Willard Richards was born 24 June 1804 in Hopkinson, Massachusetts, to Josephand Rhoda Richards. He was the youngest of eleven children. At the age of four,he fell from a scaffold and injured his head, which may have caused the muscletremor and paralysis from which he suffered throughout his life. This injuryalso limited his physical ability to work on the farm, and he turned hisattention to book learning, which he enjoyed immensely.

In 1813, at the age of nine, Richards moved with his family to Richmond inwestern Massachusetts. He continued his schooling and obtained a teacher'scertificate at age sixteen. He taught school in Chatham, New York, and inLanesborn, Massachusetts. He completed additional studies and experimentationin the fields of mechanics and science, which led to his lecturing in thesurrounding areas on these subjects. During this time he also developed hismusical talents and performed as a clarinetist with the Massachusetts MilitiaBand.

When his sister Susan died of a mysterious illness, Richards took an interestin the study of medicine, including herbal remedies. At the age of thirty, hespent two months at the Thomson Infirmary in Boston, after which he wascommissioned as an agent for Thomson's Patent Rights herbal medicine. He thensettled in Holliston, Massachusetts, where he practiced medicine and becameknown as Dr. Willard Richards.

Richards was also interested in religion. He became converted as a teenager tohis parents' Congregational faith, but when he was seventeen his applicationfor membership was rejected. He consequently developed a skepticism towardorganized religion. However, in the summer of 1836, Brigham Young and his olderbrother Joseph, Willard's cousins, visited the Holliston area as missionariesfor the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They introduced Willard totheBook of Mormon and taught him concerning Joseph Smith and the claimsof restoration of the true church. Shortly after their visit, Willard sold allhis medicines, closed down his practice, and moved to Kirtland, Ohio. Othermembers of his family followed him, and on New Year's Eve he was baptized inicy water by Brigham Young.

Being a single man, Richards immediately was called into missionary service.He first went to New York and New England with Brigham Young to visit familymembers. Then in June 1837 he traveled to England with other missionaries toopen a mission in Great Britain. While in England, he served as assistant tothe editor of the Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star.

In England, two great events in Richards's life took place. The first was hismarriage in 1838 to Jennetta Richards. Two sons were born to them in England;the first died several months after birth, however. The second great event wasWillard's call to be a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. He was ordainedan apostle in 1840 in England by Brigham Young.

Willard, Jennetta, and their son left England in April 1841 and settled inNauvoo, Illinois, where Willard served as a land agent, a member of the citycouncil, and editor of theTimes and Seasons. He also was appointed thegeneral clerk and recorder of various community organizations, including thecity council and the Nauvoo Temple. In December 1842 he was called to be theLDS Church Historian and Recorder, a position he held until his death.

In 1841 Joseph Smith asked Willard to be his private secretary. In thiscapacity, he recorded much of the Mormon prophet's activities. He was withJoseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and John Taylor in Carthage jail when Hyrum andJoseph were murdered. He supervised the removal of their bodies and gavecounsel to the church during that troubled time.

As LDS Church historian, he was responsible for keeping the diary of JosephSmith and was greatly involved in the writing of the history of Joseph Smith.He wrote a total of 1,884 pages of that history, which later was edited by B.H.Roberts and published as theHistory of The Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints.

Richards and his family left Nauvoo in February 1846 and spent the year atWinter Quarters. He traveled with the first company of saints to the Salt LakeValley, returning to Winter Quarters that fall. When the First Presidency ofthe church was reorganized in the fall of 1847, he was made second counselor toBrigham Young. As the Saints settled in the Salt Lake Valley and organized theprovisional government of the State of Deseret, Richards was appointed theterritorial secretary. In 1850 he was appointed the founding editor of theDeseret News. He died 11 March 1854 at the age of forty-nine.