Defending the Expositor: On Penalty of Death…

A few years ago a challenge was issued for readers to find a “vicious lie” in the Nauvoo Expositor. There have been several submissions, but each time a possible lie is put forth investigations into the details of history tends to vindicate the statements of the Expositor. A new challenger has appeared and this post will be examining the aspect of the Expositors description of how Joseph enjoined his potential plural brides into secrecy and specifically the question of whether there was a penalty attached.

The Claim

Reader Ben submits:

Expositor says “they are told, after having been sworn in one of the most solemn manners, to never divulge what is revealed to them, with a penalty of death attached”. There is no evidence of a penalty of death.

This quote is taken from the preamble to the Expositor under the heading of “women entrapped” which is the same section which described the plight of the women who publicly exposed Joseph for proposing plural unions with them. Their stories are covered in the Indecent Proposals blogposts. It is also the section of the Expositor which included the statement that regarding plural marriage “the Prophet damns her if she rejects” which was the basis of a series of prior posts responding to Brian Hales (see “Then are ye damned“). Clearly, this section remains the subject of a great deal of controversy.

Since the subject of this submission is an oath of secrecy, I thought it would be interesting to explore the various oaths that were being taken by various secret societies in Nauvoo around this time period. Then, with that background in mind, we will review what is known about the various proposals that Joseph made and what oath, if any, was administered with them. If this is a lie in the expositor, we should find no evidence that an oath with such a penalty existed in that context.

Oath-Bound Societies in Nauvoo

Freemasons

On October 15, 1841 a special dispensation was granted for the establishment of a new Masonic lodge for the benefit of Nauvoo and Hancock county.¹See the text of the dispensation in the “Founding minutes of the Nauvoo Lodge” archive.org That december several prominent freemasons in Nauvoo met to establish the bylaws of the new society. These included John C Bennett, George Miller, Hyrum Smith and Heber C Kimball. In 1842 the Nauvoo Masonic lodge was installed in Nauvoo. The first meetings of the Nauvoo Freemasons were held in the upstairs room of Joseph’s red brick store (general business office). Joseph wrote of the event in his journal:

“Tuesday, [March] 15. — I officiated as grand chaplain at the installation of the Nauvoo Lodge of Free Masons, at the Grove near the Temple. Grand Master Jonas, of Columbus, being present, a large number of people assembled on the occasion. The day was exceedingly fine; all things were done in order, and universal satisfaction was manifested. In the evening I received the first degree in Freemasonry in the Nauvoo Lodge, assembled in my general business office…

Wednesday, March 16.—I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree.”
(History of the Church, Vol 4 Ch 32 byu.edu)

Masonic ritual and ceremony includes certain oaths and obligations. While these oaths are given under an injunction of secrecy, there have been several exposes by former Masons describing their details. One such expose was written by William Morgan, a man who it is suspected was disappeared by the freemasons of his region when they learned he was publishing their secrets. (Joseph Smith married Morgan’s widow in 1838 ²See Jensen Historical Record Vol 6, pg. 233 archive.org) In his book, the following oaths of secrecy and associated penalties are described:

1st Degree – Entered Apprentice

I, A. B., of my own free will and accord, in presence of Almighty God and this worshipful lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, dedicated to God, and held forth to the holy order of St. John, do hereby and hereon most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear that I will always hail, ever conceal and never reveal any part or parts, art or arts, point or points of the secret arts and mysteries of ancient Freemasonry which I have received, am about to receive, or may hereafter be instructed in, to any person or persons in the known world, except it be to a true and lawful brother Mason, or within the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge of such; and not unto him, nor unto them whom I shall hear so to be, but unto him and them only whom I shall find so to be after strict trial and due examination, or lawful information. Furthermore, do I promise and swear that I will not write, print, stamp, stain, hew, cut, carve, indent, paint, or engrave it on any thing movable or immovable, under the whole canopy of heaven, whereby or whereon the least letter, figure, character, mark, stain, shadow, or resemblance of the same may become legible or intelligible to myself or any other person in the known world, whereby the secrets of Masonry may be unlawfully obtained through my unworthiness. To all of which I do most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, without the least equivocation, mental reservation, or self evasion of mind in me whatever; binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea at low water-mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-hours; so help me God, and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.”
(“Illustrations of Masonry” page 21-22 archive.org)

