{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_47703/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_47703","id":"gutenberg_47703","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47703","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Latter Day Saints","Woodruff, Wilford, 1807-1898"],"text":"WILFORD WOODRUFF\n\nFOURTH PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS\n\n* * * *\n\nHistory of His Life and Labors\n\nAS RECORDED IN HIS DAILY JOURNALS\n\n* * * *\n\n_\"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,\neven as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his\nthrone.\"--Rev. 3:21._\n\n* * * *\n\nPREPARED FOR PUBLICATION BY\n\nMATTHIAS F. COWLEY\n\n* * * *\n\nSalt Lake City, Utah 1909\n\n\nTO HIS NUMEROUS AND EVER INCREASING FAMILY, AND TO ALL WHO LOVE THE\nNAME AND MEMORY OF\n\nPRES. WILFORD WOODRUFF\n\nTHIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\nThat which is perhaps best known about Wilford Woodruff is the fact\nthat he kept throughout his long and eventful life a careful record,\nnot only of his own life, but of the important affairs in the history\nof the Church. In bringing that journal within the compass of one\nvolume, it has not always been easy to determine what was the most\nimportant for the pages of this biography. All his journals, covering\nthousands of pages, I have read with such discriminating judgment as I\ncould bring to the task. The reader, therefore, need not be reminded\nthat this biography contains only a small part, the most important part\nit is hoped, of the things he wrote.\n\nHe was so careful and painstaking, and so completely devoted to the\ntask of keeping a journal, that his writings have been sought in\ncompiling much of the important data in Church history which has\nalready been given to the world. His work, therefore, is not unknown to\nthose familiar with Church history. Some of his life has been published\nin the _Deseret News,_ and _\"Leaves from My Journal\"_ contains\nimportant chapters. Magazines and Church publications have in them\nreminiscences which he has given to the readers of those periodicals at\ndifferent times.\n\nAll missionaries will be interested in the marvelous experiences which\nhe had while working in the spread of the gospel message. Others will\nread with peculiar interest the recital of events in the travels of\nthe pioneers from the Missouri River to Salt Lake Valley, and others\nwill read with satisfaction the words that fell from the lips of those\nprophets with whom he was immediately associated--Joseph Smith, Brigham\nYoung, and John Taylor.\n\nThe life of Wilford Woodruff was full of marvels. It was a simple life\nin which he revealed his heart and his purposes freely. The frankness\nof his expressions, his care for details, and his conscientious regard\nfor the truth made him, perhaps, the best chronicler of events in all\nthe history of the Church. His journal reveals not so much what he\nhimself was thinking about the events concerning which he wrote as what\nothers thought about them. In that respect they reveal wonderfully the\nspirit of the times in which he lived.\n\nAt the close of the year 1895 in writing of his life, he says: \"For\ntwenty-one years I was a member of the legislative assembly of the\nTerritory of Utah.\n\n\"In 1875 I was appointed historian and general recorder of the Church\nand held that position until 1889.\n\n\"On the completion of the Temple at St. George in 1877, I was appointed\nits President by Brigham Young.\n\n\"Upon the accession of President Taylor, I became President of the\nTwelve Apostles; and in April 1889, I was sustained at the general\nconference as President of the Church.\n\n\"By my direction the General Church Board of Education was founded\nin 1888 to direct the Church system of academies, high schools, and\ncolleges, which has resulted in a great perfection of the organization.\n\n\"From the beginning of my ministry in 1834 until the close of 1895\nI have traveled in all 172,369 miles; held 7,655 meetings; preached\n3,526 discourses; organized 51 branches of the Church and 77 preaching\nplaces; my journeys cover England, Scotland, Wales, and 23 states and\n5 territories of the Union. My life abounds in incidents which to me\nsurely indicate the direct interposition of God whom I firmly believe\nhas guided my every step. On 27 distinct occasions I have been saved\nfrom dangers which threatened my life. I am the father of 17 sons and\n16 daughters. I have a posterity of 100 grandchildren and 12 great\ngrandchildren.\" (At the present time, his grandchildren number at least\n145, and his great grandchildren, about 60.)\n\nThe hand of God was so abundantly manifested in the life of Wilford\nWoodruff, that those who read this book, it is sincerely believed, will\nfind it both faith-promoting and instructive. The book is given to the\nworld in the sincerest belief that its pages will greatly add a fresh\ninterest to the history of the Church, and reveal the subject of this\nsketch in such a manner as to make his wonderful labors more highly\nappreciated by those not intimately acquainted with him.\n\nM. F. COWLEY.\n\nSeptember, 1909.\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\nCHAPTER 1.\n\nBIRTH AND GENEALOGY, 1807.\n\nChosen Spirit.--Divine Guidance.--Genealogy.--A Miller by Trade.\n\nCHAPTER 2.\n\nA CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.\n\nArms and Legs Broken.--Injury to Breast Bone and\nRibs.--Drowned.--Frozen.--Scalded.--Other Escapes.--Life Preserved by a\nMerciful Providence.\n\nCHAPTER 3.\n\nA REMARKABLE PREPARATION.\n\n\"Coming Events.\"--Wilford Woodruff's Interest in Religion.--Existing\nReligious Denominations.--Teachings of Scripture.--Father Mason, a\nProphet.--Peculiar Process of Preparation.\n\nCHAPTER 4.\n\nEARLY DAYS, 1816-1833.\n\nA Fisherman.--Early Employment.--Noble Reflections.--Lessons\nin Reading.--Interest in the Bible.--Philo Woodruff's Strange\nDream.--Mocking Deity.--Its Effects.--Peace of Mind.--Place of\nPrayer.--Happy Experiences.--A Baptism.--Reads of Mormons.--Notable\nInstance of Inspiration.--Removal to New York.--Azmon's Faith.\n\nCHAPTER 5.\n\nBAPTISM, 1833.\n\nElders Visit Richland, N. Y.--The New Message.--Wilford Woodruff's\nTestimony.--The Book of Mormon,--Healing Power.--Baptism.--Ordained a\nTeacher.\n\nCHAPTER 6.\n\nZION'S CAMP, 1834.\n\nHis First Call.--Leaves for Kirtland.--His Neighbors' Warning.--First\nMeeting with Prophet.--A Remarkable Prophetic Gift.--Zion's\nCamp.--Zelph.--Escape Mob at Fishing River.--Epidemic of Cholera.--His\nResidence in Missouri.--Consecrations.\n\nCHAPTER 7.\n\nMISSION TO SOUTHERN STATES, 1834-1836.\n\nA Prayerful Ambition to Preach.--Departure on Mission to\nSouthern States.--Traveling without Purse or Scrip.--Treatment\nReceived from Minister.--Tribulations.--A Remarkable Dream.--Its\nFulfillment.--Preaching in Memphis.--Ordained an Elder.--Successful\nLabors.--Ordained a Seventy.--A Mob Court.--Return to Kirtland.\n\nCHAPTER 8.\n\nIN KIRTLAND, 1836.\n\nWilford's First Attendance at Meeting in the Temple.--Called to\nSpeak.--Church's Attitude Toward the Use of Liquor.--Wilford in the\nFirst Quorum of Seventy.--Receives Temple Endowments.--Troubles\nin Kirtland.--Greatness of the Prophet Joseph.--Wilford's\nMarriage.--Receives a Patriarchal Blessing.\n\nCHAPTER 9.\n\nFIRST MISSION TO FOX ISLANDS, 1837.\n\nTroubles at Kirtland.--Mission to Fox Islands.--Evil Spirits Cast\nOut.--Healing the Sick.--Visits His Home Enroute.--From Connecticut to\nMaine.--Description of Fox Islands.--Begins Ministry in Vinal Haven.--A\nMinister Comes to Grief.--Baptisms.--Excitement.--Return to Scarboro.\n\nCHAPTER 10.\n\nCALLED TO THE APOSTLESHIP, 1838.\n\nAgain on the Fox Islands.--Opposition Increases.--Manifestation of the\nGifts of the Holy Ghost.--Sign of the Prophet Jonas.--Wilford Visits A.\nP. Rockwood in Prison.--Baptizes His Father and Other Relatives.--Birth\nof His First Child.--Called To Be One of the Twelve Apostles, and To\nTake a Foreign Mission.--Assists Fox Islands Saints in Migrating to the\nWest.--Mrs. Woodruff Miraculously Healed.--They Reach Quincy, Illinois.\n\nCHAPTER 11.\n\nCALL TO GREAT BRITAIN, 1838.\n\nMobocrats Seek To Prevent the Fulfillment of a Revelation Given Through\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith, but Are Disappointed.--Temple Corner-stone\nat Far West Laid.--Wilford Returns to Illinois.--The Prophet Joseph\nLiberated from Prison in Missouri.--A Survivor of Haun's Mill\nMassacre.--Selection of Nauvoo as a Place for the Settlement of the\nSaints.--A Day of Gods' Power.--Many Sick Are Healed, and a Dying Man\nRaised to Life.--Incident of Wilford Receiving a Handkerchief from\nthe Prophet Joseph.--Instructed as to What He Shall Preach on His\nMission.--Lesson in Humility.--Warning against Treachery.--Wilford\nStarts on His Mission, Sick and without Money.--Experiences of His\nJourney to New York.--Sails for Liverpool, England.\n\nCHAPTER 12.\n\nMISSION IN GREAT BRITAIN, 1840.\n\nWilford's Arrival in England.--Missionary Work Begun.--Casting\nOut a Devil.--Directed by the Spirit of the Lord to Another Field\nof Labor.--Meets with the United Brethren.--Many Conversions to\nthe Gospel.--Ministers Hold a Convention To Ask Parliament for\nLegislation against the Mormons.--First Publication of the Book of\nMormon and the Hymn Book in England.--The Millennial Star.--In the\nBritish Metropolis.--Unable to Secure a Hall To Preach in, the Elders\nHold Street Meetings.--First Baptism in London.--Opposition from\nPreachers.--Work of God Makes Marvelous Progress.\n\nCHAPTER 13.\n\nBRITISH MISSION, 1840-'41.\n\nRapid Increase of the Church in Great Britain.--Mysterious Spirit\nPersonage Attempts to Strangle Wilford Woodruff, and Wounds Him\nSeverely.--He Is Relieved and Healed by Three Heavenly Visitors.--First\nPlacard of the Church Posted in London.--Death of Wilford's\nDaughter.--Difficult Missionary Work in and around London.--Arrival\nof Lorenzo Snow To Take Charge of the British Mission.--All of the\nTwelve Called Home.--Attending Various Conferences.--Springing of\nthe Spaulding Story.--Wilford Bids Farewell to the Saints in Fields\nWhere He Had Labored.--General Conference of the British Mission, and\nOnly Occasion of the Twelve Apostles Acting as a Quorum in a Foreign\nLand.--Wilford's Departure for Home, and Arrival at Nauvoo.--Made a\nMember of the Nauvoo City Council.\n\nCHAPTER 14.\n\nREVIEW OF HIS MISSION.\n\nWilford Renders Aid to the Persecuted Saints.--His Care in Recording\nthe Events, also Sermons and Sayings of the Prophet Joseph\nSmith.--Elder Woodruff's Humility, and Appreciation of the Work of\nOthers.--At a Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Convention.--Letter\nfrom His Wife Announcing the Death of Their Daughter.--Revelation\nForeshadowing the Troubles of the Saints in the Expulsion from Illinois.\n\nCHAPTER 15.\n\nIN NAUVOO, 1841.\n\nProphetic Insight.--Teachings of the Prophet.--Baptism for the\nDead.--Hyrum Kimball.\n\nCHAPTER 16.\n\nTROUBLES IN NAUVOO, 1842.\n\nBuilding of the Temple.--Book of Moses.--Words of the Prophet.--Nauvoo\nLegion.--Business Trip to St. Louis.--Return of Orson Hyde.\n\nCHAPTER 17.\n\nTEACHINGS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH, 1843.\n\nChange in Governors of Missouri and Illinois.--Prophet's Release.\n--Discourse on Authority.--Signs in the Heavens.--New Arrivals of\nSaints.--Death of Lorenzo Barnes.--Discourse on Knowledge.--Great\nTruths.--Prophet's Knowledge of Men.--Wilford Woodruff's Bond for\nTemple Funds.--Opposition to Revealed Truth.--Hell Defined.--Prophet\nArrested.--His Release.\n\nCHAPTER 18.\n\nMISSION TO THE EAST, 1843.\n\nAddress of the Prophet on Constitutional Rights.--Orson Hyde's\nCall to Russia.--Prophet Explains His Position with Respect to\nMissouri.--Origin of Nauvoo Legion.--Political Explanation.--Departure\nof the Twelve for the East.--Brigham Young's Fidelity.--Phrenological\nChart by O. S. Fowler.--Return of the Twelve to Nauvoo.--W. W. Sealed\nto Wife.--Adultery.--Governor of Missouri Again Issues Requisition for\nProphet.--Endowments.\n\nCHAPTER 19.\n\nEARLY DAYS OF 1844.\n\nConduct of the Laws and Marks.--Discourse on Elijah by the\nProphet.--The Celestial Law.--Prophet's Candidacy for President of\nU. S.--Exploring Expedition to California Planned.--Joseph, Mayor\nof Nauvoo.--Hostility in Carthage.--Mischief-makers in Nauvoo.--The\nProphet Talks on Politics.\n\nCHAPTER 20.\n\nTHE MARTYRDOM OF JOSEPH AND HYRUM, 1844.\n\nMission of the Apostles to the East.--A Warning to W. W.--A Sad\nParting.--Political News of the Prophet Published.--W. W. Arrives in\nBoston, June 26.--The Martyrdom.--Its Announcement Reaches W. W. in\nPortland, Maine.--His Return to Boston.--An Epistle to the Elders\nand Saints in the World.--W. W. Visits His Old Home.--Return to\nNauvoo.--Conditions in That City.\n\nCHAPTER 21.\n\nTHE SUCCESSION, 1844.\n\nSidney Rigdon's Claim to Guardianship.--Rigdon's Spiritual\nCondition.--Comparison of Sidney Rigdon and Frederick\nWilliams.--Remarks of Brigham Young.--Meeting on Aug. 8, 1844.--Brigham\nYoung Follows Sidney Rigdon in Address to the People.--Members of the\nTwelve Speak.--Vote on Question of Leadership.\n\nCHAPTER 22.\n\nSECOND CALL TO GREAT BRITAIN, 1844.\n\nThe New Leadership.--Second Call to Great Britain.--Warning Against\nLeading Companies from Nauvoo.--Instructions To Finish the Temple and\nTo Build up the City.--W. W. Visits Emma Smith and Others.--Parting\nAddress to the Saints.\n\nCHAPTER 23.\n\nIN THE BRITISH MISSION, 1844-45-46.\n\nDeparture.--Route.--Visits Home of Solomon Mack.--A Peculiar\nDream.--On the Ocean.--Copyright of Doctrine and Covenants.--Visit\nto Scotland.--Lemington.--Troubles in Nauvoo.--Condition of the\nMission.--Preparation for His Return.\n\nCHAPTER 24.\n\nON THE BANKS OF THE MISSOURI, 1846.\n\nDedication of the Temple in Nauvoo.--The Exodus to Council\nBluffs.--Accident to His father.--Reaches Mt. Pisgah.--Meets Brigham\nYoung.--Recruiting of the Mormon Battalion.--Colonel Kane.--Departure\nof the Battalion.--Organizations at Winter Quarters.--A Conference with\nthe Chiefs of the Leading Indian Tribes.--Explorations.--Remarks by\nPresident Young.\n\nCHAPTER 25.\n\nDEPARTURE OF THE PIONEERS.--APRIL 7, 1847.\n\nArrival of Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor at Winter\nQuarters.--Organization of the Pioneers.--Manner of Forming\nCamp.--Horse Feed Enroute.--Pawnee Indians.--A Practical\nJoke.--Crossing Loup Fork.\n\nCHAPTER 26.\n\nPIONEER JOURNEY CONTINUED, 1847.\n\nElijah Newman Healed.--Indians Attempt Theft.--Antelopes\nKilled.--Encounter with Indians.--A Buffalo Hunt.--Meet Traders from\nLaramie.--A Decision To Keep the North Bank of the Platte.--Immense\nHerds of Buffaloes.--William Clayton's Mile Gage.--Letter Left for Next\nCompany.--Description of the Rodometer.\n\nCHAPTER 27.\n\nPIONEERS REACH FORT LARAMIE--JUNE 2, 1847.\n\nIn the Red Man's Country.--Indian Customs.--Hunting Became\nExcessive.--Description of the Bluffs.--Guide Board 409 Miles from\nWinter Quarters.--Chimney Rock.--Brigham Young Rebukes Card Playing and\nFrivolity.--Fasting and Prayer.--Arrive at Fort Laramie.--Ascending the\nPlateaux.--Word from the Mormon Battalion.\n\nCHAPTER 28.\n\nPIONEERS ENTER SALT LAKE VALLEY.\n\nFerrying the Missourians over the River.--Construction of\nRafts.--Obtaining Provisions.--Ten Men Left at the Ferry.--Independence\nRock.--Devil's Gate.--175 Miles from Fort Laramie.--South Pass.--Meet\nMajor Harris, and Mr. Bridger.--Cross Green River.--Meet Samuel\nBrannon.--Independence Day.--Meet a Detachment of the Battalion.--Fort\nBridger.--Report of the Missouri Company That Perished.--Reach Salt\nLake Valley, July 24, 1847.\n\nCHAPTER 29.\n\nRETURN OF THE PIONEERS TO WINTER QUARTERS, 1847.\n\nIn Retrospect.--First Crop of Potatoes Planted.--The Beginning of\nIrrigation.--First Sunday.--Explorations South to Utah Lake.--Choice\nof Temple Block.--Address by Brigham Young.--Return to Winter\nQuarters.--Meet the Second Company of Pioneers.--Encounter with the\nIndians.--Reach Winter Quarters, Oct. 31, 1847.--First Presidency\nOrganized, Dec. 27, 1847.\n\nCHAPTER 30.\n\nA MISSION TO THE EAST, 1848.\n\nIn Winter Quarters.--Battle of Nauvoo Commemorated.--Organization of\nPottowatamie County.--Bids President Young and Saints Good-by.--Journey\nfrom Winter Quarters to Nauvoo.--From Nauvoo to Maine.--A Letter to His\nWife.--Healing the Sick.--Discovery of Gold in California.\n\nCHAPTER 31.\n\nELDER WOODRUFF'S RETURN FROM THE EAST.\n\nLetter to Orson Pratt.--Baptism of His Father-in-law, Ezra\nCarter.--Labors in New England.--Meets Dr. John M. Bernhisel.--Healing\nthe Sick.--Interview with Col. Kane.--Hears Indian Chief.--Release\nfrom His Mission.--Return to the Valleys.--Conditions at the\nFrontier.--Stampede on the Plains.--Brigham Young Appointed\nGovernor.--Salt Lake Temple Planned.--Salt Lake City Given a\nCharter.--Visit to the Southern Settlements.--Fourth Celebrated\nat Black Rock.--Celebrating of Twenty-fourth.--Death of His\nStep-Mother.--Judge Brocchus Speaks in Conference.--Beautiful Words of\nPatriarch John Smith.--A Vote To Discontinue Use of Tea and Coffee.\n\nCHAPTER 32.\n\nTHE YEARS, 1852, '53, '54.\n\nDiscourse of Brigham Young on Sin.--The Descendants of Cain.--Edward\nHunter Chosen Presiding Bishop.--Parowan Stake Organized.--David\nPatten.--Talk on Dancing.--Death of Willard Richards.--Jedediah M.\nGrant Chosen Counselor to Brigham Young.--Journey South.--Walker, the\nIndian Chief.--John Smith, Son of Hyrum Smith, Called To Be the Head\nPatriarch of the Church.--Visit North.--Legislature.--Philosophical\nSociety.\n\nCHAPTER 33.\n\nEDUCATIONAL EFFORTS.\n\nEducation Promoted.--Adventurers.--Endowment House.--President Young\nSpeaks of the Resurrection.--Death of Judge Schafer.--Provo.--Work\nin Educational Societies.--In the Legislature at Fillmore.--Words of\nConfidence from Kanosh, an Indian Chief.--Some Peculiarities of Wilford\nWoodruff.--Poisoned.\n\nCHAPTER 34.\n\nTHE REFORMATION, 1856.\n\nHard Times Were Difficult for Some To Endure.--Recording Church\nHistory.--Dedication of Historian's Office.--First Hand-cart\nCompany.--The Reformation Inaugurated--Death of Jedediah M.\nGrant.--Suffering of the Hand-cart Companies.--Heber C. Kimball's Dream.\n\nCHAPTER 35.\n\nCELEBRATION OF 24th, 1857.\n\nWords of Brigham Young.--Talk by the Indian Chief,\nAropene.--Assassination of Parley P. Pratt--Return of Thomas B. Marsh\nto the Church.--Celebration of the Twenty-fourth in Big Cottonwood\nCanyon.--News of the Army's Approach.\n\nCHAPTER 36.\n\nWAR TIMES, 1857.\n\nDeposit of Church Records in Temple Foundation.--Approach of\nthe Army.--Present of a Team.--John D. Lee.--Visit of Captain\nVan Vliet.--Lot Smith.--Col. Alexander Writes President\nYoung.--Communication from Governor Cumming to Governor\nYoung.--Miraculous Escapes.--High Price of Salt at Army\nHeadquarters.--Prediction of Calamity to the Nation.--A Poetic Tribute\nby Eliza R. Snow.\n\nCHAPTER 37.\n\nARMY ENTERS SALT LAKE VALLEY, 1858.\n\nPresident and Congress of the U. S. Memorialized.--Words of Brigham\nYoung.--Arrival of Col. Kane.--Governor Cumming Reaches Salt Lake\nCity.--Migration Southward.--Delegates from Nicaragua.--Want Mormons To\nMove to Central America.--Proclamation from President Buchanan.--Peace\nCommission.--President of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing\nSociety.--Indian War Threatened.--A Striking Dialogue.--The Mob\nElement.--Mogo's Deception.--Attacks on President Young.--Greeley\nVisits Utah.\n\nCHAPTER 38.\n\nBEGINNING OF THE REBELLION, 1861.\n\nEmbarks in Sheep Industry.--Adventures of One Gibson.--Lectures to\nYoung Men in Police Court.--Counsel to Missionaries.--Visit to Cache\nValley.--Schools Investigated.--Celebration of the 24th.--Prophecies\nof Civil War.--Little Children in the Resurrection.--Brigham Young on\nSecession.--Death of Aphek Woodruff.--Governor Dawson.\n\nCHAPTER 39.\n\nTHE YEARS 1862-'63.\n\nKilling of Thieves.--John Baptiste, the Grave Digger.--Value of\na Daily Journal.--Erection of the Salt Lake Theatre.--State of\nDeseret.--Foundation Stones of Temple Raised.--Indian Troubles on\nBear River.--Visit of the Moquitches to Salt Lake City.--Their\nCustoms.--Attempt To Arrest President Young.--Settlement of Bear Lake\nValley.--Mining.\n\nCHAPTER 40.\n\nTHE YEARS, 1864-65.\n\nSome Enjoyments.--He Visits a Condemned Man in Prison.--Troubles Made\nby Gibson on Hawaiian Islands.--Lorenzo Snow's Escape from Watery\nGrave.--Visit to Bear Lake Valley.--Remark of President Young in\nLogan.--Ordination to Apostleship of Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow,\nErastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards.--Hot Springs at Midway.--Second\nInauguration of President Lincoln.--Treaty with Indians.--Colfax Visits\nUtah.--Jane Blackhurst.\n\nCHAPTER 41.\n\nTHE YEARS 1866, '67, '68.\n\nNew Year's Greetings.--Evil Spirits Rebuked.--Love for Little\nOnes.--Drawings in His Journal.--Mrs. Godbe's Dream.--Brigham Young's\nRemarks on the Atonement.--Sept. 5, 1867, Joseph F. Smith Selected\nas One of the Twelve.--Amasa Lyman Dropped from Twelve.--School\nof the Prophets.--Move to Provo.--Grasshopper War.--Advent of the\nRailroad.--Remarkable Prophetic Utterances at Logan.--Visit to\nSanpete.--Call to First Presidency of Geo. A. Smith.--Accident to His\nSon Ashael.--Summary of 1868.\n\nCHAPTER 42.\n\nTHE YEARS, 1869, 70.\n\nCo-operative Movement.--Cove Fort.--Pronouncement Against Use\nof Wine.--Organization of Bear Lake Stake.--Visit of Schuyler\nColfax.--The Godbe Movement.--Descendants of Cain.--Utah Central\nR. R. Completed.--Plural Marriage--Boston Board of Trade Visits\nUtah.--Sayings of Brigham Young.--The Newman-Pratt Discussion.--Martin\nHarris Re-baptized.\n\nCHAPTER 43.\n\nPIONEER LIFE IN RICH COUNTY, 1871.\n\nArrest of President Young and Others.--Experiences in Randolph.--Caught\nin a Snow-storm.--Reaches Salt Lake City.\n\nCHAPTER 44.\n\nTHE YEARS, 1872-74.\n\nJudge McKean.--Journalizing.--Early Church Historians.--Holy\nGhost.--Visit to San Francisco.--Funerals of Pitt and Player.--Thomas\nL. Kane.--Garden of Eden.--Paralysis.--Earl Rosebury.--Fall from a Tree.\n\nCHAPTER 45.\n\nST. GEORGE TEMPLE DEDICATED.\n\nVisit to Randolph.--Governor Axtell.--Visit of President Grant.--Visit\nof Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil.--Dedication of St. George Temple.--A\nGrand Birthday Celebration.\n\nCHAPTER 46.\n\nDEATH OF BRIGHAM YOUNG, AUG. 29, 1877.\n\nDeath of His Son, Brigham Young Woodruff.--Prophetic\nUtterances.--Baptisms for the Signers of the Declaration\nof Independence.--Death of Brigham Young Changes His\nPlans.--Funeral.--Visit to Logan.--Visit to St. George.--A Vision.--Old\nFolks' Excursion.--Zion's Board of Trade.\n\nCHAPTER 47.\n\nEXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1879.\n\nIn Arizona.--An Epistle to the World.--Birthday Celebrated in St.\nGeorge.--Travels in Arizona.--Hunt with Pelone, the Apache Chief.--A\nVisit to the Zunies.--Travels with Lot Smith.--Dream.--Letters.\n\nCHAPTER 48.\n\nREMARKABLE EXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1880.\n\nIn a Shepherd's Tent in Arizona.--A Revelation Given Jan. 26,\n1880.--Organization of First Presidency.--Call to Apostleship of\nFrancis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith.\n\nCHAPTER 49.\n\nYEARS OF GREAT AGITATION, 1881, 1882.\n\nLeonard Hardy's Birthday Party.--Prophecy Concerning Joseph F.\nSmith.--Death of Orson Pratt--Visit to St. George.--The Edmunds\nLaw.--Oscar Wilde.--Conditions at St. Johns, Arizona.--Call of\nPresident George Teasdale, Heber J. Grant and Seymour B. Young.--Death\nof Captain William H. Hooper.\n\nCHAPTER 50.\n\nTHE CRUSADE OPENS, 1883-1885.\n\nExemplary Deacons.--Adam-ondi-Ahman.--Visit to Colorado.--The\nPatriarchal Order of Marriage.--Andrew Burt.--Farm Life.--The Crusade\nOpens.--The Family Celebration of His Birthday.--Call of John W.\nTaylor.--Call of Wm. B. Preston.--Land Troubles in Arizona.--Dedication\nof the Logan Temple.--A Visit to Snake River. Country, Idaho.--Growth\nof Children After the Resurrection.--Call of John Morgan.--In\nExile.--Conference at Fish Lake.\n\nCHAPTER 51.\n\nELEVATION TO PRESIDENCY OF THE CHURCH, 1889.\n\nArrest of George Q. Cannon.--Governor Murray's Dismissal.--Death\nof President Taylor.--President Woodruff Appears in the\nTabernacle.--Change in Federal Officers.--April, 1889, Wilford Woodruff\nBecame President of the Church.--Visit to California.--M. W. Merrill,\nA. H. Lund, and Abraham H. Cannon Called to Apostleship.--Senator\nMorgan Visits President Woodruff.\n\nCHAPTER 52.\n\nTHE MANIFESTO AND EVENTS OF 1890-'91.\n\nThe Political Situation.--Visit to California.--The Manifesto.--Its\nEffects.--Sugar Industry.--Henry M. Stanley.--Deaths of Prominent\nMen.--Earthquake in Southern Utah.--Address to Irrigation\nCongress.--Interpretation of Manifesto.--Remarks at Brigham City on the\nManifesto.\n\nCHAPTER 53.\n\nDEDICATION OF THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE, 1892.\n\nNew Home.--Visit of President Eliot to Salt Lake City.--Completing\nthe Temple.--Amnesty.--Dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.--Visit\nto the World's Fair, Chicago.--Liberal Party Disbands.\n\nCHAPTER 54.\n\nADMINISTRATIVE WORK, 1894.\n\nElectric Power Plant in Ogden Canyon.--Saltair,--Death of His Brother,\nThompson.--Temple Work for Benjamin Franklin.--An Optimist.--Death of\nA. O. Smoot of Provo.--Utah Stake Organized.--Trip to Alaska.\n\nCHAPTER 55.\n\nTHE YEARS 1896-'97-'98.--BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.--HIS DEATH.\n\nAdmission of Utah into the Union.--The Occasion Celebrated.--Political\nStruggles.--Birthday of Geo. Q. Cannon Celebrated.--April Conference,\n1896.--Pronunciamento Regarding Political Matters.--Death of Apostle\nAbraham H. Cannon.--The Purity and Nobility of His Character Revealed\nto Prest. Woodruff.--Change of the Fast Day.--Great Celebration\non His 90th Anniversary, 1897.--Visit from Judge Kinney.--Pioneer\nJubilee Celebration.--Letter to the King and Queen of Sweden.--Visits\nthe Coast.--His Son Owen Called to the Apostleship.--Attends April\nConference, 1898.--Goes to the Coast in August.--His Sickness.--Departs\nthis Life September 2, 1898. CHAPTER 56. Funeral Services.\n\nCHAPTER 57.\n\nCharacter Sketch.\n\nAppendix A.\n\nSidney Rigdon.\n\nAppendix B.\n\nAddress to the Saints of the British Isles.\n\nAppendix C.\n\nStorm on Lake Michigan.\n\nAppendix D.\n\nRationality of the Atonement.\n\nWives of Wilford Woodruff.\n\nChildren of Wilford Woodruff.\n\nIndex.\n\n{1}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 1.\n\nBIRTH AND GENEALOGY, 1807.\n\nA Chosen Spirit.--Divine Guidance.--Genealogy.--A Miller by Trade.\n\nWilford Woodruff was the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ\nof Latter-day Saints. He belonged to that class of men of whom the\nLord said to Abraham, \"These will I make my rulers.\" Of our primeval\nchildhood that ancient Prophet informs us that the Lord stood among\nthose that were spirits and He saw that they were good. Of these\nspirits the Lord said to Abraham, \"Thou art one of them, thou wert\nchosen before thou wast born.\" If the Lord knew Abraham and Jeremiah\nbefore they were born in the flesh, He also must have known Wilford\nWoodruff in the spirit world. The latter's integrity and unbounded\ndevotion to the worship and purposes of his God are not surpassed by\nany prophet of either ancient or modern times. Like those of ancient\ntimes, Wilford Woodruff was undoubtedly foreordained of God to a noble\nmission in life, and to the great responsibilities which he filled\nwith honor and to the glory of God. To him there was a reality of the\nspirit world rarely enjoyed by men, he constantly felt the influence of\nspiritual associations which were above and beyond the ordinary affairs\nof life. That he had an existence prior to this probation in life, he\nnever doubted. He felt that life was a mission to which he had been\ncalled and which in the goodness of God he had been permitted to fill.\nHis own spiritual existence was never overshadowed by temporalities or\nby constant misgivings that so frequently beset the lives of other men.\n\nWilford Woodruff looked upon the brotherhood of men as {2} a natural\nsequence of his assurance that God was the Father of our spirits in\na former life. He understood that prayer of the Savior addressing\nHimself to His Father in heaven. His own spirit was in harmony with the\nrevelations of Christ. In the light of scriptural declarations and of\nhis own spiritual nature, he was simply here in life in the performance\nof great duties which had been assigned him before the world was. He\nsincerely believed that in returning again to the God who had given him\nlife he would have to account for his talents and his time. Speaking\nof the Athenians, Paul said: \"God that made the world hath made of\none blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth, and\nhath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their\nhabitation.\"\n\nIn the life of Wilford Woodruff there was unfolded day by day the\nduties and obligations that linked him with the chain of eternal life.\nWhen the new revelation of God to men in this dispensation broke in\nupon him he was happily prepared to enjoy the new light. To be a\nLatter-day Saint from the outset seemed as natural as to breathe the\nair of heaven. He marvelled at the purposes of God but did not wonder,\nand doubt did not obscure from his vision the divine truth of this\ndispensation while he sojourned in the flesh. The love of God had\nalways abounded in his heart, and the divine message found him eager\nand willing.\n\nHe was not among those who sought divine assurance and spiritual\nsatisfaction in some one creed of the day. The Bible was his highest\nauthority and he believed implicitly in the divinity of its teachings.\nHe was a devoted student of Holy Writ and prayerfully sought the gifts\nand blessings bestowed upon the Saints of old. He was waiting for\nprecisely that which came to him and he took up the new mission of life\nwith a strenuous desire to serve God and to be a witness that he was\nthe same God yesterday, to-day, and forever.\n\nThe story of Wilford Woodruff's life was consistent, faithful and in\nharmony with scriptural examples. The dealings of God with His children\nin other dispensations were always before his mind as illustrations\nand evidences. If the Bible had been the chief consolation of his\nyouth and the best evidence of divine purposes, it became doubly so\nwhen he became a Latter-day Saint. Nothing that God had done in former\ndispensations {3} was too insignificant for his earnest consideration.\nHenceforth he was to speak in the name of the Lord, and act by the\nauthority of divine command. He loved the memory of the ancient\nProphets and strove earnestly to emulate their example. His life,\ntherefore, is marked by spiritual growth and a devotion to God's will\nthat makes it an inspiration to all who knew him or who read the story\nof his life and teachings. He honored and magnified every office and\ncalling conferred upon him from that of a teacher to the president of\nthe Church. In this high station he laid down his life at the ripe age\nof ninety-one years.\n\nWilford Woodruff was born March 1st, 1807 in the town of Farmington,\nHartford County, Connecticut. He was the son of Aphek Woodruff. His\ngrandfather was Captain Eldad Woodruff who was the son of Josiah\nWoodruff. Josiah was the son of Joseph whose father's name was John,\nthe son of Mathew Woodruff. This is as far back as Wilford Woodruff's\ngenealogy has been traced in America. It is claimed that John Woodruff\nof South Hampton, Long Island, is the first person in American history\nbearing the name of Woodruff. Whether he is related to Matthew\nWoodruff, the earliest known ancestor of Wilford in this country, has\nnot been determined. President Woodruff says, that according to the\nancient Book of Heraldry, one of his ancestors was Lord Mayor of London\nin 1579.\n\nHis mother's name was Beulah Thompson. The family on his mother's\nside, for generations lived at Farmington, Connecticut. The Woodruff\nfamily name is English and is derived from the occupation of its\nbearers who in the days of William the Conqueror guarded the woods and\nforests for the use of noblemen and who were considered among the most\nhonored officers in the land. From Wilford Woodruff's account of his\nforefathers it appears that they were hardy and long-lived people. He\nsays: \"My grandfather, Josiah Woodruff, lived nearly one hundred years.\nHe possessed an iron constitution and performed a great deal of manual\nwork up to the time of his death. His wife's name was Sarah. She bore\nhim nine children: Josiah, Appleton, Eldad, Elisha, Joseph, Rhoda,\nand Phoebe. There were two of this family whose names are not given.\nMy grandfather, Eldad Woodruff, was the third son of Josiah. He was\nborn in Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut in 1751. He likewise\npossessed {4} a strong constitution and it was said of him that for\nseveral years he performed more labor than any man in Hartford County.\nFrom over exertion and hewing timber he was attacked with rheumatism in\nhis right hip which caused a severe lameness for several years before\nhis death. He married Dinah Woodford by whom he had seven children:\nEldad, Elizabeth, Samuel, Titus, Helen, Aphek, and Ozem. My grandfather\ndied in Farmington from spotted fever in 1806 at the age of fifty-five\nyears. My grandmother, Dinah, died in the same place in 1824 from the\neffects of a cancer in her breast; her sufferings were very great.\n\n\"My father, Aphek Woodruff, was born in Farmington, November 11, 1778.\nHe married Beulah Thompson who bore him three sons: Azmon, born Nov.\n29th, 1802; Thompson, born December 22nd, 1804; and myself, born March\n1st, 1807. My mother died from spotted fever January 11th, 1808 at the\nage of twenty-eight years, leaving me a babe of fifteen months. My\nfather married a second wife, Azubah Hart. She bore him six children.\nHe was a man of a strong constitution and did a great amount of labor.\nAt eighteen years of age he began work in a flour mill and saw mill and\ncontinued at his occupation there for about fifty years. Most of that\ntime he labored eighteen hours a day. He never made any profession of\nreligion until I baptized him into the Church of Jesus Christ on the\nfirst day of July, 1838. He was a man of great charity, honesty, and\nintegrity and made himself poor by giving to the poor. He was liberal\nin accommodating his fellow men by lending money and by becoming surety\nfor his neighbors. He generally said yes to every man who asked a favor\nat his hands.\"\n\n\"I assisted my father in the Farmington mills until I was twenty\nyears of age and continued in the occupation of a miller until I was\nthirty-one.\"\n\n{5}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 2.\n\nA CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.\n\nArms and Legs Broken.--Injury to Breast Bone and\nRibs.--Drowned.--Frozen.--Scalded.--Other Escapes.--Life Preserved by a\nMerciful Providence.\n\nThe journal of Wilford Woodruff contains a chapter which he designates\nas a \"chapter of accidents.\" It is given thus early in his biography as\nit reveals the purposes of an overruling Providence whose mercies and\nguiding powers are remarkably manifested throughout a long and arduous\ncareer. He himself regarded his escapes from death as an evidence of a\ndestructive power that sought to thwart that special mission in life\nso wonderfully revealed in the subsequent chapters of this biography.\nHis life throughout discloses a constant struggle against obstacles\nwhich he had to overcome. They are manifested in every degree of\ndifficulty, and to less courageous natures many of them would have been\ninsurmountable.\n\nThere are in his words which describe the misfortunes that overtook him\nno traces of envy, discouragement or despair. That others were born to\nan easier life did not awaken within him a spirit of envy or doubt. To\nhis mind the joys or sorrows of this world were all subordinate to the\nwill of an overruling Providence. While he did not complain, he did\nnot ascribe his difficulties or dangers to fate. He was never so much\nconcerned about the difficulty in surmounting an obstacle as he was\nabout his ability through the goodness of God to do so. \"Evidently,\" he\nsays, \"I have been numbered with those who are apparently the marked\nvictims of misfortunes. It has seemed to me at times as though some\ninvisible power were watching my footsteps in search of an opportunity\nto destroy my life. I, therefore, ascribe my preservation on earth to\nthe watchcare of a merciful Providence, whose hand has been stretched\nout to rescue me from death when I was in the presence of the most\nthreatening dangers. Some of these dangers from which I so narrowly\nescaped I shall here briefly describe:\n\n\"When three years of age, I fell into a caldron of scalding water\nand although instantly rescued, I was so badly burned {6} that it\nwas nine months before I was thought to be out of the danger of\nfatal consequences. My fifth and sixth years were interwoven with\nmany accidents. On a certain day, in company with my elder brothers,\nI entered the barn, and chose the top of a hay mow for a place of\ndiversion. We had not been there long before I fell from the great beam\nupon my face on the bare floor. I was severely hurt, but recovered in a\nshort time, and was again at play.\n\n\"One Saturday evening, with my brothers Azmon and Thompson, while\nplaying in the chamber of my father's house, contrary to his\ninstructions, I made a misstep and fell to the bottom of the stairs,\nbreaking one of my arms in the fall. So much for disobedience. I\nsuffered intensely, but soon recovered, feeling that whatever I\nsuffered in the future, it would not be for disobedience to parents.\nThe Lord has commanded children to obey their parents; and Paul says,\n'This is the first commandment with promise.'\n\n\"It was only a short time after this that I narrowly escaped with my\nlife. My father owned a number of horned cattle, among which was a\nsurly bull. One evening I was feeding pumpkins to the cattle, and the\nbull leaving his own took the pumpkin I had given to a cow which I\ncalled mine. I was incensed at the selfishness of this male beast, and\npromptly picked up the pumpkin he had left, to give it to the cow. No\nsooner had I got it in my arms than the bull came plunging toward me\nwith great fury. I ran down the hill with all my might, the bull at my\nheels. My father, seeing the danger I was in, called to me to throw\ndown the pumpkin, but (forgetting to be obedient) I held on, and as\nthe bull was approaching me with the fierceness of a tiger, I made a\nmisstep and fell flat upon the ground. The pumpkin rolled out of my\narms, the bull leaped over me, ran his horns into the pumpkin and tore\nit to pieces. Undoubtedly he would have done the same thing to me if I\nhad not fallen to the ground. This escape, like all others, I attribute\nto the mercy and goodness of God.\n\n\"During the same year, while visiting at my Uncle Eldad Woodruff's, I\nfell from a porch across some timber, and broke my other arm.\n\n\"Not many months passed by before I was called to endure {7} a still\ngreater misfortune. My father owned a saw mill in addition to his flour\nmill, and one morning, in company with several other boys, I went into\nthe saw mill and got upon the headlock of the carriage to ride, not\nanticipating any danger; but before I was aware of it my leg was caught\nbetween the headlock and the fender post and broken in two. I was taken\nto the house, and lay nine hours before my bones were replaced. That\ntime was spent in severe pain; but being young, my bones soon knitted\ntogether, and in a few weeks I was upon my feet as usual, attending to\nthe sports of youth. During this confinement my brother Thompson was my\ncompanion. He was suffering from typhus fever.\n\n\"Shortly after this, upon a dark night, I was kicked in the abdomen by\nan ox; but being too close to the animal to receive the full force of\nthe blow, I was more frightened than hurt.\n\n\"It was not long before I made my first effort at loading hay. I was\nvery young, but thought I had loaded it all right. When on the way to\nthe barn, the wheel of the wagon struck a rock, and off went the hay. I\nfell to the ground with the load on top of me; this was soon removed,\nand aside from a little smothering I was unhurt.\n\n\"When eight years of age, I accompanied my father, with several others\nin a one-horse wagon, about three miles from home, to attend to some\nwork. On the way the horse became frightened, ran down a hill, and\nturned over the wagon, with us in it. We were in danger, but were again\nsaved by the hand of Providence. None of us were injured.\n\n\"One day I climbed an elm tree to procure some bark; while about\nfifteen feet from the ground, the limb upon which I stood, being dry,\nbroke, and I fell to the ground upon my back. The accident apparently\nknocked the breath out of my body. A cousin ran to the house and told\nmy parents that I was dead, but before my friends reached me I revived,\nrose to my feet, and met them on the way.\n\n\"When twelve years old I was nearly drowned in Farmington River. I sank\nin thirty feet of water, and was miraculously saved by a young man\nnamed Bacon. The restoration to life caused me great suffering.\n\n\"At thirteen years of age, while passing through Farmington {8}\nmeadows, in the depths of winter, in a blinding snowstorm, I became\nso chilled and overcome with cold that I could not travel. I crawled\ninto the hollow of a large apple tree. A man in the distance saw me,\nand, realizing the danger I was in, hastened to where I was. Before he\narrived at the spot I had fallen asleep, and was almost unconscious. He\nhad much difficulty in arousing me to a sense of my critical condition,\nand promptly had me conveyed to my father's house, where, through a\nkind Providence, my life was again preserved.\n\n\"At fourteen years of age I split my left instep open with an ax which\nwent almost through my foot. I suffered intensely from this injury, and\nmy foot was nine months in getting well.\n\n\"When fifteen years old I was bitten in the hand by a mad dog in the\nlast stages of hydrophobia. However, he did not draw blood, and through\nthe mercy and power of God I was again preserved from an awful death.\n\n\"At the age of seventeen I met with an accident which caused me\nmuch suffering, and came nearly ending my life. I was riding a very\nill-tempered horse, which, while going down a very steep, rocky hill,\nsuddenly leaped from the road and ran down the steepest part of the\nhill, going at full speed amid the thickest of the rocks. At the same\ntime, he commenced kicking, and was about to land me over his head\namong the rocks, but I lodged on the top of his head, and grabbed\neach of his ears with my hands, expecting every moment to be dashed\nto pieces against the rocks. While in this position, sitting astride\nthe horse's neck, with neither bridle nor other means of guiding him\nexcept his ears, he plunged down the hill among the rocks with great\nfury, until he struck a rock nearly breast high, which threw him to\nthe earth. I went over his head, landing squarely upon my feet almost\none rod in front of the horse. Alighting upon my feet was probably the\nmeans of saving my life; for if I had struck the ground upon any other\npart of my body, it would probably have killed me instantly. As it was,\none of my legs was broken in two places, and both my ankles put out\nof place in a shocking manner. The horse almost rolled over me in his\nstruggles to get up. My uncle saw me, and came to my assistance. I was\ncarried to his house in an armchair. I lay from 2 o'clock {9} in the\nafternoon until 10 o'clock at night without medical aid and in great\npain, when my father arrived with Dr. Swift, of Farmington. The doctor\nset my bones, boxed up my limbs, and that night conveyed me eight\nmiles in his carriage to my father's house. I had good attention, and\nalthough my sufferings were great, in eight weeks I was out upon my\ncrutches, and was soon restored to a sound condition.\n\n\"In 1827, while managing a flour mill for Aunt Wheeler, in Avon, Conn.,\nI was standing upon one of the wheels, clearing away the ice. A man,\nnot knowing I was in that position, hoisted the gate and turned upon\nthe wheel a full head of water. The wheel started at once, my foot\nslipped, and I was plunged head foremost over the rim of the wheel\ninto about three feet of water. My weight had drawn my legs out of the\nwheel, or I would have been drawn under a shaft and crushed to death.\n\n\"In 1831, while in charge of a flour mill at Collinsville, Conn., I\nwas standing upon one of the arms inside of a breast-wheel twenty feet\nin diameter, clearing off the ice. A full head of water was turned\non suddenly. The wheel started instantly. I dropped my ax and leaped\nabout twenty feet to the bottom of the wheel. As I struck the bottom,\nI rolled out against a rugged stone, with only two feet of clearance\nbetween the stone and the wheel. The latter caught me and rolled me\nout into the water below, where I found myself, much frightened, but\nthankful to Providence that no bones were broken.\n\n\"The day that I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints--December 31, 1833--my horse, with newly calked\nshoes, kicked the hat off my head. If he had struck two inches lower,\ndoubtless he would have killed me instantly. Ten minutes later, while\ndriving the same horse and another hitched to a sled with loose boards\non the bottom and no box, the boards slipped forward under the pole\nand struck the ground. This at once threw the boards up endwise, and\npitched me forward between the horses. I held on the lines; the horses,\nfrightened, ran down the hill, dragging me under the sled behind them.\nThe road, however, was smooth, and I escaped without injury.\n\n\"In 1834, while traveling in Zion's Camp to Missouri, a rifle was\ndischarged accidentally. The ball passed through three {10} tents with\na dozen men in each, and lodged in the axletree of a wagon, without\ninjury to anyone; it passed within a few inches of my breast. Many\nothers escaped quite as providentially as I did.\n\n\"A few months later a musket, heavily loaded with buckshot, and pointed\ndirectly at my breast, was snapped accidentally; but it missed fire,\nand again the Lord preserved my life.\n\n\"In April, 1839, in Rochester, Ills., I was riding upon the\nrunning-gear of a wagon. I sat upon the front axletree. The bolt\ncame out of the coupling-pole, separating the wheels, the front from\nthe rear; and my weight upon the front bolster and tongue turned the\ncoupling-pole over on the horses' backs, turned the stakes upside down,\nwhich shut me between the bolster and tongue, but in such a manner that\nmy head and shoulders dragged upon the ground. The horses took fright\nand ran into an open prairie. They dragged me for about half a mile,\nand notwithstanding my awkward position I managed to guide them so as\nto run them into the corner of a high worm-fence, where we landed in\na pile together. I was considerable bruised, but escaped without any\nbroken bones, and after one day's rest was able to attend to my labors\nagain.\n\n\"On the 15th day of October, 1846, while with the Camp of Israel\nbuilding up Winter Quarters, on the west side of the Missouri River\n(then Indian country,) I passed through one of the most painful and\nserious misfortunes of my life. I took my ax and went two and a half\nmiles upon the bluff to cut some shingle timber to cover my cabin. I\nwas accompanied by two men. While felling the third tree, I stepped\nback of it some eight feet, where I thought I was entirely out of\ndanger. There was, however, a crook in the tree, which, when the\ntree fell, struck a knoll and caused the tree to bound endwise back\nof the stump. As it bounded backwards, the butt end of the tree hit\nme in the breast, and knocked me back and above the ground several\nfeet, against a standing oak. The falling tree followed me in its\nbounds and severely crushed me against the standing tree. I fell to\nthe ground, alighting upon my feet. My left thigh and hip were badly\nbruised, also my left arm; my breastbone and three ribs on my left side\nwere broken. I was bruised about my lungs, vitals and left side in a\nserious manner. After the accident {11} I sat upon a log while Mr. John\nGarrison went a quarter of a mile and got my horse. Notwithstanding\nI was so badly hurt, I had to mount my horse and ride two and a half\nmiles over an exceedingly rough road. On account of severe pain I had\nto dismount twice on my way home. My breast and vitals were so badly\ninjured that at each step of the horse pain went through me like an\narrow. I continued on horseback until I arrived at Turkey Creek, on\nthe north side of Winter Quarters. I was then exhausted, and was taken\noff the horse and carried in a chair to my wagon. I was met in the\nstreet by Presidents Brigham Young. Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards,\nand others, who assisted in carrying me to the wagon. Before placing\nme upon my bed they laid hands upon me, and in the name of the Lord\nrebuked the pain and distress, and said that I should live, and not\ndie. I was then laid upon my bed in the wagon, as my cabin was not yet\ndone. As the apostles prophesied upon my head, so it came to pass; I\ndid not die. I employed no physician, but was administered to by the\nelders of Israel, and nursed by my wife. I lay upon my bed, unable to\nmove until my breast-bone began to knit together on the ninth day. In\nabout twenty days I began to walk, and in thirty days from the time I\nwas hurt. I returned to my laborious employment.\n\n\"I have not now a lame limb about me, notwithstanding it all. I have\nbeen able to endure the hardest kind of manual labor, exposures,\nhardships, and journeys. I have walked forty, fifty, and, on one\noccasion, sixty miles in a single day. The only inconvenience I am\nnow conscious of is that if I overwork, or take a severe cold, I feel\nit more sensibly in my breast and left side than I did before my last\ninjury. I have given considerable space in recounting the foregoing\npeculiar circumstances which I have experienced in life. A summary of\nwhat is here given may be briefly stated thus: I have broken both legs,\none of them in two places; both arms, both ankles, my breastbone, and\nthree ribs; I have been scalded, frozen, and drowned; I have been in\ntwo water wheels while turning under a full head; I have passed through\na score of other hairbreadth escapes. The repeated deliverances from\nall these remarkable dangers I ascribe to the mercies of my Heavenly\nFather. In recalling them to mind I always feel impressed to render the\ngratitude of my heart, with {12} thanksgiving and joy, to the Lord.\nI pray that the remainder of my days may pass in His service, in the\nbuilding up of His kingdom.\"\n\nWhen one stops to reflect upon the character of the accidents and the\nmanner of escape, he is impressed by the thought that they came along\nas part of the remarkable incidents of his life. They are marvels\nto be sure, but the whole life of Wilford Woodruff is a marvel. He\nwas on the spot when the danger arrived. He never seems to have been\ndisconcerted by it. He was so serene in his faith that he always had\nan assurance that all would end well, and he, consequently, is never\nfound in a complainly mood, even when undergoing the severest pain. His\npatience, therefore, was a powerful factor in bringing to his life a\nlarge measure of confidence in the ultimate goodness of an overruling\nProvidence.\n\n{13}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 3.\n\nA REMARKABLE PREPARATION.\n\n\"Coming Events.\"--Wilford Woodruff's Interest in Religion.--Existing\nReligious Denominations.--Teachings of Scripture.--Father Mason, a\nProphet.--Peculiar Process of Preparation.\n\nWilford Woodruff belonged to a group of men whose advent into the world\ncharacterized the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Though\nin their own day, humble and obscure and held in contempt by mankind\ngenerally, their importance and the work accomplished by them grow in\nsignificance to the Latter-day Saints who are and have been for the\npast half century the greatest history makers in the world. Such men\nas Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo\nSnow, and Joseph F. Smith, whose administration of the affairs of the\nChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given them a prominent\nplace in the world as well as in the Church, grow in historical\nmagnitude as time goes on. Their respective administrations constitute\ndistinguished landmarks in the history of a great people.\n\nThere has been a mysterious something about North America, and indeed\nof the whole American continent, that has made it not only inviting to\ndiscoverers and adventurers, but an asylum to those who sought enlarged\nreligious freedom and the development of institutions in harmony\nwith the ideals of progressive religious thought. What has been more\nremarkable to the welfare of this nation than the character of the men,\nwho, standing upon foreign shores looked forward to it as a land of\ngrand opportunities, were the men, the early patriots who gave to its\ngovernment the highest wisdom of the age, and to social institution\na broad foundation upon which all classes could securely rest their\nhopes, their ambitions, and their religious convictions.\n\nThe institutions of our country have nevertheless grown as time went\non, and little by little conditions derogatory to the well-being and\nhappiness of the people have given way to higher and better standards\nof life. The opposition to slavery and its downfall enlarged the\nconceptions of individual liberty and of {14} human rights. The\ntraditions of ages have given way before the progress of modern\nenlightenment, and the country has afforded better opportunities for\nprogressive and changing institutions than any other nation of the\ncivilized world. The whole drift of American history has been in the\ndirection of religious enlightenment and political freedom. True, such\nenlightenment and freedom have met with stubborn resistance and have\ncost the best blood of the nation. The United States has been a country\npeculiarly marked for the greatest human endeavor. It has not, however,\nreached the acme of its possibilities nor has its work, however\nprogressive, reached a finished state. If the lessons of the past in\nAmerican history are important in any one respect, more than another,\nit is in the great truth that it is to be the standard bearer, and the\nfirst in religion and government.\n\nIn religion the nation is brought face to face daily more and more with\nthe great religious problem known to the civilized world as Mormonism.\nThe men who were instrumentalities of that new religion grow in\nimportance as it makes its way in religious and theological history.