Part 2: April 1843

In April 1843, JS traveled to visit the Saints in areas surrounding , Illinois, taught doctrine, held a in Nauvoo, encouraged efforts to fund the construction of the Nauvoo and the , and served in his civic and military roles. He began the month with a short journey to see the Latter-day Saints in , Illinois. While there, he taught church members more about the nature of God and the second coming of Jesus Christ. This was not the only time JS addressed theological topics in April—at various times during the month he spoke about prophecy, death, and resurrection, and he again preached about signs of Christ’s second coming. He also interpreted and clarified biblical passages on the end times; in one discourse, for example, he spoke on the meaning of the beasts from John’s vision in the New Testament book of Revelation.

In addition to preaching doctrinal sermons, JS addressed matters of church administration and spoke about temporal issues. Due to JS’s persistent suspicions that his counselor was conspiring against him with former church member , JS presented the “for trial” during the early April conference celebrating the thirteenth anniversary of the organization of the church, asking the conference attendees whether they sustained each member of the presidency. After Rigdon explained his past associations with Bennett, the conference sustained him along with the other presidency members. Following this business, JS instructed conference attendees about the importance of the Saints together. He directed church members seeking property to settle in rather than , and he encouraged members who were already living in Iowa Territory to relocate to Nauvoo. About a week following the conference, a group of more than four hundred Latter-day Saints arrived in Nauvoo from . JS likewise advised these Saints on where they should live and from whom they should purchase land. As part of his administrative duties, JS presided in an ecclesiastical court as he and the First Presidency heard an appeal made by in a case previously decided by the Nauvoo .

Many church members lived in poverty in , and some resorted to stealing, an act JS condemned. The general lack of money also affected construction of the Nauvoo and the . Because the Saints still needed funds and materials to continue constructing the two buildings, JS assigned the the task of fund raising for these important building projects.

To aid in raising funds and to encourage economic growth, JS oversaw the writing of a letter to the Boston Daily Bee that described , its buildings, and the potential for investment opportunities there. Other correspondence makes up a significant portion of the April documents, as JS sent and received several other letters covering a variety of matters, including real estate transactions, legal issues, and the conduct of church member in the church’s .

Part 2 features twenty-three documents created in April 1843, including fourteen letters and several sets of meeting minutes and accounts of discourses.