This oath is centered around maintaining secrecy of the points of Freemasonry itself. The imagery of the death alluded to is reinforced by a hand gesture of the penalty as follows:

2nd Degree – Fellow Craft

 “I, A. B., of my own free will and accord, in the presence of Almighty God, and this worshipful lodge of Fellow Craft Masons, dedicated to God, and held forth to the holy order of St. John, do hereby and hereon most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, in addition to my former obligation, that I will not give the degree of a Fellow Craft Mason to any one of an inferior degree, nor to any other being in the known world, except it be to a true and lawful brother or brethren Fellow Craft Masons, within the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge of such; and not unto him nor unto them, whom I shall hear so to be, but unto him and them only whom I shall find so to be after strict trial and due examination or lawful information. Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will not wrong this lodge nor a brother of this degree to the value of two cents, knowingly, myself, nor suffer it to be done by others if in my power to prevent it. Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will support the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of the United States, and of the Grand Lodge of this State, under which this lodge is held, and conform to all the by-laws, rules, and regulations of this or any other lodge of which I may at any time hereafter become a member, as far as in my power. Furthermore, do I promise and swear that I will obey all regular signs and summonses given, handed, sent, or thrown to me by the hand of a brother Fellow Craft Mason, or from the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge of such, provided that it be within the length of my cable-tow, or square and angle of my work. Furthermore, do I promise and swear that I will be aiding and assisting all poor and penniless brethren Fellow Crafts, their widows and orphans, wheresoever disposed round the globe, they applying to me as such, as far as in my power without injuring myself or family. To all which I do most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear without the least hesitation, mental reservation, or self evasion of mind in me whatever; binding myself under no less penalty than to have my left breast torn open and my heart and vitals taken from thence and thrown over my left shoulder and carried into the valley of Jehosaphat, there to become a prey to the wild beasts of the field, and vulture of the air, if ever I should prove willfully guilty of violating any part of this my solemn oath or obligation of a Fellow Craft Mason; so help me God, and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.”
(“Illustrations of Masonry” page 52-3 archive.org)

This oath binds the swearer to support his fellow masons from wrong. The death alluded to in the oath is reflected in the sign given which mimics the motion of tearing the breast open as follows:

3rd Degree – Master Mason

“I, A. B., of my own free will and accord, in the presence of Almighty God, and this worshipful lodge of Master Masons, dedicated to God, and ‘held forth to the holy order of St. John, do hereby and hereon most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, in addition to my former obligations, that I will not give the degree of a Master Mason to any of an inferior degree, nor to any other being in the known world, except it be to a true and lawful brother or brethren Master Masons, within the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge of such; and not unto him nor unto them whom I shall hear so to be, but unto him and them only whom I shall find so to be, after strict trial and due examination, or lawful information received. Furthermore do I promise and swear, that I will not give the Master’s word which I shall hereafter receive, neither in the lodge nor out of it, except it be on the five points of fellowship, and then not above my breath. Furthermore do I promise and swear, that I will not give the grand hailing sign of distress except I am in real distress, or for the benefit of the Craft when at work; and should I ever see that sign given or the word accompanying it, and the person who gave it appearing to be in distress I will fly to his relief at the risk of my life, should there be a greater probability of saving his life than losing my own. Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will not wrong this lodge, nor a brother of this degree to the value of one cent, knowingly, myself, or suffer it to be done by others, if in my power to prevent it. Furthermore do I promise and swear, that I will not be at the initiating, passing and raising a candidate at one communication, without a regular dispensation from the Grand Lodge for the same.    Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will not be at the initiating, passing, or raising a candidate in a clandestine lodge, I knowing it to be such. Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will not be at the initiating of an old man in dotage, a young man in nonage, an Atheist, irreligious libertine, idiot, mad-man, hermaphrodite, or woman. Futhermore do I promise and swear that I will not speak evil of a brother Master Mason, neither behind his back nor before his face, but will apprise him of all approaching danger, if in my power. Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will not violate the chastity of a Master Mason’s wife, mother, sister, or daughter, I knowing them to be such, nor suffer it to be done by others, if in my power to prevent it.    Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will support the constitution of the Grand Lodge of the state of ——, under which the lodge is held, and conform to all the by-laws, rules, and regulations of this or any other lodge of which I may at any time hereafter become a member.

Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will obey all regular signs, summonses, or tokens given, handed, sent, or thrown to me from the hand of a brother Master Mason, or from the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge of such, provided it be within the length of my cable-tow.

Furthermore do I promise and swear that a Master Mason’s secrets, given to me in charge as such, and I knowing them to be such, shall remain as secure and inviolable in my breast as in his own, when communicated to me, murder and treason excepted; and they left to my own election.

Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will go on a Master Mason’s errand whenever required, even should I have to go bare-foot and bare-headed, if within the length of my cable-tow.

Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will always remember a brother Master Mason when on my knees offering up my devotions to Almighty God.

Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will be aiding and assisting all poor, indigent Master Masons, their wives and orphans, wheresoever disposed around the globe, as far as in my power, without injuring myself or family materially.

Furthermore do I promise and swear that if any part of my solemn oath or obligation be omitted at this time, that I will hold myself amenable thereto whenever informed. To all which I do most sincerely promise and swear, with a fixed and steady purpose of mind in me to keep and perform the same, binding myself under no less penalty than to have my body severed in two in the midst, and divided to the north and south, my bowels burnt to ashes in the center, and the ashes scattered before the four winds of heaven, that there might not the least track or trace of remembrance remain among men. or Masons, of so vile and perjured a wretch as I should be, were I ever to prove willfully guilty of violating any part of this my solemn oath or obligation of a Master Mason. So help me God, and keep me steadfast in the duo, performance of the same.”
(“Illustrations of Masonry” page 73-6 archive.org)

This oath is the most controversial and Masons have been accused of shielding each other from accountability for criminal acts based on language in the oath. Freemason’s deny those accusations, but acknowledge that criminals have misappropriated the intent and effect of the oath, outside the bounds of proper Freemasonry.

The description of the death one will suffer in violation of this oath is reflected in the gesture of the sign as follows:

Based on the language describing the penalties above, it is a reasonable description to say that Freemasons are enjoined to secrecy upon penalty of death. The penalty may be said to be symbollic and not intended to be literal, but the language at face value is very explicit.

Quorum of the Anointed

The Quorum of the Anointed refers to those members who had participated in the endowment ceremony.  As we saw in the prior section, Joseph had become elevated to the third degree of Freemasonry in March of 1842. That ceremony took place in the upstairs room of Joseph’s red brick store – Joseph had designated it as a temporary Lodge. Just a few weeks later on 3 May, 1842 Joseph met with a handful of close associates in the very same room and introduced the endowment ceremony for the first time. Joseph’s account of this meeting is seen in the History of the Church under the heading “Inauguration of Endowment Ceremonies”:

I [Joseph Smith] spent the day in the upper part of the store, that is in my private office (so called because in that room I keep my sacred writings, translate ancient records, and receive revelations) and in my general business office, or lodge room (that is where the Masonic fraternity meet occasionally, for want of a better place), in council with General James Adams, of Springfield [Illinois], Patriarch Hyrum Smith, Bishops Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, and President Brigham Young and Elders Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments, and the communications of keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchisedek Priesthood, setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the fullness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the First Born, and come up and abide in the presence of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds. In this council was instituted the ancient order of things for the first time in these last days. And the communications I made to this council were of things spiritual, and to be received only by the spiritual minded: and there was nothing made known to these men but what will be made known to all the Saints of the last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive, and a proper place is prepared to communicate them, even to the weakest of the Saints; therefore let the Saints be diligent in building the [Nauvoo] Temple, and all the houses which they have been, or shall hereafter be, commanded of God to build; and wait their time with patience in all meekness, faith, perserverance unto the end, knowing assuredly that all these things referred to in this council are. always governed by the principles of revelation.
(History of the Church, Volume 5 pg. 1 byu.edu)

