MIDWAY, Utah — For the first time in 165 years, LDS Church founder Joseph Smith's Nauvoo Legion sword was displayed in public.
The 4-foot-long, leather-handled steel sword has been in the keeping
of the Joseph Bates Noble family since The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints prophet gave the sword to Noble on his way to
Carthage Jail.
Noble was one of the bodyguards to Smith, as well as his bishop in Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, Ill.
The unveiling of the sword, along with the prophet's cap and ball
musket rifle and one of the casket canes (fashioned from the prophet's
casket), was the highlight of the Book of Mormon Prophecies Conference
held Thursday and Friday at the Zermatt resort.
Howard Carlos Smith, a descendant of Noble who has written a book
"Keeper of the Prophet's Sword," said his family has handed the
precious relics — which were carried across the plains during the
Saints' westward migration — from father-to-son for generations.
Much of the time, the sword and the other relics were in a small, adobe farm house in West Bountiful, he said.
It's time to bring them out into the light for public perusal, he
said, referring to the items inside a sturdy glass case on the stage.
Three descendants of the Noble family and Mike Kennedy, a direct descendant of Joseph Smith, were at the unveiling.
The sword was given to Smith by Wilford Woodruff in early 1834 and is of a unique design reserved for a high-ranking officer.
The blade of the cavalry saber — known as a wristbreaker — is 35 and
one-half inches long. The hilt has a metal protector of black steel
that appears to be interlaced with three distinct hand protectors.
Smith said when he first held the sword he felt the spirit of God come over him.
"Holding the sword, I felt a spirit like I've never felt before almost like holding hands with the prophet himself," he said.
He said the sword provided comfort and protection to Emma Smith when
her husband was away and was one of the few items she kept with her as
she moved from home to home and place to place.
The Nauvoo Legion was organized by Joseph Smith to help protect the
early members of the church. Able-bodied men 18-and-over (ultimately
about 3000) drilled regularly and in uniform.
The prophet was the legion's Lt. General. He carried the sword during the Zion's Camp march.
He one day addressed the legion and unsheathed his sword, saying, "I
call God and angels to witness that this people shall have their legal
rights or my blood shall be spilt upon the ground and my body consigned
to the tomb but if there is one drop of blood shed on this occasion,
the sword shall never again be sheathed until Christ comes to reign on
Earth."
The sword to this day has not had blood upon it, Howard Carlos Smith said.
E-mail:haddoc@desnews.com