Denison L. Harris and Robert Scott's divine warning and escape from the Nauvoo conspirators

In the spring of 1844, nineteen-year-old Dennison Lott Harris and his friend Robert Scott were tasked by Joseph Smith with infiltrating clandestine meetings held by dissidents in Nauvoo who were plotting the Prophet's death. Following instructions from the Prophet, the two young men attended three successive Sunday meetings at the home of William Law to observe the conspirators, which included figures like Law, Wilson Law, Robert D. Foster, Chauncey L. Higbee, and Joseph H. Jackson. During the third meeting, the conspirators—who numbered around 200—intended to finalize their plans. Fearing discovery, Harris and Scott were at one point cornered by guards who demanded their silence and threatened their lives. In a moment of divine intervention, one of the boys looked toward the river and saw a hand beckon from behind the bank, serving as a signal that enabled their escape. After meeting with the Prophet and his bodyguard, John Scott, to report their findings, Joseph Smith placed a strict seal of silence upon them for twenty years. Years later, in 1881, Harris provided a formal, transcribed statement to Joseph F. Smith, assisted by secretary George F. Gibbs, recounting his role in protecting the Prophet. This testimony, combined with Harris's later recollection of helping Willard Richards haul water for endowment sessions at the Red Brick Store, illustrates the deep trust placed in these young men during the volatile weeks preceding the martyrdom.