Joseph Smith's Last Prophecy Literally Fulfilled: Fun Church History

Research by Kerry A. Shirts

We hear it said that Joseph Smith was a false prophet since he had so many unfulfilled prophecies. While we await with baited breath for the list (there isn't one), we note something unusually fun and interesting since Joseph's last prophecy was fulfilled by a rather colorful character, Dan Jones. To date, so far as we are aware no critic of Mormonism has ever given this prophecy even a passing glance, while many Mormons are completely unaware of how literally Joseph Prophecied right up to his death, which prophecy was bore out, and that in rather grand style!

*Just Who Was Dan Jones Anyway?*

Dan Jones was one of the fellows who was with the prophet Joseph Smith when he was killed at Carthage. His name is not mentioned nearly so much as John Taylor's or Willard Richards or Hyrum Smith's, yet he was the man to whom Joseph Smith uttered his last prophecy, in the middle of the bleakest and most forelorn position possible, with literally no hope of the prophecy being fulfilled. One of the finest overall sketches of his life, who he was, and his relationship to Mormonism is found in the Regional Studies of Illinois, wherein, among other things we read of the colorful episode of Joseph Smith the drunkard...

"Dan Jones was a small, sea-loving Welshman who first became acquainted with the Prophet when the Saints were in Nauvoo. He and the Prophet Joseph became co-owners of the Mississippi steamboat, Maid of Iowa. Dan Jones' total commitment and complete loyalty endeared him to the Church leaders generally, and to the Prophet specifically. On one occasion the Prophet determined to test the Welshman's loyalty in an unusual, if not harsh, manner. He went to the wharf where Dan was working on their boat and convincingly portrayed himself in the part of a drunkard. The Prophet never referred to the incident in his own writings, but Dan Jones related the encounter in great detail. Only brief glimpses of the incident are recorded here.

Upon his arrival at the docks the Prophet found Captain Dan Jones busy at work on the deck of their boat. With appropriate staggering, slurs, repetition of phrases, hiccuping and other signs of obvious inebriation, the Prophet attempted to board the Maid of Iowa.

Boat ahoy, Hallo Come and help me aboard Captain, for I'm afraid to fall off that plank into the river. Now hold fast, steady there all safe. Now Captain [Jones] you see I'm a leedl boozy tonight, been drinking a leedl wine with a friend; but what of that I'm a Prophet if I am drunk; that I am. Well look here Captain, you hold my note, don't you? Well I have just called to tell you that I don't mean to pay you a cent of it, that I wont. Now ain't I an honest man to tell you so? I tell you I never mean to pay you a cent, there now help yourself.

You may think I am not a Prophet but I am a Prophet if I am drunk. There I told you what I came for, I wont pay a cent that's all. Now help me ashore again, I know I'm a Prophet, don't push me off the plank, or I'll be a fallen Prophet, if not a drowned Prophet, Ha, Ha, there ashore safe let me go sue, sue away, I tell you I don't care, good night.

The Prophet staggered up the bank and away from the wharf toward his home until he met Dr. Willard Richards. After a warm greeting between the Prophet and his personal secretary and friend, the Prophet, very much sober, said,

"Excuse me, Dr. Richards I have played such a joke just now, I am afraid I'll split my sides laughing; I must tell it you. I have acted the drunken man so natural aboard that Boat that I have made the Captain believe I was really drunk, ha, ha, for he looked as sober as a Judge. Suppose you call on him by and bye, and quiz out of him what he thinks of it; he is an honest man I believe, and if I cant shake him off me, I will make a man of him, let me hear again."

"Shall I leave him ignorant of the joke?" asked Brother Richards.

The Prophet responded, "If he stumbles at it [the test] you may, but if not you may let him have the benefit of it too."

