William Law (Mormonism)
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William Law (1809—1892) was born in Northern Ireland, as the youngest of five children. His family moved to the United States around 1820, and he eventually ended up in Ontario Canada. At the age of 24 he married Jane Silverthorn, who was 19 years old[1]. Law and his wife joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1836, through the efforts of John Taylor and Almon Babbitt[1]. He led a group of Canadian saints to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1839 and in 1841, Joseph Smith chose him to be a member of the First Presidency[4]. As time progressed, Law became troubled by certain practices of Smith. He felt the prophet was uniting church and state in Nauvoo, Illinois by evading extradition to be tried for crimes in Missouri. He also thought Smith used his church authority to sway political outcomes. However, it was Smith's covert practice of polygamy that caused Law to completely separate himself. It is important to note that Law still believed Mormonism to be true, and that Joseph Smith was a fallen prophet.
On January 8, 1844 Law was informed that he was no longer a counselor. He was shocked and frustrated. He demanded a rehearing of his case, as the procedures for removal from the First Presidency had not been followed. This was granted and on April 18, 1844 he was tried again[1]. However, this time he was tried as if he were a private member and not high ranking church official. Once again he felt this went against church protocol. The following day he was informed of his excommunication. At this point, he felt Smith was beyond saving, and that it was his duty to expose him to the rest of the Mormon community. With other opponents of Joseph Smith he published the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper which outlined his contentions with Smith, including the then secret practice of polygamy. The reaction to the newspaper was not what Law expected, and on June 8, 1844 the printing press was ordered destroyed by the city council. That same day it was destroyed and never published again.
Smith was later taken to nearby Carthage, Illinois for charges relating to the destruction of the expositor[2]. On June 27, 1844 Joseph Smith was brutally murdered by a mob[3]. Some historians, including B. H. Roberts have thought that Law was partly responsible for the organization of the mob that killed Smith. Law's diary shows that he was not in Carthage at the time of the murder. Also in his diary, he expresses remorse at Smith's death[1]. On the other hand, in letters, Law boasts outright that his work with the Expositor led directly to Smith's death.[1]
Law still believed the fundamental church doctrines to be true even after all this, and even helped organize a breakoff of the original church, called the True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He became its first president.
Law eventually moved to Shullsburg, Lafayette County, Wisconsin, where he died in 1892[4].
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- A copy of the Nauvoo Expositor
- Three letters written later in William Law's life about his views on mormonism
- 1887 Interview with William Law, Salt Lake Tribune
[edit] References
- [1]Cook, Lyndon W.Brigham Young University studies. Winter, 1982. Vol. 22, no. 1, p. 47-72
- [2]Supplement to the Millennial Star: August 1844 p. 2 (This document can be found online by doing a key word search on [2])
- [3] Doctrine and Covenants (Covenant 135)
- [4]Jessee Dean C., editor The Papers of Joseph Smith Vol. 2 pg.565