\nThe lives therefore of such men as Wilford Woodruff not only have a\ndistinct place in the lives and thoughts of their religious associates,\nbut will also have an important position in the future history and\ndevelopment of religious thought.\n\nHow such men as Wilford Woodruff came upon the stage at the particular\ntime in the history of the Church, and what external influences brought\nthem into its folds are matter of peculiar interest to every student\nof Church history. What he himself thought of the new movement and how\nhe was prepared to receive it is given here and there throughout his\nprivate journals in a manner to make the story of his life one of the\nmost interesting in all the annals of the Church.\n\nHe says: \"At an early age my mind began to be exercised upon religious\nsubjects, but I never made a profession of religion until 1830 when\nI was twenty-three years of age. I did not then join any church for\nthe reason that I could not find a body of people, denomination,\nor church that had for its doctrine, faith, and practices those\nprinciples, ordinances, and gifts which constituted the gospel of\nJesus Christ as taught by Him and His apostles. Neither did I find\nanywhere the manifestations of the {15} Holy Ghost with its attendant\ngifts and graces. When I conversed with the ministers of the various\ndenominations or sects, they would always tell me that prophets,\napostles, revelations, healing, etc., were given to establish Jesus\nChrist and His doctrine, but that they have ever since been done away\nwith because no longer needed in the Church and Kingdom of God. Such\na declaration I never could and never would believe. I did believe,\nhowever, that revelation, the gifts and graces, and the faith once\ndelivered to the Saints--a faith which they have enjoyed in all ages\nwhen God has had an acknowledged people on the earth--could be done\naway with only through the disobedience and unbelief of the children\nof men. I believed every gift, office, and blessing to be just as\nnecessary now to constitute the true Church of Christ and Kingdom of\nGod as in any age of the world.\n\n\"This belief was firmly fixed upon my mind for two reasons: first,\nfrom the study of the Bible I found that the principle of cause and\neffect was the same in all ages, and that the divine promises made\nwere to all generations. At the same time, I found no changes in the\ngospel in the days of Christ and the apostles, or that there would be\nany change in the plan of salvation in the last days. I learned also\nfrom the Scriptures that many of the ancient prophets, that Christ and\nHis apostles foresaw by inspiration and revelation that the Gentile\nnations would apostatize and turn away from the true faith and from the\nChurch and Kingdom of God as the Jews had anciently done; that there\nwould be a falling away from the apostolic faith, from its doctrines\nand ordinances; that other systems would arise; that when these false\nsystems should reach their fullness, the God of heaven would set up His\nKingdom; that an angel would restore the gospel; and that it should be\npreached in all the world for a witness before the Savior should come\nto reign. I further believed that the gospel had been taken from the\nJews and given to the Gentiles; that the Gentiles had, as foretold by\nthe prophets, fallen into apostasy; and that in the last days Israel\nshould be restored and the promises concerning that people should be\nfulfilled. All these things I learned from the Scriptures and they made\na lasting impression upon my mind.\n\n\"The second reason for my peculiar belief in such principles, {16}\nteachings, and doctrines was that in the days of my youth I was\ntaught by an aged man named Robert Mason, who lived in Sainsbury,\nConnecticut. By many he was called a prophet; to my knowledge, many of\nhis prophecies have been fulfilled. The sick were healed by him through\nthe laying on of hands in the name of Jesus Christ, and devils were\ncast out. His son was a raving maniac. After praying and fasting for\nhim nine days, he arose on the ninth day and commanded in the name of\nJesus Christ the devil to come out of him. The devil obeyed and the boy\nwas made whole from that very hour. This man instilled these principles\ninto my mind as well as into the mind of my oldest brother Azmon.\n\n\"Father Mason did not claim that he had any authority to officiate in\nthe ordinances of the gospel, nor did he believe that such authority\nexisted on the earth. He did believe, however, that it was the\nprivilege of any man who had faith in God to fast and pray for the\nhealing of the sick by the laying on of hands. He believed it his right\nand the right of every honest-hearted man or woman to receive light and\nknowledge, visions, and revelations by the prayer of faith. He told\nme that the day was near when the Lord would establish His Church and\nKingdom upon the earth with all its ancient gifts and blessings. He\nsaid that such a work would commence upon the earth before he died,\nbut that he would not live to partake of its blessings. He said that I\nshould live to do so, and that I should become a conspicuous actor in\nthat kingdom.\n\n\"The last time I ever saw him he related to me the following vision\nwhich he had in his field in open day: 'I was carried away in a vision\nand found myself in the midst of a vast orchard of fruit trees. I\nbecame hungry and wandered through this vast orchard searching for\nfruit to eat, but I found none. While I stood in amazement finding no\nfruit in the midst of so many trees, they began to fall to the ground\nas if torn up by a whirlwind. They continued to fall until there was\nnot a tree standing in the whole orchard. I immediately saw thereafter\nshoots springing up from the roots and forming themselves into young\nand beautiful trees. These budded, blossomed, and brought forth fruit\nwhich ripened and was the most beautiful to look upon of anything my\neyes had ever beheld. I stretched forth {17} my hand and plucked some\nof the fruit. I gazed upon it with delight; but when I was about to eat\nof it, the vision closed and I did not taste the fruit.'\n\n\"'At the close of the vision I bowed down in humble prayer and asked\nthe Lord to show me the meaning of the vision. Then the voice of the\nLord came to me saying: \"Son of man, thou hast sought me diligently to\nknow the truth concerning my Church and Kingdom among men. This is to\nshow you that my Church is not organized among men in the generation\nto which you belong; but in the days of your children the Church and\nKingdom of God shall be made manifest with all the gifts and the\nblessings enjoyed by the Saints in past ages. You shall live to be made\nacquainted with it, but shall not partake of its blessings before you\ndepart this life. You will be blest of the Lord after death because you\nhave followed the dictation of my Spirit in this life.\"'\n\n\"When Father Mason had finished relating the vision and its\ninterpretation, he said, calling me by my Christian name: 'Wilford, I\nshall never partake of this fruit in the flesh, but you will and you\nwill become a conspicuous actor in the new kingdom.' He then turned\nand left me. These were the last words he ever spoke to me upon the\nearth. To me this was a very striking circumstance. I had passed many\ndays during a period of twenty years with this old Father Mason. He had\nnever mentioned this vision to me before. On this occasion he said he\nfelt impelled by the Spirit of the Lord to relate it to me.\n\n\"The vision was given to him about the year 1800. He related it to me\nin 1830, the spring in which the Church was organized. Three years\nlater when I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day\nSaints, almost the first person I thought of was this prophet, Robert\nMason. Upon my arrival in Missouri with Zion's Camp, I wrote him a\nlong letter in which I informed him that I had found the true gospel\nwith all its blessings; that the authority of the Church of Christ had\nbeen restored to the earth as he had told me it would be; that I had\nreceived the ordinances of baptism and the laying on of hands; that\nI knew for myself that God had established through Joseph Smith, the\nProphet, the Church of Christ upon the earth.\n\n\"He received my letter with great joy and had it read over {18} to him\nmany times. He handled it as he had handled the fruit in the vision. He\nwas very aged and soon died without having the privilege of receiving\nthe ordinances of the gospel at the hands of an elder of the Church.\n\n\"The first opportunity I had after the truth of baptism for the dead\nwas revealed, I went forth and was baptized for him in the temple font\nat Nauvoo. He was a good man, a true prophet; for his prophecies have\nbeen fulfilled. There was so much reason in the teachings of this man,\nand such harmony between them and the prophecies and teachings of\nChrist and of the apostles and prophets of old, that I believed in them\nwith all my heart.\n\n\"I had given myself up to the reading of the Scriptures and to earnest\nprayer before God day and night as far as I could years before I heard\nthe fullness of the gospel preached by a Latter-day Saint. I had\npleaded with the Lord many hours in the forest, among the rocks, and\nin the fields, and in the mill--often at midnight for light and truth\nand for His Spirit to guide me in the way of salvation. My prayers\nwere answered and many things were revealed to me. My mind was open to\nthe truth so much so that I was fully satisfied that I should live to\nsee the true Church of Christ established upon the earth and to see a\npeople raised up who would keep the commandments of the Lord.\"\n\nThis beautiful and inspiring story of Robert Mason reads very much\nlike that of Simeon of old, who, having received a divine response to\nhis steadfast supplications, exclaimed: \"Lord, now lettest thy servant\ndepart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy\nsalvation.\"\n\nIn reading the history of the Church, one is constantly impressed by\nthe striking comparisons between the events recorded in Holy Writ and\nthose which have been forerunners as well as accompaniments of the\nChurch of Christ in this dispensation. The Spirit of God makes these\nanalogies impressive, and they in turn confirm the faith of those who\nhave received a testimony of the divine mission of Joseph Smith and of\nthe purposes of God to be fulfilled by the Church in these last days.\nNo wonder Wilford Woodruff's mind was open to the truth. No wonder\nthat doubt or misgiving never beclouded his mind {19} from the day\nthat the new light broke in upon his understanding to the day of his\ndeath. His life is one of the most beautiful examples of a childlike\nfaith that has ever been given to the world. The story of it is both\nfaith-promoting and instructive. It reads like the stories of Holy Writ.\n\n{20}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 4.\n\nEARLY DAYS, 1816-1833.\n\nA Fisherman.--Early Employment.--Noble Reflections.--Lessons\nin Reading.--Interest in the Bible.--Philo Woodruff's Strange\nDream.--Mocking Deity.--Its Effects.--Peace of Mind.--Place of\nPrayer.--Happy Experiences.--A Baptism.--Reads of Mormons.--Notable\nInstance of Inspiration.--Removal to New York.--Azmon's Faith.\n\nMuch of the early life of Wilford Woodruff was passed in Farmington,\nConnecticut. He was a boy of great vitality and given to the sports\nincident to the community and the times in which he lived. He early\ndeveloped a marked aptitude for fishing. In the stream which fed his\nfather's mill there were spotted trout in abundance. These he learned\nto catch with great dexterity; and his brother, being likewise an\nadept with the hook, the two achieved the reputation of being the most\nsuccessful fishermen in the village. The sports of fishing and hunting\nwhich he practiced in early boyhood were enjoyed by him throughout his\nentire life.\n\nOne is reminded in the story of his life that there were apostles of\nold who cast their nets for fish in the sea of Galilee. Like them, he\ntoo became a fisher of men. He was equally prompt in responding to the\nMaster's call and equally ardent in promulgating the new word of life\nhe was authorized to publish. We are not told how many converts were\nthe result of their missionary efforts, but it is quite within the\nbounds of truth to declare that no apostle of the last dispensation\nsucceeded better than Wilford Woodruff in planting the message of the\nnew dispensation in the hearts of his fellow-men.\n\nHe attended the village district school in his early boyhood, a school\nlocated about two miles from his father's home. \"In those days,\" he\nwrites, \"parents did not feel the importance of urging upon their\nchildren the advantages of education as they urge them today. In those\ntimes they felt that matters of education were wholly confined to the\nideas and methods of the school teacher.\" Wilford was an industrious\nboy. His mind was filled with lofty thoughts, and his education as time\nwent on took on a religious character. He was by nature a devoted son\nand {21} observed carefully the divine command which enjoined obedience\nto his parents.\n\nAphek Woodruff, father of Wilford, was a generous-hearted man. He\nrarely refused to grant a favor even when it seemed probable that\nthe favor might prove a loss to him. The father by his industry and\nfrugality had acquired a respectable competency for those days. His\nproperty, however, soon dwindled away when those for whom he became\nsecurity left him to meet their obligations. His possessions consisted\nof a large farm well stocked with cattle, a flour mill, a saw mill, and\na carding machine. These had cost years of toil and self-denial. Their\nloss to him saved his honor, but subjected his family to the hardships\nwhich the changed financial conditions brought about. These experiences\nof his father had much to do in the formation of his son's character,\nfor the latter avoided debts and was scrupulously careful to make his\nword good in every business undertaking.\n\nWhen Wilford was eight years of age, a strong religious revival took\nplace in the town of Farmington. It was conducted chiefly by the\nBaptist Church; the elders of that Church, Brocket and Quishman,\npreached in his father's home. They baptized his stepmother and several\nother relatives. His brothers, Azmon and Thompson, made some profession\nof religion. Wilford attended meetings, prayed, and tried to feel as\nothers felt, but all to no purpose. Whatever of enthusiasm worked\nupon his feelings in the excitement of the meetings soon passed away\nand left his soul unfed by the bread of life. The next elder brother,\nThompson, was in a similar condition. His eldest brother, Azmon,\ncontinued his interest and devotion until several years later when he\nembraced the fulness of the gospel.\n\nHis father, having sold his property at Northington, moved back to\nFarmington where he was employed to run the flour mill owned by Cowles,\nDeming & Camp. This employment he continued for twenty-eight years. Up\nto the year 1816 Wilford remained with his father. He attended school\nin Farmington until he was fourteen years of age.\n\nOn the first of May, 1821, he went to live with Col. George Cowles\nwith whom he remained two years. While there he attended school in the\nwinter and worked upon a farm during the {22} summer months. It was\nwhile living with Mr. Cowles that Wilford again witnessed a religious\nrevival which was conducted by the Presbyterians, who were at that\ntime the only sect in Farmington. Of this second revival he writes: \"I\nattended the meetings, inquiry, Sunday schools, and prayer meetings.\nI tried to get religion by effort and prayer, but my efforts created\ndarkness instead of light and I was not happy in the attempt. They\nwanted us to give our hearts to God without telling us what to do or\nexplaining any principle in a comprehensive manner. There were many\nyoung people at that time of my age who made a profession of religion.\nI did not wish to make a mockery of sacred things by professing light\nwhen I had received none, so I kept aloof from all professions.\"\n\nAt this time the Woodruff family was undergoing a severe struggle\nfor a livelihood. Young Wilford lived out, first with one and then\nwith another, working hard during the summer and fall and attending\nschool in the winter. In the year 1823 while making his abode with Mr.\nAndrew Mills he underwent his first attack of homesickness. \"Mr. Mills\nwas a proud and austere man,\" he writes, \"I had never before lived\nat a place where I did not feel free and sociable, and there was no\nconversation between us except to ask or answer a question. I ate and\nslept very little there for two weeks. Relief, however, came to me when\nI started to school and made the acquaintance of my fellow students. My\nhomesickness left me and never came back.\n\n\"I returned home in 1825, soon after which my father made a contract\nwith Mr. Horace Todd that I should work one year with him.\" The year,\nhowever, did not pass before the boy split his instep with an ax. This\nended his service there, but his brother Thompson took the place there\nand worked the year out. \"Thus we kept our contract.\" Wilford was\ncrippled for nine months. At the end of that time he left home on horse\nback in search of work. Again misfortune overtook him. He was thrown\nfrom his horse and compelled to return home where he remained for some\ntime. There was always a welcome in his home, because of the love and\nrespect every member of the family entertained for him.\n\nPart of the time up to April, 1827, he remained at home, {23} and part\nof the time he was engaged in working for other people. At that time he\nwas twenty years of age and left his home never to return except as a\nvisitor. He first went to live with his Aunt Helen Wheeler. He took her\nflour mill at East Avon on shares and worked it for three years. During\nthat time he established himself in the trade of a miller.\n\nNotwithstanding his youth at the time of leaving home, his soul\nwas full of deep and serious thoughts. They were ennobling in their\ncharacter and safeguarded the young man along the slippery paths of\nyouth. Here are some of the reflections of those days: \"This is an\nimportant period of my life. As I leave my father's home to enter upon\nthe stage of life to act for myself, to be my own counselor, and to\nform my own character in the broad open world, my mind is filled with\nserious reflections. I am full of anxiety--an anxiety which is painful\nto me. Should I outlive my parents, how long will it be before I shall\nfollow them to the grave? It will be said of them: 'They have gone the\nway of all flesh and their children will follow them into the same\neternal world.' My age is an important period in the life of every man;\nfor, generally speaking, at this period of life man forms much of his\ncharacter for time and eternity. How cautious I ought to be in passing\nthis landmark along the road of my early existence! I feel that I need\ncare, prudence, circumspection, and wisdom to guide my footsteps in the\npath which leads to honor and eternal life.\"\n\nLater on, referring to this same period of life, he says: \"I reflected\nfurther upon the days of my youth which were gone, and upon the\nfleetness of time that had flown like an arrow to return no more. I\nreasoned thus: while walking through a rapid stream, we cannot tread\ntwice in the same water, neither can we twice spend the same time.\nThen how ought we to prize the golden moments and measure time by our\ntalents to the honor and glory of God and for the salvation of our\nsouls; so that when the Lord comes, He may receive His own with usury.\n\n\"In trying to comprehend the fleetness of time, I have asked myself\nthese questions. Where is the old world? Where are the millions of the\nearth's inhabitants, including my own ancestors? And where are the days\nof my youth? They are gone--all {24} gone into the boundless ocean of\neternity where I shall soon find myself.\"\n\nThis remarkable state of his mind at that youthful period of life is\nso unusual in young men of that age that it is quite reasonable to\nsuppose that he was undergoing a mental struggle on questions of right\nand wrong. It was not simply with him a question of good and bad;\nhas conscience told him what his conduct ought to be in the presence\nof temptation. What he wanted to know, what he was yearning to learn\nwas some positive rule of life that would govern and guide him in the\nformation of correct religious doctrines.\n\nIn those times it was thought no evil to indulge in card playing and\npastimes of a similar character. He occasionally took a hand in these\ngames, but soon withdrew from such recreation, since he believed card\nplaying to be a vice. His journal shows that he understood the dangers\nthat arise from the so-called respectability of companionship when\nsuch companions are thoughtless, indifferent, and self-indulgent. \"The\nreligious influence of such men,\" he writes, \"where it is bad is most\nto be dreaded. The vulgar and dissipated will not have much influence\nover the man who intends to maintain a fair standing in society. On the\nother hand, the respectable man may lead him step by step into such\nevils that bring upon him, before he is aware of it, sorrow, disgrace,\nmisery, and shame.\n\n\"If I was ever led to stake anything at the card table, I had the\nprovidential good fortune to lose. There was thus cut off the natural\nencouragement to engage in such a vice. In all these recreations\nthere was a spirit working within me which drew my attention to inner\nthoughts of a nobler sort until I lost all desire for cards and the\nball room and for the company of those who enjoyed that kind of\npleasure. So much was this the case, that I felt like a speckled bird\nin the midst of my companions. Indeed, I learned by experience and by\nthe workings of the spirit of the Lord within my own soul that the\ntransitory pleasures of human life do not in any way constitute true\nand lasting happiness.\"\n\nBefore launching out in business for himself, he says: \"I had not\nacquired much taste for reading. Having at my disposal each day several\nleisure hours, I felt impressed that I must not {25} squander time\nin idleness. I did not care for novel reading. I believed it to be\nuseless. Nor had I much taste for history, having read but little of\nit. One day while reading a school book, I came across these remarkable\nwords: 'He that will spend his life in that manner which is most\nexaltant will find that custom will render it most delightsome.'\"\n\nThese words made a strong impression upon his mind. He at once began\nto read history. At first he read too much at a time to remember, to\ndigest, and to profit by it. After a judicious regulation of this\nmental pastime, he read carefully histories of the United States,\nEngland, Scotland, Greece, and Rome. He read Rollin's Ancient History,\nJosephus, and other books. They became to him a delight, and from them\nhe gained much that was helpful.\n\n\"By perusing history,\" he writes, \"we hold converse with men of\njudgment, wisdom, and knowledge. I finally took up the Bible as a\nstudy of history and I never found any history equally interesting\nuntil later on I read the Book of Mormon. While reading these books\nwe converse, as it were, with the Lord and with His holy prophets\nand apostles. In studying the Word of the Lord we learn truths which\ncannot be acquired from any other source. Those books which contain the\nrevelations of heaven are of far more interest than books containing\nmerely the opinions, theories, and doctrines of men.\"\n\nDuring his further stay with his Aunt Helen, he encountered other\nreligious revivals without any benefit to him further than to emphasize\nhis convictions that the gospel in its purity was not among the people\nat that time and place.\n\nAt that time he was called upon to mourn the demise of his beloved\nbrother, Philo. A few months prior to his death, Philo dreamed that an\nangel from heaven was going through the streets of the town with a roll\ncontaining a list of those who should die during the year in that town.\nThe angel approached Philo and unfolded to him the roll, at the same\ntime he informed him that on November 27th there would be a funeral at\nhis father's house. Philo recorded the dream in his journal. On the\nvery day named by the angel his own funeral occurred at his father's\nhome. The fulfillment of this strange dream made a lasting impression\non Wilford's mind.\n\n{26} The year following, another very remarkable circumstance occurred\nwhich was equally impressive to his thoughtful and spiritual mind.\nHe writes: \"I was called to sit up for the night with the remains of\na young man named Henry Miller. He had been very wicked and profane.\nThe day before his death, he attended a celebration of the nation's\nbirthday, July 4th. The boy's father, who was a religious, God-fearing\nman, reproved the son for his profanity and wickedness. Shortly after\nthis, he and his father were on the way to the field to get some hay\nwhen there suddenly arose a heavy shower accompanied by thunder and\nlightning. Henry made sport of the roaring elements and mocked God in\nthe thunder. The next moment, while standing by his father's side, he\nwas struck by a thunderbolt from heaven. I attended his funeral. The\ncircumstances of his death made a lasting impression on me.\"\n\nLike many, for whom there is in store a remarkable religious future,\nWilford was called to suffer financial reverses that he might learn\nhow uncertain are the goods of this world and that he might feel the\nfull force of that divine fiat: \"Cursed is he that trusteth in riches;\ncursed is he that trusteth in man, or maketh flesh his arm.\" He had\nearned considerable money while running the flour mill for his Aunt\nHelen, but lost much of it by lending it to an unprincipled man,\nand by helping others who were unable to repay him. These peculiar\nexperiences, temporal and spiritual, fortunes and misfortunes,\naccidents and trials among people away from his own home filled his\nsoul with grave reflections and brought him to take a stand relative to\nhis own future course in life. He was high-minded, had no vices or bad\nhabits, and his standard of purity and excellence was so high that he\nnever indulged in light-mindedness or in trifling recreations. To him\nthey were grievous sins in the sight of God; and he believed with the\nProphet Joseph that they should be eschewed. He was constantly striving\nfor a higher plane upon which he might firmly plant his feet.\n\n\"I was twenty-three years of age; and in reflecting upon the past, I\nbecame sincerely convinced that there was no real peace of mind or true\nhappiness except in the service of God and in doing those things which\nwould meet His approval. As far as my imagination would enable me, I\nbrought before my mind all the {27} honor, glory, and happiness of the\nwhole world. I thought of the gold and the wealth of the rich, of the\nglory, grandeur, and power of kings, presidents, princes, and rulers. I\nthought of the military renown of Alexander, Napoleon, and other great\ngenerals. I cast my mind over the innumerable paths through which the\ngiddy world travels in search of pleasure and happiness. In summing\nup the whole matter in the vision of my mind, I had to exclaim with\nSolomon: 'All is vanity of vanities sayeth the preacher.'\n\n\"I could see that within a few years all would end alike in the grave.\nI was convinced that no man could enjoy true happiness and obtain that\nwhich would feed the immortal soul, except God was his friend and Jesus\nChrist his advocate. I was convinced that man became their friend by\ndoing the will of the Father, and by keeping His commandments. I made\na firm resolution that from then I would seek the Lord to know His\nwill, to keep His commandments, and to follow the dictates of His Holy\nSpirit. Upon this ground I was determined to stand and to spend my\nfuture life in the maintenance of these convictions.\" It will be here\neasily seen that determination which led him through all the subsequent\nyears of his life to do whatever he did for the glory of God.\n\nIn May, 1830, he was employed to run a flour mill for Mr. Samuel\nCollins of Collinsville, Connecticut. At first he went to board with\nabout thirty young men. These being of a worldly turn of mind, he did\nnot enjoy their influence and therefore took up his residence in the\nfamily of Mr. Dudley D. Sackett.\n\nAbout this time, under the influence of a religious revival, his\nbrother Asahel made profession of religion and seemed very devoted.\nWilford became specially anxious to know the will of the Lord. \"I\nprayed night and day, and the Lord blest me with much of His spirit.\nThese began to be the happiest days of my life. I felt that the sun,\nmoon, and stars; the mountains, hills, and valleys; and that all\ncreation were united in the praise of the Lord.\"\n\n\"My work in the mill was very light and I passed much of my time in\nreading, in meditation, and in prayer. I read the Bible and it was like\na new book to me. I received much light in perusing its sacred pages.\nIf I was cast down, tried, or {28} tempted, I found in it relief in\nconnection with the Spirit of God. The religious reformation continued\nin Farmington and a number of my relatives were actively engaged in the\nservice of the Lord according to the best light they had. Among them\nwere my Uncle Ozem Woodruff and his wife Hannah. They were good people\nand I was much attached to them, having lived with them a good deal in\nmy early life. I enjoyed their society very much.\n\n\"A short distance from the mill was a beautiful island upon the top of\nwhich was a level field covered with flowers. The island was surrounded\nby a rapid current of water dashing over the rocks. The banks of the\ncurrent were thickly studded by tall, waving pines. I chose this\npleasant retreat on the top of the island as my place of prayer and\nsupplication. I retired to it many times, both by day and by night and\noffered up my soul in prayer to the Lord. I never shall forget the\nhappy hours I spent alone in mediation and prayer upon that solitary\nisland. When sitting there alone, there would come to my mind the words\nof Robert Pollock:\n\n  'In the wide desert where the view was large,\n  Pleasant were many scenes, but most to me\n  The solitude of vast extent untouched by hand\n  Whose nature sowed herself and reaped her crop;\n  Whose garments were the clouds; whose minstrels, brooks;\n  Whose lamps, the moon and stars; whose organ choir,\n  The voice of many waters; whose banquets,\n  The falling leaves; whose heroes, storms; whose warriors,\n  Mighty winds; whose lovers, flowers;\n  Whose orators, the thunderbolt of God;\n  Whose palaces, the everlasting hills;\n  Whose ceilings, Heaven's unfathomable blue;\n  And from whose rocky turrets battled high\n  Prospects immense spread out on all sides in air,\n  Lost now between the welkin and the main,\n  Now walked with hills that slept above the storm.'\n\n\"The Lord blest me with joy and happiness such as I had never before\nenjoyed, doubtless because I was living up to the best light I had. I\nhad no apostle or prophet to teach me the right way; so I had to do the\nbest I could. In my zeal to promote {29} good, I got up prayer meetings\nin our village and prayed for light and knowledge. It was my desire\nto receive the ordinances of the gospel, as I could plainly see by\nreading the Bible that baptism by immersion was a sacred ordinance. In\nmy eagerness, yet being ignorant of the holy priesthood and of the true\nauthority to officiate in the ordinances of eternal life, I requested\nthe Baptist minister to baptize me. At first he refused because I\ntold him I would not join his church as it did not harmonize with the\napostolic church which our Savior established. Finally after several\nconversations, he baptized me on the 5th of May, 1831. He also baptized\nmy brother Asahel. This was the first and only gospel ordinance I\nsought for until I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day\nSaints.\"\n\nWilford continued with Mr. Collins for less than a year, but left him\nwith the best feelings. The latter told Wilford that he would always\nbe welcome at his home, and that as an honorable young man, worthy of\ntrust, he would cheerfully give him any recommendations he desired.\n\nWilford held himself aloof from membership in any of the churches. He\nvisited their meetings and conversed with their ministers. He wanted\nto know why there were no more apostles and prophets. He was told that\nthey were done away with, because they were no longer needed. Such a\nstatement only intensified his disbelief in sectarian churches.\n\nOn one occasion, after praying most earnestly to know about the people\nof the Lord, if any such there were on earth, he says: \"The Spirit of\nthe Lord said unto me: 'Go to my Word and I will there show thee my\nwill and answer thy prayer.' I opened the Bible promiscuously, praying\nthe Lord to direct me to that portion of his Word which would answer my\nprayer. I opened to the 56th Chapter of Isaiah. I was satisfied it was\nin response to my prayer. I felt that the salvation of God was about\nto be revealed and His righteousness come forth. I was also satisfied\nthat I should live to see the people of God gathered. From this time\non until the gospel found me I was contented and felt that I should\ntrouble myself no more about the churches and the ministers. In our\nzeal my brother Azmon and I adopted the worship of the Lord on Saturday\ninstead of Sunday. I felt that a change from the seventh to the first\nday of the week was likely {30} a perversion made by man without\nauthority from heaven.\"\n\nIt was while staying with Mr. Cowles in the spring of 1832 that he saw\nfor the first time an account of the \"Mormons.\" These were described in\na newspaper article as a new sect claiming to have new revelations and\nto be built upon the foundation of prophets and apostles the same as\nthe ancient Saints. The editor of the newspaper ridiculed the Mormons,\nbut Wilford was favorably impressed. From that time on he desired to\nsee these new people; for if they enjoyed the gifts which were bestowed\nupon the ancient Saints, they were the very people for whom he was\nseeking.\n\nSoon after this he made a settlement with Mr. Cowles and arranged his\naffairs with a view of moving to western New York. Of the circumstances\nleading up to this change in his life, he writes: \"The spirit that was\nupon me day and night said, 'Go to Rhode Island.' My mind was greatly\nexercised over the matter for I could not comprehend what it meant. I\nwent to live with my brother Azmon until our departure for New York.\nAfter saluting him, I said: 'I wonder what the Lord wants of me in\nRhode Island! The spirit of the Lord has rested upon me for two weeks\nand said, \"Go to Rhode Island.\"' In about an hour after this my brother\nAsahel arrived on a visit. After shaking hands with him, almost the\nfirst words he spoke were: 'I wonder what the Lord wants of me in\nRhode Island! The spirit of the Lord has been upon me for two or three\nweeks and has told me to go to Rhode Island.' This caused us to marvel\nexceedingly. We had not seen each other for several months. My brother\nAzmon thought that as we were ready to go to New York, we better not\ngo to Rhode Island. To this we consented with great reluctance. I\nfelt sure it was our duty to go there, although at that time it was a\nmystery.\"\n\nLater on when the gospel came to them in New York, Wilford learned\nthat if they had gone to Rhode Island they would have met Elders Orson\nHyde and Samuel H. Smith and would have thus received the gospel at an\nearlier date than they did by at least one year. Had they gone to Rhode\nIsland and received the gospel there, they would have undoubtedly gone\ndirect to Kirtland, Ohio. As it was, they stopped in New York where\nthey purchased a farm.\n\n{31} This incident furnished an illustration of the safety of obeying\nthe spirit of the Lord, even when the reason at the time is not\napparent. The example of Adam is a further illustration of that same\nbeautiful truth. \"Adam, why dost thou offer sacrifice?\" asked the\nangel. \"I know not,\" was the reply, \"save that God has commanded me.\"\nSuch illustrations show the folly of basing one's conduct wholly upon\nexperience, or upon the powers of human understanding. There are other\nlamps to guide our feet than that of experience or the wisdom of man.\nThe incident is a striking illustration also of the untruth of that\nsometime infidel dogma which says: \"We doubt all things in order to\nprove all things.\" It is better to hold with inspired men: \"We believe\nall things from God in order to know all things.\"\n\nWilford Woodruff and his brother Azmon bade their father good-bye. With\n$800, and a tin trunk each, they journeyed to Richland, Oswego County,\nNew York. There they purchased a farm of 140 acres and a good dwelling\nhouse at a cost of $1,800. They paid the amount they had with them, the\nbalance at a subsequent date.\n\nDuring their residence in Richland, the cholera made its appearance\nin the United States. Azmon was seized by the dread malady. Of this\ncircumstance and the faith of his brother, Wilford writes: \"Azmon was a\nvery peculiar person from his childhood. He was very strict in reading\nthe Bible and in attending to his prayers. He enjoyed much of the\nspirit of the Lord and had considerable light. I was greatly edified by\nhis teachings and conversations. When he was sick, he did not employ a\nphysician, but trusted in the Lord absolutely. In the fall of 1833 he\nhad a very severe attack of the cholera. His wife and I laid our hands\nupon his head agreeable to his request and prayed for him. We asked the\nLord to rebuke the disease and commanded it to depart from him. From\nthat hour the cholera was checked. He was immediately healed. The next\nmorning he was able to arise from his bed and walk. Such was his faith.\nHe had passed through many ordeals of sickness and was always healed by\nthe power of God and without medical aid.\"\n\nThis recital brings us to the winter of 1833 when the full blaze of the\ngospel light was about to shine in splendor upon the soul of Wilford\nWoodruff.\n\n{32}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 5.\n\nBAPTISM, 1833.\n\nElders Visit Richland, N. Y.--The New Message.--Wilford Woodruff's\nTestimony.--The Book of Mormon.--Healing Power.--Baptism.--Ordained a\nTeacher.\n\nThe movement westward when Wilford Woodruff located in Richland, New\nYork was in full accord with the restless energy and ambitious purposes\nof a new and active generation. The movement called for the best talent\nand most ardent workers of those times. In Richland this young man\ngave his old time zeal to a new found occupation. What lay at hand to\ndo he did with all his might. The duties and occupations of his life\nwere with him never temporary, never makeshifts, and he never waited\nfor something to turn up. Nor did the frequent interruptions in his\noccupations all through life ever give to him an unsteady aim, or a\nwaning enthusiasm. When he plowed in the earth, he saw God's will in\nthe furrows. There was divine harmony in the click of the mill, and\nthe song of heaven in the warblings of the birds. He \"settled down\" in\nRichland with the fervent expectation that, God willing, it should be\nto him a permanent home.\n\nIn the midst of the busy life he had taken up in his new home, there\ncame to him a message of joy, a warning voice, to whose accents his\nsoul had long been attuned. In the winter of 1833, and on the 29th day\nof December, there came to his home two humble elders of the Church of\nJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were Zera Pulsipher and Elijah\nCheney. At the time of their appearance, he and his brother Azmon\nwere away from the house engaged in their daily labors; but Azmon's\nwife knew very well the frame of mind, both of her husband and his\nbrother Wilford. Their hopes and expectations had been the subject of\nconversation in their humble home. She therefore received the elders\nkindly and gave them to understand that her husband and his brother\nwould be anxious to hear them preach.\n\nAccording to the custom of the Mormon elders then, as now, a meeting\nwas appointed at the schoolhouse and notices were circulated throughout\nthe village. The story of this new experience is told by Wilford\nWoodruff in a simple and beautiful manner: {33} \"Upon my arrival home\nmy sister-in-law informed me of the meeting. I immediately turned out\nmy horses and started for the schoolhouse without waiting for supper.\nOn my way I prayed most sincerely that the Lord would give me His\nspirit, and that if these men were the servants of God I might know it,\nand that my heart might be prepared to receive the divine message they\nhad to deliver.\n\n\"When I reached the place of meeting, I found the house already packed.\nMy brother Azmon was there before I arrived. He was equally eager to\nhear what these men had to say. I crowded my way through the assembly\nand seated myself upon one of the writing desks where I could see and\nhear everything that took place.\n\n\"Elder Pulsipher opened with prayer. He knelt down and asked the Lord\nin the name of Jesus Christ for what he wanted. His manner of prayer\nand the influence which went with it impressed me greatly. The spirit\nof the Lord rested upon me and bore witness that he was a servant\nof God. After singing, he preached to the people for an hour and a\nhalf. The spirit of God rested mightily upon him and he bore a strong\ntestimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon and of the\nmission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I believed all that he said. The\nspirit bore witness of its truth. Elder Cheney then arose and added his\ntestimony to the truth of the words of Elder Pulsipher.\n\n\"Liberty was then given by the elders to any one in the congregation\nto arise and speak for or against what they had heard as they might\nchoose. Almost instantly I found myself upon my feet. The spirit of the\nLord urged me to bear testimony to the truth of the message delivered\nby these elders. I exhorted my neighbors and friends not to oppose\nthese men; for they were the true servants of God. They had preached\nto us that night the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. When I sat down, my\nbrother Azmon arose and bore a similar testimony. He was followed by\nseveral others.\"\n\nNo more beautiful illustration of the manner in which this new message\nfound its way into the homes of thousands of people could be given than\nthat taken from the quotations herein given. The power of an elder's\ntestimony has borne down upon {34} the souls of men and women until\nlike the Saints of old they have exclaimed: \"Men and brethren, what\nshall we do.\" The spirit of this meeting was not only convincing, but\ncontrolling in its power. No man arose to say nay. If there were present\nin that meeting a spirit of dissent, opposition, or hatred, it was\nquelled and silenced by the power of God manifested in the testimonies\nof those humble men.\n\nThe Woodruff brothers were aroused to a spirit of investigation. They\nwere full of hope and of grand expectations. They wanted to harmonize\nthe new message with the word of God as pronounced in Holy Writ. They\nhad rested heretofore their faith upon its teachings. In all matters\nreligious, it had been their supreme guide. They were anxious to know\nmore, and therefore took the elders with them to their home and sat up\nlate that night conversing upon the principles of the gospel.\n\nWilford began at once to read the Book of Mormon. \"As I did so,\" he\nwrites, \"the spirit bore witness that the record which it contained\nwas true. I opened my eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my heart to\nunderstand. I also opened my doors to entertain the servants of God.\"\nHe at once became a living witness to the truth of the promise made\nin that book that whoso should read it with a prayerful heart should\nhave a witness of its truth, and whoso should receive the record and\nnot condemn it because of the imperfections which might appear in its\nlanguage should know greater things to come. The spirit of that book\nbrought divine harmony to his soul so wonderfully attuned to the spirit\nand language of the Bible.\n\nThose were days of grand opportunities for a soul that had been so long\nin a state of hunger and thirst after righteousness. The new message\nbrought to him a new enthusiasm. On the 30th of the month, Wilford and\nthe elders called upon Noah Holton, a preacher of the Freewill Baptist\ndenomination, whose daughter was very ill. After listening to the\nelders for some time, Mr. Holton made a solemn covenant to go forward\nand be baptized if the Lord would heal his daughter. The elders laid\ntheir hands upon her and she was healed by the power of God.\n\nIt was not a time for delay. These brothers had long waited for the\nmessage which had now brought the glorious tidings of a divine call.\nThey would not delay obedience to those ordinances {35} which opened\nthe door to the enjoyment of greater light. They asked for baptism at\nthe hands of the elders. On December 31st, the last day of the year,\n1833, there assembled at the water's edge about 11 o'clock in the\nmorning a large number of people who witnessed the baptism of Wilford\nWoodruff by Zera Pulsipher. There were baptized at the same time his\nbrother Azmon, also two young ladies who had been healed the day\nbefore. Of this circumstance he writes in his journal: \"The snow was\nabout three feet deep, the day was cold, and the water was mixed with\nice and snow, yet I did not feel the cold.\"\n\nThere was a public meeting held that night by candle-light and a large\ncongregation assembled; but unlike the meeting that was first held,\nthere was a spirit of opposition. After explaining to the people the\nordinance of the laying on of hands, the elders confirmed Wilford and\nhis companions members of the Church by the laying on of hands for the\ngift of the Holy Ghost. Speaking of this meeting he says: \"There was a\ngood deal of darkness in the room; but when the congregation dispersed,\nthe people took away with them that darkness. The Holy Ghost fell\nupon us and we had a time of great rejoicing. The next day, January\n1st, 1834, my brother Azmon reproached Noah Holton for his tardiness\nin receiving the gospel after he had made a covenant to obey it on\ncondition that his daughter be healed. Holton received the warning and\nwas baptized.\"\n\nThe story of Wilford Woodruff's conversion was simply a continuation of\nthe life carefully prepared to receive the new message, and to embrace\nin all sincerity the truth which it contained. What a similarity of\nexperience is found in the lives of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Heber\nC. Kimball, John Taylor, and indeed thousands of Latter-day Saints! It\nwas the same spirit of inquiry, the same profound and heartfelt desire\nto know the whole truth of God's existence and His divine purpose\nrespecting the children of men. The truth is, the new spirit of a\ncoming dispensation was upon them. Their hearts were strongly inclined\nto worship. They were eager to know how they should worship; for they\nsaw in the religious contentions of those days a spirit strange to the\nteachings of the Bible. They were in very truth, \"Sheep who knew the\nshepherd's voice and a stranger they would not follow.\"\n\n{36} There is something beautiful in the ambitions of Wilford Woodruff\nthroughout a long life of great service. He was ambitious to know the\nwill of God and to be worthy of Divine approbation. If he could only\nbe an active worker in the Church of Christ; if the Lord would only\nreceive him into Divine service, his ambitions would be realized.\n\nOn January 25th, 1834, Elder Pulsipher organized the Saints in Richland\ninto a branch of the Church. He ordained Wilford Woodruff to the\noffice of a teacher and gave him a written license which embodied the\ncertificate of his baptism and his ordination. \"I felt,\" he writes,\n\"that I could truly exclaim with the prophet of God, 'I had rather be\na door-keeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of\nwickedness.' The fulness of the everlasting gospel had come at last. It\nfilled my heart with great joy. It laid the foundation of a greater and\nmore glorious work than I ever expected to see in this life. I pray God\nin the name of Jesus Christ to guide my future life, that I may live to\nHis honor and glory, and be a blessing to my fellowmen, and in the end\nbe saved in His celestial kingdom, even so, Amen.\"\n\n{37}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 6.\n\nZION'S CAMP, 1834.\n\nHis First Call.--Leaves for Kirtland.--His Neighbors' Warning.--First\nMeeting with Prophet.--A Remarkable Prophetic Gift.--Zion's\nCamp.--Zelph.--Escape Mob at Fishing River.--Epidemic of Cholera.--His\nResidence in Missouri.--Consecrations.\n\nPerhaps no man in the Church ever felt more profoundly the truth of\nthe words, \"God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform,\"\nthan Wilford Woodruff. He was so intensely spiritual, so completely\ndevoted to the service of God, that all through his life the miraculous\nmanifestations of God's purposes were abundantly given. He had never\nbased his faith upon miracles, they merely confirmed what he believed\nwith all his heart and supported his ideas of the teachings of Holy\nWrit.\n\nConfirming the divine power which attended his baptism, the words of\nthe Prophet Joseph contained in George Q. Cannon's history are here\ngiven: \"In view of all that has since occurred, it is a remarkable\nfact that the Prophet recorded in his journal of the 31st of December,\n1833, the fact that 'Wilford Woodruff was baptized at Richland, Oswego\nCounty, New York, by Zera Pulsipher,' and this was before the Prophet\nand the future apostle and president had ever met in the flesh. This\nis not the only mention of Wilford Woodruff in Joseph's diary prior\nto their meeting. In one place the Prophet notices that Wilford had\nbeen ordained a teacher. It was the 25th day of April, 1834, when\nWilford Woodruff visited the Prophet at Kirtland, and from that time\non until Joseph's death they were intimately associated. It was clear\nthat Joseph felt the staunch worthiness of his young brother, and in\nrelying upon him, the Prophet was leaning upon no weak or broken reed;\nfor Wilford Woodruff had then and has ever since shown the fidelity\nof a Saint, and the integrity and prophetic power of an apostle of\nJesus Christ. He was one of the most faithful of all the men who were\ngathered near to the Prophet's person, to share his trials and his\nconfidences. Wilford Woodruff never made any attempt to cultivate\nshowy qualities, and yet he was always marked among his fellows; his\ncharacteristic humility and unswerving honesty being sufficient to\nattract {38} the attention of all who have known him. His is another of\nthe names to be recorded with that of Joseph, and it is worthy to stand\nside by side with the names of Brigham Young and John Taylor, for he\nwas as loyal to them as he and they were to Joseph, the first prophet\nof this dispensation.\"\n\nFrom the outset, the subject of this biography became a most ardent\nworker in the cause he had espoused. He was ordained a teacher and\nfound immediate opportunity to give expression to his intense desire\nto declare his belief in the purposes of his Maker. He and the Brother\nHolton herein mentioned, shortly after their baptism, walked sixty-five\nmiles to Fabius to hold a meeting.\n\nEvents of far-reaching importance were rapidly closing in upon him.\nOn the 1st of April, Elders Parley P. Pratt and Harry Brown arrived\nat Richland. They were there on an important mission. They were in\nsearch of young and able-bodied men in the eastern branches of the\nChurch--young men whose services were needed in Zion's Camp, and\norganization which at that time was being effected for the purpose of\nassisting in the redemption of Zion, and of carrying supplies to the\nsuffering Saints who had been expelled by mob violence from their homes\nin Jackson County, Missouri.\n\nThis was the first time Wilford Woodruff had met Parley P. Pratt, to\nwhose instructions he listened with great interest and attention, and\nsays he was greatly edified by what he had to say. Elder Pratt informed\nhim that it was his duty to prepare himself to go up to the land of\nZion. He accordingly settled up his business affairs, and bade good-bye\nto his brother and kinsfolk in Richland.\n\nOn April 11th Wilford took Harry Brown and Warren Ingles in his wagon\nand started with them for Kirtland, Ohio. On the way he met for the\nfirst time Elders Orson Pratt and John Murdock. They all arrived in\nKirtland April 25th, 1834. Before he left Richland, many of his friends\nand neighbors warned him not to go, and declared that if he did go, he\nwould be killed. He replied that the Lord had commanded him, and that\nhe would go; that he had no fears of any evil consequences as long as\nhe obeyed the Lord.\n\nHe gives an account of his first meeting with the Prophet {39} as\nfollows: \"Here for the first time in my life I met and had an interview\nwith our beloved Prophet Joseph Smith, the man whom God had chosen to\nbring forth His revelations in these last days. My first introduction\nwas not of a kind to satisfy the preconceived notions of the sectarian\nmind as to what a prophet ought to be, and how he should appear. It\nmight have shocked the faith of some men. I found him and his brother\nHyrum out shooting at a mark with a brace of pistols. When they stopped\nshooting, I was introduced to Brother Joseph, and he shook hands with\nme most heartily. He invited me to make his habitation my home while I\ntarried in Kirtland. This invitation I most eagerly accepted, and was\ngreatly edified and blest during my stay with him. He asked me to help\nhim tan a wolfskin which he said he wished to use upon the seat of his\nwagon on the way to Missouri. I pulled off my coat, stretched the skin\nacross the back of a chair, and soon had it tanned--although I had to\nsmile at my first experience with the Prophet.\n\n\"That night we had a most enjoyable and profitable time in his home. In\nconversation, he smote his hand upon his breast and said, 'I would to\nGod I could unbosom my feelings in the house of my friends.' He said\nin relation to Zion's Camp, 'Brethren, don't be discouraged about our\nnot having means. The Lord will provide, and He will put it into the\nheart of somebody to send me some money.' The very next day he received\na letter from Sister Vose, containing one hundred and fifty dollars.\nWhen he opened the letter and took out the money, he held it up and\nexclaimed: 'See here, did I not tell you the Lord would send me some\nmoney to help us on our journey? Here it is.' I felt satisfied that\nJoseph was a Prophet of God in very deed.