"I go like a lamb to the slaughter"

Joseph goes like a lamb to the slaughter

Another error in the LDS "Church History Primary Manual". 

From the Primary Manual Lesson 37.
Joseph knew that if they went back they would be killed, but he told other Church leaders: “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer’s morning. I have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward all men. If they take my life I shall die an innocent man, and my blood shall cry from the ground for vengeance, and it shall be said of me ‘He was murdered in cold blood!’”


The lesson gives the false impression that Joseph was a quiet simple man that was quick to turn himself in.

Another Church History Book paints a different picture:
The Saints Chapter 44 - written in 2018

“It is thought by some that our enemies would be satisfied with my destruction,” he said, “but I tell you that as soon as they have shed my blood, they will thirst for the blood of every man in whose heart dwells a single spark of the spirit of the fullness of the gospel.”

Drawing his sword and raising it to the sky, Joseph urged the men to defend the liberties that had been denied them in the past. “Will you all stand by me to the death,” Joseph asked, “and sustain, at the peril of your lives, the laws of our country?”

The truth is that he went to his death swinging.  We do know that he had a gun smuggled into his jail cell and that he shot at six times.  Some sources say that two men died from the gunshots, but it isn't certain.
It is also questionable if Joseph really thought he would die.  He had been remarkably resourceful in the past at getting out of tough situations and he did have the assurance that Governor Ford would protect him.   

Other Resources:
LDS.org
Mormon Mosters Blog
Bernhisel Letter