JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO—HIS PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PERSONALITY—VIEWS OF HIS OPPONENT COMMENTATORS—TESTIMONY OF THE SPIRIT TO HIS INSPIRATION.  
When the Prophet first went to Commerce he was thirty-three years old; and he was martyred in his thirty-ninth year. Despite the outrages perpetrated upon him and the privations which he had endured, he was during this period still a man of great physical beauty and stateliness. He was just six feet in height, standing in his stockings, and was grandly proportioned. In his mature years he weighed about two hundred pounds. His eyes were blue and tender; his hair was brown, plentiful and wavy; he wore no beard, and his complexion was one of transparency so rare as to be remarkable; the exquisite clearness of his skin was never clouded, his face being naturally almost without hair. His carriage was erect and graceful; he moved always with an air of dignity and power which strangers often called kingly. He was full of physical energy and daring. Without any appearance of effort he could perform astonishing feats of strength and agility, and without any apparent thought of fear he met and smiled upon every physical danger. From his boyhood up he was fond of athletics, and in his mature years and at the very zenith of his fame he loved to unbend and wrestle or jump with a friend. The men who could contest with him were very few. When his situation would permit he was as happy as a school boy to join in manly sports.
 
He showed a sense of gentle humor in his games. On one occasion two sectarian ministers had addressed themselves to him with the boasted purpose of conquering him in argument. His theological strength dumbfounded them; he drove them from one position to another until they were glad to cry for quarter. Then, as they were about to depart with a crestfallen air, he said to them in a tone of kindness:
 
Come, gentlemen, since you withdraw from the contest of logic, let us jump at a mark. I think I can beat you at this.
 
The preachers hastened away, filled with indignation, and spread all manner of ridiculous reports concerning Joseph Smith because he could condescend at times to run, or jump or wrestle like a boy. Probably their defeat in argument had more than the professed shock to their religious sensitiveness to do with their indignation. He was always gentle and good-natured in his sports. Several men are yet living who jumped or tried a fall with the Prophet. They say Joseph did not lose dignity in these sports. His rare physical beauty and grace and his athletic excellence set him far above his fellows and made his condescension seem kingly.
 
Nearly every one of his commentators, whether friend or foe, speaks of him as a handsome man, of distinguished appearance and possessing a marvelous power of fascination. By his opponents, the inspiration which was over him and upon him—enveloping and permeating him and radiating from his whole being—was attributed to magnetism.
 
In every association with his fellow-beings he was considerate and just. He was always willing to carry his part of the burden and to share in any suffering or deprivation inflicted upon his friends. He was gentle to children and universally won their love. Elder Lyman O. Littlefield, now of Logan, Utah, was a boy thirteen years old with the camp of Zion which went up into Missouri. He narrates an incident of that journey which is characteristic of the Prophet's entire life, for his deeds and words of thoughtfulness were a constantly flowing stream. As we recollect Elder Littlefield's statement, it was this:
 
The journey was extremely toilsome for all, and the physical suffering, coupled with the knowledge of the persecutions endured by our brethren whom we were traveling to succor, caused me to lapse one day into a state of melancholy. As the camp was making ready to depart I sat tired and brooding by the roadside. The Prophet was the busiest man of the camp; and yet when he saw me, he turned from the great press of other duties to say a word of comfort to a child. Placing his hand upon my head, he said, "Is there no place for you, my boy? If not, we must make one." This circumstance made an impression upon my mind which long lapse of time and cares of riper years have not effaced.
 
Joseph always sought to help the distressed. A cry of sorrow quickly touched his ear, and its appeal invariably aroused him to helpful action.
 
When he had become educated and refined as gold in the furnace by his communion with the Holy Spirit, his words were heeded as if they were falling jewels. He never had to beg for listeners; nor had he to ask twice an audience with any one who had once met him. The great men of the nation, with whom he came in contact, felt the power of his mighty spirit. He was their peer as a philosopher and a statesman. He was more, because he not only knew the past, but he saw the future.
 
