“Anson spent the winter in Nauvoo and preached in the surrounding area. When mob dissension grew, the Prophet Joseph Smith and Hyrum, his brother, were martyred on 27 June 1844 in nearby Carthage, Illinois. The last time Anson saw the Prophet alive was when the latter rode up to tell the Nauvoo Legion good-bye. Anson wrote of the event: ‘He [Joseph] turned himself upon the saddle, waved his hand, and said, ‘… Be faithful and true, and you shall have your reward. Farewell!’ He then started for Carthage. I little thought it was the last time I should see him alive.’
“The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were brought back from Carthage and placed at the Mansion House in Nauvoo. Much distraught, Anson took his family to view the bodies. He recorded: ‘Sleep and the desire of food had left my body. I shall not attempt to describe my feelings. What was to be done I knew not. I cried mightily unto the Lord that I might know what to do.’
“After the Martyrdom, the mob burned many homes of the Saints, including those of Anson’s father, his brother Harvey, and his brother-in-law Chester Loveland. All stayed temporarily with Anson’s family in Nauvoo.”
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