On 7 October 1842, JS responded to a note he had received from , apparently approving of a plan Clayton had proposed. JS wrote the letter in an intentionally cryptic manner, which makes its meaning unclear. JS had gone into hiding in , Illinois, and was considering leaving the city for a short time because of imminent searches of the city by state officials and others seeking to arrest him and extradite him to . On either 7 or 8 October, he left Nauvoo in the company of , , and and traveled about thirty miles northeast to the home of in Henderson County, Illinois.

In this holograph letter, JS compared himself to the biblical David and to the biblical Jonathan, likely in reference to their close friendship. JS likely wrote the letter in and had it delivered to Clayton before leaving the city. Clayton presumably received the letter in Nauvoo on the same day it was written. No written response is extant.