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Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

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Title: Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Author: Wilford Woodruff

Editor: Matthias F. Cowley


        
Release date: December 19, 2014 [eBook #47703]
                Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILFORD WOODRUFF, FOURTH PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS ***

WILFORD WOODRUFF

FOURTH PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

* * * *

History of His Life and Labors

AS RECORDED IN HIS DAILY JOURNALS

* * * *

_"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his
throne."--Rev. 3:21._

* * * *

PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION BY

MATTHIAS F. COWLEY

* * * *

Salt Lake City, Utah 1909


TO HIS NUMEROUS AND EVER INCREASING FAMILY, AND TO ALL WHO LOVE THE
NAME AND MEMORY OF

PRES. WILFORD WOODRUFF

THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED



PREFACE.

That which is perhaps best known about Wilford Woodruff is the fact
that he kept throughout his long and eventful life a careful record,
not only of his own life, but of the important affairs in the history
of the Church. In bringing that journal within the compass of one
volume, it has not always been easy to determine what was the most
important for the pages of this biography. All his journals, covering
thousands of pages, I have read with such discriminating judgment as I
could bring to the task. The reader, therefore, need not be reminded
that this biography contains only a small part, the most important part
it is hoped, of the things he wrote.

He was so careful and painstaking, and so completely devoted to the
task of keeping a journal, that his writings have been sought in
compiling much of the important data in Church history which has
already been given to the world. His work, therefore, is not unknown to
those familiar with Church history. Some of his life has been published
in the _Deseret News,_ and _"Leaves from My Journal"_ contains
important chapters. Magazines and Church publications have in them
reminiscences which he has given to the readers of those periodicals at
different times.

All missionaries will be interested in the marvelous experiences which
he had while working in the spread of the gospel message. Others will
read with peculiar interest the recital of events in the travels of
the pioneers from the Missouri River to Salt Lake Valley, and others
will read with satisfaction the words that fell from the lips of those
prophets with whom he was immediately associated--Joseph Smith, Brigham
Young, and John Taylor.

The life of Wilford Woodruff was full of marvels. It was a simple life
in which he revealed his heart and his purposes freely. The frankness
of his expressions, his care for details, and his conscientious regard
for the truth made him, perhaps, the best chronicler of events in all
the history of the Church. His journal reveals not so much what he
himself was thinking about the events concerning which he wrote as what
others thought about them. In that respect they reveal wonderfully the
spirit of the times in which he lived.

At the close of the year 1895 in writing of his life, he says: "For
twenty-one years I was a member of the legislative assembly of the
Territory of Utah.

"In 1875 I was appointed historian and general recorder of the Church
and held that position until 1889.

"On the completion of the Temple at St. George in 1877, I was appointed
its President by Brigham Young.

"Upon the accession of President Taylor, I became President of the
Twelve Apostles; and in April 1889, I was sustained at the general
conference as President of the Church.

"By my direction the General Church Board of Education was founded
in 1888 to direct the Church system of academies, high schools, and
colleges, which has resulted in a great perfection of the organization.

"From the beginning of my ministry in 1834 until the close of 1895
I have traveled in all 172,369 miles; held 7,655 meetings; preached
3,526 discourses; organized 51 branches of the Church and 77 preaching
places; my journeys cover England, Scotland, Wales, and 23 states and
5 territories of the Union. My life abounds in incidents which to me
surely indicate the direct interposition of God whom I firmly believe
has guided my every step. On 27 distinct occasions I have been saved
from dangers which threatened my life. I am the father of 17 sons and
16 daughters. I have a posterity of 100 grandchildren and 12 great
grandchildren." (At the present time, his grandchildren number at least
145, and his great grandchildren, about 60.)

The hand of God was so abundantly manifested in the life of Wilford
Woodruff, that those who read this book, it is sincerely believed, will
find it both faith-promoting and instructive. The book is given to the
world in the sincerest belief that its pages will greatly add a fresh
interest to the history of the Church, and reveal the subject of this
sketch in such a manner as to make his wonderful labors more highly
appreciated by those not intimately acquainted with him.

M. F. COWLEY.

September, 1909.



CONTENTS.

CHAPTER 1.

BIRTH AND GENEALOGY, 1807.

Chosen Spirit.--Divine Guidance.--Genealogy.--A Miller by Trade.

CHAPTER 2.

A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.

Arms and Legs Broken.--Injury to Breast Bone and
Ribs.--Drowned.--Frozen.--Scalded.--Other Escapes.--Life Preserved by a
Merciful Providence.

CHAPTER 3.

A REMARKABLE PREPARATION.

"Coming Events."--Wilford Woodruff's Interest in Religion.--Existing
Religious Denominations.--Teachings of Scripture.--Father Mason, a
Prophet.--Peculiar Process of Preparation.

CHAPTER 4.

EARLY DAYS, 1816-1833.

A Fisherman.--Early Employment.--Noble Reflections.--Lessons
in Reading.--Interest in the Bible.--Philo Woodruff's Strange
Dream.--Mocking Deity.--Its Effects.--Peace of Mind.--Place of
Prayer.--Happy Experiences.--A Baptism.--Reads of Mormons.--Notable
Instance of Inspiration.--Removal to New York.--Azmon's Faith.

CHAPTER 5.

BAPTISM, 1833.

Elders Visit Richland, N. Y.--The New Message.--Wilford Woodruff's
Testimony.--The Book of Mormon,--Healing Power.--Baptism.--Ordained a
Teacher.

CHAPTER 6.

ZION'S CAMP, 1834.

His First Call.--Leaves for Kirtland.--His Neighbors' Warning.--First
Meeting with Prophet.--A Remarkable Prophetic Gift.--Zion's
Camp.--Zelph.--Escape Mob at Fishing River.--Epidemic of Cholera.--His
Residence in Missouri.--Consecrations.

CHAPTER 7.

MISSION TO SOUTHERN STATES, 1834-1836.

A Prayerful Ambition to Preach.--Departure on Mission to
Southern States.--Traveling without Purse or Scrip.--Treatment
Received from Minister.--Tribulations.--A Remarkable Dream.--Its
Fulfillment.--Preaching in Memphis.--Ordained an Elder.--Successful
Labors.--Ordained a Seventy.--A Mob Court.--Return to Kirtland.

CHAPTER 8.

IN KIRTLAND, 1836.

Wilford's First Attendance at Meeting in the Temple.--Called to
Speak.--Church's Attitude Toward the Use of Liquor.--Wilford in the
First Quorum of Seventy.--Receives Temple Endowments.--Troubles
in Kirtland.--Greatness of the Prophet Joseph.--Wilford's
Marriage.--Receives a Patriarchal Blessing.

CHAPTER 9.

FIRST MISSION TO FOX ISLANDS, 1837.

Troubles at Kirtland.--Mission to Fox Islands.--Evil Spirits Cast
Out.--Healing the Sick.--Visits His Home Enroute.--From Connecticut to
Maine.--Description of Fox Islands.--Begins Ministry in Vinal Haven.--A
Minister Comes to Grief.--Baptisms.--Excitement.--Return to Scarboro.

CHAPTER 10.

CALLED TO THE APOSTLESHIP, 1838.

Again on the Fox Islands.--Opposition Increases.--Manifestation of the
Gifts of the Holy Ghost.--Sign of the Prophet Jonas.--Wilford Visits A.
P. Rockwood in Prison.--Baptizes His Father and Other Relatives.--Birth
of His First Child.--Called To Be One of the Twelve Apostles, and To
Take a Foreign Mission.--Assists Fox Islands Saints in Migrating to the
West.--Mrs. Woodruff Miraculously Healed.--They Reach Quincy, Illinois.

CHAPTER 11.

CALL TO GREAT BRITAIN, 1838.

Mobocrats Seek To Prevent the Fulfillment of a Revelation Given Through
the Prophet Joseph Smith, but Are Disappointed.--Temple Corner-stone
at Far West Laid.--Wilford Returns to Illinois.--The Prophet Joseph
Liberated from Prison in Missouri.--A Survivor of Haun's Mill
Massacre.--Selection of Nauvoo as a Place for the Settlement of the
Saints.--A Day of Gods' Power.--Many Sick Are Healed, and a Dying Man
Raised to Life.--Incident of Wilford Receiving a Handkerchief from
the Prophet Joseph.--Instructed as to What He Shall Preach on His
Mission.--Lesson in Humility.--Warning against Treachery.--Wilford
Starts on His Mission, Sick and without Money.--Experiences of His
Journey to New York.--Sails for Liverpool, England.

CHAPTER 12.

MISSION IN GREAT BRITAIN, 1840.

Wilford's Arrival in England.--Missionary Work Begun.--Casting
Out a Devil.--Directed by the Spirit of the Lord to Another Field
of Labor.--Meets with the United Brethren.--Many Conversions to
the Gospel.--Ministers Hold a Convention To Ask Parliament for
Legislation against the Mormons.--First Publication of the Book of
Mormon and the Hymn Book in England.--The Millennial Star.--In the
British Metropolis.--Unable to Secure a Hall To Preach in, the Elders
Hold Street Meetings.--First Baptism in London.--Opposition from
Preachers.--Work of God Makes Marvelous Progress.

CHAPTER 13.

BRITISH MISSION, 1840-'41.

Rapid Increase of the Church in Great Britain.--Mysterious Spirit
Personage Attempts to Strangle Wilford Woodruff, and Wounds Him
Severely.--He Is Relieved and Healed by Three Heavenly Visitors.--First
Placard of the Church Posted in London.--Death of Wilford's
Daughter.--Difficult Missionary Work in and around London.--Arrival
of Lorenzo Snow To Take Charge of the British Mission.--All of the
Twelve Called Home.--Attending Various Conferences.--Springing of
the Spaulding Story.--Wilford Bids Farewell to the Saints in Fields
Where He Had Labored.--General Conference of the British Mission, and
Only Occasion of the Twelve Apostles Acting as a Quorum in a Foreign
Land.--Wilford's Departure for Home, and Arrival at Nauvoo.--Made a
Member of the Nauvoo City Council.

CHAPTER 14.

REVIEW OF HIS MISSION.

Wilford Renders Aid to the Persecuted Saints.--His Care in Recording
the Events, also Sermons and Sayings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith.--Elder Woodruff's Humility, and Appreciation of the Work of
Others.--At a Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Convention.--Letter
from His Wife Announcing the Death of Their Daughter.--Revelation
Foreshadowing the Troubles of the Saints in the Expulsion from Illinois.

CHAPTER 15.

IN NAUVOO, 1841.

Prophetic Insight.--Teachings of the Prophet.--Baptism for the
Dead.--Hyrum Kimball.

CHAPTER 16.

TROUBLES IN NAUVOO, 1842.

Building of the Temple.--Book of Moses.--Words of the Prophet.--Nauvoo
Legion.--Business Trip to St. Louis.--Return of Orson Hyde.

CHAPTER 17.

TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH, 1843.

Change in Governors of Missouri and Illinois.--Prophet's Release.
--Discourse on Authority.--Signs in the Heavens.--New Arrivals of
Saints.--Death of Lorenzo Barnes.--Discourse on Knowledge.--Great
Truths.--Prophet's Knowledge of Men.--Wilford Woodruff's Bond for
Temple Funds.--Opposition to Revealed Truth.--Hell Defined.--Prophet
Arrested.--His Release.

CHAPTER 18.

MISSION TO THE EAST, 1843.

Address of the Prophet on Constitutional Rights.--Orson Hyde's
Call to Russia.--Prophet Explains His Position with Respect to
Missouri.--Origin of Nauvoo Legion.--Political Explanation.--Departure
of the Twelve for the East.--Brigham Young's Fidelity.--Phrenological
Chart by O. S. Fowler.--Return of the Twelve to Nauvoo.--W. W. Sealed
to Wife.--Adultery.--Governor of Missouri Again Issues Requisition for
Prophet.--Endowments.

CHAPTER 19.

EARLY DAYS OF 1844.

Conduct of the Laws and Marks.--Discourse on Elijah by the
Prophet.--The Celestial Law.--Prophet's Candidacy for President of
U. S.--Exploring Expedition to California Planned.--Joseph, Mayor
of Nauvoo.--Hostility in Carthage.--Mischief-makers in Nauvoo.--The
Prophet Talks on Politics.

CHAPTER 20.

THE MARTYRDOM OF JOSEPH AND HYRUM, 1844.

Mission of the Apostles to the East.--A Warning to W. W.--A Sad
Parting.--Political News of the Prophet Published.--W. W. Arrives in
Boston, June 26.--The Martyrdom.--Its Announcement Reaches W. W. in
Portland, Maine.--His Return to Boston.--An Epistle to the Elders
and Saints in the World.--W. W. Visits His Old Home.--Return to
Nauvoo.--Conditions in That City.

CHAPTER 21.

THE SUCCESSION, 1844.

Sidney Rigdon's Claim to Guardianship.--Rigdon's Spiritual
Condition.--Comparison of Sidney Rigdon and Frederick
Williams.--Remarks of Brigham Young.--Meeting on Aug. 8, 1844.--Brigham
Young Follows Sidney Rigdon in Address to the People.--Members of the
Twelve Speak.--Vote on Question of Leadership.

CHAPTER 22.

SECOND CALL TO GREAT BRITAIN, 1844.

The New Leadership.--Second Call to Great Britain.--Warning Against
Leading Companies from Nauvoo.--Instructions To Finish the Temple and
To Build up the City.--W. W. Visits Emma Smith and Others.--Parting
Address to the Saints.

CHAPTER 23.

IN THE BRITISH MISSION, 1844-45-46.

Departure.--Route.--Visits Home of Solomon Mack.--A Peculiar
Dream.--On the Ocean.--Copyright of Doctrine and Covenants.--Visit
to Scotland.--Lemington.--Troubles in Nauvoo.--Condition of the
Mission.--Preparation for His Return.

CHAPTER 24.

ON THE BANKS OF THE MISSOURI, 1846.

Dedication of the Temple in Nauvoo.--The Exodus to Council
Bluffs.--Accident to His father.--Reaches Mt. Pisgah.--Meets Brigham
Young.--Recruiting of the Mormon Battalion.--Colonel Kane.--Departure
of the Battalion.--Organizations at Winter Quarters.--A Conference with
the Chiefs of the Leading Indian Tribes.--Explorations.--Remarks by
President Young.

CHAPTER 25.

DEPARTURE OF THE PIONEERS.--APRIL 7, 1847.

Arrival of Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor at Winter
Quarters.--Organization of the Pioneers.--Manner of Forming
Camp.--Horse Feed Enroute.--Pawnee Indians.--A Practical
Joke.--Crossing Loup Fork.

CHAPTER 26.

PIONEER JOURNEY CONTINUED, 1847.

Elijah Newman Healed.--Indians Attempt Theft.--Antelopes
Killed.--Encounter with Indians.--A Buffalo Hunt.--Meet Traders from
Laramie.--A Decision To Keep the North Bank of the Platte.--Immense
Herds of Buffaloes.--William Clayton's Mile Gage.--Letter Left for Next
Company.--Description of the Rodometer.

CHAPTER 27.

PIONEERS REACH FORT LARAMIE--JUNE 2, 1847.

In the Red Man's Country.--Indian Customs.--Hunting Became
Excessive.--Description of the Bluffs.--Guide Board 409 Miles from
Winter Quarters.--Chimney Rock.--Brigham Young Rebukes Card Playing and
Frivolity.--Fasting and Prayer.--Arrive at Fort Laramie.--Ascending the
Plateaux.--Word from the Mormon Battalion.

CHAPTER 28.

PIONEERS ENTER SALT LAKE VALLEY.

Ferrying the Missourians over the River.--Construction of
Rafts.--Obtaining Provisions.--Ten Men Left at the Ferry.--Independence
Rock.--Devil's Gate.--175 Miles from Fort Laramie.--South Pass.--Meet
Major Harris, and Mr. Bridger.--Cross Green River.--Meet Samuel
Brannon.--Independence Day.--Meet a Detachment of the Battalion.--Fort
Bridger.--Report of the Missouri Company That Perished.--Reach Salt
Lake Valley, July 24, 1847.

CHAPTER 29.

RETURN OF THE PIONEERS TO WINTER QUARTERS, 1847.

In Retrospect.--First Crop of Potatoes Planted.--The Beginning of
Irrigation.--First Sunday.--Explorations South to Utah Lake.--Choice
of Temple Block.--Address by Brigham Young.--Return to Winter
Quarters.--Meet the Second Company of Pioneers.--Encounter with the
Indians.--Reach Winter Quarters, Oct. 31, 1847.--First Presidency
Organized, Dec. 27, 1847.

CHAPTER 30.

A MISSION TO THE EAST, 1848.

In Winter Quarters.--Battle of Nauvoo Commemorated.--Organization of
Pottowatamie County.--Bids President Young and Saints Good-by.--Journey
from Winter Quarters to Nauvoo.--From Nauvoo to Maine.--A Letter to His
Wife.--Healing the Sick.--Discovery of Gold in California.

CHAPTER 31.

ELDER WOODRUFF'S RETURN FROM THE EAST.

Letter to Orson Pratt.--Baptism of His Father-in-law, Ezra
Carter.--Labors in New England.--Meets Dr. John M. Bernhisel.--Healing
the Sick.--Interview with Col. Kane.--Hears Indian Chief.--Release
from His Mission.--Return to the Valleys.--Conditions at the
Frontier.--Stampede on the Plains.--Brigham Young Appointed
Governor.--Salt Lake Temple Planned.--Salt Lake City Given a
Charter.--Visit to the Southern Settlements.--Fourth Celebrated
at Black Rock.--Celebrating of Twenty-fourth.--Death of His
Step-Mother.--Judge Brocchus Speaks in Conference.--Beautiful Words of
Patriarch John Smith.--A Vote To Discontinue Use of Tea and Coffee.

CHAPTER 32.

THE YEARS, 1852, '53, '54.

Discourse of Brigham Young on Sin.--The Descendants of Cain.--Edward
Hunter Chosen Presiding Bishop.--Parowan Stake Organized.--David
Patten.--Talk on Dancing.--Death of Willard Richards.--Jedediah M.
Grant Chosen Counselor to Brigham Young.--Journey South.--Walker, the
Indian Chief.--John Smith, Son of Hyrum Smith, Called To Be the Head
Patriarch of the Church.--Visit North.--Legislature.--Philosophical
Society.

CHAPTER 33.

EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS.

Education Promoted.--Adventurers.--Endowment House.--President Young
Speaks of the Resurrection.--Death of Judge Schafer.--Provo.--Work
in Educational Societies.--In the Legislature at Fillmore.--Words of
Confidence from Kanosh, an Indian Chief.--Some Peculiarities of Wilford
Woodruff.--Poisoned.

CHAPTER 34.

THE REFORMATION, 1856.

Hard Times Were Difficult for Some To Endure.--Recording Church
History.--Dedication of Historian's Office.--First Hand-cart
Company.--The Reformation Inaugurated--Death of Jedediah M.
Grant.--Suffering of the Hand-cart Companies.--Heber C. Kimball's Dream.

CHAPTER 35.

CELEBRATION OF 24th, 1857.

Words of Brigham Young.--Talk by the Indian Chief,
Aropene.--Assassination of Parley P. Pratt--Return of Thomas B. Marsh
to the Church.--Celebration of the Twenty-fourth in Big Cottonwood
Canyon.--News of the Army's Approach.

CHAPTER 36.

WAR TIMES, 1857.

Deposit of Church Records in Temple Foundation.--Approach of
the Army.--Present of a Team.--John D. Lee.--Visit of Captain
Van Vliet.--Lot Smith.--Col. Alexander Writes President
Young.--Communication from Governor Cumming to Governor
Young.--Miraculous Escapes.--High Price of Salt at Army
Headquarters.--Prediction of Calamity to the Nation.--A Poetic Tribute
by Eliza R. Snow.

CHAPTER 37.

ARMY ENTERS SALT LAKE VALLEY, 1858.

President and Congress of the U. S. Memorialized.--Words of Brigham
Young.--Arrival of Col. Kane.--Governor Cumming Reaches Salt Lake
City.--Migration Southward.--Delegates from Nicaragua.--Want Mormons To
Move to Central America.--Proclamation from President Buchanan.--Peace
Commission.--President of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing
Society.--Indian War Threatened.--A Striking Dialogue.--The Mob
Element.--Mogo's Deception.--Attacks on President Young.--Greeley
Visits Utah.

CHAPTER 38.

BEGINNING OF THE REBELLION, 1861.

Embarks in Sheep Industry.--Adventures of One Gibson.--Lectures to
Young Men in Police Court.--Counsel to Missionaries.--Visit to Cache
Valley.--Schools Investigated.--Celebration of the 24th.--Prophecies
of Civil War.--Little Children in the Resurrection.--Brigham Young on
Secession.--Death of Aphek Woodruff.--Governor Dawson.

CHAPTER 39.

THE YEARS 1862-'63.

Killing of Thieves.--John Baptiste, the Grave Digger.--Value of
a Daily Journal.--Erection of the Salt Lake Theatre.--State of
Deseret.--Foundation Stones of Temple Raised.--Indian Troubles on
Bear River.--Visit of the Moquitches to Salt Lake City.--Their
Customs.--Attempt To Arrest President Young.--Settlement of Bear Lake
Valley.--Mining.