While Joseph only mentions generalities, the events of that session would be recalled in greater detail by Brigham Young years later, as recorded by L John Nutall:

“After supper went to President Young’s. Present Prest. Young, W. Woodruff, E. Snow, B. Young, Jr., I. G. Bleak, E. M. Greene and myself. Works in the temple being under consideration, Prest. Young was filled with the spirit of God and revelation, and said when we got our washings and anointings under the hands of the Prophet Joseph at Nauvoo, we had only one room to work in with the exception of a little side room, or office, where we were washed and anointed, had our garments placed upon us, and received our new name. And after he had performed these ceremonies, he gave the key words, signs, tokens and penalties. Then, after we went into the large room over the store in Nauvoo, Joseph divided up the room the best that he could, hung up the veil, marked it. Gave us our instructions as we passed along from one department to another, giving us signs, tokens, penalties, with the key words pertaining to those signs, and after we had got through Bro. Joseph turned to me (Prest. B. Young) and said, “Bro. Brigham this is not arranged right but we have done the best could under the circumstances in which we are placed, and I wish you to take this matter in hand and organize and systematize all these ceremonies with the signs, tokens, penalties and key words.” I did so, and each time I got something more, so that widen we went through the temple at Nauvoo I understood and knew how to place them there. We had our ceremonies pretty correct.”
(L. John Nuttall, Diary, entry dated February 7,1877 archive.org)

As we can see, penalties were a part of the Endowment from the beginning. This is corroborated by other accounts. Catherine Lewis was a Mormon woman living in Nauvoo who left the church after refusing to become a plural wife to Heber C Kimball. She wrote a description of the endowment which was published in 1848. In it she describes the oath and penalties ³Modern Mormon readers of her account will see a very close resemblance to the endowment ceremony as it existed just after the death of Joseph with that seen in the temple today, minus certain parts that have been removed or modified since and gives and account of Heber Kimball explicitly describing the penalties:

“After going through the ridiculous farce of Endowment, Mr. Kimball came to the room ; some other persons were then present; he, K., asked if we understood the signs, and was answered, “we did not.” He explained them by placing his right thumb under the left ear, and drawing across his throat to the right ear, said, ” This means, you will have your throat cut from ear to ear, if you divulge any thing you have seen or heard in the Temple.”He then drew his left hand across his breast, saying, “This signifies you must have your heart taken out” and immediately thrust his right arm down the right side, but did not explain. (I afterwards learned it signified the ripping open of the bowels, tearing out the entrails, and the mangled body to be thrown into the river.)  “Are not these hard sayings ?” said he, “you are bound to obey the Heads of the Church ; avenge the blood of your brethren every way possible,⁴an allusion to the oath of vengeance, added after the death of Joseph and Hyrum and strive to build up the Kingdom; if you do not, you must suffer the penalties before mentioned. These things are not to be written, therefore it is necessary for all who have been through the Temple to meet in quorum, in order to become familiar with the signs and tokens, because they are the Keys of the Priesthood, in this the Seventh Dispensation. Without them you cannot learn the mysteries of the Kingdom, and these Keys cannot be received without an Oath.”
(“Narrative of the Proceedings of the Mormons”, Catherine Lewis, 1848. page. 11 archive.org)

While these proceedings may have seemed very foreign to Catherine, who was a woman and therefore not privy to the rituals of Freemasonry, a great number of the men going through the endowment were already Masons and these things would be very familiar to them. In fact, there is evidence that Joseph taught that the Endowment was a restoration of priesthood ordinances which had been taken into Masonry, but corrupted:

“We have received some precious things through the Prophet on the priesthood that would cause your soul to rejoice. I cannot give them to you on paper, for they are not to be written. So you must come and get them for yourself. We have organized a lodge here of Masons since we obtained a charter. That was in March. Since that [time] there have been nearly two hundred made Masons. Br. Joseph and Sidney [Rigdon] were the first that were received into the Lodge. All of the twelve apostles have become members except Orson Pratt. He hangs back. He will wake up soon. There is a similarity of priesthood [ordinances] in Masonry. Bro. Joseph says Masonry was taken from priesthood but has become degenerated. But many things are perfect.”
(Heber C. Kimball to Parley P. Pratt, 17 June 1842, lds.org)

The endowment session continued to include these signs and gesture alluding to penalties of different types of death until 1991.

