Life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1838 to 1842

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Joseph Smith, Jr.

1805 to 1827 - 1827 to 1830
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The life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1838 to 1842 covers a period beginning when Smith left Missouri and settled in Nauvoo, Illinois, to 1842.

1 Imprisonment
2 Life in Nauvoo, Illinois
- 2.1 Freemasonry
3 Notes
4 References

[edit] Imprisonment

Instead of execution, Smith and others spent several months in Liberty Jail awaiting a trial that never came. With shaky legal grounds for imprisonment, guards, likely on the instructions of other authorities, eventually allowed their escape. They joined the rest of the church in Illinois.

[edit] Life in Nauvoo, Illinois

After leaving Missouri in 1839, Smith and his followers made headquarters in a town called Commerce, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi River, which they renamed Nauvoo (meaning "to be beautiful"; - the word is found in the Hebrew of Isaiah 52:7 - Latter Day Saints often referred to Nauvoo as "the city beautiful", or "the city of Joseph"—which was actually the name of the city for a short time after the city charter was revoked—or other similar nicknames) after being granted a charter by the state of Illinois. Nauvoo was quickly built up by the faithful, including many new arrivals.

In October 1839, Smith and others left for Washington, D.C. to meet with Martin Van Buren, then the President of the United States. Smith and his delegation sought redress for the persecution and loss of property suffered by the Saints in Missouri. Van Buren told Smith, "Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you."

In 1840, the Illinois State Legislature passed a city-state charter for Nauvoo. On December 16 the governor signed it into law, granting Smith and the city of Nauvoo broad powers.

Work on a temple in Nauvoo began in the autumn of 1840. The cornerstones were laid during a conference on April 6, 1841. Construction took five years and it was dedicated on May 1, 1846; about four months after Nauvoo was abandoned by the majority of the citizens.

[edit] Freemasonry

In March 1842, Smith was initiated as a Freemason (as an Entered Apprentice Mason on March 15, and Master Mason the next day—the usual month wait between degrees was waived by the Illinois Lodge Grandmaster, Abraham Jonas) at the Nauvoo Lodge, one of less than a half-dozen Masonic meetings he attended. He was introduced by John C. Bennett, a Mason from the northeast.^{[citation needed]}