CHAPTER 40.

THE YEARS, 1864-65.

Some Enjoyments.--He Visits a Condemned Man in Prison.--Troubles Made
by Gibson on Hawaiian Islands.--Lorenzo Snow's Escape from Watery
Grave.--Visit to Bear Lake Valley.--Remark of President Young in
Logan.--Ordination to Apostleship of Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow,
Erastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards.--Hot Springs at Midway.--Second
Inauguration of President Lincoln.--Treaty with Indians.--Colfax Visits
Utah.--Jane Blackhurst.

CHAPTER 41.

THE YEARS 1866, '67, '68.

New Year's Greetings.--Evil Spirits Rebuked.--Love for Little
Ones.--Drawings in His Journal.--Mrs. Godbe's Dream.--Brigham Young's
Remarks on the Atonement.--Sept. 5, 1867, Joseph F. Smith Selected
as One of the Twelve.--Amasa Lyman Dropped from Twelve.--School
of the Prophets.--Move to Provo.--Grasshopper War.--Advent of the
Railroad.--Remarkable Prophetic Utterances at Logan.--Visit to
Sanpete.--Call to First Presidency of Geo. A. Smith.--Accident to His
Son Ashael.--Summary of 1868.

CHAPTER 42.

THE YEARS, 1869, 70.

Co-operative Movement.--Cove Fort.--Pronouncement Against Use
of Wine.--Organization of Bear Lake Stake.--Visit of Schuyler
Colfax.--The Godbe Movement.--Descendants of Cain.--Utah Central
R. R. Completed.--Plural Marriage--Boston Board of Trade Visits
Utah.--Sayings of Brigham Young.--The Newman-Pratt Discussion.--Martin
Harris Re-baptized.

CHAPTER 43.

PIONEER LIFE IN RICH COUNTY, 1871.

Arrest of President Young and Others.--Experiences in Randolph.--Caught
in a Snow-storm.--Reaches Salt Lake City.

CHAPTER 44.

THE YEARS, 1872-74.

Judge McKean.--Journalizing.--Early Church Historians.--Holy
Ghost.--Visit to San Francisco.--Funerals of Pitt and Player.--Thomas
L. Kane.--Garden of Eden.--Paralysis.--Earl Rosebury.--Fall from a Tree.

CHAPTER 45.

ST. GEORGE TEMPLE DEDICATED.

Visit to Randolph.--Governor Axtell.--Visit of President Grant.--Visit
of Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil.--Dedication of St. George Temple.--A
Grand Birthday Celebration.

CHAPTER 46.

DEATH OF BRIGHAM YOUNG, AUG. 29, 1877.

Death of His Son, Brigham Young Woodruff.--Prophetic
Utterances.--Baptisms for the Signers of the Declaration
of Independence.--Death of Brigham Young Changes His
Plans.--Funeral.--Visit to Logan.--Visit to St. George.--A Vision.--Old
Folks' Excursion.--Zion's Board of Trade.

CHAPTER 47.

EXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1879.

In Arizona.--An Epistle to the World.--Birthday Celebrated in St.
George.--Travels in Arizona.--Hunt with Pelone, the Apache Chief.--A
Visit to the Zunies.--Travels with Lot Smith.--Dream.--Letters.

CHAPTER 48.

REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1880.

In a Shepherd's Tent in Arizona.--A Revelation Given Jan. 26,
1880.--Organization of First Presidency.--Call to Apostleship of
Francis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith.

CHAPTER 49.

YEARS OF GREAT AGITATION, 1881, 1882.

Leonard Hardy's Birthday Party.--Prophecy Concerning Joseph F.
Smith.--Death of Orson Pratt--Visit to St. George.--The Edmunds
Law.--Oscar Wilde.--Conditions at St. Johns, Arizona.--Call of
President George Teasdale, Heber J. Grant and Seymour B. Young.--Death
of Captain William H. Hooper.

CHAPTER 50.

THE CRUSADE OPENS, 1883-1885.

Exemplary Deacons.--Adam-ondi-Ahman.--Visit to Colorado.--The
Patriarchal Order of Marriage.--Andrew Burt.--Farm Life.--The Crusade
Opens.--The Family Celebration of His Birthday.--Call of John W.
Taylor.--Call of Wm. B. Preston.--Land Troubles in Arizona.--Dedication
of the Logan Temple.--A Visit to Snake River. Country, Idaho.--Growth
of Children After the Resurrection.--Call of John Morgan.--In
Exile.--Conference at Fish Lake.

CHAPTER 51.

ELEVATION TO PRESIDENCY OF THE CHURCH, 1889.

Arrest of George Q. Cannon.--Governor Murray's Dismissal.--Death
of President Taylor.--President Woodruff Appears in the
Tabernacle.--Change in Federal Officers.--April, 1889, Wilford Woodruff
Became President of the Church.--Visit to California.--M. W. Merrill,
A. H. Lund, and Abraham H. Cannon Called to Apostleship.--Senator
Morgan Visits President Woodruff.

CHAPTER 52.

THE MANIFESTO AND EVENTS OF 1890-'91.

The Political Situation.--Visit to California.--The Manifesto.--Its
Effects.--Sugar Industry.--Henry M. Stanley.--Deaths of Prominent
Men.--Earthquake in Southern Utah.--Address to Irrigation
Congress.--Interpretation of Manifesto.--Remarks at Brigham City on the
Manifesto.

CHAPTER 53.

DEDICATION OF THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE, 1892.

New Home.--Visit of President Eliot to Salt Lake City.--Completing
the Temple.--Amnesty.--Dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.--Visit
to the World's Fair, Chicago.--Liberal Party Disbands.

CHAPTER 54.

ADMINISTRATIVE WORK, 1894.

Electric Power Plant in Ogden Canyon.--Saltair,--Death of His Brother,
Thompson.--Temple Work for Benjamin Franklin.--An Optimist.--Death of
A. O. Smoot of Provo.--Utah Stake Organized.--Trip to Alaska.

CHAPTER 55.

THE YEARS 1896-'97-'98.--BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.--HIS DEATH.

Admission of Utah into the Union.--The Occasion Celebrated.--Political
Struggles.--Birthday of Geo. Q. Cannon Celebrated.--April Conference,
1896.--Pronunciamento Regarding Political Matters.--Death of Apostle
Abraham H. Cannon.--The Purity and Nobility of His Character Revealed
to Prest. Woodruff.--Change of the Fast Day.--Great Celebration
on His 90th Anniversary, 1897.--Visit from Judge Kinney.--Pioneer
Jubilee Celebration.--Letter to the King and Queen of Sweden.--Visits
the Coast.--His Son Owen Called to the Apostleship.--Attends April
Conference, 1898.--Goes to the Coast in August.--His Sickness.--Departs
this Life September 2, 1898. CHAPTER 56. Funeral Services.

CHAPTER 57.

Character Sketch.

Appendix A.

Sidney Rigdon.

Appendix B.

Address to the Saints of the British Isles.

Appendix C.

Storm on Lake Michigan.

Appendix D.

Rationality of the Atonement.

Wives of Wilford Woodruff.

Children of Wilford Woodruff.

Index.

{1}



CHAPTER 1.

BIRTH AND GENEALOGY, 1807.

A Chosen Spirit.--Divine Guidance.--Genealogy.--A Miller by Trade.

Wilford Woodruff was the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. He belonged to that class of men of whom the
Lord said to Abraham, "These will I make my rulers." Of our primeval
childhood that ancient Prophet informs us that the Lord stood among
those that were spirits and He saw that they were good. Of these
spirits the Lord said to Abraham, "Thou art one of them, thou wert
chosen before thou wast born." If the Lord knew Abraham and Jeremiah
before they were born in the flesh, He also must have known Wilford
Woodruff in the spirit world. The latter's integrity and unbounded
devotion to the worship and purposes of his God are not surpassed by
any prophet of either ancient or modern times. Like those of ancient
times, Wilford Woodruff was undoubtedly foreordained of God to a noble
mission in life, and to the great responsibilities which he filled
with honor and to the glory of God. To him there was a reality of the
spirit world rarely enjoyed by men, he constantly felt the influence of
spiritual associations which were above and beyond the ordinary affairs
of life. That he had an existence prior to this probation in life, he
never doubted. He felt that life was a mission to which he had been
called and which in the goodness of God he had been permitted to fill.
His own spiritual existence was never overshadowed by temporalities or
by constant misgivings that so frequently beset the lives of other men.

Wilford Woodruff looked upon the brotherhood of men as {2} a natural
sequence of his assurance that God was the Father of our spirits in
a former life. He understood that prayer of the Savior addressing
Himself to His Father in heaven. His own spirit was in harmony with the
revelations of Christ. In the light of scriptural declarations and of
his own spiritual nature, he was simply here in life in the performance
of great duties which had been assigned him before the world was. He
sincerely believed that in returning again to the God who had given him
life he would have to account for his talents and his time. Speaking
of the Athenians, Paul said: "God that made the world hath made of
one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth, and
hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their
habitation."

In the life of Wilford Woodruff there was unfolded day by day the
duties and obligations that linked him with the chain of eternal life.
When the new revelation of God to men in this dispensation broke in
upon him he was happily prepared to enjoy the new light. To be a
Latter-day Saint from the outset seemed as natural as to breathe the
air of heaven. He marvelled at the purposes of God but did not wonder,
and doubt did not obscure from his vision the divine truth of this
dispensation while he sojourned in the flesh. The love of God had
always abounded in his heart, and the divine message found him eager
and willing.

He was not among those who sought divine assurance and spiritual
satisfaction in some one creed of the day. The Bible was his highest
authority and he believed implicitly in the divinity of its teachings.
He was a devoted student of Holy Writ and prayerfully sought the gifts
and blessings bestowed upon the Saints of old. He was waiting for
precisely that which came to him and he took up the new mission of life
with a strenuous desire to serve God and to be a witness that he was
the same God yesterday, to-day, and forever.

The story of Wilford Woodruff's life was consistent, faithful and in
harmony with scriptural examples. The dealings of God with His children
in other dispensations were always before his mind as illustrations
and evidences. If the Bible had been the chief consolation of his
youth and the best evidence of divine purposes, it became doubly so
when he became a Latter-day Saint. Nothing that God had done in former
dispensations {3} was too insignificant for his earnest consideration.
Henceforth he was to speak in the name of the Lord, and act by the
authority of divine command. He loved the memory of the ancient
Prophets and strove earnestly to emulate their example. His life,
therefore, is marked by spiritual growth and a devotion to God's will
that makes it an inspiration to all who knew him or who read the story
of his life and teachings. He honored and magnified every office and
calling conferred upon him from that of a teacher to the president of
the Church. In this high station he laid down his life at the ripe age
of ninety-one years.

Wilford Woodruff was born March 1st, 1807 in the town of Farmington,
Hartford County, Connecticut. He was the son of Aphek Woodruff. His
grandfather was Captain Eldad Woodruff who was the son of Josiah
Woodruff. Josiah was the son of Joseph whose father's name was John,
the son of Mathew Woodruff. This is as far back as Wilford Woodruff's
genealogy has been traced in America. It is claimed that John Woodruff
of South Hampton, Long Island, is the first person in American history
bearing the name of Woodruff. Whether he is related to Matthew
Woodruff, the earliest known ancestor of Wilford in this country, has
not been determined. President Woodruff says, that according to the
ancient Book of Heraldry, one of his ancestors was Lord Mayor of London
in 1579.

His mother's name was Beulah Thompson. The family on his mother's
side, for generations lived at Farmington, Connecticut. The Woodruff
family name is English and is derived from the occupation of its
bearers who in the days of William the Conqueror guarded the woods and
forests for the use of noblemen and who were considered among the most
honored officers in the land. From Wilford Woodruff's account of his
forefathers it appears that they were hardy and long-lived people. He
says: "My grandfather, Josiah Woodruff, lived nearly one hundred years.
He possessed an iron constitution and performed a great deal of manual
work up to the time of his death. His wife's name was Sarah. She bore
him nine children: Josiah, Appleton, Eldad, Elisha, Joseph, Rhoda,
and Phoebe. There were two of this family whose names are not given.
My grandfather, Eldad Woodruff, was the third son of Josiah. He was
born in Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut in 1751. He likewise
possessed {4} a strong constitution and it was said of him that for
several years he performed more labor than any man in Hartford County.
From over exertion and hewing timber he was attacked with rheumatism in
his right hip which caused a severe lameness for several years before
his death. He married Dinah Woodford by whom he had seven children:
Eldad, Elizabeth, Samuel, Titus, Helen, Aphek, and Ozem. My grandfather
died in Farmington from spotted fever in 1806 at the age of fifty-five
years. My grandmother, Dinah, died in the same place in 1824 from the
effects of a cancer in her breast; her sufferings were very great.

"My father, Aphek Woodruff, was born in Farmington, November 11, 1778.
He married Beulah Thompson who bore him three sons: Azmon, born Nov.
29th, 1802; Thompson, born December 22nd, 1804; and myself, born March
1st, 1807. My mother died from spotted fever January 11th, 1808 at the
age of twenty-eight years, leaving me a babe of fifteen months. My
father married a second wife, Azubah Hart. She bore him six children.
He was a man of a strong constitution and did a great amount of labor.
At eighteen years of age he began work in a flour mill and saw mill and
continued at his occupation there for about fifty years. Most of that
time he labored eighteen hours a day. He never made any profession of
religion until I baptized him into the Church of Jesus Christ on the
first day of July, 1838. He was a man of great charity, honesty, and
integrity and made himself poor by giving to the poor. He was liberal
in accommodating his fellow men by lending money and by becoming surety
for his neighbors. He generally said yes to every man who asked a favor
at his hands."

"I assisted my father in the Farmington mills until I was twenty
years of age and continued in the occupation of a miller until I was
thirty-one."

{5}



CHAPTER 2.

A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.

Arms and Legs Broken.--Injury to Breast Bone and
Ribs.--Drowned.--Frozen.--Scalded.--Other Escapes.--Life Preserved by a
Merciful Providence.

The journal of Wilford Woodruff contains a chapter which he designates
as a "chapter of accidents." It is given thus early in his biography as
it reveals the purposes of an overruling Providence whose mercies and
guiding powers are remarkably manifested throughout a long and arduous
career. He himself regarded his escapes from death as an evidence of a
destructive power that sought to thwart that special mission in life
so wonderfully revealed in the subsequent chapters of this biography.
His life throughout discloses a constant struggle against obstacles
which he had to overcome. They are manifested in every degree of
difficulty, and to less courageous natures many of them would have been
insurmountable.

There are in his words which describe the misfortunes that overtook him
no traces of envy, discouragement or despair. That others were born to
an easier life did not awaken within him a spirit of envy or doubt. To
his mind the joys or sorrows of this world were all subordinate to the
will of an overruling Providence. While he did not complain, he did
not ascribe his difficulties or dangers to fate. He was never so much
concerned about the difficulty in surmounting an obstacle as he was
about his ability through the goodness of God to do so. "Evidently," he
says, "I have been numbered with those who are apparently the marked
victims of misfortunes. It has seemed to me at times as though some
invisible power were watching my footsteps in search of an opportunity
to destroy my life. I, therefore, ascribe my preservation on earth to
the watchcare of a merciful Providence, whose hand has been stretched
out to rescue me from death when I was in the presence of the most
threatening dangers. Some of these dangers from which I so narrowly
escaped I shall here briefly describe:

"When three years of age, I fell into a caldron of scalding water
and although instantly rescued, I was so badly burned {6} that it
was nine months before I was thought to be out of the danger of
fatal consequences. My fifth and sixth years were interwoven with
many accidents. On a certain day, in company with my elder brothers,
I entered the barn, and chose the top of a hay mow for a place of
diversion. We had not been there long before I fell from the great beam
upon my face on the bare floor. I was severely hurt, but recovered in a
short time, and was again at play.

"One Saturday evening, with my brothers Azmon and Thompson, while
playing in the chamber of my father's house, contrary to his
instructions, I made a misstep and fell to the bottom of the stairs,
breaking one of my arms in the fall. So much for disobedience. I
suffered intensely, but soon recovered, feeling that whatever I
suffered in the future, it would not be for disobedience to parents.
The Lord has commanded children to obey their parents; and Paul says,
'This is the first commandment with promise.'

"It was only a short time after this that I narrowly escaped with my
life. My father owned a number of horned cattle, among which was a
surly bull. One evening I was feeding pumpkins to the cattle, and the
bull leaving his own took the pumpkin I had given to a cow which I
called mine. I was incensed at the selfishness of this male beast, and
promptly picked up the pumpkin he had left, to give it to the cow. No
sooner had I got it in my arms than the bull came plunging toward me
with great fury. I ran down the hill with all my might, the bull at my
heels. My father, seeing the danger I was in, called to me to throw
down the pumpkin, but (forgetting to be obedient) I held on, and as
the bull was approaching me with the fierceness of a tiger, I made a
misstep and fell flat upon the ground. The pumpkin rolled out of my
arms, the bull leaped over me, ran his horns into the pumpkin and tore
it to pieces. Undoubtedly he would have done the same thing to me if I
had not fallen to the ground. This escape, like all others, I attribute
to the mercy and goodness of God.

"During the same year, while visiting at my Uncle Eldad Woodruff's, I
fell from a porch across some timber, and broke my other arm.

"Not many months passed by before I was called to endure {7} a still
greater misfortune. My father owned a saw mill in addition to his flour
mill, and one morning, in company with several other boys, I went into
the saw mill and got upon the headlock of the carriage to ride, not
anticipating any danger; but before I was aware of it my leg was caught
between the headlock and the fender post and broken in two. I was taken
to the house, and lay nine hours before my bones were replaced. That
time was spent in severe pain; but being young, my bones soon knitted
together, and in a few weeks I was upon my feet as usual, attending to
the sports of youth. During this confinement my brother Thompson was my
companion. He was suffering from typhus fever.

"Shortly after this, upon a dark night, I was kicked in the abdomen by
an ox; but being too close to the animal to receive the full force of
the blow, I was more frightened than hurt.

"It was not long before I made my first effort at loading hay. I was
very young, but thought I had loaded it all right. When on the way to
the barn, the wheel of the wagon struck a rock, and off went the hay. I
fell to the ground with the load on top of me; this was soon removed,
and aside from a little smothering I was unhurt.

"When eight years of age, I accompanied my father, with several others
in a one-horse wagon, about three miles from home, to attend to some
work. On the way the horse became frightened, ran down a hill, and
turned over the wagon, with us in it. We were in danger, but were again
saved by the hand of Providence. None of us were injured.

"One day I climbed an elm tree to procure some bark; while about
fifteen feet from the ground, the limb upon which I stood, being dry,
broke, and I fell to the ground upon my back. The accident apparently
knocked the breath out of my body. A cousin ran to the house and told
my parents that I was dead, but before my friends reached me I revived,
rose to my feet, and met them on the way.

"When twelve years old I was nearly drowned in Farmington River. I sank
in thirty feet of water, and was miraculously saved by a young man
named Bacon. The restoration to life caused me great suffering.

"At thirteen years of age, while passing through Farmington {8}
meadows, in the depths of winter, in a blinding snowstorm, I became
so chilled and overcome with cold that I could not travel. I crawled
into the hollow of a large apple tree. A man in the distance saw me,
and, realizing the danger I was in, hastened to where I was. Before he
arrived at the spot I had fallen asleep, and was almost unconscious. He
had much difficulty in arousing me to a sense of my critical condition,
and promptly had me conveyed to my father's house, where, through a
kind Providence, my life was again preserved.

"At fourteen years of age I split my left instep open with an ax which
went almost through my foot. I suffered intensely from this injury, and
my foot was nine months in getting well.

"When fifteen years old I was bitten in the hand by a mad dog in the
last stages of hydrophobia. However, he did not draw blood, and through
the mercy and power of God I was again preserved from an awful death.

"At the age of seventeen I met with an accident which caused me
much suffering, and came nearly ending my life. I was riding a very
ill-tempered horse, which, while going down a very steep, rocky hill,
suddenly leaped from the road and ran down the steepest part of the
hill, going at full speed amid the thickest of the rocks. At the same
time, he commenced kicking, and was about to land me over his head
among the rocks, but I lodged on the top of his head, and grabbed
each of his ears with my hands, expecting every moment to be dashed
to pieces against the rocks. While in this position, sitting astride
the horse's neck, with neither bridle nor other means of guiding him
except his ears, he plunged down the hill among the rocks with great
fury, until he struck a rock nearly breast high, which threw him to
the earth. I went over his head, landing squarely upon my feet almost
one rod in front of the horse. Alighting upon my feet was probably the
means of saving my life; for if I had struck the ground upon any other
part of my body, it would probably have killed me instantly. As it was,
one of my legs was broken in two places, and both my ankles put out
of place in a shocking manner. The horse almost rolled over me in his
struggles to get up. My uncle saw me, and came to my assistance. I was
carried to his house in an armchair. I lay from 2 o'clock {9} in the
afternoon until 10 o'clock at night without medical aid and in great
pain, when my father arrived with Dr. Swift, of Farmington. The doctor
set my bones, boxed up my limbs, and that night conveyed me eight
miles in his carriage to my father's house. I had good attention, and
although my sufferings were great, in eight weeks I was out upon my
crutches, and was soon restored to a sound condition.