Following the instructions of the Prophet, Elder Richards played the part of a sympathetic friend concerned for the welfare of his inebriated associate:

"Good night Captain," "Good night Doctor, step aboard." [Richards] [e]nters, puts on a grave face, and draws a long sigh, "Have you seen the Prophet about this evening?"

"He was here about an hour ago."

"I hear that he has been drinking again! What a pity that such a good man gives way to drink so—great pity. Wonder they let him go about the streets to expose himself; was he very drunk Captain?"

"He had his three sheets in the wind or thereabouts."

"Well what do you think of it?"

"All I think of it is that if he drinks until doom's day, he can't drown that truth which is in him, nor the little that is in me neither. Tis true that I would rather have a sober Prophet, but then if we can't get a sober one, a drunken Prophet is better than no Prophet at all, so I will hold on to the one we have got, drunken or sober. That's what I think to do Doctor."

"Ha, Ha you will not be driven to that Cap[tain]; tis all a joke; the Prophet is as sober as a judge only weighing you."

"So much the better if any difference, although, every body mind his own business is my motto."

Marvelous lessons can be learned from individual experiences, but the proof of good men is found in the scriptural injunction, "By their fruits, ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20; 3 Nephi 14:20). Dan Jones, having been "weighed in the balance," was found faithful. Following this episode with the Prophet, Jones accompanied him and others to Carthage, Illinois, and was with the Prophet the last night before his martyrdom. During a disruption, the Prophet got off the bed where he was resting and lay on the floor between John S. Fullmer and Dan Jones and spoke to each of them in turn. He asked Dan if he was afraid to die. Dan answered, "Has that time come think you? Engaged in such a cause [as the gospel] I do not think that death would have many terrors." The Prophet Joseph prophesied, "You will yet see Wales, and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die." Before the year 1844 was over Dan Jones was enroute with a prominent entourage of other Church officials toward the British Isles, not only fulfilling the prophecy but further proving his own loyalty to the slain Prophet and the cause he died for.

Later Dan served a second mission and is generally credited with more than 6,000 convert baptisms, the translation of numerous missionary tracts into the Welsh language, and leading the emigration of many of his converts to the Great Basin. After their arrival in the City of the Great Salt Lake, some of those Welsh converts became the nucleus of the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Dan Jones has a long list of accomplishments, most importantly being a strong proponent of the restored gospel. He died firm in that conviction and is buried in the Provo City Cemetery."1

It is history such as we are wont to ignore that makes history so enjoyable. Daniel Jones has noted in his entertaining article that it was because of the silly trumped up atrocities that Jones had heard that made him look into Mormonism, which became all the better for Mormonism! Interesting how criticism against the Church has always, sooner or later, been for the overall good and benefit of the church.

"While operating his steamboat, The Maid of Iowa, up and down the Mississippi River during 1842, Captain Daniel Jones first heard of the Mormons through the accusations of editor Thomas Sharp and others. Incredulous that the Mormons could be guilty of all the evil attributed to them, Jones eventually sought some missionaries of this new religion in order to gain firsthand information concerning their beliefs and practices. After several late-night conversations, he perceived that he"was almost a full-fledged Mormon already." The prospect of converting to Mormonism, however, left him apprehensive as he contemplated the erosion of his popularity and the lucrative livelihood he had from his steamboat.

Unable, however, to refuse the precepts of Mormonism, Jones become an adept and was baptized in the icy waters of the Mississippi in 19 January 1843. He had not yet met the Prophet Joseph Smith but had the opportunity about three months later when he transported a group of English converts to Nauvoo in April.

Daniel Jones was totally captivated by the charismatic Joseph from their first meeting and remained faithful to their friendship through the Martyrdom and to his own death in 1862 in Provo, Utah.

Daniel Jones accompanied Joseph and Hyrum to Carthage and was with them in the jail during their last night in mortality. On that occasion the Prophet uttered his final prophecy; he declared that Jones would live through the events in Carthage and return to his native Wales and fulfill the mission to which he had been called earlier."2

It is interesting as well as wonderful reading to see the role that Capt. Dan Jones' ship played in Mormonism....

