, Journal excerpt, 1–4 Apr. 1843; handwriting of ; ten pages, measuring 6 x 3⅞ inches (15 x 10 cm); in William Clayton, Journals, 3 vols., Nov. 1842–Jan. 1846, CHL. Includes redactions and use marks.
Historical Introduction
’s personal journal from 1–4 April 1843 served as a source for JS’s journal entries for those dates. Clayton accompanied JS on a trip from to , Illinois, and kept detailed notes of JS’s activities and teachings, while , JS’s journal keeper, remained in Nauvoo. Richards evidently later composed JS’s journal entries for these dates from Clayton’s journal and from conversations he had with those who made the trip. As an important primary source for Richards’s information about JS’s activities at this time, Clayton’s journal entries for 1–4 April are reproduced here in full.
Page 66
the roads were very muddy. we arrived about 6½ o clock, and were very joyfully received, we slept at s.
Sunday 2— Heard E[lde]r preach <on 1 Epistle of John 1 chap— 1, 2. 3 verses> on in the A. M. dined at ’s Pres. Josephs sister. P. M. Joseph preached on Revelations chap. 5. he called on me to open the meeting. He also preachd on the same subject in the evening. During the day President Joseph made the following remarks on doctrine. “I was once praying very earnestly to know to the time of the comeing of the son of man when I heard a voice repeat the following ‘Joseph my son, if thou livest untill thou art 85 years old thou shalt see the face of the son of man, therefore let this suffice and trouble me no more on this matter.’ [p. 66]