"In 1827, while managing a flour mill for Aunt Wheeler, in Avon, Conn.,
I was standing upon one of the wheels, clearing away the ice. A man,
not knowing I was in that position, hoisted the gate and turned upon
the wheel a full head of water. The wheel started at once, my foot
slipped, and I was plunged head foremost over the rim of the wheel
into about three feet of water. My weight had drawn my legs out of the
wheel, or I would have been drawn under a shaft and crushed to death.

"In 1831, while in charge of a flour mill at Collinsville, Conn., I
was standing upon one of the arms inside of a breast-wheel twenty feet
in diameter, clearing off the ice. A full head of water was turned
on suddenly. The wheel started instantly. I dropped my ax and leaped
about twenty feet to the bottom of the wheel. As I struck the bottom,
I rolled out against a rugged stone, with only two feet of clearance
between the stone and the wheel. The latter caught me and rolled me
out into the water below, where I found myself, much frightened, but
thankful to Providence that no bones were broken.

"The day that I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints--December 31, 1833--my horse, with newly calked
shoes, kicked the hat off my head. If he had struck two inches lower,
doubtless he would have killed me instantly. Ten minutes later, while
driving the same horse and another hitched to a sled with loose boards
on the bottom and no box, the boards slipped forward under the pole
and struck the ground. This at once threw the boards up endwise, and
pitched me forward between the horses. I held on the lines; the horses,
frightened, ran down the hill, dragging me under the sled behind them.
The road, however, was smooth, and I escaped without injury.

"In 1834, while traveling in Zion's Camp to Missouri, a rifle was
discharged accidentally. The ball passed through three {10} tents with
a dozen men in each, and lodged in the axletree of a wagon, without
injury to anyone; it passed within a few inches of my breast. Many
others escaped quite as providentially as I did.

"A few months later a musket, heavily loaded with buckshot, and pointed
directly at my breast, was snapped accidentally; but it missed fire,
and again the Lord preserved my life.

"In April, 1839, in Rochester, Ills., I was riding upon the
running-gear of a wagon. I sat upon the front axletree. The bolt
came out of the coupling-pole, separating the wheels, the front from
the rear; and my weight upon the front bolster and tongue turned the
coupling-pole over on the horses' backs, turned the stakes upside down,
which shut me between the bolster and tongue, but in such a manner that
my head and shoulders dragged upon the ground. The horses took fright
and ran into an open prairie. They dragged me for about half a mile,
and notwithstanding my awkward position I managed to guide them so as
to run them into the corner of a high worm-fence, where we landed in
a pile together. I was considerable bruised, but escaped without any
broken bones, and after one day's rest was able to attend to my labors
again.

"On the 15th day of October, 1846, while with the Camp of Israel
building up Winter Quarters, on the west side of the Missouri River
(then Indian country,) I passed through one of the most painful and
serious misfortunes of my life. I took my ax and went two and a half
miles upon the bluff to cut some shingle timber to cover my cabin. I
was accompanied by two men. While felling the third tree, I stepped
back of it some eight feet, where I thought I was entirely out of
danger. There was, however, a crook in the tree, which, when the
tree fell, struck a knoll and caused the tree to bound endwise back
of the stump. As it bounded backwards, the butt end of the tree hit
me in the breast, and knocked me back and above the ground several
feet, against a standing oak. The falling tree followed me in its
bounds and severely crushed me against the standing tree. I fell to
the ground, alighting upon my feet. My left thigh and hip were badly
bruised, also my left arm; my breastbone and three ribs on my left side
were broken. I was bruised about my lungs, vitals and left side in a
serious manner. After the accident {11} I sat upon a log while Mr. John
Garrison went a quarter of a mile and got my horse. Notwithstanding
I was so badly hurt, I had to mount my horse and ride two and a half
miles over an exceedingly rough road. On account of severe pain I had
to dismount twice on my way home. My breast and vitals were so badly
injured that at each step of the horse pain went through me like an
arrow. I continued on horseback until I arrived at Turkey Creek, on
the north side of Winter Quarters. I was then exhausted, and was taken
off the horse and carried in a chair to my wagon. I was met in the
street by Presidents Brigham Young. Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards,
and others, who assisted in carrying me to the wagon. Before placing
me upon my bed they laid hands upon me, and in the name of the Lord
rebuked the pain and distress, and said that I should live, and not
die. I was then laid upon my bed in the wagon, as my cabin was not yet
done. As the apostles prophesied upon my head, so it came to pass; I
did not die. I employed no physician, but was administered to by the
elders of Israel, and nursed by my wife. I lay upon my bed, unable to
move until my breast-bone began to knit together on the ninth day. In
about twenty days I began to walk, and in thirty days from the time I
was hurt. I returned to my laborious employment.

"I have not now a lame limb about me, notwithstanding it all. I have
been able to endure the hardest kind of manual labor, exposures,
hardships, and journeys. I have walked forty, fifty, and, on one
occasion, sixty miles in a single day. The only inconvenience I am
now conscious of is that if I overwork, or take a severe cold, I feel
it more sensibly in my breast and left side than I did before my last
injury. I have given considerable space in recounting the foregoing
peculiar circumstances which I have experienced in life. A summary of
what is here given may be briefly stated thus: I have broken both legs,
one of them in two places; both arms, both ankles, my breastbone, and
three ribs; I have been scalded, frozen, and drowned; I have been in
two water wheels while turning under a full head; I have passed through
a score of other hairbreadth escapes. The repeated deliverances from
all these remarkable dangers I ascribe to the mercies of my Heavenly
Father. In recalling them to mind I always feel impressed to render the
gratitude of my heart, with {12} thanksgiving and joy, to the Lord.
I pray that the remainder of my days may pass in His service, in the
building up of His kingdom."

When one stops to reflect upon the character of the accidents and the
manner of escape, he is impressed by the thought that they came along
as part of the remarkable incidents of his life. They are marvels
to be sure, but the whole life of Wilford Woodruff is a marvel. He
was on the spot when the danger arrived. He never seems to have been
disconcerted by it. He was so serene in his faith that he always had
an assurance that all would end well, and he, consequently, is never
found in a complainly mood, even when undergoing the severest pain. His
patience, therefore, was a powerful factor in bringing to his life a
large measure of confidence in the ultimate goodness of an overruling
Providence.

{13}



CHAPTER 3.

A REMARKABLE PREPARATION.

"Coming Events."--Wilford Woodruff's Interest in Religion.--Existing
Religious Denominations.--Teachings of Scripture.--Father Mason, a
Prophet.--Peculiar Process of Preparation.

Wilford Woodruff belonged to a group of men whose advent into the world
characterized the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Though
in their own day, humble and obscure and held in contempt by mankind
generally, their importance and the work accomplished by them grow in
significance to the Latter-day Saints who are and have been for the
past half century the greatest history makers in the world. Such men
as Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo
Snow, and Joseph F. Smith, whose administration of the affairs of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given them a prominent
place in the world as well as in the Church, grow in historical
magnitude as time goes on. Their respective administrations constitute
distinguished landmarks in the history of a great people.

There has been a mysterious something about North America, and indeed
of the whole American continent, that has made it not only inviting to
discoverers and adventurers, but an asylum to those who sought enlarged
religious freedom and the development of institutions in harmony
with the ideals of progressive religious thought. What has been more
remarkable to the welfare of this nation than the character of the men,
who, standing upon foreign shores looked forward to it as a land of
grand opportunities, were the men, the early patriots who gave to its
government the highest wisdom of the age, and to social institution
a broad foundation upon which all classes could securely rest their
hopes, their ambitions, and their religious convictions.

The institutions of our country have nevertheless grown as time went
on, and little by little conditions derogatory to the well-being and
happiness of the people have given way to higher and better standards
of life. The opposition to slavery and its downfall enlarged the
conceptions of individual liberty and of {14} human rights. The
traditions of ages have given way before the progress of modern
enlightenment, and the country has afforded better opportunities for
progressive and changing institutions than any other nation of the
civilized world. The whole drift of American history has been in the
direction of religious enlightenment and political freedom. True, such
enlightenment and freedom have met with stubborn resistance and have
cost the best blood of the nation. The United States has been a country
peculiarly marked for the greatest human endeavor. It has not, however,
reached the acme of its possibilities nor has its work, however
progressive, reached a finished state. If the lessons of the past in
American history are important in any one respect, more than another,
it is in the great truth that it is to be the standard bearer, and the
first in religion and government.

In religion the nation is brought face to face daily more and more with
the great religious problem known to the civilized world as Mormonism.
The men who were instrumentalities of that new religion grow in
importance as it makes its way in religious and theological history.
The lives therefore of such men as Wilford Woodruff not only have a
distinct place in the lives and thoughts of their religious associates,
but will also have an important position in the future history and
development of religious thought.

How such men as Wilford Woodruff came upon the stage at the particular
time in the history of the Church, and what external influences brought
them into its folds are matter of peculiar interest to every student
of Church history. What he himself thought of the new movement and how
he was prepared to receive it is given here and there throughout his
private journals in a manner to make the story of his life one of the
most interesting in all the annals of the Church.

He says: "At an early age my mind began to be exercised upon religious
subjects, but I never made a profession of religion until 1830 when
I was twenty-three years of age. I did not then join any church for
the reason that I could not find a body of people, denomination,
or church that had for its doctrine, faith, and practices those
principles, ordinances, and gifts which constituted the gospel of
Jesus Christ as taught by Him and His apostles. Neither did I find
anywhere the manifestations of the {15} Holy Ghost with its attendant
gifts and graces. When I conversed with the ministers of the various
denominations or sects, they would always tell me that prophets,
apostles, revelations, healing, etc., were given to establish Jesus
Christ and His doctrine, but that they have ever since been done away
with because no longer needed in the Church and Kingdom of God. Such
a declaration I never could and never would believe. I did believe,
however, that revelation, the gifts and graces, and the faith once
delivered to the Saints--a faith which they have enjoyed in all ages
when God has had an acknowledged people on the earth--could be done
away with only through the disobedience and unbelief of the children
of men. I believed every gift, office, and blessing to be just as
necessary now to constitute the true Church of Christ and Kingdom of
God as in any age of the world.

"This belief was firmly fixed upon my mind for two reasons: first,
from the study of the Bible I found that the principle of cause and
effect was the same in all ages, and that the divine promises made
were to all generations. At the same time, I found no changes in the
gospel in the days of Christ and the apostles, or that there would be
any change in the plan of salvation in the last days. I learned also
from the Scriptures that many of the ancient prophets, that Christ and
His apostles foresaw by inspiration and revelation that the Gentile
nations would apostatize and turn away from the true faith and from the
Church and Kingdom of God as the Jews had anciently done; that there
would be a falling away from the apostolic faith, from its doctrines
and ordinances; that other systems would arise; that when these false
systems should reach their fullness, the God of heaven would set up His
Kingdom; that an angel would restore the gospel; and that it should be
preached in all the world for a witness before the Savior should come
to reign. I further believed that the gospel had been taken from the
Jews and given to the Gentiles; that the Gentiles had, as foretold by
the prophets, fallen into apostasy; and that in the last days Israel
should be restored and the promises concerning that people should be
fulfilled. All these things I learned from the Scriptures and they made
a lasting impression upon my mind.

"The second reason for my peculiar belief in such principles, {16}
teachings, and doctrines was that in the days of my youth I was
taught by an aged man named Robert Mason, who lived in Sainsbury,
Connecticut. By many he was called a prophet; to my knowledge, many of
his prophecies have been fulfilled. The sick were healed by him through
the laying on of hands in the name of Jesus Christ, and devils were
cast out. His son was a raving maniac. After praying and fasting for
him nine days, he arose on the ninth day and commanded in the name of
Jesus Christ the devil to come out of him. The devil obeyed and the boy
was made whole from that very hour. This man instilled these principles
into my mind as well as into the mind of my oldest brother Azmon.

"Father Mason did not claim that he had any authority to officiate in
the ordinances of the gospel, nor did he believe that such authority
existed on the earth. He did believe, however, that it was the
privilege of any man who had faith in God to fast and pray for the
healing of the sick by the laying on of hands. He believed it his right
and the right of every honest-hearted man or woman to receive light and
knowledge, visions, and revelations by the prayer of faith. He told
me that the day was near when the Lord would establish His Church and
Kingdom upon the earth with all its ancient gifts and blessings. He
said that such a work would commence upon the earth before he died,
but that he would not live to partake of its blessings. He said that I
should live to do so, and that I should become a conspicuous actor in
that kingdom.

"The last time I ever saw him he related to me the following vision
which he had in his field in open day: 'I was carried away in a vision
and found myself in the midst of a vast orchard of fruit trees. I
became hungry and wandered through this vast orchard searching for
fruit to eat, but I found none. While I stood in amazement finding no
fruit in the midst of so many trees, they began to fall to the ground
as if torn up by a whirlwind. They continued to fall until there was
not a tree standing in the whole orchard. I immediately saw thereafter
shoots springing up from the roots and forming themselves into young
and beautiful trees. These budded, blossomed, and brought forth fruit
which ripened and was the most beautiful to look upon of anything my
eyes had ever beheld. I stretched forth {17} my hand and plucked some
of the fruit. I gazed upon it with delight; but when I was about to eat
of it, the vision closed and I did not taste the fruit.'

"'At the close of the vision I bowed down in humble prayer and asked
the Lord to show me the meaning of the vision. Then the voice of the
Lord came to me saying: "Son of man, thou hast sought me diligently to
know the truth concerning my Church and Kingdom among men. This is to
show you that my Church is not organized among men in the generation
to which you belong; but in the days of your children the Church and
Kingdom of God shall be made manifest with all the gifts and the
blessings enjoyed by the Saints in past ages. You shall live to be made
acquainted with it, but shall not partake of its blessings before you
depart this life. You will be blest of the Lord after death because you
have followed the dictation of my Spirit in this life."'

"When Father Mason had finished relating the vision and its
interpretation, he said, calling me by my Christian name: 'Wilford, I
shall never partake of this fruit in the flesh, but you will and you
will become a conspicuous actor in the new kingdom.' He then turned
and left me. These were the last words he ever spoke to me upon the
earth. To me this was a very striking circumstance. I had passed many
days during a period of twenty years with this old Father Mason. He had
never mentioned this vision to me before. On this occasion he said he
felt impelled by the Spirit of the Lord to relate it to me.

"The vision was given to him about the year 1800. He related it to me
in 1830, the spring in which the Church was organized. Three years
later when I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, almost the first person I thought of was this prophet, Robert
Mason. Upon my arrival in Missouri with Zion's Camp, I wrote him a
long letter in which I informed him that I had found the true gospel
with all its blessings; that the authority of the Church of Christ had
been restored to the earth as he had told me it would be; that I had
received the ordinances of baptism and the laying on of hands; that
I knew for myself that God had established through Joseph Smith, the
Prophet, the Church of Christ upon the earth.

"He received my letter with great joy and had it read over {18} to him
many times. He handled it as he had handled the fruit in the vision. He
was very aged and soon died without having the privilege of receiving
the ordinances of the gospel at the hands of an elder of the Church.

"The first opportunity I had after the truth of baptism for the dead
was revealed, I went forth and was baptized for him in the temple font
at Nauvoo. He was a good man, a true prophet; for his prophecies have
been fulfilled. There was so much reason in the teachings of this man,
and such harmony between them and the prophecies and teachings of
Christ and of the apostles and prophets of old, that I believed in them
with all my heart.

"I had given myself up to the reading of the Scriptures and to earnest
prayer before God day and night as far as I could years before I heard
the fullness of the gospel preached by a Latter-day Saint. I had
pleaded with the Lord many hours in the forest, among the rocks, and
in the fields, and in the mill--often at midnight for light and truth
and for His Spirit to guide me in the way of salvation. My prayers
were answered and many things were revealed to me. My mind was open to
the truth so much so that I was fully satisfied that I should live to
see the true Church of Christ established upon the earth and to see a
people raised up who would keep the commandments of the Lord."

This beautiful and inspiring story of Robert Mason reads very much
like that of Simeon of old, who, having received a divine response to
his steadfast supplications, exclaimed: "Lord, now lettest thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy
salvation."

In reading the history of the Church, one is constantly impressed by
the striking comparisons between the events recorded in Holy Writ and
those which have been forerunners as well as accompaniments of the
Church of Christ in this dispensation. The Spirit of God makes these
analogies impressive, and they in turn confirm the faith of those who
have received a testimony of the divine mission of Joseph Smith and of
the purposes of God to be fulfilled by the Church in these last days.
No wonder Wilford Woodruff's mind was open to the truth. No wonder
that doubt or misgiving never beclouded his mind {19} from the day
that the new light broke in upon his understanding to the day of his
death. His life is one of the most beautiful examples of a childlike
faith that has ever been given to the world. The story of it is both
faith-promoting and instructive. It reads like the stories of Holy Writ.

{20}



CHAPTER 4.

EARLY DAYS, 1816-1833.

A Fisherman.--Early Employment.--Noble Reflections.--Lessons
in Reading.--Interest in the Bible.--Philo Woodruff's Strange
Dream.--Mocking Deity.--Its Effects.--Peace of Mind.--Place of
Prayer.--Happy Experiences.--A Baptism.--Reads of Mormons.--Notable
Instance of Inspiration.--Removal to New York.--Azmon's Faith.

Much of the early life of Wilford Woodruff was passed in Farmington,
Connecticut. He was a boy of great vitality and given to the sports
incident to the community and the times in which he lived. He early
developed a marked aptitude for fishing. In the stream which fed his
father's mill there were spotted trout in abundance. These he learned
to catch with great dexterity; and his brother, being likewise an
adept with the hook, the two achieved the reputation of being the most
successful fishermen in the village. The sports of fishing and hunting
which he practiced in early boyhood were enjoyed by him throughout his
entire life.

One is reminded in the story of his life that there were apostles of
old who cast their nets for fish in the sea of Galilee. Like them, he
too became a fisher of men. He was equally prompt in responding to the
Master's call and equally ardent in promulgating the new word of life
he was authorized to publish. We are not told how many converts were
the result of their missionary efforts, but it is quite within the
bounds of truth to declare that no apostle of the last dispensation
succeeded better than Wilford Woodruff in planting the message of the
new dispensation in the hearts of his fellow-men.

He attended the village district school in his early boyhood, a school
located about two miles from his father's home. "In those days," he
writes, "parents did not feel the importance of urging upon their
children the advantages of education as they urge them today. In those
times they felt that matters of education were wholly confined to the
ideas and methods of the school teacher." Wilford was an industrious
boy. His mind was filled with lofty thoughts, and his education as time
went on took on a religious character. He was by nature a devoted son
and {21} observed carefully the divine command which enjoined obedience
to his parents.

Aphek Woodruff, father of Wilford, was a generous-hearted man. He
rarely refused to grant a favor even when it seemed probable that
the favor might prove a loss to him. The father by his industry and
frugality had acquired a respectable competency for those days. His
property, however, soon dwindled away when those for whom he became
security left him to meet their obligations. His possessions consisted
of a large farm well stocked with cattle, a flour mill, a saw mill, and
a carding machine. These had cost years of toil and self-denial. Their
loss to him saved his honor, but subjected his family to the hardships
which the changed financial conditions brought about. These experiences
of his father had much to do in the formation of his son's character,
for the latter avoided debts and was scrupulously careful to make his
word good in every business undertaking.

When Wilford was eight years of age, a strong religious revival took
place in the town of Farmington. It was conducted chiefly by the
Baptist Church; the elders of that Church, Brocket and Quishman,
preached in his father's home. They baptized his stepmother and several
other relatives. His brothers, Azmon and Thompson, made some profession
of religion. Wilford attended meetings, prayed, and tried to feel as
others felt, but all to no purpose. Whatever of enthusiasm worked
upon his feelings in the excitement of the meetings soon passed away
and left his soul unfed by the bread of life. The next elder brother,
Thompson, was in a similar condition. His eldest brother, Azmon,
continued his interest and devotion until several years later when he
embraced the fulness of the gospel.

His father, having sold his property at Northington, moved back to
Farmington where he was employed to run the flour mill owned by Cowles,
Deming & Camp. This employment he continued for twenty-eight years. Up
to the year 1816 Wilford remained with his father. He attended school
in Farmington until he was fourteen years of age.

On the first of May, 1821, he went to live with Col. George Cowles
with whom he remained two years. While there he attended school in the
winter and worked upon a farm during the {22} summer months. It was
while living with Mr. Cowles that Wilford again witnessed a religious
revival which was conducted by the Presbyterians, who were at that
time the only sect in Farmington. Of this second revival he writes: "I
attended the meetings, inquiry, Sunday schools, and prayer meetings.
I tried to get religion by effort and prayer, but my efforts created
darkness instead of light and I was not happy in the attempt. They
wanted us to give our hearts to God without telling us what to do or
explaining any principle in a comprehensive manner. There were many
young people at that time of my age who made a profession of religion.
I did not wish to make a mockery of sacred things by professing light
when I had received none, so I kept aloof from all professions."

