E38: Scribe Me to the Moon

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (0:18)
Joseph Smith said, if I would do right by him and abide his counsel, he could save my life while he lived. I feel desirous to do right and would rather die than lose my interest in the celestial kingdom.
William Clayton, 1843 Hi, this is Lindsay Hansen Park.

**Bryan Buchanan** (0:37)
And this is Bryan Buchanan.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (0:39)
Bringing you the story of Mormonism from the shadow of the everlasting hills, straight out of Zion, this isn't your grandpa's Mormon history.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:06)
This is the tale of Mormon saints and sinners from our roots until present day.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:11)
Scourge your loins, lock your hearts, and pay your tithing, because we're bringing you the story of Mormonism in all its paradisiacal glory.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:19)
It's the Sunstone History Podcast.
Well, we've talked about the candy bar for two episodes. We've described the wrapper. We've talked about the bitter court battle to even put the candy bar into production. It's time to unwrap it and eat the stupid take five.
Talking, of course, about the William Clayton Diaries. What is actually in them? All right, quick bit of stage setting first. We've talked a little bit about his life, but here's a review here. So William Clayton, born in England in 1814 So he's about 10 years younger than Joseph Smith. He's baptized in 1837 as one of that first generation of British converse to Mormonism. Then over the next two years, he's a really important local force. He serves as a counselor in the mission presidency. So he's at the side of these American guys kind of seeing how they do it. Lindsay said, you would stab me if I didn't mention one thing. One time, he and Wilford Woodruff blessed a woman with an evil spirit and washed her head with rum.
I don't ask questions. Like Rage Against the Messines, I just do what they told you.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:36)
I always wash my hair with rum.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:38)
So during these British mission years, Clayton kept a journal which, like we talked about, has already been published in full. Then in September 1840, he and his family finally boarded the appropriately named North America and sailed for, you guessed it, North America.
Two months later, they arrived at the promised land of Nauvoo. Clayton was way too antsy to wait, and he actually walked the last nine miles. He wrote in his journal, We were pleased to find ourselves once more at home and felt to praise God for his goodness.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (3:09)
Geez, Bryan, can we get on with it? Actually, no, we can't. Just one more minute. The idea that we don't have access to Clayton's Nauvoo diaries is not totally accurate. This is because his British journal actually continues into the first year and a half of Nauvoo and is actually digitized by BYU's library site. That ends in February of 1842 Oddly, Clayton just quits the journal and stops writing for a bit.
However, his last entry hints at the next phase, quote, heard Joseph Smith read a great portion of his history. The convert from across the water would soon become a part of this project.
In June of 1842, Willard Richards, Joseph Smith's regular scribe, he left Nauvoo to go east and bring his family back to HQ. That left Joseph Smith in the familiar position of not having an amanuensis. Please use that word next time you play Scrabble, and you'll look like an uffing genius, amanuensis. See if you can spell it. If you listen to our desert drama miniseries on Mormon history, you already know that Brother Joseph usually got into the predicament because his scribe died. At least it was a change of pace this time.
As was his MO, Joseph Smith drew Clayton into his inner circles, even though he hadn't really known him very long. Smith always had a quick trigger for making new BFFs, which didn't always end well. Clayton, however, would not give him the old John C. Bennett treatment.

**Bryan Buchanan** (4:46)
No, sir. William Clayton was not cunt from the same black satin cloth as the Babes in Toyland villain. Until Joseph Smith's death just two years later, no one was privy-er. It's a real world. You calm down there in the back. To all those juicy secrets of Nauvoo, then William Clayton.
And seriously, just take a minute to remember that all of the upcoming craziness we're going to talk about was packed into just two years. Two years? There's a lot of stuff going on.
All right, here we go. June 30th, 1842, William Clayton dips his quill and starts scribing Joseph Smith's journal in the fabled Book of the Law of the Lord that we talked about. That should sound familiar, and if you didn't, you offer up a gerbil sacrifice, and that's a metaphorical gerbil, you weirdo. You go back, you listen to that episode. And while I'm thinking about it, by the way, dipping your quill is a really great euphemism to use, BYU students, you're welcome. Clayton starts off right in the thick of things. Quote, in the PM was in the court martial giving testimony concerning John C. Bennett, et cetera.