; but I still remembered that he had whipped his wife; and this encouraged me, and I whipped him til he said he had enough.” (History of the Church, 7 Vols., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1978, 5:285.)

[kirtland r.m.]

A few more thoughts from The Martyrdom
“Chapter Twenty-Two: The Martyrdom,” Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual (2003), 273–85

Thomas Sharp vehemently expressed the feelings of many of the enemies of the Church when he editorialized in the Warsaw Signal: “War and extermination is inevitable! Citizens ARISE, ONE and ALL!!!—Can you stand by, and suffer such INFERNAL DEVILS! to ROB men of their property and RIGHTS, without avenging them. We have no time for comment, every man will make his own. LET IT BE MADE WITH POWDER AND BALL!!!” Warsaw Signal, 12 June 1844, p. 2.

Before returning to Nauvoo, Joseph prophesied, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer’s morning. I have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward all men. If they take my life I shall die an innocent man, and my blood shall cry from the ground for vengeance, and it shall be said of me ‘He was murdered in cold blood!’” History of the Church, 6:555; see also Doctrine and Covenants 135:4.

Upon returning to Nauvoo, Joseph directed that three small cannons and about two hundred firearms be turned over to the militia. This action revived agonizing memories of the Mormon disarmament that had preceded the Missouri massacre.

Carthage was in a riotous state. Mobs of irate townsmen and farmers from throughout western Illinois had been clamoring for the arrest of the Mormon prophet. They were now eager to see the captives. Among the mob were more than fourteen hundred unruly militia, including the local Carthage Greys. Crowds had been roaming the town all day, drinking and brawling. They wanted to get their hands on the Smith brothers.

Frank Worrell, the officer of the guard, who was one of the Carthage Greys, in a very bitter spirit said, ‘We have had too much trouble to bring Old Joe here to let him ever escape alive, and unless you want to die with him you had better leave before sundown; … and you’ll see that I can prophesy better than Old Joe. …’

At 4:00 p.m. the guard at the jail was changed. Frank Worrell, who had threatened Joseph Smith earlier that morning, was then in charge. A few minutes after five, a mob of about one hundred men with blackened faces arrived in town and headed for the jail...

Samuel Smith, brother to the Prophet, heard about death threats to his brothers and hurried to Carthage. He arrived in Carthage that evening physically exhausted, having been chased by the mobbers. Through the exertion and fatigue of a life-and-death chase, Samuel contracted a fever that led to his death on 30 July.

[kirtland r.m.]

Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 2, (1988-1990) p.305
"Some people have been through untold battles without any scars at all. Porter Rockwell was shot at more than a duck in a shooting gallery, but he was never harmed. There are such people, you know, that just walk right through. And this happens often. There are some stories about that, but there are guardian angels. There is such a thing; we are being watched."

Did Joseph Smith really promise Porter that as long as he didn’t cut his hair, he would be protected from harm?

So it would seem. Picking up where we left off at the Prophet’s Christmas party: once Porter’s identity was revealed, Joseph had him recount to the group what happened during his lengthy incarceration. Then, according to legend, Joseph told Porter, “I prophesy, in the name of the Lord, you—Orrin Porter Rockwell—so long as ye shall remain loyal and true to thy faith, need fear no enemy. Cut not thy hair, and no bullet or blade can harm thee.” Everyone at the party was amazed, and Nauvoo was soon abuzz with news of the prophecy, which was reminiscent of the ancient promise given to Samson’s parents.

An interesting footnote to the prophecy is that later in his life, Porter regularly traveled to California to collect tithing from the Latter-day Saints living there. On one such trip, Porter met Agnes Coolbrith Smith Pickett, the widow of Joseph Smith’s brother Don Carlos. Agnes’s hair had fallen out due to a severe bout of typhoid fever. Moved with compassion, Porter volunteered to have his long hair cut to make a wig for her. Even though it was for a good cause, Porter felt guilty for violating Joseph’s prophecy; from then on, he would blame his insurmountable weakness for whiskey and swearing on that one time he cut his hair.