At this time the Woodruff family was undergoing a severe struggle
for a livelihood. Young Wilford lived out, first with one and then
with another, working hard during the summer and fall and attending
school in the winter. In the year 1823 while making his abode with Mr.
Andrew Mills he underwent his first attack of homesickness. "Mr. Mills
was a proud and austere man," he writes, "I had never before lived
at a place where I did not feel free and sociable, and there was no
conversation between us except to ask or answer a question. I ate and
slept very little there for two weeks. Relief, however, came to me when
I started to school and made the acquaintance of my fellow students. My
homesickness left me and never came back.

"I returned home in 1825, soon after which my father made a contract
with Mr. Horace Todd that I should work one year with him." The year,
however, did not pass before the boy split his instep with an ax. This
ended his service there, but his brother Thompson took the place there
and worked the year out. "Thus we kept our contract." Wilford was
crippled for nine months. At the end of that time he left home on horse
back in search of work. Again misfortune overtook him. He was thrown
from his horse and compelled to return home where he remained for some
time. There was always a welcome in his home, because of the love and
respect every member of the family entertained for him.

Part of the time up to April, 1827, he remained at home, {23} and part
of the time he was engaged in working for other people. At that time he
was twenty years of age and left his home never to return except as a
visitor. He first went to live with his Aunt Helen Wheeler. He took her
flour mill at East Avon on shares and worked it for three years. During
that time he established himself in the trade of a miller.

Notwithstanding his youth at the time of leaving home, his soul
was full of deep and serious thoughts. They were ennobling in their
character and safeguarded the young man along the slippery paths of
youth. Here are some of the reflections of those days: "This is an
important period of my life. As I leave my father's home to enter upon
the stage of life to act for myself, to be my own counselor, and to
form my own character in the broad open world, my mind is filled with
serious reflections. I am full of anxiety--an anxiety which is painful
to me. Should I outlive my parents, how long will it be before I shall
follow them to the grave? It will be said of them: 'They have gone the
way of all flesh and their children will follow them into the same
eternal world.' My age is an important period in the life of every man;
for, generally speaking, at this period of life man forms much of his
character for time and eternity. How cautious I ought to be in passing
this landmark along the road of my early existence! I feel that I need
care, prudence, circumspection, and wisdom to guide my footsteps in the
path which leads to honor and eternal life."

Later on, referring to this same period of life, he says: "I reflected
further upon the days of my youth which were gone, and upon the
fleetness of time that had flown like an arrow to return no more. I
reasoned thus: while walking through a rapid stream, we cannot tread
twice in the same water, neither can we twice spend the same time.
Then how ought we to prize the golden moments and measure time by our
talents to the honor and glory of God and for the salvation of our
souls; so that when the Lord comes, He may receive His own with usury.

"In trying to comprehend the fleetness of time, I have asked myself
these questions. Where is the old world? Where are the millions of the
earth's inhabitants, including my own ancestors? And where are the days
of my youth? They are gone--all {24} gone into the boundless ocean of
eternity where I shall soon find myself."

This remarkable state of his mind at that youthful period of life is
so unusual in young men of that age that it is quite reasonable to
suppose that he was undergoing a mental struggle on questions of right
and wrong. It was not simply with him a question of good and bad;
has conscience told him what his conduct ought to be in the presence
of temptation. What he wanted to know, what he was yearning to learn
was some positive rule of life that would govern and guide him in the
formation of correct religious doctrines.

In those times it was thought no evil to indulge in card playing and
pastimes of a similar character. He occasionally took a hand in these
games, but soon withdrew from such recreation, since he believed card
playing to be a vice. His journal shows that he understood the dangers
that arise from the so-called respectability of companionship when
such companions are thoughtless, indifferent, and self-indulgent. "The
religious influence of such men," he writes, "where it is bad is most
to be dreaded. The vulgar and dissipated will not have much influence
over the man who intends to maintain a fair standing in society. On the
other hand, the respectable man may lead him step by step into such
evils that bring upon him, before he is aware of it, sorrow, disgrace,
misery, and shame.

"If I was ever led to stake anything at the card table, I had the
providential good fortune to lose. There was thus cut off the natural
encouragement to engage in such a vice. In all these recreations
there was a spirit working within me which drew my attention to inner
thoughts of a nobler sort until I lost all desire for cards and the
ball room and for the company of those who enjoyed that kind of
pleasure. So much was this the case, that I felt like a speckled bird
in the midst of my companions. Indeed, I learned by experience and by
the workings of the spirit of the Lord within my own soul that the
transitory pleasures of human life do not in any way constitute true
and lasting happiness."

Before launching out in business for himself, he says: "I had not
acquired much taste for reading. Having at my disposal each day several
leisure hours, I felt impressed that I must not {25} squander time
in idleness. I did not care for novel reading. I believed it to be
useless. Nor had I much taste for history, having read but little of
it. One day while reading a school book, I came across these remarkable
words: 'He that will spend his life in that manner which is most
exaltant will find that custom will render it most delightsome.'"

These words made a strong impression upon his mind. He at once began
to read history. At first he read too much at a time to remember, to
digest, and to profit by it. After a judicious regulation of this
mental pastime, he read carefully histories of the United States,
England, Scotland, Greece, and Rome. He read Rollin's Ancient History,
Josephus, and other books. They became to him a delight, and from them
he gained much that was helpful.

"By perusing history," he writes, "we hold converse with men of
judgment, wisdom, and knowledge. I finally took up the Bible as a
study of history and I never found any history equally interesting
until later on I read the Book of Mormon. While reading these books
we converse, as it were, with the Lord and with His holy prophets
and apostles. In studying the Word of the Lord we learn truths which
cannot be acquired from any other source. Those books which contain the
revelations of heaven are of far more interest than books containing
merely the opinions, theories, and doctrines of men."

During his further stay with his Aunt Helen, he encountered other
religious revivals without any benefit to him further than to emphasize
his convictions that the gospel in its purity was not among the people
at that time and place.

At that time he was called upon to mourn the demise of his beloved
brother, Philo. A few months prior to his death, Philo dreamed that an
angel from heaven was going through the streets of the town with a roll
containing a list of those who should die during the year in that town.
The angel approached Philo and unfolded to him the roll, at the same
time he informed him that on November 27th there would be a funeral at
his father's house. Philo recorded the dream in his journal. On the
very day named by the angel his own funeral occurred at his father's
home. The fulfillment of this strange dream made a lasting impression
on Wilford's mind.

{26} The year following, another very remarkable circumstance occurred
which was equally impressive to his thoughtful and spiritual mind.
He writes: "I was called to sit up for the night with the remains of
a young man named Henry Miller. He had been very wicked and profane.
The day before his death, he attended a celebration of the nation's
birthday, July 4th. The boy's father, who was a religious, God-fearing
man, reproved the son for his profanity and wickedness. Shortly after
this, he and his father were on the way to the field to get some hay
when there suddenly arose a heavy shower accompanied by thunder and
lightning. Henry made sport of the roaring elements and mocked God in
the thunder. The next moment, while standing by his father's side, he
was struck by a thunderbolt from heaven. I attended his funeral. The
circumstances of his death made a lasting impression on me."

Like many, for whom there is in store a remarkable religious future,
Wilford was called to suffer financial reverses that he might learn
how uncertain are the goods of this world and that he might feel the
full force of that divine fiat: "Cursed is he that trusteth in riches;
cursed is he that trusteth in man, or maketh flesh his arm." He had
earned considerable money while running the flour mill for his Aunt
Helen, but lost much of it by lending it to an unprincipled man,
and by helping others who were unable to repay him. These peculiar
experiences, temporal and spiritual, fortunes and misfortunes,
accidents and trials among people away from his own home filled his
soul with grave reflections and brought him to take a stand relative to
his own future course in life. He was high-minded, had no vices or bad
habits, and his standard of purity and excellence was so high that he
never indulged in light-mindedness or in trifling recreations. To him
they were grievous sins in the sight of God; and he believed with the
Prophet Joseph that they should be eschewed. He was constantly striving
for a higher plane upon which he might firmly plant his feet.

"I was twenty-three years of age; and in reflecting upon the past, I
became sincerely convinced that there was no real peace of mind or true
happiness except in the service of God and in doing those things which
would meet His approval. As far as my imagination would enable me, I
brought before my mind all the {27} honor, glory, and happiness of the
whole world. I thought of the gold and the wealth of the rich, of the
glory, grandeur, and power of kings, presidents, princes, and rulers. I
thought of the military renown of Alexander, Napoleon, and other great
generals. I cast my mind over the innumerable paths through which the
giddy world travels in search of pleasure and happiness. In summing
up the whole matter in the vision of my mind, I had to exclaim with
Solomon: 'All is vanity of vanities sayeth the preacher.'

"I could see that within a few years all would end alike in the grave.
I was convinced that no man could enjoy true happiness and obtain that
which would feed the immortal soul, except God was his friend and Jesus
Christ his advocate. I was convinced that man became their friend by
doing the will of the Father, and by keeping His commandments. I made
a firm resolution that from then I would seek the Lord to know His
will, to keep His commandments, and to follow the dictates of His Holy
Spirit. Upon this ground I was determined to stand and to spend my
future life in the maintenance of these convictions." It will be here
easily seen that determination which led him through all the subsequent
years of his life to do whatever he did for the glory of God.

In May, 1830, he was employed to run a flour mill for Mr. Samuel
Collins of Collinsville, Connecticut. At first he went to board with
about thirty young men. These being of a worldly turn of mind, he did
not enjoy their influence and therefore took up his residence in the
family of Mr. Dudley D. Sackett.

About this time, under the influence of a religious revival, his
brother Asahel made profession of religion and seemed very devoted.
Wilford became specially anxious to know the will of the Lord. "I
prayed night and day, and the Lord blest me with much of His spirit.
These began to be the happiest days of my life. I felt that the sun,
moon, and stars; the mountains, hills, and valleys; and that all
creation were united in the praise of the Lord."

"My work in the mill was very light and I passed much of my time in
reading, in meditation, and in prayer. I read the Bible and it was like
a new book to me. I received much light in perusing its sacred pages.
If I was cast down, tried, or {28} tempted, I found in it relief in
connection with the Spirit of God. The religious reformation continued
in Farmington and a number of my relatives were actively engaged in the
service of the Lord according to the best light they had. Among them
were my Uncle Ozem Woodruff and his wife Hannah. They were good people
and I was much attached to them, having lived with them a good deal in
my early life. I enjoyed their society very much.

"A short distance from the mill was a beautiful island upon the top of
which was a level field covered with flowers. The island was surrounded
by a rapid current of water dashing over the rocks. The banks of the
current were thickly studded by tall, waving pines. I chose this
pleasant retreat on the top of the island as my place of prayer and
supplication. I retired to it many times, both by day and by night and
offered up my soul in prayer to the Lord. I never shall forget the
happy hours I spent alone in mediation and prayer upon that solitary
island. When sitting there alone, there would come to my mind the words
of Robert Pollock:

  'In the wide desert where the view was large,
  Pleasant were many scenes, but most to me
  The solitude of vast extent untouched by hand
  Whose nature sowed herself and reaped her crop;
  Whose garments were the clouds; whose minstrels, brooks;
  Whose lamps, the moon and stars; whose organ choir,
  The voice of many waters; whose banquets,
  The falling leaves; whose heroes, storms; whose warriors,
  Mighty winds; whose lovers, flowers;
  Whose orators, the thunderbolt of God;
  Whose palaces, the everlasting hills;
  Whose ceilings, Heaven's unfathomable blue;
  And from whose rocky turrets battled high
  Prospects immense spread out on all sides in air,
  Lost now between the welkin and the main,
  Now walked with hills that slept above the storm.'

"The Lord blest me with joy and happiness such as I had never before
enjoyed, doubtless because I was living up to the best light I had. I
had no apostle or prophet to teach me the right way; so I had to do the
best I could. In my zeal to promote {29} good, I got up prayer meetings
in our village and prayed for light and knowledge. It was my desire
to receive the ordinances of the gospel, as I could plainly see by
reading the Bible that baptism by immersion was a sacred ordinance. In
my eagerness, yet being ignorant of the holy priesthood and of the true
authority to officiate in the ordinances of eternal life, I requested
the Baptist minister to baptize me. At first he refused because I
told him I would not join his church as it did not harmonize with the
apostolic church which our Savior established. Finally after several
conversations, he baptized me on the 5th of May, 1831. He also baptized
my brother Asahel. This was the first and only gospel ordinance I
sought for until I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints."

Wilford continued with Mr. Collins for less than a year, but left him
with the best feelings. The latter told Wilford that he would always
be welcome at his home, and that as an honorable young man, worthy of
trust, he would cheerfully give him any recommendations he desired.

Wilford held himself aloof from membership in any of the churches. He
visited their meetings and conversed with their ministers. He wanted
to know why there were no more apostles and prophets. He was told that
they were done away with, because they were no longer needed. Such a
statement only intensified his disbelief in sectarian churches.

On one occasion, after praying most earnestly to know about the people
of the Lord, if any such there were on earth, he says: "The Spirit of
the Lord said unto me: 'Go to my Word and I will there show thee my
will and answer thy prayer.' I opened the Bible promiscuously, praying
the Lord to direct me to that portion of his Word which would answer my
prayer. I opened to the 56th Chapter of Isaiah. I was satisfied it was
in response to my prayer. I felt that the salvation of God was about
to be revealed and His righteousness come forth. I was also satisfied
that I should live to see the people of God gathered. From this time
on until the gospel found me I was contented and felt that I should
trouble myself no more about the churches and the ministers. In our
zeal my brother Azmon and I adopted the worship of the Lord on Saturday
instead of Sunday. I felt that a change from the seventh to the first
day of the week was likely {30} a perversion made by man without
authority from heaven."

It was while staying with Mr. Cowles in the spring of 1832 that he saw
for the first time an account of the "Mormons." These were described in
a newspaper article as a new sect claiming to have new revelations and
to be built upon the foundation of prophets and apostles the same as
the ancient Saints. The editor of the newspaper ridiculed the Mormons,
but Wilford was favorably impressed. From that time on he desired to
see these new people; for if they enjoyed the gifts which were bestowed
upon the ancient Saints, they were the very people for whom he was
seeking.

Soon after this he made a settlement with Mr. Cowles and arranged his
affairs with a view of moving to western New York. Of the circumstances
leading up to this change in his life, he writes: "The spirit that was
upon me day and night said, 'Go to Rhode Island.' My mind was greatly
exercised over the matter for I could not comprehend what it meant. I
went to live with my brother Azmon until our departure for New York.
After saluting him, I said: 'I wonder what the Lord wants of me in
Rhode Island! The spirit of the Lord has rested upon me for two weeks
and said, "Go to Rhode Island."' In about an hour after this my brother
Asahel arrived on a visit. After shaking hands with him, almost the
first words he spoke were: 'I wonder what the Lord wants of me in
Rhode Island! The spirit of the Lord has been upon me for two or three
weeks and has told me to go to Rhode Island.' This caused us to marvel
exceedingly. We had not seen each other for several months. My brother
Azmon thought that as we were ready to go to New York, we better not
go to Rhode Island. To this we consented with great reluctance. I
felt sure it was our duty to go there, although at that time it was a
mystery."

Later on when the gospel came to them in New York, Wilford learned
that if they had gone to Rhode Island they would have met Elders Orson
Hyde and Samuel H. Smith and would have thus received the gospel at an
earlier date than they did by at least one year. Had they gone to Rhode
Island and received the gospel there, they would have undoubtedly gone
direct to Kirtland, Ohio. As it was, they stopped in New York where
they purchased a farm.

{31} This incident furnished an illustration of the safety of obeying
the spirit of the Lord, even when the reason at the time is not
apparent. The example of Adam is a further illustration of that same
beautiful truth. "Adam, why dost thou offer sacrifice?" asked the
angel. "I know not," was the reply, "save that God has commanded me."
Such illustrations show the folly of basing one's conduct wholly upon
experience, or upon the powers of human understanding. There are other
lamps to guide our feet than that of experience or the wisdom of man.
The incident is a striking illustration also of the untruth of that
sometime infidel dogma which says: "We doubt all things in order to
prove all things." It is better to hold with inspired men: "We believe
all things from God in order to know all things."

Wilford Woodruff and his brother Azmon bade their father good-bye. With
$800, and a tin trunk each, they journeyed to Richland, Oswego County,
New York. There they purchased a farm of 140 acres and a good dwelling
house at a cost of $1,800. They paid the amount they had with them, the
balance at a subsequent date.

During their residence in Richland, the cholera made its appearance
in the United States. Azmon was seized by the dread malady. Of this
circumstance and the faith of his brother, Wilford writes: "Azmon was a
very peculiar person from his childhood. He was very strict in reading
the Bible and in attending to his prayers. He enjoyed much of the
spirit of the Lord and had considerable light. I was greatly edified by
his teachings and conversations. When he was sick, he did not employ a
physician, but trusted in the Lord absolutely. In the fall of 1833 he
had a very severe attack of the cholera. His wife and I laid our hands
upon his head agreeable to his request and prayed for him. We asked the
Lord to rebuke the disease and commanded it to depart from him. From
that hour the cholera was checked. He was immediately healed. The next
morning he was able to arise from his bed and walk. Such was his faith.
He had passed through many ordeals of sickness and was always healed by
the power of God and without medical aid."

This recital brings us to the winter of 1833 when the full blaze of the
gospel light was about to shine in splendor upon the soul of Wilford
Woodruff.

{32}



CHAPTER 5.

BAPTISM, 1833.

Elders Visit Richland, N. Y.--The New Message.--Wilford Woodruff's
Testimony.--The Book of Mormon.--Healing Power.--Baptism.--Ordained a
Teacher.

The movement westward when Wilford Woodruff located in Richland, New
York was in full accord with the restless energy and ambitious purposes
of a new and active generation. The movement called for the best talent
and most ardent workers of those times. In Richland this young man
gave his old time zeal to a new found occupation. What lay at hand to
do he did with all his might. The duties and occupations of his life
were with him never temporary, never makeshifts, and he never waited
for something to turn up. Nor did the frequent interruptions in his
occupations all through life ever give to him an unsteady aim, or a
waning enthusiasm. When he plowed in the earth, he saw God's will in
the furrows. There was divine harmony in the click of the mill, and
the song of heaven in the warblings of the birds. He "settled down" in
Richland with the fervent expectation that, God willing, it should be
to him a permanent home.

In the midst of the busy life he had taken up in his new home, there
came to him a message of joy, a warning voice, to whose accents his
soul had long been attuned. In the winter of 1833, and on the 29th day
of December, there came to his home two humble elders of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were Zera Pulsipher and Elijah
Cheney. At the time of their appearance, he and his brother Azmon
were away from the house engaged in their daily labors; but Azmon's
wife knew very well the frame of mind, both of her husband and his
brother Wilford. Their hopes and expectations had been the subject of
conversation in their humble home. She therefore received the elders
kindly and gave them to understand that her husband and his brother
would be anxious to hear them preach.

According to the custom of the Mormon elders then, as now, a meeting
was appointed at the schoolhouse and notices were circulated throughout
the village. The story of this new experience is told by Wilford
Woodruff in a simple and beautiful manner: {33} "Upon my arrival home
my sister-in-law informed me of the meeting. I immediately turned out
my horses and started for the schoolhouse without waiting for supper.
On my way I prayed most sincerely that the Lord would give me His
spirit, and that if these men were the servants of God I might know it,
and that my heart might be prepared to receive the divine message they
had to deliver.

"When I reached the place of meeting, I found the house already packed.
My brother Azmon was there before I arrived. He was equally eager to
hear what these men had to say. I crowded my way through the assembly
and seated myself upon one of the writing desks where I could see and
hear everything that took place.

"Elder Pulsipher opened with prayer. He knelt down and asked the Lord
in the name of Jesus Christ for what he wanted. His manner of prayer
and the influence which went with it impressed me greatly. The spirit
of the Lord rested upon me and bore witness that he was a servant
of God. After singing, he preached to the people for an hour and a
half. The spirit of God rested mightily upon him and he bore a strong
testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon and of the
mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I believed all that he said. The
spirit bore witness of its truth. Elder Cheney then arose and added his
testimony to the truth of the words of Elder Pulsipher.

"Liberty was then given by the elders to any one in the congregation
to arise and speak for or against what they had heard as they might
choose. Almost instantly I found myself upon my feet. The spirit of the
Lord urged me to bear testimony to the truth of the message delivered
by these elders. I exhorted my neighbors and friends not to oppose
these men; for they were the true servants of God. They had preached
to us that night the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. When I sat down, my
brother Azmon arose and bore a similar testimony. He was followed by
several others."

No more beautiful illustration of the manner in which this new message
found its way into the homes of thousands of people could be given than
that taken from the quotations herein given. The power of an elder's
testimony has borne down upon {34} the souls of men and women until
like the Saints of old they have exclaimed: "Men and brethren, what
shall we do." The spirit of this meeting was not only convincing, but
controlling in its power. No man arose to say nay. If there were present
in that meeting a spirit of dissent, opposition, or hatred, it was
quelled and silenced by the power of God manifested in the testimonies
of those humble men.

The Woodruff brothers were aroused to a spirit of investigation. They
were full of hope and of grand expectations. They wanted to harmonize
the new message with the word of God as pronounced in Holy Writ. They
had rested heretofore their faith upon its teachings. In all matters
religious, it had been their supreme guide. They were anxious to know
more, and therefore took the elders with them to their home and sat up
late that night conversing upon the principles of the gospel.