\"\n\nPrior to his departure with Zion's Camp, Wilford Woodruff became\nacquainted with many leading men and private members of the Church,\nsome of whom were destined to be his co-laborers throughout subsequent\nyears of his life. Besides the Prophet, the patriarch and their\nfamilies, he became acquainted with Brigham Young, Orson Hyde, Milton\nHolmes, Sidney Rigdon, and many others whose names occur in the early\nhistory of the Church.\n\n\"I passed one Sabbath in Kirtland,\" he writes, \"and heard many of the\nelders speak. I rejoiced before God because of the light and knowledge\nwhich were manifested to me during that {40} day. The first day of May,\n1834, was appointed for the Camp of Zion to start from Kirtland. Only a\nfew of those composing the Camp were ready.\n\n\"The Prophet asked those who were ready, to go as far as New Portage\nand there await the arrival of those who would follow later. I left in\ncompany with about twenty men with baggage wagons. At night we pitched\nour tents. Climbing to the top of the hill, I looked down upon the Camp\nof Israel. There I knelt upon the ground and prayed. I rejoiced and\npraised the Lord that I had lived to see some of the tents of Israel\npitched, and a company gathered by the commandment of God to go up and\nhelp to redeem Zion.\n\n\"We remained at New Portage until the 6th when we were joined by the\nProphet and eighty-five more men. The day before their arrival, while\npassing through the village of Middlebury, the people tried to count\nthem, but the Lord multiplied them in the eyes of those people so that\nthose who counted them said there were four hundred.\n\n\"On the 7th, the Prophet Joseph organized the Camp which consisted\nof about one hundred and thirty men. The day following we continued\nour journey. We pitched our tents at night and had prayers night and\nmorning. The Prophet gave us our instructions every day. We were nearly\nall young men brought together from all parts of the country, and were\ntherefore strangers to each other. We soon became acquainted and had\na happy time in each others association. It was a great school for us\nto be led by a Prophet of God a thousand miles through cities, towns,\nvillages, and through the wilderness. When persons stood up to count\nus, they could not tell how many we numbered. Some said five hundred,\nothers, a thousand. Many were astonished as we passed through their\ntowns. One lady ran to the door, pushed her spectacles to the top of\nher head, raised her hands and exclaimed: 'What under heavens has\nbroken loose.' She stood in that position the last I saw of her.\n\n\"During our travels we visited many mounds thrown up by the ancient\ninhabitants, the Nephites and Lamanites. This morning, June 3rd, we\nwent on to a high mound near the river. From the summit we could\noverlook the tops of the trees as far as we could see. The scenery was\ntruly beautiful. On the summit of {41} the mound were stones which\npresented the appearance of three altars, they having been erected, one\nabove the other, according to the ancient order of things. Human bones\nwere seen upon the ground. Brother Joseph requested us to dig into the\nmound; we did so; and in about one foot we came to the skeleton of\na man, almost entire, with an arrow sticking in his backbone. Elder\nMilton Holmes picked it out, and brought it into the Camp, with one\nof the leg bones, which had been broken. I brought the thigh bone to\nMissouri. I desired to bury it in the Temple Block in Jackson County;\nbut not having this privilege, I buried it in Clay County, Missouri,\nnear the house owned by Col. Arthur and occupied by Lyman Wight.\"\n\nThe arrowhead referred to is now in the possession of President Joseph\nF. Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah.\n\n\"Brother Joseph,\" continues Wilford, \"feeling anxious to learn\nsomething of this man, asked the Lord, and received an open vision.\nThe man's name was Zelph. He was a white Lamanite, the curse having\nbeen removed because of his righteousness. He was a great warrior, and\nfought for the Nephites under the direction of the Prophet Onandagus.\nThe latter had charge of the Nephite armies from the Eastern sea to\nthe Rocky Mountains. Although the Book of Mormon does not mention\nOnandagus, he was a great warrior, leader, general, and prophet. Zelph\nhad his thigh bone broken by a stone thrown from a sling, but was\nkilled by the arrow found sticking in his backbone. There was a great\nslaughter at that time. The bodies were heaped upon the earth, and\nburied in the mound, which is nearly three hundred feet in height.\n\n\"The Lord delivered Israel in the days of Moses by dividing the Red\nSea, so they went over dry shod. When their enemies tried to do the\nsame, the water closed upon the latter and they were drowned. The Lord\ndelivered Zion's Camp from their enemies on the 19th of June, 1834, by\npiling up the waters in Fishing River forty feet in one night, so our\nenemies could not cross. He also sent a great hailstorm, which broke\nthem up and sent them seeking for shelter. James Campbell, who had\nthreatened the life of the Prophet and his brethren, was drowned, with\nsix others, the same night, after his threat. His body was washed down\nthe stream, and was eaten by eagles and turkey-buzzards.\"\n\n{42} The people of Richmond, Missouri, declared the Camp should not\npass through that city; but on the morning of the 19th, before the\npeople were up, the brethren passed through unmolested. \"We intended\nto enter Clay County that day, but the Lord knew best what was for our\ngood,\" says Wilford, \"and so began to hinder our progress. One wheel\nbroke down, another ran off, and one thing after another hindered us so\nthat we had to camp between two forks of Fishing River. Five armed men\nsoon rode up, and told us that large companies of men from Jackson and\nClay Counties, and other parts, would be upon us before morning, and\nwere sworn to encompass our destruction.\n\n\"Shortly after these five men left us, a small cloud arose, and spread\nwith great rapidity, until the whole heavens gathered blackness, and\na mighty storm burst forth with fury upon our enemies. If the Camp\nhad not been hindered, they would have crossed into Clay County, and\nwould have been at the mercy of the mob. Thus the Lord, in a marvelous\nmanner, preserved the lives of His servants. Colonel Sconce, who came\ninto the Camp the next day, with several leading men, said that surely\nJehovah fought the battles of Joseph and his followers.\"\n\nThe Prophet addressed the visitors at some length, and recounted the\nwrongs heaped upon the Saints in Missouri. His address touched the\nhearts of the visitors, bringing tears to their eyes. They promised to\ndo all they could to allay the prejudice of the people. It appears from\nWilford Woodruff's journal that they kept their word, and rode through\nthe country endeavoring to allay the excitement.\n\n\"Previous to this event,\" says Wilford, \"Elders Hyrum Smith and Lyman\nWight had joined the Camp with a company of volunteers from Michigan.\nThe Camp now consisted of two hundred and five men and twenty-five\nbaggage wagons. Lyman Wight was made commander-in-chief. Joseph\nappointed twenty men to be his body-guard; Hyrum Smith was captain, and\nGeorge A. Smith armor-bearer.\n\n\"The Camp of Zion arrived at Brother Burk's, in Clay County, Missouri\non the 24th of June, 1834. We pitched our tents on his premises. He\ntold some of the brethren of my company that he had a spare room which\nsome of us might occupy if we would clean it. Our company accepted the\noffer; and, fearing {43} that some other company would get it first,\nwe left all other business and went to work, cleaned out the room, and\nimmediately spread down our blankets, so as to hold a right to the\nroom. It was but a short time afterwards that our brethren who were\nattacked by cholera were brought in and laid upon our beds. None of us\never used those blankets again, for they were buried with the dead; so\nwe gained nothing but experience by our selfishness, and we lost our\nbedding.\n\n\"When the cholera broke out in Camp, Joseph attempted to rebuke it,\nbut was shown by the Lord that when He sends a judgment man must not\nattempt to stay it. (Joseph returned to me the sword which I had given\nhim, and it still remains in my family as a relic of that expedition.)\nThose who died in Zion's Camp were A. S. Gilbert, John S. Carter, Eber\nWilcox, Seth Hitchcock, Erastus Rudd, Alfred Frisk, Edward Jones, Noah\nJohnson, Jesse B. Lawson, Robert McCord, Eliel Strong, Jesse Smith,\nBetsey Parrish, and Warren Ingles.\n\n\"The Prophet called the brethren together at Lyman Wight's and told\nthem the cholera had been sent in fulfillment of his prediction. Nearly\nall had suffered from it, and fourteen had died. Joseph said that if we\nwould now humble ourselves, the cholera would be stayed. We covenanted\nwith uplifted hands to keep the commandments of God, and the cholera\nwas stayed from that hour; not another case appeared among the Saints.\n\n\"The journey of Zion's Camp to Missouri was necessarily one of trial\nand hardship. Several of the brethren murmured, and found fault. Joseph\nprophesied that a scourge would come upon the Camp, and it came in the\nform of cholera, thirteen of the brethren being stricken in death.\nDuring the journey, when brethren would have killed the serpents which\nat times came into the tents and coiled up near the beds, the Prophet\ntaught his brethren the beautiful principle that men themselves must\nbecome harmless before they can expect the brute creation to be so.\nWhen man shall lose his own vicious disposition and cease to destroy\nthe inferior animals, the lion and the lamb may dwell together, and the\nsuckling child play with the serpent in safety.\"\n\nIn all the trials incident to the journey, Wilford Woodruff never\nmurmured. He was a staunch supporter of the Prophet Joseph in all the\nlatter's counsels and desires, and was so wrapt {44} in the spirit of\nhis calling and labor that it is doubtful if a thought of trial or\nhardship ever entered his mind. This was characteristic of his entire\nlife. He never undertook a labor assigned him by the Lord and wished\nhe had not undertaken it. When he put his hand to the plough, he never\nturned back.\n\nAfter the disbanding of Zion's Camp a great trial came to him. He was\na devoted lover of his parents, brothers, and sisters, and had a deep\ninterest in their salvation. Since he left New York, his brother Azmon\nhad become disaffected, and wrote a long letter finding fault with\nthe proceedings of the Church, endeavoring to turn Wilford from his\ncourse. The effect upon Wilford, however, was a deep sorrow for his\nbrother, and a stronger determination on his own part to live the life\nof a Latter-day Saint. He answered his brother's letter, explained the\nfallacy of the latter's arguments and complaints, warned him against\nopposing the Church, exhorted him to repent, and bore a solemn and\nunswerving testimony to the divinity of the calling and the upright,\nhonorable course of life of the Prophet Joseph Smith.\n\nThe Prophet advised all the young men with Zion's Camp who had no\nfamilies to stay in Missouri, and not return to Kirtland. \"Not having\nany family,\" says Wilford, \"I stopped with Lyman Wight, as did also\nMilton Holmes and Heman Hyde. We spent the summer together, laboring\nhard, cutting wheat, quarrying rock, making brick, or at anything else\nwe could find to do. The Prophet organized the Saints in Zion, with a\npresidency of three, and a high council. On the 17th of July, 1834, he\nmet the authorities of the Church at Lyman Wight's, where he gave us\nmany glorious instructions, he being clothed with the power of God. He\nordained the presidency and the twelve high councilors. All present\nvoted, with uplifted hands, to sustain the Prophet and the authorities\nof Zion. We had a glorious time. This was the last meeting I ever\nattended with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the State of Missouri.\"\n\nWilford Woodruff continued to attend faithfully to all of his religious\nduties. Illustrative of his zeal and earnestness is his action relative\nto what property he possessed. Notwithstanding the Saints had been\ndispossessed of their homes in their central city of Zion, where they\nhad endeavored to carry out the principle of consecration, and were now\nin a broken and scattered {45} condition, Wilford desired to comply\nwith every law relative to Zion. On December 31, 1834, he consecrated\nto the Lord all his earthly possessions. \"Believing it to be the duty\nof the Latter-day Saints,\" he writes, \"to consecrate and dedicate all\ntheir property, with themselves, unto God in order to become lawful\nheirs to the celestial Kingdom of God, I therefore, with this view,\nconsecrated all I had (though but little) before Edward Partridge, the\nPresiding Bishop of the Church, in Clay County, Missouri, in this form:\n'Be it known that I, Wilford Woodruff, do freely covenant with my God,\nthat I freely consecrate and dedicate myself, together with all my\nproperties and effects, unto the Lord, for the purpose of assisting in\nthe building up of His Kingdom and His Zion upon the earth, that I may\nkeep His law. I lay all before the Bishop of His Church, that I may be\na lawful heir to the celestial Kingdom of God.'\"\n\nThe whole life of Wilford Woodruff shows that he would have been\nwilling to do the same thing at any time, for the same purpose, even\nthough his possessions could have been counted by the millions. He was\nwhole-souled, and wholly given up to the service of his God and the\nwelfare of His people.\n\n{46}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 7.\n\nMISSION TO SOUTHERN STATES, 1834-1836.\n\nA Prayerful Ambition to Preach.--Departure on Mission to\nSouthern States.--Traveling without Purse or Scrip.--Treatment\nReceived from Minister.--Tribulations.--A remarkable Dream.--Its\nFulfillment.--Preaching in Memphis.--Ordained an Elder.--Successful\nLabors.--Ordained a Seventy.--A Mob Court.--Return to Kirtland.\n\nAfter Wilford Woodruff received the gospel, he felt an intense desire\nto deliver in turn the same message that had brought him such joy, such\nassurance, such satisfaction in the service of the Master. The message\nthat came to him was the most glorious event of his life, and it is\nquite natural that he should wish to be a messenger of the same divine\ntruth to others. The talents with which he had been endowed by his\nMaker awakened within him those hopes, aspirations, and ambitions that\nwere in harmony with those gifts which were peculiar to the man. His\ntalents made him pre-eminently a messenger of salvation to the world.\nIt is no wonder that he was prompted by a heartfelt desire to bestow\nupon others that which had come with such joy and with such abundance\nto him.\n\nHe wanted to go on a mission, but felt that he should be called, and\nyet he sincerely believed that the Lord would prompt those whose duty\nit was to bestow upon him such an honor, such a privilege. He retired\nto the woods in prayer. There upon his knees in humility and childlike\nsimplicity, he told the Lord his wishes and his hopes. He asked Him,\nif it was within His holy will, that the way might be opened for him\nto preach the gospel in the world. \"Before I arose from my knees,\" he\nsays, \"the spirit of the Lord rested upon me and bore witness that my\nprayer was heard and should be answered upon my head. I arose very\nhappy and walked through thick woods about forty rods into an open\nroad. As I entered the roadway, I met Judge Elias Higbee. Brother\nHibgee was a high priest and a very faithful man, one of the noblest\nmen of God in the last days. I had associated with him daily, but never\nmentioned to him my desire to preach the gospel. To my surprise, as\nsoon as I approached {47} him he said: 'Brother Wilford, the spirit\nof the Lord tells me that you should be ordained to go and preach the\ngospel.'\"\n\nA few days later, on the 5th of November, 1834, by vote of the branch\nof the Church at Adam-ondi-Ahman, Wilford Woodruff was ordained a\npriest by Simeon Carter who also ordained Stephen Winchester and Heman\nHyde at the same meeting. He received his license and by appointment\nof Bishop Partridge was assigned to Arkansas and Tennessee. In eight\ndays he left to perform his mission, to be one of the very foremost in\nintroducing the gospel into the Southern States--a section of the Union\nwhere, since then, so many thousands have received the gospel and have\nbeen gathered to Zion. His faith had been great. The spirit of the Lord\nrested upon him and his prayers were promptly answered.\n\nHis stay in Missouri after his arrival there with Zion's Camp was not\nof long duration. The Saints had been driven from Jackson County and\nwere busily occupied in building up new communities in other counties.\nHe was then a young man without a family, and though actively engaged\nin every kind of work peculiar to the conditions of those times, he was\nfree for almost any kind of service that might be required of him. The\nspirit of the man, however, was that of the missionary; and the spirit\nwas so strong within him that he found satisfaction only when the\nopportunity came to give expression to his fellow-men of the testimony\nwhich had brought such consolation to his own life.\n\n\"The law of God to us in those days,\" says Wilford in his journal, \"was\nto go without purse or scrip. Our journey lay through Jackson County,\nfrom which the Saints had just been driven, and it was dangerous for\na Mormon to be found in that part of the state. We put some Books of\nMormon and some clothing into our valises, strapped these on our backs,\nand started on foot. We crossed the ferry into Jackson County, and went\nthrough it. In some instances the Lord preserved us, as it were by\nmiracle, from the mob. We dared not go to houses and get food, so we\npicked and ate raw corn, slept on the ground, and did any way we could\nuntil we got out of the county.\n\n\"We dared not preach while in that county, and we did little preaching\nin the state of Missouri. The first time I attempted to preach was on\nSunday, in a tavern, in the early part of {48} December, 1834. It was\nsnowing at the time, and the room was full of people. As I commenced to\nspeak, the landlord opened the door, and the snow blew on the people;\nwhen I inquired the object of having the door opened in a snowstorm, he\ninformed me he wanted some light on the subject. I found that it was\nthe custom of the country. How much good I did in that sermon I never\nknew, and probably never shall know until I meet that congregation in\njudgment.\n\n\"In the southern part of Missouri and the northern part of Arkansas,\nin 1834, there were very few inhabitants. We visited a place called\nHarmony Mission, on the Osage River, one of the most crooked rivers\nin the West. This mission was kept by a Presbyterian minister and his\nfamily. We arrived there on Sunday night at sunset. We had walked all\nday without anything to eat, and were very hungry and tired. Neither\nthe minister nor his wife would give us anything to eat, or let us stay\nover night, because we were Mormons, and the only chance we had was\nto go twelve miles farther down the river, to an Osage Indian trading\npost kept by a Frenchman named Jereu; and the wicked priest who would\nnot give us a piece of bread lied to us about the road, and sent us\nacross the swamp, where we wallowed knee-deep in mud and water till ten\no'clock at night, in trying to follow the crooked river. We then left\nthe swamp and put out into the prairie, to lie in the grass for the\nnight.\n\n\"When we got out of the swamp, we heard an Indian drumming on a tin\npail and singing. It was very dark, but we traveled toward the noise,\nand when we drew near the Indian camp quite a number of large Indian\ndogs came out to meet us. They smelled us, but did not bark or bite.\nSoon we were surrounded by Osage Indians, and were kindly received by\nMr. Jereu and his wife who was an Indian. She gave us an excellent\nsupper and a good bed, which we were thankful for after the fatigue of\nthe day.\n\n\"As I laid my head upon my pillow, I felt to thank God from the\nbottom of my heart for the exchange from the barbarous treatment of\na civilized Presbyterian priest to the humane, kind, and generous\ntreatment of the savage Osage Indians. May God reward them both\naccording to their deserts!\n\n\"We arose in the morning, after a good night's rest. I was somewhat\nlame, from wading in the swamp the night before. {49} We had a good\nbreakfast. Mr. Jereu sent an Indian to see us across the river, and\ninformed us that it was sixty miles to the nearest settlement of either\nwhite or red men.\n\n\"We were too bashful to ask for anything to take with us to eat; so\nwe crossed the river and started on our day's journey of sixty miles\nwithout a morsel of food of any kind. We started about sunrise and\ncrossed a thirty-mile prairie, apparently as level as a house floor,\nwithout shrub or water. We arrived at timber about two o'clock in the\nafternoon.\n\n\"As we approached the timber, a large black bear came out towards us.\nWe were not afraid of him, for we were on the Lord's business, and had\nnot mocked God's prophets as did the forty-two wicked children who said\nto Elisha, 'Go up thou bald head,' for which they were torn by bears.\nWhen the bear got within eight rods of us he sat on his haunches,\nlooked at us a moment, and ran away; and we went on our way rejoicing.\n\n\"We had to travel in the night, which was cloudy and very dark, so we\nhad great difficulty to keep the road. Soon a large drove of wolves\ngathered around, and followed us. They came very close, and at times it\nseemed as though they would eat us up. We had materials for striking a\nlight, and at ten o'clock, not knowing where we were, and the wolves\nbecoming so bold, we thought it wisdom to make a fire; so we stopped\nand gathered a lot of oak limbs that lay on the ground, and lit them,\nand as our fire began to burn the wolves left us.\n\n\"As we were about to lay down on the ground--for we had no blankets--we\nheard a dog bark. My companion said it was a wolf; I said it was a\ndog; but soon we heard a cowbell. Then we each took a firebrand, went\nabout a quarter of a mile, and found the house, which was sixty miles\nfrom where we started that morning. It was an old log cabin, about\ntwelve feet square, with no door, but an old blanket was hung up in the\ndoor-way. There was no furniture except one bedstead, upon which lay a\nwoman, several children, and several small dogs.\n\n\"A man lay on the bare floor with his feet to the fireplace, and all\nwere asleep. I went in and spoke to the man, but did not wake him. I\nstepped up to him, and laid my hand on his shoulder. The moment he felt\nthe weight of my hand he jumped to his feet and ran around the room as\nthough he were {50} frightened; but he was quieted when we informed him\nwe were friends. The cause of his fright was that he had shot a panther\na few nights before, and he thought its mate had jumped upon him. He\nasked us what we wanted; we told him we wished to stop with him all\nnight, and would like something to eat. He informed us we might lie\non the floor as he did, but that he had not a mouthful for us to eat,\nas he had to depend on his gun to get breakfast for his family in the\nmorning. So we lay on the bare floor, and slept through a long, rainy\nnight, which was pretty hard after walking sixty miles without anything\nto eat. That was the hardest day's work of my life. The man's name was\nWilliams. He was in the mob in Jackson County; and after the Saints\nwere driven out, he, with many others, went south.\n\n\"We got up in the morning and walked in the rain twelve miles to the\nhouse of a man named Bemon, who was also one of the mob from Jackson\nCounty. The family were about to sit down to breakfast as we came in.\nIn those days it was the custom of the Missourians to ask you to eat\neven though they were hostile to you; so he asked us to take breakfast,\nand we were very glad of the invitation. He knew we were Mormons; and\nas soon as we began to eat, he began to swear about the Mormons. He had\na large platter of bacon and eggs, and plenty of bread on the table,\nand his swearing did not hinder our eating, for the harder he swore the\nharder we ate, until we got our stomachs full; then we arose from the\ntable, took our hats, and thanked him for our breakfast. The last we\nheard of him he was still swearing. I trust the Lord will reward him\nfor our breakfast.\n\n\"In the early days of the Church, it was a great treat to an elder in\nhis travels through the country to find a Mormon; it was so with us. We\nwere hardly in Arkansas when we heard of a family named Akeman. They\nwere in Jackson County in the persecutions. Some of the sons had been\ntied up there and whipped on their bare backs, with hickory switches,\nby the mob. We heard of their living on Petit Jean River, in the\nArkansas Territory, and we went a long way to visit them.\n\n\"Recently there had been heavy rains, and a creek that we had to cross\nwas swollen to a rapid stream of eight rods in width. There was no\nperson living nearer than two miles from the crossing, and no boat. The\npeople living at the last house {51} on the road, some three miles from\nthe crossing said we would have to tarry till the water fell before\nwe could cross. Feeling to trust in God, we did not stop. Just as we\narrived at the rolling flood, a negro, on a powerful horse, entered the\nstream on the opposite side and rode through it. On making our wants\nknown to him, he took us, one at a time, behind him and carried us\nsafely over, and we went on our way rejoicing.\n\n\"We arrived that night within five miles of Mr. Akeman's, and were\nkindly entertained by a stranger. During the night I had the following\ndream: I thought an angel came to us, and told us we were commanded of\nthe Lord to follow a certain straight path, which was pointed out to\nus, let it lead us wherever it might. After we had walked in it awhile\nwe came to the door of a house, which was in the line of a high wall\nrunning north and south, so that we could not go around. I opened the\ndoor and saw the room was filled with large serpents, and I shuddered\nat the sight. My companion said he would not go into the room for fear\nof the serpents. I told him I would try to go through the room though\nthey killed me, for the Lord commanded it. As I stepped into the room\nthe serpents coiled themselves up, and raised their heads some two\nfeet from the floor, to spring at me. There was one much larger than\nthe rest, in the center of the room, which raised his head nearly as\nhigh as mine and made a spring at me. At that instant I felt as though\nnothing but the power of God could save me, and I stood still. Just\nbefore the serpent reached me he dropped dead at my feet; all the\nrest dropped dead, swelled up, turned black, bust open, took fire and\nwere consumed before my eyes, and we went through the room unharmed,\nthanking God for our deliverance.\n\n\"I awoke in the morning and pondered upon the dream. We took breakfast,\nand started on our journey on Sunday morning to visit Mr. Akeman. I\nrelated to my companion my dream, and told him we should see something\nstrange. We had great anticipations of meeting Mr. Akeman, supposing\nhim to be a member of the Church. When we arrived at his house, he\nreceived us very coldly, and we soon found that he had apostatized.\nHe brought railing accusations against the Book of Mormon and the\nauthorities of the Church.\n\n\"Word was sent through all the settlements on the river for {52} twenty\nmiles that two Mormon preachers were in the place. A mob was soon\nraised, and warning sent to us to leave immediately or we would be\ntarred and feathered, ridden on a rail, and hanged. I soon saw who the\nserpents were. My companion wanted to leave; I told him, no. I would\nstay and see my dream fulfilled.\n\n\"There was an old gentleman and lady named Hubbel, who had read the\nBook of Mormon and believed. Father Hubbel came to see us, and invited\nus to make our home with him while we stayed in the place. We did so,\nand labored for him some three weeks with our axes, clearing land,\nwhile we were waiting to see the salvation of God.\n\n\"February 14th, 1835, was an important day to me. In company with\nBrother Brown, I took my axe went into the woods to help Brother\nHubbel clear some land. We chopped till 3 o'clock in the afternoon.\nThe spirit of the Lord came upon me like a rushing of mighty wind.\nThe voice of the spirit said, 'Go up again and visit Mr. Akeman and\nagain bear testimony to him of the truth of the Book of Mormon and of\nthe work of God.' I marveled at this and told Brother Brown what the\nspirit said to me. He replied that I might go if I wished to do so,\nbut that he would not go. I carried my ax to the house and walked up\nto Mr. Akeman's about one and a half miles through a pleasant grove.\nWhile on my way I reflected upon this strange operation of the spirit\nwithin me. I was in a deep, gloomy frame of mind and thought. As I\napproached the house I saw the door open and Mr. Akeman walking the\nfloor. I felt particularly impressed to ask if he was well. He said he\nnever felt better in health. I told him I had come to bear testimony\nagain to him of the truth of the Book of Mormon and of the work of God\nand of the danger of opposing that work. He was soon filled with wrath\nand indignation and he opposed me in the strongest terms and raged\nagainst the leaders of the Church. My mouth was more closed up than\never before. I felt that the house was filled with devils and with an\nawful darkness. I felt horrible. I did not understand why the Lord\nshould send me into the midst of such spirits to bear testimony of his\nwork. I felt very strange. My tongue seemed glued to my mouth. I could\nnot {53} speak. I arose to my feet to leave the house. I felt as though\nthe floor moved under my feet and when I stepped upon the ground I felt\nas though I was surrounded by evil spirits. I had a desire to flee\nas Lot did when he went out of Sodom, without looking behind me. Mr.\nAkeman followed me out of the door and kept within about four rods of\nme. Neither of us spoke a word. I knew he was following, but when he\nwas about four rods from the house, the strange feeling left me. When\nMr. Akeman reached the place where my feelings so instantly changed, he\nfell dead at my feet as though he had been struck with a thunderbolt\nfrom heaven. I heard him fall to the earth, but I did not look behind\nme. His daughter stood in the doorway and saw him fall. She fainted and\nfell at about the same time. Neither of them spoke a word that I could\nhear. I continued to walk down to Mr. Hubbel's as fast as I could,\nmeditating all the while upon the strange dealings of God with me. I\nstill did not know that Mr. Akeman was dead. I arrived at Mr. Hubbel's\njust at dark in a peculiar state of mind. Supper was ready. We all sat\ndown to the table. The blessing was asked, and I took up my knife and\nfork and began to eat, when I heard a horse coming up on the full ran.\nI dropped my knife and fork and listened. A man rode up to our door and\ncried out: 'Mr. Akeman is dead. I want you to go there immediately.' In\na moment my eyes were opened, so that I understood the whole matter.\nI felt satisfied with the dealings of God with me in calling me to go\nand warn him. As soon as his daughter, who fell to the ground about the\nsame time, came to her senses, she ran to her nearest brother and gave\nthe alarm.\n\n\"We walked up to Mr. Akeman's house as soon as we could. When we\narrived there, we found all his sons in the house around his body\nwailing in an awful manner. He was naturally a large man, but his body\nwas swollen to a great extent. It appeared as though his skin were\nready to burst open. He was black as an African. We at once went to\nwork and made a large box in which to put him. I continued to think of\nmy dream, which I had had some time before the events here related took\nplace.\n\n\"His family, as well as ourselves, felt it was the judgment of God upon\nhim. I preached his funeral sermon. Many of the {54} mob died suddenly.\nWe stayed about two weeks after Akeman's death and preached, baptized\nMr. Hubbel and his wife, and then continued on our journey.\n\n\"We concluded to go down the Arkansas River and cross into Tennessee.\nWe could not get passage on the boat, because of the low water; so we\nwent on the bank of the river and cut down a sound cottonwood tree,\nthree feet through, and cut off a twelve foot length from the butt\nend; in two days we dug out a canoe. We made a pair of oars and a\nrudder, and on the 11th day of March, 1835, we launched our canoe, and\ncommenced our voyage down the Arkansas River, without provisions.\n\n\"The first day we sailed twenty-five miles, and stopped at night with a\npoor family who lived on the bank of the river. These kind folks gave\nus supper and breakfast, and, in the morning, gave us johnny-cake and a\npiece of pork to take with us on our journey. We traveled about fifty\nmiles that day, and at night stopped at an old tavern, in a village\ncalled Cadron, which was deserted because it was believed to be haunted\nby evil spirits. We made a fire in the tavern, roasted a piece of our\npork, ate our supper, said our prayers, went into a chamber, lay down\non the bare floor, and were soon asleep. I dreamed I was at my father's\nhouse in a good feather bed, and I had a good night's rest. When I\nawoke the bed vanished, and I found myself on the bare floor and well\nrested, not having been troubled with evil spirits or anything else.\n\n\"We thanked the Lord for His goodness to us, ate the remainder of our\nprovisions, and continued our journey down the river to Little Rock,\nthe capital of Arkansas, which then consisted of only a few cabins.\nAfter visiting the place, we crossed the river and tied up our canoe,\nwhich had carried us safely one hundred and fifty miles. We then took\nthe old military road leading from Little Rock to Memphis, Tennessee.\nThis road lay through swamps, and was covered with mud and water most\nof the way for one hundred and seventy miles. We walked forty miles in\na day, through mud and water knee-deep.\n\n\"On the 24th of March, after traveling some ten miles through mud, I\nwas made lame with a sharp pain in my knee, and sat down on a log. My\ncompanion, who was anxious to get to his home in Kirtland, left me\nsitting in an alligator swamp. {55} I did not see him again for two\nyears. I knelt down in the mud and prayed, and the Lord healed me and I\nwent on my way rejoicing.\n\n\"On the 27th of March I arrived at Memphis, weary and hungry. I went\nto the best tavern in the place, kept by Mr. Josiah Jackson. I told\nhim I was a stranger and had no money, and asked him if he would keep\nme over night. He inquired what my business was, and I told him I was\na preacher of the gospel. He laughed and said that I did not look much\nlike a preacher. I did not blame him, as most of the preachers he ever\nhad been acquainted with rode on fine horses or in fine carriages,\ndressed in broadcloth, had large salaries, and would likely see this\nwhole world sink to perdition before they would wade through one\nhundred and seventy miles of mud to save the people.\n\n\"The landlord wanted a little fun, so said he would keep me if I would\npreach. He wanted to see if I could preach. I must confess that by\nthis time I became a little mischievous, and pleaded with him not to\nset me preaching. The more I pleaded to be excused the more determined\nMr. Jackson was that I should preach. He took my valise, and the\nlandlady got me a good supper. I sat down in a large hall to eat.\nBefore I got through, the room began to be filled by some of the rich\nand fashionable people of Memphis, dressed in their broadcloth and\nsilk, while my appearance was such as you can imagine, after traveling\nthrough the mud as I had done. When I had finished eating, the table\nwas carried out of the room over the heads of the people. I was placed\nin the corner of the room, with a stand having a Bible, hymn book, and\ncandle on it, hemmed in by a dozen men, with the landlord in the center.\n\n\"There were present some five hundreds persons, who had come together,\nnot to hear a gospel sermon, but to have some fun. I read a hymn, and\nasked them to sing. Not a soul would sing a word. I told them I had\nnot the gift of singing; but with the help of the Lord, I would both\npray and preach. I knelt down to pray, and the men around me dropped\non their knees. I prayed to the Lord to give me His spirit and to show\nme the hearts of the people. I promised the Lord, in my prayer, that\nI would deliver to that congregation whatever He would give to me. I\narose and spoke one hour and a half, and it was one of {56} the best\nsermons of my life. The lives of the congregation were open to the\nvision of my mind, and I told them of their wicked deeds and the reward\nthey would obtain. The men who surrounded me dropped their heads. Three\nminutes after I closed, I was the only person in the room.\n\n\"Soon I was shown to a bed, in a room adjoining a large one in which\nwere assembled many of the men whom I had been preaching to. I could\nhear their conversation. One man said he would like to know how that\nMormon boy knew of their past lives. In a little while they got to\ndisputing about some doctrinal point. One suggested calling me to\ndecide the point. The landlord said, 'No; we have had enough for once.'\nIn the morning, I had a good breakfast. The landlord said if I came\nthat way again to stop at his house, and stay as long as I might choose.\n\n\"After leaving Memphis, I traveled through the country to Benton\nCounty, and preached on the way, as I had opportunity. I stopped one\nnight with a Squire Hardman, an Episcopalian. Most of the night was\nspent by the family in music and dancing. In the morning, at the\nbreakfast table, Mr. Hardman asked me if we believed in music and\ndancing. I told him we did not really consider them essential to\nsalvation. He said he did, and therefore should not join our Church.\n\n\"On the 4th of April, 1835, I had the happy privilege of meeting Elder\nWarren Parrish at the house of Brother Frye. He had been preaching\nin that part of Tennessee, in company with David W. Patten, and had\nbaptized a number of persons and organized several small branches.\nBrother Patten had returned home, and Brother Parrish was laboring\nalone. I joined him in the ministry, and we labored together three\nmonths and nineteen days, when he was called to Kirtland. During\nthe time we were together, we traveled through several counties in\nTennessee for the distance of seven hundred and sixty miles, and\npreached the gospel daily, as we had opportunity. We baptized some\ntwenty persons.\n\n\"By the counsel of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, Elder\nParrish ordained me an elder, and left me to take charge of the\nbranches that had been raised up in that neighborhood. As soon as I was\nleft alone I extended my circuit {57} and labors. For a season I had\nlarge congregations; many seemed to believe, and I baptized a number.\n\n\"On the 15th of August I had an appointment at the house of Brother\nTaylor, the step-father of Abraham O. Smoot. I had to cross Bloody\nRiver, which I had to swim, in consequence of heavy rains. While\ncrossing, my horse became entangled in a tree-top, and almost drowned;\nbut I succeeded in getting him loose. We swam to the shore separately.\nHe reached the shore first, and waited till I came out. I got into the\nsaddle, went on my way in good spirits, and had a good meeting.\n\n\"On the 20th of October I baptized three Campbellites, one of whom was\na deacon. I then rode twelve miles to Mr. Green wood's, who was eighty\nyears old, and had been a soldier under General Washington. His wife,\nwho was ninety-three years old, I found quite smart, and busy carding\nwool. I preached at their house and baptized both of them.\n\n\"On the following day I preached at the house of Benjamin L. Clapp, and\nbaptized seven Campbellites and one Baptist. On the 16th of November, I\npreached at Brother Camp's, and baptized three. On the day following,\nit being Sunday, I preached again at Brother Clapp's, and baptized five.\n\n\"At the close of the meeting I mounted my horse to ride to Clark's\nRiver, in company with Seth Utley, four other brethren, and two\nsisters. The distance was twenty miles. We came to a stream which\nwas so swollen by rains that we could not cross without swimming our\nhorses. To swim would not be safe for the women, so we went up the\nstream to find a ford. In the attempt we were overtaken by a severe\nstorm of wind and rain, lost our way in the darkness, and wandered\nthrough creeks and mud. But the Lord does not forsake His Saints in\nany of their troubles. While we were in the woods suffering under the\nblast of the storm, groping like the blind for the wall, a bright light\nsuddenly shone around us, and revealed to us our dangerous situation\non the edge of a gulf. The light continued with us until we found the\nroad; we then went on our way rejoicing, though the darkness returned\nand the rain continued. We reached Brother Henry Thomas' in safety\nabout nine o'clock at night, having been five hours in the storm,\nand forded streams many times. None of us felt to complain, but were\nthankful to {58} God for His preserving care. On the following day I\npreached at Damon Creek, and organized a branch called Damon Creek\nBranch, and ordained Daniel Thomas a teacher.\n\n\"On the 19th of December I again preached at the house of Brother\nClapp, and baptized five persons; one was a Campbellite preacher. On\nthe following day I preached at the house of Brother Henry Thomas, when\na mob of about fifty persons collected, headed by a Baptist preacher,\nwho, after asking one question, advised the mob not to lay hands on any\nman on account of his principles. The advice was good and well taken.\nAt the close of the meeting I baptized three persons, one seventy-eight\nyears old.\n\n\"This brings the year 1835 to a close--the first year of my\nmission--during which time I had traveled three thousand two hundred\nand forty-eight miles, held one hundred and seventy meetings, baptized\nforty-three persons--three of whom were Campbellite preachers--assisted\nElder Parrish to baptize twenty more, confirmed thirty-five, organized\nthree branches, ordained two teachers and one deacon, procured\nthirty subscribers for the Messenger and Advocate, one hundred and\nseventy-three signers to the petition to the governor of Missouri for\nredress of wrongs done the Saints in Jackson County, had three mobs\nrise against me--but was not harmed--wrote eighteen letters, received\nten, and, finally, closed the labors of the year 1835 by eating johnny\ncake, butter and honey, at Brother A. O. Smoot's.\n\n\"I spent the fore part of January, 1836, (the weather being very cold),\nat the house of A. O. Smoot, in Kentucky, studying Kirkham's English\nGrammar. I continued to travel and preach in Kentucky and Tennessee and\nbaptized all that would believe my testimony. On the 26th of February\nwe held a conference at the house of Brother Lewis Clapp (father of B.\nL. Clapp). There were represented one hundred and three members in that\nmission. I ordained A. O. Smoot and Benjamin Boyston elders, and Daniel\nThomas and Benjamin L. Clapp priests. I also ordained one teacher and\ntwo deacons.\n\n\"After conference I took Brothers Smoot and Clapp with me to preach.\nThe former traveled with me constantly till the 21st of April, when\nwe had the privilege of meeting with Elder David W. Patten, who had\ncome direct from Kirtland, and who {59} had been ordained one of\nthe Twelve Apostles. It was a happy meeting. He gave us an account\nof the endowments at Kirtland, the glorious blessings received, the\nministration of angels, the organization of the Twelve Apostles and\nseventies, and informed me that I was appointed a member of the second\nquorum of seventy. All this was glorious news to me, and caused my\nheart to rejoice. On the 27th of May we were joined by Elder Warren\nParrish, direct from Kirtland. We had a happy time together.\n\n\"On the 28th, we held a conference at Brother Seth Utley's, where were\nrepresented all the branches of the Church in the South. On the 31st\nof May I was ordained a member of the second quorum of seventy, under\nthe hands of David W. Patten and Warren Parrish. At the close of the\nconference we separated for a short time. Elders Patten and Parrish\nlabored in Tennessee, Brother Smoot and myself in Kentucky. On the 9th\nof June we all met at Damon Creek Branch, where Brother Patten baptized\ntwo. One was Father Henry Thomas, who had been a revolutionary war\nsoldier under General Washington, and was father of Daniel and Henry\nThomas.\n\n\"A warrant was issued, on the oath of a priest, against D. W. Patten,\nW. Parrish and myself. We were accused in the warrant of the great\n'crime' of testifying that Christ would come in this generation, and\nthat we promised the Holy Ghost to those whom we baptized. Brothers\nPatten and Parrish were taken on the 19th of June. I, being in another\ncounty, escaped arrest. The brethren were put under two thousand\ndollars bonds to appear at court. Albert Petty and Seth Utley were\ntheir bondsmen. They were tried on the 22nd of June. They pleaded\ntheir own cause. Although men came forward and testified that they did\nreceive the Holy Ghost after they were baptized, the brethren were\ncondemned; but finally were released by paying the expenses of the mob\ncourt.\n\n\"One peculiar circumstance was connected with this trial by a mob\ncourt, which was armed to the teeth. When the trial was through, the\npeople were not willing to permit more than one to speak. Warren\nParrish had said a few words, and they were not willing to let David\nPatten say anything; but he, feeling the injustice of the court,\nand being filled with the power of {60} God, arose to his feet and\ndelivered a speech of about twenty minutes, holding them spell-bound\nwhile he told them of their wickedness and of the abominations they\nwere guilty of, also of the curse of God that awaited them, if they\ndid not repent, and for taking up two harmless, inoffensive men for\npreaching the gospel of Christ. When he had got through his speech\nthe judge said, 'You must be armed with secret weapons, or you would\nnot talk in this fearless manner to an armed court.' Brother Patten\nreplied, 'I have weapons that you know not of, and they are given me of\nGod, for He gives me all the power I have.' The judge seemed willing to\nget rid of them upon almost any terms, and offered to dismiss them if\ntheir friends would pay the costs, which the brethren present freely\noffered to do.\n\n\"When the two were released, they mounted their horses and rode a mile\nto Seth Utley's; but as soon as they had left, the court became ashamed\nthat they had been let go so easily, and the whole mob mounted their\nhorses to follow them to Utley's. One of the Saints, seeing the state\nof affairs, went on before the mob to notify the brethren, so that they\nhad time to ride into the woods near by. They traveled along about\nthree miles to Brother Albert Petty's, and went to bed. The night was\ndark, and they fell asleep, but Brother Patten was warned in a dream\nto get up and flee, as the mob soon would be there. They both arose,\nsaddled their animals, and rode into the adjoining county. The house\nthey had just left was soon surrounded by the mob, but the brethren\nescaped through the mercy of God.\n\n\"I was invited to hold a meeting at a Baptist meetinghouse; this was\non the 27th of June. On my arrival I met a large congregation, but, on\ncommencing services, Parson Browning ordered the meeting to be closed.\nI told the people I had come ten miles to preach the gospel to them,\nand was willing to stand in a cart, on a pile of wood, on a fence, or\nany other place they would appoint, to have that privilege. One man\nsaid he owned the fence and land in front of the meetinghouse, and we\nmight use both, for he did not believe Mormonism would hurt either. So\nthe congregation crossed the road, took down the fence and made seats\nof it, and I preached to them one hour and a half. At the close, Mr.\nRandolph Alexander bore testimony to the truth of what had been said.\nHe invited me home with him, bought {61} a Book of Mormon and was\nbaptized, and I organized a branch in that place.\n\n\"On the 18th of July, Brother A. O. Smoot and I arrived at a ferry on\nthe Tennessee River, and, as the ferryman was not at home, the woman\nkindly gave us permission to use the ferryboat. We led our horses on\nboard, and took the oars to row across the river. Brother Smoot never\nhad used an oar, and I had not done so for some years, so we made\nawkward work of it. Soon he broke one oar, and I let another fall\noverboard, which left us only one broken oar to get to shore with. We\nnarrowly escaped running into a steamboat. We struck shore half a mile\nbelow the landing place, tied up the boat, jumped on the bank with our\nhorses, and went on our way with blistered hands, thankful to get off\nso well.\n\n\"On Sunday, the 31st of July, A. O. Smoot and I preached at Mr. David\nCrider's, Weakley County, Tennessee. After the meeting, Mr. Crider was\nbaptized. A mob gathered and threatened us, and poisoned our horses, so\nthat the one I rode, belonging to Samuel West, died a few days after.\nThis horse had carried me thousands of miles while preaching the gospel.\n\n\"I continued to travel with Brothers Smoot, Patten, and Parrish in\nTennessee and Kentucky, and we baptized all who would receive our\ntestimony. On the 2nd day of December we held a general conference at\nDamon Creek Branch. Elder Thomas B. Marsh, President of the Twelve\nApostles, presided. All the branches in Tennessee and Kentucky were\nrepresented. Brothers Randolph Alexander, Benjamin L. Clapp, and\nJohnson F. Lane were ordained elders, and Lindsay Bradey was ordained\nto the lesser priesthood. I assisted President Marsh to obtain fifteen\nhundred dollars from the Southern brethren to enter land in Missouri\nfor the Church. The brethren made me a present of fifty dollars, which\nI sent by President Marsh to enter forty acres of land for me. Elder\nSmoot and I were released from the Southern mission, with permission to\ngo to Kirtland.\"\n\nDuring his mission, Wilford Woodruff organized a company of Saints, and\nwent with them a short distance, starting them on the way to Zion--a\nportion of the work of gathering in which he did so much subsequently,\nboth in the United States and Great Britain. Most of his travels for\nover two years had been on {62} foot. Since leaving Richland, New York,\nhe had journeyed over six thousand miles. Under his administration the\nsick were healed, mobacrats were destroyed by the power of God, light\nfrom heaven had been sent in the darkness of the night to lead him from\na lost condition in the forest and to save him from being dashed to\npieces over a rocky precipice, other miracles were wrought, and Wilford\nWoodruff, in his early youth and manhood, had become in a marked degree\na choice witness for God and for the divine mission of Joseph Smith,\nthe Prophet.\n\nLet it be remembered, too, that to enjoy all this power it was not\nnecessary to be an apostle, a patriarch, a high priest, or a seventy.\nFor the greater part of his mission, Wilford Woodruff was only a\npriest after the order of Aaron. Like John the Baptist, he magnified\nhis calling; his soul was in the work; he loved his fellowbeings, and\nyearned for their salvation. His whole experience is a striking lesson\nworthy of being learned, and an example to be followed profitably by\nall the young men and elders of Israel. More than once, thousands of\nthe Saints have heard Wilford Woodruff say in assemblies of worship\nthat in all his life he never had enjoyed more of the spirit and power\nof God than when he was a priest doing missionary work in the Southern\nStates.\n\nHis first mission being completed, he approached the city of the\nSaints--Kirtland--whence he had departed over two years previously.\n\"The Temple of the Lord,\" says he, \"came in sight--first in importance\nto our vision. I truly rejoiced when the House of the Lord rose into\nview as we drew near to this Stake of Zion. It was the first time I\nhad seen the Temple of God--the first Temple built in this generation.\nAfter my long absence, I rejoiced greatly to strike hands with the\nProphet Joseph, and with many others engaged in rolling on the mighty\nwork of the Lord in the last days.\n\n\"Two years and a half had elapsed,\" he writes further, \"since I left\nKirtland with my brethren in poverty to go up to visit our brethren\nin tribulation in Zion. The Saints at Kirtland were then poor,\ndespised, and looked upon by the pomp of Babylon with disdain, and\npeople watched with eager eyes to behold them sink into forgetfulness.\nBut what a change has come! Now I behold a cheerfulness beaming from\nevery countenance, {63} and the scenes around indicate prosperity. The\nnoise of the ax and the hammer, the stir of their bank and market, and\nespecially the presence of the House of God, speak in language loud\nas thunder that the Saints will have a city in spite of all the false\nprophets of Baal, and in spite of even earth and hell combined, because\nGod is with them, and His Temple stands in honor of His Kingdom, while\nBabylon begins to wonder and soon will perish.\"\n\n{64}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 8.\n\nIN KIRTLAND, 1836.\n\nWilford's First Attendance at Meeting in the Temple.--Called to\nSpeak.--Church's Attitude Toward the Use of Liquor.--Wilford in the\nFirst Quorum of Seventy.--Receives Temple Endowments.--Troubles\nin Kirtland.--Greatness of the Prophet Joseph.--Wilford's\nMarriage.--Receives a Patriarchal Blessing.\n\nThe missionary experiences of Wilford Woodruff in the Southern States\ngave to him a firmness and a comprehension that came from the testimony\nof the spirit of God. From the day he joined the Church, he was in\nactive service. He was not among those who required special training\nand who needed the constant guidance of the leaders to keep them within\nthe bounds of the Church. His first experience was in Zion's Camp. He\nremained a short time in Missouri and then set out upon his mission.\nHis life was therefore governed by the workings of the spirit within\nhim. That spirit was his guide--the rock upon which his faith and\nunderstanding were established. His return, therefore, to Kirtland did\nnot subject him to the temptations of evil, nor to the rebukes of the\nProphet. He knew that he was about his Father's business and was not\nswerved by the sophistries of men, or the speculative spirit of those\ntimes.\n\nWhen he entered the city, he beheld, to his great joy, the Temple of\nthe Lord. It contained for him grand opportunities. Its ordinances\nwhich he so fervently revered gave comfort and consolation to his life.