[Lucy Mack Smith] Caroline Grant Smith dies, leaving two daughters. (1)
William B Smith: Wife, Caroline, died 22 May 1845. (2)
-- May 23, 1845
[Lucy Mack Smith] William Clayton's journal says that William Smith opposes the Twelve and has been named patriarch in a church organized by George J. Adams in Augusta, Iowa Territory, with Joseph III for president. William allegedly claims to have performed polygamous sealings and that he is not accountable to the Twelve. (1)
[Nauvoo Temple] By this date all the stone had been laid up, except the capstone. (3)
William Clayton Commissioned by the Council of Twelve Apostles to document the construction of the Nauvoo Temple. This was later published in the Juvenile Instructor as "An Interesting Journal" (4)
-- May 23, 1845, Friday
[William Clayton Writings] Friday 23rd. ... Wm. Smith is coming out in opposition to the Twelve and in favor of Adams. The latter has organized a church at Augusta, Iowa Territory with young Joseph Smith for President, Wm. Smith for Patriarch, Jared Carter for President of the stake and himself for spokesman to Joseph. Wm. says he has sealed some women to men and he considers he is not accountable to Brigham nor the Twelve nor any one else. There is more danger from William than from any other source, and I fear his course will bring us much trouble. Evening went with brother Whitney to see the Twleve at Er Taylors on Main Street. We tarried till near 10 o clock. There were present B. Young, H.C. Kimball, J. Taylor, W. Richards, G.A. Smith, J.E. Page and N.K. Whitney. I presented to them a proposition to write a short history of the building of the Temple from its commencement, together with other matters and deposite the history in the corner stone, about to be laid tomorrow
. They acquiesced with the plan. The case of Wm. Smith was also talked over. It appears he is determined to rule the church and monopolize the whole to himself. Samuel Brannan came in while were were talking I had an introduction to him. J. C. Wright and Elais Smith also came in and stated that the court had got a jury empannelled and was to proceed to try the murderers at 8 o clock tomorrow morning. They say there no manner of doubt but the murderers will be acquited. (5)
[William Clayton Writings] On Friday, the 23rd, all the stone on the outside of the wall was laid, except, the south-east corner stone. This progress was a great rejoicing to the Saints.
The Rigdonites have prophecied that the walls would never be built, but through the blessing of God we have lived to see the predicition come to naught. (5)
[William Clayton Writings] ``Wm. Smith is coming out in opposition to the Twelve and in favor of Adams,,'' he lamented on May 23. It angered Clayton to think that William Smith claimed to have ``sealed some women to men'' (i.e., performed the ordinance of eternal marriage, which Clayton believed he was not authorized to do) and that ``he considers he is not accountable to Brigham nor the Twelve nor any one else.'' If he feared any claimant to church leadership it was, ironically, the prophet's own brother, for, he wrote, ``There is more danger from William than from any other source, and I fear his course will bring us much trouble.'' That evening the Quorum of the Twelve discussed at length the ``improper course'' of William Smith. ``It appears he is determined to rule the church and monopolize the whole to himself,'' grumbled the anxious scribe as he wrote that night in his diary. (5)
-- May 24, 1845
The Prophet ceases publication; Parley P. Pratt, last editor. (6)
The Quorum of Twelve ordains Apostle William Smith as Patriarch to the Church. By necessity he is the first Presiding Patriarch ordained by apostolic authority, rather than by the patriarchal ordination within the Smith family. Brigham Young directs the laying of the capstone on the Nauvoo Temple. Although this is a secret ceremony a brass band plays "The Capstone Mar" composed specifically for the occasion. Although the capstone was laid the interior was still not completed. With a jury finally seated the trial of the murderers of Joseph Smith begins in Carthage, Illinois. (7)
Footnotes:
1 - Anderson, Lavina Fielding, Editor, Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, 2001, Signature Books, http://bit.ly/lucys-book
2 - Cook, Lyndon W., The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985, http://amzn.to/RevelationsofJosephSmith
3 - Brown, Lisle (compiler), Chronology of the Construction, Destruction and Reconstruction of the Nauvoo Temple
4 - Smith, George D., An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, p.lxiii, A William Clayton Chronology, http://amzn.to/william-clayton
5 - Fillerup, Robert C., compiler; William Clayton Nauvoo Diaries and Personal Writings, A chronological compilation of the personal writings of William Clayton while he was a resident of Nauvoo, Illinois. http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/clayton-diaries
6 - Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984
7 - On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com
LDS History Timeline
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