Joseph & Hyrum Smith's Martyrdom
Were Joseph and Hyrum martyred or were they just killed?
They were martyred. The 1828 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the transitive verb "martyr" as “to put to death for adhering to what one believes to be the truth; to sacrifice one on account of his faith or profession.”[1]
Since Joseph and Hyrum were killed because of their religious beliefs and practices,[2] they are considered martyrs.
But weren’t they killed because they burned down the Nauvoo Expositor?
No. The destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor[3] made the tensions between Latter-day Saints and non-Latter-day Saints worse,[4] but Joseph and Hyrum were killed for their religious beliefs and practices rather than as a punishment for destroying a printing press.[5]
Okay, but didn’t Joseph and Hyrum die in a gunfight?
Sort of. There was a fight and there were guns, but calling it a gunfight isn't quite an accurate description.[6] Between one and two hundred armed men with their faces painted black stormed Carthage Jail to kill Joseph.[7] They fired into the cell where Smith was held.[8] Smith fired back with a six-barreled pistol.[9] The mob shot and killed Hyrum,[10] then Joseph,[11] and wounded John Taylor.[12]
Doesn’t a true martyr have to willingly go to their death?
No, not historically. For example, Stephen in the Bible is often referred to as the first martyr.[13] He didn’t volunteer to die. He was stoned to death because he said he saw God and Jesus on his right hand, which was considered blasphemy.
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, first published in 1563, includes many Christian martyrs who tried to escape, fought back, and even killed those trying to kill them.[14]
Has the Church tried to control the martyrdom narrative and exclude the part about him firing a gun at the mob?
Yes and no. The Church has published many narratives describing the martyrdom of Joseph Smith,[15] and many of them have excluded the fact that he was armed[16] or have implied that he was unarmed.[17] However, many of them have also included this detail.[18]
- Adam J
“Of course Joseph and Hyrum's count as martyrs. Calling the attack of four guys stuck in a jail cell with a pistol by like two hundred mobsters a gunfight is just ridiculous.”