\nOn Sunday the 27th, 1836, he attended his first public meeting in the\nTemple. He had visited the building previously and viewed with pleasure\nits sacred apartments. On the forenoon of that day in company with\nElders Warren Parrish and A. O. Smoot, he listened with pleasure to\nthe words of Elder S. Carter, and to an impressive discourse from the\nProphet Joseph.\n\nIn the afternoon of the same day, Elders Woodruff and A. O. Smoot\nwere invited to address the congregation. Elder Woodruff first opened\nby prayer and then turned at random to a page in the Bible. To his\nsurprise, he opened to the 56th chapter of Isaiah, the same chapter he\nhad turned to on the night of his {65} eventful prayer in Connecticut.\nHere the memories of that night flashed upon his mind, and he told\nthe incidents thereof with impressive force and inspiration upon the\ncongregation. The people were greatly interested. Those who knew the\nvoice of the good shepherd recognized in him a man truly born of the\nspirit of God, a fit companion of prophets and apostles.\n\nOn the 1st of December, 1836, he attended for the first time in his\nlife a meeting called for the purpose of giving certain persons their\npatriarchal blessings. Father Joseph Smith was the patriarch of the\nChurch in those days. This new experience brought to him new evidences\nthat the God of the Bible, the God of the patriarchs of old,--Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob,--was truly the God of the new dispensation whose\nspirit and purposes were kindred to those in ancient times when the\npatriarchs of old blest the people.\n\nThe spiritual manifestations of those times in Kirtland brought with\nthem heartfelt desires to observe every rule of correct living. That\nspirit was not at all in harmony with the use of intoxicating liquors;\nand whatever became an obstacle to the spirit of worship must be\nremoved if the worship were to be enjoyed. It was important that the\nuse of liquor should be discontinued, and Elder Woodruff records in\nhis journal that on the 4th day of December, that year, Sidney Rigdon\ncalled for a vote of the people on the discontinuance of the use of\nliquor in the Church both in sickness and in health. An exception to\nthe rule was made in the case of the washing of the bodies; and under\nproper regulations, wine might be used for the Sacrament. The vote was\nunanimous.\n\nOn the 11th of December, the Prophet sharply rebuked the Kirtland\nSaints for their sins and backsliding. He warned them to repent,\nlest judgment should come upon them as it had come upon the Saints\nin Jackson County, Missouri. Those were trying times. They were days\nof separation when it became necessary to separate the unworthy from\nthose who were of the household of faith. Kirtland was not to be the\nabiding place of the Saints. They must give up their possessions and\ntheir love for the city they had striven so hard to adorn. Many had\nplaced themselves in opposition to a divine purpose whose wisdom they\ncould not comprehend. That opposition invited the {66} presence of the\nevil one who both tempted and beguiled them. Wilford Woodruff, however,\nwas among those who could say then, as he ever after kept himself in a\ncondition to say, \"Thy will, not mine be done.\"\n\nBefore the close of 1836, there came to Elder Woodruff one of those\nchoice blessings which he esteemed so highly. He was advanced in the\npriesthood to a place in the first quorum of seventies. His faithful\nfriend and missionary companion, A. O. Smoot, was likewise ordained\nto the office of a seventy. This ordination of his friend was in\nfulfillment of a prophesy which he had pronounced upon the head of\nElder Smoot on the 30th day of June, that year, while they were\ntogether in Tennessee. The call of Wilford Woodruff to take his place\nin the first quorum of seventy took place on the 3rd day of January,\n1837, though he had been ordained to his new calling in the priesthood\non the 20th of the preceeding December. His love for missionary service\nmade this calling one of special honor to him. To be a witness for\nJesus Christ to the nations was his soul's delight. The manner in which\nhe honored that calling is known to all who are at all familiar with\nthe early history of the Church.\n\nThe early part of April, 1837, Wilford Woodruff devoted himself to the\nmeetings which were held in the Temple during those days. Those who\nwere absent from Kirtland in the spring of 1836, and had not therefore\nthe privilege of receiving their endowments at that time were granted\nthe opportunity to do so in the following spring. This was another\nblessing that he received with feelings of gratitude and praise to his\nMaker. The influence of the Temple ordinances is, perhaps, the most\npotent of any influence in the Church in the establishment of union, in\nthe perpetuity of brotherly love, and in the preservation of a God-like\npurity. It is not too much to say that one, upon whom the spirit of\nthese ordinances has fastened itself, never escapes in his conscience\nthe sacred obligations they impose upon him.\n\nReferring to the administration of the Temple ordinances on that\noccasion, he writes in his journal: \"The Prophet Joseph arose and\naddressed the congregation for the space of three hours. He was\nclothed with the power, spirit, and image of God. He presented many\nthings of great importance to the elders of Israel. O, that the record\ncould be written as with an iron pen, of the {67} light, principles,\nand virtue that came from the mouth and heart of the Prophet Joseph,\nwhose soul, like that of Enoch, seemed as wide as eternity! That day\nstrikingly demonstrated that he was, indeed, a prophet of God raised\nup for the deliverance of Israel. He presented to us a plan of the\ncity of Kirtland which was given him by vision. The future will prove\nthat the visions of Joseph concerning Jackson County and concerning\nthe various stakes of Zion will be fulfilled in the time appointed of\nthe Lord. After his remarks, the Sacrament was administered and all\nwere made glad at the table of the Lord in association with apostles,\nprophets, patriarchs, evangelists, and teachers. In the evening a\nmeeting was held in which many took part by speaking in tongues, giving\nthe interpretations thereof, prophesying, etc.,--a veritable feast of\nPentecost.\"\n\nTemple work in Kirtland in the early part of 1837 afforded him that\nspiritual satisfaction which was so helpful in those subsequent years\nof his life when he was employed in missionary service and upon the\nplains as a pioneer. He also learned during those days in Kirtland\nthat the more remarkable the spiritual manifestations, the greater the\nopposition of the evil one. He was present at the Sunday services in\nthe Temple, April 9th, when Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, and Sidney\nRigdon laid before the Saints the condition of the Church respecting\ntemporal affairs.\n\nA financial panic was on throughout the United States. Its depressing\ninfluence was severely felt in Kirtland. Before it reached that\nplace, however, many of the leading brethren had given their time and\ntalent to speculation and were absorbed in schemes detrimental to\ntheir religious standing, and quite contrary to the counsel of the\nProphet. Speculations brought on jealousies and hatreds, and those evil\nattributes manifested themselves toward Joseph who sought so diligently\nto suppress them. Prominent men--men who had shown the highest\ndegree of loyalty to the Prophet became disaffected. Their financial\nspeculations brought on a spirit of self-sufficiency, and that spirit\nmade them wise in their own conceit. The affairs of the Church were put\nto the test of \"wisdom\"--wisdom as they understood it. Such wisdom,\nhowever, was undermining their integrity to the Church. The meek and\nhumble maintained their fidelity and brought encouragement {68} and\nsolace to the Prophet, and the noble men who stood with him in the\nhours of financial distress.\n\nOn one occasion he met Wilford Woodruff, and after scrutinizing him\nvery closely as though he were reading his inmost thoughts, said:\n\"Brother Woodruff, I am glad to see you. I hardly know when I meet\nthose who have been my brethren in the Lord, who of them are my\nfriends. They have become so scarce.\" Elder Woodruff felt throughout\nall the subsequent years of his life a supreme satisfaction over the\nloyalty he had manifested in those trying times to the Prophet of God.\nElder Woodruff was so faithful in the discharge of his duties, so\nhumble in his demeanor, so sincere and devoted that he was rewarded by\na discerning spirit which kept him in the path of safety when some of\nhis brethren were struggling in the meshes of misgivings and doubt.\n\nThe correctness of Wilford Woodruff's attitude in those days was\nmanifested in his ability to see in the Prophet the same spiritual\npower that had been manifested to him on former occasions. Of a meeting\nheld on April 19th, when the Prophet spoke, he writes: \"He seemed\na fountain of knowledge from whose mouth streams of eternal wisdom\nflowed. As he stood before the people, he showed clearly that the\nauthority of God was upon him. When speaking of those who professed to\nbe his friends and the friends of humanity, but who had turned against\nthe people and opposed the prosperity of Kirtland, he declared the Lord\nwould deal severely with them. Joseph uttered the feelings of his soul\nin pain, while reviewing the poverty and afflictions of his people,\nand while finding false brethren whose course brought peril upon the\nSaints. Joseph is a father to Ephraim and to all Israel in these last\ndays; and he mourned because of unbelief and treachery among many who\nhad embraced the gospel. He feared lest few in Kirtland should remain\nworthy to receive an inheritance.\"\n\n\"There is not so great a man as Joseph standing in this generation,\"\nhe wrote later on. \"The Gentiles look upon him, and he is like a bed\nof gold concealed from human view. They know not his principle, his\nspirit, his wisdom, his virtue, his philanthropy, of his calling. His\nmind, like Enoch's, expands as eternity, and God alone can comprehend\nhis soul.\"\n\nMisfortune and affliction so often unsettle men's minds and {69} move\nthem from their moorings that they are prone to doubt the goodness of\nGod and His protecting care over them. The highest type of saintly life\nand divine loyalty among men, alike in affliction and prosperity, was\nJob. Job was one of those beautiful characters in Old Testament history\nthat appealed strongly to the mind and heart of Wilford Woodruff. His\nreference to Job in public discourses shows how deeply that worthy\ncharacter of Holy Writ had influenced his life.\n\nAt the time herein mentioned, Wilford had reached his 30th year. He\nnow felt that it was his duty to assume the responsibility of husband\nand father. He was, no doubt, strongly actuated in this feeling by an\ninspiration which the new-found message brought to his soul. On the\n13th day of April, 1837, he received in wedlock Miss Phoebe Whitmore\nCarter, an estimable young lady from the state of Maine. She was the\ndaughter of Ezra Carter of Scarboro. With other members of her father's\nhousehold, she had been baptized some time previously by Elder John\nF. Boynton. Like her husband, she belonged to that sturdy New England\nrace that gave strength and force to the new movement. They had been\nacquainted only about two months when they joined hands in holy\nwedlock. The ceremony was performed by President Frederick G. Williams.\nThe Prophet Joseph had intended to marry them, but owing to severe\npersecution, he was compelled to be absent from home.\n\nShe had already received her patriarchal blessing from Father Joseph\nSmith on November 10, 1836. It contained many glorious promises which,\nso far as they related to this life, have been fulfilled. Some were\nfulfilled in a remarkable manner.\n\nOn the 15th of April, two days subsequent to their marriage, Elder\nWoodruff likewise received his patriarchal blessing. These blessings\ngave hope and courage to the new life which they were hereafter to\nexperience together. Such a blessing brought joys and assurances\ngreatly in excess of those which came from wedding tours. They\ntherefore began life together in faith and in perfect reliance upon the\ngoodness of God. Elder Woodruff's blessing contained the promise that\nhe should bring all of his relatives into the Church. The fulfillment\nof that promise was realized in a remarkable manner, and was one of\nthose evidences which gave him support and comfort throughout all the\nsubsequent years of life.\n\n{70}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 9.\n\nFIRST MISSION TO FOX ISLANDS, 1837.\n\nTroubles at Kirtland.--Mission to Fox Islands.--Evil Spirits Cast\nOut.--Healing the Sick.--Visits his Home Enroute.--From Connecticut to\nMaine.--Description of Fox Islands.--Begins Ministry in Vinal Haven.--A\nMinister Comes to Grief.--Baptisms.--Excitement.--Return to Scarboro.\n\nThe condition of affairs in Kirtland during the winter of 1836-7 was\nnot at all to the liking of Elder Woodruff. To his mind there was no\nplace in the Church for contentions, misgivings, and opposition. The\nwork was of God--that was enough. There were the properly appointed\nauthorities. Upon them the responsibilities of the kingdom had been\nplaced. He was not therefore concerned about what others thought was a\nlack of wisdom in them. He was not avaricious; and financial reverses,\nto his mind, could never thwart the purposes of God; and he was not\ntroubled about how much of this world's goods came to his possession. A\nglorious message had been given to the earth, and he wanted every one\nto know its value to the human family and to understand the blessings\nof salvation to those who yielded obedience.\n\nWilford Woodruff always felt out of place in the midst of contention.\nHe shunned it, and never cared for the association of those who were\ngiven to fault-finding, criticisms, and personal griefs. He never saw\nthe necessity for them. It was never hard for him to agree with his\nbrethren. He was never unreasonable in his demands, never had private\nends to foster, and never hesitated when there was something important\nto be done. He was loyal to the Prophet, true to his brethren; and as\nhe was now a seventy, he wanted to magnify his office by service in the\nmissionary field.\n\nHe felt impressed that he wanted to take a mission to Fox Islands,\noff the coast of Maine, although he was not at all familiar with the\nlocality nor with the conditions there. To his impressions of the\nspirit of God, he found a hearty response in the minds of the apostles.\n\n\"Feeling,\" he said, \"that it was my duty to start at once upon {71}\nthis mission, I did not tarry at home one year after having taken a\nwife as the law of Moses allowed. On the contrary, I started just one\nmonth and one day after that important event. I left my wife with\na Sister Hale with whom she expected to stay for a season. I left\nKirtland in good spirits, in company with Elder Jonathan Hale, and\nwalked twelve miles to Fairport, where we were joined by Elder Milton\nHolmes. There we went aboard the steamer Sandusky, made our way to\nBuffalo, and proceeded thence to Syracuse by way of the Erie Canal. We\nthen walked to Richland, Oswego County, New York, where I met my two\nbrothers whom I had not seen for several years.\" The elder of these\nbrothers had become, through trial and temptation, indifferent to the\nChurch. This was a source of deep sorrow to Wilford, who warned him\nagainst opposing the truth, and faithfully instructed him in his duty\nto the gospel which he had embraced.\n\nFrom Richland they proceeded to Sackett's Harbor, thence across Lake\nOntario by steamer, Oneida, to Kingston, Upper Canada, and along the\ncanal to Jones' Falls, whence they walked to a place called Bastard,\nLeeds County. There they found a branch of the Church presided over\nby John E. Page and James Blakesly. \"We accompanied them to their\nplace of meeting,\" said Elder Woodruff, \"and attended a conference,\nat which three hundred members of the Church were present. Thirty-two\npersons presented themselves for ordination. I was asked to officiate\nin company with Elder William Draper. We ordained seven elders, nine\npriests, eleven teachers, and five deacons.\n\n\"We addressed the people several times during this conference, and at\nits close were called to administer to a woman who was possessed of\na devil. At times she was dumb and greatly afflicted with the evil\nspirits that dwelt in her. She believed in Jesus, and in us as His\nservants, and wished us to administer to her. Four of us laid our hands\nupon her head, and in the name of Jesus Christ commanded the devil to\ndepart from her. The evil spirits left immediately, and the woman arose\nwith great joy and gave thanks and praise unto God; for, according to\nher faith, she was made whole from that hour. A child that was sick was\nalso healed by the laying on of hands, according to the word of God.\n\n{72} \"We walked thirty miles to visit another branch of the Saints\nat Leeds, where we met with John Gordon and a John Snider. There we\nheld a meeting, and bore testimony to the people. A Sister Carns came\nto us and asked that the ordinance for the healing of the sick be\nperformed for two of her children who were afflicted. One was a nursing\nbabe which was lying at the point of death. I took it in my arms and\npresented it before the elders, who laid their hands upon it, and it\nwas made whole immediately. I handed it back to the mother entirely\nhealed. We afterwards laid hands upon the other, and it was also\nhealed. It was done by the power of God, in the name of Jesus Christ,\nand the parents praised God for His goodness.\"\n\nFrom Leeds they went to Schenectady, New York. On this journey they\nwere accompanied by Elders Isaac Russell, John Goodson, and John\nSnider. In New York they expected to join Apostles Heber C. Kimball\nand Orson Hyde who were soon to leave on a mission to England. Elder\nRussell seemed to be troubled constantly by evil spirits. They were\nalso troublesome to him while in England, where Apostles Hyde and\nKimball had a severe contest with them, when administering to him.\n\nAfter separating from the three brethren named, Elder Woodruff and his\ncompanions went by rail to Albany, and walked from there to Canaan,\nConnecticut, where they found a branch of the Church. Here they met\nJesse and Julian Moses and Francis K. Benedict. They held a two day's\nmeeting at Canaan, and Elder Woodruff ordained Julian Moses and Francis\nK. Benedict to the office of an elder.\n\nAt Colebrook, Elder Woodruff visited his half-sister, Eunice Woodruff,\nwho taught school there. \"I spent five hours,\" he wrote, \"watching her\nin the performance of her school duties. Five years before, when I last\nbeheld Eunice at our father's house, she was a child of only twelve\nyears; but now I beheld her an instructor of the youth. As I looked\nupon her, my heart was filled with admiration for those accomplishments\nin her which adorn the female sex. Her spirit was blithe, and her\nstep, as she moved among her pupils, showed the energy of youth. She\nhanded me a bundle of letters from her brother Asahel. The teachings\nand instructions contained in those letters, if followed by the youth,\nwould lead them past a thousand snares. As I read, I {73} smiled and\nwept, and prayed in my heart, 'O God, protect my brothers, my sisters,\nmy wife, and my parents.'\" Wilford's affection for his family and\nrelatives was strong and beautiful.\n\nFrom Colebrook he proceeded to Avon. \"There I visited,\" he wrote, \"many\nof my former neighbors, and my relatives, also the grave of my mother,\nBeulah Woodruff, who died June 11th, 1808, when she was twenty-six\nyears of age. The following verse was upon her tombstone:\n\n  'A pleasing form, a generous heart,\n  A good companion, just without art;\n  Just in her dealings, faithful to her friend,\n  Beloved through life, lamented in the end.'\n\n\"At the close of the day I walked six miles to Farmington, where my\nfather, Aphek Woodruff, was living, and I had the happy privilege of\nonce more meeting him and my stepmother, whom I had not seen for seven\nyears. They greeted me with great kindness. It was a happy meeting.\nAfter visiting with my father for a day or two, I returned to Avon,\nwhere most of my relatives lived, and held meetings with them. On the\n12th of June, 1837, I baptized my uncle, Ozem Woodruff, his wife,\nHannah, and their son, John, and we rejoiced together; for this was in\nfulfillment of a dream I had in 1818, when I was eleven years of age.\n\n\"On the 15th of July I had an appointment to preach at the house of\nmy uncle, Adna Hart. While there I had the happy privilege of meeting\nwith my wife Phoebe W. Woodruff, who had come from Kirtland to meet me\nand accompany me to her father's home in Scarboro, Maine. Those who\nhad assembled to hear me preach were relatives, neighbors, and former\nfriends. After meeting, we returned to Farmington, to my father's home,\nwhere I spent the night with my father, stepmother, sister, and wife.\nElder Hale was also with us.\n\n\"On the 19th of July, Elder Hale left us to go to his friends in\nNew Rowley, Massachusetts. The same evening I held a meeting in the\nMethodist meetinghouse in the town of Farmington. I had a large\ncongregation of citizens with whom I {74} had been acquainted from\nmy youth. My parents, wife, and sister attended the meeting. The\ncongregation seemed satisfied with the doctrines I taught, and\nrequested me to hold another meeting; but I felt anxious to continue my\njourney, and on the 20th of July I parted from father, stepmother, and\nsister, and, with my wife, took stage for Hartford.\n\n\"On my arrival there, not having money to pay fare for both of us,\nI paid my wife's fare to Rowley, Massachusetts, where there was a\nbranch of the Church presided over by Brother Nathaniel Holmes, father\nof Jonathan and Milton Holmes. I journeyed on foot. The first day I\nwalked fifty-two miles, the second day forty-eight, and the third day\nthirty-six miles, arriving at Rowley at 2 o'clock, having made the one\nhundred and thirty-six miles in a little over two and a half days. On\nthe second day, when within a mile or two of my stopping place, I felt\nso weary and worn-out that every step was made with painful effort.\nJust then a gentleman came dashing along in his carriage. As he came\nup I prayed to the Lord that he would invite me to ride. Instead of\ndoing this, he went by with great speed until about ten rods ahead,\nwhen his horse, without being spoken to, or reined up, and for some\ncause unknown to the driver, came to a sudden stop. It appeared as if\na barrier, unseen by others, stood in his way. Instantly the gentleman\nturned and asked me to ride. The invitation I accepted gladly, and we\nsped on our way.\n\n\"I spent eight days at New Rowley, holding meeting and visiting with\nthe Saints, including the Holmes family, and left there on the 1st of\nAugust. On the 8th of August, in company with my wife and Elder Hale,\nI visited my wife's father, Ezra Carter, and his family in Scarboro,\nMaine, it being the first time I had ever seen any of her relatives.\n\n\"We were received very kindly. My wife had been absent from her father's\nhome about one year. I remained eight days with Father Carter, and\nhousehold, and one day I went out to sea with Fabian and Ezra Carter,\nmy brothers-in-law, in a boat to fish with hooks. We caught two hundred\nand fifty cod, haddock, and hake, and we saw four whales, two at a\ntime. It was the first time I had ever seen the kind of animal which is\nsaid to have swallowed Jonah.\n\n{75} \"On the 18th of August, 1837, I parted with my wife and her\nfather's household, leaving her with them, and, in company with\nJonathan H. Hale, started upon the mission that I had in view when I\nleft Kirtland. We walked ten miles to Portland, and took passage on\nthe steamboat, Bangor, which carried us to Owl's Head where we went on\nboard a sloop which landed us on North Fox Island at 2 o'clock a. m. on\nAugust 20th.\n\n\"The town of Vinal Haven includes both North and South Fox Islands,\nin latitude 44 north longitude 69 10' west. The population numbered,\nat the time of my visit, about eighteen hundred. The inhabitants were\nintelligent and industrious, and hospitable to strangers. They got most\nof their living and wealth by fishing. The town fitted out over one\nhundred licensed sailing vessels, besides smaller craft.\n\n\"North Fox Island is nine miles long by two miles in width, and has\na population of eight hundred. They have a postoffice, one store,\na Baptist church and a meetinghouse, four schoolhouses, and a tide\ngrist-mill. The land is rather poor, yet there are some good farms. The\nproducts are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and grass. The principal\ntimber consists of fir, spruce, hemlock, and birch. Raspberries and\ngooseberries grow in great abundance, and some upland cranberries are\nraised. The principal stock are sheep.\n\n\"South Fox Island comes as near being without definite form as any spot\non earth I ever saw. It would be difficult for any person to describe\nit. It is about ten miles in length by five in width, and is a mass\nof rocks, formed into shelves, hills, and valleys, and cut up into\nnecks and points to make room for the coves and harbors that run into\nthe island. The population is one thousand. The inhabitants get their\nliving entirely by fishing. There is no chance for farming upon the\nisland. There are a few garden patches which are cultivated at great\nexpense. Some few sheep are raised there. Many of the inhabitants fish\nin the vicinity of Newfoundland, and bring their fish home, where they\ncure them on flakes and prepare them for the market. They supply the\nmarket with great quantities of cod, mackerel, and boxed herring. Upon\nthis island there are two stores, three tide mills, six schoolhouses,\nand a small branch of the Methodist church presided over by a priest.\nWhat timber there is upon this {76} island, such as pine, fir, spruce,\nhemlock, and birch, and likewise whortleberries, raspberries, and\ngooseberries, grow mostly out of the cracks in the rocks.\n\n\"Great quantities of fish in almost endless variety inhabit the\ncoves and harbors around the islands. The whale, blackfish, shark,\nground-shark, pilot-fish, horse-mackerel, sturgeon, salmon, halibut,\ncod, polleck, tom-cod, hake, haddock, mackerel, shad-bass, alewife,\nherring, pohagen, dolphin, whiting, frost-fish, flounders, smelt,\nskate, shrimp, skid, cusk, blueback, scallop, dog-fish, mutton-fish,\nlumpfish, squid, five-fingers, monkfish, horse-fish, sun-fish,\nsword-fish, thrasher, cat-fish, scuppog, tootog, eye-fish, cunner,\nling, also the eel, lobster, clam, mussel, periwinkle, porpoise, seal,\netc., are found.\n\n\"I have given a brief description of Vinal Haven. It was quite dark\nwhen we landed, without a farthing of money. We made our way over the\nrocks and through the cedars the best we could until we found a house.\nWe rapped at the door. A woman put her head out of the window and asked\nwho we were and what was wanted. I told her we were two strangers, and\nwanted a bed to lie down upon till morning. She let us in and gave us a\nbed. We slept until quite late, it being Sunday morning.\n\n\"When we came out and took breakfast it was nearly noon. I asked\nher what she charged for our accomodation. She replied that we were\nwelcome. I then asked her if there were any minister or church on\nthe island. She informed us that there was a Baptist minister, named\nNewton, who had a congregation and a meetinghouse about five miles from\nthere.\n\n\"We thanked her for her kindness, walked to the meetinghouse, and\nstepped inside the doorway. We stood there until a deacon came to the\ndoor. I asked him to tell the minister in the pulpit that there were\ntwo servants of God at the door, and that they had a message to give to\nthe people and wished the privilege of delivering it. He sent for us\nto come to the pulpit, so we walked through the congregation with our\nvalises and took a seat by the side of the minister, who was about to\nspeak as we came to the door. He arose and delivered his discourse to\nthe people, occupying about half an hour. When he closed he asked me\nwhat my wish was. I told him we wished to speak to the people at any\nhour that would suit his or their convenience; so he gave notice {77}\nthat there were two strangers present who would speak to the people at\n5 o'clock that evening.\n\n\"We were quite a source of wonderment to the people, as they had\nno idea who we were. Mr. Newton asked us home to tea with him, and\nwe gladly accepted the invitation. When we arrived at his house, I\nopened my valise and took out the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and\nCovenants, laid them upon the table, and took my seat. Mr. Newton took\nup the books and looked at them, but said nothing. I then inquired if\nthere were any schoolhouses upon the island, and if so, whether they\nwere free to preach in. He answered that there were four, numbered\nrespectively from one to four, and that they were free. Mr. Newton\nand family accompanied us to the meeting-house, where we met a large\ncongregation, none of whom knew who we were or anything about our\nprofession, except the minister.\n\n\"Elder Hale and I went to the stand, and I arose with peculiar feelings\nand addressed the congregation for one hour, taking for my text\nGalatians 1:8, 9. This was the first time that I, or any other elder of\nthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had (to my knowledge)\nattempted to preach the fulness of the gospel and the Book of Mormon\nto the inhabitants of any island of the sea. I had much liberty in\nspeaking, and informed the people that the Lord had raised up a prophet\nand organized His Church as in the days of Christ and the ancient\napostles, with prophets, apostles, and the gifts as anciently, and that\nhe had brought forth the Book of Mormon. At the close of my remarks\nElder Hale bore testimony. I gave liberty for any one to speak who\nmight wish to do so. As no one responded, I announced that we would\nhold meetings the next four evenings at the schoolhouses, beginning at\nNo. 1.\n\n\"During the first thirteen days of our sojourn upon the island, we\npreached seventeen discourses, being invited by the people to tarry\nwith them. I left a copy of the Doctrine and Covenants with Mr. Newton\nfor his perusal. He read it, and the spirit of God bore testimony to\nhim of its truth. He pondered over it for days, and walked his room\nuntil midnight trying to decide whether to receive or reject it. He\nand his family attended about a dozen of my first meetings, and then\nhe made up his mind, contrary to the dictation of the spirit of God to\nhim, to reject the {78} testimony and come out against me. However,\nwe commenced baptizing his flock. The first two we baptized were\na sea-captain, by the name of Justin Eames, and his wife. Brother\nJonathan H. Hale went down into the sea on the 3rd of September, and\nbaptized them; these were the first baptisms performed by proper\nauthority upon any of the islands of the sea (to my knowledge) in this\ndispensation.\n\n\"Before we left Kirtland some of the leading apostates there had tried\nto discourage Brother Hale about going on his mission, telling him he\nnever would baptize anyone, and had better remain at home. When Captain\nEames offered himself for baptism, I asked Brother Hale to baptize\nhim, and prove those men to be false prophets, which he did. On the\nfollowing Sabbath I baptized Justin Eames' brother, Ebenezer Eames,\nanother sea-captain, and a young lady.\n\n\"Mr. Newton, the Baptist minister, now commenced a war against us, and\nsent to the South Island for a Mr. Douglass, a Methodist minister, with\nwhom he had been at variance for years, to come over and help him put\ndown 'Mormonism.' Mr. Douglass came over and they got together as many\npeople as they could, and held a conference. He railed against Joseph,\nthe Prophet, and the Book of Mormon, and taking that book in his hand,\nwith outstretched arm, declared that he feared none of the judgments of\nGod that would come upon him for rejecting it as the word of God. (I\nnever heard what his sentiments upon this subject were at the end of\nhis term of fourteen years' imprisonment in the Thomaston penitentiary,\nfor an outrage upon his daughter. The judgment was given upon the\ntestimony of his wife and daughter).\n\n\"I was present and heard Mr. Douglass' speech upon this occasion, and\ntook minutes of it. When he closed I arose and informed the people that\nI would meet them the next Sunday in the meeting-house and answer Mr.\nDouglass; and I wished him, as well as the people, to be present. I\ninformed the people that Mr. Douglass had made many false statements\nagainst Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints, with whom he had no\nacquaintance; and he had misquoted much Scripture, all of which I would\ncorrect.\n\n\"We continued to baptize the people on North Island until {79}\nwe baptized every person who owned an interest in the Baptist\nmeeting-house. I then followed Mr. Douglas home to South Island, and\npreached the gospel to the members of his church, and baptized nearly\nall of them.\n\n\"The excitement became great on both islands, and on Sunday, the 17th\nof September, I met a large assembly from both islands, and took up\nthe same subject that Mr. Douglass had dwelt upon in his remarks\nagainst the Book of Mormon and our principles. I spoke two and a half\nhours, and answered every objection against the Book of Mormon, Joseph\nSmith, or our principles. I had good attention, and the people seemed\nsatisfied. At the close of the meeting Elder Hale administered the\nordinance of baptism.\n\n\"Mr. Newton, in order to save his cause, went to the mainland, brought\nover several ministers, and held a protracted meeting. They hoped by\nthis to stop the work of God, but all to no avail; for all the people\nwould attend our meetings and receive the word of God, and we continued\nto baptize. We visited the homes of most of the inhabitants.\n\n\"Upon one occasion, while standing upon Mr. Carver's farm, on the east\nend of North Island, we counted fifty-five islands in that region, most\nof which were not inhabited. We also saw twenty ships under sail at the\nsame time. We did not lack for food while upon the island, for if we\ndid not wish to trouble our friends for a dinner, we had only to borrow\na spade or a hoe and a kettle, and go to the beach and dig a peck of\nclams. These, when boiled, make a delicious meal, of which we often\navailed ourselves.\n\n\"One day Elder Hale and I ascended to the top of a high granite rock\non South Island for prayer and supplication. We sat down under the\nshade of a pine tree which grew out of a fissure in the rocks, and\nElder Hale read the sixteenth chapter of Jeremiah, where mention is\nmade of the hunters and fishers that God would send in the last days\nto gather Israel. We were, indeed, upon an island of the sea, standing\nupon a rock where we could survey the gallant ships, and also the\nislands which were as full of rocks, ledges, and caves as any part\nof the earth. And what had brought us here? To search out the blood\nof Ephraim, the honest and meek of the earth, and gather them from\nthese {80} islands, rocks, holes, and caves of the earth unto Zion. We\nprayed, and rejoiced together. The spirit of God rested upon us. We\nspoke of Christ and the ancient prophets and apostles in Jerusalem;\nof Nephi, Alma, Mormon, Moroni, in America; of Joseph, Hyrum, Oliver,\nand the apostles in our own day; and we rejoiced that we were upon the\nislands of the sea searching out the blood of Israel. While filled with\nthese meditations and with the spirit of God, we fell upon our knees\nand gave thanks to the God of heaven, and felt to pray for all Israel.\nAfter spending most of the day in praise and thanksgiving, we descended\nto the settlement and held a meeting with the people.\n\n\"On the 6th of September we called upon Captain Benjamin Coombs, and\nvisited his flakes, where he had one thousand quintals of codfish\ndrying for the market. They had been caught mostly in the neighborhood\nof Newfoundland. While we were passing Carvey's Wharf, our attention\nwas called to a large school of mackerel playing by the side of the\nwarf. Several men were pitching them out with hooks. We also caught\nwhat we wanted and went on our way.\n\n\"We continued to labor, to preach, and to baptize. We organized a\nbranch of the Church upon each island. Finally, on the 2nd of October,\nwe parted with the Saints on North Island to return to Scarboro\nfor a short time. We walked from Thomaston to Bath, a distance of\nforty-six miles in one day, and at the latter place attended a\nBaptist convention. I also preached there in the evening to a large\ncongregation, and the people gave good attention and wished to learn\nmore about our doctrines. On the following day we walked thirty-six\nmiles to Portland, and the next day to Scarboro. There I again met my\nwife and her father's family.\n\n\"The time had come for me to give the parting hand to Brother Jonathan\nH. Hale. During the season we traveled over two thousand miles\ntogether, united in heart and spirit. He felt it his duty to return to\nhis family in Kirtland, but duty called me to return to my field of\nlabor upon the islands. On the 9th of October I accompanied Brother\nHale one mile on his journey. We retired to a grove and knelt down and\nprayed together, and had a good time; after commending each other to\nGod, we parted, he to return to Kirtland, and I to the Fox Islands.\n\n{81} \"I spent fourteen days visiting the Saints and friends, and\nholding meetings among them. On the 28th of October I took leave\nof Father Carter and family, and, in company with my wife, rode to\nPortland, to the home of my brother-in-law, Ezra Carter. A severe storm\narose, so we could not go to sea until November 1st, when we took\nsteamer to Owl's Head, carriage to Thomaston, and sloop to Fox Islands.\"\n\n{82}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 10.\n\nCALLED TO THE APOSTLESHIP, 1838.\n\nAgain on the Fox Islands.--Opposition Increases.--Manifestation of the\nGifts of the Holy Ghost.--Sign of the Prophet Jonas. Wilford Visits A.\nP. Rockwood in Prison.--Baptizes His Father and Other Relatives.--Birth\nof His First Child.--Called To Be One of the Twelve Apostles, and To\nTake a Foreign Mission.--Assists Fox Islands Saints in Migrating to the\nWest.--Mrs. Woodruff Miraculously Healed.--They Reach Quincy, Illinois.\n\nThe second arrival of Wilford Woodruff at the Fox Islands was under\ncircumstances very different from those of the first landing. On the\nearlier visit he was an entire stranger, and knew not how he could\nobtain a meal or a night's comfortable rest; the people also were\nstrangers to the gospel message which he had come to deliver. On the\nsecond visit, however, he knew he would be received with a cordial\nwelcome; and he met many Saints who had accepted the gospel through\nhis ministrations, and who hailed him, and his companion also, with\nglad hearts. On Sunday, November 5, he met with a large assembly of\nSaints and friends, and again engaged in baptizing those who received\nhis testimony. A few days later he went with Captain Coombs to another\nisland called the Isle of Holt, where he preached to an attentive\naudience at an evening meeting, and spent the night with John Turner,\nEsq., who purchased a copy of the Book of Mormon.\n\n\"On the following day,\" writes Wilford, \"we returned to Fox Islands,\nand as St. Paul once had to row hard to make land in a storm, we had to\nrow hard to make it in a calm. After preaching on North Island again,\nand baptizing two persons at the close of the meeting, I went again\nto the mainland, in company with Mrs. Woodruff and others, and there\nspent fifteen days, during which time I visited among the people, held\ntwelve meetings, and baptized several persons. On the 13th of December\nI returned to North Island, where I held several meetings, then crossed\nover to South Island.\n\n\"On the 20th of December I spent an hour with Mr. Isaac Crockett,\nin clearing away large blocks of ice from the water in {83} a cove,\nin order to baptize him, which I did when the tide came in. I also\nbaptized two more in the same place, on the 26th, and still two others\non the 27th. On the 28th I held a meeting at a schoolhouse, when\nWilliam Douglass, the Methodist minister, came and wanted me to work\na miracle, that he might believe. At the same time he railed against\nme. I told him what class of men asked for signs, and that he was a\nwicked and adulterous man. I predicted that the curse of God would rest\nupon him, and that his wickedness would be made manifest in the eyes\nof the people. (While visiting the islands several years afterward, I\nlearned that the prediction had been fulfilled in his imprisonment for\na fourteen years' term, for a beastly crime.)\n\n\"On the last day of the year 1837, Mrs. Woodruff crossed the\nthoroughfare in a boat and walked ten miles, the length of the island,\nto meet me. I held a meeting the same day in the schoolhouse, and at\nthe close of the services baptized two persons in the sea, at full\ntide, before a large assembly.\n\n\"January 1st, 1838, found me upon one of the islands of the sea, a\nminister of the gospel of life and salvation unto the people, laboring\nalone, yet blessed with the society of Mrs. Woodruff as my companion. I\nhad been declaring the word of the Lord through the islands many days,\nthe spirit of God was working among the people, prejudice was giving\nway, and the power of God was manifest by signs following those who\nbelieved. I spent this New Year's day visiting the Saints and their\nneighbors, and met a congregation at the home of Captain Charles Brown,\nwhere I spoke to them for a while, and at the close of my remarks led\nthree persons down into the sea and baptized them. Two of these were\nsea-captains; namely, Charles Brown and Jesse Coombs, and the third was\nthe wife of Captain Coombs. After confirming them, we spent the evening\nin preaching, singing, and praying.\n\n\"I held meetings almost daily with the Saints up to the 13th, when\nI crossed to North Island. There I found that the seed I had sown\nwas bringing forth fruit. Six persons were ready for baptism. But my\nmission to these islands was not an exception to the general rule;\nsuccess did not come without many obstacles presenting themselves.\nThose who rejected the word were frequently inspired by the evil one\nto make an attempt at persecution. Some {84} of those who felt to\noppose me went down to the harbor and got a swivel and small arms,\nplanted them close by the schoolhouse, near the sea shore, and while I\nwas speaking they commenced firing their cannon and guns. I continued\nspeaking in great plainness, but my voice was mingled with the report\nof musketry. I told the people my garments were clear of the blood of\nthe inhabitants of that island, and asked if any wished to embrace\nthe gospel. Two persons came forward and wished to be baptized, and I\nbaptized them.\n\n\"On the following day when I went down to the seaside to baptize a\nman, the rabble commenced firing guns again, as on the previous night.\nI afterwards learned that notices were posted up, warning me to leave\ntown, but I thought it was better to obey God than man, and, therefore,\ndid not go. The next day I baptized three persons, and two days\nsubsequently a couple of others.\n\n\"I had ample evidence of the fact that lying spirits had gone out into\nthe world, for three persons whom I had baptized had been visited by\nMr. Douglass, who told them that I denied the Bible and could not be\ndepended upon; and they yielded to his insinuations until the devil\ntook possession of them. They were in a disaffected condition, and\nsent for me. When I met them they were in great affliction, but when\nI instructed them in the principles of the gospel and administered to\nthem, they were delivered from the evil influence and rejoiced.\n\n\"On the 15th of February I again crossed to North Island; and after\nremaining there seven days visiting, we returned to Camden, where I met\nBrother James Townsend, who had just arrived from Scarboro. I ordained\nBrother Townsend to the office of elder. We then concluded to take a\njourney to Bangor and offer the gospel to the inhabitants of that city.\n\n\"We traveled on foot, in the dead of winter when the snow was very\ndeep, and the first day broke the road for seven miles to Scarsmont.\nThe day following being Sunday, we held two meetings, preached the\nGospel to the people, and were kindly entertained. On the evening of\nthe next day we wallowed through snowdrifts for a mile, to meet an\nappointment to preach in a schoolhouse, and on the way I got one of\nmy ears frozen. Notwithstanding the severity of the weather, we had\na large and {85} attentive audience. We also spent the next two days\nthere, and held meetings.\n\n\"On the evening of the 21st of February, as we came out of the\nschoolhouse, a light appeared on the northeastern horizon and spread\nto the west, and soon rolled over our heads. It had the appearance of\nfire, blood, and smoke, and at times resembled contending armies. The\nheavens were illuminated for a period of half an hour. It seemed at\ntimes as though the veil were about to rend in twain, and the elements\nwere contending with each other. We looked upon it as one of the signs\nin the heavens predicted by the prophets of old to appear in the last\ndays. We were wading through deep snowdrifts most of the time while\nwitnessing this remarkable scene.\n\n\"The following day we walked fifteen miles through deep snow to\nBelfast, and, after being refused lodging for the night by eight\nfamilies, were kindly entertained by a Mr. Thomas Teppley. There was an\ninteresting incident connected with our stay at his house. After eating\nour supper (it being late in the evening), a stand was placed before\nme by Mr. Teppley, with a Bible upon it, and he asked me to read a\nchapter and have prayers with them, he being a religious man. I opened\nthe Bible mechanically, and the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew being\nthe first to catch my eye, I read it; as I closed the book Mr. Teppley\nturned to his wife and said, 'Is not this a strange thing?' Then he\nexplained to us that he had just read that chapter and closed the book\nwhen we rapped at the door, and he felt impressed to say, 'Walk in,\ngentlemen.' There is probably no other chapter in the whole book that\nwould have the same influence in causing any one to feed a person who\nprofessed to be a servant of God and asked for bread.\n\n\"After becoming acquainted with Mr. Teppley's circumstances I thought\nit providential that we were led to his house, for although he was a\nprofessor of religion and a Methodist, he was in a state of despair,\nbelieving that he had committed the unpardonable sin. However, I told\nhim what the unpardonable sin was, and that he had not committed it,\nbut that it was a trick of the devil to make him think so, in order to\ntorment him. He then acknowledged that a few evenings before he went\ndown to the wharf with the intention of drowning himself, but when he\nlooked {86} into the cold, dark water, he desisted and returned home,\nand said nothing about it to anyone previous to telling me. I taught\nhim the principles of the gospel, which proved a comfort to him.\n\n\"We spent the next day in visiting the people of Belfast, and in the\nevening preached in a brick schoolhouse, provided by Mr. Teppley. Many\nwished to hear more from us. We next visited Northport and Frankfort,\nholding meetings at both places. On the 1st of March, 1838, we entered\nBangor, which at that time had a population of ten thousand. This was\nmy birthday, I being thirty-one years of age. I visited some of the\nleading men of Bangor. They granted me the use of the city hall, where\nI preached to good audiences for two successive evenings. This was the\nfirst time a Latter-day Saint elder had preached in that town. Many\nwere anxious to learn more about our principles, but our visits through\nall the towns from Thomaston to Bangor were necessarily brief, owing to\nour appointments upon the islands. It was like casting bread upon the\nwaters and trusting in God for the result.\n\n\"On the 5th of March we sailed from Penobscot for the Isle of Holt,\nwhere I held a meeting the following evening. The next day I took\npassage on the mail boat for North Fox Island, where I again had the\nprivilege of meeting with the Saints for prayer and praise before the\nLord. On my arrival I received a package of letters from friends. One\nwas from Kirtland, and gave an account of the apostasy and tribulations\nwhich the Saints were passing through. Joseph, the Prophet, and others,\nwith their families, had gone to Far West, Missouri, and the Saints\nwere following him. At North Island, Brother Townsend left me and\nreturned home, and I was again alone in the ministry.\n\n\"On the afternoon of the 22nd of March, Brother Sterrett and I,\naccompanied by our wives, went several hundred yards from the shore to\na sandbar (it being then low tide), to dig clams. The ground near the\nshore was much lower than the bar, and while we were busy digging clams\nand talking Mormonism the dashing of the waves of the incoming tide\nagainst the shore suddenly made us conscious that we had fifty yards of\nwater between that desirable place and ourselves. The surf waves added\nto our difficulty, and, as we had no boat, our only choice was to {87}\ncross our four arms, thus forming a kind of armchair for our wives to\nsit upon, and carry them in turn to the shore, wading through two and\na half feet of water. By the time we had our wives and clams safely\nlanded, there was impressed firmly upon our minds the truth of the old\nsaying, that 'time and tide wait for no man,' not even for a preacher\nof the gospel.\n\n\"On the 28th of March I received a letter from Zion, requesting me to\ncounsel the Saints I had baptized to sell their property and gather to\nZion. About this time the Lord was manifesting Himself in various ways\nupon the islands, by dreams, visions, healings, signs, and wonders. I\nwill relate one peculiar circumstance of this kind that occurred. Mr.\nEbenezer Carver had been investigating our doctrines for quite a length\nof time, and having a great desire to know the truth of our religion,\nwalked to the sea shore, wishing he might have some manifestation in\nproof of its truth. There came to his mind the passage of Scripture\nwhich says there will be no sign given 'but the sign of the Prophet\nJonas.' While this thought was in his mind a large fish arose to the\ntop of the water, out at sea some distance, and suddenly sank out\nof sight. He greatly desired to see it again, and it soon arose the\nsecond time, accompanied by another fish of about the same size, and\none of them swam on the water in a straight line towards Mr. Carver,\nas he stood upon the shore. It came as near as the water would permit,\nstopped and gazed at him with a penetrating eye, as if it had a message\nfor him, then returned to its mate in the ocean, and swam out of sight.\nMr. Carver retraced his steps homeward, meditating upon the scene and\nthe wonderful condescension of the Lord. It is proper to say that this\noccurred at a season of the year when fish of that size are never known\nupon those shores or seas, and they are never, at any season, known to\ncome so far inshore as in the case mentioned. Mr. Carver was convinced\nthat it was intended by the Lord as a sign to him.\n\n\"Two days after this event I visited Mr. Carver at his house, where his\nwife was confined to bed with a fever, and was requested to administer\nto her. I placed my hands upon her head, the power of God rested upon\nme, and in the name of Jesus Christ I commanded her to arise and walk.\nShe arose and was healed from that instant; she walked down to the sea,\nand I baptized her in {88} the same place where the fish visited her\nhusband. I also confirmed her there, and she was filled with the Holy\nGhost and returned to her home rejoicing.\n\n\"I called the people together and exhorted them to sell their property\nand prepare to accompany me to the land of Zion. I had labored hard for\nmany days for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the inhabitants of\nthose islands, and the Lord had blessed my labors and given me many\nsouls as seals of my ministry, for which I felt to praise Him; and now\nI felt to labor quite as zealously to gather out those who had embraced\nthe gospel, and lead them to Zion.\"\n\nAmong the sad experiences of Wilford Woodruff during his mission to the\nFox Islands was the fact that his former missionary comrade, Warren\nParrish, with others in Kirtland, had apostatized and left the Church.\nWilford had been especially attached to Warren Parrish, because of\ntheir former missionary companionship. Elders who travel in the mission\nfield realize how great is the love of missionaries for each other\nwhen they enjoy the spirit of their calling. He was pained severely to\nlearn that Warren Parrish had made shipwreck of his faith and taken the\ndownward road. The cause thereof he explained as follows: \"It might be\nstated here that Warren Parrish fell through disappointed ambition. He\naspired to the Quorum of the Twelve, or to be a leading spirit of the\nChurch. He was what is termed a smart man, and through his smartness,\nwhich was distorted by ambition, envy, and bitterness, he turned\nagainst Joseph and the Church, having fallen into darkness and given\nhimself up to the power of Satan.\" The failure of Warren Parrish was\nbut one instance out of many. Joseph, the Prophet, warned the elders\nagainst being thus envious and striving to excel each other through\nenvy, instead of being excellent in doing good. At this period the\nProphet and Saints were moving to Missouri. Apostasy and rebellion were\nrampant at Kirtland; but Wilford Woodruff was undaunted, and continued\nhis labors and baptized a considerable number who listened to his\nmessage. A scurrilous letter sent by Warren Parrish to the postmaster\nat Vinal Haven aroused a strong opposition, but did not hinder the work\nof the Lord there.\n\n{89} On the 11th of April, Elders Milton Holmes, James Townsend, and\nAbner Rogers, who had come to the islands to attend the conference,\nagain met with Elder Woodruff, and on April 13th conference was held on\nNorth Fox Island, with a goodly representation of the various branches\nof the Church on the islands. \"On the 17th of April,\" writes Wilford,\n\"Mrs. Woodruff left the islands, returning to her father's home in\nScarboro, Maine, and a few days afterwards I called the Saints of\nNorth Island together and gave them some instructions. I also informed\nthem that the spirit of God bore record to me that it was our duty to\nleave the islands for a season, and take a mission westward. They had\nbeen faithfully warned, and the Saints were established in the truth,\nwhile the wicked were contending against us and some were disposed to\ntake our lives if they had the power. On the 28th of April we left\nthe island in an open sailboat, made our way to Owl's Head, and from\nthere walked twenty miles. The following day we walked forty miles and\nsuffered some from weary limbs and blistered feet, but we felt it was\nfor the gospel's sake, and did not wish to complain. The next day a\nwalk of thirty miles brought us to Scarboro, where we spent the night\nat Father Carter's. On the 8th of May I parted with Mrs. Woodruff and\nFather Carter and family, and in company with Milton Holmes walked\nthirty-three miles towards Portsmouth, which city we reached the\nfollowing day, spending several hours there, visiting the navy yard.