Despite his dangerous lifestyle, Porter died of natural causes on June 9, 1878, only a few days shy of his 65th birthday. The previous night, Porter had taken his daughter Mary to a performance at the Salt Lake Theater. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until, late that night, he began complaining of chills and nausea; the next afternoon, he fell unconscious, and doctors were unable to revive him.

Three days later, nearly 1,300 people attended his funeral, held at the Fourth Ward building in Salt Lake City. Then-Apostle Joseph F. Smith gave the eulogy, pointing out that Porter had been a devoted friend to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young; he further added that Porter “had his little faults, but […] [t]hrough all his trials he had never once forgot his obligations to his brethren and his God.23
https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org ... l?lang=eng

[kirtland r.m.]

At one point, Ford encouraged Joseph and his brother, Hyrum Smith, to go to Carthage, the county seat, to face criminal charges in the destruction of the newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor. Once there, the Smiths were charged with treason, and Ford allowed two militia units to go home, thus assigning the duty to guard the two brothers to the Carthage Greys, an anti-Church militia that helped murder them on June 27, 1844.

Ford denied responsibility for the mob murders. However, two men later gave affidavits suggesting Ford knew of the plot and could have approved of it. Dan Jones, a riverboat captain and one of the few eyewitnesses to both sides of the event, repeatedly warned Ford throughout the day of comments he heard from the guards and jailkeepers concerning their plot to assassinate the restored Church leaders. In response, Ford supposedly replied, "You are unnecessarily alarmed for your friends' safety, sir. The people are not that cruel."[citation needed] Irritated by the remark, Jones urged the necessity of placing better men than professed assassins to guard them. He stressed that they [the Smiths] were American citizens surrendered to his [Ford's] pledged honor. When Ford showed little interest in Jones' concerns, Jones commented, " had then but one request to make; if you [Ford] left their lives in the hands of those men to be sacrificed, that the Almighty will preserve my life to a proper time and place to testify that you have been timely warned of their danger."[citation needed]] Later that day, returning to Nauvoo on horseback, Jones passed Ford's company while it passed by a painted mob ready to enter Carthage to kill the Church leaders. Jones records that while the assassination was taking place in Carthage, Ford addressed the citizens of Nauvoo saying that a, "severe atonement must be made, so prepare your minds for the emergency." The officials of the governor were heard urging him to hasten from there assuring him that the deed (that is the assassination), "was sure of having been accomplished by then." Both Ford's statement and the comments of his supporting officials provide strong evidence of Ford's involvement. He was later claimed to have said, "it's all nonsense; you will have to drive the Mormons out yet." This is exactly what happened. Several residents of Hancock County and many residents from several surrounding counties, met and decided on a plan of action that later forced the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to retreat into Utah, led by Brigham Young, by 1846.

While Ford opposed the Church, he also claimed to oppose the anti-Church faction that eventually drove them from the state.[citation needed] In the aftermath of the assassinations, Ford ordered the arrest and trial of Thomas C. Sharp, a newspaper editor in Warsaw, Illinois who had often printed disparaging and derogatory remarks against Smith and the Latter-day Saints. Sharp, who had printed calls for violence leading up to Smith's murder and celebratory remarks shortly after the killing, had briefly fled to Missouri to avoid trial. Upon his return to Illinois on Ford's orders, he was later acquitted of all charges.

In later correspondences, Governor Ford would defend his meek actions during the crisis, saying hated minorities are never safe from hostile majorities. He said, "Men engaged in unpopular projects expect more protection from the laws than the laws are able to furnish in the face of popular excitement." He believed that a politicized militia and court system, as well as weak powers granted him by state law, prevented him from doing more to stop the Illinois Mormon War. Writing in the third person, Ford declared "there was no way to punish {the guilty parties}, as former trials had shown, except by martial law; and this course was utterly illegal. The governor believed that he could not declare martial law for the punishment of citizens without admitting that free government had failed; and assuming despotism was necessary in its place."[21][citation needed]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ford_(politician)

[Reluctant Watchman]

I served with his great, great (one more great?) grandson in the scouting program. His name is also Porter Rockwell.