Wilford began at once to read the Book of Mormon. "As I did so," he
writes, "the spirit bore witness that the record which it contained
was true. I opened my eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my heart to
understand. I also opened my doors to entertain the servants of God."
He at once became a living witness to the truth of the promise made
in that book that whoso should read it with a prayerful heart should
have a witness of its truth, and whoso should receive the record and
not condemn it because of the imperfections which might appear in its
language should know greater things to come. The spirit of that book
brought divine harmony to his soul so wonderfully attuned to the spirit
and language of the Bible.

Those were days of grand opportunities for a soul that had been so long
in a state of hunger and thirst after righteousness. The new message
brought to him a new enthusiasm. On the 30th of the month, Wilford and
the elders called upon Noah Holton, a preacher of the Freewill Baptist
denomination, whose daughter was very ill. After listening to the
elders for some time, Mr. Holton made a solemn covenant to go forward
and be baptized if the Lord would heal his daughter. The elders laid
their hands upon her and she was healed by the power of God.

It was not a time for delay. These brothers had long waited for the
message which had now brought the glorious tidings of a divine call.
They would not delay obedience to those ordinances {35} which opened
the door to the enjoyment of greater light. They asked for baptism at
the hands of the elders. On December 31st, the last day of the year,
1833, there assembled at the water's edge about 11 o'clock in the
morning a large number of people who witnessed the baptism of Wilford
Woodruff by Zera Pulsipher. There were baptized at the same time his
brother Azmon, also two young ladies who had been healed the day
before. Of this circumstance he writes in his journal: "The snow was
about three feet deep, the day was cold, and the water was mixed with
ice and snow, yet I did not feel the cold."

There was a public meeting held that night by candle-light and a large
congregation assembled; but unlike the meeting that was first held,
there was a spirit of opposition. After explaining to the people the
ordinance of the laying on of hands, the elders confirmed Wilford and
his companions members of the Church by the laying on of hands for the
gift of the Holy Ghost. Speaking of this meeting he says: "There was a
good deal of darkness in the room; but when the congregation dispersed,
the people took away with them that darkness. The Holy Ghost fell
upon us and we had a time of great rejoicing. The next day, January
1st, 1834, my brother Azmon reproached Noah Holton for his tardiness
in receiving the gospel after he had made a covenant to obey it on
condition that his daughter be healed. Holton received the warning and
was baptized."

The story of Wilford Woodruff's conversion was simply a continuation of
the life carefully prepared to receive the new message, and to embrace
in all sincerity the truth which it contained. What a similarity of
experience is found in the lives of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Heber
C. Kimball, John Taylor, and indeed thousands of Latter-day Saints! It
was the same spirit of inquiry, the same profound and heartfelt desire
to know the whole truth of God's existence and His divine purpose
respecting the children of men. The truth is, the new spirit of a
coming dispensation was upon them. Their hearts were strongly inclined
to worship. They were eager to know how they should worship; for they
saw in the religious contentions of those days a spirit strange to the
teachings of the Bible. They were in very truth, "Sheep who knew the
shepherd's voice and a stranger they would not follow."

{36} There is something beautiful in the ambitions of Wilford Woodruff
throughout a long life of great service. He was ambitious to know the
will of God and to be worthy of Divine approbation. If he could only
be an active worker in the Church of Christ; if the Lord would only
receive him into Divine service, his ambitions would be realized.

On January 25th, 1834, Elder Pulsipher organized the Saints in Richland
into a branch of the Church. He ordained Wilford Woodruff to the
office of a teacher and gave him a written license which embodied the
certificate of his baptism and his ordination. "I felt," he writes,
"that I could truly exclaim with the prophet of God, 'I had rather be
a door-keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness.' The fulness of the everlasting gospel had come at last. It
filled my heart with great joy. It laid the foundation of a greater and
more glorious work than I ever expected to see in this life. I pray God
in the name of Jesus Christ to guide my future life, that I may live to
His honor and glory, and be a blessing to my fellowmen, and in the end
be saved in His celestial kingdom, even so, Amen."

{37}



CHAPTER 6.

ZION'S CAMP, 1834.

His First Call.--Leaves for Kirtland.--His Neighbors' Warning.--First
Meeting with Prophet.--A Remarkable Prophetic Gift.--Zion's
Camp.--Zelph.--Escape Mob at Fishing River.--Epidemic of Cholera.--His
Residence in Missouri.--Consecrations.

Perhaps no man in the Church ever felt more profoundly the truth of
the words, "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform,"
than Wilford Woodruff. He was so intensely spiritual, so completely
devoted to the service of God, that all through his life the miraculous
manifestations of God's purposes were abundantly given. He had never
based his faith upon miracles, they merely confirmed what he believed
with all his heart and supported his ideas of the teachings of Holy
Writ.

Confirming the divine power which attended his baptism, the words of
the Prophet Joseph contained in George Q. Cannon's history are here
given: "In view of all that has since occurred, it is a remarkable
fact that the Prophet recorded in his journal of the 31st of December,
1833, the fact that 'Wilford Woodruff was baptized at Richland, Oswego
County, New York, by Zera Pulsipher,' and this was before the Prophet
and the future apostle and president had ever met in the flesh. This
is not the only mention of Wilford Woodruff in Joseph's diary prior
to their meeting. In one place the Prophet notices that Wilford had
been ordained a teacher. It was the 25th day of April, 1834, when
Wilford Woodruff visited the Prophet at Kirtland, and from that time
on until Joseph's death they were intimately associated. It was clear
that Joseph felt the staunch worthiness of his young brother, and in
relying upon him, the Prophet was leaning upon no weak or broken reed;
for Wilford Woodruff had then and has ever since shown the fidelity
of a Saint, and the integrity and prophetic power of an apostle of
Jesus Christ. He was one of the most faithful of all the men who were
gathered near to the Prophet's person, to share his trials and his
confidences. Wilford Woodruff never made any attempt to cultivate
showy qualities, and yet he was always marked among his fellows; his
characteristic humility and unswerving honesty being sufficient to
attract {38} the attention of all who have known him. His is another of
the names to be recorded with that of Joseph, and it is worthy to stand
side by side with the names of Brigham Young and John Taylor, for he
was as loyal to them as he and they were to Joseph, the first prophet
of this dispensation."

From the outset, the subject of this biography became a most ardent
worker in the cause he had espoused. He was ordained a teacher and
found immediate opportunity to give expression to his intense desire
to declare his belief in the purposes of his Maker. He and the Brother
Holton herein mentioned, shortly after their baptism, walked sixty-five
miles to Fabius to hold a meeting.

Events of far-reaching importance were rapidly closing in upon him.
On the 1st of April, Elders Parley P. Pratt and Harry Brown arrived
at Richland. They were there on an important mission. They were in
search of young and able-bodied men in the eastern branches of the
Church--young men whose services were needed in Zion's Camp, and
organization which at that time was being effected for the purpose of
assisting in the redemption of Zion, and of carrying supplies to the
suffering Saints who had been expelled by mob violence from their homes
in Jackson County, Missouri.

This was the first time Wilford Woodruff had met Parley P. Pratt, to
whose instructions he listened with great interest and attention, and
says he was greatly edified by what he had to say. Elder Pratt informed
him that it was his duty to prepare himself to go up to the land of
Zion. He accordingly settled up his business affairs, and bade good-bye
to his brother and kinsfolk in Richland.

On April 11th Wilford took Harry Brown and Warren Ingles in his wagon
and started with them for Kirtland, Ohio. On the way he met for the
first time Elders Orson Pratt and John Murdock. They all arrived in
Kirtland April 25th, 1834. Before he left Richland, many of his friends
and neighbors warned him not to go, and declared that if he did go, he
would be killed. He replied that the Lord had commanded him, and that
he would go; that he had no fears of any evil consequences as long as
he obeyed the Lord.

He gives an account of his first meeting with the Prophet {39} as
follows: "Here for the first time in my life I met and had an interview
with our beloved Prophet Joseph Smith, the man whom God had chosen to
bring forth His revelations in these last days. My first introduction
was not of a kind to satisfy the preconceived notions of the sectarian
mind as to what a prophet ought to be, and how he should appear. It
might have shocked the faith of some men. I found him and his brother
Hyrum out shooting at a mark with a brace of pistols. When they stopped
shooting, I was introduced to Brother Joseph, and he shook hands with
me most heartily. He invited me to make his habitation my home while I
tarried in Kirtland. This invitation I most eagerly accepted, and was
greatly edified and blest during my stay with him. He asked me to help
him tan a wolfskin which he said he wished to use upon the seat of his
wagon on the way to Missouri. I pulled off my coat, stretched the skin
across the back of a chair, and soon had it tanned--although I had to
smile at my first experience with the Prophet.

"That night we had a most enjoyable and profitable time in his home. In
conversation, he smote his hand upon his breast and said, 'I would to
God I could unbosom my feelings in the house of my friends.' He said
in relation to Zion's Camp, 'Brethren, don't be discouraged about our
not having means. The Lord will provide, and He will put it into the
heart of somebody to send me some money.' The very next day he received
a letter from Sister Vose, containing one hundred and fifty dollars.
When he opened the letter and took out the money, he held it up and
exclaimed: 'See here, did I not tell you the Lord would send me some
money to help us on our journey? Here it is.' I felt satisfied that
Joseph was a Prophet of God in very deed."

Prior to his departure with Zion's Camp, Wilford Woodruff became
acquainted with many leading men and private members of the Church,
some of whom were destined to be his co-laborers throughout subsequent
years of his life. Besides the Prophet, the patriarch and their
families, he became acquainted with Brigham Young, Orson Hyde, Milton
Holmes, Sidney Rigdon, and many others whose names occur in the early
history of the Church.

"I passed one Sabbath in Kirtland," he writes, "and heard many of the
elders speak. I rejoiced before God because of the light and knowledge
which were manifested to me during that {40} day. The first day of May,
1834, was appointed for the Camp of Zion to start from Kirtland. Only a
few of those composing the Camp were ready.

"The Prophet asked those who were ready, to go as far as New Portage
and there await the arrival of those who would follow later. I left in
company with about twenty men with baggage wagons. At night we pitched
our tents. Climbing to the top of the hill, I looked down upon the Camp
of Israel. There I knelt upon the ground and prayed. I rejoiced and
praised the Lord that I had lived to see some of the tents of Israel
pitched, and a company gathered by the commandment of God to go up and
help to redeem Zion.

"We remained at New Portage until the 6th when we were joined by the
Prophet and eighty-five more men. The day before their arrival, while
passing through the village of Middlebury, the people tried to count
them, but the Lord multiplied them in the eyes of those people so that
those who counted them said there were four hundred.

"On the 7th, the Prophet Joseph organized the Camp which consisted
of about one hundred and thirty men. The day following we continued
our journey. We pitched our tents at night and had prayers night and
morning. The Prophet gave us our instructions every day. We were nearly
all young men brought together from all parts of the country, and were
therefore strangers to each other. We soon became acquainted and had
a happy time in each others association. It was a great school for us
to be led by a Prophet of God a thousand miles through cities, towns,
villages, and through the wilderness. When persons stood up to count
us, they could not tell how many we numbered. Some said five hundred,
others, a thousand. Many were astonished as we passed through their
towns. One lady ran to the door, pushed her spectacles to the top of
her head, raised her hands and exclaimed: 'What under heavens has
broken loose.' She stood in that position the last I saw of her.

"During our travels we visited many mounds thrown up by the ancient
inhabitants, the Nephites and Lamanites. This morning, June 3rd, we
went on to a high mound near the river. From the summit we could
overlook the tops of the trees as far as we could see. The scenery was
truly beautiful. On the summit of {41} the mound were stones which
presented the appearance of three altars, they having been erected, one
above the other, according to the ancient order of things. Human bones
were seen upon the ground. Brother Joseph requested us to dig into the
mound; we did so; and in about one foot we came to the skeleton of
a man, almost entire, with an arrow sticking in his backbone. Elder
Milton Holmes picked it out, and brought it into the Camp, with one
of the leg bones, which had been broken. I brought the thigh bone to
Missouri. I desired to bury it in the Temple Block in Jackson County;
but not having this privilege, I buried it in Clay County, Missouri,
near the house owned by Col. Arthur and occupied by Lyman Wight."

The arrowhead referred to is now in the possession of President Joseph
F. Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah.

"Brother Joseph," continues Wilford, "feeling anxious to learn
something of this man, asked the Lord, and received an open vision.
The man's name was Zelph. He was a white Lamanite, the curse having
been removed because of his righteousness. He was a great warrior, and
fought for the Nephites under the direction of the Prophet Onandagus.
The latter had charge of the Nephite armies from the Eastern sea to
the Rocky Mountains. Although the Book of Mormon does not mention
Onandagus, he was a great warrior, leader, general, and prophet. Zelph
had his thigh bone broken by a stone thrown from a sling, but was
killed by the arrow found sticking in his backbone. There was a great
slaughter at that time. The bodies were heaped upon the earth, and
buried in the mound, which is nearly three hundred feet in height.

"The Lord delivered Israel in the days of Moses by dividing the Red
Sea, so they went over dry shod. When their enemies tried to do the
same, the water closed upon the latter and they were drowned. The Lord
delivered Zion's Camp from their enemies on the 19th of June, 1834, by
piling up the waters in Fishing River forty feet in one night, so our
enemies could not cross. He also sent a great hailstorm, which broke
them up and sent them seeking for shelter. James Campbell, who had
threatened the life of the Prophet and his brethren, was drowned, with
six others, the same night, after his threat. His body was washed down
the stream, and was eaten by eagles and turkey-buzzards."

{42} The people of Richmond, Missouri, declared the Camp should not
pass through that city; but on the morning of the 19th, before the
people were up, the brethren passed through unmolested. "We intended
to enter Clay County that day, but the Lord knew best what was for our
good," says Wilford, "and so began to hinder our progress. One wheel
broke down, another ran off, and one thing after another hindered us so
that we had to camp between two forks of Fishing River. Five armed men
soon rode up, and told us that large companies of men from Jackson and
Clay Counties, and other parts, would be upon us before morning, and
were sworn to encompass our destruction.

"Shortly after these five men left us, a small cloud arose, and spread
with great rapidity, until the whole heavens gathered blackness, and
a mighty storm burst forth with fury upon our enemies. If the Camp
had not been hindered, they would have crossed into Clay County, and
would have been at the mercy of the mob. Thus the Lord, in a marvelous
manner, preserved the lives of His servants. Colonel Sconce, who came
into the Camp the next day, with several leading men, said that surely
Jehovah fought the battles of Joseph and his followers."

The Prophet addressed the visitors at some length, and recounted the
wrongs heaped upon the Saints in Missouri. His address touched the
hearts of the visitors, bringing tears to their eyes. They promised to
do all they could to allay the prejudice of the people. It appears from
Wilford Woodruff's journal that they kept their word, and rode through
the country endeavoring to allay the excitement.

"Previous to this event," says Wilford, "Elders Hyrum Smith and Lyman
Wight had joined the Camp with a company of volunteers from Michigan.
The Camp now consisted of two hundred and five men and twenty-five
baggage wagons. Lyman Wight was made commander-in-chief. Joseph
appointed twenty men to be his body-guard; Hyrum Smith was captain, and
George A. Smith armor-bearer.

"The Camp of Zion arrived at Brother Burk's, in Clay County, Missouri
on the 24th of June, 1834. We pitched our tents on his premises. He
told some of the brethren of my company that he had a spare room which
some of us might occupy if we would clean it. Our company accepted the
offer; and, fearing {43} that some other company would get it first,
we left all other business and went to work, cleaned out the room, and
immediately spread down our blankets, so as to hold a right to the
room. It was but a short time afterwards that our brethren who were
attacked by cholera were brought in and laid upon our beds. None of us
ever used those blankets again, for they were buried with the dead; so
we gained nothing but experience by our selfishness, and we lost our
bedding.

"When the cholera broke out in Camp, Joseph attempted to rebuke it,
but was shown by the Lord that when He sends a judgment man must not
attempt to stay it. (Joseph returned to me the sword which I had given
him, and it still remains in my family as a relic of that expedition.)
Those who died in Zion's Camp were A. S. Gilbert, John S. Carter, Eber
Wilcox, Seth Hitchcock, Erastus Rudd, Alfred Frisk, Edward Jones, Noah
Johnson, Jesse B. Lawson, Robert McCord, Eliel Strong, Jesse Smith,
Betsey Parrish, and Warren Ingles.

"The Prophet called the brethren together at Lyman Wight's and told
them the cholera had been sent in fulfillment of his prediction. Nearly
all had suffered from it, and fourteen had died. Joseph said that if we
would now humble ourselves, the cholera would be stayed. We covenanted
with uplifted hands to keep the commandments of God, and the cholera
was stayed from that hour; not another case appeared among the Saints.

"The journey of Zion's Camp to Missouri was necessarily one of trial
and hardship. Several of the brethren murmured, and found fault. Joseph
prophesied that a scourge would come upon the Camp, and it came in the
form of cholera, thirteen of the brethren being stricken in death.
During the journey, when brethren would have killed the serpents which
at times came into the tents and coiled up near the beds, the Prophet
taught his brethren the beautiful principle that men themselves must
become harmless before they can expect the brute creation to be so.
When man shall lose his own vicious disposition and cease to destroy
the inferior animals, the lion and the lamb may dwell together, and the
suckling child play with the serpent in safety."

In all the trials incident to the journey, Wilford Woodruff never
murmured. He was a staunch supporter of the Prophet Joseph in all the
latter's counsels and desires, and was so wrapt {44} in the spirit of
his calling and labor that it is doubtful if a thought of trial or
hardship ever entered his mind. This was characteristic of his entire
life. He never undertook a labor assigned him by the Lord and wished
he had not undertaken it. When he put his hand to the plough, he never
turned back.

After the disbanding of Zion's Camp a great trial came to him. He was
a devoted lover of his parents, brothers, and sisters, and had a deep
interest in their salvation. Since he left New York, his brother Azmon
had become disaffected, and wrote a long letter finding fault with
the proceedings of the Church, endeavoring to turn Wilford from his
course. The effect upon Wilford, however, was a deep sorrow for his
brother, and a stronger determination on his own part to live the life
of a Latter-day Saint. He answered his brother's letter, explained the
fallacy of the latter's arguments and complaints, warned him against
opposing the Church, exhorted him to repent, and bore a solemn and
unswerving testimony to the divinity of the calling and the upright,
honorable course of life of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

The Prophet advised all the young men with Zion's Camp who had no
families to stay in Missouri, and not return to Kirtland. "Not having
any family," says Wilford, "I stopped with Lyman Wight, as did also
Milton Holmes and Heman Hyde. We spent the summer together, laboring
hard, cutting wheat, quarrying rock, making brick, or at anything else
we could find to do. The Prophet organized the Saints in Zion, with a
presidency of three, and a high council. On the 17th of July, 1834, he
met the authorities of the Church at Lyman Wight's, where he gave us
many glorious instructions, he being clothed with the power of God. He
ordained the presidency and the twelve high councilors. All present
voted, with uplifted hands, to sustain the Prophet and the authorities
of Zion. We had a glorious time. This was the last meeting I ever
attended with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the State of Missouri."

Wilford Woodruff continued to attend faithfully to all of his religious
duties. Illustrative of his zeal and earnestness is his action relative
to what property he possessed. Notwithstanding the Saints had been
dispossessed of their homes in their central city of Zion, where they
had endeavored to carry out the principle of consecration, and were now
in a broken and scattered {45} condition, Wilford desired to comply
with every law relative to Zion. On December 31, 1834, he consecrated
to the Lord all his earthly possessions. "Believing it to be the duty
of the Latter-day Saints," he writes, "to consecrate and dedicate all
their property, with themselves, unto God in order to become lawful
heirs to the celestial Kingdom of God, I therefore, with this view,
consecrated all I had (though but little) before Edward Partridge, the
Presiding Bishop of the Church, in Clay County, Missouri, in this form:
'Be it known that I, Wilford Woodruff, do freely covenant with my God,
that I freely consecrate and dedicate myself, together with all my
properties and effects, unto the Lord, for the purpose of assisting in
the building up of His Kingdom and His Zion upon the earth, that I may
keep His law. I lay all before the Bishop of His Church, that I may be
a lawful heir to the celestial Kingdom of God.'"

The whole life of Wilford Woodruff shows that he would have been
willing to do the same thing at any time, for the same purpose, even
though his possessions could have been counted by the millions. He was
whole-souled, and wholly given up to the service of his God and the
welfare of His people.

{46}



CHAPTER 7.

MISSION TO SOUTHERN STATES, 1834-1836.

A Prayerful Ambition to Preach.--Departure on Mission to
Southern States.--Traveling without Purse or Scrip.--Treatment
Received from Minister.--Tribulations.--A remarkable Dream.--Its
Fulfillment.--Preaching in Memphis.--Ordained an Elder.--Successful
Labors.--Ordained a Seventy.--A Mob Court.--Return to Kirtland.