\nWe then walked to Georgetown, formerly New Rowley, and spent the night\nwith Father Nathaniel Holmes.\n\n\"On the 11th of May I visited Charleston and the Bunker Hill Monument,\nand spent several hours in the city of Boston, which then contained a\npopulation of one hundred thousand. I ascended to the cupola of the\ncourthouse, from which I had a fine view of the city; then I visited\nseveral of the Saints, and walked over the long bridge to Cambridge\nand Cambridgeport. I visited the jail there to have an interview with\nBrother A. P. Rockwood, who had been cast into prison on a charge of\ndebt, to trouble and distress him because he was a Mormon. This was\nthe first time he and I had met. The jailer permitted me to enter the\nroom where he was. It was the first time in my life that I had entered\na prison; the jailer turned the key upon us, and locked us both in.\n{90} I found Brother Rockwood strong in the faith of the gospel. He had\nthe Bible, Book of Mormon, Voice of Warning, and Evening and Morning\nStar as companions, and read them daily. We conversed together for\nthree hours in his solitary abode. He informed me of many things which\nhad occurred at the jail while he was confined there as a prisoner.\nAmong other things he related that the jail had taken fire a few days\nprevious to my visit. He said it looked a little like a dark hour; the\nfire was roaring over his head, while uproar and confusion were upon\nevery hand; fire-engines were playing rapidly around the building; the\nwater was pouring into every room; the people were hallooing in the\nstreets; prisoners were begging for mercy's sake to be let out, or\nthey would be consumed in the fire; one was struggling in the agonies\nof death; while others were cursing and swearing. Brother Rockwood\nsaid he felt composed in the midst of it all. The fire was finally\nextinguished. At 8 o'clock the jailer unlocked the prison door and let\nme out, and I gave the parting hand to the prisoner. We had spent a\npleasant time together, and he rejoiced at my visit; and who would not,\nto meet with a friend in a lonely prison? I left him in good spirits,\nand wended my way back to Boston.\n\n\"After spending several days in Boston, holding meetings with the\nSaints, I walked to Providence, Rhode Island, preaching by the way.\nThere I took steamer, and arrived in New York on the 18th of May,\nwhere I met Elder Orson Pratt, his family, Elijah Fordham and nearly\none hundred Saints who had been baptized in the city of New York.\nI remained in New York three days, visiting the Saints and holding\nmeetings; several new converts were baptized while I was there. Leaving\nNew York, I traveled through New Jersey and returned to Farmington,\nConnecticut, to the residence of my father, where I arrived on the 12th\nof June. It was with peculiar sensations that I walked over my native\nland where I had spent my youth, and cast my eyes over the Farmington\nmeadows and the hills and dales where I had roamed in my boyhood with\nmy father, stepmother, brothers, and sister.\n\n\"On my arrival at my father's home, I had the happy privilege of again\ntaking my parents and sister by the hand. I also {91} met my uncle,\nOzem Woodruff, who was among the number I had baptized the year before.\nAfter spending an hour in conversation, we sat down around father's\ntable, supped together, and were refreshed. Then we bowed upon our\nknees in the family circle, and offered up the gratitude of our hearts\nto God for preserving our lives and reuniting us. I spent the next\neighteen days in Farmington and Avon, visiting my father's household,\nmy uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, and friends, preaching to them\nthe gospel of Jesus Christ, and striving to bring them into the Kingdom\nof God.\n\n\"On the 1st of July, 1838, there occurred one of the most interesting\nevents of my whole life in the ministry. When Father Joseph Smith gave\nme my patriarchal blessing, among the many wonderful things he promised\nme was that I should bring my father's household into the Kingdom\nof God; and I felt that if I ever obtained that blessing, the time\ntherefor had come. By the help of God I preached the gospel faithfully\nto my father's household and to all who were with him, as well as to\nmy other relatives, and I appointed a meeting at my father's home on\nSunday, the 1st of July. My father was believing my testimony, as were\nall in his household; but upon this occasion it appeared as if the\ndevil were determined to hinder the fulfillment of the promise of the\npatriarch to me. It seemed as if Lucifer, the son of the morning, had\ngathered together the hosts of hell, and was exerting his powers upon\nus all. Distress overwhelmed the whole household, and all were tempted\nto reject the work; and it seemed as if the same power would devour\nme. I had to take to my bed for an hour before the time of meeting.\nThere I prayed to the Lord with my whole soul for deliverance; for\nI knew then that the power of the devil was exercised to hinder me\nfrom accomplishing what God had promised I should do. The Lord heard\nmy prayer and answered my petition. When the hour of meeting came, I\narose from my bed and could sing and shout for joy to think I had been\ndelievered from the power of the evil one. Filled with the power of\nGod, I stood in the midst of the congregation and preached unto the\npeople in great plainness the gospel of Jesus Christ.\n\n\"At the close of the meeting we assembled on the banks of the {92}\nFarmington River, 'because there was much water there,' and I led six\nof my friends into the river and baptized them for the remission of\ntheir sins. All of my father's household were included in this number,\nas the patriarch had promised, and all were relatives except Dwight\nWebster, who was a Methodist class-leader, and was boarding with my\nfather's family. I organized the small number of nine persons, eight\nof whom were my relatives, into a branch of the Church, ordained\nDwight Webster to the office of priest, and administered unto them\nthe Sacrament. It was truly a day of joy to my soul. I had baptized\nmy father, stepmother, and sister, and I afterwards added a number of\nother relatives. I felt that the work of this day alone amply repaid me\nfor all my labors in the ministry.\n\n\"While upon Fox Islands I was impressed to visit my father's home.\nNow that the purpose of the mission had been accomplished I felt it\nmy duty to return to the Islands. Monday, July 2, 1838, was the last\nday and night I spent at my father's home while upon this mission. At\nthe setting of the sun I took with my sister the last walk I ever had\nwith her in my native state. We walked by the canal, viewed the river\nand the fields, and conversed about the future. After evening prayer\nwith the family, my father retired to rest, and I visited awhile with\nmy stepmother, who had reared me from infancy. In conversation we felt\nsensibly the weight of the power of temptation out of which the Lord\nhad delivered us. I also spent a short time with my sister Eunice,\nthe only sister I ever was blessed with in my father's family. I had\nbaptized her into the Church and Kingdom of God, and we mingled our\nsympathies, prayers, and tears together before the throne of grace.\n\n\"How truly the bonds of consanguinity and the blood of Christ unite the\nhearts of the Saints of God! 'How blessings brighten as they take their\nflight!' This being the last night I was to spend beneath my father's\nroof while upon this mission, I felt its importance, and my prayer was,\n'O Lord, protect my father's house, and bring them to Zion!' My prayer\nwas granted.\n\n\"On the morning of July 3rd, I took leave of my relatives and my native\nstate, and started on my return to Maine. I arrived in {93} Scarboro\non the 16th, and on the 14th my first child, a daughter, was born, at\nFather Carter's house. We named her Sarah Emma. On the 30th of July I\nleft my wife and child at Father Carter's, and started for Fox Islands.\n\n\"While holding meeting with the Saints at North Vinal Haven, on the 9th\nof August, I received a letter from Elder Thomas B. Marsh, who was then\nPresident of the Twelve Apostles, informing me that the Prophet Joseph\nSmith had received a revelation from the Lord, naming as persons to be\nchosen to fill the places of those of the Twelve who had fallen. Those\nnamed were John E. Page, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and Willard\nRichards. In his letter President Marsh added: 'Know then, Brother\nWoodruff, by this, that you are appointed to fill the place of one of\nthe Twelve Apostles, and that it is agreeable to the word of the Lord,\ngiven very lately, that you should come speedily to Far West, and, on\nthe 26th of April next, take your leave of the Saints here and depart\nfor others climes, across the mighty deep.' The substance of this\nletter had been revealed to me several weeks before, but I had not\nnamed it to any person.\"\n\nIt was on the 8th of July, just one week after Wilford's memorable\nexperience at his father's home, that this humble, faithful, diligent\nelder was called by the voice of God, through His prophet, to be one of\nthe Twelve Apostles of the Lamb in this dispensation; and Wilford being\nat the time many hundreds of miles distant from the Prophet, the Lord\nthen revealed to him the fact of that calling. Wilford had been true to\nthe Lord as a teacher, priest, elder, and seventy in His Church, and\nthus was worthy of the higher call that had come, and to be trusted\nwith its increased responsibility. He was prepared by the revelations\nof heaven to his own soul to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ;\nand his ordination and leave-taking of the Saints at the designated\nplace, on the 26th of the succeeding April, under the circumstances\nthen existing, were a manifestation of the miraculous power of God in\nwitness of the prophetic office and gift that had been conferred from\nheaven upon Joseph Smith, the great Prophet of this dispensation.\n\n\"The time having come for me to prepare to leave Fox Islands,\" wrote\nWilford, \"I had a desire to take with me all the {94} Saints I could\nget to go to Zion. Already there had been a line drawn between the\nSaints and those on the islands who had rejected the Gospel, and\nenemies were very bitter against me and against the work of God I had\nlabored to establish. They threatened my life, but the Saints were\nwilling to stand by me. I spent four days with the Saints, visiting\nthem, holding meetings, and encouraging them, while the devil was\nraging upon every hand. I baptized into the Church and organized,\nwhile upon the islands, nearly one hundred persons; and there seemed a\nprospect of gathering with me about half of them, but the devil raged\nto such an extent that some of them were terrified.\n\n\"The inhabitants of the islands had but little acquaintance with the\nmanagement of horses or wagons; in fact, most of them knew more about\nhandling a shark than a horse. However, in company with Nathaniel\nThomas, who had sold his property and had money, I went to the\nmainland and purchased ten new wagons, ten sets of harness, and twenty\nhorses. When I had everything prepared for the company to start, I\nleft affairs with Brother Thomas and went ahead of the company to\nScarboro, to prepare my own family for the journey. The outfit which\nI purchased for the company cost about two thousand dollars. Before\nleaving Brother Thomas I counseled him regarding the course to pursue,\nand charged him to be not later than the 1st of September in starting\nfrom the mainland. I arrived at Father Carter's on the 19th of August,\nand waited with great anxiety for the company from the islands, but\ninstead of reaching here by the 1st of September, they did not come\ntill the 3rd of October; and when they did arrive the wagon covers were\nall flying in the breeze. It took a good day's work to nail down the\ncovers, paint the wagons and get them ready for the journey.\"\n\nIt should be remarked that in the very starting of this company\nNathaniel Thomas cheerfully stepped forward to the assistance of the\npoor and invested about one thousand dollars in wagons, horses, tents,\netc., to fit out this company. While others who possessed this world's\ngoods drew back and did not go with the poor lest they should be under\nthe necessity of helping them.\n\nAt this time Wilford had still another trial, and the integrity of\nhis wife was further tested. Her parents, relatives, and friends\n{95} strongly opposed her starting upon the journey, and used every\ninfluence and argument they could against her accompanying her husband.\nThey had been very kind to him, but when it came to parting with her\non a journey of such a distance at such a time of the year, and to a\nland where her people were subjects of such bitter persecutions as\nwere being inflicted upon the Saints in Missouri at that time, it was\ntoo much for them to acquiesce in. They knew that he must go, but they\ninsisted that she must stay. Like her husband, she was of a spirit\nthat did not shrink from duty when she knew it. Wilford said of her\nat the time: \"Yes, Phoebe possessed too much firmness and faith and\nconfidence in God to put her hand to the plough and then look back, or\nto give way to trials, however great. Like Ruth, she was determined to\nforsake kindred and country for my sake and for the cause in which we\nwere engaged.\" Under these circumstances, and with a realizing sense\nof the dangers and hardships of the journey, and of painful conditions\nprevailing at their destination, they did not falter.\n\n\"On the afternoon of the 9th of October,\" wrote Wilford, \"we took\nleave of Father Carter and family, and started upon our journey of two\nthousand miles at this late season of the year, taking with me my wife,\nher nursing babe, to lead a company of fifty-three souls from Maine to\nIllinois, and to spend nearly three months traveling in wagons, through\nrain, mud, snow, and frost. It was such a trial as I never before had\nattempted during my experience as a minister of the gospel.\n\n\"We were joined at Georgetown by Elder Milton Holmes, and traveled each\nday as far as we could go, camping wherever night overtook us. On the\n13th of October, while crossing the Green Mountains, I was attacked\nby something resembling cholera, and was very sick; I stopped at a\nhouse about two hours, and the elders having administered to me, I\nrevived. On the 24th I was taken sick again, and my wife and child also\nwere stricken down. Several others of the company were sick, through\nexposure. On the 31st we had our first snowstorm, and the horses\ndragged our wagons all day through mud, snow, and water. On the 2nd of\nNovember Elder Milton Holmes left us, and took steamer for Fairport;\ntwo days later, Nathaniel Thomas' little child, about six years of age,\ndied, and we had to bury it at Westfield. {96} The roads finally became\nso bad and the cold so severe that Nathaniel Thomas and James Townsend\nconcluded to stop for the winter; we parted with them on the 21st of\nNovember, near New Portage, Ohio.\n\n\"My wife Phoebe was attacked on the 23rd of November by a severe\nheadache, which terminated in brain fever; she grew more and more\ndistressed daily as we continued our journey. It was a terrible ordeal\nfor a woman to travel in a wagon over such rough roads, afflicted as\nshe was. At the same time our child was also very sick.\n\n\"The 1st of December was a trying day to my soul. My wife continued\nto fail, and about four o'clock in the afternoon appeared to be\nstricken with death. I stopped my team, and it seemed as if she then\nwould breathe her last, lying there in the wagon. Two of the sisters\nsat beside her, to see if they could do anything for her in her last\nmoments. I stood upon the ground, in deep affliction, and meditated.\nThen I cried to the Lord, praying that she might live and not be taken\nfrom me, and claiming the promises the Lord had made to me through the\nProphet and Patriarch. Her spirit revived, and I drove a short distance\nto a tavern, got her into a room and worked over her and her babe all\nnight, praying to the Lord to preserve their lives.\n\n\"In the morning circumstances were such that I was under the necessity\nof removing them from the inn, as there was so much noise and confusion\nthere that my wife could not endure it. I carried her out to her bed in\nthe wagon and drove two miles, when I alighted at a house and carried\nmy wife and her bed into it, with a determination to tarry there until\nshe recovered her health or passed away. This was on Sunday morning,\nDecember 2nd. After getting my wife and things into the house and\nproviding wood to keep up a fire, I employed my time in taking care of\nher. It looked as if she had but a short time to live. She called me to\nher bedside in the evening, and said she felt as if a few moments more\nwould end her existence in this life. She manifested great confidence\nin the cause we had embraced, and exhorted me to have confidence in\nGod, and to keep His commandments. To all appearances she was dying. I\nlaid hands upon her and {97} prayed for her, and she soon revived, and\nslept some during the night.\n\n\"December 3rd found my wife very low. I spent the day in taking care\nof her, and the day following I returned to Eaton to get some things\nfor her. She seemed to be sinking gradually, and in the evening the\nspirit apparently left her body, and she was dead. The sisters gathered\naround, weeping, while I stood looking at her in sorrow. The spirit and\npower of God began to rest upon me until, for the first time during her\nsickness, faith filled my soul, although she lay before me as one dead.\n\n\"I had some oil that was consecrated for my anointing while in\nKirtland. I took it and consecrated it again before the Lord, for\nanointing the sick. I then bowed down before the Lord, prayed for the\nlife of my companion, and in the name of the Lord anointed her body\nwith the oil. I then laid my hands upon her, and in the name of Jesus\nChrist I rebuked the power of death and of the destroyer, and commanded\nthe same to depart from her and the spirit of life to enter her body.\nHer spirit returned to her body, and from that hour she was made whole;\nand we all felt to praise the name of God, and to trust in Him and keep\nHis commandments.\n\n\"While I was undergoing this ordeal (as my wife related afterwards)\nher spirit left her body, and she saw it lying upon the bed and the\nsisters there weeping. She looked at them and at me, and upon her\nbabe; while gazing upon this scene, two persons came into the room,\ncarrying a coffin, and told her they had come for her body. One of\nthese messengers said to her that she might have her choice--she might\ngo to rest in the spirit world, or, upon one condition, she could have\nthe privilege of returning to her tabernacle and of continuing her\nlabors upon the earth. The condition was that if she felt she could\nstand by her husband, and with him pass through all the cares, trials,\ntribulations, and afflictions of life which he would be called upon to\npass through for the gospel's sake unto the end, she might return. When\nshe looked at the situation of her husband and child she said, 'Yes, I\nwill do it.' At the moment that decision was made the power of faith\nrested upon me, and when I administered to her, her spirit re-entered\n{98} her tabernacle, and she saw the messengers carry the coffin out of\nthe door.\n\n\"On the morning of the 6th of December, the spirit said to me, 'Arise,\nand continue thy journey,' and through the mercy of God my wife was\nenabled to arise and dress herself; she walked to the wagon, and we\nwent on our way rejoicing.\n\n\"The weather being very cold, on the night of the 11th I stopped\nfor the night at an inn. I there learned of the sudden death of my\nbrother, Asahel H. Woodruff, a merchant of Terre Haute, Indiana. I had\nanticipated that the following day I should have a joyful meeting with\nthis brother; instead of this, I had only the privilege of visiting\nhis grave, in company with my wife, and of examining a little into his\nbusiness. I was offered the position of administrator of his affairs,\nbut I was leading a company of Saints to Zion, and could not stop to\nattend to his temporal business. Strangers settled his affairs and took\npossession of his property; his relatives obtained nothing from his\neffects but a few trifling mementoes.\n\n\"I left this place on the 13th of December and crossed into Illinois,\narriving at Rochester on the 19th. Getting information there of the\nsevere persecutions of the Saints in Missouri, and of the unsettled\nstate of the Church at that time, we concluded to stop at Rochester and\nspend the winter there.\n\n\"Thus ended my journey of two months and sixteen days. I had led the\nFox Island Saints to the West, through all the perils of a journey\nof nearly two thousand miles, in the midst of sickness and great\nseverity of weather. In the spring I took my family and removed to\nQuincy, Illinois, where I could mingle with my brethren; and I felt to\npraise God for His protecting care over me and my family in all our\nafflictions.\"\n\n{99}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 11.\n\nCALL TO GREAT BRITAIN, 1838.\n\nMobocrats Seek To Prevent the Fulfillment of a Revelation Given Through\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith, but Are Disappointed.--Temple Cornerstone\nat Far West Laid.--Wilford Returns to Illinois.--The Prophet Joseph\nLiberated from Prison in Missouri.--A Survivor of Haun's Mill\nMassacre.--Selection of Nauvoo as a Place for the Settlement of the\nSaints.--A Day of God's Power.--Many Sick Are Healed, and a Dying Man\nRaised to Life.--Incident of Wilford Receiving a Hankerchief from\nthe Prophet Joseph.--Instructed as to What He Shall Preach on His\nMission.--Lesson in Humility.--Warning against Treachery.--Wilford\nStarts on His Mission, Sick and without Money.--Experience of His\nJourney to New York.--Sails for Liverpool, England.\n\nThe revelation calling Wilford Woodruff to the apostleship, and\ndirecting him, with others, to engage in missionary labors abroad,\nfixed a time and a place for the departure of these apostles on their\nmission to Great Britain. It was the declared purpose of the mob to\nprevent the fulfillment of this revelation. When the word of the\nLord was given on this matter, all was peace and quiet in Far West,\nMissouri, the city where most of the Latter-day Saints dwelt at that\ntime; but before the day of fulfillment came, the Saints had been\ndriven out of the State of Missouri into the State of Illinois, under\nthe edict of Governor Boggs; and the Missourians had sworn that if all\nthe other revelations to Joseph Smith were fulfilled, this one should\nnot be. But man cannot stay the purposes of God; this occasion was no\nexception to the rule, and it affords one of many notable instances\nthat show how the Almighty maintains a special guidance over the work\nof this dispensation which He has committed to the Latter-day Saints.\nIn this revelation, given July 8, 1838, He said:\n\n\"Let them take leave of my Saints in the city of Far West, on the 26th\nday of April next, on the building spot of my house, saith the Lord.\nLet my servant John Taylor, and also my servant John E. Page, and also\nmy servant Wilford Woodruff, and also my servant Willard Richards,\nbe appointed to fill the places of those who have fallen, and be\nofficially notified of their appointment.\"\n\nOf this period, Wilford writes in his journal that, \"it seemed {100} as\nthough the Lord, having a foreknowledge of what would take place, had\ngiven the revelation in this manner to see whether or not the Apostles\nwould obey it at the risk of their lives. When the time drew near for\nthe fulfillment of this commandment, Brigham Young was the President of\nthe Twelve Apostles, Thomas B. Marsh, who had been the senior apostle,\nhad fallen. Brother Brigham called together those of the Twelve who\nwere then at Quincy, Illinois, to see what their minds would be about\ngoing to Far West in fulfillment of the revelation. The Prophet Joseph,\nhis brother Hyrum, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, and Parley P. Pratt,\nwere in prison in Missouri; but Father Joseph Smith, the patriarch, was\nat Quincy, Illinois. He and others who were present did not think it\nwisdom for us to attempt the journey, as our lives would be in great\njeopardy. They thought the Lord would take the will for the deed. But\nwhen President Young asked the Twelve what their feelings were, all of\nthem, as the voice of one man, said the Lord had spoken, and it was for\nthem to obey. It was the Lord's business to take care of His servants,\nand they would fulfill the commandment, or die trying.\n\n\"To understand fully the risk the Twelve ran in making this journey,\nit should be understood that Lilburn W. Boggs, governor of the state\nof Missouri, had issued a proclamation in which all the Latter-day\nSaints were required to leave Missouri or be exterminated. Far West had\nbeen captured by the militia, who really were only an organized mob;\nthe citizens had been compelled to give up their arms; all the leading\nmen who could be got hold of had been taken prisoners; the rest of the\nSaints--men, women, and children--had to flee out of the state as best\nthey could to save their lives, leaving their houses, lands and other\nproperty, which they could not carry with them, to be taken by the mob.\nThe latter shot down the cattle and hogs of the Saints wherever they\ncould find them, and robbed the people of nearly everything they could\nlay their hands on. The Saints were treated with merciless cruelty,\nand had to endure the most outrageous abuses. It was with the greatest\ndifficulty that many of them, especially the prominent ones, got out of\nMissouri, for at that time many people of that state acted as though\nthey thought it no more harm to shoot a Mormon than to shoot a mad dog.\nFrom this {101} brief explanation it will be understood why some of the\nbrethren thought we were not required to go back to Far West, to start\nfrom there upon our mission across the ocean to Europe.\n\n\"Having determined to carry out the requirements of the revelation,\"\ncontinues Wilford Woodruff, \"on the 18th of April, 1839, I took into\nmy wagon Brigham Young and Orson Pratt; Father Cutler took into his\nwagon John Taylor and George A. Smith, and we started for Far West. On\nthe way we met John E. Page, who was going with his family to Quincy,\nIllinois. His wagon had turned over, and when we met him he was trying\nto gather up with his hands a barrel of soft soap. We helped him with\nhis wagon. He then drove into the valley below, left his wagon, and\naccompanied us on our way. On the night of the 25th of April we arrived\nat Far West, and spent the night at the home of Morris Phelps. He had\nbeen taken a prisoner by the mob, and was still in prison.\n\n\"On the morning of the 26th of April, 1839, notwithstanding the threats\nof our enemies that the revelation which was to be fulfilled this day\nshould not be fulfilled; notwithstanding ten thousand of the Saints\nhad been driven out of the state by the edict of the governor; and\nnotwithstanding the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum Smith, with\nother leading men, were in the hands of our enemies in chains and in\nprison, we moved on to the Temple grounds in the city of Far West,\nheld a council, and fulfilled the revelation and commandment given to\nus. We also ex-communicated from the Church thirty-one persons who had\napostatized and become its enemies. The 'Mission of the Twelve' was\nsung, and we repaired to the southeast corner of the Temple ground,\nwhere, with the assistance of Elder Alpheus Cutler, the master workman\nof the building committee, we laid the southeast chief cornerstone of\nthe Temple, according to revelation. There were present of the Twelve\nApostles: Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E. Page,\nand John Taylor; they proceeded to ordain Wilford Woodruff and George\nA. Smith to the apostleship.\n\n\"Darwin Chase and Norman Shearer, who had just been liberated from\nRichmond prison, were then ordained to the office of seventy.\n\n{102} \"The Twelve then gave the parting hand to the following Saints,\nagreeable to revelation: A. Butler, Elias Smith, Norman Shearer,\nWilliam Burton, Stephen Markham, Shadrach Roundy, William O. Clark,\nJohn W. Clark, Hezekiah Peck, Darwin Chase, Richard Howard, Mary Ann\nPeck, Artimesia Granger, Martha Peck, Sarah Granger, Theodore Turley,\nHiram Clark, and Daniel Shearer.\n\n\"Bidding good-by to this small remnant of the Saints who remained on\nthe Temple ground to see us fulfill the revelation and commandment\nof God, we turned our backs on Far West, Missouri, and returned to\nIllinois. We had accomplished the mission without a dog moving his\ntongue at us, or any man saying, 'Why do ye so?' We crossed the\nMississippi river on the steam ferry, entered Quincy on the 2nd of May,\nand all of us had the joy of reaching our families once more in peace\nand safety. Thus the word of God was complied with.\n\n\"While on our way to fulfill the revelation, Joseph, the Prophet, and\nhis companions in chains were liberated, through the blessings of God,\nfrom their enemies and prison, and passed us. We were not far distant\nfrom each other, but neither party knew it at the time. They were\nmaking their way to their families in Illinois, while we were traveling\nto Far West into the midst of our enemies; so they came home to their\nfamilies and friends before our return.\n\n\"May 3rd, 1839, was a very interesting day to me, as well as to others.\nIn company with five others of the quorum of the Twelve, I rode to\nMr. Cleveland's, four miles out of town, to visit Brother Joseph\nSmith and his family. Once more I had the happy privilege of taking\nBrother Joseph by the hand. Two years had rolled away since I had seen\nhis face. He greeted us with great joy, as did Hyrum Smith and Lyman\nWight, all of whom had escaped together from their imprisonment. They\nhad been confined in prison six months, and had been under sentence\nof death three times; yet their lives were in the hands of God. He\ndelivered them, and now they were mingling with their wives, children,\nand friends, out of the reach of the mob. Joseph was frank, open, and\nfamiliar as usual, and our rejoicing was great. No man can understand\nthe joyful sensations created by such a meeting, except one who has\nbeen in tribulation for the gospel's sake.\n\n{103} \"After spending the day together we returned to our families at\nnight. The day following was May 4th; we met in conference at Quincy,\nthe Prophet Joseph presiding, his presence causing great joy to all the\nSaints. On Sunday, May 5th, Joseph Smith addressed the assembly. He was\nfollowed by Sidney Rigdon and the Twelve Apostles. The spirit of the\nLord was poured out upon us, and we had a glorious day.\n\n\"On May 6th I met with the seventies, and we ordained sixty men into\nthe quorums of elders and seventies. Brother Joseph met with the\nTwelve, and with bishops and elders, at Bishop Partridge's house. There\nwere with us a number who were wounded at Haun's Mill; among these was\nIsaac Laney, who, in company with about twenty others, had been at\nthe mill when a large and armed mob fired among them with rifles and\nother weapons, shot down seventeen of the brethren, and wounded others.\nBrother Laney fled from the scene, but they sent a volley of lead after\nhim, piercing his body in many places. He showed me eleven bullet holes\nin his body. There were twenty-seven bullet holes in his shirt, and\nseven in his pantaloons. His coat was literally cut to pieces. One ball\nentered one armpit and came out at the other; another entered his back\nand came out at the breast; a ball passed through each hip, each leg,\nand each arm. All these were received while he was running for his\nlife; and, strange as it may appear, though he also had one of his ribs\nbroken, he was able to outrun his enemies, and his life was saved. We\ncan acknowledge this deliverance to be only through the mercy of God.\nPresident Joseph Young was also among the number who escaped at Haun's\nMill. As he fled, the balls flew around him like hail, yet he was not\neven wounded. How mysterious are the ways of the Lord!\n\n\"Before starting on our mission to England, we were under the necessity\nof locating our families. A place called Commerce, afterwards named\nNauvoo, was selected as the site on which our people should settle. In\ncompany with Brother Brigham Young and our families, I left Quincy on\nthe 15th of May, arriving in Commerce on the 18th. After an interview\nwith Joseph, we crossed the river at Montrose, Iowa. President Brigham\nYoung and myself, with our families, occupied one room about {104}\nfourteen feet square. Finally Brother Young obtained another room and\nmoved into it; then Brother Orson Pratt and family moved into the same\nroom with myself and family.\n\n\"While I was living in this cabin in the old barracks we experienced,\nwith the Prophet Joseph, a day of God's power. It was a very sickly\ntime; Joseph had given up his home in Commerce to the sick, and had a\ntent pitched in his dooryard and was living in that himself. The large\nnumber of Saints who had been driven out of Missouri were flocking\ninto Commerce, but had no homes to go to, and were living in wagons,\nin tents, and on the ground; many, therefore, were sick through the\nexposure to which they were subjected. Brother Joseph had waited on\nthem until he was worn out and nearly sick himself.\n\n\"On the morning of the 22nd of July, 1839, he arose, reflecting\nupon the situation of the Saints of God in their persecutions and\nafflictions. He called upon the Lord in prayer, the power of God rested\nupon him mightily, and as Jesus healed all the sick around Him in His\nday, so Joseph, the Prophet of God, healed all around on this occasion.\nHe healed all in his house and dooryard; then, in company with Sidney\nRigdon and several of the Twelve, went among the sick lying on the bank\nof the river, where he commanded them in a loud voice, in the name of\nJesus Christ, to rise and be made whole, and they were all healed.\nWhen he had healed all on the east side of the river that were sick,\nhe and his companions crossed the Mississippi River in a ferry-boat to\nthe west side, where we were, at Montrose. The first house they went\ninto was President Brigham Young's. He was sick on his bed at the time.\nThe Prophet went into his house and healed him, and they all came out\ntogether.\n\n\"As they were passing by my door, Brother Joseph said: 'Brother\nWoodruff, follow me.' These were the only words spoken by any of\nthe company from the time they left Brother Brigham's house till\nthey crossed the public square, and entered Brother Fordham's house.\nBrother Fordham had been dying for an hour, and we expected each minute\nwould be his last. I felt the spirit of God that was overpowering His\nProphet. When we entered the house, Brother Joseph walked up to Brother\nFordham and took him by the right hand, his left hand holding his hat.\n{105} He saw that Brother Fordham's eyes were glazed, and that he was\nspeechless and unconscious.\n\n\"After taking his hand, he looked down into the dying man's face and\nsaid: 'Brother Fordham, do you not know me?' At first there was no\nreply, but we all could see the effect of the spirit of God resting\non the afflicted man. Joseph again spoke. 'Elijah, do you not know\nme?' With a low whisper Brother Fordham answered, 'Yes'. The Prophet\nthen said: 'Have you not faith to be healed?' The answer, which was a\nlittle plainer than before, was: 'I am afraid it is too late; if you\nhad come sooner, I think I might have been.' He had the appearance of\na man waking from sleep; it was the sleep of death. Joseph then said:\n'Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ?' 'I do, Brother Joseph,' was\nthe response. Then the Prophet of God spoke with a loud voice, as in\nthe majesty of Jehovah: 'Elijah, I command you, in the name of Jesus of\nNazareth, to arise and be made whole.'\n\n\"The words of the Prophet were not like the words of man, but like the\nvoice of God. It seemed to me that the house shook on its foundation.\nElijah Fordham leaped from his bed like a man raised from the dead. A\nhealthy color came to his face, and life was manifested in every act.\nHis feet had been done up in Indian meal poultices; he kicked these off\nhis feet, scattered the contents, then called for his clothes and put\nthem on. He asked for a bowl of bread and milk, and ate it. He then put\non his hat and followed us into the street, to visit others who were\nsick.\n\n\"The unbeliever may ask, 'Was there not deception in this?' If there\nis any deception in the mind of the unbeliever, there was certainly\nnone with Elijah Fordham, the dying man, or with those who were present\nwith him; for in a few minutes he would have been in the spirit world,\nif he had not been rescued. Through the blessing of God he lived up\ntill 1880, when he died in Utah; while all who were with him on that\noccasion, with the exception of one (myself), are in the spirit world.\nAmong the number present were Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon,\nBrigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Parley P. Pratt,\nOrson Pratt, and Wilford Woodruff.\n\n\"As soon as we left Brother Fordham's house, we went into the home of\nJoseph B. Noble, who was very low. When we entered {106} the house,\nBrother Joseph took Brother Noble by the hand, and commanded him, in\nthe name of Jesus Christ, to arise and be made whole. He did arise, and\nwas healed immediately.\n\n\"While this was going on, the wicked mob in the place, led by one\nKilburn, had become alarmed, and followed us into Brother Noble's\nhouse. Before they arrived there, Brother Joseph called upon Brother\nFordham to offer prayer. While he was praying, the mob entered, with\nall the evil spirits accompanying them. As soon as they entered,\nBrother Fordham, who was praying, fainted, and sank to the floor. When\nJoseph saw the mob in the house, he arose and had the room cleared of\nboth that class of men and their attendant devils. Then Brother Fordham\nimmediately revived, and finished his prayer.\n\n\"The case of Brother Noble was the last one of healing upon that day.\nIt was the greatest day for the manifestation of the power of God\nthrough the gift of healing since the organization of the Church.\nWhen we left Brother Noble's, the Prophet Joseph, with those who had\naccompanied him from the other side, went to the bank of the river, to\nreturn home.\n\n\"While waiting for the ferry-boat, a man of the world, knowing of the\nmiracles which had been performed, came to Joseph and asked him if he\nwould not go and heal twin children of his, about five months old, who\nwere both lying sick nigh unto death. They were some two miles from\nMontrose. The Prophet said he could not go; but, after pausing some\ntime, said he would send some one to heal them; and he turned to me\nand said: 'You go with the man and heal his children.' He took a red\nsilk hankerchief out of his pocket, gave it to me, told me to wipe\ntheir faces with the handkerchief when I administered to them, and they\nshould be healed. He also said to me: 'As long as you will keep that\nhandkerchief, it shall remain a league between you and me.' I went with\nthe man, did as the Prophet commanded me, and the children were healed.\nI have possession of the handkerchief unto this day.\n\n\"On the first of July, 1839, Joseph Smith and his counselors, Sidney\nRigdon and Hyrum Smith, crossed the river to Montrose, to spend the day\nwith the Twelve, and to set them apart and bless {107} them before they\nstarted upon their missions. There were twelve of us who met there, and\nwe dined in my house.\n\n\"After dinner we assembled at Brother Brigham Young's house for\nour meeting. Brother Hyrum Smith opened by prayer; after which the\nPresidency laid their hands upon our heads and gave each of us a\nblessing. President Rigdon was mouth in blessing me, and also blessed\nSisters Young, Taylor, and Woodruff. The Prophet Joseph promised us\nthat if we were faithful we would be blessed upon our mission, save\nmany souls as seals of our ministry, and return again in peace and\nsafety to our friends; all of which was fulfilled.\n\n\"Brother Hyrum advised me to preach the first principles of the gospel;\nhe thought that was about as much as this generation could endure. Then\nJoseph arose and preached some precious things of the Kingdom of God\nunto us, in the power of the Holy Ghost, some of which I here copy:\n'Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive\nyour brethren on the first intimation of their repentance and desire\nfor forgiveness; for your heavenly Father will be equally merciful to\nyou. We ought also to be willing to repent of and confess our sins,\nand keep nothing back. Let the Twelve be humble and not be exalted,\nand beware of pride, and not seek to excel one another, but act for\neach other's good, and honorably make mention of each other's names in\nprayer before the Lord and before your fellowmen. Do not backbite or\ninjure a brother. The elders of Israel should seek to learn by precept\nand example in this late age of the world, and not be obliged to learn\nby sad experience everything they know. I trust the remainder of the\nTwelve will learn wisdom, and will not follow the example of those who\nhave fallen. When the Twelve, or any other witnesses of Jesus Christ,\nstand before the congregations of the earth, and preach in the power\nand demonstration of the Holy Ghost, and the people are astonished and\nconfounded at the doctrine and say, \"those men have preached powerful\nsermons,\" then let them take care that they do not ascribe the glory\nunto themselves, but be careful to be humble, and to ascribe the glory\nto God and the Lamb; for it is by the power of the Holy Priesthood\nand the Holy Ghost that they have {108} the power thus to speak. Who\nart thou, O man, but dust! and from whom dost thou receive they power\nand blessings, but from God! Then let the Twelve Apostles and elders\nof Israel observe this key, and be wise: _Ye are not sent out to be\ntaught, but to teach._ Let every man be sober, be vigilant, and let all\nhis words be seasoned with grace, and keep in mind that it is a day of\nwarning, and not of many words. Act honestly before God and man; beware\nof sophistry, such as bowing and scraping unto men in whom you have no\nconfidence. Be honest, open, and frank in all your intercourse with\nmankind. I wish to say to the Twelve, and to all the Saints: profit by\nthis important key, that in all your trials, troubles, temptations,\nafflictions, bonds, imprisonments, and deaths, you do not betray Jesus\nChrist, that you do not betray the revelations of God, whether in the\nBible, Book of Mormon, or Doctrine and Covenants, or in any of the\nwords of God. Yea, in all your troubles, see that you do not this\nthing, lest innocent blood be found upon your skirts, and ye go down to\nhell. We may ever know by this sign that there is danger of our being\nled to a fall and apostasy when we give way to the devil, so as to\nneglect the first known duty; but whatever you do, do not betray your\nfriend.'\n\n\"The foregoing are some of the instructions given by the Prophet\nJoseph, before the Apostles started upon their missions.\n\n\"Inasmuch as the devil had been thwarted in a measure by the Twelve\ngoing to Far West and returning without harm, it seemed as though the\ndestroyer was determined to make some other attempt upon us to hinder\nus from performing our missions; for as soon as any one of the Apostles\nbegan to prepare for starting he was smitten with chills and fever, or\nsickness of some kind. Nearly all of the quorum of the Twelve or their\nfamilies began to be sick, so it still required the exercise of a good\ndeal of faith and perseverance to start off on a mission.\n\n\"On the 25th of July, I was attacked with chills and fever, for the\nfirst time in my life; this I had every other day, and whenever\nattacked, I was laid prostrate. My wife, Phoebe, was also taken down\nwith the chills and fever, as were quite a number of the Twelve.\n\n\"I passed thirteen days in Montrose with my family, after {109} I was\ntaken sick, before I started on my mission. The 7th of August was the\nlast day I spent at home in Montrose. Although sick with the chills and\nfever most of the day, I made what preparations I could to start on the\nmorrow on a mission of four thousand miles, to preach the gospel to\nthe nations of the earth; and this, too, without purse or scrip, with\ndisease resting upon me, and an attack of fever and ague afflicting me\nonce every two days.\n\n\"Early upon the morning of the 8th of August, I arose from my bed of\nsickness, laid my hands upon the head of my sick wife, Phoebe, and\nblessed her. I then departed from the embrace of my companion, and\nleft her almost without food or the necessaries of life. She suffered\nmy departure with the fortitude that becomes a saint, realizing the\nresponsibilities of her companion. I quote from my journal: 'Phoebe,\nfarewell! Be of good cheer; remember me in your prayers. I leave these\npages for your perusal when I am gone. I shall see your face again in\nthe flesh. I go to obey the commands of Jesus Christ.'\n\n\"Although feeble, I walked to the banks of the Mississippi River. There\nPresident Young took me in a canoe (having no other conveyance), and\npaddled me across the river. When we landed, I lay down on a side of\nsole leather, by the postoffice, to rest. Brother Joseph, the Prophet\nof God, came along and looked at me. 'Well, Brother Woodruff,' said he,\n'you have started upon your mission.' 'Yes,' said I, 'but I feel and\nlook more like a subject for the dissecting room than a missionary.'\nJoseph replied: 'What did you say that for? Get up, and go along; all\nwill be right with you.'\n\n\"I name these incidents that the reader may know how the brethren of\nthe Twelve Apostles started upon their missions to England in 1839.\nElder John Taylor was going with me; we were the first two of the\nquorum of the Twelve who started upon that mission. Brother Taylor was\nabout the only man in the quorum who was not sick.\n\n\"Soon a brother came along with a wagon, and took us in. As we were\ndriving through the place, we came to Parley P. Pratt, who was stripped\nto his shirt and pants, with his head and feet bare. He was hewing\na log, preparatory to building a cabin. He said: 'Brother Woodruff,\nI have no money, but I have an empty {110} purse, which I will give\nyou.' He brought it to me, and I thanked him for it. We went a few\nrods farther and met Brother Heber C. Kimball, in the same condition,\nalso hewing a log to build a cabin. He said: 'As Parley has given you\na purse, I have got a dollar I will give you to put in it.' He gave me\nboth a dollar and a blessing.\n\n\"We drove sixteen miles across a prairie, and spent the night with\na Brother Merrill. The day following we rode ten miles to a Brother\nPerkins'. He took us in his wagon to Macomb, and from there to Brother\nDon Carlos Smith's. During the day I rode four hours over a very rough\nroad of stones and stumps, lying on my back in the bottom of the wagon,\nshaking with the ague, and suffering very much. We held a meeting in a\ngrove near Don Carlos Smith's, and there Elder Taylor baptized George\nMiller, who afterwards was ordained a bishop. At the meeting the Saints\ngave us nine dollars, and George Miller gave us a horse to help us on\nour journey.\n\n\"I rode to Rochester with Father Coltrin, and there had an interview\nwith several families of the Fox Islands Saints, whom I had brought\nwith me from the Fox Islands in 1838. I spent several days with them\nand at Springfield, where Elder Taylor published, in pamphlet form,\nfifteen hundred copies of a brief sketch of the persecutions and\nsufferings of the Latter-day Saints, inflicted by the inhabitants of\nMissouri. We sold our horse, and, in company with Father Coltrin,\nBrother Taylor and myself left Springfield and continued our journey. I\nhad the chills and fever nearly every other day. This made riding in a\nlumber wagon very distressing to me, especially when I shook with the\nague.\n\n\"On the 24th of August we rode to Terre Haute, and spent the night with\nDr. Modisett. I suffered much with the chills and fever. Up to this\ntime, Elder John Taylor had appeared to enjoy excellent health, but\nthe destroyer did not intend to make him an exception to the rest of\nthe apostles. On the 28th of August he fell to the ground as though he\nhad been knocked down. He fainted, but soon revived. On the following\nday the enemy made a powerful attack upon his life. He fainted several\ntimes, and it seemed as if he would die. We stopped several hours\nwith him at a house by the wayside. We then took him into the wagon,\n{111} drove to Horace S. Eldredge's and spent the remainder of the day\nand night doctoring him. In the morning he was so far recovered that\nhe thought he would be able to ride; so we started on our journey on\nthe morning of the 30th, traveled forty miles to Louisville, and spent\nthe night with the family of Brother James Townsend. We felt terribly\nshaken up, being in such a weak state. Brother Townsend was away\nfrom home, but we were kindly entertained by Sister Townsend. In the\nmorning, Elder Taylor, though very weak, felt disposed to continue the\njourney, and we traveled fourteen miles to Germantown. Elder Taylor was\nquite sick that night, and a bilious fever seemed to settle upon him. I\nwas also very feeble.\n\n\"The day following being Sunday, September 1st, Brother Taylor\nconcluded to remain for the day, and hold a meeting. It was a German\nsettlement. He wished me to speak, and I did so, dwelling upon the\nfirst principles of the gospel. He followed me, and spoke until he was\nexhausted. After we returned to the inn where we were stopping, I was\ntaken with a chill and fever, and had a very bad night. Brother Taylor\nalso was very sick.\n\n\"The next day, September 2nd, was a painful day to my feelings. It was\nevident that Brother Taylor had a settled fever upon him, and would\nnot be able to travel. Father Coltrin was resolved to continue his\njourney, and, in conversing with Brother Taylor, the latter thought it\nbetter for one sick man to be left than for two, as I was so ill with\nchills and fever that I was not able to render him any assistance, nor,\nindeed, to take care of myself. Under these circumstances, Brother\nTaylor advised me to continue my journey with Brother Coltrin, and make\nthe best of my way to New York.\n\n\"After committing Elder Taylor into the hands of the Lord, I gave him\nthe parting hand--though painful to me--and started. I left him in\nGermantown, Wayne County, Indiana, in the hands of a merciful God and\na kind and benevolent family who promised to do everything in their\npower to make him comfortable till his recovery. This they did, though\nhe passed through a severe course of bilious fever, and was sick nigh\nunto death. Through the mercy of God, however, he recovered from his\nsickness, and continued his journey. We next met in the city of New\nYork.\n\n{112} \"I continued on with Father Coltrin, and reached Cleveland on\nthe 18th of September. There we took steamer for Buffalo, but were in\na storm three days before we made the harbor. We landed at midnight,\nand in doing so ran into a schooner and stove it in. From Buffalo I\ntraveled to Albany in a canal boat, and had an attack of the ague\ndaily. At Albany I took a stage in the night, and rode to my father's\nhome in Farmington, reaching there on the 21st of September. I was glad\nto meet with my father's family, and the other members of the small\nbranch of the Church which existed there upon this occasion, as I found\nthem all strong in the faith of the gospel, and glad to meet me. I was\nstill suffering with the ague. On the 27th of September, my grandmother\n(on my mother's side), Anna Thompson, died at Avon. She was eighty-four\nyears of age. It was a singular coincidence that she, with her husband,\nLot Thompson, also Mercy Thompson, and Samuel Thompson, all of one\nfamily, died when they were eighty-four years of age. I was not able to\nattend my grandmother's funeral.\n\n\"On the 4th of October, 1839, my uncle, Adna Hart, died, aged\nforty-three years. I had visited him in his sickness, preached the\ngospel to him, and he was believing. I had been associated with him\nfrom my youth up. On his death bed he sent me a request that I preach\nhis funeral sermon. I was having the chills and fever daily at the\ntime, attended with a very severe cough, so much so that my father\nthought I would never leave his home alive; but when they brought me\nthe request of my dying uncle, and the day came for his burial, I told\nmy father to get his horse and buggy ready, as I was going to attend\nthe funeral. He thought I was very reckless about my own life, as I\nhad suffered with chills and fever some fifteen days, and to attempt\nto speak in my weak state, and to begin at the same hour that my chill\nwas to come on, seemed to him foolhardy. My parents were quite alarmed,\nyet according to my request my father got up his team, and I rode\nwith him and my stepmother five miles, through a cold, chilly wind,\nand commenced speaking to a large congregation at the same hour that\nmy chills had been accustomed to come on. I spoke with great freedom\nfor over an hour; my chills left me for that time, and I had no more\nattacks for many days.\n\n\"On the Monday following, October 17th, I felt sufficiently {113}\nrestored to health to continue my journey. I took leave of my father\nand sister, and left for New York, where I arrived on the morning of\nthe 8th of November. I spent two months and seven days after my arrival\nin New York, in traveling and preaching in that city, and in New Jersey\nand Long Island, a portion of the time with Parley and Orson Pratt.\nDuring this period I had frequent attacks of the chills and fever, but\nI preached almost daily.