Was Joseph Smith a liar and a conman? Absolutely not. He did everything he could to serve God and fulfill his prophetic mission. This painting by Andrew Knaupp shows the “triumph” in the Prophet’s martyrdom. The name of this painting is “Triumph Over All His Foes.”
FROM THE ARTIST:
“Triumph Over All His Foes” takes place outside the Carthage Jail, in Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844. This shows the moment when the Prophet leaped out the East window and fell to the ground against the well curb.
Earlier, in 1838, while being held unjustly in Liberty Jail, the Prophet had been told by the Lord quote, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” End quote.
In this image, I tried to portray the tragedy in the triumph of this moment. The tragedy is obvious: an innocent man, gunned down while under the protection of the State. The triumph is a little less obvious. In his death, Joseph had finished his work. He had done all the Lord had asked of him—and much had been asked of him. He had had so many chances to fail, to give up, to leave the work for someone else, to become bitter, and resent the persecution and trails that plagued him from his youth. He never did.
The expression set on the face of the Prophet, as preserved in the death mask, shows a peaceful expression, even a slight smile. The Prophet Joseph Smith died at peace with God, even in the midst of such violence.
Oddly enough, the mob never came into the room. John Taylor says that. He was surprised. They kept expecting it. They kept expecting the robbers to rush into the room with their bayonets, swords, and pistols. But the robbers were so cowardly, they never stepped foot into the room. All they would do was to stick their guns through the door. Someone would hand them another loaded gun and they would put it through the crack in the door and they would fire. They were so cowardly and afraid that they never came into the room.
The figure on the right, in the militia uniform, represents the involvement of the State government in the murder. The red highlights on the face and hands of the mob represent the blood of the Prophet and his brother on the hands of the killers. The blackened hands and faces were the mobs attempts to disguise, but also symbolize the spiritual uncleanness of the mob—their murderous intentions.
Cowards and charlatans when put under the pressure—and threats of death, and seeing your family killed and harassed, and things like that—they give in, they crack, they say: “I made it up. It wasn’t real. You know, just let me, let me live, leave me alone, let me go.”
Joseph had multiple opportunities, if he had wanted to, to escape. He had people willing to change clothes with him and pretend to be him in Carthage and he stayed. I really learned that how he ended his life was an exclamation point to all the words he had spoken, to the sermons he had preached about living ever moment of your life in a way that God would be pleased.