After Wilford Woodruff received the gospel, he felt an intense desire
to deliver in turn the same message that had brought him such joy, such
assurance, such satisfaction in the service of the Master. The message
that came to him was the most glorious event of his life, and it is
quite natural that he should wish to be a messenger of the same divine
truth to others. The talents with which he had been endowed by his
Maker awakened within him those hopes, aspirations, and ambitions that
were in harmony with those gifts which were peculiar to the man. His
talents made him pre-eminently a messenger of salvation to the world.
It is no wonder that he was prompted by a heartfelt desire to bestow
upon others that which had come with such joy and with such abundance
to him.

He wanted to go on a mission, but felt that he should be called, and
yet he sincerely believed that the Lord would prompt those whose duty
it was to bestow upon him such an honor, such a privilege. He retired
to the woods in prayer. There upon his knees in humility and childlike
simplicity, he told the Lord his wishes and his hopes. He asked Him,
if it was within His holy will, that the way might be opened for him
to preach the gospel in the world. "Before I arose from my knees," he
says, "the spirit of the Lord rested upon me and bore witness that my
prayer was heard and should be answered upon my head. I arose very
happy and walked through thick woods about forty rods into an open
road. As I entered the roadway, I met Judge Elias Higbee. Brother
Hibgee was a high priest and a very faithful man, one of the noblest
men of God in the last days. I had associated with him daily, but never
mentioned to him my desire to preach the gospel. To my surprise, as
soon as I approached {47} him he said: 'Brother Wilford, the spirit
of the Lord tells me that you should be ordained to go and preach the
gospel.'"

A few days later, on the 5th of November, 1834, by vote of the branch
of the Church at Adam-ondi-Ahman, Wilford Woodruff was ordained a
priest by Simeon Carter who also ordained Stephen Winchester and Heman
Hyde at the same meeting. He received his license and by appointment
of Bishop Partridge was assigned to Arkansas and Tennessee. In eight
days he left to perform his mission, to be one of the very foremost in
introducing the gospel into the Southern States--a section of the Union
where, since then, so many thousands have received the gospel and have
been gathered to Zion. His faith had been great. The spirit of the Lord
rested upon him and his prayers were promptly answered.

His stay in Missouri after his arrival there with Zion's Camp was not
of long duration. The Saints had been driven from Jackson County and
were busily occupied in building up new communities in other counties.
He was then a young man without a family, and though actively engaged
in every kind of work peculiar to the conditions of those times, he was
free for almost any kind of service that might be required of him. The
spirit of the man, however, was that of the missionary; and the spirit
was so strong within him that he found satisfaction only when the
opportunity came to give expression to his fellow-men of the testimony
which had brought such consolation to his own life.

"The law of God to us in those days," says Wilford in his journal, "was
to go without purse or scrip. Our journey lay through Jackson County,
from which the Saints had just been driven, and it was dangerous for
a Mormon to be found in that part of the state. We put some Books of
Mormon and some clothing into our valises, strapped these on our backs,
and started on foot. We crossed the ferry into Jackson County, and went
through it. In some instances the Lord preserved us, as it were by
miracle, from the mob. We dared not go to houses and get food, so we
picked and ate raw corn, slept on the ground, and did any way we could
until we got out of the county.

"We dared not preach while in that county, and we did little preaching
in the state of Missouri. The first time I attempted to preach was on
Sunday, in a tavern, in the early part of {48} December, 1834. It was
snowing at the time, and the room was full of people. As I commenced to
speak, the landlord opened the door, and the snow blew on the people;
when I inquired the object of having the door opened in a snowstorm, he
informed me he wanted some light on the subject. I found that it was
the custom of the country. How much good I did in that sermon I never
knew, and probably never shall know until I meet that congregation in
judgment.

"In the southern part of Missouri and the northern part of Arkansas,
in 1834, there were very few inhabitants. We visited a place called
Harmony Mission, on the Osage River, one of the most crooked rivers
in the West. This mission was kept by a Presbyterian minister and his
family. We arrived there on Sunday night at sunset. We had walked all
day without anything to eat, and were very hungry and tired. Neither
the minister nor his wife would give us anything to eat, or let us stay
over night, because we were Mormons, and the only chance we had was
to go twelve miles farther down the river, to an Osage Indian trading
post kept by a Frenchman named Jereu; and the wicked priest who would
not give us a piece of bread lied to us about the road, and sent us
across the swamp, where we wallowed knee-deep in mud and water till ten
o'clock at night, in trying to follow the crooked river. We then left
the swamp and put out into the prairie, to lie in the grass for the
night.

"When we got out of the swamp, we heard an Indian drumming on a tin
pail and singing. It was very dark, but we traveled toward the noise,
and when we drew near the Indian camp quite a number of large Indian
dogs came out to meet us. They smelled us, but did not bark or bite.
Soon we were surrounded by Osage Indians, and were kindly received by
Mr. Jereu and his wife who was an Indian. She gave us an excellent
supper and a good bed, which we were thankful for after the fatigue of
the day.

"As I laid my head upon my pillow, I felt to thank God from the
bottom of my heart for the exchange from the barbarous treatment of
a civilized Presbyterian priest to the humane, kind, and generous
treatment of the savage Osage Indians. May God reward them both
according to their deserts!

"We arose in the morning, after a good night's rest. I was somewhat
lame, from wading in the swamp the night before. {49} We had a good
breakfast. Mr. Jereu sent an Indian to see us across the river, and
informed us that it was sixty miles to the nearest settlement of either
white or red men.

"We were too bashful to ask for anything to take with us to eat; so
we crossed the river and started on our day's journey of sixty miles
without a morsel of food of any kind. We started about sunrise and
crossed a thirty-mile prairie, apparently as level as a house floor,
without shrub or water. We arrived at timber about two o'clock in the
afternoon.

"As we approached the timber, a large black bear came out towards us.
We were not afraid of him, for we were on the Lord's business, and had
not mocked God's prophets as did the forty-two wicked children who said
to Elisha, 'Go up thou bald head,' for which they were torn by bears.
When the bear got within eight rods of us he sat on his haunches,
looked at us a moment, and ran away; and we went on our way rejoicing.

"We had to travel in the night, which was cloudy and very dark, so we
had great difficulty to keep the road. Soon a large drove of wolves
gathered around, and followed us. They came very close, and at times it
seemed as though they would eat us up. We had materials for striking a
light, and at ten o'clock, not knowing where we were, and the wolves
becoming so bold, we thought it wisdom to make a fire; so we stopped
and gathered a lot of oak limbs that lay on the ground, and lit them,
and as our fire began to burn the wolves left us.

"As we were about to lay down on the ground--for we had no blankets--we
heard a dog bark. My companion said it was a wolf; I said it was a
dog; but soon we heard a cowbell. Then we each took a firebrand, went
about a quarter of a mile, and found the house, which was sixty miles
from where we started that morning. It was an old log cabin, about
twelve feet square, with no door, but an old blanket was hung up in the
door-way. There was no furniture except one bedstead, upon which lay a
woman, several children, and several small dogs.

"A man lay on the bare floor with his feet to the fireplace, and all
were asleep. I went in and spoke to the man, but did not wake him. I
stepped up to him, and laid my hand on his shoulder. The moment he felt
the weight of my hand he jumped to his feet and ran around the room as
though he were {50} frightened; but he was quieted when we informed him
we were friends. The cause of his fright was that he had shot a panther
a few nights before, and he thought its mate had jumped upon him. He
asked us what we wanted; we told him we wished to stop with him all
night, and would like something to eat. He informed us we might lie
on the floor as he did, but that he had not a mouthful for us to eat,
as he had to depend on his gun to get breakfast for his family in the
morning. So we lay on the bare floor, and slept through a long, rainy
night, which was pretty hard after walking sixty miles without anything
to eat. That was the hardest day's work of my life. The man's name was
Williams. He was in the mob in Jackson County; and after the Saints
were driven out, he, with many others, went south.

"We got up in the morning and walked in the rain twelve miles to the
house of a man named Bemon, who was also one of the mob from Jackson
County. The family were about to sit down to breakfast as we came in.
In those days it was the custom of the Missourians to ask you to eat
even though they were hostile to you; so he asked us to take breakfast,
and we were very glad of the invitation. He knew we were Mormons; and
as soon as we began to eat, he began to swear about the Mormons. He had
a large platter of bacon and eggs, and plenty of bread on the table,
and his swearing did not hinder our eating, for the harder he swore the
harder we ate, until we got our stomachs full; then we arose from the
table, took our hats, and thanked him for our breakfast. The last we
heard of him he was still swearing. I trust the Lord will reward him
for our breakfast.

"In the early days of the Church, it was a great treat to an elder in
his travels through the country to find a Mormon; it was so with us. We
were hardly in Arkansas when we heard of a family named Akeman. They
were in Jackson County in the persecutions. Some of the sons had been
tied up there and whipped on their bare backs, with hickory switches,
by the mob. We heard of their living on Petit Jean River, in the
Arkansas Territory, and we went a long way to visit them.

"Recently there had been heavy rains, and a creek that we had to cross
was swollen to a rapid stream of eight rods in width. There was no
person living nearer than two miles from the crossing, and no boat. The
people living at the last house {51} on the road, some three miles from
the crossing said we would have to tarry till the water fell before
we could cross. Feeling to trust in God, we did not stop. Just as we
arrived at the rolling flood, a negro, on a powerful horse, entered the
stream on the opposite side and rode through it. On making our wants
known to him, he took us, one at a time, behind him and carried us
safely over, and we went on our way rejoicing.

"We arrived that night within five miles of Mr. Akeman's, and were
kindly entertained by a stranger. During the night I had the following
dream: I thought an angel came to us, and told us we were commanded of
the Lord to follow a certain straight path, which was pointed out to
us, let it lead us wherever it might. After we had walked in it awhile
we came to the door of a house, which was in the line of a high wall
running north and south, so that we could not go around. I opened the
door and saw the room was filled with large serpents, and I shuddered
at the sight. My companion said he would not go into the room for fear
of the serpents. I told him I would try to go through the room though
they killed me, for the Lord commanded it. As I stepped into the room
the serpents coiled themselves up, and raised their heads some two
feet from the floor, to spring at me. There was one much larger than
the rest, in the center of the room, which raised his head nearly as
high as mine and made a spring at me. At that instant I felt as though
nothing but the power of God could save me, and I stood still. Just
before the serpent reached me he dropped dead at my feet; all the
rest dropped dead, swelled up, turned black, bust open, took fire and
were consumed before my eyes, and we went through the room unharmed,
thanking God for our deliverance.

"I awoke in the morning and pondered upon the dream. We took breakfast,
and started on our journey on Sunday morning to visit Mr. Akeman. I
related to my companion my dream, and told him we should see something
strange. We had great anticipations of meeting Mr. Akeman, supposing
him to be a member of the Church. When we arrived at his house, he
received us very coldly, and we soon found that he had apostatized.
He brought railing accusations against the Book of Mormon and the
authorities of the Church.

"Word was sent through all the settlements on the river for {52} twenty
miles that two Mormon preachers were in the place. A mob was soon
raised, and warning sent to us to leave immediately or we would be
tarred and feathered, ridden on a rail, and hanged. I soon saw who the
serpents were. My companion wanted to leave; I told him, no. I would
stay and see my dream fulfilled.

"There was an old gentleman and lady named Hubbel, who had read the
Book of Mormon and believed. Father Hubbel came to see us, and invited
us to make our home with him while we stayed in the place. We did so,
and labored for him some three weeks with our axes, clearing land,
while we were waiting to see the salvation of God.

"February 14th, 1835, was an important day to me. In company with
Brother Brown, I took my axe went into the woods to help Brother
Hubbel clear some land. We chopped till 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
The spirit of the Lord came upon me like a rushing of mighty wind.
The voice of the spirit said, 'Go up again and visit Mr. Akeman and
again bear testimony to him of the truth of the Book of Mormon and of
the work of God.' I marveled at this and told Brother Brown what the
spirit said to me. He replied that I might go if I wished to do so,
but that he would not go. I carried my ax to the house and walked up
to Mr. Akeman's about one and a half miles through a pleasant grove.
While on my way I reflected upon this strange operation of the spirit
within me. I was in a deep, gloomy frame of mind and thought. As I
approached the house I saw the door open and Mr. Akeman walking the
floor. I felt particularly impressed to ask if he was well. He said he
never felt better in health. I told him I had come to bear testimony
again to him of the truth of the Book of Mormon and of the work of God
and of the danger of opposing that work. He was soon filled with wrath
and indignation and he opposed me in the strongest terms and raged
against the leaders of the Church. My mouth was more closed up than
ever before. I felt that the house was filled with devils and with an
awful darkness. I felt horrible. I did not understand why the Lord
should send me into the midst of such spirits to bear testimony of his
work. I felt very strange. My tongue seemed glued to my mouth. I could
not {53} speak. I arose to my feet to leave the house. I felt as though
the floor moved under my feet and when I stepped upon the ground I felt
as though I was surrounded by evil spirits. I had a desire to flee
as Lot did when he went out of Sodom, without looking behind me. Mr.
Akeman followed me out of the door and kept within about four rods of
me. Neither of us spoke a word. I knew he was following, but when he
was about four rods from the house, the strange feeling left me. When
Mr. Akeman reached the place where my feelings so instantly changed, he
fell dead at my feet as though he had been struck with a thunderbolt
from heaven. I heard him fall to the earth, but I did not look behind
me. His daughter stood in the doorway and saw him fall. She fainted and
fell at about the same time. Neither of them spoke a word that I could
hear. I continued to walk down to Mr. Hubbel's as fast as I could,
meditating all the while upon the strange dealings of God with me. I
still did not know that Mr. Akeman was dead. I arrived at Mr. Hubbel's
just at dark in a peculiar state of mind. Supper was ready. We all sat
down to the table. The blessing was asked, and I took up my knife and
fork and began to eat, when I heard a horse coming up on the full ran.
I dropped my knife and fork and listened. A man rode up to our door and
cried out: 'Mr. Akeman is dead. I want you to go there immediately.' In
a moment my eyes were opened, so that I understood the whole matter.
I felt satisfied with the dealings of God with me in calling me to go
and warn him. As soon as his daughter, who fell to the ground about the
same time, came to her senses, she ran to her nearest brother and gave
the alarm.

"We walked up to Mr. Akeman's house as soon as we could. When we
arrived there, we found all his sons in the house around his body
wailing in an awful manner. He was naturally a large man, but his body
was swollen to a great extent. It appeared as though his skin were
ready to burst open. He was black as an African. We at once went to
work and made a large box in which to put him. I continued to think of
my dream, which I had had some time before the events here related took
place.

"His family, as well as ourselves, felt it was the judgment of God upon
him. I preached his funeral sermon. Many of the {54} mob died suddenly.
We stayed about two weeks after Akeman's death and preached, baptized
Mr. Hubbel and his wife, and then continued on our journey.

"We concluded to go down the Arkansas River and cross into Tennessee.
We could not get passage on the boat, because of the low water; so we
went on the bank of the river and cut down a sound cottonwood tree,
three feet through, and cut off a twelve foot length from the butt
end; in two days we dug out a canoe. We made a pair of oars and a
rudder, and on the 11th day of March, 1835, we launched our canoe, and
commenced our voyage down the Arkansas River, without provisions.

"The first day we sailed twenty-five miles, and stopped at night with a
poor family who lived on the bank of the river. These kind folks gave
us supper and breakfast, and, in the morning, gave us johnny-cake and a
piece of pork to take with us on our journey. We traveled about fifty
miles that day, and at night stopped at an old tavern, in a village
called Cadron, which was deserted because it was believed to be haunted
by evil spirits. We made a fire in the tavern, roasted a piece of our
pork, ate our supper, said our prayers, went into a chamber, lay down
on the bare floor, and were soon asleep. I dreamed I was at my father's
house in a good feather bed, and I had a good night's rest. When I
awoke the bed vanished, and I found myself on the bare floor and well
rested, not having been troubled with evil spirits or anything else.

"We thanked the Lord for His goodness to us, ate the remainder of our
provisions, and continued our journey down the river to Little Rock,
the capital of Arkansas, which then consisted of only a few cabins.
After visiting the place, we crossed the river and tied up our canoe,
which had carried us safely one hundred and fifty miles. We then took
the old military road leading from Little Rock to Memphis, Tennessee.
This road lay through swamps, and was covered with mud and water most
of the way for one hundred and seventy miles. We walked forty miles in
a day, through mud and water knee-deep.

"On the 24th of March, after traveling some ten miles through mud, I
was made lame with a sharp pain in my knee, and sat down on a log. My
companion, who was anxious to get to his home in Kirtland, left me
sitting in an alligator swamp. {55} I did not see him again for two
years. I knelt down in the mud and prayed, and the Lord healed me and I
went on my way rejoicing.

"On the 27th of March I arrived at Memphis, weary and hungry. I went
to the best tavern in the place, kept by Mr. Josiah Jackson. I told
him I was a stranger and had no money, and asked him if he would keep
me over night. He inquired what my business was, and I told him I was
a preacher of the gospel. He laughed and said that I did not look much
like a preacher. I did not blame him, as most of the preachers he ever
had been acquainted with rode on fine horses or in fine carriages,
dressed in broadcloth, had large salaries, and would likely see this
whole world sink to perdition before they would wade through one
hundred and seventy miles of mud to save the people.

"The landlord wanted a little fun, so said he would keep me if I would
preach. He wanted to see if I could preach. I must confess that by
this time I became a little mischievous, and pleaded with him not to
set me preaching. The more I pleaded to be excused the more determined
Mr. Jackson was that I should preach. He took my valise, and the
landlady got me a good supper. I sat down in a large hall to eat.
Before I got through, the room began to be filled by some of the rich
and fashionable people of Memphis, dressed in their broadcloth and
silk, while my appearance was such as you can imagine, after traveling
through the mud as I had done. When I had finished eating, the table
was carried out of the room over the heads of the people. I was placed
in the corner of the room, with a stand having a Bible, hymn book, and
candle on it, hemmed in by a dozen men, with the landlord in the center.

"There were present some five hundreds persons, who had come together,
not to hear a gospel sermon, but to have some fun. I read a hymn, and
asked them to sing. Not a soul would sing a word. I told them I had
not the gift of singing; but with the help of the Lord, I would both
pray and preach. I knelt down to pray, and the men around me dropped
on their knees. I prayed to the Lord to give me His spirit and to show
me the hearts of the people. I promised the Lord, in my prayer, that
I would deliver to that congregation whatever He would give to me. I
arose and spoke one hour and a half, and it was one of {56} the best
sermons of my life. The lives of the congregation were open to the
vision of my mind, and I told them of their wicked deeds and the reward
they would obtain. The men who surrounded me dropped their heads. Three
minutes after I closed, I was the only person in the room.

"Soon I was shown to a bed, in a room adjoining a large one in which
were assembled many of the men whom I had been preaching to. I could
hear their conversation. One man said he would like to know how that
Mormon boy knew of their past lives. In a little while they got to
disputing about some doctrinal point. One suggested calling me to
decide the point. The landlord said, 'No; we have had enough for once.'
In the morning, I had a good breakfast. The landlord said if I came
that way again to stop at his house, and stay as long as I might choose.

"After leaving Memphis, I traveled through the country to Benton
County, and preached on the way, as I had opportunity. I stopped one
night with a Squire Hardman, an Episcopalian. Most of the night was
spent by the family in music and dancing. In the morning, at the
breakfast table, Mr. Hardman asked me if we believed in music and
dancing. I told him we did not really consider them essential to
salvation. He said he did, and therefore should not join our Church.

"On the 4th of April, 1835, I had the happy privilege of meeting Elder
Warren Parrish at the house of Brother Frye. He had been preaching
in that part of Tennessee, in company with David W. Patten, and had
baptized a number of persons and organized several small branches.
Brother Patten had returned home, and Brother Parrish was laboring
alone. I joined him in the ministry, and we labored together three
months and nineteen days, when he was called to Kirtland. During
the time we were together, we traveled through several counties in
Tennessee for the distance of seven hundred and sixty miles, and
preached the gospel daily, as we had opportunity. We baptized some
twenty persons.

"By the counsel of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, Elder
Parrish ordained me an elder, and left me to take charge of the
branches that had been raised up in that neighborhood. As soon as I was
left alone I extended my circuit {57} and labors. For a season I had
large congregations; many seemed to believe, and I baptized a number.

"On the 15th of August I had an appointment at the house of Brother
Taylor, the step-father of Abraham O. Smoot. I had to cross Bloody
River, which I had to swim, in consequence of heavy rains. While
crossing, my horse became entangled in a tree-top, and almost drowned;
but I succeeded in getting him loose. We swam to the shore separately.
He reached the shore first, and waited till I came out. I got into the
saddle, went on my way in good spirits, and had a good meeting.

"On the 20th of October I baptized three Campbellites, one of whom was
a deacon. I then rode twelve miles to Mr. Green wood's, who was eighty
years old, and had been a soldier under General Washington. His wife,
who was ninety-three years old, I found quite smart, and busy carding
wool. I preached at their house and baptized both of them.

"On the following day I preached at the house of Benjamin L. Clapp, and
baptized seven Campbellites and one Baptist. On the 16th of November, I
preached at Brother Camp's, and baptized three. On the day following,
it being Sunday, I preached again at Brother Clapp's, and baptized five.

