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CHAPTER III

AFTER THE EXODUS: 1846-185

Emma Smith, her children, and the other twelve Mormon refugees
disembarked from the Uncle Toby at Fulton City, September 18, 1846. Near the
edge of town, a quarter of a mile from the river, she found a cottage owned by a
doctor, which she rented. The two young women soon found work and married.
William Clapp returned, after a time, to Nauvoo. This left approximately fifteen
people in the small home. Some more of the household goods were hauled in,
overland, having been packed by longtime household helper, Servilla Durfee. They
settled in for the winter. It was cold, and the quarters were cramped, but the
children, including Young Joseph, did not mind. As children are want to do, they
quickly made new friends among their peers at Fulton City. The older children
immediately began attending school. Young Joseph enjoyed attending parties and
other social functions involving the young people of the town. He already was
learning to live in the midst of Gentiles and to find friends among them. This
ability served him well throughout the rest of his life.^I

The Smith family now was scattered to the four winds. Part of the family,
including soon-to-be Patriarch John Smith, Apostle George A. Smith, and Hyrum
Smith's widow, Mary Fielding Smith, had joined the westward trek. Others had
refused to acknowledge the leadership of Brigham Young. But even in this Emma
Smith stood alone, both geographically and theologically, because she refused to
follow the lead of William Smith. By the time Emma joined the evacuation from
Nauvoo, William Smith had forged an alliance between a substantial part of the
Smith family and James J. Strang.

James J. Strang, Prophetic Claimant

James J. Strang was a thirty-one year old elder who had been baptized only
four months before the prophet's death. Fired with a vision of personal glory, this
relative unknown stepped forth with the claim that he was Joseph Smith's rightful
successor as president of the church. Remarkably, he emerged (in the short run)
as the most successful rival to Brigham Young's leadership of the Saints. One
reason for his success lay in the very extravagance of his claims. He claimed no
role as caretaker. He advanced no legalistic arguments about lines of succession
or chains of command. He did not claim—as did Brigham Young initially—simply
to be carrying out the prophet's legacy. Strang claimed more than presidency
over the church. He boldly claimed to be a prophet, seer, and revelator. In proof
of his calling, he said that an angel had appeared to him, around the time of
Joseph Smith's death, and had ordained him the prophet's successor. To bolster his
claim, he laid in evidence a forged letter of appointment, dated June 18, 1844,
supposedly written by Joseph Smith, designating him his successor. To believing
Latter Day Saints, Strang's story had a certain inherent appeal. His story of
angelic commissioning resembled that of Joseph Smith. His story of visions and
divine revelations likewise was what the Saints expected from the leader of their
church. In 1845, another link in the chain of similarities to the late prophet was
added, when Strang engineered the discovery of some ersatz "ancient records"
enscribed on brass plates, to which he was supposedly directed by an angel.²
Strang proceeded to "translate" the plates, which were found to contain a
prophecy of Joseph Smith's successor: "The forerunner men shall kill, but a
mighty prophet there shall dwell. I will be his strength, and he shall bring forth
thy record. Record my words and bury it in the hill of Promise."³ By 1845,
Strang was beginning to attract a good number of followers among American
Saints who lived some distance from Nauvoo, particularly in the vicinity of his
own residence, Voree, Wisconsin.⁴

Initially an unknown among the Saints, Strang actively sought to attract to
his banner those who possessed recognizable names. Among the prominent
dissidents who enlisted under his banner (with their former offices) were John C.
Bennett (member of the first presidency), John E. Page (apostle), William E.
McLellin (apostle), George Miller (bishop), William Marks (president of the Nauvoo
Stake and High Council), George J. Adams (seventy), and William Smith (patriarch
and apostle). With William Smith came other members of the Smith family.

Besides his prophetic claims and the support of prominent Saints, Strang
had several other attractions. He denounced polygamy (initially). He offered an
alternative gathering place, Voree, Wisconsin, which did not involve a long trek
through the wilderness.⁵ He vigorously denounced some perceived abuses of the
Twelve, such as suppressing freedom of expression, personal use of church
resources, sexual misconduct, and the use of ungodly means to build up the
church.⁶

Strang's platform was one which might have appealed to Emma Smith on
several of these counts. He was anxious to gain her favor and support. On
February 22, 1846, he made overtures to her in a letter. In it he expressed
sadness at the sentiments expressed in the New York Sun letter—taking it to be
genuine—and expressed the notion that her faith had been shaken by the "many
evil deeds done by those who usurp authority in the Church." He offered to help
her should she desire assistance. If he should ever move to Nouvoo, he assured
her, things would be different than under the Twelve. In conclusion, he stated:

Whatever Emma Smith may have thought of the pretender's claims, it was
dangerous to espouse his cause in Nauvoo. The previous month, the Twelve had
issued a lengthy letter in condemnation of his claims, and a Strangite elder had
been run out of Nauvoo.⁸ There is no record of Emma Smith responding favorably
to Strang's overtures.

Alliance of William Smith and James J. Strang. During the fall and winter
of 1845, William Smith attempted to forge a rival church, but enjoyed only
marginal success. He conducted conferences in St. Louis and Cincinnati, which
condemned the Twelve for a variety of offenses and upheld William Smith as
rightful patriarch in Hyrum Smith's place. Significantly, both of William's
conferences passed resolutions concurring with the sentiments expressed in the
"High Council" conducted by George J. Adams, at Augusta, Iowa, March 10, 1845,
which acknowledged:

When the Twelve departed Nauvoo, William returned, in March 1846. He
attempted to raise a following and to secure the church property by virtue of
being "the real church." He was somewhat more successful in extorting some
concessions in real estate for his mother and sisters from the church's trustees.
Knowing that he could secure no more property without making peace with the
Twelve, William then forged an alliance with Strang. In exchange for supporting
Strang, William was to be recognized as patriarch. He also hoped to secure
financial assistance for his mother and sisters. ¹⁰

In the July 1846 number of the Strangite paper, the Voree Herald, William
Smith's acknowledgment of Strang's claims was published. William stated that he
had discussed Strang's claims with Emma Smith in Nauvoo, and tried to put the
best possible face upon her unwillingness to acknowledge Strang. Emma, he
stated, recalled that Strang and the prophet had communicated via letter, that
her son, Joseph III, once had a dream about the church removing to the north
country, and that Joseph Smith, Jr. once said that Brigham Young and Heber C.
Kimball would lead the church to hell if they became its leaders. William added
his own recollection, that at the last meeting of the Twelve in council, Joseph
Smith had never appointed them to succeed him. The letter closed with his
prestigious endorsement of Strang, with that of his mother and three sisters:

