Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming: O Lord my God! (D&C 135:1)The question I asked myself today when I thought of this: "Were Joseph Smith’s last words a prayer or a greeting to Someone who was there to meet him?" ( I think we can safely assume that he wasn’t taking the Lord’s name in vain..)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Joseph Smith’s Last Words
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2 comments:
When Smith was in the Carthage Jail in 1844, after he fired his last round in a small pepper-box pistol (which had been given to him that morning by Cyrus Wheelock), he held up his arms and may have been giving the Masonic call of distress, hoping Masons in the contingent would honor this call and not fire on him. It is recorded that he ran towards the open window with uplifted hands, and proclaimed, "Oh Lord my God."[7] Most people saw this as only a plea to God for aid, although others suspect otherwise.[8] - This phrase, "Oh, Lord, my God, is there no help for the widow's son?" is the sign/token of a Master Mason in distress, a Mason is bound by honor to come to the utterer's aid if there is a greater chance of saving the life of the seeker than on losing his own.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry_and_the_Latter_Day_Saint_movement
Interesting possibility. But considering his character and his calling as a prophet of God, I think it is more likely he was calling on God.
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