William Law (Latter Day Saints)

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For other persons named William Law, see William Law (disambiguation).

William Law (1809–1892) was an important figure in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement, holding a position in the early church's First Presidency under Joseph Smith, Jr, and later founding the short lived True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Law was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, as the youngest of five children. His family moved to the United States around 1820, and he eventually ended up in Upper Canada. At the age of 24 he married Jane Silverthorn, who was 19 years old.[1]

Law and his wife joined Church of the 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.[2]

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. Law still believed Mormonism to be true, but he viewed Joseph Smith as 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, Law created the True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and became its President. They 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 arrested and taken to nearby Carthage, Illinois on charges relating to the destruction of the Expositor.[3] On June 27, 1844 Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob.[4]

For many years, Law has been accused of being a member or a leader of the mob that killed Smith.[5] However, Law's diary shows that he was not in Carthage at the time of the murder, though he had been present there earlier in the day.[6] Although Law expresses outrage and remorse at Smith's death in his private journal,[1] he goes on to say that it was Smith's goal "to demoralize the world, to give it to Satan, his master .... He claimed to be a god, whereas he was only a servant of the Devil, and as such he met his fate."[7]

Law eventually moved to Shullsburg, Lafayette County, Wisconsin, where he died in 1892.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Cook, Lyndon W. "William Law, Nauvoo Dissenter". (10.2 MB) BYU Studies. Winter, 1982. Vol. 22, no. 1, p. 47-72
  2. ^ a b Jessee Dean C., editor The Papers of Joseph Smith Vol. 2 pg.565
  3. ^ Supplement to the Millennial Star, August 1844 p. 2 (This document can be found online by doing a key word search at http://www.lib.byu.edu/online.html?tab=4)
  4. ^ Doctrine and Covenants (Covenant 135)
  5. ^ An unnamed witness said he saw Law at the jail at the time of the killing: Naked Truths About Mormonism 1 (April 1888). Willard Richards, who was present with Smith in Carthage Jail at the time of the killing, included Law on his list of murderers of Smith: History of the Church 7:146. It is unknown whether Richards meant that he saw Law in the mob, or whether he merely suspected Law of being a behind-the-scenes organizer.
  6. ^ Diary of William Law, 12-13.
  7. ^ Diary of William Law, 13-14.

[edit] External links

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