Letter from George Albert Smith, 9 November 1845
Nauvoo Sund^a^y Evening
Elder Woodruff I seat myself to communicate a few words to you.
I have written once to you since our recent difficulties commenced & should
have continued to write had not the press of business & excitement pre-
vented. We are all making preparations to move beyond the Rocky
Mountains early in the Spring coming. The timber is already got
out for several hundred wagons & a multitude of men at work get-
ing more & every thing possible is doing to get ready in good season.
The work on the Temple is hurried with all speed, the upper rooms
are being plastered & in about 3 or 4 weeks we shall be giving
the endowment to the Elders, the Lord & Governer willing: Every
scheme is in foot to get something against the twelve, Wm Smith
is doing all he can in St Louis, & amongst other things he has pub-
lished that "the 12 Apostles are very licentious & he for opposing
them has been cut off". He is very bitter, but has very few
followers, as the Saints are too well acquainted with his charac-
ter to be led astray by him, as his course in the East & in Nauvoo is
generaly known. The Twelve meet in council every day & pray
for the deliverance of the Saints from bondage, & we are heard by our
Father, & in a great number of instances have been answered to our
own astonishment, Elder Hyde has returned with 4500 yds of
Canvass for the Tabernacle. The Circuit Court went of well,
not a single house burner was arrested, & all the brethren who
were charged with crime are discharged; the sheriff was recog-
nised for his appearance at court to be tried for the murder of
F A Worrell, his bonds are $3000, he is exercising all the duties of sheriff,
& is a brave & patriotic man & the only high officer in the State who has
lived ^tried^ to maintain the supremacy of the law. (I have seen a letter from ^Br^ Elder
Ward to Elder O Hyde, he gave some news; I think his egotism be-
speaks a slight touch of the "big head." I hope I am mistaken, but if
I am not, I believe from the Spirit of that letter, it would do him
good to travel over the mountains with us & get another kind of
experience from that he is called to now, as a change is good, you
know better than I, every man has his own way.) We had to stop
the Nauvoo House on account of the mob. The Governor has 100 men
stationed at Carthage to keep the peace as he says, but I say to plague the
Saints; they have been still for a few days; All the blacklegs in the
