175 years ago today - Jan 29, 1844

At a meeting of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles together with Joseph and Hyrum Smith Willard Richards moves that they nominate Joseph Smith as an independent candidate for the U.S. presidency "and that we use all honorable means to secure his election." The Twelve vote unanimously in favor of the motion. After the motion carries Joseph speaks to them: "to accomplish this you must send every man in the city who could speak throughout the land to electioneer . . . After the Apr conference we will have general conferences all over the nation and I will attend them. Tell the people we have had Whig and Democrats [as] Presidents long enough . . . I will not electioneer for myself, Hyrum, Brigham, Parley, and Taylor must go . . . There is or[a]tory enough in the Church to carry me into the Presidential chair in the first slide." Friends of Joseph make a toast for him at the Nauvoo Mansion: "May all your enemies be skined, their skins made into drum heads for your friends to beat upon. Also may Nauvoo become the empire seat of government." Joseph tells William Clayton that he will go on a political mission but writes in his journal "Clayton must go out or he will apostatize. Must."