"In March 1843, Elders Parley P. Pratt and Levi Richards, having just landed in New Orleans with about two hundred British converts, sought to charter a steamer to take their group up river to Nauvoo. Contact was made with Captain Daniel Jones, of the Maid of Iowa, who had spent the winter on the lower river in the bayou trade but who was then advertising for passengers and freight destined for the Upper Mississippi. Though steamer captains were often reluctant to aid the Mormons, Captain Jones accepted their request, having previously carried Mormons and Mormon freight to good satisfaction. On 12 April the little vessel, loaded to her limits, "hauled up at the Nauvoo House landing," where she was met by a crowd of joyful Saints. The journey from St. Louis had been particularly difficult, requiring eleven days because of delays brought on by ice still flowing in the river.

Joseph Smith, President of the Church and mayor of the city, was the first aboard the boat and "could not refrain from shedding tears" at the privilege of again greeting old friends and welcoming the new arrivals. So appreciative was the Mormon Prophet of Captain Jones' service that when Joseph came face-to-face with him he laid his hand upon the captain's head and said, "Bless this little man." This touching encounter was the beginning of an affectionate friendship between the two, and it soon led to the Welshman's conversion to Mormonism and, in behalf of the Church, to Joseph Smith's arranging a partnership with the captain in the steamboat trade. Within a month Captain Jones was baptized, and the Prophet began the purchase of half interest in the Maid of Iowa, buying Levi Moffit's share of the boat for $1,375.

The Latter-day Saints, though serious about establishing their "Zion", made time to enjoy life; they found their steamboat a suitable place to do so. Immediately upon acquiring ownership in the boat, Joseph Smith arranged with Captain Jones for an excursion on the river for Church and civic leaders and their families. This was the first of many pleasure excursions aboard the Maid. The young citizens of the community, "Temple Hands", and other select groups were invited to enjoy a respite upon the river, with Quincy and Burlington being the favorite places of destination. Festive occasions were usually heightened by the presence of tasty foods, "a fine band of music," spirited orations, or even a "salute of cannon." Some gatherings aboard the steamer were refreshing to the participants in a more sober way. When the weather did not permit the holding of religious services in the grove near the rising Temple, other locations substituted as places of worship. Willard Richards noted that on Sunday 14 April 1844, "a rainy day in Nauvoo, . . . Joseph preached on board the Maid of Iowa."

The "Little Maid," as Joseph Smith affectionately referred to the steamer, served faithfully in many capacities. A particularly tense situation for the citizens of Nauvoo occurred in June 1843. While Joseph and his wife Emma were visiting in Dixon, Illinois, an attempt was made to abduct him and take him by force to Missouri. The plan was to transport him on a steamer down the Illinois River and on to St. Louis. When rumor of the affair reached Nauvoo, the Maid was immediately dispatched to intercept the hostile craft. The crew's mission was to stop and search any suspected boats and to free the Prophet if he were found. In an eventful encounter with the Chicago Belle, the planned abductor, the crew of the Maid performed heroically. Word then reached the Maid that "Brother Joseph" was safe in the hands of friends, and the "Mormon Navy" returned to its home port."3

*Dan Jones at Carthage*

"In May, 1844, the Prophet bought out the interest of Dan Jones in the "Maid of Iowa." When the Prophet started for Carthage June 24, 1844, Dan Jones was one of the brethren who accompanied him, and from Carthage he was sent with two others with an important message to Gov. Thomas Ford. He spent the night of June 26-27, 1844, with Joseph and fellow-prisoners in Carthage jail..."4

Hence Jones came to be at Carthage with Joseph Smith and the others. George Q. Cannon discussed the situation in clear terms:

"That night [the night before the martyrdom] in prison Hyrum read from the Book of Mormon concerning the sufferings and deliverance of the servants of God from the hands of their enemies. Joseph arose and bore a powerful testimony to the guards to the divinity of the book; he declared that the gospel had been restored and that the kingdom of God was again established on the earth for the sake of which he was then incarcerated in prison, and not because he had violated any law of God or man. They retired to rest very late. in the room with the Prophet and Patriarch were Apostles John Taylor and Willard Richards and Elders John S. Fullmer, Stephen Markham and Dan Jones.

