Date: 7 April 1844
Source: Thomas Bullock Report
Background: King Follett Discourse
This statement was made during Joseph’s Sunday morning talk of the April 1844 General Conference of the Church. This talk is often also referred to as the King Follett Discourse because a beloved Church member named King Follett had recently died and Joseph directed his remarks specifically to his family and friends. The King Follet Discourse is among the most famous speeches by Joseph Smith and in it, he spoke about life after death and the nature and character of God. In it, he famously said, “you have got to learn how to make yourselves God, Kings, Priests” and the “mind of man [is] coequal with God himself.” This is also the speech in which Joseph Smith famously said, “no man knows my history.”
More Full Context
This quote was extracted from near the end of the talk. Here is the last few sentences from the Thomas Bullock report of the speech: “I have intended my remarks to all—to all rich & poor bond & free great & small. I have no enmity against any man. I love you all—I am their best friend & if persons miss their mark it is their own fault—if I reprove a man & he hates me he is a fool—for I love all men especially these my brethren & sisters—I rejoice in hearing the test of my aged friend—You never knew my heart. No man knows my history—I can not do it. I shall never undertake—if I had not experienced what I have I should not have known it myself—I never did harm any man since I have been born in the world—my voice is always for peace—I cannot lie down until my work is finished—I never think evil nor think any thing to the harm of my fellow man—& when I am called at the trump & weighed in the balance you will know me then—I add no more. God bless you. Amen.”
