Joseph Smith — "If I am to be a martyr, I am willing to be one."
If I am to be a martyr, I am willing to be one.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Joseph Smith
"I am a servant of God, and I will serve him to the end."
"If I had forty wives in the United States, they did not know it, and could not substantiate it, neither did I ask any lawyer, judge, or magistrate for them. I live above the law, and so do this people…"
"When all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the Priesthood, an…"
"I will preach on the one grand key-note of the whole volume of scripture, which is the resurrection of the dead."
"I am a man of good will, and I will do good to all men."
Details
History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 555 (Letter to Emma Smith, June 27, 1844)
Date: 1844
WisdomVerification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
The quote expresses unconditional commitment to one's beliefs — a willingness to die rather than recant or flee. It's not a desire for death but an acceptance that standing firm may cost everything. The speaker refuses to let threat of violence dictate their choices. In plain terms: I know this could kill me, and I'm choosing my convictions anyway. It draws a hard line between survival and integrity.
Relevance to Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, immediately igniting fierce opposition. Mobs attacked him, Missouri's governor issued a literal extermination order, and Illinois proved equally hostile. He spoke knowing enemies actively sought his death. On June 27, 1844, a mob stormed Carthage Jail and shot him — making him literally the martyr he'd contemplated. His willingness was not rhetorical; it was biographical prophecy fulfilled within his lifetime.
The era
The 1830s–1840s saw explosive religious pluralism during America's Second Great Awakening, when new sects competed fiercely for converts. Anti-Mormon sentiment was especially violent — armed militias expelled entire communities from Missouri and Illinois. The word martyr carried immediate weight in a Protestant culture saturated with stories of early Christian sacrifice. Smith's era treated religious nonconformity not as merely controversial but as grounds for mob justice, expulsion, and murder sanctioned by state governors.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].