In the night Joseph whispered to Dan Jones, "Are you afraid to die?"

in such a cause I do not think that death would have many terrors."

Joseph replied: "You will yet see Wales and fulfil the mission appointed you, before you die."

In the morning Dan Jones went down, at the Prophet's request, to learn the cause of a disturbance of the night, and Frank Worrell, the officer of the guard of Carthage Greys, said to Dan:

We have had too much trouble to bring old Joe here to let him ever escape alive, and unless you want to die with him, you had better leave before sundown; and you are not a damned bit better than him for taking his part, and you'll see that I can prophesy better than old Joe, for neither he nor his brother, nor anyone who will remain with them, will see the sun set today.

Brother Jones started to find the governor and on the way saw an assemblage of the mob, and heard one of them who was making a speech say:

Our troops will be discharged this morning in obedience to order, and for a sham we will leave the town; but when the governor and the McDonough troops have left for Nauvoo this forenoon, We will return and kill these men, if we have to tear the jail down.

When Dan found the governor, and related the threats, Ford only sneered at him. Ford was actually preparing to go to Nauvoo. He had disbanded some of the troops and in his hearing they declared that they would return and kill Joseph and Hyrum as soon as he was far enough away from town.

Ford refused permits for the Prophet's friends to pass in and out of the prison. This deprived Joseph and Hyrum of the society of all but Apostles Taylor and Richards who remained constantly with them.

The governor held consultation with the officers of the mob army. A Dr. Southwick who was there afterward declared that the purpose of the meeting was to consider the best way of stopping Joseph Smith's career, as his views on the government were being widely circulated and they took like wildfire. The mobocrats said that if he did not get into the presidential chair this election he would be sure to next time; and if Illinois and Missouri would join together and kill him, they would not be brought to justice for it.

As the governor continued his preparations to depart from Carthage to Nauvoo, and as it was clear that he intended to break his solemn promise by failing to take Joseph with him, Cyrus H. Wheelock, Dan Jones and John . Greene went in town to him and protested with all possible solemnity against his deed. He professed to reassure them; and then he took with him Captain Dunn, and his company—of all the militia the least vindictive against the Prophet; and left as a guard the Carthage Greys—of all the mob the most bloodthirsty. These Carthage Greys had but two days before been under arrest for insulting the commanding general; their conduct had shown them to be notoriously hostile to the prisoners; and they had often in the governor's hearing threatened the lives of Joseph and Hyrum. Of the disbanded troops the governor permitted two or three hundred under Colonel Levi Williams, a sectarian preacher and a sworn enemy to Joseph, to remain encamped in the vicinity of Carthage, awaiting the hour when they might safely descend upon the jail."5

It makes for interesting reading how Dan Jones escaped death and went on to fulfill Joseph's prophecy amid odds that stagger the imagination...

"Three times during the next thirty-six hours Daniel Jones had narrow escapes from death. Just hours before the mob fired into the jail cell Jones was given a latter to take to Orville H. Browning in Quincy. The letter was a request for Browning's services in representing Joseph and Hyrum at their trial, but it was interpreted by mob members as an appeal to the Nauvoo Legion to come to the rescue. Taking advantage of the mob's momentary indecision, Jones mounted his horse and rode off in a hail of bullets. He inadvertently took the wrong road on his way to Nauvoo (where he was to take the night boat to Quincy) and thus avoided a group intent on killing him. The next day after going to Quincy and learning of the Martyrdom, Jones hid on a steamboat owned by a friend. Suspecting that Jones was there, some of the mob who had a gallows prepared for him came on board to seize him. Hiding under a mattress, Jones avoided death for a third time.

