King Follett DiscourseNauvoo, 7 April 1844

Apparatus

Every point where the reports differ in doctrinal claim, historical detail, rhetorical force, scribal correction, or in what the printed text made of them. T is recorded in every entry and is never corroboration.

V107S01reception

stay the winds— & let the prayers of the Saints to heaven appear

Bstay the winds— & let the prayers of the Saints to heaven appear
Wthere is strength here your prayers will be herd
Rom.
Ccalm the wind that it may enter into the ear of the Ld of Sabaoth
Tstay the winds and let the prayers of the saints to heaven appear, that it may enter into the ear of the Lord of Sabaoth

T fuses Bullock’s petition with Clayton’s purpose clause, creating a causal sequence no eyewitness records.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S01.4

V108S04reception

com: but little more than the brute beast

Bcom: but little more than the brute beast
Wthe world know no more than the brute beast
Rom.
Cis but little above the beast
Tand consequently, but little above the brute beast

T resolves Bullock’s abbreviation as “consequently” and selects Clayton’s comparative rather than Woodruff’s equality.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S04.2

V109S06reception

if I should. be the man to comprehend: the God & I com: them to your heart

Bif I should. be the man to comprehend: the God & I com: them to your heart
WIf I am the man that shows you what kind of a being God is
Rif I am so fortunate as to comprehend and explain the—
CIf I comprehend so that the spirit seal it upon your hearts
Tcomprehend God, and explain or convey the principles to your hearts so that the spirit seals it upon you

T combines Richards’s explaining with Clayton’s sealing formula into a fuller epistemic claim than any one eyewitness records.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S06.2

V110S06reception

If I do not do it I have no right to revelation. inspn.

BIf I do not do it I have no right to revelation. inspn.
WI will not make any further pretentions to inspiration or to be a prophet
Rom.
Cit becomes my duty to renounce all my pretensions to inspirations &c
Tit becomes my duty to renounce all my pretensions to revelations, inspirations, &c.

T selects Clayton’s strongest consequence, a duty to renounce prophetic claims, and expands its objects.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S06.3

V111S07reception

What kind of a being was God in the beginning

Bom.
Wom.
Rom.
CWhat kind of a being was God in the beginning
TWhat sort of a being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear all ye ends of the earth; for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and I am going to tell you the designs of God to the human race, and why he interferes with the affairs of man.

T splices Clayton’s next-topic question and Bullock’s later proof announcement into the conscience argument, creating the received transition.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S07.5

V112S10reception

lay down his body & take it up

Blay down his body & take it up
Wlay down my body & take it up again
RLay down his body. & take it up again
Clay down my life as my father did
Tlay down my life, as my Father did, and take it up again

T fuses Clayton’s “life” and paternal comparison with the other witnesses’ “take it up again.”

independent pass (Codex Sol) S10.2

V055S13reception

it is plain beyond comprehension.

Bit is plain beyond comprehension.
Wom.
Rom.
Com.
Tit is plain beyond disputation,

Bullock, the only witness at this point, wrote 'comprehension'; the printed text reads 'disputation'. Smith records the substitution as Bullock's own, made while preparing T. The two are near opposites: 'beyond comprehension' concedes that the doctrine exceeds the hearer, 'beyond disputation' claims it is settled. The received text has the confident reading and the manuscript the diffident one.

Smith, p. 290 n. 43

V059S15reception

Roshed the head

BRoshed the head
Win and through the head,
Rthe head.— the head one—
Crosh— next— the head.
TRosh, the head. Sheit, gramatical termination.

T supplies a grammatical parsing of the third element of *Bereshit* that no report has: 'Sheit, gramatical termination.' The eyewitnesses stop at 'the head', and Clayton records the question 'sheet where do it come from—' unanswered. The printed explanation therefore represents editorial tidying of an argument the reports leave incomplete.

Smith, p. 291 n. 48

V060S15reception

is the true meaning. of the word—

Bis the true meaning. of the word—
Wom.
Rom.
Cis the true meaning—
Tthat is the true meaning of the words. Baurau, signifies to bring forth.

T inserts 'Baurau, signifies to bring forth' into the Genesis 1:1 analysis. Smith states flatly that this does not reflect the sources at this point, though the word does appear later in several of them. The effect is to move the argument about *bara* forward, so the received text has the creation verb glossed before Joseph Smith reaches it; Clayton's struck 'Barau' a few words earlier is the only manuscript trace anywhere near it.

Smith, p. 291 n. 49

V113S15reception

sheet where do it come from

Bom.
Wom.
Rom.
Csheet where do it come from
TSheit, gramatical termination.