At some time before the fall of Nauvoo to the mob, Lucy Mack Smith sold
her property and removed to Knoxville, Illinois, about fifty miles north-east of
Nauvoo. She took with her the Egyptian papyri, from which Joseph Smith had
translated the Book of Abraham, and the Egyptian mummies, one of whom was
believed to be the pharaoh of the exodus. Her daughters Sophronia and Lucy also
moved there with her, together with their families.¹² Her daughter Katharine
Salisbury was in Churchville, Missouri, where Willkins J. Salisbury was desperately
ill, and the family destitute. ¹³

During the winter, William Smith joined his mother and sisters in Knoxville,
promising Strang that they would move to Voree in the spring, when the weather
permitted and the roads were better. His correspondence during this time shows
urgent concern that the family receive financial assistance. More ominous notes
also appear, such as his attempts to secure a divorce from his second wife, his
desire to allay rumors about his involvement in "spiritual wifery," and an
uneasiness that Strang was not granting him his full patriarchal dignity.¹⁴

By Christmas there were definite signs of impending rupture in the
alliance. George J. Adams—one of the strongest advocates of the rights of Young
Joseph—and William Marks—friend of Emma Smith—had joined forces with Strang,
and their influence began to be felt in ways William disliked. John C. Bennett
may have had a hand in the matter, as well. The problem was that there were not
enough important offices to go around. It was proposed to make William Smith
Chief Patriarch of the Church, standing in the place of Joseph Smith, Sr., by
virtue of which he was to have a seat in all the councils of the first presidency. It
was also proposed to make Young Joseph a counselor and patriarch, in place of his
uncle Hyrum Smith. William fretted and fumed that he was not receiving
sufficient recognition, that a proliferation of patriarchs would create competition
for the available blessing-revenue, and that the patriarchal office did not pass
through Joseph Smith, Jr.'s line. Furthermore, he argued, Young Joseph was only
a boy, and would not defend his claims, and granting him such recognition would
reap no benefits:

Nevertheless, James J. Strang was determined to make an attempt to win
over an even more important endorsement from the Smith family than that
represented by William.

Strang's visit to Fulton City. During the winter of 1846-47, James J.
Strang decided to visit Fulton City, the residence of his new ally, William Marks,
and his hoped for allies, Emma Smith and Young Joseph. Upon his arrival in town,
Joseph was introduced to the Voree prophet, and the two conversed briefly.
However, Joseph Smith III did not attend Strang's preaching services in Fulton
City, owing to a severe earache. Besides conducting preaching services, Strang
visited with Emma Smith, no doubt again urging upon her the propriety of
enlisting under his banner. While Strang and Marks visited with his mother, Young
Joseph retired to his room, unwell. There his old dog Major slept beside him,
keeping watch over his young master. Ever since the prophet's death, the faithful
mastiff had attached himself closely to Young Joseph, following him everywhere
and showing the greatest reluctance to let him out of sight. Old Major insisted on
sleeping next to the lad on a pallet. In years to come, after the assassination of
Strang in 1856, some of his now shepherdless flock, searching about for a new
leader, claimed that Strang had "ordained" Joseph Smith III his successor at Fulton
City. This was the only time that the two ever met, and Joseph Smith III strongly
denied that any such ordination took place. To the strained reasonings of those
who conjectured that the ordination took place while Joseph was sleeping, he later
retorted, "I was sure then, as I am now, that no human being could have entered
my room and have laid hands upon me without receiving immediate attention from
that dog, so vigilant was he." ¹⁶

Emma Smith, as William Smith had noted, would not hear of placing her son
in such a position. Strang's mission had been in vain. Henceforth the lad would be
raised unconnected with any Latter Day Saint faction.

Hasty Return to Nauvoo

During the winter, Emma Smith received letters from Dr. John M.
Bernhisel and other friends in Nauvoo, containing word that her renter, Abram
Van Tuyl, was building a houseboat and planning to leave Nauvoo in the spring.
After the exodus and the "Mormon War" of 1846, the number of transients in
Nauvoo had fallen off, and the hotel was not proving profitable for landlord Van
Tuyl. The reports to Emma indicated that Van Tuyl intended to strip the Mansion
House of its furnishings and make off down the Mississippi for Texas.¹⁷ Here
Emma Smith showed her determined character. She decided to surprise her
dishonest tenant before he could carry out his plans. To be sure of success, she
could not wait for the Mississippi to clear of ice. Her means of travel, therefore,
would have to be overland. The journey would be about 140 miles, over the
primitive roads of that day, and in the face of the uncertain Illinois winter. Still,
she determined to make the effort. With Lorin Walker driving the black horse
Charlie and accompanied by her five children, Emma Smith risked the journey.
Encountering mild weather and good roads most of the way, she drove up in front
of the Mansion House on February 19, 1847. Van Tuyl was astonished and
discomfitted! Soon, she was again mistress of the city's finest hotel, having lost
no more than the rent owed by Van Tuyl, some pieces of furniture, and a quantity
of chamber linen.¹⁸ An advertisement in the Nauvoo New Citizen, February 24,
1847, announced, "EMMA SMITH is again in her old residence, the Mansion
House."

This episode strongly impressed Young Joseph with admiration for his
mother. In later years, he would reflect upon her courage and resolute
determination to hold on to her property in Nauvoo:

Life among the New Citizens

Nauvoo had flourished as a religious mecca. But now it had lost its raison
d'etre. There would be no more throngs of immigrants arriving on the docks. The
once great city was now reduced to one among many towns along the Mississippi,
only so large and prosperous as local trade and agriculture would support. Though
hardly a ghost town, there was a sense of ominous quiet about its once bustling
streets. Numerous shops and homes stood vacant. Many of the surrounding farms
and orchards began to fall into disrepair. There was a sense of decline and decay
about the place.²⁰

The city's population was much reduced by February 1847. Few Mormons
remained. The majority of the inhabitants were New Citizens, who had moved
into Nauvoo in the wake of the Mormon hegira, attracted by the prospect of
snapping up bargains in real estate. Among the New Citizens were entrepreneurs,
who thought Nauvoo an excellent location for growth and trade. Others were
attracted by the city's beauty and reputation. But, inevitably, Nauvoo attracted a
good number of "undesirables." It was a Mississippi River town, and it now took
on all the characteristics of a wide open city. In his Memoirs. Joseph Smith III
recalled Nauvoo in those days:

