A few weeks ago as I was reading in History of the Church, Volume III, I came across an interesting paragraph discussing the imprisonment of Joseph Smith at Far West.

The following is a portion from Joseph Smith’s journal entry from October 31:

Towards the evening I was waited upon by Colonel Hinkle, who stated that the officers of the militia desired to have an interview with me and some others hoping that the difficulties might be settled without having occasion to carry into effect the exterminating orders which they had received from the governor. I immediately complied with the request, and in company with Elders Sidney Rigdon and Parley P. Pratt, Colonel Wight and George W. Robinson, went into the camp of the militia. But judge of my surprise, when, instead of being treated with the respect which is due from one citizen to another, we were treated with the utmost contempt.* The officers would not converse with us, and the soldiers, almost to a man, insulted us as much as they felt disposed, breathing out threats against me and my companions. I cannot begin to tell the scene which I there witnessed. The loud cries and yells of more than one thousand voices, which rent the air and could be heard for miles, and the horrid and blasphemous threats and curses which were poured upon us in torrents, were enough to appall the stoutest heart. In the evening we had to lie down on the cold ground, surrounded by a strong guard, who were only kept back by the power of God from depriving us of life. We petitioned the officers to know why were thus treated, but they utterly refused to give us any answer, or to converse with us. After we arrived in the camp, Brother Stephen Winchester and eleven other brethren who were prisoners, volunteered, with permission of the officers, to carry Brother Carey into the city to his family, he having lain exposed to the weather for a show to the inhuman wretches, without having his wound dressed or being nourished in any manner. He died soon after he reached home (HC 3:188-190).

From the autobiography of Elder Parley P. Pratt quoted in History of the Church: Volume III, we gain a more detailed explanation of the contempt to which Joseph Smith referred.

* In camp we were placed under a strong guard, and were without shelter during the night, lying on the ground in the open air, in the midst if a great rain. The guards during the whole night kept up a constant tirade of mockery, and the most obscene blackguardism and abuse. They blasphemed God; mocked Jesus Christ; swore the most dreadful oaths; taunted Brother Joseph and others; demanded miracles; wanted signs, such as ‘Come, Mr. Smith, show us an angel.’ ‘Give us one of your revelations.’ ‘Show us a miracle.’ ‘Come, there is one of your brethren here in camp whom we took prisoner yesterday in his own house, and knocked his brains out with his own rifle, which we found hanging over his fireplace; he lays speechless and dying; speak the word and heal hi, and then we will believe.’ ‘Or, if you are Apostles or men of God, deliver yourselves, and then we will be Mormons’ Next would be a volley of oaths and blasphemies; then a tumultuous tirade of lewd boastings of having defiled virgins and wives by force, etc., much of which I dare not write; and, indeed, language would fail me to attempt the more than a faint description. Thus passed this dreadful night, and before morning several other captives were added to our number, among whom was Brother Amasa Lyman.”–Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, pp. 203-205 (HC 3:189, note).

Less than two weeks after enduring a night of vile discussion from guards while imprisoned in Far West, Joseph Smith and his companions were once again subjected to a night of foul and loathsome stories from their guards.

From the autobiography of Elder Parley P. Pratt:

In one of those tedious nights we had lain as if in sleep till the hour of midnight had passed, and our ears and hearts had been pained, while we had listened for hours to the obscene jests, the horrid oaths, the dreadful blasphemies and filthy language of our guards, Colonel Price at their head, as they recounted to each other their deeds of rapine, murder, robbery, etc., which they had committed among the Mormons while at Far West and vicinity. They even boasted of defiling by force wives, daughters and virgins, and of shooting or dashing out the brains of men, women and children.

I had listened till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified, and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards; but had said nothing to Joseph, or any one else, although I lay next to him and knew he was awake. On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, as the roaring lion, uttering, as near as I can recollect, the following words:

SILENCE, ye fiends of the infernal pit. In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute and bear such language. Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS INSTANT!

He ceased to speak. He stood erect in terrible majesty. Chained, and without a weapon; calm, unruffled and dignified as an angel, he looked upon the quailing guards, whose weapons were lowered or dropped to the ground; whose knees smote together, and who, shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards.

I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, while life was suspended on a breath, in the courts of England; I have witnessed a Congress in solemn session to give laws to nations; I have tried to conceive of kings, of royal courts, of thrones and crowns; and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms; but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains, at midnight, in a dungeon in an obscure village of Missouri (Parley Pratt Autobiography(1985), p.179-180).

In reading the account of the Far West imprisonment and then reading the account of the imprisonment in Richmond, I gained a better insight and understanding into what prompted the Prophet Joseph Smith to stand and rebuke the guards. While I am certain he felt constrained by the Holy Spirit to deliver the rebuke, especially given the vile nature of the language used by the guards (how could he not?), I cannot help but think that his previous experience in Far West played into the delivery of his rebuke.

I’m curious to know what our readers have to say about the two different stories of imprisonment. Do you think the Far West imprisonment played a role in the Richmond rebuke? Given that my copy of Bushman’s Rough Rolling Stone is out on loan, did Bushman discuss these stories?

For fun, check out http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3500/owjssilence.html and read Joseph’s rebuke as a chiasmus.