T turns Clayton’s question into an asserted grammatical gloss unsupported by another eyewitness.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S15.4

V114S16reception

contemplated the creation of the worlds that was created at that time

Bom.
Wcontemplated the creation of the world
Rto bring forth the world
Ccontemplated the creation of the worlds that was created at that time
Tcontemplated the creation of the worlds that were created at that time

T selects Clayton’s plural worlds against Woodruff and Richards’s singular world.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S16.2

V115S17reception

an old book in the Latin Greek Hebrew & German

Ban old book in the Latin Greek Hebrew & German
Wan old book containing the four languages
RGreek Hebrew. German. & Latin
Can old Book (N. T ). in the Hebrew. Latin German & Greek
Tan old book of the New Testament in the Hebrew, Latin, German and Greek

T adopts Clayton’s identification of the polyglot as a New Testament, absent from the other eyewitnesses.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S17.1

V116S17reception

I shod. not have brot. up this wod only to shew that I am right

BI shod. not have brot. up this wod only to shew that I am right
Wom.
Rom.
CShould not have introduced this testimony were it not to back up the word rosh— The head father of the Gods
TI should not have introduced this testimony were it not to back up the word Rosh, the head, Father of the Gods. I should not have brought it up only to show that I am right.

T serializes Bullock’s and Clayton’s likely parallel rationales as two distinct statements.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S17.6

V117S18reception

same as you wod. organize a Ship

Bsame as you wod. organize a Ship
Wom.
Rom.
Csame as a man would use to build a ship
Tthe same as a man would organize a ship

T selects Bullock’s technical “organize” over Clayton’s “build,” shaping the received creation analogy.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S18.2

V118S18reception

that nothing can destroy they never can have an ending they exist eternally

Bthat nothing can destroy they never can have an ending they exist eternally
Wthey are principles that cannot be disolved they may be reorganized
RElements— nothing. can destroy. no beginning no end
Celement had an existence from the time he had. The pure pure principles of element are principles that never can be destroyed— they may be organized— and reorganized— but not destroyed
TElement had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of element, are principles that can never be destroyed. They may be organized and re-organized; but not destroyed.

T follows Clayton’s relative-duration formulation and omits Bullock and Richards’s explicit no-beginning claim.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S18.3

V119S19reception

Make a man appear a fool before he gets through if he dont believe it

Bom.
Wom.
Rom.
CMake a man appear a fool before he gets through if he dont believe it
TI will make a man appear a fool before I get through, if you dont believe it

T converts Clayton’s third-person taunt into Joseph’s first-person threat.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S19.4

V071S20reception

their Spirits coexisted with God

Btheir Spirits coexisted with God
Wman exhisted in spirit & mind coequal with God himself,
Rfrom their spirits. coequal with God.
Cbut their spirit existed coequal with God
Ttheir spirits existed coequal with God,

Bullock has 'coexisted with God', Clayton 'existed coequal with God'. T follows Clayton against Bullock, and so the printed text carries 'coequal' here even though it carries 'immortal' three lines earlier. This is the sentence from which the later tradition took its language: Smith traces the Utah redactors substituting 'co-equal' throughout and B. H. Roberts replacing it with 'co-eternal' in 1907–09. Coexistence asserts only that the spirits were there; coequality asserts parity.

Smith, p. 139; Smith, p. 140; Smith, p. 171

V120S21reception

All the spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement

Bom.
Wom.
Rom.
CAll the spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement
TAll the spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement

T relocates Clayton’s S22 enlargement claim to close S21, shaping the ring argument’s received conclusion.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S21.4

V079S24reception

the greatest responsibility that God has laid upon us to seek after our dead—

Bthe greatest responsibility that God has laid upon us to seek after our dead—
WGod dwells in eternity, and he does not view things as we do,
Rwe are looked upon by God as though we were in Eternity—
CWhen his commandments touch us it is in view of eternity.
TWhen his commandments teach us, it is in view of eternity.

Clayton has 'when his commandments touch us'; T prints 'teach us'. Touching and teaching are different relations between the commandment and the hearer, and the printed reading is the likelier misreading of a longhand hand than the reverse. Woodruff and Richards both report the surrounding thought as being about God's view of time rather than about commandments at all, so no eyewitness supports T's reading.

V122S28reception

he has got to say that the Sun does not shine while he sees it he has got to deny J. C. when the heavens are open to him—

Bhe has got to say that the Sun does not shine while he sees it he has got to deny J. C. when the heavens are open to him—
Wthey must receive the Holy Ghost have the heavens opened unto them, & know God, & then sin against him,
RGot to deny the plan of Salvation. &c— with his eyes open.—
CAfter a man has sinned the sin against the H G. there is no repentance for him.
The has got to say that the sun does not shine, while he sees it, he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens were open to him,

T shifts Bullock's present-tense 'are open' to 'were open,' making the opening of heaven narratively prior rather than standing open at denial.

independent adjudication of Lane A unsure call 5

V090S29reception

when a man begins to be an enemy he hunts him—

Bwhen a man begins to be an enemy he hunts him—
Wthey never seease to try to hurt me,
Rom.
Chence they seek to kill me they thirst for my blood they never cease—
TWhen a man begins to be an enemy, he hunts me.

Bullock's object is third person: the apostate hunts his victim, whoever that is. T reads 'me'. Woodruff and Clayton both have the first person in their neighbouring clauses, so the printed reading has support in the sense of the passage but not in the sentence Bullock wrote. The effect is to make a general statement about apostasy into a statement about the danger to Joseph Smith, six weeks before Carthage.

