In March a Council was held at my office, and it was concluded to remove the Conference of the 6th of April next from Santa Clara to San Francisco, where I also moved my wife and made my home during the remainder of my mission. April 12th.--This is my birthday. I am forty-eight years old. I wrote letters for home today and sent a set of books, viz: "Book of Mormon," "Doctrine and Covenants," "Hymn Book," "Voice of Warning," "Harp of Zion," etc., to each of my wives and to Parley, Olivia and Moroni, my elder children; also, books to my younger children, Alma, Nephi, Helaman, Julia, Lucy, Agatha, Belinda and Abinadi, Cornelia and Malona, and small presents and candies for the little ones, Phebe, Hannahette, Mary, Lehi and Moroni W., all as a birthday present or memorial. In May I received a letter from President Young counselling me to return home this coming summer. _June 8th_.--The sad news reached us today of Brother Silas Beckwith being murdered and buried. This Beckwith was one of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War, and was, at the time of his death, a worthy member and teacher in the San Juan branch. I visited his widow and orphans, and spent some hours in the house of mourning. On my second visit I gained and wrote down the following statements pertaining to the history of Joseph Smith: Mrs. Eunice Corinthia Beckwith, formerly Mrs. Lawn (whose father's name was Joshua Twitchell), was the widow of John Lawn, captain of a company of Illinois Militia, of McDonough County, who guarded Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage Jail until the morning of the day they were martyred, when himself and company were disbanded by order of Governor Ford, and started for home, leaving the prisoners in the hands of the Carthage Greys. On taking leave of the prisoners he gave his hand, received Joseph's blessing, and heard him say most solemnly: "Farewell, Captain Lawn; when you and your men leave me my life guard is gone." Previous to this, however, Joseph had read to him the fifty-fifth Psalm, and told him to remember that chapter and read it to his friends when he arrived home. One of the Carthage Greys also read in reply the sixty-first Psalm. Captain Lawn and his troops had marched about twelve miles towards home when the news reached them of the martyrdom! At this he exclaimed: "O that I had known of this massacre, so soon to transpire! I would have remained, and, when the first ball was fired at the Smiths, I would have fired the second through the body of the villain who fired it or died in the attempt." A man named Townsend, living in Iowa, near Fort Madison, was one of the mob who assaulted and forced in the jail door. The pistol discharged by Joseph Smith wounded him in the arm, near the shoulder, and it continued to rot without healing until it was taken off and even then it would not heal.