\n\n\"On the 13th of December, I attended our conference in New York City,\nwith Elder Parley P. Pratt, who prophesied that the mission of the\nTwelve to Great Britain would be known to all nations, as it surely\nhas been. On this day Elder John Taylor arrived in our midst. It was a\nhappy meeting; he had passed through a severe siege of sickness after\nwe parted, but through the mercy of God had been preserved, and was\nable to continue his journey. He informed us that others of the Twelve\nhad suffered a great deal of sickness, and that it was with difficulty\nthat they could travel.\n\n\"After spending six days in New York, Elder John Taylor, in company\nwith Elder Theodore Turley and myself, sailed out of New York harbor on\nthe 19th of December, 1839, on board the packet ship Oxford. We took\nsteerage passage, which cost fifteen dollars each. We had storms and\nrough weather, but most of the winds were favorable to a quick passage.\nWhile on the ship, a Methodist minister got into a discussion with some\nCatholics who were in the company, and the arguments of the minister\nran rather more into abuse than sound argument. Elder Taylor told the\nMethodist minister that he did not think it was becoming in a daughter\nto find so much fault with the mother; for, as the Methodists came out\nof the Catholics, Elder Taylor thought the mother had as much right\nto enjoy her religion unmolested as the daughter had. That ended the\nargument. Our company consisted of one hundred and nine souls, composed\nof Americans, English, Scotch, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch.\"\n\nWhile in New York preparing for his departure for Europe, Elder\nWoodruff twice saw his wife in a dream. The second time she was\nweeping, and both times was in great affliction. Upon his inquiring\nafter their little daughter. Sister Woodruff answered, \"She is dead.\"\nThe warning in this dream received fulfillment on the 17th of the\nfollowing July, the child dying on that date, while he was in England.\n\n{114}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 12.\n\nMISSION IN GREAT BRITAIN, 1840.\n\nWilford's Arrival in England.--Missionary Work Begun.--Casting\nOut a Devil.--Directed by the Spirit of the Lord to Another Field\nof Labor.--Meets with the United Brethren.--Many Conversions to\nthe Gospel.--Ministers Hold a Convention To Ask Parliament for\nLegislation against the Mormons.--First Publication of the Book of\nMormon and the Hymn Book in England.--The Millennial Star.--In the\nBritish Metropolis.--Unable to Secure a Hall To Preach in, the Elders\nHold Street Meetings.--First Baptism in London.--Opposition from\nPreachers.--Work of God Makes Marvelous Progress.\n\nThe voyage across the Atlantic ocean was made in twenty three days, and\nWilford Woodruff and his companions landed at Liverpool, England, on\nthe 11th day of January, 1840. After visiting George Cannon, father of\nPresident George Q. Cannon, and family, they left Liverpool on January\n13th, going to Preston, where a branch of the Church had been built up\nin 1837, by Elders Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, and Willard Richards.\nThe latter had remained in England, while Elders Kimball and Hyde had\nreturned to America. The meeting with Elder Richards was very pleasant.\nOn January 17th a council was held at his home to determine the future\nactions of the elders.\n\n\"After consultation as to the best course for us to pursue,\" says Elder\nWoodruff, \"it was finally resolved that Elders John Taylor and Joseph\nFielding should go to Liverpool; Elder Woodruff, to Staffordshire\nPotteries; Elder Theodore Turley, to Birmingham; Elder Richards,\nwherever the spirit might direct him; and that Elder William Clayton\npreside over the branch in Manchester. After various principles of\nthe Church had been expounded by the Apostles present, the council\nadjourned. Elder Willard Richards had been called to be one of the\nquorum of the Twelve Apostles, but had not yet received his ordination.\n\n\"On the day following I parted with Elders Taylor and Fielding, who\nwent to Liverpool, and with Elder Richards, who tarried in Preston.\nElder Turley and I went to Manchester; it was the first time I had\nvisited that city. There I met for the first time Elder William\nClayton. As soon as I was introduced to him, he informed me that one of\nthe sisters in that place was possessed of {115} a devil. He asked me\nif I would not go and cast it out of her. He thought one of the Twelve\nApostles could do most anything in such a case. I went with him to the\nhouse where the woman lay, in the hands of three men, in a terrible\nrage. She was trying to tear her clothing from her. I also found quite\na number of Saints present, and some unbelievers, who had come to see\nthe devil cast out and a miracle wrought.\n\n\"Had I acted upon my own judgment I should have refrained from\nadministering to her in the company of those present; but as I was a\nstranger there, and Brother Clayton presided over the branch, I joined\nwith him in administering to the woman. The unbelief of the wicked\nwho were present was so great that we could not cast the devil out\nof her, and she raged worse than ever; I then ordered the room to be\ncleared, and when the company, except the few attending her, had left\nthe house, we laid hands upon her head, and in the name of Jesus Christ\nI commanded the devil to come out of her. The devil left, and she was\nentirely healed and fell asleep.\n\n\"The next day being the Sabbath, the woman came before a large\ncongregation of people, and bore testimony to what the Lord had done\nfor her. We had a large assembly through the day and evening, to whom I\npreached the gospel. On Monday morning, the devil, not being satisfied\nwith being cast out of the woman, entered into her little child, which\nwas but a few months old. I was called upon to visit the child, and\nfound it in great distress, writhing in its mother's arms. We laid\nhands upon it and cast the devil out; the evil spirits thereafter had\nno power over that household. This was done by the power of God, and\nnot of man. We laid hands upon twenty in Manchester who were sick, and\nmost of them were healed.\n\n\"On January 21st, I arrived in Burslem by coach, and for the first time\nmet Elder Alfred Cordon. This being my field of labor, I began my work\nthere. Elder Turley stopped in the Pottery district some eight days,\nthen went to Birmingham, his field of labor. On the 10th of February I\nreceived a letter from Elder John Taylor, who was at Liverpool, saying\nthey had commenced there, and had baptized ten persons.\n\n\"I labored in the Staffordshire Potteries, in Burslem, Hanley, {116}\nStoke, Lane End, and several other villages, from the 22nd of January\nuntil the 2nd of March, preaching every night in the week and two or\nthree times on the Sabbath. I baptized, confirmed and blessed many,\nand we had a good field open for labor. Many were believing, and it\nappeared as thought we had a door open to bring into the Church many in\nthat part of the vineyard.\n\n\"March 1st, 1840, was my birthday; I was thirty-three years of age. It\nbeing Sunday, I preached twice during the day to a large assembly in\nthe city hall, in the town of Hanley, and administered the Sacrament\nto the Saints. In the evening I again met with a large assembly of the\nSaints and strangers, and while singing the first hymn the spirit of\nthe Lord rested upon me and the voice of God said to me, 'This is the\nlast meeting that you will hold with this people for many days.' I was\nastonished at this, as I had many appointments out in that district.\nWhen I arose to speak to the people, I told them that it was the last\nmeeting I should hold with them for many days. They were as much\nastonished as I was. At the close of the meeting four persons came\nforward for baptism; we went down into the water and baptized them.\n\n\"In the morning I went in secret before the Lord, and asked Him what\nwas His will concerning me. The answer I received was that I should\ngo to the south; for the Lord had a great work for me to perform\nthere, as many souls were waiting for His word. On the 3rd of March,\n1840, in fulfillment of the directions given me, I took coach and\nrode to Wolverhampton, twenty-six miles, spending the night there. On\nthe morning of the 4th I again took coach, and rode through Dudley,\nStourbridge, Stourport, and Worcester, then walked a number of miles\nto Mr. John Benbow's, Hill Farm, Castle Frome, Ledbury, Herefordshire.\nThis was a farming country in the south of England, a region where no\nelder of the Latter-day Saints had visited.\n\n\"I found Mr. Benbow to be a wealthy farmer, cultivating three hundred\nacres of land, occupying a good mansion, and having plenty of means.\nHis wife, Jane, had no children. I presented myself to him as a\nmissionary from America, an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints, who had been sent to him by the commandment of God\nas a messenger of salvation, to preach the gospel of life to him and\nhis household and the inhabitants {117} of the land. He and his wife\nreceived me with glad hearts and thanksgiving. It was in the evening\nwhen I arrived, having traveled forty-eight miles by coach and on foot\nduring the day, but after receiving refreshments we sat down together,\nand conversed until two o'clock in the morning. Mr. Benbow and his wife\nrejoiced greatly at the glad tidings which I brought them.\n\n\"I also rejoiced greatly at the news Mr. Benbow gave me, that there\nwas a company of men and women--over six hundred in number--who had\nbroken off from the Wesleyan Methodists, and taken the name of United\nBrethren. They had forty-five preachers among them, and for religious\nservices had chapels and many houses that were licensed according\nto the law of the land. This body of United Brethren were searching\nfor light and truth, but had gone as far as they could, and were\ncalling upon the Lord continually to open the way before them and\nsend them light and knowledge, that they might know the true way to\nbe saved. When I heard these things I could clearly see why the Lord\nhad commanded me, while in the town of Hanley, to leave that place\nof labor and go to the south; for in Herefordshire there was a great\nharvest-field for gathering many saints into the Kingdom of God. After\noffering my prayers and thanksgiving to God, I retired to my bed with\njoy, and slept well until the rising of the sun.\n\n\"I arose on the morning of the 5th, took breakfast, and told Mr.\nBenbow I would like to commence my Master's business by preaching the\ngospel to the people. He had in his mansion a large hall which was\nlicensed for preaching, and he sent word through the neighborhood that\nan American missionary would preach at his house that evening. As\nthe time drew nigh, many of the neighbors came in, and I preached my\nfirst gospel sermon in the house. I also preached at the same place on\nthe following evening, and baptized six persons, including Mr. John\nBenbow, his wife, and four preachers of the United Brethren. I spent\nmost of the following day in clearing out a pool of water and preparing\nit for baptizing, as I saw that many would receive that ordinance. I\nafterwards baptized six hundred persons in that pool of water.\n\n\"On Sunday, the 8th, I preached at Frome's Hill in the morning, at\nStandley Hill in the afternoon, and at John Benbow's, Hill {118} Farm,\nin the evening. The parish church that stood in the neighborhood of\nBrother Benbow's, presided over by the rector of the parish, was\nattended during the day by only fifteen persons, while I had a large\ncongregation, estimated to number a thousand, attend my meetings\nthrough the day and evening.\n\n\"When I arose to speak at Brother Benbow's house, a man entered the\ndoor and informed me that he was a constable, and had been sent by the\nrector of the parish with a warrant to arrest me. I asked him, 'For\nwhat crime?' He said, 'For preaching to the people.' I told him that\nI, as well as the rector, had a license for preaching the gospel to\nthe people, and that if he would take a chair I would wait upon him\nafter meeting. He took my chair and sat beside me. For an hour and a\nquarter I preached the first principles of the everlasting gospel.\nThe power of God rested upon me, the spirit filled the house, and the\npeople were convinced. At the close of the meeting I opened the door\nfor baptism, and seven offered themselves. Among the number were four\npreachers and the constable. The latter arose and said, 'Mr. Woodruff,\nI would like to be baptized.' I told him I would like to baptize him. I\nwent down into the pool and baptized the seven. We then came together.\nI confirmed thirteen, administered the Sacrament, and we all rejoiced\ntogether.\n\n\"The constable went to the rector and told him that if he wanted Mr.\nWoodruff taken for preaching the gospel, he must go himself and serve\nthe writ; for he had heard him preach the only true gospel sermon he\nhad ever listened to in his life. The rector did not know what to make\nof it, so he sent two clerks of the Church of England as spies, to\nattend our meeting, and find out what we did preach. They both were\npricked in their hearts, received the word of the Lord gladly, and\nwere baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints. The rector became alarmed, and did not venture to\nsend anybody else.\n\n\"The ministers and rectors of the south of England called a convention\nand sent a petition to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to request\nParliament to pass a law prohibiting the Mormons from preaching in the\nBritish dominions. In this petition the rectors stated that one Mormon\nmissionary had baptized fifteen hundred {119} persons, mostly members\nof the English Church, during the past seven months. But the Archbishop\nand council, knowing well that the laws of England afforded toleration\nto all religions under the British flag, sent word to the petitioners\nthat if they had the worth of souls at heart as much as they valued\nground where hares, foxes, and hounds ran, they would not lose so many\nof their flock.\n\n\"I continued to preach and baptize daily. On the 21st day of March I\nbaptized Elder Thomas Kington. He was superintendent of both preachers\nand members of the United Brethren. The first thirty days after my\narrival in Herefordshire, I had baptized forty-five preachers and one\nhundred and sixty members of the United Brethren, who put into my hands\none chapel and forty-five houses, which were licensed according to\nlaw to preach in. This opened a wide field for labor, and enabled me\nto bring into the Church, through the blessings of God, over eighteen\nhundred souls during eight months, including all of the six hundred\nUnited Brethren except one person. In this number there were also some\ntwo hundred preachers of various denominations. This field of labor\nembraced Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire, and formed\nthe conferences of Garway, Gadfield Elm, and Frome's Hill. During this\ntime I was visited by President Young and Dr. Richards.\"\n\nOn the 14th of April, 1840, Elder Woodruff records the ordination of\nWillard Richards to the apostleship. Two days later the Twelve, in\ncouncil, voted to publish a Church periodical in Great Britain. Elder\nWoodruff proposed that it be called the Millennial Star, and it was so\nnamed.\n\n\"Brother John Benbow furnished us with \u00a3300 to print the first edition\nof the Book of Mormon that was published in England,\" wrote Elder\nWoodruff; \"and on the 20th of May, 1840, Brigham Young, Willard\nRichards, and I held a council on top of Malvern Hill, and there\ndecided that Brigham Young should go direct to Manchester and publish\nthree thousand copies of the Book of Mormon and the Hymn Book.\n\n\"The power of God rested upon us and upon the mission,\" said Elder\nWoodruff, in our field of labor in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and\nGloucestershire. \"The sick were healed, devils were cast out, and the\nlame made to walk. One case I will {120} mention: Mary Pitt, who died\nlater in Nauvoo, sister of William Pitt, who died years after in Salt\nLake City, had not walked upon her feet for eleven years. We carried\nher into the water, and I baptized her. On the evening of the 18th of\nMay, 1840, at Brother Kington's house in Dymock, Elders Brigham Young,\nWillard Richards, and I laid hands upon her head and confirmed her.\nBrigham Young being mouth, rebuked her lameness in the name of the\nLord, and commanded her to arise and walk. The lameness left her, and\nshe never afterwards used a staff or crutch. She walked through the\ntown of Dymock next day, and created a stir among the people thereby;\nbut the wicked did not feel to give God the glory.\n\n\"The whole history of this Herefordshire mission shows the importance\nof listening to the still small voice of the spirit of God, and the\nrevelations of the Holy Ghost. The people were praying for light and\ntruth, and the Lord sent me to them. I declared the gospel of life and\nsalvation, some eighteen hundred souls received it, and many of them\nhave been gathered to Zion in these mountains. Many of them have also\nbeen called to officiate in the bishopric, and have done much good in\nZion. In all these things we should ever acknowledge the hand of God,\nand give Him the honor, praise, and glory, forever and ever. Amen.\n\n\"On the 11th of August, 1840, I took the parting hand of the Saints\nin Herefordshire, and started on a mission to London, in company with\nApostles Heber C. Kimball and George A. Smith. We rode from Leigh to\nCheltenham, where we tarried for the night, and in the morning took\ncoach and rode forty miles through a most delightful country, which\neverywhere wore the golden hue of plentiful harvest. We passed through\nOxfordshire, in sight of Stowe, the family residence of the Duke of\nBuckingham, and at Farmington station took train for London, where we\narrived at 4 p. m. We changed conveyances and went to the center of the\ncity by omnibus, walked across London Bridge into the Borough, and\ncalled upon Mrs. Allgood, the sister of Elder Theodore Turley's wife.\nShe treated us with kindness, gave us refreshments, and then directed\nus to a public house, the King's Arms, King Street, Borough. There we\ntarried for the night.\n\n\"We were now in England's great metropolis, to sound therein {121} the\nfirst proclamation of the latter-day work. Heber C. Kimball, George A.\nSmith, and myself were the first three elders in London to preach the\ngospel and establish the Church of Latter-day Saints. We took a walk\ninto the city, passed London Bridge twice, and returned and spent the\nnight at King's Arms. On the following day we called upon the Rev. J.\nE. Smith, Lincoln's Inn Fields, also visited John Pye, 16 Curiosity\nStreet, Chancery Lane. He was a strong believer in the prophecies of\nJoanna Southcott, and was one of the society. We then returned and\nhad a view of St. Paul's Cathedral, the largest in the world except\nSt. Peter's at Rome. We crossed London Bridge, took tea at 19 King\nStreet, then went to Union Chapel, Waterloo Road, and heard a comical\nsermon delivered by an Aitkenite preacher. I spent the night at 58 King\nStreet, at Mrs. Loftus.'\n\n\"The next day, August 21st, was the most interesting sight-seeing\nday in my life. I started in company with Elders Heber C. Kimball\nand George A. Smith for a walk over the city of London. We crossed\nLondon Bridge, passed through King William Street and several other\nstreets, and visited Covent Garden; then through St. Martin Street and\nCourt, Leicester Square, Sidney Alley, Coventry Street, Picadilly,\nGlass House Street, and through most of Regent Street--one of the most\nsplendid streets in the world. We passed through Langham Place and All\nSouls' Church--which has a spire naked from its base to the top--then\nthrough Oxford Street, and returned by way of St. Paul's, ending our\nsight-seeing of the day by visiting the noted monument erected in\ncommemoration of the great fire in London in 1666, and built under the\ndirection of that famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren. We entered a\ndoor at its base, paid sixpence on entering, and ascended three hundred\nand forty-five black marble steps, which brought us up two hundred\nfeet into the air, and about one hundred feet higher than the highest\nhouses. We stepped on the outside of the pillar, which is surrounded\nby an iron railing, and there was presented to our view on every hand\nthe wonderful scenery of the greatest city in the world, a city that\nboasted of a history covering nearly two thousand years. At our feet,\nas it were, lay a historical panorama, stretching out to our view in\nall directions.\n\n{122} \"We were located so as to overlook nearly every part of the city.\nEast of us lay the ancient Tower of London; east of us also lay the\nMint; north the Mansion House of the Lord Mayor of London; northwest,\nSt. Paul's Church; west, Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament;\nsouth lies the river Thames, with five of the large bridges across\nin full view, and one not seen from the monument, making six. These\nsix bridges are fine sights in themselves. They are the architectural\nmonuments of the Thames, and our view of them from our high pinnacle,\nwith their crowds of moving and everchanging human masses, and cabs,\nomnibuses, carriages, drays, etc., which dash along, presented to us a\npicturesque sight. In addition to all this, within our view was London\nBorough, on the south of the river, and all around us hundreds of\nchurches, chapels and spires, standing in the midst of one universal\nmass of buildings, covering six square miles of ground. While viewing\nthis prospect on a clear day, we conversed with a Prussian traveler,\na citizen of Berlin, who had traveled much over Europe and Asia and\nother parts of the world, and he declared that there was not, to his\nknowledge, another spot on the face of the earth that presented to view\nsuch a grand scene as that before us.\n\n\"August 23rd we went to Zion's chapel and heard the celebrated Rev.\nRobert Aitken preach two sermons. He delivered a powerful warning\nto the Gentiles, and presented some of the most sublime truths I\never heard from a sectarian priest; but he was building without\nthe foundation. On the 24th we removed our lodgings to Mr. Robert\nMerryfield's, No. 15 Gloucester Row, Grange Road, where we obtained a\nroom for all three of us.\n\n\"On the 25th of August we attended a meeting of the Temperance Society,\nat their hall, which we secured for the 7th of the next month. Brother\nSmith made a short speech. On the following day we started out in quest\nof places in which we might preach. Brother Kimball went to one part\nof the city and Brother Smith and myself to another. We called upon\ntwo Baptist ministers and asked one for his chapel. In the evening we\nattended a Methodist meeting in Long Lane.\n\n\"Next day we again went to the Temperance Hall, in St. George's Road,\nnear the Elephant and Castle, and by the request {123} of the committee\nI addressed the meeting upon the subject of temperance. I was followed\nby George A. Smith. We gave out an appointment to preach the gospel at\nthat place September 7th.\n\n\"The day after, we all started to go through the city of London to see\nif we could find a man with the spirit of God; and after wandering\nthrough the city, not knowing whither we went, we came upon a man whom\nwe stopped, and to whom we spoke. Brother Kimball asked him if he was a\npreacher. He said he was. He seemed to have a good spirit, and informed\nus that he had been in America, and had come to London for the purpose\nof going to South Australia, but had just buried one child and another\nlay at the point of death. Brother Kimball told him his child should\nlive. He gave us some information where we could preach. On the same\nday we called upon him and found his child better, but he was not at\nhome. We then went and heard a Calvinist preach, and he gave us an\ninvitation to call and see him. Next day we again went over the city to\nsee if we could find any of the children of God. We found one man and\nhis household who received our testimony, and he opened his doors for\nus to preach. We appointed a meeting at his house for Sunday evening.\nHis name was Corner, and he lived at 52 Ironmonger Row, St. Luke's\nParish, near the church.\n\n\"We had spent twelve days in going to and fro through London, trying to\nfind a people willing to receive our testimony; but finding the doors\nshut against us, we determined to go into the streets and lift up our\nvoices in the name of God. Accordingly, Elders Kimball, Smith, and\nmyself started on Sunday morning, August 30, walked three miles, and\nstopped in Tabernacle Square, Old Street, where we found an Aitkenite\npreaching to the people. He was followed by a Presbyterian. Just as\nthe latter was about to begin, Elder Kimball informed him that there\nwas a preacher from America present who would like to speak when he\ngot through. The preacher then informed the people that there was an\nAmerican minister present, and proposed that he should speak first.\nElder George A. Smith got into the chair and spoke about twenty\nminutes; then the Presbyterian spoke. George A. had informed the people\nthat there were two other American preachers present who would like to\naddress them, and, when the Presbyterian closed, {124} Elder Kimball\nasked him if there would be any objection to our preaching there at\n3 o'clock. He answered, 'No, not at all. To what denomination do you\nbelong?' 'To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,' was the\nreply. 'Oh, I have heard of them,' he said; 'they are a bad people;\nthey have done much hurt; they divide churches; we don't want to hear\nyou.' He then mounted the chair again and said to the people: 'I have\njust heard that the last man who spoke belongs to the Latter-day\nSaints,' and he began to rail against us. Elder Kimball asked him to\nlet him step into the chair to give out an appointment for a 3 o'clock\nmeeting, but he would not. Brother Kimball then raised his voice and\ninformed the people that some American preachers would speak there at 3\no'clock.\n\n\"At the appointed time we were at the place. The conduct of the\npreacher and the excitement upon the subject brought a large\ncongregation to hear us. I opened the meeting by singing and prayer,\nand spoke about twenty minutes, from Gal. i:8 and 9, and was followed\nby Elder Kimball, for about the same length of time. The people gave\ngood attention and seemed to be much interested in what they heard.\n\n\"After meeting, Mr. Corner invited us home; but soon after we arrived\nat his house Elder Kimball felt impressed to return to the place where\nwe had preached. When he got there he found a large company talking\nabout the things which they had heard, and they wished him to speak\nto them again. He did so, and addressed them at considerable length,\nand afterwards several invited him home to their houses. While he was\naway, a man who had been a preacher came to Mr. Corner's; I gave him a\nbrief account of the great work of God in the last days, and he and the\nothers who were listening received the things which I spoke unto them.\nMr. Corner offered himself for baptism; he was the first man in London\nto do so. We appointed the next evening as the time to administer the\nordinance of baptism to him. After supping with him, we returned home.\nI was weary and ill during the night, but felt thankful unto the Lord\nfor the privilege of preaching to the inhabitants of that great city,\nand of having gained one soul as a seal to our ministry.\n\n\"On the 31st of August we reaped the first fruits of our {125} labors,\nand laid the first living stone of the Church of Jesus Christ in\nEngland's great metropolis. We walked into the city and called upon Mr.\nCorner, who went forward with us to the public baths, and received the\ninitiatory ordinance of the gospel. Returning to the house of Brother\nCorner, Elders Kimball, Smith, and myself laid our hands upon his head\nand confirmed him a member of the Church. We returned to our homes that\nnight, thankful to God for His goodness in blessing our labors even\nthus much.\n\n\"On the 2nd of September I was quite ill. I had not been well for\nseveral days, but now I was obliged to keep in my room. Elders Kimball\nand Smith went into the city to visit the people, and found some who\nhearkened favorably to them. By this time we had learned that London\nwas the hardest place for a mission that we had ever undertaken; but we\ndid not feel discouraged in the least, and were determined in the name\nof the Lord to set up the standard of Christ's Kingdom in that city.\nThe following day I was still confined to my room most of the time, but\non the next, Elders Kimball and Smith went to Debtford, and I took a\nwalk into the city, called upon Brother Corner, and found him in good\nspirits. I also called upon Mr. Panther, 17 Warf, City Road, Basin, who\nwas a director of a Methodist chapel; I asked him for the chapel to\npreach in. He said he had a schoolhouse which would hold two hundred\npersons, and I might have that on Sunday, so I gave out an appointment\nat Bowl Court, 137 Shoreditch. I conversed with several others who\nreceived my testimony, and one woman said she would be baptized.\n\n\"Next day I wrote to Elder Browett of my Herefordshire field of labor,\nwalked to Brother Corner's and visited several other friends. Two\noffered themselves for baptism. I visited St. Paul's, then returned\nhome. Elders Kimball and Smith had just returned from a visit to\nthe Rev. Robert Aitken. He received them kindly, acknowledged their\ndoctrine to be true, but was afraid of deception. His mind was in a\ndisturbed condition. In the evening we held a meeting in the Temperance\nHall; but we had almost the bare walls to preach to, there being only\nabout thirty present. I preached to those for about an hour, and Elder\nKimball followed me. After paying seven shillings and sixpence for the\nuse of the hall, we returned to our lodgings.\n\n{126} \"On September 9th I paid my bills, called upon friends in company\nwith Brothers Kimball and Smith, and on the day following I parted from\nthe brethren and friends in London to return to Herefordshire. We had\nspent twenty-three days in the great Babylon of modern times, and had\nfound it harder to establish the Church there than in any other place\nwe had ever been. We had baptized one man, and ordained him a priest;\nsix others had given in their names to be baptized on the following\nSunday; and at this time there was some little prospect of the Rev.\nRobert Aitken receiving the work. I therefore left London, feeling that\nour mission and labors had not been altogether in vain.\n\n\"I was rejoiced on my return to the churches to find that in\nHerefordshire the work was rapidly progressing. In some cases it was\neven reaching the nobility, and a lady of title had become convinced,\nthrough our ministry, of the work of God. Lady Roberts was of the\nnobility of England, and a lady of wealth; she had withdrawn form the\nChurch of England and had traveled much in search of truth, looking\nfor the fulfillment of the prophets. She became acquainted with the\nfulness of the gospel through a female servant in the employ of\nSquire Dowdswell, and began to investigate the subject. The spirit\nof God rested upon her and convinced her of the truth of the work.\nShe obtained the four published numbers of the Millennial Star, and,\nfearing that she would not be able to obtain them for herself, copied\nthe whole of them with her pen. She also read the Book of Mormon and\ncopied a part of that, and became perfectly convinced of the truth of\nthe work of which she read; she said she would go a thousand miles if\nnecessary to see some of the Twelve and be baptized under their hands.\nHearing that I was in London, she was about to take a journey there to\nsee me and the other brethren, and be baptized. She had two brothers\nwho were ministers of the Church of England.\n\n\"On the 21st of September, 1840, we held the Frome's Hill conference,\nat which were represented 24 churches with 754 members, 14 elders,\n51 priests, 9 teachers, and 1 deacon. The Bran Green and Frome's\nHill conferences were now composed of 40 churches, 1007 members, 19\nelders, 78 priests, 15 teachers, and 1 deacon. These two conferences,\nwith their forty branch churches {127} and over a thousand organized\nmembers, under the direction of one hundred and thirteen ordained\nofficers, had been raised up within six and one-half months. Surely the\nwork of God had been marvelous--unparalleled perhaps in the history of\nany new religious movement.\n\n\"I meditated upon these things, and in my journal of September 21st,\n1840, I wrote thus: 'This has been a busy day with me. After standing\nupon my feet from morning till evening. I am called to shake hands with\nhundreds of Saints who have glad hearts and cheerful countenances. It\nis with no ordinary feelings that I mediate upon the cheering fact\nthat a thousand souls have been baptized into the new and everlasting\ncovenant in about half a year, in one field which God has enabled me to\nopen. I pray Him to accept the gratitude of my heart for His mercies\nand blessings unto me in this thing, and to enable me to stand with\nthese Saints and all the righteous in His celestial kingdom.' This\nday I stood upon my feet eight hours in conference, conversed much\nof the time in suggesting, speaking, etc.; ordained about thirty,\nconfirmed some, healed many who were sick, shook hands with about four\nhundred Saints, walked two miles, and ended with about four hours\nchimney-corner preaching. I then lay down to rest, and dreamed of\ncatching fish.\n\n\"The church ministers in this region were stirred up very much at\nthis time, because of the success of the work of God in the midst of\nthe people, and every exertion was made by them to stay its progress.\nThey were finding that the Lord was delivering their flocks out of\ntheir hands and giving them unto the shepherds of the Church of the\nSaints. They were alarmed, and were holding conventions and meetings to\ncontrive plans and adopt means to overthrow the latter-day work of God,\nwhich they understood not, and believed not, yet feared its power. And\nwell indeed they might; for in some instances they did not have more\nthan ten or fifteen at their churches on the Sabbath, while around them\non every hand they had seen forty branches of two organized conferences\nof the Church of Latter-day Saints spring up in about six months,\nwith over a thousand members and between one and two hundred offices\nordained to scatter the seed of the gospel everywhere in this prolific\nfield.\n\n{128} \"On the 25th of September I again took leave of the Saints in my\nHerefordshire field of labor, to attend the Staffordshire conference\nwhich was held at Hanley. The day after the conference I baptized\none, and preached at Tunstell; and on the next evening I preached at\nBurslem to a crowded house. The power of God rested upon me, and great\nsolemnity pervaded the congregation. The spirit of God was moving the\npeople, and they felt that the Lord was doing a work in their midst.\"\n\n{129}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 13.\n\nBRITISH MISSION, 1840-41.\n\nRapid Increase of the Church in Great Britain.--Mysterious Spirit\nPersonage Attempts to Strangle Wilford Woodruff, and Wounds Him\nSeverely.--He Is Relieved and Healed by Three Heavenly Visitors.--First\nPlacard of the Church Posted in London.--Death of Wilford's\nDaughter.--Difficult Missionary Work in and around London.--Arrival\nof Lorenzo Snow To Take Charge of the British Mission.--All of the\nTwelve Called Home.--Attending Various Conferences.--Springing of\nthe Spaulding Story.--Wilford Bids Farewell to the Saints in Fields\nWhere He Had Labored.--General Conference of the British Mission, and\nOnly Occasion of the Twelve Apostles Acting as a Quorum in a Foreign\nLand.--Wilford's Departure for Home, and Arrival at Nauvoo.--Made a\nMember of the Nauvoo City Council.\n\nA general conference of the British Mission was held at Manchester,\nEngland, on the 6th of October, 1840, at which there were present\nsix of the Twelve Apostles--Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Willard\nRichards, Orson Pratt, George A. Smith, and Wilford Woodruff. The\npresiding officers in the mission represented twenty-seven conferences,\nbesides other churches or branches not yet included in organized\nconferences. The Church membership in Great Britain was given as 3,621,\nbeing an increase of 1,113 members since the conference held the April\nprevious. On the evening of October 7th, the first discussion of any\nnote of Mormonism, held in Great Britain, took place at Manchester,\nbetween Elder Alfred Cordon and a minister of one of the denominations\nwhom Elder Woodruff does not name. It was attended by the members of\nthe Twelve then in England. The subject under discussion was the Book\nof Mormon; and although the view of the Latter-day Saints was upheld\ntherein by an elder of less prominence than one of the Apostles, the\nresult evidently was very satisfactory to the Saints, and their cause\nreceived further favorable impression in the minds of a great majority\nof the fifteen hundred persons present on the occasion.\n\n\"I left Manchester on the 14th of October,\" writes Wilford {130}\nWoodruff, \"to return to my labors in London; and on my way, with Elder\nAlfred Cordon, I visited the Staffordshire Potteries and Birmingham.\nOn the 17th I arrived in London, where I found Elder George A. Smith,\nand we were glad to meet each other again. We hired lodgings, board,\nand sitting-room at No. 40 Ironmonger Row, St. Luke's. Everything\nwas costly, and we found that with the greatest economy we could not\ndo with much less than a pound per week each. What few Saints there\nwere in London were very poor, and unable to assist us. Most of the\nmeans used in my labors in London was supplied by my converts in\nHerefordshire.\n\n\"The prospect in London at that time was the darkest it had ever been\nin since entering the vineyard; but the Lord was with us, and we were\nnot discouraged. On Sunday we met with the Saints three times at\nBrother Corner's, read the Book of Mormon, gave instruction, and broke\nbread unto them. We had a good time, though there were only about half\na dozen present. I felt the spirit bear testimony that there would be a\nwork done in London.\n\n\"Having retired to rest in good season, I fell asleep and slept until\nmidnight, when I awoke and meditated upon the things of God until 3\no'clock in the morning; and, while forming a determination to warn\nthe people in London and by the assistance and inspiration of God\nto overcome the power of darkness, a person appeared to me, whom I\nconsider was the prince of darkness. He made war upon me, and attempted\nto take my life. As he was about to overcome me I prayed to the Father,\nin the name of Jesus Christ, for help. I then had power over him and he\nleft me, though I was much wounded. Afterwards three persons dressed in\nwhite came to me and prayed with me, and I was healed immediately of\nall my wounds, and delivered of all my troubles.\n\n\"During the following week we visited the British Museum and other\nnotable places, also attended a Wesleyan mission meeting over which\nthe Lord Mayor of London presided. While in the performance of our\nmissionary labors we circulated and posted handbills. The following is\na copy of the first placard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day\nSaints posted in England's great metropolis: '\"He that judgeth a matter\nbefore he {131} heareth it is not wise.\" The Latter-day Saints meet\nfor public worship at Mr. J. Barrett's Academy, 57 King's Square,\nGoswell Road (entrance door in President Street) every Sabbath at 3,\nand half-past 6 o'clock p. m.; also on Tuesday and Thursday evenings\neach week, at 8 o'clock. Lectures will be delivered by Elders Woodruff\nand Smith (late from America), who respectfully invite the citizens\nof London to attend. The first principles of the Everlasting Gospel\nin its fulness; the gathering of Israel; the second coming of the\nSavior; and \"the restitution of all things\" spoken of by all the holy\nprophets, will be among the subjects discussed. The Latter-day Saints'\nMillennial Star, published monthly, and other publications, can be had\nat 52 Ironmonger Row, St. Luke's. (City Press, Long Lane, Doudney &\nScryngour.)'\n\n\"The following Sunday, at 3 o'clock, we preached for the first time\nin Barrett's Academy. There were present about fifty persons to whom\nI preached, and to whom Elder Smith preached in the evening; but it\nwas the most difficult task I had ever found to awaken in the people\nan interest on the subject. There was so much going on in this great\nmodern Babylon to draw the attention of the people, that it seemed to\nrequire almost the trumpet blast from heaven to awaken the attention of\nthe inhabitants to our proclamation of the restoration of the fulness\nof the gospel. We were there like the apostles of old, without purse or\nscrip, to warn the city of London, where we had to pay high prices for\neverything we required, and to pay for a place to preach in; we were at\nthis time about out of money, but still we felt to trust in God. Next\nday after this meeting, I received a package of letters from America,\none from my wife announcing the death of my little daughter Sarah Emma.\n\n\"November 1st I preached at the Academy in the afternoon to about\nthirty, and in the evening to about fifty. We broke bread unto the\nSaints, and this evening there seemed to be some interest manifested\nby inquiry about the work. We preached again on the following Sunday.\nDuring the week we received counsel from our brethren of the Twelve for\nGeorge A. Smith to go immediately to the Potteries, and spend his time\nwith the churches there. After his departure I felt very lonely for\nseveral days, but Elder William Pitt came from Dymock {132} and labored\nwith me a short time, after which he took a mission to Ipswich.\n\n\"Brother Hulme, a captain of one of the 'Pickford's Boats' on the\nLondon Canal, was present at my next preaching after the departure of\nElder Pitt, and with him were two of his hands whom he had baptized. On\nthe following day I dined with him and with the two brethren on board\ntheir boat.\n\n\"On the afternoon and evening of Sunday, the 22nd of October, I held\na public meeting at the Academy, when four offered themselves for\nbaptism; and on the following Sunday I again preached twice, and\nbaptized three more applicants. These were the first fruits of my\nlabors in London. Next day I took a very interesting walk with Dr. Wm.\nCopeland, through every part of the College of Surgeons at Lincoln's\nInn Fields, and on my return home was joined by Elders Brigham Young\nand Heber C. Kimball, who had come to spend a week or two in London.\nThis was the first time President Brigham Young was in the metropolis\nof England. We met for service on Wednesday evening, at the Academy,\nwhen Brother Brigham preached, followed by Brother Heber. We had a good\ntime.\n\n\"In company with Presidents Young and Kimball, on the 3rd of December,\nI visited the Tower of London, without seeing which, the traveler would\nlose a capital page in the history of his travels in Europe. During the\nweek we also visited St. Paul's, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey,\nthe Queen's stables, and many other noted sights of London.\n\n\"Sunday we held a public meeting at the Academy, at which there were\nabout fifty present. Brother Kimball preached. An Independent minister\ninvited me home to take tea with him. I accepted his invitation, had\nan interesting time, and preached the gospel to him. He received my\ntestimony and offered me his chapel, which held eight hundred people.\nHe said he thought he would be baptized, and would try and get his\nsociety to do the same. We met again in the evening, and had more at\nour meeting than ever before. Brother Brigham Young preached, and was\nfollowed by Brothers Kimball, Williams, Corner, Hulme, and myself.\nWe had a very interesting time, and one person offered himself for\nbaptism. There were present some of the Aitkenites, one of whom\npurchased a hymn book. They wished {133} us to call upon them, and\nthought they would be baptized. We then met at Father Corner's, and\ncommuned with the Saints and had a good time. I rejoiced at the\nprospect which was opening before us, for we had labored a long time\nand the work had gone slow; but now a wide opening was being made to\nroll on the work of the Lord in the metropolis of England.\n\n\"Having spent about ten days in London, President Young left for\nCheltenham. On the same day I visited Mr. James Albion, a minister of\nthe Independent order, who, with his household, believed our doctrine,\nand on the Sunday we found more than ever an interest being awakened\nin London; our prayer meeting the next evening was attended by the\nReverend James Albion, who received our testimony. We walked home with\nhim, and found his household growing in the faith and ready for the\nwork of the Lord.\n\n\"Two days after, in the evening, we baptized four persons--Mr. and Mrs.\nMorgan, with whom we lodged, Christopher Smith, their apprentice, and\nHenry Corner, Jun. Dr. Copeland spent the afternoon of the following\nday with us; he received our testimony, and in the evening we preached\nat our meeting place.\n\n\"I visited Rev. James Albion several times, and gave him an account\nof the rise and progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day\nSaints. He believed in our mission and offered me his chapel, which\nwould seat about a thousand persons. On Sunday morning we accompanied\nour reverend friend and convert to his chapel, and were introduced\nto the committee, one of whom was a preacher who had traveled much\nin Russia and other parts of the world. At the close of the meeting\nthe Rev. James Albion gave out an appointment for us to preach on\nthe next Sabbath evening. In the afternoon we met with the Saints,\nhad a full house, and confirmed four new members; in the evening we\npreached again, and a good feeling prevailed. After meeting, the Rev.\nJames Albion called upon us at our room and told us that he had given\nout our appointment to preach in his chapel; he also had informed his\ncongregation that he was a Latter-day Saint, and would be baptized and\njoin our Church, and that they need not longer consider him a member of\ntheir body unless they joined the Saints with him. He told us this made\na division among the {134} committee; some were for going with him, and\nsome were against following their pastor into the true fold, which he\nhad found.\n\n\"On the following Sunday evening we preached, by the appointment of its\nminister, in the Independent chapel, to the largest congregation we had\never before addressed in London. There were present priests and people\nof many denominations. I addressed them for the space of about one\nhour. A Wesleyan minister arose and opposed me; this had a good effect,\nfor the congregation, seeing the spirit he was of, turned against\nhim, and the committee refused him permission to speak there again. I\nwas much bound by the opposing spirit; still the conduct of the enemy\ngave us friends. The next evening we attended what was said to be the\nlargest temperance meeting ever held in London; and the next two days\nbrought us to the close of the year.\n\n\"I give here a synopsis of my travels and labors in 1840: places\nvisited or labored in--Liverpool, Preston, Manchester, Newcastle,\nTunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Longton, Stafford, Wolverhampton,\nBirmingham, Worcester, Hereford, Ledbury, Malvern Hill, Gloucester,\nCheltenham, Oxford, London. I traveled 4,469 miles, held 230 meetings,\nestablished 53 places for preaching, and planted 47 churches and\njointly organized them. These churches chiefly comprised the two\nconferences raised up in Herefordshire, consisting of about 1,500\nSaints, 28 elders, 110 priests, 24 teachers, and 10 deacons. The\nbaptisms of the year were 336 persons under my own hands, and I\nassisted at the baptism of 86 others. I baptized 57 preachers, mostly\nthose connected with the United Brethren, also two clerks of the Church\nof England. I confirmed 420 members, and assisted in confirming 50\nothers; ordained 18 elders, 97 priests, 34 teachers, and one deacon;\nblessed 120 children, and administered to 120 sick, by prayer,\nanointing and the laying on of hands, and in many instances the sick\nwere healed, and devils cast out. I assisted in procuring \u00a31,000 for\nthe publication of 3,000 copies of the Hymn Book, 5,000 copies of the\nBook of Mormon, for the printing of the Millennial Star, and to assist\n200 Saints to emigrate to Nauvoo. I wrote 200 letters, and received 112.\n\n\"The new year, 1841,\" continues Wilford Woodruff, \"found Elder Kimball\nand myself in the metropolis of England, in the enjoyment {135} of good\nhealth. We celebrated New Year's day by baptizing two persons into the\nfold of Christ. The Church in London now numbered 21 members. The next\nSunday we held a meeting in the Academy, confirmed two, and partook\nof the Sacrament. During the week I baptized the daughter of the Rev.\nJames Albion; the day after this, Elder Kimball started for Woolwich\nto break new ground. On Sunday he preached there for the first time,\nwhen four persons offered themselves for baptism. Next day they came to\nLondon, and we immediately repaired to our private bath in Tabernacle\nSquare, where Elder Kimball baptized five persons, one of whom was\nDr. Wm. Copeland. This was indeed an interesting occasion, and we\nfelt thankful to God to see the cloud beginning to break; for we had\nstruggled hard to do the little which had been done.\n\n\"On the 15th of the month we baptized three more of Brother Morgan's\nhousehold, and on the following Sunday I preached to a full house and\nto many new hearers. Several offered themselves for baptism; during the\nweek there had been seven souls added to the Church.\n\n\"Next day Elder Kimball received a letter from President Young, who\nwished us to be ready early in April to set sail for home. Several days\nlater, I baptized the Rev. James Albion and Mr. Hender, and before the\nclose of January I baptized three others into the Church. I visited\nGreenwich and Woodwich, where Elder Kimball had raised up a small\nbranch of the Church, then I returned to London with Elder Kimball. On\nSunday we communed with the Saints, and in the evening we both preached\nto a large congregation.\n\n\"On the 8th of February, having a package of twenty Books of Mormon and\ntwo dozen Hymn Books, Heber C. Kimball and I went to Stationer's Hall\nand secured the copyright of the Book of Mormon in the name of Joseph\nSmith, Jun. We left five copies of the book, and paid three shillings\nfor the copyright. In the evening we baptized four persons, one of whom\nwas the wife of the Rev. James Albion, who already had received the\ngospel.\n\n\"Elder Brigham Young, per letter, informed us of the large emigration\nof that season. There were to go on one ship 235, and on another\n100. To the reader acquainted with the immense emigration {136} of\nthe Saints in later years, the fact that we considered three or four\nhundred as a large emigration will be noteworthy.\n\n\"Elder Lorenzo Snow arrived in London on February 11, to take charge\nof the Church after our departure. I was truly glad once more to greet\nhim, for I had not seen him since 1837. On the same day Elder William\nPitt also arrived at our lodgings, and we had an interesting meeting\nin the evening. Brother Snow preached, and Elder Kimball and myself\nfollowed him; the next day Brothers Heber and Lorenzo went to Woolwich\nto give impetus to the work of God in that important town.\n\n\"I give here the minutes of the first London conference, held at the\nAcademy, 57 King's Square, Goswell Road, February 14, 1841: 'There\nwere present of officers of the Church, Elders H. C. Kimball, Wilford\nWoodruff, Lorenzo Snow, and Wm. Pitt, besides four priests. The meeting\nwas called to order by Elder H. C. Kimball, at 2 o'clock p. m., Sunday,\nthe 14th of February, 1841, when it was moved by Elder Kimball and\nseconded by Elder Pitt that Wilford Woodruff be the president of the\nconference. Moved by Elder Kimball and seconded by Elder Woodruff,\nthat Dr. Wm. Copeland be the clerk. Carried unanimously. The meeting\nwas then opened by singing, and prayer by Elder Kimball. The president\nthen called for the representation of the branches of the London\nconference. The church at Bedford was represented by Priest Robert\nWilliams, containing 42 members and one priest; seven removed, and two\ndead. The church at Ipswich, represented by Elder Wm. Pitt, consisted\nof 12 members, one elder, one priest, and one teacher. The church at\nWoolwich, represented by Priest John Griffith, consisted of six members\nand one priest. The church at London, represented by H. C. Kimball,\nconsisted of 46 members, one elder and two priests; excellent prospect\nof continued increase. Moved and seconded by Elders Kimball and\nWoodruff, that James Albion be ordained an Elder; moved and seconded\nby Elders Kimball and Snow, that Thomas Barnes be ordained a teacher;\nmoved and seconded by Elders Kimball {137} and Pitt, that Robert\nWilliams be ordained an elder to oversee the church at Bedford; moved\nand seconded by Elders Robert Williams and Wm. Pitt that Wm. Smith, at\nBedford, be ordained a priest; moved and seconded by Elders Kimball\nand Pitt that Richard Bates be ordained a priest in the Woolwich\nbranch; moved and seconded by Elders Robert Williams and Pitt that John\nSheffield be ordained a teacher at Bedford; moved and seconded by Elder\nKimball and Brother Griffith that Brother A. Painter be ordained a\nteacher at Woolwich. These motions were carried unanimously, and those\npresent were ordained under the hands of Elders Kimball, Woodruff, and\nSnow. Afterward, Elder Kimball moved, and Elder Woodruff seconded,\nthat Elder Lorenzo Snow be appointed president of this conference, and\nto take the superintendency of the Church in London. Much valuable\ninstruction was given by Elders Kimball and Woodruff in relation to the\nduties of official members, after which it was moved by Elder Kimball\nand seconded by Elder Snow that this conference be adjourned till\nSunday, the 16th day of May, 1841; after which the conference closed.\nWilford Woodruff, president; Dr. Wm. Copeland, clerk.'\n\n\"During this conference meeting, we also broke bread with the Saints,\nand confirmed four new members. At half past six in the evening we\nmet again, and had the largest congregation which had assembled at\nour preaching place. One person came forward for baptism. This was a\nday which we had desired long to see; for we had labored exceedingly\nhard to establish a church in London, and at times it seemed as though\nwe would have to give it up; but by holding on to the work of our\nDivine Master and claiming the promises of God we were now to leave an\nestablished London conference with a prosperous church planted in the\nmetropolis, under the care of our beloved brother, Lorenzo Snow.