This diary was written by puritan Thomas Shepard in the years 1640-1641. It is an honest and heartfelt composition, exposing the tension of his sinful nature against his desire for close fellowship with God. The diary begins five years after he sailed from England to Boston to escape being silenced for his puritanism. "The Lord also brought my soul to place all my happiness in being one in and with Christ, and to have mind and heart only placed on him."