It was in this environment that Young Joseph grew into manhood. He came
into contact with a wide variety of people and learned, of necessity, to coexist
with them. Emma Smith viewed saloons, their patrons, and barkeepers with
distaste,²² yet Nauvoo now had a substantial number of these. Among her regular
boarders were a Mr. Hanna, who owned two saloons, and John Rowe, a bar-keep.
Young Joseph learned to see that even such men had good as well as bad
qualities.²³ Along with this liberal and charitable disposition, another aspect of
Joseph's personality developed during these formative years. From his mother he
had learned to hate injustice of every sort. Though not a fighter by nature, he
was no coward. Even in childhood, he would risk a fight to protect the weaker
children from bullies. As a teenager, his sense of justice became more finely
honed. Patrons who would take advantage of his widowed mother, by not paying
their bills, were viewed with indignation. On at least one occasion he served
successfully as her bill-collector from a dishonest boarder. The man was a
relatively well-to-do doctor, named Stark, who contemptuously put off the lad's
request for payment of fourteen dollars, with the words:

"Well, I cannot pay it. Just tell your mother to go down into that old
stocking of hers and get out some of the coin that is rusting away there and use
that, if she needs any, and not come bothering me."

Joseph was now grimly determined. He refused to leave the doctor's room,
sat in his seat, and out-waited the dishonest physician, who finally capitulated
with disgust, exclaiming:

"I'll see that I never owe your mother anything again."

To this Joseph quickly replied:

"Thank you, sir. We will take good care of that ourselves"'

In the face of injustice, Joseph learned to stand stubbornly for the right.
His mother schooled him to temper his tendency toward outbursts of indignation
and coolly to face the foe. When he returned with the money collected from Dr.
Stork, she quizzed him about his conduct, admonishing him never to show
disrespect in such cases, however great the provocation.²⁴

In this environment, Joseph Smith III grew into manhood. Despite limited
opportunities for formal schooling, he early acquired the habit of reading and
thereby accumulated a store of knowledge far above average for his time and
place. He learned to champion the underdog and to befriend and aid foreign
emigrants. His personal code was to live honestly, honorably, and uprightly.

He reacted against the values of the idlers, grog-shop denizens, scalawags,
and brothel patrons. He held dear the middle-class values of industry, fidelity,
and respectability, and in later life became a temperance lecturer.

Living in a socially and religiously mixed environment, he learned to
coexist with a wide variety of people, and to count people of all religious
persuasions (or even none at all) his friends. His family must have sensed its
vulnerability—his father and uncle having been lynched, the city having been
invaded by an Anti-Mormon mob, and the very name "Mormon" having become an
epithet of opprobrium—as they lived in self-imposed isolation from their former
brethren. To people in such circumstances, toleration and liberality are cherished
virtues. The contrasting styles of leadership of two cousins—Joseph Smith III and
Joseph F. Smith, in their later roles as presidents of rival Latter Day
Saint bodies—was rooted partially in the different environments in which they
were reared. Raised amidst the Gentiles, Joseph Smith III was far more liberal
and tolerant than was Joseph F. Smith, who was reared in the relatively
homogeneous environment of Zion in the Rockies, in which there was no greater
sin than apostasy.

Joseph's Stepfather, Lewis Crum Bidamon

On December 23, 1847, Emma Smith remarried. Her bridegroom was Lewis
Crum Bidamon, two years her junior. Major Bidamon—he came by the title
through service in the Illinois militia—had been one of the most prominent among
the New Citizens attempting to avert the mob's invasion of Nauvoo the previous
year.²⁵

The marriage of the city's most famous resident was the social event of the
Christmas season. Sarah M. Kimball wrote of it, from a Mormon viewpoint, to her
friend Nancy Marinda Hyde, at Winter Quarters:

This marriage marked a definite break with the past and established Emma
Smith Bidamon's course for years to come. The prophet's widow had married a
Gentile, with the ceremony performed by a Methodist preacher, William Haney.²⁷
By this act, she ended all hopes or speculation that she yet might marry one of the
leading Utah elders, as had other wives of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. By
marrying a man who had bravely faced the Anti-Mormon mobbers, she served
notice that she intended to remain in Nauvoo and that her future lay among the
Gentile populace of Hancock County, not among the body of Saints in the west.
She declared her independence of Brigham Young's leadership and permanently set
her own course.²⁸

"The Major," as he was familiarly known, was not only a Gentile, but an
irreligious one at that. He styled himself a Deist, and loved to declare that his
creed was, "I believe in one God who has neither partners nor clerks"' Although
he came from a strong Methodist family, Major Bidamon was in no sense a
churchman. Emma's marriage to Lewis would shock pious Mormon minds not only
for this reason, but for others as well. The Major had been married twice
previously, and was once widowed and once divorced. He had fathered an
illegitimate child, and later would father another. He was fond of tobacco and
alcohol, and was given to swearing. To odd insult to injury, the marriage
ceremony was performed on December 23rd, the birthday of the prophet!²⁹

But the Major had many strong qualities which proved attractive to Emma.
He was six feet tall, had a fine bearing, dressed well, and was handsome despite
his baldness. He was an inventive businessman. His personality was mercurial and
passionate. He was personable and made friends easily; his sense of humor was
legendary. His disposition was generous and hospitable.

Here was a widow—living in a town now filled with a "river" population,
and in a county populated with mobbers who had killed her husband and recently
overrun the city. She had five dependent children. A husband, a brave and
resolute one, was something to consider seriously, whatever his religion. With her
tangled financial affairs, a man with business ability would be a welcome partner.
The two of them were without mates, and courtship soon developed into love.
Emma decided to marry, whatever additional antagonism such a move might
create among the Latter Day Saints.³⁰

The Major entered Young Joseph's life at a critical juncture. The youth
was just past his fifteenth birthday, in the midst of what he later deemed "the
formative period of my life." At the end of his life, he reflected, "It is certain
that whatever I may have done later, of a character to challenge the attention of
men, resulted largely from such experiences, influences, and preparation for
service as marked those years [1844-1855]." The Major's entry into the family
circle left its impress upon everyone in the family:

With brief interruptions when it was run by others, Emma and the Major operated
the Mansion House hotel. As Nauvoo faded into relative insignificance, the
transient traffic proved an undependable source of income, but with many young
hands available to tend the family farm, east of town, and gardens in Nauvoo,
they never lacked food on the table. L. C. Bidamon proved skillful in supervising
these farming and gardening operations.³¹ Joseph later recalled:

The Major's entry into the household not only shaped Joseph's financial
future, but his character and values, as well. L. C. Bidamon's sociable nature, his
ability to win friends easily, and his willingness to open his table to others, were
all traits displayed by his stepson in later life. His Whig sympathies later
blossomed into Union sentiments, and Joseph Smith III became a staunch, life-long
Republican. He was industrious, independent, loathed indebtedness, valued
manliness, and had a highly developed sense of humor, all traits shored by Joseph.

