Porter Rockwell: Bodyguard to the Prophet A Legend of Utah & LDS History
Porter Rockwell was born on
About eight years later in 1838 the governor of
After being released from prison, Porter went to Nauvoo to the
home of his friend, Joseph Smith. He arrived in a very weak, poor condition at
a time when a Christmas party was being held in the Smiths’ home. Upon
recognizing his friend, Joseph Smith stated “I prophesy, in the name of the
Lord, that you — Orrin Porter Rockwell — so long as ye shall remain loyal and
true to thy faith, need fear no enemy. Cut not thy hair and no bullet or blade
can harm thee.”2 Joseph Smith wrote the next day, “I rejoiced that
Rockwell had returned from the clutches of
Porter Rockwell served as a bodyguard for Joseph Smith, which means he had the assignment to protect Joseph Smith from the people who wanted to kill him. He was a very good aim and protected Joseph Smith on many occasions. When Porter was away on another assignment, Joseph Smith was killed by an armed mob in 1844. Government leaders had promised to protect Joseph Smith but failed. When Porter learned of this, he found the son of Joseph Smith and said, “They have killed the only friend I have ever had” and wept like a young boy.
Porter served his community as a deputy sheriff. There was a
time when the county sheriff, who was friendly towards the Mormons, was being
chased by a mob trying to kill him. As he was running away, the
sheriff saw Porter Rockwell and asked for his protection. Porter raised
his gun and aimed from a very far distance. The bullet hit the leader of the
mob and killed him, making the rest of the mob leave. After the sheriff thanked
Porter for saving his life, Porter humbly replied, “I was afraid my rifle
couldn’t reach him, but it did, thank God. I aimed for his belt buckle.”1
Later it was discovered that this mob leader was Frank A. Worrell, the same man in charge of protecting Joseph Smith when he was killed.
Porter Rockwell also served as a bodyguard to the next
prophet, Brigham Young, and helped to guide him and the first pioneers across
the plains in 1847 to the
After arriving in the
In 1857 the President of the United States, James Buchanan, thought
there was a “Mormon rebellion” against the
Porter Rockwell’s fame spread throughout the West. Indians feared him, saying that it was impossible to kill him. Cowboys and outlaws sang songs about him around campfires, and some people would travel hundreds of miles to try to kill him.3
Once an outlaw found Porter Rockwell and told him “Rockwell,
I come all the way from
Even though there were many attempts on his life, the
prophecy of Joseph Smith came true: no bullet or blade ever harmed Porter
Rockwell. He died of natural causes at the age of 65 on
Unfortunately, Porter didn’t know how to read or write very well so he didn’t keep a journal. This makes it very hard for historians to know which parts of his history are true and which parts are not. However, he was an intimidating figure with unswerving loyalty and a true friend to Joseph Smith. It is said that at the time of his death he was as well known in the West as Brigham Young himself.
Be sure to also read this story from the Friend magazine:
Bibliography
This article is a summary based on information from the above references and also the following articles:
"Orrin Porter Rockwell" http://www.onlineutah.com/historyrockwell.shtml
"Orrin Porter Rockwell" http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/r/ROCKWELL%2CORIN.html
Orrin Porter Rockwell’s Burial Site: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3463 Salt Lake City Cemetery
200 N Plot: 280 N, Plot 5
Photograph: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:OPRockwell.png
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