Source:Hess:ca 1836:Improvement Era:October 1902:He would study intently until he was very tired. Then he would come out of his room and engage in a game

Hess (circa 1836): "He would study intently until he was very tired. Then he would come out of his room and engage in a game, perhaps it would be "hide and seek," with the children"

Hess (circa 1836): "He would study intently until he was very tired. Then he would come out of his room and engage in a game, perhaps it would be "hide and seek," with the children"

John W. Hess, who as a boy encountered Joseph Smith when he stayed with his family for thirteen days:

When Elder [John W.] Hess was a boy, about twelve years of age, his father rented a house at Richmond Landing, or as the place was also called, Pomeroy's Ferry. There the Saints landed who came by water from Kirtland to Far West. And there the Prophet Joseph, in company with his brothers Hyrum and William, and others, thirteen in all, stopped as they were returning from laying out the city of Far West. They stayed with the family of Father Hess for thirteen days.

The Prophet was studying Greek and Latin. He would study intently until he was very tired. Then he would come out of his room and engage in a game, perhaps it would be "hide and seek," with the children, showing the child-like simplicity which characterized the life of that great man. And oh, how he was beloved by every member of that family!