Andrew H. Hedges (ed.) - December 1841-April 1843

The Church Historians Press is an imprint of the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, and a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

www.josephsmithpapers.org

The Joseph Smith Papers Project is endorsed by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Art direction: Richard Erickson. Cover design: Scott Eggers. Interior design: Richard Erickson and Scott M. Mooy. Typography: Riley M. Lorimer and Alison Palmer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Smith, Joseph, 18051844. Journals series / Dean C. Jessee, Mark Ashurst-McGee, Richard L. Jensen, volume editors. p. cm. (The Joseph Smith papers) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-57008-849-0 (hardbound: alk. paper; v. 1) ISBN 978-1-60908-737-1 (hardbound: alk. paper; v. 2) eISBN 978-1-60907-749-5 (digital: v. 2) 1. Smith, Joseph, 18051844Diaries. 2. Mormon ChurchPresidentsBiography. 3. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsPresidentsBiography. 4. Mormon Church HistorySources. 5. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsHistorySources. I. Jessee, Dean C. II. Ashurst-McGee, Mark. III. Jensen, Richard L. IV. Title. V. Series.

BX8695.S6A3 2008 289.3092dc22 [B] 2008037101

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Previously Published

Journals, Volume 1: 18321839

Revelations and Translations: Manuscript Revelation Books, Facsimile Edition

Revelations and Translations, Volume 1: Manuscript Revelation Books

Revelations and Translations, Volume 2: Published Revelations

Staff Page

Executive Committee

Marlin K. Jensen

Paul K. Sybrowsky

Richard E. Turley Jr.

Editorial Board

Richard E. Turley Jr.

Reid L. Neilson

Matthew J. Grow

Max J. Evans

National Advisory Board

Stephen J. Stein

Harry S. Stout

Mary-Jo Kline

Terryl L. Givens

Managing Editor

Ronald K. Esplin

Associate Managing Editor

Jeffrey N. Walker

Managing Editor

Ronald O. Barney

Program Manager

David L. Willden

Production Manager

R. Eric Smith

Research and Review Editors

Richard L. Jensen

Project Archivist

Robin Scott Jensen

Editors Contributing to This Volume

Production Editors

Constance Palmer Lewis, Lead Editor

Alison Palmer

Rachel Osborne

Kathryn Burnside

Heather Seferovich

Caitlin Shirts

Jed Woodworth

Document Specialists

Mark Ashurst-McGee

Sharalyn D. Howcroft

Christy Best

Research Specialists

Noel R. Barton

Brian P. Barton

Steven Motteshard

Illustrations and Maps

Textual Illustrations

Nauvoo Journals

First Nauvoo Journal

Title Page of the Book of the Law of the Lord

First Pages of Journal Entries and Donation Records

Journal Entries and Donation Records

Large Journal Heading

Example of Shorthand in First Nauvoo Journal

Transfer of Journal from Willard Richards to William Clayton

Eliza R. Snow Handwriting

Contemporaneous and Noncontemporaneous Journal Keeping

Transfer of Journal to Memorandum Books

Second Nauvoo Journal

First of Four Memorandum Books

Title Page of Second Nauvoo Journal, Book 1

First Page of Journal Entries

Penciled Draft beneath Penned Inscription

Notes of Habeas Corpus Hearing

The Mormon Jubilee

Cancellations and Insertions

Examples of Significant Insertions

Shorthand in Second Nauvoo Journal

Second of Four Memorandum Books

Observations in the Night Sky, Initial Diagram

Observations in the Night Sky, Corrected Diagram

Parhelia

Unidentified Symbols

Contextual Illustrations

Scribes of Joseph Smiths Nauvoo Journals

Red Brick Store

Book of Abraham, Facsimile 1

Book of Abraham, Facsimile 2

John C. Bennett

Map of Nauvoo with Profile of Joseph Smith

Orson Pratt

Key Figures in Missouri Extradition Attempt

Sidney Rigdon

Joseph Duncan

Tomb of Joseph Smith

Arlington House

Portraits of Joseph and Emma Smith

Stephen A. Douglas

Thomas Ford

Lyman Trumbull

State Capitol, Springfield, Illinois

Legal Counsel for Joseph Smith

Sketch of Joseph Smith

Nathaniel Pope

Nauvoo House

Drawing of Nauvoo Temple

Brigham Young

Thomas Reynolds, Requisition

Maps

Joseph Smiths Residences

Map of Nauvoo with Profile of Joseph Smith

Detailed Reference Maps

Other Visuals

Timeline of Joseph Smiths Life

Citation Format for Joseph Smith Revelations

Chronological Index to Journal Entries

Pedigree Chart

Ecclesiastical Officers and Church Appointees

Nauvoo City Officers

Nauvoo Legion Officers

Corresponding Section Numbers in Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants

View high resolution image here: http://bit.ly/10pHfHB

Joseph Smiths residences. Joseph Smiths major places of residence and the general direction of his migrations. (Design by John Hamer.)

View high resolution image here: http://bit.ly/18crB6R

Volume 2 Introduction
Nauvoo Journals, December 1841April 1843

The journals presented in this volume cover a seventeen-month period marked by the continued growth of the church, significant doctrinal developments, the ongoing settlement of the Nauvoo community, and the maturing of Joseph Smith as a political and religious leader. Like most of the journal entries found in volume 1 of the Journals series, the Nauvoo journals were written entirely by scribes who accompanied Joseph Smith, not by the Mormon leader himself. Though not a comprehensive history of events, the journals are an essential source for reconstructing Joseph Smiths life and the history of the church he founded.

The journals in volume 1 ended as the Latter-day Saints, having been driven from Missouri, began to gather at Commerce, Illinois. Shortly after Joseph Smith left Commerce for a journey to Washington DC in autumn 1839, James Mulholland, the scribe who was keeping Smiths journal, died. Scribes were employed to compile and write the history of the church and to copy Joseph Smiths correspondence, but there is no evidence that anyone was keeping a record of his daily activities in Nauvoo until Willard Richardss appointment in December 1841.

Richards arrived in Nauvoo in August 1841 after a four-year mission to England. Joseph Smith found him to be a man after his own heart, in all things, that he could trust with his business and appointed him temple recorder and Scribe for the private office of the President on 13 December 1841. Richards began the duties of his office immediately, apparently writing the first entry of Joseph Smiths journal on the day of his appointment. the other scribes did not make reference to themselves.

Nauvoo journals. Willard Richards kept Joseph Smiths journals with help from William Clayton and others between 1841 and 1844. The large book, the first of Smiths journals begun in Nauvoo, is titled The Book of the Law of the Lord and covers the period from December 1841 to December 1842. The four small memorandum books together make up the second Nauvoo journal, titled President Joseph Smiths Journal, which covers the period from December 1842 to June 1844. This volume of