"At the close of the meeting I mounted my horse to ride to Clark's
River, in company with Seth Utley, four other brethren, and two
sisters. The distance was twenty miles. We came to a stream which
was so swollen by rains that we could not cross without swimming our
horses. To swim would not be safe for the women, so we went up the
stream to find a ford. In the attempt we were overtaken by a severe
storm of wind and rain, lost our way in the darkness, and wandered
through creeks and mud. But the Lord does not forsake His Saints in
any of their troubles. While we were in the woods suffering under the
blast of the storm, groping like the blind for the wall, a bright light
suddenly shone around us, and revealed to us our dangerous situation
on the edge of a gulf. The light continued with us until we found the
road; we then went on our way rejoicing, though the darkness returned
and the rain continued. We reached Brother Henry Thomas' in safety
about nine o'clock at night, having been five hours in the storm,
and forded streams many times. None of us felt to complain, but were
thankful to {58} God for His preserving care. On the following day I
preached at Damon Creek, and organized a branch called Damon Creek
Branch, and ordained Daniel Thomas a teacher.

"On the 19th of December I again preached at the house of Brother
Clapp, and baptized five persons; one was a Campbellite preacher. On
the following day I preached at the house of Brother Henry Thomas, when
a mob of about fifty persons collected, headed by a Baptist preacher,
who, after asking one question, advised the mob not to lay hands on any
man on account of his principles. The advice was good and well taken.
At the close of the meeting I baptized three persons, one seventy-eight
years old.

"This brings the year 1835 to a close--the first year of my
mission--during which time I had traveled three thousand two hundred
and forty-eight miles, held one hundred and seventy meetings, baptized
forty-three persons--three of whom were Campbellite preachers--assisted
Elder Parrish to baptize twenty more, confirmed thirty-five, organized
three branches, ordained two teachers and one deacon, procured
thirty subscribers for the Messenger and Advocate, one hundred and
seventy-three signers to the petition to the governor of Missouri for
redress of wrongs done the Saints in Jackson County, had three mobs
rise against me--but was not harmed--wrote eighteen letters, received
ten, and, finally, closed the labors of the year 1835 by eating johnny
cake, butter and honey, at Brother A. O. Smoot's.

"I spent the fore part of January, 1836, (the weather being very cold),
at the house of A. O. Smoot, in Kentucky, studying Kirkham's English
Grammar. I continued to travel and preach in Kentucky and Tennessee and
baptized all that would believe my testimony. On the 26th of February
we held a conference at the house of Brother Lewis Clapp (father of B.
L. Clapp). There were represented one hundred and three members in that
mission. I ordained A. O. Smoot and Benjamin Boyston elders, and Daniel
Thomas and Benjamin L. Clapp priests. I also ordained one teacher and
two deacons.

"After conference I took Brothers Smoot and Clapp with me to preach.
The former traveled with me constantly till the 21st of April, when
we had the privilege of meeting with Elder David W. Patten, who had
come direct from Kirtland, and who {59} had been ordained one of
the Twelve Apostles. It was a happy meeting. He gave us an account
of the endowments at Kirtland, the glorious blessings received, the
ministration of angels, the organization of the Twelve Apostles and
seventies, and informed me that I was appointed a member of the second
quorum of seventy. All this was glorious news to me, and caused my
heart to rejoice. On the 27th of May we were joined by Elder Warren
Parrish, direct from Kirtland. We had a happy time together.

"On the 28th, we held a conference at Brother Seth Utley's, where were
represented all the branches of the Church in the South. On the 31st
of May I was ordained a member of the second quorum of seventy, under
the hands of David W. Patten and Warren Parrish. At the close of the
conference we separated for a short time. Elders Patten and Parrish
labored in Tennessee, Brother Smoot and myself in Kentucky. On the 9th
of June we all met at Damon Creek Branch, where Brother Patten baptized
two. One was Father Henry Thomas, who had been a revolutionary war
soldier under General Washington, and was father of Daniel and Henry
Thomas.

"A warrant was issued, on the oath of a priest, against D. W. Patten,
W. Parrish and myself. We were accused in the warrant of the great
'crime' of testifying that Christ would come in this generation, and
that we promised the Holy Ghost to those whom we baptized. Brothers
Patten and Parrish were taken on the 19th of June. I, being in another
county, escaped arrest. The brethren were put under two thousand
dollars bonds to appear at court. Albert Petty and Seth Utley were
their bondsmen. They were tried on the 22nd of June. They pleaded
their own cause. Although men came forward and testified that they did
receive the Holy Ghost after they were baptized, the brethren were
condemned; but finally were released by paying the expenses of the mob
court.

"One peculiar circumstance was connected with this trial by a mob
court, which was armed to the teeth. When the trial was through, the
people were not willing to permit more than one to speak. Warren
Parrish had said a few words, and they were not willing to let David
Patten say anything; but he, feeling the injustice of the court,
and being filled with the power of {60} God, arose to his feet and
delivered a speech of about twenty minutes, holding them spell-bound
while he told them of their wickedness and of the abominations they
were guilty of, also of the curse of God that awaited them, if they
did not repent, and for taking up two harmless, inoffensive men for
preaching the gospel of Christ. When he had got through his speech
the judge said, 'You must be armed with secret weapons, or you would
not talk in this fearless manner to an armed court.' Brother Patten
replied, 'I have weapons that you know not of, and they are given me of
God, for He gives me all the power I have.' The judge seemed willing to
get rid of them upon almost any terms, and offered to dismiss them if
their friends would pay the costs, which the brethren present freely
offered to do.

"When the two were released, they mounted their horses and rode a mile
to Seth Utley's; but as soon as they had left, the court became ashamed
that they had been let go so easily, and the whole mob mounted their
horses to follow them to Utley's. One of the Saints, seeing the state
of affairs, went on before the mob to notify the brethren, so that they
had time to ride into the woods near by. They traveled along about
three miles to Brother Albert Petty's, and went to bed. The night was
dark, and they fell asleep, but Brother Patten was warned in a dream
to get up and flee, as the mob soon would be there. They both arose,
saddled their animals, and rode into the adjoining county. The house
they had just left was soon surrounded by the mob, but the brethren
escaped through the mercy of God.

"I was invited to hold a meeting at a Baptist meetinghouse; this was
on the 27th of June. On my arrival I met a large congregation, but, on
commencing services, Parson Browning ordered the meeting to be closed.
I told the people I had come ten miles to preach the gospel to them,
and was willing to stand in a cart, on a pile of wood, on a fence, or
any other place they would appoint, to have that privilege. One man
said he owned the fence and land in front of the meetinghouse, and we
might use both, for he did not believe Mormonism would hurt either. So
the congregation crossed the road, took down the fence and made seats
of it, and I preached to them one hour and a half. At the close, Mr.
Randolph Alexander bore testimony to the truth of what had been said.
He invited me home with him, bought {61} a Book of Mormon and was
baptized, and I organized a branch in that place.

"On the 18th of July, Brother A. O. Smoot and I arrived at a ferry on
the Tennessee River, and, as the ferryman was not at home, the woman
kindly gave us permission to use the ferryboat. We led our horses on
board, and took the oars to row across the river. Brother Smoot never
had used an oar, and I had not done so for some years, so we made
awkward work of it. Soon he broke one oar, and I let another fall
overboard, which left us only one broken oar to get to shore with. We
narrowly escaped running into a steamboat. We struck shore half a mile
below the landing place, tied up the boat, jumped on the bank with our
horses, and went on our way with blistered hands, thankful to get off
so well.

"On Sunday, the 31st of July, A. O. Smoot and I preached at Mr. David
Crider's, Weakley County, Tennessee. After the meeting, Mr. Crider was
baptized. A mob gathered and threatened us, and poisoned our horses, so
that the one I rode, belonging to Samuel West, died a few days after.
This horse had carried me thousands of miles while preaching the gospel.

"I continued to travel with Brothers Smoot, Patten, and Parrish in
Tennessee and Kentucky, and we baptized all who would receive our
testimony. On the 2nd day of December we held a general conference at
Damon Creek Branch. Elder Thomas B. Marsh, President of the Twelve
Apostles, presided. All the branches in Tennessee and Kentucky were
represented. Brothers Randolph Alexander, Benjamin L. Clapp, and
Johnson F. Lane were ordained elders, and Lindsay Bradey was ordained
to the lesser priesthood. I assisted President Marsh to obtain fifteen
hundred dollars from the Southern brethren to enter land in Missouri
for the Church. The brethren made me a present of fifty dollars, which
I sent by President Marsh to enter forty acres of land for me. Elder
Smoot and I were released from the Southern mission, with permission to
go to Kirtland."

During his mission, Wilford Woodruff organized a company of Saints, and
went with them a short distance, starting them on the way to Zion--a
portion of the work of gathering in which he did so much subsequently,
both in the United States and Great Britain. Most of his travels for
over two years had been on {62} foot. Since leaving Richland, New York,
he had journeyed over six thousand miles. Under his administration the
sick were healed, mobacrats were destroyed by the power of God, light
from heaven had been sent in the darkness of the night to lead him from
a lost condition in the forest and to save him from being dashed to
pieces over a rocky precipice, other miracles were wrought, and Wilford
Woodruff, in his early youth and manhood, had become in a marked degree
a choice witness for God and for the divine mission of Joseph Smith,
the Prophet.

Let it be remembered, too, that to enjoy all this power it was not
necessary to be an apostle, a patriarch, a high priest, or a seventy.
For the greater part of his mission, Wilford Woodruff was only a
priest after the order of Aaron. Like John the Baptist, he magnified
his calling; his soul was in the work; he loved his fellowbeings, and
yearned for their salvation. His whole experience is a striking lesson
worthy of being learned, and an example to be followed profitably by
all the young men and elders of Israel. More than once, thousands of
the Saints have heard Wilford Woodruff say in assemblies of worship
that in all his life he never had enjoyed more of the spirit and power
of God than when he was a priest doing missionary work in the Southern
States.

His first mission being completed, he approached the city of the
Saints--Kirtland--whence he had departed over two years previously.
"The Temple of the Lord," says he, "came in sight--first in importance
to our vision. I truly rejoiced when the House of the Lord rose into
view as we drew near to this Stake of Zion. It was the first time I
had seen the Temple of God--the first Temple built in this generation.
After my long absence, I rejoiced greatly to strike hands with the
Prophet Joseph, and with many others engaged in rolling on the mighty
work of the Lord in the last days.

"Two years and a half had elapsed," he writes further, "since I left
Kirtland with my brethren in poverty to go up to visit our brethren
in tribulation in Zion. The Saints at Kirtland were then poor,
despised, and looked upon by the pomp of Babylon with disdain, and
people watched with eager eyes to behold them sink into forgetfulness.
But what a change has come! Now I behold a cheerfulness beaming from
every countenance, {63} and the scenes around indicate prosperity. The
noise of the ax and the hammer, the stir of their bank and market, and
especially the presence of the House of God, speak in language loud
as thunder that the Saints will have a city in spite of all the false
prophets of Baal, and in spite of even earth and hell combined, because
God is with them, and His Temple stands in honor of His Kingdom, while
Babylon begins to wonder and soon will perish."

{64}



CHAPTER 8.

IN KIRTLAND, 1836.

Wilford's First Attendance at Meeting in the Temple.--Called to
Speak.--Church's Attitude Toward the Use of Liquor.--Wilford in the
First Quorum of Seventy.--Receives Temple Endowments.--Troubles
in Kirtland.--Greatness of the Prophet Joseph.--Wilford's
Marriage.--Receives a Patriarchal Blessing.

The missionary experiences of Wilford Woodruff in the Southern States
gave to him a firmness and a comprehension that came from the testimony
of the spirit of God. From the day he joined the Church, he was in
active service. He was not among those who required special training
and who needed the constant guidance of the leaders to keep them within
the bounds of the Church. His first experience was in Zion's Camp. He
remained a short time in Missouri and then set out upon his mission.
His life was therefore governed by the workings of the spirit within
him. That spirit was his guide--the rock upon which his faith and
understanding were established. His return, therefore, to Kirtland did
not subject him to the temptations of evil, nor to the rebukes of the
Prophet. He knew that he was about his Father's business and was not
swerved by the sophistries of men, or the speculative spirit of those
times.

When he entered the city, he beheld, to his great joy, the Temple of
the Lord. It contained for him grand opportunities. Its ordinances
which he so fervently revered gave comfort and consolation to his life.
On Sunday the 27th, 1836, he attended his first public meeting in the
Temple. He had visited the building previously and viewed with pleasure
its sacred apartments. On the forenoon of that day in company with
Elders Warren Parrish and A. O. Smoot, he listened with pleasure to
the words of Elder S. Carter, and to an impressive discourse from the
Prophet Joseph.

In the afternoon of the same day, Elders Woodruff and A. O. Smoot
were invited to address the congregation. Elder Woodruff first opened
by prayer and then turned at random to a page in the Bible. To his
surprise, he opened to the 56th chapter of Isaiah, the same chapter he
had turned to on the night of his {65} eventful prayer in Connecticut.
Here the memories of that night flashed upon his mind, and he told
the incidents thereof with impressive force and inspiration upon the
congregation. The people were greatly interested. Those who knew the
voice of the good shepherd recognized in him a man truly born of the
spirit of God, a fit companion of prophets and apostles.

On the 1st of December, 1836, he attended for the first time in his
life a meeting called for the purpose of giving certain persons their
patriarchal blessings. Father Joseph Smith was the patriarch of the
Church in those days. This new experience brought to him new evidences
that the God of the Bible, the God of the patriarchs of old,--Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob,--was truly the God of the new dispensation whose
spirit and purposes were kindred to those in ancient times when the
patriarchs of old blest the people.

The spiritual manifestations of those times in Kirtland brought with
them heartfelt desires to observe every rule of correct living. That
spirit was not at all in harmony with the use of intoxicating liquors;
and whatever became an obstacle to the spirit of worship must be
removed if the worship were to be enjoyed. It was important that the
use of liquor should be discontinued, and Elder Woodruff records in
his journal that on the 4th day of December, that year, Sidney Rigdon
called for a vote of the people on the discontinuance of the use of
liquor in the Church both in sickness and in health. An exception to
the rule was made in the case of the washing of the bodies; and under
proper regulations, wine might be used for the Sacrament. The vote was
unanimous.

On the 11th of December, the Prophet sharply rebuked the Kirtland
Saints for their sins and backsliding. He warned them to repent,
lest judgment should come upon them as it had come upon the Saints
in Jackson County, Missouri. Those were trying times. They were days
of separation when it became necessary to separate the unworthy from
those who were of the household of faith. Kirtland was not to be the
abiding place of the Saints. They must give up their possessions and
their love for the city they had striven so hard to adorn. Many had
placed themselves in opposition to a divine purpose whose wisdom they
could not comprehend. That opposition invited the {66} presence of the
evil one who both tempted and beguiled them. Wilford Woodruff, however,
was among those who could say then, as he ever after kept himself in a
condition to say, "Thy will, not mine be done."

Before the close of 1836, there came to Elder Woodruff one of those
choice blessings which he esteemed so highly. He was advanced in the
priesthood to a place in the first quorum of seventies. His faithful
friend and missionary companion, A. O. Smoot, was likewise ordained
to the office of a seventy. This ordination of his friend was in
fulfillment of a prophesy which he had pronounced upon the head of
Elder Smoot on the 30th day of June, that year, while they were
together in Tennessee. The call of Wilford Woodruff to take his place
in the first quorum of seventy took place on the 3rd day of January,
1837, though he had been ordained to his new calling in the priesthood
on the 20th of the preceeding December. His love for missionary service
made this calling one of special honor to him. To be a witness for
Jesus Christ to the nations was his soul's delight. The manner in which
he honored that calling is known to all who are at all familiar with
the early history of the Church.

The early part of April, 1837, Wilford Woodruff devoted himself to the
meetings which were held in the Temple during those days. Those who
were absent from Kirtland in the spring of 1836, and had not therefore
the privilege of receiving their endowments at that time were granted
the opportunity to do so in the following spring. This was another
blessing that he received with feelings of gratitude and praise to his
Maker. The influence of the Temple ordinances is, perhaps, the most
potent of any influence in the Church in the establishment of union, in
the perpetuity of brotherly love, and in the preservation of a God-like
purity. It is not too much to say that one, upon whom the spirit of
these ordinances has fastened itself, never escapes in his conscience
the sacred obligations they impose upon him.

Referring to the administration of the Temple ordinances on that
occasion, he writes in his journal: "The Prophet Joseph arose and
addressed the congregation for the space of three hours. He was
clothed with the power, spirit, and image of God. He presented many
things of great importance to the elders of Israel. O, that the record
could be written as with an iron pen, of the {67} light, principles,
and virtue that came from the mouth and heart of the Prophet Joseph,
whose soul, like that of Enoch, seemed as wide as eternity! That day
strikingly demonstrated that he was, indeed, a prophet of God raised
up for the deliverance of Israel. He presented to us a plan of the
city of Kirtland which was given him by vision. The future will prove
that the visions of Joseph concerning Jackson County and concerning
the various stakes of Zion will be fulfilled in the time appointed of
the Lord. After his remarks, the Sacrament was administered and all
were made glad at the table of the Lord in association with apostles,
prophets, patriarchs, evangelists, and teachers. In the evening a
meeting was held in which many took part by speaking in tongues, giving
the interpretations thereof, prophesying, etc.,--a veritable feast of
Pentecost."

Temple work in Kirtland in the early part of 1837 afforded him that
spiritual satisfaction which was so helpful in those subsequent years
of his life when he was employed in missionary service and upon the
plains as a pioneer. He also learned during those days in Kirtland
that the more remarkable the spiritual manifestations, the greater the
opposition of the evil one. He was present at the Sunday services in
the Temple, April 9th, when Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, and Sidney
Rigdon laid before the Saints the condition of the Church respecting
temporal affairs.

A financial panic was on throughout the United States. Its depressing
influence was severely felt in Kirtland. Before it reached that
place, however, many of the leading brethren had given their time and
talent to speculation and were absorbed in schemes detrimental to
their religious standing, and quite contrary to the counsel of the
Prophet. Speculations brought on jealousies and hatreds, and those evil
attributes manifested themselves toward Joseph who sought so diligently
to suppress them. Prominent men--men who had shown the highest
degree of loyalty to the Prophet became disaffected. Their financial
speculations brought on a spirit of self-sufficiency, and that spirit
made them wise in their own conceit. The affairs of the Church were put
to the test of "wisdom"--wisdom as they understood it. Such wisdom,
however, was undermining their integrity to the Church. The meek and
humble maintained their fidelity and brought encouragement {68} and
solace to the Prophet, and the noble men who stood with him in the
hours of financial distress.

On one occasion he met Wilford Woodruff, and after scrutinizing him
very closely as though he were reading his inmost thoughts, said:
"Brother Woodruff, I am glad to see you. I hardly know when I meet
those who have been my brethren in the Lord, who of them are my
friends. They have become so scarce." Elder Woodruff felt throughout
all the subsequent years of his life a supreme satisfaction over the
loyalty he had manifested in those trying times to the Prophet of God.
Elder Woodruff was so faithful in the discharge of his duties, so
humble in his demeanor, so sincere and devoted that he was rewarded by
a discerning spirit which kept him in the path of safety when some of
his brethren were struggling in the meshes of misgivings and doubt.

The correctness of Wilford Woodruff's attitude in those days was
manifested in his ability to see in the Prophet the same spiritual
power that had been manifested to him on former occasions. Of a meeting
held on April 19th, when the Prophet spoke, he writes: "He seemed
a fountain of knowledge from whose mouth streams of eternal wisdom
flowed. As he stood before the people, he showed clearly that the
authority of God was upon him. When speaking of those who professed to
be his friends and the friends of humanity, but who had turned against
the people and opposed the prosperity of Kirtland, he declared the Lord
would deal severely with them. Joseph uttered the feelings of his soul
in pain, while reviewing the poverty and afflictions of his people,
and while finding false brethren whose course brought peril upon the
Saints. Joseph is a father to Ephraim and to all Israel in these last
days; and he mourned because of unbelief and treachery among many who
had embraced the gospel. He feared lest few in Kirtland should remain
worthy to receive an inheritance."

"There is not so great a man as Joseph standing in this generation,"
he wrote later on. "The Gentiles look upon him, and he is like a bed
of gold concealed from human view. They know not his principle, his
spirit, his wisdom, his virtue, his philanthropy, of his calling. His
mind, like Enoch's, expands as eternity, and God alone can comprehend
his soul."

Misfortune and affliction so often unsettle men's minds and {69} move
them from their moorings that they are prone to doubt the goodness of
God and His protecting care over them. The highest type of saintly life
and divine loyalty among men, alike in affliction and prosperity, was
Job. Job was one of those beautiful characters in Old Testament history
that appealed strongly to the mind and heart of Wilford Woodruff. His
reference to Job in public discourses shows how deeply that worthy
character of Holy Writ had influenced his life.

