Willard Richards - Church Service

Church Service

Shortly following his ordination, Richards was called on a brief three-month mission to the Eastern United States. Immediately upon his return, he was called on a more extended mission to Great Britain. Richards met his wife, Jennetta Richards, while on this mission. They had two surviving children, a son, Heber John, born in Manchester, England in 1840, and a daughter, Rhoda Ann Jennetta, born 1843 in Nauvoo, IL.

Richards was ordained an Apostle on April 14, 1840 by Brigham Young. In 1841, he moved to Nauvoo, Illinois to be with the body of the Church and became the private secretary to Joseph Smith, Jr. In December 1842, he was called to be the LDS Church Historian and Recorder, a position he held until his death. In these two capacities, he maintained the Mormon prophet's schedule and recorded most of his activities. As church historian, he subsequently wrote a total of 1,884 pages on the history of Joseph Smith. This work was later incorporated into The History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, edited by B.H. Roberts.

Richards was incarcerated in Carthage Jail with Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum Smith and John Taylor on the 27th of June 1844 when the jail was attacked by a mob and the LDS prophet and his brother were murdered. Taylor was shot four times and severely injured, but survived the attack. Richards was unhurt and so supervised the removal of Taylor and the bodies. His first-hand account of the event was published in the "Times and Seasons," Vol.5, No.14, (1. Aug. 1844), titled, "Two Minutes in Jail."

Dr. Richards, his cousin Brigham Young and other church elders left Nauvoo in February 1846 spending the remainder of the year at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. This first group entered into Utah on July 24, 1847. They then went back to Winter Quarters, arriving on August 21, 1847 to gather the families for the 'Exodus of 1848'. He was called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency under Brigham Young on December 27, 1847 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. After moving to Utah, Richards was involved in establishing the Deseret News. He served as its first Editor-in-Chief.