But the Major served as a negative example, as well. His Deist creed—"I
believe in one God who has neither partners nor clerks"—left no permanent mark
on his stepson, nor did his disbelief in the Bible and his professed dislike for all
preachers. His swearing, tippling, and tobacco-using habits had no permanent
effect in molding Joseph's own practices.³³ While Joseph shared with him a
certain gallantry toward women, he held his stepfather's extramarital affairs in
contempt. The Major's threat to divorce Emma—as a result of a quarrel with
Joseph—he regarded as abhorrent, and told the Major as much. The Major's
sociable nature failed to distinguish friends from "human sponges," while Joseph
Smith III proved a far more astute judge of human nature. The Major easily lost
his temper—and his friends—while Joseph was noted for great calmness and
patience in the face of extreme provocation. He knew how to forgive his debtors,
and as a result his friendships tended to be permanent. Both on a positive and
negative level, then, L. C. Bidamon was a significant formative influence upon
Joseph Smith III.³⁴

Ongoing Controversy with the Twelve

Emma Smith Bidamon faced continuing legal difficulties of great
complexity. Had she seen eye-to-eye with the church's leaders, the problems
would have been serious enough, but with a deep rift separating them, dispute fed
dispute, and antagonism led to antagonism. By the time of her marriage to Major
Bidamon, relations were extremely bitter.

John S. Fullmer, one of the church's trustees in Nauvoo, wrote to Brigham
Young on January 27, 1848, concerning Emma. Of her recent marriage, he noted
caustically, that "a certain widow" had been given, as the orthodox would say, '"in
holy matrimony' to one of his Satanic Majesty's high priests, to wit: one Lewis
Bidamon." Fullmer then relayed details of the newlyweds' legal and financial
doings:

Illinois law made it lawful for a trustee of a religious society "to receive by
gift, devise or purchase, a quantity of land not exceeding 10 acres . . . ."³⁶ James
A. Ralston had pointed this out to Emma in 1844, but only now when relations had
reached a point of no return, did she finally play her trump card. There is no
evidence that the church's leaders ever had been aware of this ten-acre limitation
on ecclesiastical land-holdings.³⁷

The pugnacious Almon W. Babbitt, another of the church's trustees in
Nauvoo, also sent word to Brighom Young and Heber C. Kimball of Emma's
maneuvers, giving some additional details. Emma had made a deed conveying all
of the church's land in Nauvoo to her lawyers, with the intention of breaking up the
church's claim to the property, on the basis of the state law limiting such
holdings. Babbitt glumly concluded that until her claims were tested in court,
title to the land would be clouded and further sales would be impossible. "It
operates," he wrote, "as a perfect estopel to the sale of more city property until
the matter is tested in the courts of Law."³⁸

Almon W. Babbitt launched a legal counter-offensive. If Emma could reach
for the church's financial jugular vein, he would reach for hers. Joseph W.
Coolidge, after initially going about his duties as administrator of Joseph Smith's
estate in desultory fashion, had done nothing after 1845. Most of the major
claims against the estate were still unresolved. Additional creditor's claims had
not been received, and further property had not been sold off to settle the claims
already received. Finally he left Illinois, with the estate hanging in limbo.³⁹ Now
Babbitt successfully petitioned to have John M. Ferris replace Coolidge as
administrator of the estate. Ferris assumed his duties on August 8, 1848 and
immediately set about his task with vigor. By January 4, 1849, he had filed a
lengthy inventory of real property owned by the decedent.⁴⁰

Emma Smith Bidamon was convinced that Almon Babbitt and Brigham
Young were conspiring to defraud her by initiating false claims against the estate.
During Coolidge's administration, only one claim of over $1,000 had been entered
against the estate, and that had been by Babbitt, acting as attorney for the heirs
of Edward Lawrence. Now, four years after Joseph Smith's death, at least nine
new creditors filed claims, most of them for large amounts. Total claims filed
under Coolidge had been $4,872.49. Under Ferris, the total quickly ballooned to a
grand total of $25,023.45. The most careful study upon this subject speculates
that the sudden possibility of additional assets encouraged creditors to step
forward at this time. Emma's view was radically different. She was convinced
that the lately filed claims had been settled during her husband's lifetime and
were only being revived as a means of damaging her.⁴¹

Shortly before or after these legal broadsides began to be exchanged,
Emma and Babbitt conversed about the situation.⁴² Babbitt had driven up to the
Mansion House ostentatiously, in a light open carriage drawn by a team of four,
replete with a dandy harness and a pair of bells which jangled as the carriage
passed through the streets. Calling upon the prophet's widow, he inquired whether
she, with her children, would not follow the church westward and urged her to do
so. He pointed out the advantages to be realized by such a move: life among
friends instead of Anti-Mormons, financial assistance, and the opportunity to
worship and rear her children among followers of her husband's religion. Emma
flatly refused. It was true that the conditions in which she lived were far from
ideal. It was also true that there might be certain financial, social, and religious
advantages to life in Utah. But what of the disadvantages? She would be required
to submit to the leadership of Brigham Young, and all that his leadership entailed.
Furthermore, her children would be raised among advocates and practitioners of
polygamy, who might indoctrinate them in the system. She adamantly told
Babbitt that she would never go to Utah, "that she could never abide the evil
conditions that had been established there nor could she countenance the false
doctrines introduced."⁴³ The discussion turned to argument, and the argument
became heated. Finally, either losing his temper, or as a premeditated threat,
Almon W. Babbitt rose from his seat and stated, "Well, if you will not go as
requested, it is resolved to make you so poor that you will be glad to go, and I
have been appointed to do this." When he had accomplished his mission, she would
be glad to come to Deseret for protection, beg pardon of the Twelve, and follow
them. Young Joseph, who witnessed the episode between his mother and his
former Sunday School teacher, recalled his mother's spirited reply: "Well, sir, it
may be possible for you to make me poor, but you will never be able to make me
so poor that I will follow Brigham Young to the valleys of the mountains." With
this defiant reply ringing in his ears, Almon W. Babbitt retired in anger from the
house.⁴⁴

The breach between the Twelve and Emma had become permanent. Young
Joseph was old enough to understand the dispute and definitely considered his
mother to be the aggrieved party and Brigham Young the villain. He viewed his
mother as courageously standing her ground against injustice:

Grim Financial Picture

Emma Smith Bidamon's unwillingness to reach an accommodation with
Brigham Young placed her in a precarious position. She faced a bleak financial
situation. She stood an excellent chance of gaining eventual title to much
property in an around Nauvoo. But in the meantime, she lacked liquid assets.
Claims against her late husband's still unsettled estate were mounting, while the
value of the land she claimed was declining. Between creditors, legal costs, and
declining land values, she might eventually end up with nothing.⁴⁶

The Federal Lawsuit

At this point both Almon W. Babbitt's strategy and Emma Smith Bidamon'
were rendered moot. On August 19, 1850, U.S. Attorney for Illinois Archibald
Williams filed a complaint, United States v. Smith. This suit sought to obtain
payment of an old judgment of $4,866.38 against Joseph Smith.⁴⁷ As a result of
the suit, both the church and Emma lost most of their holdings, which were sold to
satisfy the debt.