At the time herein mentioned, Wilford had reached his 30th year. He
now felt that it was his duty to assume the responsibility of husband
and father. He was, no doubt, strongly actuated in this feeling by an
inspiration which the new-found message brought to his soul. On the
13th day of April, 1837, he received in wedlock Miss Phoebe Whitmore
Carter, an estimable young lady from the state of Maine. She was the
daughter of Ezra Carter of Scarboro. With other members of her father's
household, she had been baptized some time previously by Elder John
F. Boynton. Like her husband, she belonged to that sturdy New England
race that gave strength and force to the new movement. They had been
acquainted only about two months when they joined hands in holy
wedlock. The ceremony was performed by President Frederick G. Williams.
The Prophet Joseph had intended to marry them, but owing to severe
persecution, he was compelled to be absent from home.

She had already received her patriarchal blessing from Father Joseph
Smith on November 10, 1836. It contained many glorious promises which,
so far as they related to this life, have been fulfilled. Some were
fulfilled in a remarkable manner.

On the 15th of April, two days subsequent to their marriage, Elder
Woodruff likewise received his patriarchal blessing. These blessings
gave hope and courage to the new life which they were hereafter to
experience together. Such a blessing brought joys and assurances
greatly in excess of those which came from wedding tours. They
therefore began life together in faith and in perfect reliance upon the
goodness of God. Elder Woodruff's blessing contained the promise that
he should bring all of his relatives into the Church. The fulfillment
of that promise was realized in a remarkable manner, and was one of
those evidences which gave him support and comfort throughout all the
subsequent years of life.

{70}



CHAPTER 9.

FIRST MISSION TO FOX ISLANDS, 1837.

Troubles at Kirtland.--Mission to Fox Islands.--Evil Spirits Cast
Out.--Healing the Sick.--Visits his Home Enroute.--From Connecticut to
Maine.--Description of Fox Islands.--Begins Ministry in Vinal Haven.--A
Minister Comes to Grief.--Baptisms.--Excitement.--Return to Scarboro.

The condition of affairs in Kirtland during the winter of 1836-7 was
not at all to the liking of Elder Woodruff. To his mind there was no
place in the Church for contentions, misgivings, and opposition. The
work was of God--that was enough. There were the properly appointed
authorities. Upon them the responsibilities of the kingdom had been
placed. He was not therefore concerned about what others thought was a
lack of wisdom in them. He was not avaricious; and financial reverses,
to his mind, could never thwart the purposes of God; and he was not
troubled about how much of this world's goods came to his possession. A
glorious message had been given to the earth, and he wanted every one
to know its value to the human family and to understand the blessings
of salvation to those who yielded obedience.

Wilford Woodruff always felt out of place in the midst of contention.
He shunned it, and never cared for the association of those who were
given to fault-finding, criticisms, and personal griefs. He never saw
the necessity for them. It was never hard for him to agree with his
brethren. He was never unreasonable in his demands, never had private
ends to foster, and never hesitated when there was something important
to be done. He was loyal to the Prophet, true to his brethren; and as
he was now a seventy, he wanted to magnify his office by service in the
missionary field.

He felt impressed that he wanted to take a mission to Fox Islands,
off the coast of Maine, although he was not at all familiar with the
locality nor with the conditions there. To his impressions of the
spirit of God, he found a hearty response in the minds of the apostles.

"Feeling," he said, "that it was my duty to start at once upon {71}
this mission, I did not tarry at home one year after having taken a
wife as the law of Moses allowed. On the contrary, I started just one
month and one day after that important event. I left my wife with
a Sister Hale with whom she expected to stay for a season. I left
Kirtland in good spirits, in company with Elder Jonathan Hale, and
walked twelve miles to Fairport, where we were joined by Elder Milton
Holmes. There we went aboard the steamer Sandusky, made our way to
Buffalo, and proceeded thence to Syracuse by way of the Erie Canal. We
then walked to Richland, Oswego County, New York, where I met my two
brothers whom I had not seen for several years." The elder of these
brothers had become, through trial and temptation, indifferent to the
Church. This was a source of deep sorrow to Wilford, who warned him
against opposing the truth, and faithfully instructed him in his duty
to the gospel which he had embraced.

From Richland they proceeded to Sackett's Harbor, thence across Lake
Ontario by steamer, Oneida, to Kingston, Upper Canada, and along the
canal to Jones' Falls, whence they walked to a place called Bastard,
Leeds County. There they found a branch of the Church presided over
by John E. Page and James Blakesly. "We accompanied them to their
place of meeting," said Elder Woodruff, "and attended a conference,
at which three hundred members of the Church were present. Thirty-two
persons presented themselves for ordination. I was asked to officiate
in company with Elder William Draper. We ordained seven elders, nine
priests, eleven teachers, and five deacons.

"We addressed the people several times during this conference, and at
its close were called to administer to a woman who was possessed of
a devil. At times she was dumb and greatly afflicted with the evil
spirits that dwelt in her. She believed in Jesus, and in us as His
servants, and wished us to administer to her. Four of us laid our hands
upon her head, and in the name of Jesus Christ commanded the devil to
depart from her. The evil spirits left immediately, and the woman arose
with great joy and gave thanks and praise unto God; for, according to
her faith, she was made whole from that hour. A child that was sick was
also healed by the laying on of hands, according to the word of God.

{72} "We walked thirty miles to visit another branch of the Saints
at Leeds, where we met with John Gordon and a John Snider. There we
held a meeting, and bore testimony to the people. A Sister Carns came
to us and asked that the ordinance for the healing of the sick be
performed for two of her children who were afflicted. One was a nursing
babe which was lying at the point of death. I took it in my arms and
presented it before the elders, who laid their hands upon it, and it
was made whole immediately. I handed it back to the mother entirely
healed. We afterwards laid hands upon the other, and it was also
healed. It was done by the power of God, in the name of Jesus Christ,
and the parents praised God for His goodness."

From Leeds they went to Schenectady, New York. On this journey they
were accompanied by Elders Isaac Russell, John Goodson, and John
Snider. In New York they expected to join Apostles Heber C. Kimball
and Orson Hyde who were soon to leave on a mission to England. Elder
Russell seemed to be troubled constantly by evil spirits. They were
also troublesome to him while in England, where Apostles Hyde and
Kimball had a severe contest with them, when administering to him.

After separating from the three brethren named, Elder Woodruff and his
companions went by rail to Albany, and walked from there to Canaan,
Connecticut, where they found a branch of the Church. Here they met
Jesse and Julian Moses and Francis K. Benedict. They held a two day's
meeting at Canaan, and Elder Woodruff ordained Julian Moses and Francis
K. Benedict to the office of an elder.

At Colebrook, Elder Woodruff visited his half-sister, Eunice Woodruff,
who taught school there. "I spent five hours," he wrote, "watching her
in the performance of her school duties. Five years before, when I last
beheld Eunice at our father's house, she was a child of only twelve
years; but now I beheld her an instructor of the youth. As I looked
upon her, my heart was filled with admiration for those accomplishments
in her which adorn the female sex. Her spirit was blithe, and her
step, as she moved among her pupils, showed the energy of youth. She
handed me a bundle of letters from her brother Asahel. The teachings
and instructions contained in those letters, if followed by the youth,
would lead them past a thousand snares. As I read, I {73} smiled and
wept, and prayed in my heart, 'O God, protect my brothers, my sisters,
my wife, and my parents.'" Wilford's affection for his family and
relatives was strong and beautiful.

From Colebrook he proceeded to Avon. "There I visited," he wrote, "many
of my former neighbors, and my relatives, also the grave of my mother,
Beulah Woodruff, who died June 11th, 1808, when she was twenty-six
years of age. The following verse was upon her tombstone:

  'A pleasing form, a generous heart,
  A good companion, just without art;
  Just in her dealings, faithful to her friend,
  Beloved through life, lamented in the end.'

"At the close of the day I walked six miles to Farmington, where my
father, Aphek Woodruff, was living, and I had the happy privilege of
once more meeting him and my stepmother, whom I had not seen for seven
years. They greeted me with great kindness. It was a happy meeting.
After visiting with my father for a day or two, I returned to Avon,
where most of my relatives lived, and held meetings with them. On the
12th of June, 1837, I baptized my uncle, Ozem Woodruff, his wife,
Hannah, and their son, John, and we rejoiced together; for this was in
fulfillment of a dream I had in 1818, when I was eleven years of age.

"On the 15th of July I had an appointment to preach at the house of
my uncle, Adna Hart. While there I had the happy privilege of meeting
with my wife Phoebe W. Woodruff, who had come from Kirtland to meet me
and accompany me to her father's home in Scarboro, Maine. Those who
had assembled to hear me preach were relatives, neighbors, and former
friends. After meeting, we returned to Farmington, to my father's home,
where I spent the night with my father, stepmother, sister, and wife.
Elder Hale was also with us.

"On the 19th of July, Elder Hale left us to go to his friends in
New Rowley, Massachusetts. The same evening I held a meeting in the
Methodist meetinghouse in the town of Farmington. I had a large
congregation of citizens with whom I {74} had been acquainted from
my youth. My parents, wife, and sister attended the meeting. The
congregation seemed satisfied with the doctrines I taught, and
requested me to hold another meeting; but I felt anxious to continue my
journey, and on the 20th of July I parted from father, stepmother, and
sister, and, with my wife, took stage for Hartford.

"On my arrival there, not having money to pay fare for both of us,
I paid my wife's fare to Rowley, Massachusetts, where there was a
branch of the Church presided over by Brother Nathaniel Holmes, father
of Jonathan and Milton Holmes. I journeyed on foot. The first day I
walked fifty-two miles, the second day forty-eight, and the third day
thirty-six miles, arriving at Rowley at 2 o'clock, having made the one
hundred and thirty-six miles in a little over two and a half days. On
the second day, when within a mile or two of my stopping place, I felt
so weary and worn-out that every step was made with painful effort.
Just then a gentleman came dashing along in his carriage. As he came
up I prayed to the Lord that he would invite me to ride. Instead of
doing this, he went by with great speed until about ten rods ahead,
when his horse, without being spoken to, or reined up, and for some
cause unknown to the driver, came to a sudden stop. It appeared as if
a barrier, unseen by others, stood in his way. Instantly the gentleman
turned and asked me to ride. The invitation I accepted gladly, and we
sped on our way.

"I spent eight days at New Rowley, holding meeting and visiting with
the Saints, including the Holmes family, and left there on the 1st of
August. On the 8th of August, in company with my wife and Elder Hale,
I visited my wife's father, Ezra Carter, and his family in Scarboro,
Maine, it being the first time I had ever seen any of her relatives.

"We were received very kindly. My wife had been absent from her father's
home about one year. I remained eight days with Father Carter, and
household, and one day I went out to sea with Fabian and Ezra Carter,
my brothers-in-law, in a boat to fish with hooks. We caught two hundred
and fifty cod, haddock, and hake, and we saw four whales, two at a
time. It was the first time I had ever seen the kind of animal which is
said to have swallowed Jonah.

{75} "On the 18th of August, 1837, I parted with my wife and her
father's household, leaving her with them, and, in company with
Jonathan H. Hale, started upon the mission that I had in view when I
left Kirtland. We walked ten miles to Portland, and took passage on
the steamboat, Bangor, which carried us to Owl's Head where we went on
board a sloop which landed us on North Fox Island at 2 o'clock a. m. on
August 20th.

"The town of Vinal Haven includes both North and South Fox Islands,
in latitude 44 north longitude 69 10' west. The population numbered,
at the time of my visit, about eighteen hundred. The inhabitants were
intelligent and industrious, and hospitable to strangers. They got most
of their living and wealth by fishing. The town fitted out over one
hundred licensed sailing vessels, besides smaller craft.

"North Fox Island is nine miles long by two miles in width, and has
a population of eight hundred. They have a postoffice, one store,
a Baptist church and a meetinghouse, four schoolhouses, and a tide
grist-mill. The land is rather poor, yet there are some good farms. The
products are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and grass. The principal
timber consists of fir, spruce, hemlock, and birch. Raspberries and
gooseberries grow in great abundance, and some upland cranberries are
raised. The principal stock are sheep.

"South Fox Island comes as near being without definite form as any spot
on earth I ever saw. It would be difficult for any person to describe
it. It is about ten miles in length by five in width, and is a mass
of rocks, formed into shelves, hills, and valleys, and cut up into
necks and points to make room for the coves and harbors that run into
the island. The population is one thousand. The inhabitants get their
living entirely by fishing. There is no chance for farming upon the
island. There are a few garden patches which are cultivated at great
expense. Some few sheep are raised there. Many of the inhabitants fish
in the vicinity of Newfoundland, and bring their fish home, where they
cure them on flakes and prepare them for the market. They supply the
market with great quantities of cod, mackerel, and boxed herring. Upon
this island there are two stores, three tide mills, six schoolhouses,
and a small branch of the Methodist church presided over by a priest.
What timber there is upon this {76} island, such as pine, fir, spruce,
hemlock, and birch, and likewise whortleberries, raspberries, and
gooseberries, grow mostly out of the cracks in the rocks.

"Great quantities of fish in almost endless variety inhabit the
coves and harbors around the islands. The whale, blackfish, shark,
ground-shark, pilot-fish, horse-mackerel, sturgeon, salmon, halibut,
cod, polleck, tom-cod, hake, haddock, mackerel, shad-bass, alewife,
herring, pohagen, dolphin, whiting, frost-fish, flounders, smelt,
skate, shrimp, skid, cusk, blueback, scallop, dog-fish, mutton-fish,
lumpfish, squid, five-fingers, monkfish, horse-fish, sun-fish,
sword-fish, thrasher, cat-fish, scuppog, tootog, eye-fish, cunner,
ling, also the eel, lobster, clam, mussel, periwinkle, porpoise, seal,
etc., are found.

"I have given a brief description of Vinal Haven. It was quite dark
when we landed, without a farthing of money. We made our way over the
rocks and through the cedars the best we could until we found a house.
We rapped at the door. A woman put her head out of the window and asked
who we were and what was wanted. I told her we were two strangers, and
wanted a bed to lie down upon till morning. She let us in and gave us a
bed. We slept until quite late, it being Sunday morning.

"When we came out and took breakfast it was nearly noon. I asked
her what she charged for our accomodation. She replied that we were
welcome. I then asked her if there were any minister or church on
the island. She informed us that there was a Baptist minister, named
Newton, who had a congregation and a meetinghouse about five miles from
there.

"We thanked her for her kindness, walked to the meetinghouse, and
stepped inside the doorway. We stood there until a deacon came to the
door. I asked him to tell the minister in the pulpit that there were
two servants of God at the door, and that they had a message to give to
the people and wished the privilege of delivering it. He sent for us
to come to the pulpit, so we walked through the congregation with our
valises and took a seat by the side of the minister, who was about to
speak as we came to the door. He arose and delivered his discourse to
the people, occupying about half an hour. When he closed he asked me
what my wish was. I told him we wished to speak to the people at any
hour that would suit his or their convenience; so he gave notice {77}
that there were two strangers present who would speak to the people at
5 o'clock that evening.

"We were quite a source of wonderment to the people, as they had
no idea who we were. Mr. Newton asked us home to tea with him, and
we gladly accepted the invitation. When we arrived at his house, I
opened my valise and took out the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and
Covenants, laid them upon the table, and took my seat. Mr. Newton took
up the books and looked at them, but said nothing. I then inquired if
there were any schoolhouses upon the island, and if so, whether they
were free to preach in. He answered that there were four, numbered
respectively from one to four, and that they were free. Mr. Newton
and family accompanied us to the meeting-house, where we met a large
congregation, none of whom knew who we were or anything about our
profession, except the minister.

"Elder Hale and I went to the stand, and I arose with peculiar feelings
and addressed the congregation for one hour, taking for my text
Galatians 1:8, 9. This was the first time that I, or any other elder of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had (to my knowledge)
attempted to preach the fulness of the gospel and the Book of Mormon
to the inhabitants of any island of the sea. I had much liberty in
speaking, and informed the people that the Lord had raised up a prophet
and organized His Church as in the days of Christ and the ancient
apostles, with prophets, apostles, and the gifts as anciently, and that
he had brought forth the Book of Mormon. At the close of my remarks
Elder Hale bore testimony. I gave liberty for any one to speak who
might wish to do so. As no one responded, I announced that we would
hold meetings the next four evenings at the schoolhouses, beginning at
No. 1.

"During the first thirteen days of our sojourn upon the island, we
preached seventeen discourses, being invited by the people to tarry
with them. I left a copy of the Doctrine and Covenants with Mr. Newton
for his perusal. He read it, and the spirit of God bore testimony to
him of its truth. He pondered over it for days, and walked his room
until midnight trying to decide whether to receive or reject it. He
and his family attended about a dozen of my first meetings, and then
he made up his mind, contrary to the dictation of the spirit of God to
him, to reject the {78} testimony and come out against me. However,
we commenced baptizing his flock. The first two we baptized were
a sea-captain, by the name of Justin Eames, and his wife. Brother
Jonathan H. Hale went down into the sea on the 3rd of September, and
baptized them; these were the first baptisms performed by proper
authority upon any of the islands of the sea (to my knowledge) in this
dispensation.

"Before we left Kirtland some of the leading apostates there had tried
to discourage Brother Hale about going on his mission, telling him he
never would baptize anyone, and had better remain at home. When Captain
Eames offered himself for baptism, I asked Brother Hale to baptize
him, and prove those men to be false prophets, which he did. On the
following Sabbath I baptized Justin Eames' brother, Ebenezer Eames,
another sea-captain, and a young lady.

"Mr. Newton, the Baptist minister, now commenced a war against us, and
sent to the South Island for a Mr. Douglass, a Methodist minister, with
whom he had been at variance for years, to come over and help him put
down 'Mormonism.' Mr. Douglass came over and they got together as many
people as they could, and held a conference. He railed against Joseph,
the Prophet, and the Book of Mormon, and taking that book in his hand,
with outstretched arm, declared that he feared none of the judgments of
God that would come upon him for rejecting it as the word of God. (I
never heard what his sentiments upon this subject were at the end of
his term of fourteen years' imprisonment in the Thomaston penitentiary,
for an outrage upon his daughter. The judgment was given upon the
testimony of his wife and daughter).

"I was present and heard Mr. Douglass' speech upon this occasion, and
took minutes of it. When he closed I arose and informed the people that
I would meet them the next Sunday in the meeting-house and answer Mr.
Douglass; and I wished him, as well as the people, to be present. I
informed the people that Mr. Douglass had made many false statements
against Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints, with whom he had no
acquaintance; and he had misquoted much Scripture, all of which I would
correct.

"We continued to baptize the people on North Island until {79}
we baptized every person who owned an interest in the Baptist
meeting-house. I then followed Mr. Douglas home to South Island, and
preached the gospel to the members of his church, and baptized nearly
all of them.

"The excitement became great on both islands, and on Sunday, the 17th
of September, I met a large assembly from both islands, and took up
the same subject that Mr. Douglass had dwelt upon in his remarks
against the Book of Mormon and our principles. I spoke two and a half
hours, and answered every objection against the Book of Mormon, Joseph
Smith, or our principles. I had good attention, and the people seemed
satisfied. At the close of the meeting Elder Hale administered the
ordinance of baptism.

"Mr. Newton, in order to save his cause, went to the mainland, brought
over several ministers, and held a protracted meeting. They hoped by
this to stop the work of God, but all to no avail; for all the people
would attend our meetings and receive the word of God, and we continued
to baptize. We visited the homes of most of the inhabitants.

"Upon one occasion, while standing upon Mr. Carver's farm, on the east
end of North Island, we counted fifty-five islands in that region, most
of which were not inhabited. We also saw twenty ships under sail at the
same time. We did not lack for food while upon the island, for if we
did not wish to trouble our friends for a dinner, we had only to borrow
a spade or a hoe and a kettle, and go to the beach and dig a peck of
clams. These, when boiled, make a delicious meal, of which we often
availed ourselves.

"One day Elder Hale and I ascended to the top of a high granite rock
on South Island for prayer and supplication. We sat down under the
shade of a pine tree which grew out of a fissure in the rocks, and
Elder Hale read the sixteenth chapter of Jeremiah, where mention is
made of the hunters and fishers that God would send in the last days
to gather Israel. We were, indeed, upon an island of the sea, standing
upon a rock where we could survey the gallant ships, and also the
islands which were as full of rocks, ledges, and caves as any part
of the earth. And what had brought us here? To search out the blood
of Ephraim, the honest and meek of the earth, and gather them from
these {80} islands, rocks, holes, and caves of the earth unto Zion. We
prayed, and rejoiced together. The spirit of God rested upon us. We
spoke of Christ and the ancient prophets and apostles in Jerusalem;
of Nephi, Alma, Mormon, Moroni, in America; of Joseph, Hyrum, Oliver,
and the apostles in our own day; and we rejoiced that we were upon the
islands of the sea searching out the blood of Israel. While filled with
these meditations and with the spirit of God, we fell upon our knees
and gave thanks to the God of heaven, and felt to pray for all Israel.
After spending most of the day in praise and thanksgiving, we descended
to the settlement and held a meeting with the people.

"On the 6th of September we called upon Captain Benjamin Coombs, and
visited his flakes, where he had one thousand quintals of codfish
drying for the market. They had been caught mostly in the neighborhood
of Newfoundland. While we were passing Carvey's Wharf, our attention
was called to a large school of mackerel playing by the side of the
warf. Several men were pitching them out with hooks. We also caught
what we w

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