5 the heads of the church deemed it prudent to put forth a formal denial in the following words: “Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crimes of fornication and polygamy, we declare that we believe that one man should have but one wife, and one woman but one husband; except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.” It was not till 1852 that they admitted the truth, and boldly avowed and defended polygamy on the authority of the revelation of 1843. Meantime Smith in 1843 and 1844 made advances to so many women in Nauvoo, soliciting them to become his spiritual wives, that great uproar was created by the declarations of those whose virtue was proof against his attempts. Among others who repelled and denounced him publicly was Mrs. Foster, wife of Dr. Foster. Her husband, together with William Law and others who had been similarly outraged, renounced Mormonism, and commenced at Nauvoo the publication of a newspaper, the “Expositor,” to expose Smith. In the first number they printed the affidavits of 16 women to the effect that Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and others had endeavored to convert them to the spiritual wife doctrine, and to seduce them under the plea of having had special commission from heaven. This publication created great excitement, and on May 6, 1844, Smith and a party of his followers attacked the “Expositor” office and razed it to the ground, destroying the presses and other contents of the building. Foster and Law took refuge in Carthage, the county seat, where they obtained warrants against Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum Smith, and 16 others. The warrant was served upon Smith, but he refused to obey, and the constable who served it was driven from Nauvoo. The county authorities called out the militia to enforce the law; the Mormons armed themselves, and a civil war seemed impending, when the governor of the state persuaded the two Smiths to surrender and take their trial. They were committed to the jail at Carthage, and a guard stationed for their protection. On the evening of June 27 a mob attacked the jail, overpowered the guard, and fired upon the prisoners with rifles through a window and door. Hyrum Smith was instantly shot dead. Joseph returned the fire with a revolver till his charges were exhausted, and then attempted to escape through the window, but was shot as he leaped through it and fell to the ground dead. The death of the prophet caused much temporary confusion among the saints. Sidney Rigdon aspired to succeed him as head of the church; but Brigham Young was chosen first president, and Rigdon, being contumacious, was cut off from the communion of the faithful, cursed, and solemnly delivered to the devil “to be buffeted in the flesh for a thousand years.” In 1845 the charter of Nauvoo was repealed by the legislature of Illinois, and the Mormons made preparations to remove to the Rocky mountains. Early in the following year they gathered in considerable numbers at Council Bluffs, Iowa. Those who remained in Nauvoo became again involved in trouble with the surrounding people, and in September, 1846, the city was cannonaded for three days, and its inhabitants were driven out at the point of the bayonet. In the following year pioneers crossed the plains from Council Bluffs to Salt Lake valley, Utah, where Brigham Young arrived July 24, 1847. In May, 1848, the main body of the saints set out for Utah, and arrived at the Great Salt lake in the autumn. Salt Lake City was founded (see Salt Lake City), and large tracts of land were brought under cultivation. An “emigration fund” was established, and large numbers of converts were brought by a well organized system from Europe, chiefly from the working classes of Great Britain, and especially from Wales. A considerable number came also from Sweden and Norway, and a smaller number from Germany, Switzerland, and France. In March, 1849, a convention was held at Salt Lake City and a state organized under the name of Deseret, understood by the Mormons to signify “the land of the honey bee.” A legislature was