Here are a couple of reasons why Joseph Smith was killed. One, the people that lived in the area of Western Illinois didn't like the Christian beliefs that Joseph believed and was teaching. Two, the citizens of Western Illinois thought if they killed Joseph Smith, the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), all the people following him would pack up and leave. This actually happened, but it was a couple of years later when they did move to Salt Lake City. It wasn't that the mobs were hoping that the Mormons would pack up and leave, they hoped that the religion would fall apart and that Mormonism would be no more.
Other reasons the mob killed Joseph smith include:
Joseph Smith, Jr. was shot and killed by an anti-Mormon mob on June 27, 1844 in Carthage, Illinois.
They did not have an official name, as they presumeably had only formed for this single event. The mob is usually called an "Anti-Mormon Mob" or an "Armed Mob", but they were not any official organization, just a group of people who were angry with Joseph Smith or Mormons in general.
Joseph Smith was shot and killed by a mob of about 150 men as he jumped from the window of Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844 at about 5 p.m.
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was killed by a mob while awaiting trial in Carthage, Illinois. The trial was based on his ordering the destruction of a printing press that was causing civil disorder in Nauvoo, where he was mayor.
You are thinking of Joseph Smith, Jr. He and his brother Hyrum were shot and killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois on June 27, 1844.
Thomas Ford, governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846. Obviously, the promise was meaningless, since his militia allowed a mob to assassinate Joseph Smith on his watch.
Joseph Smith Jr and his brother Hyrum, were murdered by a mob of about 150 men who stormed the Carthage Jail in Carthage, Illinois on June 24, 1844.
Joseph Smith, Jr. founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" church) in April, 1830 and was the leader of the church until he was murdered in Carthage, Illinois in June, 1844.
The mob didn`t kill anyone but they wanted to kill Tom Robinson.
The official account given by John Taylor, who was a witness to Joseph Smith's murder, says "Joseph Smith the Prophet [was] shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o'clock p.m., by an armed mob - painted black - of from 150 to 200 persons
At Carthage Jail in Carthage Illinois. He was murdered by a mob of about 200 armed men, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder stormed the jail in the late afternoon of June 27, 1844.The mob fired shots through the door and attempted to push the door open to fire into the room. Hyrum Smith, Joseph's brother, was shot in the face, just to the left of his nose and killed. His body received five additional gunshot wounds. Joseph was shot in the chest from a bullet from outside the jail and fell out the window where he was shot many times and killed. Five men went on trial for the murder, however, they were all found not guilty.