During the Nauvoo period of church history, the Prophet Joseph Smith was dogged by legal troubles stemming from the Missouri persecutions of 1838.
Now, his efforts to defend himself by using the legal doctrine of habeas corpus will be studied by school children and law students in Illinois. This is due to a remarkable partnership involving the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation, with involvement from Church History Department scholars and representatives of the Community of Christ and members of the legal community in Illinois.