Council of Fifty

The council of Fifty was the last secret society that Joseph conceived in his lifetime. It was formed just a few months prior to his death and included an oath of secrecy on penalty of death for any of the members accepted into its ranks. The council was shrouded in such secrecy, as a result, that the details of this inition have been kept a close and guarded secret – even from church members and leaders.

The fact of the penalty being an original and essential part of the oath was the subject of debate in a meeting of the Council of Fifty years later in 1880. At that time, an objection to the inclusion of the penalty was raised and the minutes to the first meeting were consulted confirming the necessity of it. Joseph F. Smith record an account of it in his diary, which the church has made available on the Church History Website:

As you can see, whatever is written there is not something that the church wants the public to know – it has been completely redacted. Fortunately, LDS historian Michael D. Quinn had unrestricted access to this journal for a period of time during his time working with the Church History Department and he produced a typescript of this entry which reads as follows:

Oct[ober] 12th 1880—10 a.m. Council of L met—John Van Cott was voted in as a member—also Lorin Farr. Unanimous. Were instructed by Geo[rge] Q. Cannon[,] after affirming that they were in fellowship with every other person in the room[,] giving them the “Charge,” “The name,” & “Key word,” and the “Constitution,” and “Penalty.” The penalty was objected to by Jos[eph] Young. He said it was first suggested by the “Pagan Prophet”—but was not sanctioned by Joseph [Smith] the Prophet. F[ranklin] D. R[ichards] moved that we proceed to test the fellowship of each with each other. Bros. F. D. R[ichards], Jos. Young, C[harles] C. Rich, W[ilford] Woodruff, spoke to the question—the two latter sustained the “penalty.” Geo. Q. Cannon, read the minutes of the 1st organization which did sanction the “penalty.”Pres. [John] Taylor expressed his views which were liberal, so also did several others.
(Joseph F. Smith diary, 12 Oct 1880, original redacted at lds.org,  typed extract in Quinn Papers)

While the Temple Endowment ceremony is considered sacred and secret by church members because of the nature of what is included, the Council of Fifty dealt with temporal affairs and even allowed Non-Mormons to be a part of its body. As such, it would likely not be considered sacred by most church members, but is clearly secret as indicated by the redaction.

It is interesting to note that the admission ceremony in the Council of Fifty appears to parallel that of Masonry and the Temple Endowment – even to the inclusion of a secret name and keyword. This is further corroborated in the journal of Franklin D Richards:

2 p.m. John R. Winder & John T. Ca[i]ne were admitted to membership & received charge obligation & pass word from the Secretary Geo Q. Cannon. Prest. J[oseph] F. Smith justified the course of the last Legislature [as] also did Prest L[orenzo] Snow[,] Prest of Legislative Council[.] Adjournd til May 18—10 a.m. to consider certain points.
(Franklin D. Richards journal, 8 April 1881, Vol 29, image 131, lds.org)

Recently the Church has published the minutes of the Council of Fifty allowing us the chance to see exactly what was discussed regarding the penalty. here are the Pertinent sections:

“…Elder Lucien Woodworth was very sanguine for the measure to be carried into effect. He said he had long desired it and now inasmuch as it had been proposed to organize this meeting into a council he was in favor of its being organized on an eternal principle after the order of God, every member of it to be bound to eternal secrecy as to what passed here, not to have the privilege of telling anything which might be talked of to any person, even to our wives, and the man who broke the rule “should lose his cursed head.” He finally offered this as a resolution which was passed unanimously and became a law of the council.”
(Council of Fifty Minutes, pg. 25 as transcribed in JSPP Administrative Record of the Council of Fifty pg. 42-3)

According to the rules of the council, Woodworth would have submitted his proposal to adopt the penalty in writing to Joseph as president of the council and Joseph, upon approving it, would present it to the council who were enjoined to accept it unanimously. (see the post on The Rules of the Kingdom). It appears that under Joseph anything organized “after the order of God” includes an oath of secrecy sworn under penalty of death.