The U.S. government had originally obtained judgment for the debt in 1842,
but the matter had been complicated by bankruptcy proceedings and the death of
the prophet. Now the court held that all property which Joseph Smith had
conveyed to others after the original judgment (June 11, 1842) was subject to a
judgment lien. The government's lien took precedence over all subsequent sales,
gifts, inheritances, or claims of creditors. The only claim taking priority over the
judgment lien was his widow's right to dower. According to the legal formula
employed in Illinois, Emma Smith Bidamon was entitled to one-sixth dower
interest in the property. The court ruled that Joseph Smith's real property be
sold, with five-sixths of the proceeds being used to satisfy the judgment and one-
sixth being paid to Emma.⁴⁸

The church suffered a more serious reversal. All land Joseph Smith held as
trustee-in-trust for the church was ruled covered by the judgment lien. Here
James A. Ralston's old argument was found to be correct. Since a religious
society was prohibited by state law from holding more than ten acres of land, the
extensive church holdings in Joseph Smith's name were ruled to be personal
property. As such, one-sixth of the proceeds from the sales of all church
properties would be paid to Emma.⁴⁹

The Role of George Edmunds

The man who helped to rescue this much of Joseph Smith's estate for his
family was George Edmunds. Edmunds was a young lawyer of Quaker ancestry,
although espousing no particular creed himself. He was an expert in property law
and had been in partnership with Almon W. Babbitt for several years, beginning in
1845. Much of his time had been devoted to sales of the church's property. During
the winter of 1846-1847 he went east with Babbitt, attending to business while
Babbitt spent most of his time preaching.⁵⁰ The date and causes of his rupture
with Babbitt are unknown. In any case, his sense of fair play led him to intervene
on behalf of the prophet's widow. He was unwilling to see her left destitute and
voluntarily offered her his legal assistance. In Young Joseph's grateful eyes,
Edmunds was saying to those who "oppressed" the Smiths: "You shall not do this
thing: I will not submit to such an outrage being performed here."⁵¹ A bond of
affection developed between the two which lasted into old age.

Through George Edmunds' legal skill certain pieces of property were saved
for the family. He successfully argued that the properties deeded to Joseph
Smith's children were separate from the rest of the estate. Edmunds convinced
the court that the 129-acre "Smith Family Farm," on the prairie just east of
Nauvoo, was paid for by other members of the church and conveyed directly to
the Smith children out of "great and tender regard" for the prophet's family. The
farm therefore was held free from the judgment lien. The Cleveland Farm
(approximately 200 acres) near Quincy was likewise not subjected to execution on
technical grounds.⁵² But forty-six Nauvoo lots which Joseph had conveyed to
Emma and the children were sold at auction. ⁵³

The foreclosure sales were held in 1851. Of the proceeds, Emma Smith
Bidamon received $1,809.41 for dower rights and the U.S. government $7,870.23
(the original $4,866.38 plus interest). George Edmunds, representing the
Bidamons, bid successfully for four tracts which Joseph Smith had owned
personally. Other parcels in Nauvoo were also purchased by Emma and L. C.
Bidamon with the proceeds. Those who suffered the greatest losses in the
foreclosure sales were the land speculators (who had purchased large tracts from
the church trustees) and the creditors of the estate, since there was little left to
cover their claims.⁵⁴

Through skillful use of the law and alert bidding at auctions, George
Edmunds and the Bidamons had been able to preserve some of the property Emma
regarded as rightfully her own. Unfortunately, the holdings had been reduced to a
fraction of their former value.⁵⁵ But the family would not starve. They owned a
hotel, operated a store, raised gardens, farmed, bought and sold lots, and
generally made the best of their situation.

Joseph Smith III, Store Clerk

Major Bidamon had managed to purchase a considerable amount of
property, in the wake of the Mormon exodus. He had also opened a small dry
goods store, in partnership with a Philadelphian, named Hartwell. Soon after his
marriage to the widow Smith, he and Hartwell dissolved their partnership. The
Major continued to operate the store until the summer of 1848. During this time,
Young Joseph clerked in the store, but because the stock was run down and
unattractive, sales were slow.
In the face of flagging sales, the Major determined that a change in
strategy was necessary. He proposed to his wife, Emma, that they become
partners in the store. He estimated the value of his goods at $1,000 and proposed
to his wife that she invest a similar amount of cash, to replenish the stock. Emma
agreed, and the newly replenished stock was moved into a new location, the Red
Brick Store, which had formerly belonged to the prophet. The Red Brick Store
was located on the flat, not far from the Nauvoo Mansion. Joseph Smith III was
installed as clerk and manager of the newly outfitted store. The idea was to
establish a business for the lad. A room was fixed up for him in the second story,
with desk, books, and a bed. There he slept, doubling as the store's night
watchman.

Fifteen year-old Joseph's entry into the world of business proved a failure.
The population of the city had entered a decline which would not level out for
years. The Red Brick Store was not centrally located and suffered accordingly.
The town's center of business activity had shifted to the higher ground near the
Temple. The Major's idea of breaking into the Mississippi grain trade was
unsuccessful, as this important business was controlled by established merchants.
The Major's business practices were cavalier and something to which the more
orderly mind of Joseph Smith III could not adapt readily. Significantly, the youth
found he lacked skill as a salesman. He disliked dickering over prices, making
concessions in order to win further business, or coaxing and persuading customers.
In general, he found that he had no "clerkly palaver." In later years, both he and
members of the RLDS Church would lament that he "lacked business sense."

Slowly but surely, the store failed as business venture. The stock of goods
ran down, the equity was absorbed, and no profit was realized. One future avenue
was closed to Young Joseph. He would not be a businessman.⁵⁶ The failure of the
store cannot have been a great trauma for the lad, who dreamed of blacksmithing,
not clerking. Life went on for this teen-aged bearer of a famous name.