\n\n\"Brother Kimball, on the 15th, received a letter from his wife,\ninforming us that the Prophet Joseph had written for the Twelve to come\nhome immediately. At this time there was a prospect of war between\nAmerica and England, over the imprisonment of McCloud, a British\nofficer, by the state of New York, and also over the northeastern\nboundary question. In consequence of this prospect, the Prophet Joseph\nwrote for the Twelve to come home, after first thoroughly organizing\nthe British mission and calling out a number of native elders to send\nin every direction throughout Great Britain.\n\n\"I spent the 25th of February in visiting the Saints previous {138} to\nmy departure, and in the evening preached in London for the last time\nbefore my return to Nauvoo. Next day I parted from Lorenzo Snow and the\nLondon Saints, and took train for Bristol, to visit the branch which\nhad been raised up there by my convert, Elder Thomas Kington, who, it\nwill be remembered, was the superintendent of the Frome's Hill circuit\nof United Brethren. Leaving Bristol, I visited the churches which I\nhad raised up, holding conferences and bidding farewell to the Saints,\nhundreds of whom I myself had baptized.\n\n\"When I arrived at Monmouth I found that Elder James Morgan awaited\nmy coming, and had given out an appointment for me to preach in the\ntown at 7 o'clock, at the house of Robert Davis. There was a crowded\nmeeting, and many were unable to get into the house. Four offered\nthemselves for baptism. The spirit witnessed to me that there would\nbe many embrace the gospel in Monmouthshire, and I said, 'the harvest\nis great and the laborers few.' I arose in the morning, refreshed by\nsleep, and having taken breakfast with Mr. Matton, I walked ten miles\nthrough mud and water, in a driving March rainstorm, to Sister Mary\nMorgan's, at Little Garway, where I found a pleasant family of the\nSaints. We were drenched with rain, but found a good fire, spent the\nday comfortably, and in the evening I had an interesting interview with\nElder Littlewood; the next day I remained at Sister Morgan's, reading\nwith much interest the history of Rome, and in the evening I met the\nofficers of the Church there in council, and had a good time. Sunday\nmorning I preached at the house of Brother Thomas Rood, and in the\nevening at the Kitchen, upon the Book of Mormon, and had the place full.\n\n\"On March 8, 1841, I met with the Garway conference, at the Kitchen.\nElder Levi Richards was chosen president, and Elder James Morgan,\nclerk. There were present one of the quorum of the Twelve, one high\npriest, seven elders, eleven priests, two teachers, and one deacon.\nThe meeting opened with prayer by Elder Woodruff, after which the\nchurches were represented as follows: members 134, elders 4, priests 5,\nteachers 3, deacons 1. After the representation, it was moved that John\nNeedham be ordained an elder, William Morris, priest, and Thomas Rough,\nteacher. These were ordained under the hands of Elders Woodruff {139}\nand Richards. The meeting adjourned till 3 o'clock, and one person was\nbaptized. In the afternoon, Elder Levi Richards spoke and I followed\nhim. After meeting, the Saints contributed one pound sterling to help\nme, and I sold them three Books of Mormon and fifty addresses to the\ncitizens of London. I then walked five miles with Brother Richards, to\nBrother Holley's, and spent the night. This was the first time I had\nseen Brother Levi for about two years.\n\n\"Next day, in company of Elders Levi Richards and Thomas Pitt, I walked\nto the city of Hereford, where Elder Ray and others had been preaching.\nOn Sunday a preacher arose before two or three thousand people in the\nmarket house and informed the multitude that he had a fresh letter\ndirect from America, showing the origin of the Book of Mormon. So he\nread the old Spaulding story. When he got through, Elder Levi Richards\narose and informed the people that instead of its being a new story it\nhad been published for seven years throughout the United States and\nEngland. This caused a great uproar, for while some were for driving\nthe man out of the place for lying, others were crowding around Elders\nRichards and Ray to hear them preach. The crowd, however, was so\nexcited that the elders left the ground with hundreds following them.\nThere never was a time when the people were so much stirred up and\nso eager to hear the Latter-day Saints as at the present, and it was\nexpected that we should not get through the city without having crowds\naround us. We did, however, and had a view of Hereford cathedral as we\npassed along and reached Sister Bufton's.\n\n\"There was at this time a small branch of the Church at Hereford,\nnumbering seven members. We parted from Brother Pitt at Hereford, and\ncontinued to Lugwardine, where I met with the church there for the\nlast time, and preached from the 24th chapter of Isaiah. On the morrow\nI walked to Shucknell Hill and had an interesting meeting with the\nSaints and preached upon the gathering to Zion and Jerusalem. It was\nmy last meeting with them, and I bade them farewell. Next day I walked\nto Standley Hill and dined with Brother Ockey, whom I was truly glad\nto see once more. We went together through Standley Hill and called\nupon the Saints. Six months had passed since I had {140} parted from\nthe churches in this region, but now I was again in the field where the\nLord by His blessing and the power of the Holy Ghost had made my labors\nso abundantly fruitful. Next day I went to Greenway and preached,\nblessed a child, confirmed a member, and administered the ordinance of\nthe gospel to five sick persons; and on the morrow continued to Turkey\nHill. There, on the Sunday, I communed with the Saints and preached\nto a large congregation upon the gathering. I found the Saints in the\nregion around very desirous to gather to the body of the Church, but\nthey were poor and had not the means to emigrate to America.\n\n\"On the 15th day of March, 1841, the Bran Green and Gadfield Elm\nconference again assembled, this time at Gadfield Elm chapel, when the\nmeeting was called to order by Elder Woodruff. There were present,\none of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one high priest, ten\nelders, twenty-one priests, six teachers, and one deacon, besides the\ncongregation of the Saints; there were represented, 19 churches, 367\nmembers, 8 elders, 33 priests, 11 teachers, 1 deacon; removed, 41;\ndied, 1; expelled, 2. Wilford Woodruff was president, and John Hill,\nclerk of the conference.\n\n\"We had a very interesting time at the conference. There was a large\nassembly of the Saints. It was the last time that I could attend in\nthat part of my old and beloved field of labor during my present\nmission in England; and whether or not I should ever again meet there\nin a conference assembly of Saints was one of the secrets of my future\nlife for time to reveal. We had held our meeting without disturbance\nfrom some mobocrats who were present, for these were kept quiet by\npolice in attendance, in disguise.\n\n\"No sooner had the meeting closed than multitudes of the Saints crowded\naround me, and hands were presented on every side, to bid me farewell.\nMany called for me to bless them before I departed; others cried out,\n'Lay hands upon me and heal me before you go.' One came with, 'Brother\nWoodruff. I am turned out of doors for my religion; what shall I do?'\nAnother with, 'I am ready to go to Zion, but my wife won't go with me;\nshall I leave her, to gather with the Saints?' A wife in turn says, 'My\nhusband beat me and turned me out of doors because I was baptized. I\nhave money enough to carry me and the children to Zion; will you {141}\nlet me go without him?' 'Brother Woodruff, my mother is over eighty\nyears of age and has willed me sixty pounds at her death, but will not\nemigrate with me; must I stay for her to die, or leave her now to go\nwith the Saints?' One said, 'I have sold my little place and shall have\nthirty pounds tomorrow, but must go out into the street. I have not\nenough to carry my family to America; can you help me to a few pounds,\nor tell me what to do?' An elder cried out, 'How much longer must I\npreach in England before you will let me go to America?' From others\nof the Saints came such as this: 'Brother Woodruff, will you come and\npreach in Cheltenham?' 'My head is in great pain, will you heal me?'\n'I want you to consecrate this bottle of oil before you go.' 'Will\nyou write to me?' 'I have been waiting a long time to get a chance to\nspeak to you; good-bye, remember me to Mrs. Woodruff, good-bye; God\nbless you!' Thus for more than an hour after the close of the meeting\nI was hailed with the affectionate outbursts and adieus, and a host of\nperplexities, of these Saints, who crowded around me as children around\ntheir father.\n\n\"Many of the Saints parted from me in tears, and many followed me to\nTurkey Hill, where I spent the night and they filled the house until\na late hour, begging counsel and instruction of me. One of these was\na Baptist minister who had just been baptized into the Church. On the\nmorrow, in company with Elder Needham, I walked to Keysend Street,\nwhere I preached to a crowded congregation of Saints, and thence\ncontinued to Colwall. There I met with a large congregation of Saints,\nand preached to them upon the gathering.\n\n\"Next day, with Elder Levi Richards, I walked over to Malvern Hill\nand called upon Elder Samuel Jones; thence through Great Malvern to\nCrowcat; I held a meeting at Brother George Brooks's, and had an\ninteresting time with a large number of Saints whom I had baptized\nabout a year before. I went to Dunsclose the day after, visiting many\nof the Saints by the way, laying hands upon the sick, and blessing and\ncounseling others of the flock. All were happy to see me; for I had\nbaptized most of them when I first opened that field of labor. Next day\nwe traveled to Frome's Hill, and visited the Saints by the way.\n\n\"At Frome's Hill I met with the Saints on Sunday morning, {142} and\nhad a crowded house; in the afternoon we held a meeting at Standley\nHill, where I communed with the Church. At the close of the meeting I\nhad a busy time shaking hands with the Saints, and parting from them.\nMany of them wished me to bless them, and others to heal them. I spent\nthe night with Brother Levi Richards, at Elder Edward Ockey's, and on\nthe morrow we held the Frome's Hill conference at Standley Hill. There\nwere present one of the traveling high council, two high priests,\ntwenty elders, thirty priests, nine teachers, and two deacons. After\ncalling the meeting to order, I moved that Elder Levi Richards preside\nover the conference, and he was sustained by the meeting. I was chosen\nclerk. After singing and prayer, the president called upon the officers\nfor the representation of the various branches, which was given as\nfollows: branches, 33; members, 957; elders, 24; priests, 68; teachers,\n27; deacons, 8. Robert Gunnery, Edward Phillips, and John Spires were\nordained to the office of elder under the hands of Elders Richards,\nKington, and myself; Thomas Bishop, to the office of priest; and Wm.\nRowley, to the office of deacon. In the afternoon, after speeches from\nElders Richards and Kington, I delievered my farewell address, and\npronounced the benediction on the conference.\n\n\"After the meeting was dismissed, I was almost three hours shaking\nhands with the Saints, healing the sick, and giving counsel to the\nmultitude which surrounded me, many of whom were in tears when we\nparted. Nearly fifty came to ask me to take them to Zion, when I had\nnot means to take myself. However, I gave Sister Foxal five pounds to\nhelp her and her husband and children to the land of America. She had\nmade every exertion for six months, to save money to gather with the\nSaints, and had raised thirty pounds. The five pounds I gave to her was\na donation from Elder Edward Ockey, who was parting with his substance\nto help the poor of the Church to gather.\n\n\"After bidding the multitude of Saints farewell, I went to Elder Ockey's\nto spend the night, accompanied by Elders Richards, Kington, and Ray.\nWe had been in the house but a short time when three of Edward Ockey's\nbrothers came in for the purpose of having a contest, because their\nbrother and sister had embraced the gospel and were about to gather\nwith the Saints. {143} They manifested much wrath against me, and,\nafter conversing with me about three hours, they left the house and\nwe were once more in peace. After conversing together until the third\nwatch of the night, we retired to rest, closing one of the busiest days\nof my life.\n\n\"I arose in the morning, refreshed by sleep, and after conversing\nseveral hours with Elders Richards, Kington, Ray, Ockey, and others,\nI was under the necessity of parting with the Saints in this region.\nIn bidding them farewell, we found in the memories of our associations\nmany ties which bound us together. Among the faithful ones were the\nOckeys. Brother Edward Ockey and his sister Ann were of a good and\nwealthy family. They had many trials to pass through to do the will of\nGod and to gather with the Saints, for their brothers were set against\nthem exceedingly. Brother Edward maintained his integrity like a man of\nGod and was making every preparation to gather with the Saints, but his\nsister Ann had fears that her brothers would hinder her gathering.\n\n\"Having bidden farewell to the Saints of Standley Hill, I walked to\nFrome's Hill and conversed with the Elders until two o'clock, when I\ntook the parting hand of Elders Richards, Kington, Ray, and others,\nand, with my carpet bag with about twenty pounds weight in it, walked\nfifteen miles to Worcester, in four hours. When I arrived there I was\nso very lame and weary with my heavy load and fast walking that I could\nscarcely walk at all. I then took rail and arrived in Birmingham at 10\no'clock at night, but was exceedingly lame and weary. I spent the night\nwith Elder James Riley, 24 Park Street.\n\n\"I had now fairly ended my Herefordshire mission, and bidden a last\nfarewell to that field of labor where the Lord had blessed me beyond\nall my expectations. I now left three conferences in the region which I\nopened one year before, on the 5th of the same month that I left this\nvineyard, now planted all over with churches, numbering fifteen hundred\nSaints. The minutes which I have recorded will show at a glance the\nrise and progress of the churches in Herefordshire, and the regions\naround.\n\n\"On Sunday, the 28th of March, the Staffordshire Conference met, and\nthere were present of the Twelve, George A. Smith and Wilford Woodruff,\nwith 1 high priest, 13 elders, 28 priests, 10 {144} teachers, and 8\ndeacons. The conference was held in the Magistrate's Assembly Room.\nAt the close of the conference it was voted that 'this conference\ngrant Elders Woodruff and George A. Smith a letter of recommendation\nmanifesting that the Church in this region accept of their labors and\nconsider that they have filled their mission with honor and dignity.'\n\n\"We had a very interesting time on this occasion. The conference was\nheld in a place which would contain 800, and it was crowded; but there\nwas perfect order and much good feeling manifested during the day.\nThere was prospect of a continued increase in the Potteries. George A.\nSmith was the president of the conference, and T. J. Fitcher and O.\nShaw, clerks. Next day George A. Smith and myself met the officers in\ncouncil at the Hanley meeting rooms, and gave such advice as we deemed\nwisdom; we then took our farewell. On the following day we also parted\nfrom the Saints at Burslem, took coach to Manchester, and called upon\nParley P. Pratt, 47 Oxford Street; we found him and his family enjoying\ngood health.\n\n\"On the 6th of April, 1841, the General Conference of the British\nMission was held in Carpenter's Hall, Manchester, at which there\nwere present nine of the quorum of the Twelve; namely, President\nBrigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt, Orson\nPratt, Willard Richards, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, and George A.\nSmith. The total membership of the British mission at that time was\nrepresented as 5,814, and 800 besides had emigrated to America under\nthe transportation arrangements of the Church. At this conference the\nTwelve blessed and set apart Orson Hyde for his mission to Jerusalem,\nto which he had been called by the Prophet Joseph. This was the first\nand only time in this dispensation that the Twelve Apostles sat in\nconference as a quorum in a foreign land.\n\n\"Immediately after the General Conference, those of the Twelve who were\nabout to return home hastened to Liverpool, and embarked for America on\nthe 20th of April, on board of the ship Rochester. Next day, the wind\nbeing favorable, the ship weighed anchor. There were on board Brigham\nYoung, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, George A. Smith,\nWilford Woodruff, Willard Richards, and John Taylor, of the Twelve,\n{145} with Elder Reuben Hedlock and 120 of the British Saints. On our\npassage across the Atlantic we had some very tempestuous weather and\nbecame familiar with 'a storm at sea.' On the 20th of May we landed\nin New York, and on the next day George A. Smith and myself took up\nour abode for a few days at Brother Foster's. While there I met my\nbrothers-in-law, Ezra and Ilus Carter, and also Dr. Charles Fabyan, my\nwife's relative.\n\n\"On the 22nd of May, at the house of Brother Foster, in New York, and\nin the presence of the quorum of the Twelve, I performed the service of\nmarriage between Mr. Edward Ockey and Miss Eliza Brewer, both of them\nmy converts of Castle Frome. This was the first marriage ceremony at\nwhich I officiated.\n\n\"On the 2nd of June I arrived at Scarboro by stage, and was permitted\nto embrace my wife, and also my first born son, Wilford, Jr., whom I\nhad not seen before. After two years of separation from my wife, it\nwas indeed a happy reunion. There I stayed with my father-in-law until\nthe 5th of July, and then left for my native place, Farmington, Conn.,\nwhere I arrived the third day after. While tarrying at my father's\nhouse I married my sister Eunice Woodruff to Mr. Dwight Webster. At my\nsister's marriage there were present between forty and fifty persons,\nmostly our relatives. This was on the 4th of August, 1841. A few days\nafterwards my aunt Beulah Hart was baptized into the Church, and on the\n18th of the month I bade farewell to my father's house, after a stay of\nforty-one days. This was a longer visit than I had paid to any of my\nfriends for the past ten years.\n\n\"On the 9th September, a little company, consisting of myself, wife,\nand son, and four others, started on board the boat Sandusky for\nAlbany. Our ultimate destination was Nauvoo, where we arrived on the\n5th of the next month. When I left Nauvoo, two years before, there were\nnot more than a dozen houses in the place, but on my return to the city\nthere were several hundred. We passed by the Temple, then building,\nand had a view of it; we then called at the house of Elder Brigham\nYoung, and there spent the night. Brother Brigham was sick, and Heber\nC. Kimball and Willard Richards were with him. We laid hands upon him\nand he soon recovered. I saw many of my old friends and acquaintances,\n{146} and was informed that others of them were dead. I met with many\nfriends on the day after my return to Nauvoo, and also sat in council\nwith the Twelve, and was happy once more to meet with my quorum. I\nmoved my things to Elder Kimball's. My wife and child were sick. On\nthe 30th of October, 1841, the city council met, and in course of its\nbusiness I was appointed one of the city council of Nauvoo.\"\n\n{147}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 14.\n\nREVIEW OF HIS MISSION.\n\nWilford Renders Aid to the Persecuted Saints.--His Care in Recording\nthe Events, also Sermons and Sayings of the Prophet Joseph\nSmith.--Elder Woodruff's Humility, and Appreciation of the Work of\nOthers.--At a Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Convention.--Letter\nfrom His Wife Announcing the Death of Their Daughter.--Revelation\nForeshadowing the Troubles of the Saints in the Expulsion from Illinois.\n\nIn the fullest sense Wilford Woodruff was a man of industrious habits.\nDuring the interval between his return from the Fox Islands and his\ndeparture with others of the Twelve for the European mission, he not\nonly labored hard to provide for his family; but, true to the spirit\nof a faithful saint and disciple of the Lord, he devoted much time\nto visiting the afflicted Saints in Montrose, Iowa, and in Nauvoo,\nIllinois. He also rendered efficient service in getting teams and\nmoney to assist the Saints in their exodus from Far West, Missouri, to\nIllinois.\n\nThe Prophet Joseph Smith being in prison, Presidents Brigham Young\nand Heber C. Kimball, with other leading brethren, made a solemn\ncovenant that they would not rest until they had made every possible\neffort to free the Saints from their persecutors in Missouri, and\nlead them safely to Nauvoo. In this movement, as at all other times,\nWilford Woodruff was a staunch supporter of the presiding authorities\nof the Church. In his journal he makes prominent mention of the\nmobbings in Missouri, the martyrdom of Elder David W. Patten and\nothers, the imprisonment of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and other leading\nmen of the Church, their escape from prison, and of other events of\nthose times. Indeed, whether or not Wilford Woodruff was present at\nthe occurrence of some important event in Church history, he made\ncareful investigations and recorded the results of his research.\nWere it not for this care, the history of many events now looked\nupon as important never would have been written. He also reported\nin considerable fullness nearly every sermon he heard preached by\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith. Almost every gem from the sayings of the\nProphet Joseph published in the {148} Compendium is found in Wilford\nWoodruff's journal; also are many others which have not been published.\nWhenever he made the acquaintance of men or women whose integrity to\nthe gospel and generosity to the Saints were notable, their names have\nan honored place in his journal. In this connection, for the comfort\nand encouragement of their immediate friends and descendants, it may\nbe said that the names of William Clayton, John Benbow, William Pitt,\nEdward Ockey, Alfred Cordon, with others whom he met first in England,\nand some of whom he baptized, are mentioned many times by him, with\nfeelings of love and admiration. These all died in the faith; may their\ndescendants follow in their footsteps, and the prayers of Wilford\nWoodruff in their behalf not go unanswered.\n\nHis first mission to Great Britain was a land mark in Church history.\nHis wonderful success is without a parallel in the missionary\nexperiences of that or of any subsequent period. Its importance grows\nwith the growth of the work. He here returns to that mission in a\nreminiscent spirit and recounts events overlooked in his hasty survey\ncontained in the narrative of the previous chapter. What follows picks\nup loose ends and is not given as a summary.\n\nOn the 10th of February, 1840, he records this item:\n\n\"On this day Queen Victoria of England was married to Prince Albert.\nAs many were on this day celebrating the marriage of the queen, I\nthought it right to honor the King of Heaven by advocating His cause\nand preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I walked into the market\nplace at Burslem, accompanied by Elder Alfred Cordon and two other\nbrethren, and we began to sing and pray unto God, and call upon His\nname. A congregation flocked around us, and we preached to them; I bore\ntestimony of the great work which God had set His hand to accomplish\nand of the second coming of Christ, and warned the people to repent and\nbe baptized for the remission of sins.\"\n\nWhile viewing the beauties of English landscape, many times his soul\nwas filled with intense admiration for the works of the Creator.\nDescribing a visit to Malvern Hill, he says: \"In my walk to Colwell\non the 9th, I had a great survey of nature and of the power of the\nCreator; this was while standing upon the summit of Marlvern Hill,\nelevated from twelve hundred to fifteen {149} hundred feet above the\nlevel. The surrounding country was before my view, stretched out many\nmiles. Worcester town lies on the north, clearly seen in the prospect,\nGloucester on the south, with several large villages between, Ledbury\nand other villages on the west, and a fine, beautifully cultivated\nvale upon every hand. While upon this noted hill, beholding the grand\nand charming prospect before me, the thunder began to roll, and the\nlightning flashed in the vale below, on which the rain descended in\ntorrents. The solemnity and grandeur of the scene was impressive as I\nstood upon the hill above the clouds, surveying the beautiful works of\nthe Creator, and His majesty in the storm.\"\n\nWhile upon this mission, on March 22, 1840, a son, Wilford Woodruff\nJr., was born. At this writing he is living, and is a faithful worker\nin the Salt Lake Temple. Upon leaving Herefordshire in June, 1840, to\nattend the Manchester conference, Wilford comments: \"I never before\nleft a field of labor with as much satisfaction with the results of my\nwork; I felt to render unto God the gratitude of my heart for giving\nme so many souls as seals to my ministry; and I note the remarkable\nfact that I had been led by the spirit (only a little more than three\nmonths before) through a densely populated country for eighty miles,\nand chose no part of it for my field of labor until I was led by the\nLord to the house of John Benbow, at Frome's Hill, where I preached for\nthe first time on the 5th of March, 1840; now, on the 22nd of June,\nI was going to the Manchester conference, to represent this fruitful\nfield of my labors with thirty-three organized churches numbering\n541 members, 300 of whom received the ordinance of baptism under my\nhands.\" In that labor, attended with such unprecedented success in this\ndispensation, he never, for a moment, felt to take honor to himself;\nyet with characteristic humility and meekness he failed not to make\nhonorable mention of the labor of other brethren who came to assist\nhim. For instance, of Presidents Brigham Young and Willard Richards he\nwrites: \"Elder Brigham Young labored with me in this vineyard about\none month; from him the Saints and I received much benefit, for he\nis mighty in counsel, and is endowed with much wisdom. Elder Willard\nRichards had labored with me two months, and was also a great blessing\nto us, for he had passed through a notable school of experience and\nlearned much wisdom, and his {150} sound judgment was very manifest\nin the councils and conferences in which we had acted together.\" At\nthat time the British mission numbered forty-one branches of the\nChurch, with 2,513 members, the local officers including 56 elders,\n126 priests, 61 teachers, and 13 deacons; 842 members had been the\nincrease in the preceding three months. It was about this time that a\nlocal elder who was in the British army was ordered with his regiment\nto India, where he went in good spirits, determined to carry the gospel\nto that land, he being the first to do so. At this time Wilford also\nnotes in his journal the death of Bishop Edward Partridge, and makes\nthis comment: \"Bishop Partridge was one of the wisest and best men of\nthe last generation. Like Nathaniel of old, in him there was no guile.\nHe had passed through much persecution with the Saints, for the word of\nGod and the testimony of Jesus.\"\n\nBrother Woodruff relates that Elders Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball\nand himself were once locked out of an Aitkenite meeting because the\npreachers were afraid the spirit of the Latter-day Saints mission\nwould break up their society. He also narrates this incident: \"In\ncompany with Elder George A. Smith, I attended the Wesleyan Methodist\nmissionary convention held on City Road, London. It was considered\none of the greatest of the kind ever held in that city. The chair was\nfilled by the Lord Mayor. He was a noble-looking man, and the insignia\nof office which hung about his neck consisted of six gold chains, which\nwere large and very heavy. The object of the meeting was to arrange\nfor sending out missionaries, and to make collections to liquidate a\ndebt of fifty thousand pounds sterling. Some of the best talent of\nEurope was gathered on this occasion. Much policy was manifested in\nthis combination of ministers and their influence for raising means.\nThe speeches were from ten to twelve minutes' duration. One minister\nfrom Scotland arose and said: 'My Lord and Wesleyan friends, let my\ntongue cleave to my mouth and my right hand forget her cunning when\nI do not take a Wesleyan by the hand and call him brother.' One from\nthe Church of England said: 'My Lord and Wesleyan friends, I wish you,\nwhile looking at the Church of England, to cover her imperfections\nwith the cloak of charity--I would readily cover the imperfections of\nthe Wesleyan society, but I know not {151} where they are. I would\nnot hesitate to cover the imperfections of the Church of Rome were\nit in my power, but they are all scarlet.' A Wesleyan minister then\narose and said: 'We are highly favored on this occasion by having for\nour chairman the Lord Mayor of London, the chief magistrate of the\nmost renowned city of the world; and his lordship has, like Caesar,\nsubmitted himself to the worship of Christ in this condescension;\nbut, when rightly considered, is not my Lord as highly honored in\npresiding over this vast body of respectable citizens this evening on\nso important a matter as he would be were he reigning upon a throne?\nFor the angels in heaven honor every effort that is made on earth for\nthe spread of the gospel, and the saving of the souls of men. My Lord\nand Christian friends, how did the ancient apostles prevail? They were\nilliterate, and had neither money nor influence, and their doctrines\nwere unpopular, yet they established the gospel, maintained the\ndoctrines of Christ, and caused the nations to tremble; but this was\nall by the power of God, and not of man. My Lord, our circumstances are\ndifferent from theirs. We have influence and wealth; we have splendid\nchapels and respectable bodies, and our members are many; yet if God\nis not with us we cannot prevail.' (I shouted, 'Amen!') These speeches\ncontinued until 10 p. m., when a collection was made, and the Lord\nMayor arose and addressed the three thousand people present. This was\nin City Road chapel--the first ever erected by the celebrated John\nWesley. The Lord Mayor said: 'It is with pleasure that I have been\npermitted to preside over this respectable body this evening, on so\nimportant an occasion, which will be indelibly fixed upon my mind as\none of the most pleasing events of my life; and I trust I shall ever be\nas ready to perform every duty required of me by the citizens of London\nas I have been to meet with our Wesleyan friends this evening.' The\nhouse rang with applause. In the midst of all this, who can imagine our\nfeelings? None but those in like situation. Here were we with a mission\nand message from the Lord to the inhabitants of London. We stood in\ntheir midst ready to deliver that message as the Lord might open our\nway, and yet we were as little known to the people as was Jonah to the\ncitizens of Nineveh while in the belly of the whale. Notwithstanding\nall this display of talent, yet the people needed a humble servant\nof the Lord to teach them {152} the gospel in its purity, as Nineveh\nneeded a prophet to cry repentance therein. I retired alone, and\nreflected upon these things.\"\n\nScenes of this kind stirred Wilford Woodruff, in his deeply\nconscientious nature, with great anxiety and concern, lest he might\nfail to deliver his divine message to the very uttermost of the\nrequirement made of him.\n\nThe grief that bowed down Wilford Woodruff's heart at receiving news\nof the death of his little daughter finds pathetic expression in his\njournal, in which also appears the letter from his wife bearing the\nsorrowful tidings. It reads:\n\n\"My Dear Wilford: What will be your feelings when I say that yesterday\nI was to witness the departure of our little Sarah Emma from this\nworld? Yes, she is gone. The relentless hand of death has snatched her\nfrom my embrace. She was too lovely, kind, and affectionate to live in\nthis wicked world. When looking upon her I have often thought how I\nshould feel to part with her. I thought I could not live without her,\nespecially in the absence of my companion; but she is gone. The Lord\nhas taken her home to Himself, for some wise purpose. It is a trial\nto me, but the Lord has stood by me in a wonderful manner. He will\ntake better care of her than I possibly could do. We have one little\nangel in heaven, and I think it likely that her spirit has visited you\nbefore this time. She used to call her Papa, and left a kiss for her\nPapa before she died. Today, little Wilford and I with a number of\nfriends, came over to Commerce, to pay our last respects to our darling\nin seeing her decently buried. * * She had no relatives to follow her\nto the grave, or to shed for her a silent tear, except her Mamma and\nlittle Wilford. She lies alone in peace. 'The Lord giveth, and the Lord\ntaketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.'\n\n\"PHOEBE W. WOODRUFF.\"\n\nUnder date of October 2, 1840, Wilford being at that time with Elder\nHeber C. Kimball, says in his journal: \"Elder Kimball and I arose\nfrom our bed that morning with the power of God resting upon us, yea,\nHis spirit was like fire shut up in our bones. I said, 'O my God, why\nis Thy spirit thus upon me? {153} Why are mine eyes like a fountain?\nWhat art Thou about to do, O Lord, that causes this thing? I ask Thee,\nFather, in the name of Jesus Christ, They Son, to make it known unto\nme.' The spirit of revelation came upon me, and I was answered: 'Thus\nsaith the Lord God unto thee, my servant Wilford. This is my spirit\nwhich resteth upon thee to enlighten thy mind, to show thee things to\ncome; and not only upon thee but upon all my faithful servants upon the\nface of the whole earth, saith the Lord. Mine indignation is about to\nbe poured out without mixture upon all the nations of the earth, and\nthey shall not escape. The cry of the poor, of the widow and the orphan\nascendeth to mine ears, saith the Lord, and I am about to avenge the\ncry of mine elect by laying low the oppressor, and executing the decree\nof mine heart upon all the ungodly amongst men. Here I put my spirit\nupon thee and say unto thee, lift up thy voice and spare not, and call\nupon all men that come within the sound of thy voice to repent, and\nmany souls shall be given unto thee, and great shall be thy reward, and\neternal shall be thy glory, saith the Lord.'\"\n\nAbout this time the spirit of the Lord rested in similar manner upon\nthe other apostles and elders, and indeed upon many of the Saints\nthroughout the British Isles. They had vivid impressions of the trouble\nand persecutions about to be heaped upon the Saints in America and\nEurope. Elder Woodruff further says: \"But my mind was troubled, for the\nspirit manifested unto me much discomfort and persecution among the\nSaints throughout Europe and America, and that many will fall away;\nalso that the powers that be in America will rise up against the Church\nand it will be driven; and that while trouble lay in the future before\nthe people of God, greater calamities await the world. The Saints were\nreceiving testimonies of the clouds which were gathering over the\nChurch, and afterwards over the whole world, for judgments begin at the\nhouse of God.\"\n\nHow completely the revelation thus given to Wilford Woodruff by the\nSpirit of prophecy which rested upon him, and to his brethren and the\nSaints in Europe, was fulfilled, is well known to those familiar with\nthe history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during\nthe score of years succeeding the manifestation herein recorded.\n\n{154}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 15.\n\nIN NAUVOO, 1841.\n\nProphetic Insight.--Teachings of the Prophet.--Baptism for the\nDead--Hyrum Kimball.\n\nThe life of Wilford Woodruff is a remarkable example of the manner in\nwhich those who are pre-eminently qualified as preachers of the gospel\nare required to fill out a well rounded life of experiences, touching\nmost important phases of human conduct in almost all the walks of life.\nHad Wilford Woodruff belonged to some religious denomination of his\nday, it is consistent to suppose that he would have been exclusively\na preacher, as he loved to expound the Scriptures and speak of the\ngoodness of God and His wondrous ways. Mormonism, however, made of him\nboth a preacher and a man of affairs, and his service in life covered\na wide range of useful activities. He was, in the days of Nauvoo's\nmunicipal glory, a member of its city council. The responsibility of\nsuch a position at that time when municipal government was little\nunderstood was one of special weight.\n\nOn the 7th of November, 1841, on the Sabbath day he tells us that\nhe made a call upon the Prophet Joseph and from there went to the\nhome of Brigham Young. Later he attended a meeting of the Saints and\nlistened to an address of a certain elder who was reprimanded by the\nProphet Joseph. That reprimand carried with it such prophetic insight\ninto the character of the man who still lives, that the incident is\ntaken from Elder Woodruff's journal as follows: \"Brother Joseph rose\nand reprimanded him as pharisaical and hypocritical, and he was told\nthat he had not edified the people by his two hours' talk. The man's\nlife has ever since been in keeping with this characterization of the\nProphet. He aims to be a fellow well met with all denominations. He\noccasionally visits the Saints, and while with them professes faith in\nthe gospel and claims brotherhood with them. The Prophet then addressed\nhimself to the Saints, told them that if they would not falsely accuse\none another, the Lord would not accuse them; and if they had no\naccusers, they should enter {155} into the Kingdom of Heaven. He also\nspoke at some length upon the character of sin and declared that many\nthings which the denominations of that day taught as sins were really\nnot sins at all, that many things were done in the purposes of God to\nbreak down superstitions of men and loosen from them the fetters of\ntraditions by which their souls were bound.\"\n\nThe 21st of November, 1841, was a red-letter day in the history of\nNauvoo. Elder Woodruff says, \"The Twelve met in council at President\nBrigham Young's home. Afterwards there was a general meeting of the\nSaints who were addressed by John Taylor and Hyrum Smith. The Twelve\nthen returned to Brigham Young's home and were occupied in counsel\nuntil four in the afternoon when they repaired to the baptismal font in\nthe basement of the Nauvoo Temple.\" Again quoting from Elder Woodruff's\njournal we read: \"It was truly an interesting scene. It was the first\nfont built in this dispensation for the glorious provision in the\ngospel which provided for the redemption of the dead. It was dedicated\nby President Joseph Smith and the Twelve. A large congregation\nassembled to witness the baptism of about forty persons by Brigham\nYoung, Heber C. Kimball, and John Taylor. Elders Willard Richards,\nGeorge A. Smith, and myself assisted in confirming them. Afterwards I\npassed the evening with the quorum of the Twelve at the home of Heber\nC. Kimball.\"\n\nAlong with these religious duties came the daily responsibilities of\nthe material interests of the Church. At this time the Nauvoo House\nwas in the process of construction. Elder Woodruff had charge of the\nprovision store and through it took an active part in the construction\nof that important building. During these times, Saints were arriving\nin considerable numbers from England. Many of them had received\nthe ordinance of baptism at his hands. They needed instruction,\nencouragement, and the sympathy of a brotherly love. They found in the\nmessenger who had brought the word of the Lord to them as consistent a\nfriend in their new home as he had been when an elder abroad.\n\nOn the 25th of November, 1841, about two hundred Saints from New\nYork arrived in Warsaw. Their arrival was in the midst of a heavy\nsnow storm. Elder Woodruff records the work of love at that time\nin providing for them every comfort that {156} could be found. He\nmentions in his journal the names of those whose integrity and love he\ncherished. Those early friendships were always dear to his memory, and\nit mattered not to him what station in life a man occupied if he was\nloyal to God and true to his brethren. He speaks of Kington, Benbow,\nOckey, Bruitt, and Pitt.\n\nThe words of the Prophet fell upon Elder Woodruff's ears as the voice\nof Scripture. He puts them in the journal because he believes that\nsome day they will contain enlightenment and guidance for those who\nfaithfully read them. He says about this time that the Prophet spoke of\nthose who complained of him because he did not bring forth more of the\nword of the Lord. To those who professed to be able to receive more of\nthe word of God than had been given them, he said: \"A man might command\nhis son to do a certain thing and before it was done he might for good\nand sufficient reason require him to do something else. The exercise\nof parental authority in such a manner is considered quite proper;\nbut if the Lord gives a command and afterward revokes it and commands\nsomething else, there are those ready to cry out, 'A false prophet!'\nThose who will not receive chastisement from a prophet and apostles\nare often chastised by the Lord with sickness and death. Let not any\nman publish his own righteousness, others can do that for him. Let him\nrather confess his sins, and he will then be forgiven and bring forth\nmore and better fruit. The reason we do not have more of the secrets of\nthe Lord revealed unto us is because we do not keep to our own secrets,\nbut reveal them and make our difficulties known even to our enemies.\nWhat greater love hath any man than that he will lay down his life for\nhis friends? Why not then stand by them unto death?\"\n\nElder Woodruff's journal containing an account of the utterances of\nthe prominent men of that day clearly indicates the deep anxiety which\nPresident Brigham Young felt for the completion of the Temple. His\ninterest in the building was scarcely less than that of the Prophet\nhimself. The responsibility of its completion weighed heavily upon\nhis mind and he gave himself up heart and soul to the construction of\nthat great edifice. In view of the fact that some years later after\nthe Prophet's death the responsibility of its completion and the\nordinances to be performed {157} therein rested most heavily upon him,\none can appreciate his heart-felt admonition on the subject when he was\nconstantly urging the Saints before the death of the Prophet.\n\nOn Christmas day of 1841 Elder Woodruff says that he and other members\nof the Twelve visited the home of Hyrum Kimball, who, before they left,\npresented each of the Twelve with a lot to which he gave them the deed.\nOn the 26th and 27th the Twelve visited the home of the Prophet, and on\none of these days Elder Woodruff says in his journal that the Prophet\nshowed him and others for the first time the Urim and Thummim.\n\nDuring that year the subject of this biography had visited London,\nBristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Staffordshire Potteries, Wolverhampton,\nBirmingham, Worcester, Hereford, Ledbury, Malvern Hill, Gloucester,\nCheltenham, Oxford, Woolwich, and Monmouth. In America he visited and\npreached the gospel in New York, Portland, Boston, Hartford, New Haven,\nAlbany, Buffalo, Detroit, Mackinaw, and Chicago. He held 83 meetings,\nattended 10 conferences, baptized 21 persons and assisted in the\nbaptism of 18 others, confirmed 46, and ordained 38 persons to offices\nin the priesthood.\n\n{158}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 16.\n\nTROUBLES IN NAUVOO, 1842.\n\nBuilding of the Temple.--Book of Moses.--Words of the Prophet.--Nauvoo\nLegion.--Business Trip to St. Louis.--Return of Orson Hyde.\n\nElder Woodruff was a messenger of peace, a man by temperament and faith\npre-eminently fitted to be a missionary of the word of God to the\nnations of the earth. As one studies his life and the life of the early\nleaders of the Church, one is constantly reminded of their peculiar\nfitness and qualifications for the work needed in the Church in its\nearly life.\n\nNew year of 1842 found him at home in Nauvoo enjoying with his family\nand friends the festive season. He had been a member of the Church\neight years, but during that membership had been absent from home\nperhaps four-fifths of the time. He records the fact that he with the\nquorum of the Twelve passed the day at the home of Brother Stoddard.\n\nNauvoo was at this time taking on a new interest. The erection of the\nTemple awakened within such men a heartfelt desire, not only to take\npart in the work, but to enjoy its ordinances at the earliest possible\nopportunity. They felt that these ordinances would give to them a new\nspiritual life and that they would be better qualified in consequence\nas messengers of the word of God to the nations of the earth. In his\njournal he writes: \"It is an interesting occasion for us to meet with\nour families during the festive season in the City of the Saints in the\nmidst of peace and love. We prize more highly this privilege as we are\nso often separated in the vineyard of the Lord. It is a privilege to be\nat home for a season and provide for my family. This is the first time\nsince I have been in the Church that I have been thus privileged as I\nhave been on missions most of the time for eight years.\"\n\nDuring the early part of January he paid a visit to his old time\nfriend, John Benbow, who lived on the prairie six miles from Nauvoo.\nElder Benbow had been a very liberal man in promoting the missionary\nwork of Apostle Woodruff abroad. He was just as liberal when he joined\nthe Saints near Nauvoo. Besides {159} his regular offerings, he loaned\nmoney to the Prophet to meet pressing obligations of himself and the\nChurch. \"This was the first time I had visited him since my return\nhome. I passed the time there very pleasantly. His farm looked almost\nlike a Garden of Eden. I have never seen more work done in one year on\na prairie farm than was done on his. He had surrounded and crossed it\nwith heavy ditches, and had planted thorn hedges. His dwelling, barns,\nsheds, garden, yards, and orchards were all beautifully arranged. The\nfarm resembled very much the farms of old England. Elder Benbow had\nbeen a well-to-do-farmer on about three hundred acres of land. This\nplace was a pleasant retreat for a summer's ride from Nauvoo. The\nlittle neighborhood consisted of five families from England. All were\nunited except one family that had denied the faith. Before my return to\nthe city I paid John Benbow two hundred dollars for President Smith and\nhad it endorsed on his note.\"\n\nThe activity in and about Nauvoo directed toward the erection of the\nTemple must have presented the appearance of men who worked with a will\nto accomplish definite purposes. Elder Woodruff himself was engaged in\nhauling large stones from the river to Temple Hill. Whatever he set\nhimself to do he did as though it were the occupation of his life and\nnever a makeshift. It was that whole-souled devotion that enabled him\nto turn from one occupation to another without any disappointment or\ndistaste. It is only the half-hearted that complain at interruptions,\nwho are distracted when taken from one condition of life to another and\nare subjected to radical as well as frequent changes.\n\nFrom the occupation of a rock hauler he was called to the printing\npress, and with John Taylor he took up the work of publishing the\n\"Times and Seasons,\" which thereafter was to be under the direction of\nJoseph, the Seer. He began work in his new calling by taking charge of\nthe business department of the paper. Joseph was editor in chief and\nJohn Taylor was his assistant.\n\nAbout this time the Prophet was occupied in the translation of the Book\nof Moses from an Egyptian papyrus. Parts of the book were published\nin the \"Times and Seasons,\" and its subject matter created a peculiar\nsatisfaction in the heart of Wilford Woodruff. Wilford Woodruff was\nhimself a student of Holy {160} Writ, a man of pronounced religious\nconvictions, untouched by the religious persuasions of his time. His\ncomplete surrender, and his perfect devotion to his new-found calling\nare sufficient in themselves to command attention and persuade others\nthat there must have been something remarkable in his new-found faith,\notherwise he would not have been one of its apostles. \"I have been much\nedified of late,\" he says, \"in listening to the Prophet converse upon\nthe mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Surely the Lord is with him and\nis making him mighty in knowledge and wisdom. I am convinced that none\nof the prophets or seers have ever accomplished a greater work than\nthe Lord will bring to pass through the instrumentality of the Prophet\nJoseph Smith.\"\n\nWilford Woodruff knew his Bible, he knew himself, and the simplicity\nand purity of his own soul fitted him for the reception of a new\nlight. He was not a mere enthusiast, he was never fanatical, and was\nnot easily touched by the sophistries of men. Such a testimony of the\nProphet Joseph has therefore a peculiar significance to those who\nhonestly and without bias study the life of Joseph Smith.\n\nMarch 1st of that year, Elder Woodruff's natal day, he observed by\nmaking a feast for his friends. Sundry duties occupied his time. He was\nchaplain of the Nauvoo Legion; he took part in the organization of the\nMasonic Lodge of Nauvoo; and was present when it was addressed by the\nGrand Master of the Masonic Lodge of Illinois. He, with the Prophet and\nothers, was a member of the Masonic fraternity. The fraternity sought\nfor in that organization was superseded by a more perfect fraternity\nfound in the vows and covenants which the endowment in the House of God\nafforded members of the Church. Besides, the Saints learned that they\nmust surrender worldly affiliations, since the world was opposed to the\nmission of Joseph Smith and his followers. Those who seek their highest\nguidance in precedence quote the circumstance as an argument for the\nreturn to the condition of those times. The Church, however, rests upon\nthe rock of revelation and must follow divine guidance rather than\nprecedence.\n\nPassing on in the journal of Wilford Woodruff we find recorded the\nsynopsis of a discourse by the Prophet Joseph on death, {161} the\nresurrection, and baptism. \"We have,\" says the Prophet, \"the warning\nvoice again sounded in our midst, a voice which heralds the uncertainty\nof human life. In my leisure moments I have meditated and asked the\nquestion: Why is it that innocent children are taken away from us,\nespecially those who seem to be the most intelligent? This world is\na very wicked world, and it is a proverb that it grows weaker and\nwiser. If so it becomes more corrupt. In the early ages of the world\nthe righteous man, the man of God and of intelligence had a better\nopportunity to do good, to be received and believed than at the present\nday. In these days such a man is opposed and persecuted by most of the\ninhabitants of the earth and has to pass through much sorrow, hence\nthe Lord takes away many in infancy that they may escape the envy of\nman and escape the sorrows and evils of the world. They are too pure\nand too lovely to live on the earth; therefore, if rightly considered,\nwe have reason to rejoice instead of mourning, as their death is their\ndeliverance from evil and we shall soon have them again.\n\n\"What chance is there for infidelity when we are parting daily with our\nfriends? There is none at all. The infidel will grasp at every straw\nfor help until death stares him in the face and then his infidelity\ntakes flight; for the realities of the eternal world are resting\nin mighty power upon him. When every earthly support fails him, he\nsensibly feels the eternal truths of the immortality of the soul.\n\n\"Respecting the doctrine of baptism, or sprinkling of children, in\norder that they may not be consigned to hell I wish to say, it is not\ntrue, nor is it supported by Holy Writ. It is not consistent with the\ncharacter of God. The moment children leave this world they are taken\ninto Abraham's bosom. The only difference between the old and young in\ndeath is that one lives longer in heaven and in eternal light and glory\nthan the other and was freed a little earlier from this wicked world.\nNotwithstanding all this glory we for a moment lose sight of it and\nmourn our loss, but we mourn not as those without hope.\n\n\"We should take warning and not wait for deathbed repentance. Let it\nbe a warning not to procrastinate repentance, not wait for death. It\nis the will of God that men should repent and serve him in health and\nstrength and in the power of their minds {162} in order to secure\ndivine blessings. God has made certain decrees which are fixed and\nunalterable. He set the sun, the moon, and the stars and gave them\ntheir laws, conditions, and bounds which they cannot pass except by\nHis command. They all move in perfect harmony in their spheres and are\nas wondrous lights and signs to us. The sea also has its bounds which\nit cannot pass without His command. God has set many signs in the\nearth as well as in the heavens. The oaks of the forest, the herbs of\nthe field, the fruit of the tree all bear signs that seeds have been\nplanted. It is a decree of the Lord that every tree or herb bearing\nseed shall bring forth after its own kind. Upon the same principle I\ncontend that baptism is a sign and ordinance of God for every believer\nin Christ in order that he may enter into the Kingdom of God. The\nSavior said: 'Except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he\ncannot enter into the Kingdom of God.' It is a sign and a commandment\nthat God hath given whereby man may enter into His Kingdom. Those\nwho seek to enter in any other way will seek in vain. God will never\nreceive them nor will angels acknowledge their works if they have not\ntaken upon themselves those ordinances and signs which God ordained\nin order that man might receive the celestial glory. God has decreed\nthat all who will not obey His voice shall not escape the damnation\nof hell. And what is the damnation of hell? It is to be numbered with\nthe society of those who have not obeyed His commandments. Baptism\nis a sign to God and to the angels and to heaven that we do the will\nof the Father; and there is no other way ordained of God for man to\ncome unto Him. The laying on of hands is a sign given for the healing\nof the sick and we do not obtain the blessing by pursuing any other\ncourse. The same is true in reference to the gift of the Holy Ghost.