Daniel Jones fulfilled Joseph Smith's prophecy within just a few month after the Martyrdom by returning to his native Wales and serving a four-year mission among his compatriots. He broke through the barriers of opposition by use of the printing press and produced numerous pamphlets, a monthly periodical and a 288-page scriptural commentary in support of Mormonism. When he arrived in Wales in early 1845, there were about two hundred fifty Welsh converts. And when he left Wales in February of 1849, there were nearly four thousand Welshmen who called themselves Mormons. Much of this astounding growth can be attributed to the Welsh publications which Jones wrote and which his non-Mormon brother, John Jones, printed on his press at Rhyd-y-bont, Carmarthenshire."6

One amusing incident I just have to include as many here on arm think I am tough with my language to the critics of Mormonism. Compare Dan Jones, who always stood up to the opposition!

"The number of Mormon converts in Wales by early 1846 had grown to nearly five hundred, most of them in South Wales. The reins of leadership of the Welsh Mormons had been given to Elder Dan Jones, often known as Captain Dan Jones...Dan Jones was outraged at Davies's attack on the Mormons because of the William Hughes case, especially since Davies had not even taken the trouble to travel the two miles separating Dowlais and Merthyr Tydfil to gain personal knowledge of the situation before sending his letter to Y Bedyddiwr. Elder Jones immediately sent his own letter to the editor of the periodical, a letter which contains a detailed testimony from William Hughes himself and affidavits from Mormon and non-Mormon eyewitnesses to the miraculous healing. Jones was further outraged at the editor's refusal to print the letter. This injustice constituted one of the principal motivating factors in Jones's establishment of Prophwyd y Jubili (Prophet of the Jubilee), the first Welsh Mormon periodical. Volume 1, number 1, of this publication appeared in July 1846, only four months after Davies's article in Y Bedyddiwr. And one of its main contents is a six-page refutation of Davies's charges (no. 3, table 2). That which the editor of Y Bedyddiwr had refused to print is also included. Crying out against the "corrupt depths of humanity" made evident by the Baptist publication, Dan Jones writes: "I confess that we have never before seen a treatise half as large as this published, especially in a periodical which professes to be religious, but not more than one statement of it was truth, in some corner or another." Jones invites the reader to count with him Davies's lies and then presents a series of quotations from Davies's article, showing the fallacy of each one. He expresses further outrage at Davies in a six-page article in the September Prophwyd y Jubili (no. 4, table 2). Among many other observations, Jones points out that Davies proves himself devoid of common sense--after all, Davies had stated that the doctrines of Mormonism were beneath the consideration of every man who had common sense, but then he proceeded to consider them. Jones also has a few comments about the periodical willing to print Davies's writings: "What, to offer us Y Bedyddiwr as true! . . . Is that not the sinkhole into which you have spewed the contents of your foul insides for years, and would you wish us to sully our noses in your stinking liquid? Oh, no!"7

B.H. Roberts added an insight into Dan Jones that ought not to be missed...

"The advent of Elder Dan Jones was not the introduction of the New Dispensation into Wales; but his coming gave a great impetus to the work. In the next three years several thousand were baptized, and branches of the church were multiplied in various parts of the principality. Elder Jones published a periodical called Udgorn Seion--Zion's Trumpet--in the Welsh language; and also a number of tracts, some original and others that were translations from the English.

