expectations were firmly linked to missionary zeal.2 When the heathen are converted, it was held, Indians shall become divines and all nations shall be one. Although Brainerd’s personal struggles may be more evident in the diary than his aspirations for the kingdom of God among the Indians, these aspirations were significant—giving Edwards ample reason for editing the text. For four years, from 1743 to 1747, Brainerd carried out his solitary task: on the western border of Massachusetts, in eastern