"Triumph Over All His Foes" takes place outside 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 trial that plagued him from his youth.
But 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 mobbers to rush into
the room with their bayonets, swords, and
pistols.
But the mobbers 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 every moment of your life in a
way that God would be pleased.