V098S31reception

In my Fars. mansion there are many mansions &c

BIn my Fars. mansion there are many mansions &c
Wtheir is many mansions in my fathers Kingdom,
Rom.
Com.
Tin my father’s house there are many mansions, &c.

Bullock has 'my Father's mansion', Woodruff 'my father's Kingdom', T 'my father's house'. Only T agrees with John 14:2. Bullock's singular mansion containing many mansions is the sort of thing a hand taking dictation produces, and he struck a false start immediately before it; but the printed correction to the King James wording is an editorial act, not a report, and it is what fixed the familiar form of the quotation in the tradition.

V097S31reception

for your husband has gone to wait until the resn.

Bfor your husband has gone to wait until the resn.
Wthey have gone to await the resurrection of the dead to go to the celestial glory,
Ryour friend has gone to wait—
Com.
T(speaking of the death of Elder King Follett,) for your husband is gone to wait until the resurrection;

T inserts an editorial parenthesis identifying the death in question. No report has it, and it is not speech: it is the printed text supplying for a reading audience the context a hearer in the grove already had. It is recorded here because it is one of the few places where the composite's editorial voice is visible on the page.

V102S33reception

Mothers you shall have your Children for they shall have it—

BMothers you shall have your Children for they shall have it—
Wyes, yes, you will have the Children,
RShall mothrs have their Children? Yes.
Com.
TMothers you shall have your children, for they shall have eternal life:

Bullock's 'they shall have it' has no antecedent; T resolves the pronoun to 'eternal life'. Woodruff and Richards both have the promise without any such clause, so the resolution has no manuscript warrant. It is a small editorial decision with a doctrinal result: what the reports leave a dangling pronoun, the received text makes a statement about infant salvation.

V101S33reception

& be living in the burng. of God—

B& be living in the burng. of God—
Wom.
Rom.
Com.
Tand be forever living in the learning of God,

Bullock, the only witness here, wrote 'burng.'; T prints 'learning'. Burning belongs to the sermon's Isaiah 33 language, in which God dwells in everlasting burnings and the risen enter them; learning belongs to nothing in the discourse. The likeliest account is a misreading of Bullock's own hand in the print shop, and its effect is to replace an image of glory with an image of instruction at the climax of the promise to mourning mothers.

V128S34reception

the Baptism of Water witht. the Baptism of Fire & the H G. attending it are necy

Bthe Baptism of Water witht. the Baptism of Fire & the H G. attending it are necy
WJohn said his baptism was good for nothing without the Baptism of Jesus Christ
RBaptism of water fire & Holy Ghost. are inseparably— connected.
Com.
TThe baptism of water without the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost attending it is of no use: they are necessary.

T states both that water baptism alone 'is of no use' and that the three 'are necessary'. Bullock, its source here, has only the necessity; Richards calls the three inseparably connected, which is a claim about their relation rather than about the worthlessness of one; and Woodruff, who does say John's baptism was good for nothing alone, was not used in the composite. The strengthening in the printed text therefore does not come from the reports it was made from.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S34.1; upheld in the second pass (cursor-grok-4.6-high, data/REJECTIONS.md); adjudicated by the principal 2026-09-15

V103S34reception

I call upon all to say I— (shouts of I)

BI call upon all to say I— (shouts of I)
Wom.
Rcalled upon all men. Priests and all to repent and obey the gospel.—
Com.
TI call upon all you Germans, who know that it is true, to say aye, (loud shouts of aye.)

Bullock has a call to the whole congregation and a general assent. T restricts the call to the German speakers and makes them warrantors of the translation. The narrowing converts a rhetorical appeal into a claim of corroborated expertise, and no report supports it. Richards's nearest clause has Joseph Smith calling on all men to repent, which is a different act.

V105S35reception

I rejoice in hearing the test of my aged friend—

BI rejoice in hearing the test of my aged friend—
Wom.
Rom.
Com.
TI rejoice in bearing the testimony of my aged friends.

Two changes in one clause. JSP flags Bullock's 'hearing' as possibly 'bearing', and T prints 'bearing'; more consequentially, T pluralises 'friend'. Smith identifies the singular as a reference to Sidney Rigdon, who had spoken at length earlier in the conference, and reads the plural as an editorial decision taken during the August 1844 succession crisis to avoid appearing to endorse Rigdon's standing. The plural is in no report.

JSP B n. 85; Smith, p. 43; Smith, p. 287 n. 89; Smith, p. 298 n. 89

V121S35reception

when I am called at the trump & weighed in the balance you will know me then

Bwhen I am called at the trump & weighed in the balance you will know me then
Wom.
Ryou never will
Com.
TWhen I am called at the trump of the ark-angel, and weighed in the balance, you will all know me then

T sides with Bullock against Richards and heightens the promise with “all” and the ark-angel.

independent pass (Codex Sol) S35.6