He called me by name and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me,

and that his name was Moroni, that God had a work for me to do, and that my name should be had

for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil

spoken of among all people. Joseph Smith History, Chapter 1, verse 33.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Book of Mormon Central, and today's podcast addresses

the question, why did Joseph Smith file a legal complaint against Dr. Philastus Hurlbut?

In 1833, Latter-day Saints in Missouri experienced bitter persecutions,

resulting in their expulsion from Jackson County. As news of these events reached Kirtland,

enemies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ohio were emboldened, heightening the tensions

between the Ohio Saints and their neighbors.

In the midst of that atmosphere, Dr. Philastus Hurlbut, an excommunicated member of the church

who had turned enemy, was given to anti-Mormon lectures promoting the now-defunct Spalding

theory of the Book of Mormon origins.

During these lectures, Hurlbutt began to threaten violence against Joseph

Smith, according to George A. Smith, Hurlbutt said, he would wash his hands in Joseph Smith's blood.

Given recent events in Missouri and growing strains between the Saints and their neighbors in Ohio,

Joseph Smith took these threats very seriously. Historian David W. Grua

explained that these events prompted a rare occasion on which Joseph Smith took the initiative

in a judicial action. On December 21, 1833, Joseph filed a criminal complaint against Hurlbutt

with the office of John C. Dowen, Justice of the Peace

in Curtland. About a week later, Justice Dowen issued a warrant for Hurlbut to be arrested and

arraigned before Justice William Holbrook of nearby Painesville. Hurlbutt was brought before Justice

...