Burning of the Temple

On the evening of October 8, 1848, Joseph Smith III was sleeping upstairs in
the Red Brick Store. Suddenly he was aroused by shouts of "Fire!" Arising from
his bed to go to the window at the north side of the room, he ran into the wall on
the west side. The light from the conflagration was so bright that in his semi-
wakened state he had mistaken the reflection on the wall for the window.

The jar completely awakened Joseph. A passerby informed him that
Nauvoo's famed Temple was ablaze. Dressing hastily, he ran down to the Mansion
House but found that Major Bidamon had already been awakened and gone up to
fight the fire. Young Joseph stood guard at the Mansion. In the morning, the
Major returned exhausted, covered with ashes, and smelling of smoke. The whole
interior of the Temple had been gutted. The Major, although no believer in
organized religion, expressed a profound sense of loss. ⁵⁷

Any hope of rebuilding the temple was dashed soon after its burning by a
violent storm which blew down parts of the south wall. Its structural integrity
weakened, the temple began to fall down, piece by piece. Finally, only the south-
west corner remained standing. This was regarded as unsafe, and the city council
ordered it razed. The stones from the temple were gradually carried off by
residents, for use in other structures, until finally "not one stone was left upon
another."

The burning of the Temple was a catastrophe for Nauvoo. At the time of
its construction, it was the tallest building in the western United States. A costly
edifice, and a religious curiosity to non-Mormons, it was a tourist attraction of
the first order. Rumors were rampant as to the causes of the fire. It was
believed, generally, that surrounding towns had feared that a soon-to-be-
established school in the Temple would again establish the preeminence of Nauvoo
over surrounding communities. In later years, the arsonist, a drunken "river rat"
named Joe Agnew, confessed that he had been hired to perform the crime.⁵⁸

The burning of the temple accelerated Nauvoo's decline. It was no longer a
gathering place for the Saints, and a magnificent tourist attraction was gone.
Population and property values were in decline. Much of the population was less
than civic-minded. And its strategic commercial location was about to be
undercut by railroads. In short, Nauvoo had been removed from historical center-
stage.

Departure of Major Bidamon for California

In the spring of 1849, L. C. Bidamon was seized with "gold fever" and left
Nauvoo for California. He and a partner procured a team and provisions and
began the long, hard journey overland for the west.⁵⁹ But upon arrival in the
new-found El Dorado, the Major found that he could only secure work as a
common laborer at "the diggin's." Being a skilled workman in wood and iron, he
went into business mending axe and pick handles, sharpening tools, mending
machinery, and providing such auxiliary services as were needed by the miners.
During his stay in California, he managed to accumulate a goodly sum of money in
this fashion.⁶⁰

While the Major was away, Emma rented the hotel to her adopted daughter,
Julia, and her new husband, Elisha Dixon, and moved across the street to the Old
Homestead. After approximately a year, the young couple left Nauvoo for
Galveston, Texas, and Emma resumed management of the Mansion House.⁶¹ In a
letter to L. C. Bidamon, in which she expressed her anxiety for his well-being, she
told him plainly that conditions in Nauvoo were depressed and that running a
boarding house was lean business. Both the untrustworthy nature of the city's
population and her continuing legal difficulties received graphic description:

Both her fears of and antipathy toward the authorities in Salt Lake City were
plainly evident in this letter. She related that Almon W. Babbitt had visited her,
and informed her that Bidamon had no right to marry her, and that she had no
right to marry the Major. "All that I can find that they have against you is they
think that you occupy a situation here that you have no business to." She
expressed gratitude that he had not gone to California via Great Salt Lake,
cautioned him that their correspondence might be intercepted and examined by
hostile eyes, and warned him about the future:

After over a year's absence, Major Bidamon returned home to Nauvoo.⁶³
He had accumulated about $1,000 in California, but upon arrival at the Mansion
House he had but $800 in worthless Missouri banknotes and some hard-earned
experience to show for his efforts. On the return trip, the Major had fallen in
with a swindler who made off with all his hard earned money;⁶⁴

An Overture from the West

Joseph was now sixteen years old. At such an age, it would not be
uncommon for a lad to begin to make his way in the world. With his growing
maturity in view, his second cousin, Apostle George A. Smith, wrote him a letter
from Winter Quarters. It read:

This was evidently a personal appeal from the avuncular G. A. Smith to
Joseph Smith III. There was nothing of an official character about it. No doubt
that branch of the Smith family which went west with Brigham Young would have
been delighted if the prophet's son had chosen to emigrate to Utah. George A.
apparently entertained hopes that when Joseph was old enough to decide for
himself, he would choose to carry on his father's work.

Such was not to be the case. Throughout his life, Joseph Smith III
entertained genuine affection for most of his Utah cousins, but religiously he was
poles apart from them.

There was no Latter Day Saint preaching in Hancock County. Emma Smith
Bidamon evidently made no effort to indoctrinate her children in the distinctive
beliefs of the Saints, after 1844. There is evidence that Emma at one time
contemplated uniting with the fledgling Methodist work in Nauvoo.⁶⁶ Her
children were brought up according to a strict moral code. They were free to
attend the preaching services of various denominations. But concerning
Mormonism, their mother maintained a tight-lipped silence. She had not lost her
faith in her husband's prophetic calling, but she had suffered so much as a result
of her faith that she left her children free to chart their own course. She
explained her reasoning to a visitor in 1856:

Visitors

Even after the destruction of the Temple, Nauvoo still attracted a certain
number of tourists. Mormon missionaries going to and from Utah were likely to
visit the Mansion House, as were curious Gentiles. It was only natural that such
visitors should ask questions. While the Bidamons were happy for patronage at
their hotel, the questions must have touched a raw nerve deep within Emma's soul.
Different visitors caught her in different moods, but every record of such
conversations reflects an underlying alienation from the church in Utah. For
example, Jonathan C. Wright visited Nauvoo in February 1848. He wrote:

She was glad to welcome her old friend, Dr. John M. Bernhisel, but the
doctor wrote that "she did not make a single inquiry in relation to the Valley, the
Church, or any of its members." This was in sharp contrast to Lucy Mack Smith,
who retained on active interest in the church.⁶⁹

An English convert, passing through Nauvoo on her way to Utah in 1853,
found Lucy Smith bearing a testimony to the Latter Day work and giving "a
mother's blessing" to pilgrims. Emma, on the other hand, "seemed to have shut
her eyes to the light & knowledge she once possessed, and how great is the
darkness that now encloses her—she seems to be absorbed in the past, and to take
no cognizance of passing events or people . . . ."⁷⁰

To these Mormon visitors, Emma's silence seemed like indifference or even
apostasy. But for her it was a policy born of deep emotional wounds, as well as a
necessity if she were to succeed in shielding her children from the perceived evils
of Utah Mormonism.