Danites

The Danites were an oath bound militant group in Missouri organized for the purpose of defending the church from both internal and external opposition. Originally formed in 1838, the Danites were initially known as the “Daughters of Zion.” The mere existence of the group was controversial. For example, during a hearing in 1843 when a witness suggested that “Daniteism was not done with” Joseph denied the existence of the Danites, stating “The Danite system alluded to by Norton never had any existence. It was a term made use of by some of the brethren in Far West, and grew out of an expression I made use of when the brethren were preparing to defend themselves from the Missouri mob, in reference to the stealing of Macaiah’s images (Judges chapter 18)—If the enemy comes, the Danites will be after them, meaning the brethren in self-defense.” ⁵History of the Church Vol 6, Ch. 7, Pg 165 byu.edu

However, there is confirmation of Joseph’s knowledge of the Danites in the form of a 27 July 1838 entry in Joseph Smith’s Journal (which was subsequently scratched out in an attempt to conceal the fact).

“Thus far, according to the ord[e]r of the Dan-Ites, we have a company of Danites in these times, to put to rights physically that which is not righ[t], and to clense the Church of verry great evils which hath hitherto exi sted among us, inasmuch as they cannot be put to rights by teachings & persuaysons, This company or a part of them exibited on the fourth day of July. They come up to consecrate, by companies of tens, commanded by their Captain over ten.”
(Joseph Smith Journal, 27 July 1838, JosephSmithPapers.org)

Sampson Avard was the leader of the band. When Joseph was arrested after the conflicts in Missouri, Avard turned and was the chief witness against him. Avard gave testimony that Joseph was intimately familiar with the Danites and described the nature of the oath that was entered into by each member:

“It was stated by Joseph Smith, jr., that it was necessary this band should be bound together by a covenant, that those who revealed the secrets of the society should be put to death. The covenant taken by all the Danite band was as follows, to wit:

They declared, holding up their right hand, “In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I do solemnly obligate myself ever to conceal and never to reveal the secret purposes of this society, called the Daughters of Zion. Should I ever do the same, I hold my life as the forfeiture.”

The prophet Joseph Smith, jr., together with his two counsellors, (Hiram Smith and Sidney Rigdon,) were considered as the supreme head of the church; and the Danite band feel themselves as much bound to obey them as to obey the Supreme God. Instruction was given by Joseph Smith, jr., that if any of them should get into difficulty, the rest should help him out; and that they should stand by each other, right or wrong.”
(Document containing the correspondence, orders, &c., in relation to the disturbances with the Mormons, pg. 97 archive.org original handwritten court copy archive.org)

Echoes of the masonic oath are seen in the phrase “ever to conceal and never to reveal…” and the penalty of death is incorporated as each member held their life in forfeiture if they were to betray the groups secrets. While the Danites are most frequently associated with the Missouri era of early church history, the members of the group remained loyal to Joseph Smith at Nauvoo and were counted among his trusted bodyguards and police force.

The Church now acknowledges the reality of the Danites existence and concedes Joseph’s likely involvement, however, does not claim that the group extended into Nauvoo. ⁶See entry on Danites at the JosephSmithPapers.org

Prior to December 1843, Nauvoo’s internal security consisted of Joseph Smith’s body-guards and Nauvoo’s “night watch” ⁷See “Policing in Nauvoo”, archive.org which consisted of former Danites such as Dimick B. Huntington, Albert P. Rockwood, and Daniel Carn. In December 1843, Joseph organized an official Nauvoo Police force and over 25% of the force, including the highest officials, were prior Danites.