The judgment of a man's friends is always the best judgment, especially when his character and career are such as to excite the jealousy and enmity of the world. But in the case of Joseph the Prophet, while none but his friends could understand the full strength and beauty of that God-like soul, there were not wanting plenty of non-believers who recognize in him a man of amazing power. When a man is dead, he is usually judged by his works, and few characters can bear the judgment of the world pronounced during their lives by their opponents. Joseph Smith was one of the few. In speaking of his opponents we refer not to the sectarian bigots or to the mobocrats and apostates; but we refer to men of standing and reputation, who were not so foolish as to speak falsely in describing his attributes. We refer to men who recognized in Joseph Smith a social factor and in his work a social movement, even while they denied his inspiration and its divinity.
 
A writer for the New York Herald had visited the Prophet, and in 1842 that paper said:
 
Joseph Smith is undoubtedly one of the greatest characters of the age. He indicates as much talent, originality and moral courage as Mahomet, Odin or any of the great spirits that have hitherto produced the revolutions of past ages. In the present infidel, irreligious, ideal, geological, animal-magnetic age of the world, some such singular prophet as Joseph Smith is required to preserve the principle of faith, and to plant some new germs of civilization that may come to maturity in a thousand years. While modern philosophy, which believes in nothing but what you can touch, is overspreading the Atlantic States, Joseph Smith is creating a spiritual system, combined also with morals and industry, that may change the destiny of the race. * * * We certainly want some such prophet to start up, take a big hold of the public mind—and stop the torrent of materialism that is hurrying the world into infidelity, immorality, licentiousness and crime.
 
The Pittsburgh American declared that Joseph Smith could not be denied the attributes of greatness. A Cleveland paper responding said that he was without education or genius, and that "he used to live near these 'diggings.'" The Pittsburgh Visitor then took up the argument, saying:
 
No man was ever a prophet near the edge of his own diggings. * * * We know that principally from a country which boasts its superior intelligence; where ignorance is supposed to be banished, and every man and woman taught to read and write; he [Joseph Smith] has built up a name, a temple and a city, conquering all opposition, and this both vindictive and powerful, and so entirely unaided that he can exclaim like the proud and haughty Roman, "Alone I did it!"
 
If he is advancing the cause of truth, he certainly has claim to our sympathies and respect, as well for its discovery as the bold and determined manner in which he has maintained it. If it is a gross imposture, as you assert, he must be both ingenious and cunning to gloss over its deformities and make them so attractive. We have nothing to do with his doctrines—we only consider him the most remarkable man among the "diggins."
 
Probably the most comprehensive view taken of the Prophet by a man not intimate with him was that of Josiah Quincy, who, in company with Hon. Charles Francis Adams, the senior, visited Joseph Smith at Nauvoo on the 15th day of May, 1844, just forty-three days before the Prophet's martyrdom. Among many things descriptive of Joseph, Quincy says:
 
It is by no means improbable that some future textbook, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious common-place to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High—such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. Fanatic, impostor, charlatan, he may have been; but these hard names furnish no solution to the problem he presents to us. Fanatics and impostors are living and dying every day, and their memory is buried with them; but the wonderful influence which this founder of a religion exerted and still exerts throws him into relief before us, not as a rogue to be criminated, but as a phenomenon to be explained. The most vital questions Americans are asking each other today have to do with this man and what he has left us. A generation other than mine must deal with these questions. Burning questions they are, which must give a prominent place in the history of the country to that sturdy self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith, claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity such as few men have ever attained, and finally, forty-three days after I saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When he surrendered his person to Governor Ford, in order to prevent the shedding of blood, the Prophet had a presentiment of what was before him. "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter," he is reported to have said; "but I am as calm as a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense, and shall die innocent." I have no theory to advance respecting this extraordinary man. I shall simply give the facts of my intercourse with him. At some future time they may be found to have some bearing upon the theories of others who are more competent to make them. Ten closely written pages of my journal describe my impressions of Nauvoo, and of its Prophet, mayor, general and judge. * * * *
 
Pre-eminent among the stragglers by the door stood a man of commanding appearance, clad in the costume of a journeyman carpenter when about his work. He was a hearty, athletic fellow, with blue eyes standing prominently out upon his light complexion, a long nose, and a retreating forehead. He wore striped pantaloons, a linen jacket which had not lately seen the wash tub, and a beard of some three days' growth. This was the founder of the religion which had been preached in every quarter of the earth.
 
