Richard P. Heitzenrater

Works of John Wesley Volume 17, The Richard P. Heitzenrater

This critical edition of John Wesley's diaries from his time at Oxford University annotates the names, places, events, travels, finances, readings, sermons, correspondence, music, spiritual growth, and academic activities of Wesley during this ten-year period before his published journal came out. Most entries are expanded from their cryptic original format, but a few of them remain hidden behind initials of people, a few indecipherable symbols, and three major gaps in the diaries themselves, which bring to bear the financial accounts, letters, and whatever other sources can be used. This material is very detailed and provides a reconstructed picture of Wesley during the decade of 1725-35, clearly a crucial period in his life-long quest for intellectual growth, spiritual practices, assurance of salvation, and organizational relevance.