Freethinking Phase

Given the freedom by his mother to set his own religious course, Joseph
Smith III explored a variety of options. For a time, during his teen-aged year, he
drifted toward becoming a free-thinker. How greatly Major Bidamon influenced
him in this direction is difficult to say, but it is clear that Young Joseph's skeptical
tendencies were those of an intelligent, questioning youth. The Major's professed
disbelief in religion, on the other hand, smacked of pragmatism; a profession of
religion would require reformation, deprive him of many cherished pleasures, and
generally inconvenience him. Shortly after the Major came into the household,
Young Joseph took up reading law, and his associations with local members of the
bar—many of whom were "profane men"—may have influenced his religious views.

Joseph was frequently in attendance at the Methodist services in Nauvoo.
He also interested himself in various reform movements of the day, particularly
the temperance movement. The local temperance association met in the
Methodist Church, and one day, while returning from such a meeting, he fell into
conversation with the Reverend Richard Haney, the presiding elder of the
Methodist conference in that area. Elder Haney suggested that the youth should
profess religion. Joseph later recalled the course of the conversation:

To Young Joseph, the doctrine was unreasonable and inconsistent with the
loving character of God. He could not accept the damnation of infants or of
heathen who had never heard the Gospel. Neither could he accept the notion that
probation ended at death. He could not accept the orthodoxy of the Methodists or
Presbyterians with whom he came in contact. For a time he "took upon himself
the idea of running a free lance against everything that came along, especially if it
took the guise of a claim to religious teaching .. . ."

During these years his reading included a variety of liberal thinkers. He
subscribed to the Phrenological Journal and acquainted himself with proponents of
phrenology such as Combe, Hall, and 0. S. Fowler. He familiarized himself with
the writings of Thomas Paine. He was a subscriber to various "advanced journals"
of the day. But the same habits of thought which led him to question the
orthodoxy of his day also prevented him from embracing infidelity.

The incident which permanently dissuaded him from atheism occurred
during his reading. He was reading a story set in Arabia, involving a Bedouin and
a European traveler. The European daily observed the Muslim saying his prayers.
Finally he asked the Arab why he bothered, informing him that there was no God.
It was early morning, and the follower of Islam looked up, swept forth his hand,
and declared, "That sky, this earth," stamping his foot, "they never came by
chance." Young Joseph found the argument compelling. There must be, he
concluded, a first cause and a designer of all creation.

But this conclusion led to further questions. If there was a God, what was
one's religious duty? The hell of orthodoxy seemed unreasonable. What then of
universalism? While orthodoxy seemed too narrow, this seemed too broad.
Eventually Joseph rejected this alternative as well. He was too imbued with the
notion of justice to accept it:

Joseph looked for a via media between orthodoxy and universalism.
Perhaps his childhood religious training was having some influence on his thinking.
Ultimately he was to find the synthesis he sought in Latter Day Saint doctrine.
But for the meantime, as he approached adulthood, he embarked on a quest for
answers to his religious questions. That quest soon led him to investigate
Spiritualism, a craze which swept America by storm in the 1850s.

Investigation of Spiritualism

The Fox Sisters "discovered" the secret of the "Rochester-rappings" in
1848. Two years later, publicity surrounding their appearances in New York
created widespread interest in Spiritualism. A Spiritualistic tidal wave swept
across America in 1850. Americans in astounding numbers began delving into the
subject, including the citizens of Hancock County, Illinois. Seances, spirit-
rappings, automatic writing, levitation, spoken messages from the dead, and other
Spiritualistic manifestations became the subjects of extensive curiosity. Interest
in Spiritualism was not confined to a handful of crackpots. "Scarcely another
cultural phenomenon affected as many people or stimulated as much interest as
did Spiritualism in the ten years before the Civil War . . . ."⁷²

Spiritualism was a truly popular phenomenon in the 1850s. Informal
investigations were carried on among friends and neighbors, throughout the
country. Henry Spicer, an Englishman who traveled widely in the United States in
1852, reported that it was "impossible to visit town or city, in any direction,
without the matter being brought to one's notice." The investigations appealed to
every strata of society and included people of all religious persuasions, even
come-outers, infidels, and atheists. In Cincinnati, the editor of the Daily Times
estimated that there were 1,200 mediums in the city, following the Fox sisters'
visit. James Sargent, a journalist traveling through the west in 1853, wrote, "It
was not by any means unusual on entering a log cabin to find the good, simple
people seated round the rude table upon which the raps were being made."⁷³

James Chadsey and his family, who lived next to the Smith farm, became
caught up in Spiritualism. Joseph was working on the family farm, located just
east of Nauvoo, when the Spiritualistic craze broke out. In the course of visiting
the neighbors, he was introduced to spirit-writing by Mrs. Chadsey. Another
neighboring farmer of skeptical bent, named James Richardson, became a convert
to Spiritualism. He and Joseph conversed frequently upon the subject and
attended Mrs. Chadsey's seances. Together they read and discussed various
Spiritualistic writings. They also attempted to induce various occult
manifestations, but with little success.⁷⁴

These investigations continued for three years. Joseph read some of the
works of Andrew Jackson Davis, including The Principles of Nature, Her Divine
Revelations, and a Voice to Mankind (1847) and much of The Great Harmonia;
Being a Philosophical Revelation of the Natural. Spiritual, and Celestial Universe
(a multi-volume work, first appearing in 1850.⁷⁵ He also read various
Spiritualistic newspapers and delved a bit into the works of Emanuel Swedenborg.
But Joseph never moved beyond inquisitive dabbling, reading, and observation.
Like many other Americans of that day, he gradually concluded that much of the
evidence and reasoning in Spiritualistic literature was unconvincing. His appeals
to the departed spirits of various deceased relatives failed to bring any response.
His suspicions grew, based upon the purely "physical and gross" nature of the
spiritual phenomena. These growing doubts were shared by many critics, who
"failed to see anything spiritual in the average seance .... Too often sitters
ordered the heavens down to earth, never encouraging their own souls to soar any
higher than the furniture flying around the room." Critics also complained that
the communications were unverifiable, that the manifestations were often
fraudulently produced, or that they were of demonic origin.⁷⁶ In the midst of
these doubts, an incident occurred which brought the reading, the seances, the
questions, indeed, the whole Spiritualistic phase of Joseph's life to a close.