A fine looking man is what the passer by would instinctively have murmured upon meeting this remarkable individual who had fashioned the mould which was to shape the feelings of so many thousands of his fellow-mortals. But Smith was more than this, and one could not resist the impression that capacity and resource were natural to his stalwart person. I have already mentioned the resemblance he bore to Elisha R. Potter, of Rhode Island, whom I met in Washington in 1826. The likeness was not such as would be recognized in a picture, but rather one that would be felt in a grave emergency. Of all men that I have met, these two seemed best endowed with that kingly faculty which directs as by intrinsic right, the feeble or confused souls who are looking for guidance. This it is just to say with emphasis; for the reader will find so much that is puerile and even shocking in my report of the prophet's conversation that he might never suspect the impression of rugged power that was given by the man. * * * * * * *
 
"General Smith," said Dr. Goforth, when we had adjourned to the green in front of the tavern, "I think Mr. Quincy would like to hear you preach." "Then I shall be happy to do so," was the obliging reply; and mounting the broad step which led from the house, the Prophet promptly addressed a sermon to the little group about him. Our numbers were constantly increased from the passers in the street, and a most attentive audience of more than a hundred persons soon hung upon every word of the speaker. The text was Mark 16:15, and the comments, though rambling and disconnected, were delivered with the fluency and fervor of a camp-meeting orator. The discourse was interrupted several times by the Methodist minister before referred to, who thought it incumbent upon him to question the soundness of certain theological positions maintained by the speaker. One specimen of the sparring which ensued I thought worth setting down. The Prophet is asserting that baptism for the remission of sins is essential for salvation. Minister: Stop! What do you say to the case of the penitent thief? Prophet: What do you mean by that? Minister: You know our Savior said to the thief, "This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise," which shows he could not have been baptized before his admission. Prophet: How do you know he wasn't baptized before he became a thief? At this retort the sort of laugh that is provoked by an unexpected hit ran through the audience; but this demonstration of sympathy was rebuked by a severe look from Smith, who went on to say: But that is not the true answer. In the original Greek, as this gentleman [turning to me] will inform you, the word that has been translated paradise means simply a place of departed spirits. To that place the penitent thief was conveyed, and there, doubtless, he received the baptism necessary for his admission to the heavenly kingdom. The other objections of his antagonist were parried with a similar adroitness, and in about fifteen minutes the Prophet concluded a sermon which it was evident that his disciples had heard with the heartiest satisfaction. * * * * * * * *
 
In the afternoon we drove to visit the farms upon the prairie which this enterprising people had enclosed and were cultivating with every appearance of success. On returning we stopped in a beautiful grove where there were seats and a platform for speaking. "When the weather permits," said Smith, "we hold our services in this place; but shall cease to do so when the temple is finished." "I suppose none but Mormon preachers are allowed in Nauvoo," said the Methodist minister, who had accompanied our expedition. "On the contrary," replied the prophet, "I shall be very happy to have you address my people next Sunday, and I will insure you a most attentive congregation." "What! do you mean that I may say anything I please, and that you will make no reply?" "You may certainly say anything you please; but I must reserve the right of adding a word or two, if I judge best. I promise to speak of you in the most respectful manner." As we rode back, there was much dispute between the minister and Smith. "Come," said the latter, suddenly slapping his antagonist on the knee, to emphasize the production of a triumphant text, "if you can't argue better than that, you shall say all you want to say to my people, and I will promise to hold my tongue, for there's not a Mormon among them that will need my assistance to answer you." Some backthrust was evidently required to pay for this; and the minister, soon after, having occasion to allude to some erroneous doctrine which I forgot, suddenly exclaimed, "Why, I told my congregation the other Sunday that they might as well believe Joe Smith as such theology as that." "Did you say Joe Smith in a sermon?" inquired the person to whom the title had been applied. "Of course I did. Why not?" The Prophet's reply was given with a quiet superiority that was overwhelming: "Considering only the day and the place, it would have been more respectful to have said Lieutenant-General Joseph Smith." Clearly the worthy minister was no match for the head of the Mormon Church.
 
