About April last I heard Joseph Smith Jr & (who appeared to be vexed on account of troubles & lawsuits they had had) say that they would suffer vexatious lawsuits no longer & that they would resist even an officer in the discharge of his duty, Smith said he had been before courts some 20 odd times they had never found any thing against him & that made him of age & he would submit to it no longer. I heard s 4th July speech I heard him say he would not suffer people to come into their Streets & abuse them, nor would they suffer vexatious law suits, In substance further remarked that “neither will we permit any man or set of men to institute vexatious lawsuits against us to cheat us out of our just rights If they do wo be unto them” this mormon church has been represented as being the little stone spoken of by Daniel which should roll on and crush all opposition to it and ultimately should be established as a temporal as well as a spiritual Kingdom, these things were to be carried on through the instrumentality of the Danite band as far as force was necessary. If necessary they being organized into bands of tens. 50s. &c ready for war the teachings of that society led them to prohibit the talkings of any persons against the presidency so much so that it was dangerous for any man to set up opposition to any thing that might be set on foot & I became afraid to speak my own mind. I objected to the course of in reference to this Danite band I rather thought Jos Smith Jur upheld him & would not allow any objections to him. After the return of the Mormons from I heard Jos. Smith Jr in presence of in a conversation say that an application had been made to the and that they understood that he would give them no assistance & they were determined to withstand the mob, they were greatly incensed against certain persons in & & said they intended to rid the counties of them & of the mob in the course of [p. [31]]