The membership of the church in Great Britain had been greatly reduced by reason of the large emigration of the past three years. At the general conference of the mission held in April, 1844, the number of members and officers reported in the organized conferences made a total of 6,646. Although the emigration continued, during the intervening years, a general conference held in January, 1846, which marked the close of Elder Woodruff's mission in the British Isles, the members reported numbered 10,956, and the officers 1,291, a total of 12,247."8

*Dan Jones: Remained Faithful - Literally Fulfilled Prophecy*

"In 1845 Dan Jones, complying with a former call, left Nauvoo on a mission to Great Britain, and on his arrival in Liverpool, England, he was assigned to labor in Wales, his native country. He proceeded at once to Merthyr Tydfil, where he organized himself and family into the Welsh conference and commenced preaching the gospel with such success that in the course of a couple of years he became the means of baptizing and adding to the Church about two thousand souls in Wales. He also circulated thousands of pamphlets in the Welsh language. Persecution raged against him, but the more his opponents persecuted him, the better success he had. Elder Jones also published a monthly periodical in Welsh, entitled "Phophwyd y Jubili" (The Prophet of the Jubilee). Among his other publications was the "Compendium," or book of reference (288 pages), illustrative of the doctrines of the Church. All the publishing was done in Merthyr Tydfil. Having finished his mission in Wales, Capt. Jones sailed from Liverpool Feb. 26, 1849, with 249 emigrating saints on board the ship "Buena Vista." The company arrived in Kanesville, Iowa, in May, 1849, and crossed the plains with Dan Jones as captain, in twenty-five wagons. Under date of Aug. 12, 1849, Geo. A. Smith wrote as follows, while crossing the plains: "Capt. Dan Jones understands his duty and surely he has done nobly in building up the kingdom of God in his native land and conducting the company he has across the mighty deep." The Welsh Saints were included in Geo. A. Smith's company. After the arrival in the Valley the so-called Welsh settlement was formed on the west side of the river Jordan, but most of the Welsh Saints subsequently became residents of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Wards, Salt Lake City. The arrival of the Welsh company under Capt. Jones was practically the introduction of the Welsh element into the Church. In the fall of 1849 Dan Jones was called to accompany Parley P. Pratt and others on an exploring expedition to southern Utah. On this journey the captain rendered efficient aid to the expedition and was closely associated with Elder Pratt. The company returned to Salt Lake City early in 1850. After that we find Dan Jones prominently associated with public affairs in the city until he, later in the year, was called to locate in Manti, Sanpete county, where he was elected mayor of the city April 7, 1851. There also he ran a threshing machine and took part in all kinds of pioneer labor. In August, 1852, he was called on a second mission to Wales, during which he again did a splendid work in his native country and published the "Udgorn Seion." Returning from this mission in 1856, he had charge of a large company of Saints (703 souls), who crossed the Atlantic in the ship "Samuel Curling," which sailed from Liverpool July 6, 1856. He crossed the plains together with a number of other missionaries, who passed the different emigrating companies of saints which crossed the plains that year. Early in 1857 Capt. Dan Jones commenced navigating the Great Salt Lake in the "Timely Gull," a small boat built and owned by Gov. Brigham Young. The little vessel was anchored in Black Rock harbor Feb. 13, 1857, with a general cargo, mainly composed of cedar wood, fine salt and flagging for sidewalks, yards and cellar floors, which articles were offered for sale. The "Timely Gull" was the first vessel of any consequence ever launched upon the waters of the Great Salt Lake. In 1859 it was suggested that the stone coal which had just been discovered in Wales, Sanpete Valley, should be hauled from that place to the head of Utah Lake, from which point Capt. Jones would boat it across the lake to supply the citizens of Salt Lake City with fuel, but this enterprise, seemingly, did not prove a success. In the meantime Capt. Jones moved to Provo, where he resided until the time of his death, which took place there Jan. 3, 1861. Capt. Jones married three wives during his life time and when he died he left six children, two by each wife Dan Jones as a missionary was known as a most eloquent and rapid speaker, having both the English and Welsh languages completely at his command, and with his earnestness and force he could hold his audience spellbound for hours together."9

Endnotes

1. Dan Jones, "Regional Studies", Illinois, Boone—My Friends, p.84ff.

2. "The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum",

by Daniel Jones, "BYU Studies", Vol. 24, No. 1, Winter 1984, pg.79.