I have quoted enough [from letters of converts] to show what really good material Smith managed to draw into his net. Were such fish to be caught with Spaulding's tedious romance and a puerile fable of undecipherable gold plates and gigantic spectacles? Not these cheap and wretched properties, but some mastering force of the man who handled them, inspired the devoted missionaries who worked such wonders. The remaining letters [picked up from Joseph's waste basket by Quincy] both written a year previous to my visit, came from a certain Chicago attorney, who seems to have been the personal friend as well as the legal adviser of the Prophet. With the legal advice come warnings of plots which enemies are preparing, and of the probability that a seizure of his person by secret ambush is contemplated. "They hate you;" writes this friendly lawyer, "because they have done evil unto you. * * * My advice to you is, not to sleep in your own house, but to have some place to sleep strongly guarded by your own friends, so that you can resist any sudden attempt that might be made to kidnap you in the night. When the Missourians come on this side and burn houses, depend upon it they will not hesitate to make the attempt to carry you away by force. Let me again caution you to be every moment upon your guard." The man to whom this letter was addressed had long been familiar with perils. For fourteen years he was surrounded by vindictive enemies, who lost no opportunity to harass him. He was in danger even when we saw him at the summit of his prosperity, and he was soon to seal his testimony—or, if you will, to expiate his imposture—by death at the hands of dastardly assassins. If these letters go little way toward interpreting the man, they suggest that any hasty interpretation of him is inadequate. * * * * * * * * *
 
I asked him to test his [prophetic] powers by naming the successful candidate in the approaching presidential election. "Well, I will prophesy that John Tyler will not be the next President, for some things are possible and some things are probable; but Tyler's election is neither the one nor the other." We then went on to talk of politics. Smith recognized the curse and iniquity of slavery, though he opposed the methods of the Abolitionists. His plan was for the nation to pay for the slaves from the sale of the public lands. "Congress," he said, "should be compelled to take this course, by petitions from all parts of the country; but the petitioners must disclaim all alliance with those who would disturb the rights of property recognized by the constitution and foment insurrection." It may be worth while to remark that Smith's plan was publicly advocated eleven years later, by one who has mixed so much practical shrewdness with his lofty philosophy. In 1855, when men's minds had been moved to their depths on the question of slavery, Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that it should be met in accordance "with the interest of the South and with the settled conscience of the North. It is not really a great task, a great fight for this country to accomplish, to buy that property of the planter, as the British nation bought the West Indian slaves." He further says that the "United States will be brought to give every inch of their public lands for a purpose like this." We who can look back upon the terrible cost of the fratricidal war which put an end to slavery, now say that such a solution of the difficulty would have been worthy a Christian statesman. But if the retired scholar was in advance of his time when he advocated this disposition of the public property in 1855, what shall I say of the political and religious leader who had committed himself, in print, as well as in conversation, to the same course in 1844? If the atmosphere of men's opinions was stirred by such a proposition when war-clouds were discernible in the sky, was it not a statesmanlike word eleven years earlier, when the heavens looked tranquil and beneficent?
 
General Smith proceeded to unfold still further his views upon politics. He denounced the Missouri Compromise as an unjustifiable concession for the benefit of slavery. It was Henry Clay's bid for the presidency. Dr. Goforth might have spared himself the trouble of coming to Nauvoo to electioneer for a duellist who would fire at John Randolph, but was not brave enough to protect the Saints in their rights as American citizens. Clay had told his people to go to the wilds of Oregon and set up a government of their own. Oh yes, the Saints might go into the wilderness and obtain justice of the Indians, which imbecile, time-serving politicians would not give them in a land of freedom and equality. The Prophet then talked of the details of government. He thought that the number of members admitted to the lower house of the National Legislature should be reduced. A crowd only darkened counsel and impeded business. A member to every half million of population would be ample. The powers of the President should be increased. He should have authority to put down rebellion in a state, without waiting for the request of any governor; for it might happen that the governor himself would be the leader of the rebels. It is needless to remark how later events showed the executive weakness that Smith pointed out,—a weakness which cost thousands of valuable lives and millions of treasure; but the man mingled Utopian fallacies with his shrewd suggestions. He talked as from a strong mind utterly unenlighten............