The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois, that published only one issue, on June 7, 1844. Its publication, and the destruction of the printing press ordered by Mayor Joseph Smith and the city council, set off a chain of events that led to Smith's death.
The Expositor was founded by several seceders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and some non-Mormons in the Nauvoo area. The single edition of the newspaper was critical of Smith and other church leaders. Specifically, Smith was criticized for teaching doctrines such as plural marriage and exaltation (the ability to become gods by creating and peopling new worlds).
In response to the newspaper's publication, Smith and the Nauvoo City Council declared the paper a public nuisance, and ordered the press to be destroyed. The town marshal carried out the order during the evening of June 10.
The destruction of the press led to charges of riot against Smith and other members of the council. After Smith surrendered on the charges, he was also charged with treason against Illinois. Smith and the others so charged insisted the treason accusations were not properly heard in court, and Smith was killed by a mob, while arguing the point and awaiting the trial, in Carthage Jail.
Background and origins
A group of former members of the church were in open conflict with Smith for various doctrinal, economic, and political reasons.
Although he publicly denied being involved in polygamy, it was known within the church that Smith was married to multiple women. In 1842, former church leader John C. Bennett made public allegations of Smith's unorthodox marriages. On August 12, 1843, Hyrum Smith read Smith's revelation concerning plural marriage to the Nauvoo High Council.
William Law was a member of the First Presidency. According to Law, Smith had made several proposals to Law's wife Jane, under the premise that Jane Law would enter a polyandrous marriage with Smith. Law's wife later described Smith's proposals, saying that Smith had "asked her to give him half her love; she was at liberty to keep the other half for her husband." On January 8, 1844, Smith removed Law from the First Presidency. On April 18, 1844, Law and his wife were excommunicated from the church, along with his brother Wilson Law, a brigadier general in the Nauvoo Legion. Also excommunicated were Robert D. Foster and Howard Smith.
On May 1, Francis M. Higbee filed a legal complaint in the Fifth Judicial District of Illinois, suing Smith for slander and requesting damages of five thousand dollars.
On May 10, a newspaper prospectus was circulated, announcing the creation of the Nauvoo Expositor.
On May 18, the church excommunicated Higbee, James Blakesley, Charles Ivins, and Austin Cowles for apostasy. On May 29, the High Council published a document purporting to show Higbee's brother Chauncey had also committed misdeeds.
On May 23, Law obtained a grand jury indictment against Smith on the charge of polygamy from the Hancock County Circuit Court. Law swore that Smith had been living with Maria Lawrence "in an open state of adultery" since October 12, 1843.
The Expositor was planned as an exposé of church practices which Law and his associates opposed.
Creators
The publishers of the Expositor were
William Law of the First Presidency, and his brother, Brigadier General Wilson Law of the Nauvoo Legion, Charles Ivins, Col. Francis M. Higbee of Nauvoo Legion, and his brother Chauncey L. Higbee, Brothers Robert and Charles Foster. The editor was Sylvester Emmons, a non-Mormon member of the Nauvoo City Council.
Contents
The only issue of the Nauvoo Expositor, dated June 7, 1844, was a four-page publication. In addition to more mundane content such as poetry and marriage announcements, it contained a statement from the "Seceders from the Church at Nauvoo" and sworn statements from multiple individuals attesting to the teaching of "the plurality of wives".
Prospectus from Publishers
In their prospectus, the publishers advocate for major reforms including the repeal of the Nauvoo City Charter. They vow to "decry moral imperfections" wherever found, "whether in the Plebeian, Patrician, or self-constituted monarch".
Statement from Seceders
The preamble establishes that despite the schism, the authors maintain their belief in "the religion of the Latter Day Saints, as originally taught by Joseph Smith".