Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., blessed the
infant Clapp and named him for himself and his brother—Joseph Carlos Clapp. He prophesied that the boy would someday
preach the gospel, even to the islands of the sea.
The Clapp family was driven from
Missouri with other Latter Day Saints, and they settled in Nauvoo, Illinois.
Young Joseph Clapp witnessed the mourning in Nauvoo following the martyrdom of
Joseph and Hyrum Smith. With his family he moved west, and his teenage years
were spent in Utah.
Moving cattle herds, dealing with
Indians, farming with a brother, and escaping from "destroying
angels" were only a few of the exciting adventures of this young man.
Joseph Clapp then took responsibility for moving his mother, sisters, and a
brother to California. There they
learned of the Reorganized Church under the direction of Joseph Smith III.
J. C. Clapp stated: "Before I
united with the Reorganization, I had concluded that all that was good in
Mormonism was slain and buried with the Prophet; not so now-for light and truth
shone out in every sermon, was manifest in every prayer, and seemed to be the
inspiration of every hymn. Truly it was
a time of refreshing in the presence of the Lord."
J. C. Clapp, a man of valor, was
baptized, ordained, healed from illness, and sent out as a missionary for Jesus
Christ.
His experiences in preaching the
gospel require another booklet, which is entitled J. C. Clapp: Valiant Missionary.
40 Pages $3.00