The incident took place at a seance in 1852. Mrs. Chadsey received a
purported communication from the dead. The "departed" spirit was none other
than Joseph's old friend, Oliver B. Huntington, who related that he had died of
cholera in Watertown, New York. The communication was most convincing, since
the handwriting seemed to resemble Oliver's.

Here was the perfect opportunity to test the validity of the
communications. Joseph wrote to the Huntington family. In due time, he
received replies, including one from Oliver himself, with assurances that all was
well.

The letter from Oliver B. Huntington closed Joseph's investigation of
Spiritualism. His friend Richardson reverted to skepticism. Joseph felt disgusted
with performances which he now considered unreliable at best and "humbug" at
worst.⁷⁷

By 1855 he was counselling others against Spiritualism. In the course of his
correspondence with a childhood friend—now an eligible young woman—he set
forth his conclusions upon the subject:

Farming

By 1850, Joseph Smith III had grown into a stockily-built young man. He
had inherited his father's exceptional physical strength but not his height. In that
year and the subsequent one, Joseph got his first taste of farming on the Smith
Family Farm. His physical endurance proved a welcome asset at harvest time. In
1852 it was decided not to lease the farm any longer, and the family undertook to
work it. Joseph Smith III and his brothers performed the labor, and Major
Bidamon directed operations. Joseph relished the physical labor and seemed to
have a special understanding of farm animals. In later years he always recalled
his years spent in farming with pleasure.⁷⁹

Social Development

These were also important years for Joseph Smith Ill's social development.
He had grown to love social functions during his sojourn in Fulton City. Now,
Major Bidamon acted as a genial, popular host, and the Mansion House became the
central gathering-place for social events of Nauvoo's younger set. The young folk
would gather there for apple-parings, corn-huskings, taffy-pulls, various "bees,"
and parties. Joseph naturally became a leader among the young people and later
recalled:

The spirit of mutual toleration which he imbibed in these years never left him,
and it served him well after he became president of the Reorganized Church.
There was still the unsettled question of Joseph's future vocation. His
career as a storekeeper had been short-lived. He had assisted around the family
hotel and family farm, but his ultimate course was still unsettled. In 1853 he
seized an opportunity to engage in railroad building.

Railroad Contractor

Nauvoo occupied a strategic geographical location, as did her civic rival,
Warsaw. Warsaw lay at the southern end of the Des Moines Rapids, and Nauvoo
the northern end. Navigation between the two cities was limited by a vessel's
displacement, the fluctuating depth of the river, and navigational hazards.
Warsaw formed the northern terminus of trade on the lower Mississippi, and
Nauvoo the southern terminus for the upper trade. Various schemes to link the
two cities by railroad were put forward over the years, beginning with the
proposed Des Moines Rapids Railroad Company in 1839. After the conclusion of
the Mormon troubles, the idea was revived, and a charter was granted to the
Nauvoo and Warsaw Railroad Company by the Illinois legislature, February 24,
1847. This act was amended in 1849 and 1852, and the right-of-way conferred
upon a larger proposed line, the Warsaw and Rockford Railroad.⁸¹

At the urging of Major Bidamon, Joseph Smith III subcontracted to grade a
half mile of the Warsaw and Rockford Railroad in 1853. This work, during the
summer and fall, involved the expenditure of $800. Due to the failure of the
original contractors and mismanagement, his returns were meager: one alpaca
coat valued at $4.00; an iron crow-bar and a log chain with a combined value of
$12.00; and $2.50 cash.⁸²

The railroad between Warsaw and Nauvoo was never built, despite a
successful bond election in 1855. Warsaw became a railroad terminus, but Nauvoo
was bypassed. With the rapid expansion of rail commerce, the importance of river
trade would be eclipsed. In years to come, Nauvoo, once a vital commercial
junction on the Mississippi, a religious mecca, and the largest city in Illinois,
increasingly faded into commercial insignificance.

Character Formed; Vocation Unsettled

The years 1846-1853 were formative ones for Joseph Smith III. While the
great mass of Nauvooans who followed his father's religious teachings evacuated
the city, his mother and family remained. In a position of vulnerability, he
learned to coexist with those holding other religious views. Nauvoo was now
ethnically, socially, and religiously pluralistic. By the time he reached manhood,
Joseph Smith III regarded liberality, cooperation, and fair treatment of minorities
as prime virtues.

His character was well formed by 1853. By all accounts, he deeply revered
his mother. From her he learned to foreswear drinking, profanity, and carousing.
She taught him to honor women and avoid sexual impropriety.

He also came to share his mother's distaste for Brigham Young. He
witnessed at first hand Almon W. Babbitt's threats to ruin the family financially,
and felt that many of their financial misfortunes were a result of a calculated
policy on the part of Brigham Young to pressure his mother into subjection. He
had not been privy to his father's secret councils, nor had he observed his mother's
anguish over Joseph Smith, Jr.'s practice of plural marriage. Joseph could not
share the deeper bases for his mother's enmity with the Twelve, but he saw the
practical consequences of the quarrel, and came to share the antipathy.

He acquired social skills which would stand him in good stead for the rest
of his life. From his step-father he acquired the graces of sociability and
hospitality, while avoiding many of his faults. He became on excellent judge of
character, learned to forgive others, and gained mastery over his temper.

Religiously, he received little additional training in the specific tenets of
the Latter Day Saints. His mother deliberately maintained silence concerning her
husband's church and her children's possible future roles in it. He received a
healthy dose of old-fashioned ethical instruction from her, however. As he
approached maturity, he attended the services of many different denominations,
without affiliating with any of them. He could not accept Protestant orthodoxy
of that day, but his youthful skepticism never hardened into infidelity. He read
extensively in liberal publications. When the Spiritualistic craze reached Nauvoo,
he dabbled in it for several years, only to discard it as untrue. As he approached
his majority, his religious formation was incomplete. Fundamental questions
remained unanswered.

His future career also remained unsettled. He had tried several
professions, but as yet had made no lasting decision about his future course.

He had been through several romantic experiences, but as yet remained
unmarried. Here was another unresolved question.

Although he was unaware of it at the time, there was another unanswered
question would soon cause him great internal debate. As will be seen, members of
various Latter Day Saint factions remembered that his father had designated him
as his successor. Others concluded that passages in the Book of Mormon and
Doctrine and Covenants taught the principle of lineal succession in the priesthood,
and, therefore, Joseph Smith, Jr.'s son ultimately should become their prophet.
Joseph Smith Ill's character basically was formed. But he faced a series of
conflicts and unanswered vocational questions. On November 6, 1853 he would
celebrate his twenty-first birthday. The unresolved questions were about to force
themselves upon his attention.

© Copyright by Charles Millard Turner 1985
All Rights Reserved