[Dusty Wanderer]

At one point, Ford encouraged Joseph and his brother, Hyrum Smith, to go to Carthage, the county seat, to face criminal charges in the destruction of the newspaper, the Nauvoo Expositor. Once there, the Smiths were charged with treason, and Ford allowed two militia units to go home, thus assigning the duty to guard the two brothers to the Carthage Greys, an anti-Church militia that helped murder them on June 27, 1844.

Ford denied responsibility for the mob murders. However, two men later gave affidavits suggesting Ford knew of the plot and could have approved of it. Dan Jones, a riverboat captain and one of the few eyewitnesses to both sides of the event, repeatedly warned Ford throughout the day of comments he heard from the guards and jailkeepers concerning their plot to assassinate the restored Church leaders. In response, Ford supposedly replied, "You are unnecessarily alarmed for your friends' safety, sir. The people are not that cruel."[citation needed] Irritated by the remark, Jones urged the necessity of placing better men than professed assassins to guard them. He stressed that they [the Smiths] were American citizens surrendered to his [Ford's] pledged honor. When Ford showed little interest in Jones' concerns, Jones commented, " had then but one request to make; if you [Ford] left their lives in the hands of those men to be sacrificed, that the Almighty will preserve my life to a proper time and place to testify that you have been timely warned of their danger."[citation needed]] Later that day, returning to Nauvoo on horseback, Jones passed Ford's company while it passed by a painted mob ready to enter Carthage to kill the Church leaders. Jones records that while the assassination was taking place in Carthage, Ford addressed the citizens of Nauvoo saying that a, "severe atonement must be made, so prepare your minds for the emergency." The officials of the governor were heard urging him to hasten from there assuring him that the deed (that is the assassination), "was sure of having been accomplished by then." Both Ford's statement and the comments of his supporting officials provide strong evidence of Ford's involvement. He was later claimed to have said, "it's all nonsense; you will have to drive the Mormons out yet." This is exactly what happened. Several residents of Hancock County and many residents from several surrounding counties, met and decided on a plan of action that later forced the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to retreat into Utah, led by Brigham Young, by 1846.

While Ford opposed the Church, he also claimed to oppose the anti-Church faction that eventually drove them from the state.[citation needed] In the aftermath of the assassinations, Ford ordered the arrest and trial of Thomas C. Sharp, a newspaper editor in Warsaw, Illinois who had often printed disparaging and derogatory remarks against Smith and the Latter-day Saints. Sharp, who had printed calls for violence leading up to Smith's murder and celebratory remarks shortly after the killing, had briefly fled to Missouri to avoid trial. Upon his return to Illinois on Ford's orders, he was later acquitted of all charges.

In later correspondences, Governor Ford would defend his meek actions during the crisis, saying hated minorities are never safe from hostile majorities. He said, "Men engaged in unpopular projects expect more protection from the laws than the laws are able to furnish in the face of popular excitement." He believed that a politicized militia and court system, as well as weak powers granted him by state law, prevented him from doing more to stop the Illinois Mormon War. Writing in the third person, Ford declared "there was no way to punish {the guilty parties}, as former trials had shown, except by martial law; and this course was utterly illegal. The governor believed that he could not declare martial law for the punishment of citizens without admitting that free government had failed; and assuming despotism was necessary in its place."[21][citation needed]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ford_(politician)

Thanks, KRM. The Dan Jones account is particularly interesting.

[simpleton]

He was later arrested and charged with attempting to murder Missouri Gov. Lilburn Boggs, a man who served much distress upon Smith and his followers in the church. A reward of $1,300 was posted for him, though he didn't match the description of the shooter.

[/url]

Funny how watered down the above statement is.
Let's put it how it actually was that Gov. Boggs ordered:

......The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description.....


And that extermination order was in effect until:

"On June 25, 1976, Governor Kit Bond issued an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order"...

So it was legal to kill Mormons in the state of Missouri until June the 25th 1976....