Origin of The Paper and Reasons For Its Destruction
A group of former members of the church were in open conflict with Smith for various doctrinal, economic, and political reasons. William Law, a member of the First Presidency, joined this group and became the head of it. According to William Law, Smith had made several proposals to Law's wife Jane, under the premise that Jane Law would enter a polyandrous marriage with Smith. Law's wife later described Smith's proposals, saying that Smith had "asked her to give him half her love; she was at liberty to keep the other half for her husband."
The Expositor was published by Law and six associates. The Expositor was planned as an exposé of the church's practices which Law and his associates opposed.
The Expositor was declared a nuisance and destroyed. In a letter to Governor Thomas Ford written four days after the destruction of the press, Smith described the city council’s opinion of the paper and its authors:
In the investigation it appeared evident to the council that the proprietors were a set of unprincipled men, lawless, debouchees, counterfeiters, Bogus Makers, gamblers, peace disturbers, and that the grand object of said proprietors was to destroy our constitutional rights and chartered privileges; to overthrow all good and wholesome regulations in society; to strengthen themselves against the municipality; to fortify themselves against the church of which I am a member, and destroy all our religious rights and privileges, by libels, slanders, falsehoods, perjury & sticking at no corruption to accomplish their hellish purposes. and that said paper of itself was libelous of the deepest dye, and very injurious as a vehicle of defamation,—tending to corrupt the morals, and disturb the peace, tranquillity and happiness of the whole community, and especially that of Nauvoo.
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