3. "The Steamboat Maid of Iowa: Mormon Mistress of the Mississippi", Donald L. Enders, "BYU Studies", Vol. 19, No. 3, Spring 1979, pp.325,333,344.

4. Jones, Dan, "LDS Biographical Encyclopedia", Andrew Jenson, Vol. 3, p.658.

5. George Q. Cannon, "Life of Joseph Smith the Prophet", p.513ff. Cf. B. H. Roberts, "New Witnesses for God", Vol.1, p.481. See also Joseph Fielding Smith, "Church History and Modern Revelation", Vol 4, p.196: "These threats were reported to the governor, but he paid no heed to them. He informed Dan Jones that he was unnecessarily alarmed and that the people were not that cruel. Brother Jones replied: "The Messrs. Smith are American citizens, and have surrendered themselves to your excellency upon your pledging your honor for their safety; they are also Master Masons, and as such I demand of you protection of their lives. If you do not do this, I have but one more desire, and that is, if you leave their lives in the hands of those men to be sacrificed."—"What is that, sir?" Ford hurriedly asked. "It is," said Jones, "that the Almighty will preserve my life to a proper time and place, that I may testify that you have been timely warned of their danger." Brother Jones, Fullmer and Markham, who had all been sent out on errands were refused admittance when they returned to the jail. John Taylor and Willard Richards were the only brethren remaining that afternoon with the Prophet and Patriarch." B.H. Roberts tells us other details in his book "The Life of John Taylor", p.134:

"Later in the day Captain Jones was dispatched to Hon. O. H. Browning, a prominent lawyer of Quincy, to secure his professional services in the pending trial. Cyrus Wheelock left for Nauvoo a little after noon to obtain witnesses. Before going he left a six-shooting revolver belonging to Elder Taylor with the Prophet. Stephen Markham being seen on the street was captured, put on his horse and compelled to leave town at the point of the bayonet. The departure of these brethren left only John Taylor and Willard Richards with the Prophet and his brother Hyrum."

6. "The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and His Brother Hyrum", Daniel Jones, "BYU Studies", Vol. 24, No. 1, Winter 1984, p. 80. Cf. Jones, Dan, "LDS Biographical Encyclopedia", Andrew Jenson, Vol. 3, p.658 - "Jones then requested the governor to give him passports for himself and friends to pass in and out of the prison, according to his promise made to the prisoners. He refused to give them passes, but he told General Deming to give one to Dr. Willard Richards, Joseph Smith's private secretary. While obtaining this, Jones' life was threatened, and Chauncey L. Higbee said to him in the street, "We are determined to kill Joe and Hyrum, and you had better go away to save yourself." Afterwards Almon W. Babbitt met Dan Jones in the street and informed him that Joseph wanted to see him, but not being allowed to pass the guard, Brother Babbitt brought a letter from Joseph, which he handed to Dan Jones with directions to take it to Quincy forthwith. The guard, being aware of the letter, told the mob that "Old Joe" had sent orders to raise the Nauvoo Legion to come and rescue him. The mob gathered around Jones and demanded the letter. Some of them wanted to take it from him by force and said that Jones should not get out of Carthage alive, as a dozen men had started out with their rifles to waylay him in the woods. Having previously ordered his horse, Jones took advantage of their disagreement and started off at full speed. By mistake he took the Warsaw road, and so avoided the men who were lying in wait for him."

7. Ronald D. Dennis; "BYU Studies", Vol. 25, No. 2, Spring 1985, "The Reverend W. R. Davies vs. Captain Dan Jones", p. 59.

8. B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, Vol.2, Ch.66, p.459f.

9. Jones, Dan, "LDS Biographical Encyclopedia", Andrew Jenson, Vol. 3, p.658.