Here is what Quinn writes in Origins of Power:

A week after sending this petition to Congress, Smith formally established his own police force. Until then, Nauvoo’s internal security had three components: Joseph Smith’s bodyguards, a separate “Secret Service in detecting thiefs &c.,” and former Danites (such as Dimick B. Huntington, Albert P. Rockwood, and Daniel Carn) operating as both Nauvoo’s “night watch” and as ad hoc “enforcers.” In December 1843, Joseph Smith organized the “Police Force of Nauvoo,” with Jonathan Dunham and Hosea Stout (former Danites) as captain and vice-captain. Among the forty police were such other Danites from Missouri as Charles C. Rich, John D. Lee, Daniel Carn, James Emmett, Stephen H. Goddard, Abraham C. Hodge, John L. Buffer, Levi W. Hancock, Abraham O. Smoot, Dwight Harding, and William H. Edwards. These Mormon policemen were proud of their Danite background. According to one complaining Mormon at Nauvoo, policeman Daniel Carn “told me several times Daniteism was not down…said it was a good system.” Carn laconically replied (in Joseph Smith’s presence): “Daniteism is to stand by each other [—] that is all I know about Daniteism.” Hosea Stout, an officer in both the Nauvoo Legion and Nauvoo police, made a point of teaching “the old Missouri Danite drill” to his men. In December 1843 Smith authorized the Nauvoo police to kill “if need be,” and then said his own life was endangered by a “little dough-head” and “a right-hand Brutus.” The latter remarks put the police on notice to look for Mormon dissenters as traitors. Within a week Nauvoo’s police panicked Smith’s second counselor William Law and stake president William Marks (both polygamy foes) to fear that he had marked them for death.”

Regardless of whether there was an official Danite group in Nauvoo, the pattern of a secret oath sworn on penalty of death reached as far back as 1838 and so, as we see, it appears in other Nauvoo era secret groups headed by Joseph.

Joseph’s Standard of Secrecy

In December of 1841 Joseph Smith lamented that although he himself was able to keep a secret, the saints in general were not:

“The reason we do not have the secrets of the Lord revealed unto us, is because we do not keep them but reveal them; we do not keep our own secrets, but reveal our difficulties to the world, even to our enemies, then how would we keep the secrets of the Lord? I can keep a secret till Doomsday.”

This was reinforced in a letter from Joseph to the newly formed Relief Society in 1842 in which he was restrained from disclosing the full details of the John C Bennett spiritual wifery affair because the women were not yet all skilled in the Masonic art of keeping secrets – an allusion to the oaths and penalties binding members to secrecy.

“We have been informed that some unprincipled men, whose names we will not mention at present, have been guilty of such crimes. We do not mention their names, not knowing but what there may be some among you who are not sufficiently skill’d in Masonry as to keep a secret, therefore, suffice it to say, there are those, and we therefore warn you, & forewarn you, in the name of the Lord, to check & destroy any faith that any innocent person may have in any such character;”
Joseph Smith (Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, 28 September 1842, JosephSmithPapers.org)

As we have demonstrated, the Masonic pattern of oath-bound secrecy and penalties was integrated into every secret institution Joseph was involved in. This pattern began with Joseph and continued after his death – even into the 20th century.

”The secret of Masonry is to keep a secret.”
The Words of Joseph Smith, 257 (15 October 1843 archive.org)

“You have received your endowments. What is it for? To learn you to hold your tongues”
Heber C. Kimball, 2 August 1857(Journal of Discourses, 5:133 archive.org)

“[T]he mane part of Masonry is to keep a secret”
Brigham Young (Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 22 January 1860, archive.org).

“Because of their Masonic characters the ceremonies of the temple are sacred and not for the public.”
Official Statement of the First Presidency (Oakland Tribune, October 15, 1911;  newspapers.org)

Conclusion

Joseph’s letter to the Relief Society indicating that he couldn’t trust their ability to keep a secret unless they were “sufficiently skill’d in Masonry” is a clear allusion that he equated reliable oaths of secrecy with the Masonic pattern which included oaths on penalty of death – the same pattern used in the Endowment Ceremony, Council of Fifty and the Danites. If you review the accounts of the women who described Joseph’s proposals (See Indecent Proposals, Part 1) – each of them described being asked to promise or swear an oath of secrecy about what Joseph was proposing to them. As such, it should not be considered a “vicious lie” that the Expositor would claim that such oaths were accompanied with a penalty. In fact, this is entirely consistent with Joseph’s pattern and expectation of secrecy – it would be more surprising if he didn’t require such a penalty.

The Expositor is once again exonerated.