Did Joseph Smith, Jr. record any of his Christmas experiences?
Answer
Joseph’s journals include regular entries for Christmas Day. December 25, 1832 stands out; on that date, Joseph received a prophecy now recognized as Doctrine and Covenants 87. This prophecy foretold of the split in the United States over the issue of slavery. It is at the end of that revelation where the Saints are admonished, “Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come” (Doctrine and Covenants 87:8).
Some Christmas entries in Joseph’s journals were short and reflected gratitude for simple things. For instance, in 1835, Joseph recorded, “At home all this day and enjoyed myself with my family it being Christmas day the only time I have had this privilege so satisfactorily for a long time.”
Many of Joseph’s Christmas journal entries mention attending dinner parties. In one such entry on December 25, 1843—the prophet’s last Christmas—Joseph recorded that he awoke to the sound of carolers, met with some brethren from the Morley settlement, was asked to solemnize Levi Richard’s marriage to Sarah Griffiths (which he delegated to Brigham Young), and then detailed the following event:
"A large party supped at my house, and spent the evening in music, Dancing &c. in a most cheerful manner. During the festivities, a man with his hair long and falling over his shoulders, and apparently drunk, came in, and acted like a Missourian. I requested the Captain of the Police to put him out of doors, a scuffle ensued, and I had an opportunity to look him full in the face, when to my great surprize [sic] and joy untold, I discovered it was my long tried, warm but cruelly persecuted friend Orrin Porter Rockwell, just arrived from nearly a year’s imprisonment without conviction in Missouri."
Orrin Porter Rockwell’s safe return from Missouri was no doubt an unexpected and much appreciated Christmas gift.