At a meeting of the Citizens of , held near the , on the Seventh day of December 1843. was called to the Chair, and appointed Secretary. whereupon, after the object of the meeting was stated, a committee of Three, namely , , and , were appointed to draft a preamble and resolutions, expressive of the sentiments of the people of the City of , relative to the repeated unlawful demands by the State of , for the body of General Joseph Smith; as well as the common, cruel practice of kidnapping Citizens of and forcing them across the , and then incarcerating them in the dungeons or prisons in ; and after a few minutes absence, they returned with the following:

Whereas the State of with the at the head, continues to make demands upon the of for the body of General Joseph Smith, as we verily believe to keep up a system of persecution against the ; for the purpose of justifying the said State of in her diabolical, unheard of, cruel and unconstitutional warfare against said Church of Latter Day Saints <​and which she has practised​> during the last twelve years, whereby many have been murdered, mobbed, and ravished, and the whole community expelled from the .

And also to heave dust in the eyes of the and the world, while she, as a , with the government to back her, continues to slip over the and steal the property of the Latter Day Saints, and Kidnap the members of said Church, to glut the vengeance, malice, revenge and avarice: and to make slaves of the said Captives, or murder them. Therefore

Resolved unanimously, as we do know that Joseph Smith is not guilty of any charge made against him by the said State of , but is a good industrious, well meaning, and worthy citizen of , and an officer that does faithfully and impartially administer the laws of the , that, We as Citizens of , crave the protection of the Constitutions and laws of the , as an ægis to shield him the said General Joseph Smith from such cruel persecutions; beseeching the of not to issue any more writs against the said General Joseph Smith, or other Latter Day Saints, (unless they are guilty) but to let the Latter Day Saints “breathe awhile like other men,” and enjoy the liberty Guaranteed to every honest Citizen by the Magna Charta of our Common Country.

Resolved that as Citizens of the State of we solicit the attention of the and officers Generally of the , to take some lawful means and measures to regain the Citizens that have been Kidnapped by the Missourians, and to prevent the said Missourians and Government from committing further violence upon the Citizens of .

Resolved as the sense of this meeting, that, according to the true meaning of law, that those Citizens of any section of Country, who do not rise up as virtuous freemen, (when any portion of Inhabitants, congregate, or combine to injure, slander or deprive another portion of their rights,) and magnify the law, to clear themselves from such unhallowed attempts to subvert order and law, that <​they​> by their silence make themselves accessaries of the crime of such unlawful assemblage or outrageous individuals.

Resolved unanimously, that we solicit the by all honorable means to grant us peace for we will have it.