Was Joseph Smith a Martyr?

Posted by Jenny Evans Aug 6, 2009

Some of Joseph Smith's critics seem to be especially fond of saying that "he died in a blazing gun battle." However, four cornered men trying to defend themselves with six bullets and a walking stick against an armed mob of 150 hardly qualifies as a gun battle.

Recently I have had a chance to research the events of Joseph Smith's death, and understand why he felt the need to protect himself - because he knew that those whose job it was to protect their citizens would not do so for him. The Missouri state government had routinely looked the other way when Mormons were harassed, attacked, and persecuted. An extermination order from the governor effectively kicked them out of the state. Joseph Smith sought redress from President Martin VanBuren, and was told that there was nothing the federal government could do for them.

So when tensions reached their height in Nauvoo, it's no wonder that Smith declared martial law for protection. Both state and federal government had turned its back on the Mormons, and Smith knew from experience that no one would be protecting their rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

It turns out that Smith was right. The Illinois governor promised him protection if he surrendered himself to arrest, but the militia guarding the jail only had blanks to fire and didn't stop a mob from charging inside and killing Smith two days later.

So was Joseph Smith a martyr? A martyr is someone who "voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion" [Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.] No one disputes that Joseph Smith was killed for his religious beliefs and practices, but what about the first part of the definition? Did Joseph Smith die voluntarily? I believe that he did, and this is why.

When a warrant for Smith's arrest went out, he originally escaped from the state. He returned after a few days and made the conscious decision to surrender. He was sure that surrendering himself meant death - as he left Nauvoo for Carthage Jail, he said, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter" - but he made the conscious decision to do it anyway.

In my opinion, the fact that Joseph Smith tried to defend himself in his last moments (as I imagine that ancient martyrs thrown into the lions' den tried to run away or protect themselves just before they were eaten) doesn't revoke his martyr status. But I suppose that is a matter of opinion...