\nThere is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy\nGhost. Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, but he\ncould not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he had been\nbaptized. Had he not received the ordinance of baptism, the Holy Ghost,\nwhich convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him until he\nhad obtained the ordinances of baptism and received the gift of the\nHoly Ghost by the laying on of hands.\n\n\"It mattereth not whether we live long or short after we come {163}\nto a knowledge of the principles of the gospel and obey them. I know\nthat all men will be damned if they come not in the way which God has\nordained. Concerning the resurrection I will say merely that we will\ncome from the grave as we lie down, whether we die old or young. Not\none cubit will be added to or taken away from our stature. 'Blessed are\nthe dead which die in the Lord, for they rest from their labors and\ntheir works do follow them.'\"\n\n\"The Prophet,\" says Elder Woodruff, \"then called upon the people to\nassemble themselves in prayer before God and call upon Him in mighty\nfaith, prayer, and fasting that the inhabitants of the city might\nescape the power of the destroyer which rageth upon the face of the\nearth, and that the earth might be sanctified under their feet.\" Here\nthe Prophet clearly sets forth the principle that the blessings of\nour spiritual lives, the blessings of the world hereafter are the\nresult of obedience to spiritual laws, or divine command, just as\nthe consequences in the material world are based upon God's laws and\nso-called laws of nature. \"All,\" says the Doctrine and Covenants,\n\"who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was\nappointed for that blessing and the conditions thereof as they were\ninstituted from before the foundation of the world.\"\n\nAfter this discourse, we are told that the Prophet went into the river\nand baptized about eighty persons for the remission of their sins.\nAmong them was L. D. Wasson, a nephew of the Prophet's wife. He was the\nonly one of her kindred thus far who had accepted the faith.\n\n\"At the close of this interesting scene the Prophet lifted up his hands\nto heaven and implored the blessings of God upon the people, and verily\nthe spirit of God rested upon the multitude to the joy and consolation\nof our hearts.\" At various times, at intervals between the meetings,\nlarge numbers received at the hands of the Twelve in the Temple font\nthe ordinance of baptism for the dead.\n\nDuring these times the emigration from England brought to Nauvoo a\ngreat many people. Lyman Wight had just returned from the East with\none hundred and seventy Saints, and brought with him three thousand\ndollars worth of property for the benefit {164} of the Temple and the\nNauvoo House. The annual conference of that year was full of interest\nto the people, though the season was a rainy one. On the second day\nof the conference when Elder John Taylor was addressing the assembled\nmultitude, other elders were baptizing in the font and elsewhere.\nElder Woodruff and six others of the Twelve were ordaining elders. \"We\nordained 275 elders, the most that we ever ordained in one day before\nin the Church.\"\n\nThe day following conference was the funeral of Ephraim Marks. In the\ncourse of his remarks at the funeral, Elder Woodruff quotes the Prophet\nas saying: \"Some have supposed that the Prophet Joseph could not die.\nThis is a mistake. It is true there have been times when I have had the\npromise of my life to accomplish certain ends. These ends have been\naccomplished, and at present I have no lease upon my life. I am as\nliable to die as other men.\"\n\nShortly after this we have the following quotation from a discourse\ndelivered by the Prophet who addressed the people at the grove after\nWilliam Law had spoken to them. \"I wish to say a few words to suit the\ncondition of the general masses, and I shall speak with the authority\nof the priesthood in the name of the Lord. Notwithstanding this\ncongregation profess to be Saints, I stand in the midst of all kinds\nof characters and all classes of men. If you wish to go where God is,\nyou must be like Him or possess the principle which He possesses. If\nwe are not drawing toward God in principle, we are going from Him and\ndrawing toward the devil. Search your hearts and see if you are like\nGod. I have searched mine and I feel to repent of all my sins. We have\namong us thieves, adulterers, liars, and hypocrites. If God should\nspeak from the heaven, He would command you not to steal, not to commit\nadultery, not to covet, not to deceive, but to be faithful over a few\nthings. As far as we degenerate from God, we descend to the devil and\nlose our knowledge, and without knowledge we cannot be saved. While our\nhearts are filled with evil there is no room in them for good. Is God\ngood? Then be ye good. If He is faithful, then be ye faithful. Add to\nyour faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and seek for every good\nthing. The Church must be cleansed and I proclaim against all iniquity.\nA man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get\n{165} knowledge he will be brought into captivity by some evil power.\nIn the other world evil spirits have more knowledge and consequently\nmore power than many men on earth have. We, therefore, need revelation\nto assist us and give us knowledge of the things of God. The priests of\nthe world cloak their iniquity by saying there is no more revelation.\nWhen revelation comes from God they are universally opposed to it, if\nit reveals their wickedness and abominations.\"\n\nTurning from the work of teaching and instructing the Saints, we find\nthe Prophet and the people taking part in a grand military parade. On\nthe seventh of May the Nauvoo Legion of nearly two thousand men in\nuniform marched through the streets of Nauvoo to the inspiring strains\nof music by the militia band and under the leadership of Joseph Smith.\nThe Prophet and the people were fulfilling their obligations to the\nstate by the maintenance and discipline of a militia that did so much\nto become an honor to the people of Illinois. What they did, they did\nwell, but even this citizens' duty of maintaining a splendid milita was\nused for the purpose of creating prejudice in the eyes of the people\nthroughout the country. The enemies at home never lost any opportunity\nto inflame the public mind, and to justify themselves therefore by the\nconsummation of a conspiracy to encompass the life of the Prophet. One\nday some of the elders found themselves in martial array, the next day\nin the font baptizing for their kindred dead. All things the faithful\nsought to do for the honor and glory of God and for the salvation of\ntheir souls.\n\nOn the 22nd of May that year, Elder Woodruff baptized George A. Smith\nfor the restoration of the latter's health. In those days in performing\nthe ordinances for the dead, men were baptized for women, and women\nfor men. Later on, however, the Prophet was shown that in the sacred\nordinances of baptism men and women should be baptized for their\nancestors, each for his own sex. It seems very remarkable that in view\nof these temple ordinances men should seek to attribute the origin of\nthese ordinances to Brigham Young. Elder Woodruff, in his journal,\nrecords the temple work, unconscious that its practice would ever be\nquestioned in generations to come.\n\nOn the 18th of June a large congregation of Saints assembled in the\ngrove near the Temple. \"To these thousands there assembled,\" {166}\nElder Woodruff says, \"Joseph, the prophet, arose and spoke in great\nplainness upon the corruption and wickedness of John C. Bennett. He\nalso prophesied that if the merchants of the city and the rich did not\nopen their hearts and contribute to the poor they would be cursed by\nthe hand of God and cut off from the land of the living.\" The words of\nthe Prophet were fulfilled. There had been organized an agricultural\nand manufacturing society in view of giving aid to the poor.\n\nOn the 24th of June that year there was a meeting of the Nauvoo Masonic\nLodge for the celebration of St. John. A number of the leading men\nof the Church took part, and Sidney Rigdon delivered an appropriate\naddress. All efforts to stand upon a common ground with the citizens\ngenerally of Nauvoo were, however, unavailing. John C. Bennett, who had\nbeen cut off the Church, became vindictive and took advantage of the\npolitical conditions to create an agitation abroad against the Saints.\n\nAbout this time most of the Twelve were sent forth again into the\nworld to preach the gospel. As Apostles Taylor and Woodruff were\npublishing the \"Times and Seasons\" they remained at home. In his work\nas the business manager of that publication he labored with his usual\nzeal. He speaks of a voyage he took down the Mississippi by steamer\nto purchase material in St. Louis. He was sick on the way and after\nreaching the city had only twenty-four hours in which to make his\npurchases, load his material on board, and begin his homeward journey.\nTo accomplish this he says, \"I walked till ten o'clock at night, and\nI went to bed weary and sick and in severe pain and did not sleep\ntill two in the morning. I was awakened shortly after that hour with\nthe bleeding of the nose, through which I must have lost a pint of\nblood. Notwithstanding my weakness from fatigue and loss of blood, I\nbegan work before breakfast the following morning. In the afternoon my\nsupplies were all on board the boat. I ate dinner and went to bed tired\nand sick. The boat left at six in the evening and arrived in due time\nat Keokuk.\"\n\nFrom there he went to Montrose by stage and crossed the river to\nNauvoo, where he found the printing press stopped for want of paper.\nNotwithstanding his impoverished physical condition, Elder Woodruff\ntook a skiff and rowed down the river to the steamboat which had been\ndelayed for five days, unable to go {167} over the rapids. He obtained\nthere sufficient paper for immediate use.\n\nReturning over the rapids he reached home about midnight, still in a\nfeverish condition and suffering from a severe cold. \"Since the boat\nhad landed our freight and I had seen it distributed to the several\ndepartments, I went home where I was confined to my bed and passed\nthrough the severest siege of sickness I ever had in my life.\" He was\nconfined to his room and most of the time to his bed for forty days.\nUpon his partial recovery he found himself again actively engaged in\nhis work. During his recovery he was once taken by Brigham Young in\nhis carriage to attend a meeting of the Council of the Twelve. He had\nbeen in the house only a few minutes when his strength began to fail\nhim. He lay down upon a bench and became unconscious. His breath ceased\nfor a few moments, but he revived through the administration of his\nbrethren. Remarkable testimonies came to him respecting the healing\npower which was then in the Church. Apostle Woodruff suffered much less\nfrom sickness than he did from his inability to meet the Prophet and to\nlisten to the glorious truths which he had to impart to the brethren.\n\nThe Prophet was then much of his time in hiding, owing to the\naccusation that he was accessory to the shooting of Governor Boggs and\ntherefore wanted in Missouri.\n\nThose were trying times; many of the people questioned their leader\nand the wisdom of his policy. They argued among themselves that the\nProphet Joseph had done nothing wrong, he had nothing to fear. They\nwanted him to clear himself with the world and with his enemies; that\nwas the honorable thing, as they saw it, to do. Nothing less would\nsatisfy them. But the Prophet knew very well the sentiment behind those\nwho demanded his presence in Missouri. The fear of the enemy was less\ntrying to him than the folly of many of his brethren who were swayed\nby the spirit of the age and the peculiar sophistries of those times.\nThey were sophistries as full of folly and recklessness as many that\nhave prevailed in the Church since then, and are now prevalent in many\nplaces.\n\nOn the 30th of October, 1842, for the first time, the Saints held a\nmeeting in the Nauvoo Temple. A temporary floor was laid within the\nunfinished walls; and about three thousand Saints, {168} full of\njoyful anticipations, assembled to hear the Prophet of God. They were\ndisappointed, as sickness and other causes prevented his appearance on\nthat occasion.\n\nThose who were faithful and true were sad over the enforced absence of\ntheir leader. Steps were taken by the city council with the view of\npassing a bill granting the right of the writ of habeas corpus within\nthe city. They thought such a law would be a protection to Joseph\nand other leading men who were constantly harrassed by their enemies\nwithout a cause. The writ of habeas corpus was a burning question in\nthose days, as the liberties of the elders were constantly menaced.\n\nOn the 7th of December that year, Elder Orson Hyde returned from\nhis mission to Jerusalem, where he had gone by appointment through\nrevelation to dedicate the Holy Land for the return of the Jews. After\nperforming the mission he returned home to give an account of his\nexperiences and of the country. The Holy Land came within the hopes,\npromises, and blessings of the new dispensation. The promise of its\nredemption had been made. Many of the elders rejoiced in what they\nhoped would be its early fulfillment. As children in their new found\ncalling, they possessed the impatience of youth, and the fulfillment of\nGod's purposes they hoped speedily.\n\nMost of the year 1842 found Elder Woodruff at home, with his family.\nHe was engaged in all sorts of occupations, and his journal records\na great variety of work. On the 19th of September he had cut an acre\nof corn and stacked it. During the days immediately following he was\noccupied in hauling wood to his door. He had traveled only 450 miles\nthat year, a modest journey for him. During those times he had learned\nto know more of the Prophet, more of the doctrines which he taught, and\nmore of the spirit by which he was actuated. Joseph Smith, himself, was\na revelation to President Woodruff; he was a marvel and wonder to his\nmind. He was no less than a prophet of God, equally important with the\nprophets of old; aye! more so. The privilege of associating with the\nProphet of God was the most glorious opportunity of his life, and his\njournal contains unnumbered manifestations of sublime satisfaction over\nthe dispensations of his Heavenly Father.\n\n{169}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 17.\n\nTEACHINGS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH, 1843.\n\nChange in Governors of Missouri and Illinois.--Prophet's\nRelease.--Discourse on Authority.--Signs in the Heavens.--New Arrivals\nof Saints.--Death of Lorenzo Barnes.--Discourse on Knowledge.--Great\nTruths.--Prophet's Knowledge of Men.--Wilford Woodruff's Bond for\nTemple Funds.--Opposition to Revealed Truth.--Hell Defined.--Prophet\nArrested.--His Release.\n\nElder Woodruff celebrated New Year's day, 1843, by a sleigh ride over\nin Iowa. There he had gone fifteen miles to perform a marriage ceremony\nin behalf of Abraham Newbury and Miss Eliza Duty.\n\nThe New Year brought relief to the Prophet and to the Church in\nconsequence of a political change in the governorship of both Missouri\nand Illinois. While Governors Carlin and Reynolds held the office of\ngovernors of these states, justice was beyond all hope. They were\nbitter and would yield themselves gladly to the demands of those who\nwere persecuting and hounding the Prophet.\n\nThe 17th day of January was appointed by general proclamation a day\nof humiliation, fasting, prayer, and thanksgiving. The deliverance of\nthe Prophet from the hands of his enemies and his return to the Saints\nin Nauvoo were sources of unbounded joy to them. Elder Woodruff met,\nwith others, at the Prophet's home and took part there in friendly and\nbrotherly greetings with those who welcomed the liberty and return of\ntheir leader.\n\nThe day following, the Twelve were among those who met at Joseph's\nhome where he and his wife entertained about seventy people. Among\nthem were twenty men who had attended him at his trial in Springfield\nand returned with him to Nauvoo. There was an apparently universal joy\nover the outcome of his trial. The people in those days, however, like\nIsrael of old associated certain worldly successes with their ideas of\nright, and misfortunes with their ideas of wrong. \"Who hath sinned,\"\nJesus was asked upon healing a man of His times, \"he or his parents?\"\nThose sacrifices, tribulations, trials, and persecutions accompany\nthose who are valiant for their God and maintain His commandments.\n{170} Men are prone, nevertheless, to attribute worldly misfortunes to\nwrong doing even though men suffer in the performance of some God-given\nrequirement.\n\nWhile Joseph was driven from his home and affairs into seclusion,\nand persecuted and afflicted by his enemies, there were those who\nwere ready to listen to the sophistries and cunning arguments of the\nhypocrite and the Pharisee in their midst. In his absence and in his\nseclusion the powerfulness of his personalty was not so strongly felt,\nand the evil inclinations of men found opportunities for gratification\nand justification. Now that he had returned to their midst, free to\npreach, and free to rebuke, there was rejoicing among even those who\nhave no higher conception of divine purposes than to associate worldly\nsuccess with God's favors and misfortune with His displeasure.\n\nOn the 22nd of January, 1843, at the Nauvoo Temple the Prophet\ndelivered a discourse to the multitude present. Elder Woodruff, ever\nfaithful to his mission as a journalist of early Church history, gives\na synopsis of the discourse from which the following is taken: \"In\nconsequence of rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ and the prophets\nwhom God hath sent, His judgments have rested upon peoples, states, and\nnations in various ages of the world. This was the case with the cities\nof Sodom and Gomorah which were destroyed for rejecting prophets.\n\n\"I will now give my testimony. I care not what man can do. I speak\nboldly and faithfully and with authority. Where there is no Kingdom\nof God there is no salvation. Where there is a prophet, or a priest,\nor a righteous man unto whom the Lord gives His oracles, there is the\nKingdom. Where the oracles are not, the Kingdom of God is not. In these\nremarks I make no allusion to the kingdoms of the earth. We will keep\nthe laws of the land; we do not speak against them, nor have we ever\ndone so. We can scarcely make mention of the State of Missouri and our\npersecutions there without a cry going forth that we are guilty of\ntreason. We speak of the Kingdom of God on the earth and not of the\nkingdoms of man.\n\n\"The plea of many is that we have no right to receive revelations, but\nif we do not receive revelations we do not have the oracles of God, and\nthey who do not have His oracles are not His people. You ask. 'What\nwill become {171} of the world and the various professors of religion\nwho do not believe in revelation and in the oracles of God as contained\nin His Church in the ages of the world when he had a people upon the\nearth?' I tell you in the name of Jesus Christ, they will be damned,\nand when you get into the eternal world you will find it so. They\ncannot escape the damnation of hell.\n\n\"As touching the gospel and baptism of John, I would say that John\ncame preaching the gospel for the remission of sins. He had authority\nfrom God, and his oracles were with him, and the Kingdom for a season\nseemed to rest with John alone. He was a legal administrator. Those\nwho were baptized were subjects for the Kingdom. The laws and oracles\nof God were there; so also was the Kingdom of God. No man could have\nbetter authority to administer than John, and even the Savior Himself\nsubmitted to that authority by being baptized of John. John was a\npriest after the order of Aaron and held the keys of that priesthood.\nHe came forth preaching repentance and baptism for the remission of\nsins, but at the same time crying: 'There cometh one after me mightier\nthan I, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.' Christ\ncame, according to the word of John. He was greater than John because\nhe held the keys of the Melchizedek priesthood and the Kingdom of God,\nand had before revealed the priesthood to Moses. Jesus says in his\nteachings: 'Upon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of\nhell shall not prevail against it.' What rock? The rock of revelation.\nYet Christ was baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness. He says,\n'Except ye are born of the water and of the spirit ye cannot enter into\nthe Kingdom of Heaven; though the heavens and the earth pass away my\nword shall not pass away.' If a man be born of the water and the spirit\nhe can enter into the Kingdom of God. It is evident that the Kingdom of\nGod was upon the earth and that John prepared subjects for that Kingdom\nby preaching the gospel and by baptizing them. He preached the same\ngospel and baptism that Jesus and the apostles preached after him.\n\n\"The endowment of Pentecost was to prepare the disciples for their\nmission in the world. Whenever a man can find out the will of God and\nfind an administrator legally authorized from Him, there is the Kingdom\nof God; but where these are not, {172} there the Kingdom of God is not.\nAll the ordinances, systems, and administrations on the earth are of no\nuse to the children of men unless they are ordained and authorized of\nGod. None others will be acknowledged either by God or by angels.\n\n\"I know what I say, I understand my mission, God almighty is my shield\nand what can man do if He is my friend. _I shall not be sacrificed\nuntil my time comes, then I shall be offered freely._ I thank the Lord\nfor delivering me from my enemies. I have no enmity, I have no desire\nbut to do all men good. I feel to pray for all men. We do not ask\npeople to throw away any good which they have, we only ask them to come\nand receive more. What if all the world should embrace this gospel? We\nshould then see eye to eye and the blessings of God would be poured out\nupon the people, which is my whole soul's desire. Amen.\"\n\nWe are not informed whether there were present men and women ready to\ncriticize this address as a want of discretion in the Prophet for the\nuse of such language. No doubt there were. He had just gotten out of\ntrouble and they, no doubt, argued, why should he use language that\nwould bring upon him more trouble. The Prophet was not thinking of\ntrouble; he was not occupied in selecting the most discreet words.\nHe had a mission that put upon him obligations; come what may, these\nobligations must be fulfilled. He was not concerned so much about his\npersonal welfare and safety as he was about the welfare and salvation\nof mankind.\n\nNot long after this, on the 10th of March, Elder Woodruff gives an\naccount of peculiar signs which he witnessed in the heavens. The\noccurrence took place about seven o'clock in the evening and lasted for\nabout three hours. There was a stream of light in the form of a drawn\nbroadsword with the hilt downward and the blade pointing upward from\nthe southeast at an angle of 45 degrees. This sign appeared for five\nsuccessive evenings. On the evening of the 14th it moved to a position\nnear the moon. It then formed itself into a large ring on the inside\nof which appeared balls of light, something like sundogs. Another half\nring issued from these balls in the shape of a horseshoe. They extended\noutside of the ring with one line running through the center of the\nmoon. Of this manifestation he quotes the Prophet as saying: \"As sure\nas there is a God who sits in the {173} heavens, and as sure as He ever\nspoke by my mouth, there will be a bloody war; and the broadsword sign\nin the heavens is a sign thereof.\"\n\nSeveral days later other remarkable signs were seen in the heavens.\nOrson Pratt, professor of mathematics in the University of Nauvoo,\nsketched a diagram of the halos and perihelion, or circles; and mock\nsuns were discovered in the heavens on the morning of March 23rd, 1843;\nthere were still other signs. As in the case of the sword there was\nseen on the opposite side of the horizon a streak of blackness, the\nother appeared like the blaze of a comet.\n\nDuring these times the river banks along Nauvoo presented busy scenes.\nThe city was full of activity and was constantly enlarging by reason of\nthe emigration from abroad. On the 12th and 13th of March steamboats\nlanded at Nauvoo bringing 480 Saints, 250 of these wintered in St.\nLouis. Parley P. Pratt and Dr. Levi Richards were among the returning\nelders. Many of the Saints were old acquaintances of President Woodruff\nwho hailed them with delight and they in turn were happy to meet again\nthe man who had first brought the gospel to them. They were made\nwelcome by the authorities and the Saints in Nauvoo. The day after\ntheir arrival, they were addressed in public assembly by the Prophet.\n\nAbout this time word came that Elder Lorenzo Barnes, then a missionary\nof the Church, had died in a foreign land. Speaking of the death of\nElder Barnes, the prophet, in a discourse delivered on the 16th of\nApril in reference to Elder Barnes, said: \"I should have been more\nreconciled to the death of Elder Barnes could his body have been laid\nin the grave in Nauvoo or among the Saints. I have very peculiar\nfeelings in the matter of receiving an honorable burial with my\nfathers. The ancient Saints were very particular about their burial\nplaces. Joseph, before his death, made his kindred promise to carry\nhis bones to the land of Canaan, and they did so. They embalmed his\nbody and buried him with his fathers. There is a blessing in such a\nprivilege which many do not comprehend; still it is true that in the\nresurrection the Saints will all rise to meet the Lord and they will\nall be brought together though their bodies be scattered on the face of\nthe whole earth.\n\n{174} \"I wish the Saints to be comforted by the thought of the victory\nthey will gain through the resurrection. The thought is sufficient\nto encourage the Saints to overcome obstacles in the midst of their\ntrial, trouble, and tribulation. Though the thunders roar and the\nearthquakes roar or bellow; though lightnings flash and war be on every\nhand, suffer not a joint to tremble nor let your hearts faint for the\ngreat Eloheim will deliver you. If you are not delivered before the\nresurrection, you will be set free by it from all those things and from\npain, sorrow, and death.\n\n\"I have labored hard and endeavored in every way to prepare this people\nto comprehend the things which God is unfolding to me. He hath given me\na vision of the resurrection of the dead and I saw the graves open, and\nthe Saints, as they rose, took each other by the hand and great joy and\nglory rested upon them.\"\n\nOn the 19th of that month Elder Woodruff with Brigham Young, Heber C.\nKimball, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, and William Smith were appointed\nto missions in the East for the purpose of holding conferences and\ngathering funds for the completion of the Temple. Others were appointed\nto missions in England, and Addison Pratt, with three others, was\ncalled to carry the gospel to the Sandwich Islands.\n\nMay 14th a meeting was held in Lima where the Prophet addressed those\npresent, among whom was Elder Woodruff. He records in his journal the\nfollowing from the discourse of the Prophet: \"It is not wisdom that\nwe should have all knowledge presented to us at once, but a little at\na time that we may comprehend it. The principle of knowledge is the\nprinciple of salvation. Any one who will not receive knowledge to be\nsaved will be damned. The principle of salvation is given to us through\nthe knowledge of Jesus Christ. Salvation is nothing more nor less\nthan the triumph over all our enemies in this world and over all evil\nspirits in the world to come. In the case of Jesus Christ He was to\nreign until He had put all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy\nwas death.\n\n\"There is a principle here that few men have thought of. No person can\nhave this salvation except through a tabernacle. In this world men are\nnaturally selfish and ambitious. They strive to excel, yet some are\nwilling to build up others as well as {175} themselves. In the other\nworld there is a variety of spirits, some of whom also seek to excel.\nThis was the case with the devil when he fell. He was seeking things\nwhich were unlawful, he was, therefore, cast down and it is said that\nhe carried away many with him. His punishment is great in that he is\nnot permitted to have a tabernacle. Lucifer, planning to overthrow the\ndecree of God, goeth up and down the earth seeking whom he may destroy.\nAny person who will yield to him, he will bind and take into possession\nhis body and reign therein and glorify himself, forgetting that he has\nnot a body of his own. By and by some one comes along having divine\nauthority and casts him out and restores the tabernacle to its rightful\nowner.\"\n\nSpeaking upon the 19th verse, first chapter of Second Peter which\nreads: \"We have also a more sure word of prophecy: whereunto ye do well\nthat ye take heed as unto the light that shineth in a dark place, until\nthe day dawn of the day star arises in your hearts.\" The Prophet said:\n\"There is a grand secret here and a key that unlocks. Notwithstanding\nthe apostle exhorts them to add to their faith, virtue, knowledge,\ntemperance, and so forth, he still exhorts them to make their calling\nand election sure. Though they had heard the audible voice from heaven\nbearing testimony that Jesus was the Son of God, yet they have a more\nsure prophecy. Wherein could they have a more sure word of prophecy\nthan to hear the voice of God saying, 'This is my beloved Son?' This\nwould be no evidence that their calling and election were made sure,\nthat they do have a part with Christ and be a joint heir with Him. They\nwould need that more sure word of prophecy that they were sealed in the\nheavens, and had the promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of God.\nHaving this promise sealed unto them it was an anchor to their souls,\nsure and steadfast. This knowledge would support the soul in their hour\nof trial and tribulation.\n\n\"Knowledge through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the grand key\nwhich unlocks the glorious mysteries of the Kingdom. Compare this\nprinciple of knowledge with Christendom at the present time, and what\nbecomes of their religion and piety. Christendom is crying out against\nprophets and apostles, angels, visions, and revelations; it is ripening\nfor the damnation of hell, for it rejects the most glorious principle\nof the gospel {176} of Jesus Christ; it rejects and disdains the key\nwhich unlocks the Heavens and puts into our possession the glories of\nthe celestial world. The men of Christendom with all their professed\nGodliness will be damned unless they repent and turn unto the Lord. I\nwould exhort you, then, to call upon God until you make your calling\nand election sure by obtaining this more sure word of prophecy and wait\npatiently until you obtain it.\"\n\nThese words contained no element of compromise. The language of the\nProphet could not be mistaken. He was much less concerned about his\npersonal liberty than about delivering the message which he had to give\nto the world.\n\nWhatever the Prophet said was always of deep significance to the mind\nof Elder Woodruff, and he recorded the private sayings of his leader\nwith the same fidelity that he recorded his public discourses. After\nthe meeting where the discourse above mentioned was delivered, he took\nsupper with the Prophet and others at the home of Calvin Beebe. In this\nsocial pastime the Prophet gave utterance to sentiments and ideas which\nhe entertained. The following quotations from the Prophet find a place\nin Elder Woodruff's journal:\n\n\"The way to get along in any important matter is to call to yourself\nwise men, men of experience and age to give counsel in times of\ntrouble.\"\n\n\"Handsome men are not usually wise and strong-minded. The strength of\na strong-minded man will create coarse features like the rough, strong\nbough of the oak.\"\n\n\"You may always discover in the first glance at a man, in the outline\nof his features, something of his mind.\"\n\n\"Excitement has almost become the essence of my life, when it dies away\nI feel almost lost. When a man is reigned up continually he becomes\nstrong and gains knowledge and power; but when he relaxes for a season\nhe loses much of his power.\"\n\n\"In all matters, whether temporal or spiritual, preaching the gospel\nor leading an army to battle, victory almost entirely depends upon\nmoderation and good discipline. Let no confusion seize your breast, act\nfirmly, strike a heavy blow, and conquer.\"\n\n\"A man can bear a heavy burden by practice and by continuing to\nincrease it.\"\n\n\"The inhabitants of this continent were so constituted, that {177}\nis, were so determined and persevering in their righteousness or\nwickedness, that God visited them immediately, either with great\njudgment or blessings.\"\n\n\"If the present generation receive any assistance from God, they will\nhave to obtain it by faith.\"\n\nIn the midst of his missionary activities, Apostle Woodruff began the\nconstruction of a new home. During all the years of his labor in the\nChurch he had been without a home of his own. His unselfish devotion\nto the work of the Church and the circumstances with which he was\nsurrounded led his brethren to encourage him in the erection of a house\nfor his family. He took up the work with the same heart-felt enthusiasm\nthat he gave to every undertaking. The home, when finished, was, for\nthose days, modest and respectable. It stands to-day in Nauvoo with the\nhomes of other leading brethren of those times in a fairly good state\nof preservation.\n\n\"On the 27th of May,\" he says, \"the Twelve and the First Presidency met\nto try Benjamin Winchester for slandering the Saints in Philadelphia\nand for rejecting the counsel of the Lord given through His servants.\nHis license to preach was taken away and he was required to repent\nor lose his standing in the Church.\" Speaking of this circumstance\nthe subject of this biography says, \"Hyrum pled for mercy; Joseph,\nfor right; and the Twelve decided according to the testimony.\" During\nthe trial, the Prophet gave the following instructions: \"In all your\ncounsels, especially where you have cases to try, observe the spirit\nrelating to the subject, and discern the spirit by which either party\nis governed. The council should not be imposed upon by any unruly\nconduct.\"\n\n\"The Saints need not think because I am familiar and cheerful with them\nthat I am ignorant of what is going on. Iniquity of any kind cannot be\nretained in the Church and it will not fare well where I am; for I am\ndetermined that while I lead the Church to lead it aright.\"\n\nBefore taking their departure on their missions to gather funds for\nthe erection of the Temple, they each gave a bond in the sum of two\nthousand dollars for the faithful performance of their duties in\nmaking a strict return to the trustee-in-trust of all funds collected\nby them. There had been much false accusation {178} and comment about\nthe use of funds contributed for the erection of the Temple. These\nfunds not only placed the Twelve under financial obligations, but did\nwhat was of perhaps more consequence, gave assurance to those who made\ncontributions that their money would be strictly accounted for. The\nbond given by Elder Woodruff was signed by Aaron Johnson as bondsman.\n\n\"To all the Saints and honorable men of the earth greeting:\n\n\"Dear Brethren and Friends,--\n\n\"I, Joseph Smith, a servant of the Lord and Trustee-in-Trust for\nthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do hereby certify\nthat the bearer hereof, Wilford Woodruff, an elder and one of the\nTwelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,\nhas deposited with me his bond and security to my full satisfaction\naccording to the resolution of the conference held in this city on the\n6th day of April, 1843.\n\n\"He, therefore, is recommended to all Saints and honorable people as\nlegal agent to collect funds for the purpose of building the Nauvoo\nHouse and Temple of the Lord.\n\n\"Confident that he will honor this high trust as well as ardently\nfulfill his commission as a messenger of peace and salvation as one\nof the Lord's noble men, I can fervently say, may the Lord clear his\nway before him and bless him and bless those that obey his teachings\nwherever there are ears to hear and hearts to feel.\n\n\"He is, in the language of the Hebrews, 'The friend of Israel,' and\nworthy to be received and entertained as a man of God. Yea he has (as\nhad the ancient apostles) the good word that leadeth unto Eternal Life.\n\n\"Wherefore, brethren and friends, while you hear the assurance of the\nintegrity, fidelity, and ability of this servant of the living God\nI trust that your hearts and energies will be enlivened and deeply\nengaged in the building of these houses directed by revelation for the\nsalvation of all Saints and that you will not rest where you are until\nall things are prepared before you and you are gathered home with the\nrest of Israel to meet your God. I feel strong in the belief and have a\ngrowing expectation that you will not withhold any means in your power\nthat can be used to accomplish this glorious work.\n\n{179} \"Finally, as one that greatly desires the salvation of man, let\nme remind you all to strive with a Godly zeal for virtue, holiness, and\nthe commandments of the Lord. Be wise, be just, be liberal, and above\nall be charitable, ever abounding in all good works, and may health,\npeace, and the love of God our Father and the grace of Jesus Christ be\nand abide with you all is the sincere prayer of\n\n\"Your devoted Brother and Friend in the Everlasting Gospel,\n\n\"JOSEPH SMITH.\n\n\"City of Nauvoo\n\n\"June 1st, 1843.\"\n\nOn the 11th of June there was a meeting of the Saints in the Temple\nwherein the Prophet addressed those present upon various subjects\nsuch as baptism for the dead, spirits in prison, different degrees\nof glory, and the Godhead. The Temple ordinances were occupying the\nProphet's mind and he was urging strenuously the completion of the\nTemple. To its sacred ordinances he attached the highest importance,\nand, indeed, he declared them necessary to a fulness of the glory of\nGod. He began by reading the words of Jesus: \"O! Jerusalem, Jerusalem,\nhow oft would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen\ngathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.\" \"The main\npurpose in gathering the people of God was to build unto the Lord a\nhouse wherein He could reveal to them the ordinances and glories of His\nKingdom. There are certain ordinances and principles which were taught\nand practiced which must be done in a temple of the Lord built for that\npurpose. This was ordained in the mind of God before the world was and\nthrough this purpose the Lord designed the gathering of the Jews, but\nthey rebelled against Him. For the same reason the Lord gathers His\nSaints in the last days. One of the ordinances of the House of the Lord\nis baptism for the dead. God decreed before the foundation of the world\nthat this ordinance should be administered in a house prepared for that\npurpose. If a man obtains the fullness of the gospel, he must do as\nJesus did by keeping all the ordinances of the House of the Lord.\n\n\"Men will say, 'I will never forsake you but will stand by you at all\ntimes,' yet the moment you teach them some of the {180} mysteries\nretained in the heavens to be revealed in the last days they are\nready to stone you and put you to death. It was the same spirit which\ncrucified our Savior. The doctrine of baptism for the dead is clearly\nshown in the New Testament, and if the doctrine is not good then throw\naway the book; but if it is the Word of the Lord, let the doctrine be\nacknowledged as coming from Him.\n\n\"In regard to the spirits in prison much has been said, especially\nregarding the words of the Savior to the thief on the cross: 'To-day\nthou shalt be with Me in paradise.' The translators and commentators\nmake Jesus say, 'paradise.' This is a modern word and does not answer\nat all to the original which Jesus used. There is nothing in the\noriginal of any language signifying 'paradise.' It should be, 'To-day\nthou shalt be with Me in the spirit world.' He did not say 'paradise or\nheaven.'\n\n\"Much has been said about the word 'hell.' But what is hell? It is\nanother modern term. It is taken from Hades, the Greek, or Sheol, the\nHebrew, and its true meaning is 'world of spirits.' The words 'Hades,'\n'Sheol,' 'paradise,' and 'spirits in prison,' are used in the Scripture\nas one word. The righteous and the wicked all go to the same world of\nspirits. 'I believe,' says one, 'in one heaven and one hell. All are\nequally happy or equally miserable.' Yet Paul speaks of three glories:\n'celestial, terrestial, telestial;' and the Savior says that in His\nFather's house there are 'many mansions.' Paul says he knew a man\ncaught up to the 'third heaven.'\n\n\"The world believes that the Godhead physically is all embodied in the\nLord Jesus Christ, but this is not true. Peter and Stephen say that\nJesus sat on the right hand of God, and any person who has seen the\nheavens opened knows that there are three personages in the heavens\nholding the keys of power. As the Father hath power in Himself so also\nhath the Son power in Himself. Then the Father has at some time laid\ndown His body and taken it again: so He has a body of His own, so also\nhas the Son.\n\n\"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, and if a man claimed\nto have that testimony and yet denied the spirit and principle of\nrevelation and prophets, he is damned by his own mouth. 'A man may\nbe happy in the belief that Jesus Christ is God, and yet not obey\nHis commandments. A man of God should {181} be endowed with wisdom,\nknowledge, and understanding in order to teach and lead the people. The\nblind may lead the blind and both fall in the ditch together.\n\n\"I will ask this assembly and all the Saints if they will build this\nhouse and receive the ordinances and blessings which the Lord has in\nstore for them, or will they not, but let Him pass by and bestow His\nblessings upon another?\"\n\nPassing from the mysteries and glories of the Godhead, Elder Woodruff\nmakes record of his work upon a plot of prairie land which he was\nbringing under cultivation. In all of his thoughts and labors, whether\nsecular or spiritual, he sustained the same lofty inspiration. When\nhe preached, he preached in the name of the Lord, when he plowed,\nhe plowed for the glory of God's Kingdom. All that he said and all\nthat he did was to him but a united whole in the dispensation of\nGod's purposes. Life to him, in its highest and best sense, was the\nfulfillment of the Divine will. Wherever he was, whatever he was\ndoing, he was thinking of his Maker with whom he worked, walked, and\ntalked in this life. It was all glorious, it was all a part of God's\ndecree. Work of the hands was with him a great privilege and he never\nlet an opportunity pass by to exercise his body, and he rejoiced in\nthe opportunity to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. How could\nhe think of work as a drudgery, how others could look upon it as such\nwas incomprehensible to him. Being always ready to put his hand to\nthe plow, he found many opportunities in the course of a long life to\ngratify his passion for work.\n\nThe joy and peace of toil on his prairie farm were not left long\nuninterrupted. The Saints were constantly disturbed by the never\nceasing demands made by the Governor of Missouri for the body of the\nProphet. The chief executive of that state made another call on the\nGovernor of Illinois to deliver Joseph to the state of Missouri. The\nProphet was twenty miles away from home when information reached him.\n\nOn Sunday, June 25th, Hyrum Smith came into a meeting and requested\nthe Masonic Fraternity there to meet him in the lodge room within half\nan hour. It was an occasion of great excitement. When the members\nof the lodge convened, the people, who were full of anxiety, also\ngathered. Not a fourth of them could secure entrance to the house. They\nthereupon formed in a {182} hollow square upon the green and Hyrum\nconveyed to them the information that Joseph had already been arrested\nwith drawn pistols, by Wilson of Carthage and Reynolds of Missouri.\nStephen Markham went courageously to the Prophet's assistance and\nthreatened to knock their pistols down, but they pointed their pistols\nat the Prophet and threatened if he did so to kill the Prophet and he\ntherefore desisted. They took Joseph to Carthage and then started for\nMissouri. \"They had gone about ten miles,\" says Elder Woodruff, \"when\nthey were stopped by citizens in the country who swore they should\nnot take Joseph Smith any farther without giving him a hearing before\nthe law. Writ of habeas corpus was taken out in behalf of Joseph and\nagainst sheriffs Reynolds and Wilson. A company was then called for to\ngo to the Prophet and to see that he had his rights. Hyrum called for\nvolunteers and the whole city spoke together in response. A choice was\nthen made of about a hundred mounted men under the command of Generals\nLaw and Charles C. Rich. Besides the mounted men about one hundred went\ndown the river by steam-boat, _The Maid of Iowa_.\n\n\"Five days later at one p. m., the citizens of Nauvoo went out in great\nnumbers on horseback, on foot, and in carriages to meet the Prophet.\nThe whole scene was a demonstration of great joy. He was escorted home\nby a band of music and by the great multitude that had gone out to\nmeet him. Reynolds of Missouri, and Wilson of Carthage, who had taken\nhim by force of arms, were brought to Nauvoo with him. They looked as\nthough they had the ague. The Prophet, however, heaped upon their heads\ncoals of fire by reason of the great kindness he showed them. They had\ntreated him inhumanely, and in return they were taken to the Prophet's\nhome, seated at the head of the table and treated to the best his home\nafforded. Joseph's wife, who had been denied by these men the privilege\nof seeing her husband after his arrest, treated them with the utmost\nkindness. After dinner they repaired to the court room where Joseph\nwas delivered to the municipal court for trial. Before he went into\nthe court he mounted a wagon and spoke to the assembled multitude. 'I\nam out of the hands of the Missourians, thank God!' He thanked the\npeople for their kindness and love to him. He said he would address\nthem at four p. m. in the grove near the Temple. At that hour {183}\nnearly seven thousand people assembled full of joyful anticipation in\nthe thought of hearing the words that should fall from their Prophet's\nlips.\"\n\nThese were, indeed, exciting times; the depths of the human soul were\nreached by the constant recurrences of the joys and sorrows of those\ntimes. Anxiety, however, rested upon the Saints. They could feel the\nincreasing spirit of opposition; its murderous intent was more fully\nrevealed to them as time went on. Their joys were constantly broken by\nthe sorrows that were ever increasing and the dangers that constantly\nthreatened their peace of mind. They felt the approach of a coming\nstorm that might do irreparable harm to their peace of mind as well\nas to their physical well being. The hearts of the more faithful\nmen were saddened by both the growing demands and the increasing\npower of the enemy. The thought that the evil one was gaining power\nover them saddened their lives, and their only support and courage\ncame from the assurance they had in the ultimate triumph of God's\npurposes. The lessons of their sadness and the admonition that comes\nto us through the gloom of those days have been our gain. Assurance\nof God's deliverance in the past has always been helpful to men and\nwomen in the support of their faith; what a tender and loving God in\nthe consummation of His purposes had once done, He would do again. In\nall those trials there was greater buoyancy in the life of the Prophet\nwhose death was sought by his enemies than in the lives of any other\nmen of those times. He was their leader, the hope and assurance of\nhis words inspired others with confidence in his leadership. He was\ntheir guiding star, and while his life lasted, its brilliancy eclipsed\nthe lights of all those about him. They knew that he was not a fallen\nProphet. There was no tremor in his voice; he never faltered by the\nway-side. He stood up in the midst of his high and holy calling and\nrebuked sin and sinners. It was a marvelous life, every detail of\nwhich grows in importance as time goes on, and the greatness of the\nChurch affords the highest guarantee of the fulfillment of the glorious\npredictions he made concerning it--thanks to the pen of Wilford\nWoodruff. It gives us deeper and better insight not only into the\nspirit of those times but into the life of the man, who, as days go on,\nis becoming more and more a glorification of the age in which he lived.\n\n{184}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 18.\n\nMISSION TO THE EAST, 1843.\n\nAddress of the Prophet on Constitutional Rights.--Orson Hyde's\nCall to Russia.--Prophet Explains His Position with Respect to\nMissouri.--Origin of Nauvoo Legion.--Political Explanation.--Departure\nof the Twelve for the East.--Brigham Young's Fidelity.--Phrenological\nChart by O. S. Fowler.--Return of the Twelve to Nauvoo.--W. W. Sealed\nto Wife.--Adultery.--Governor of Missouri Again Issues Requisition for\nProphet.--Endowments.\n\nThe people of Nauvoo during these exciting times were greatly agitated\nover the safety of their Prophet and leader. In keeping with his\npromise, Joseph Smith addressed the assembled multitude who anxiously\nawaited the words which were to fall from his lips. There were no\nstenographic reporters then, and Wilford Woodruff's account of what\nwas said is without doubt the fullest and most accurate statement on\nrecord. The following is taken from his journal, wherein he recorded\nthe words of the prophet: \"I meet you with a heart full of gratitude\nto Almighty God, and you doubtless feel as I do. I hardly know how to\nexpress my feelings. I feel as strong as a giant. I pulled sticks with\nthe men coming along, and with one hand I pulled up the strongest man\non the road, and two could not pull me up. I continued to pull till\nI pulled them to Nauvoo. Notwithstanding the excitement, I feel cool\nand dispassionate through it all. Thank God I am now in the hands of\nthose who preside over the municipal court, not in the hands of the\nMissourians. Relative to our right of habeas corpus we have full power.\nIf there is not power in our charter and courts, then there is none in\nthe state of Illinois, nor in Congress, nor in the constitution of the\nUnited States. Congress gave to Illinois her constitution, and Illinois\nhas given to Nauvoo the charter which protects us in our vested rights.\n\n\"I want you to learn, O Israel! what is for the happiness and peace of\nthis city and its people. Our enemies are determined to oppress us and\ndeprive us of our rights and privileges as they have done in the past.\nIf the authorities on earth will not give us that protection which the\nlaws and the constitution of the United {185} States and of this state\nguarantee, then we will appeal to a higher power, to heaven, to God\nAlmighty, for our constitutional rights.\n\n\"The Lord, in my past troubles has raised up friends to me, though\nthey were strangers, and they would have lost their lives to deliver\nme from my enemies and to protect my rights in this state. I have told\nthem to do no violence for I should be delivered by the power of God.\nI have brought the men who arrested me to Nauvoo, and I have treated\nthem kindly. I have had the privilege of rewarding them, good for evil.\nThey took me unlawfully, treated me rigorously, strove to deprive me\nof my right and would have carried me into Missouri to be murdered had\nnot Providence interposed. Now they are in my hands. I took them into\nmy home, set them at the head of the table, and placed before them the\nbest that my home afforded. They were waited upon by my wife whom they\ndeprived of seeing me when I was taken.\n\n\"There is a time, however, when forbearance ceases and when suffering\nlonger without resistance is a sin. I shall not bear it any longer, I\nwill spill the last drop of blood I have rather than endure it; and\nall who feel that they will not bear it any longer say, 'Aye.' The\nvast assembly shouted, 'Aye.' Whatever may be your feeling about the\nheavy hand of oppression I wish you to restrain yourself from violence\nagainst those men who have arrested me. My word is at stake, a hair of\ntheir heads shall not be harmed.\n\n\"My life is pledged to carry out this great work, I know you are ever\nready to do right, you have done great things and you have manifested\nyour love for me in rushing to my assistance on this occasion, and I\nbless you in the name of the Lord. I know the Almighty will bless all\ngood men, and may you not have to suffer as I have suffered heretofore.\nHowever, I shall restrain you no longer, from this time forth. If\noccasion require I will lead you to battle, if you are not afraid to\ndie and to spill your blood in your own defense you will not offend\nme. Be not the aggressor. Bear until they strike you on one cheek and\nthen offer the other. They will be sure to strike that also; then\ndefend yourself and God will bear you off victorious. If I am under the\nnecessity of giving up our chartered rights, privileges, and freedom\nfor which our fathers fought and bled, and which the constitution {186}\nof the United States as well as this state grants to us, I will do it\nat the point of the bayonet and sword.\n\n\"Many lawyers contend for that which is against the rights of men,\nand I can only excuse them because of their ignorance. Go forth, O ye\nlawyers! and advocate the rights of the people, for we shall rise up\nWashington-like and break off the fetters which bind us and we shall\nnot be mobbed.\"\n\nAfter discussing at some length the charter of Nauvoo and the writ of\nhabeas corpus, he gave an interesting account of his recent arrest and\nof the return to Nauvoo. He explained that he had prophesied to his\nwife the day before his presence in the neighborhood, where the people\nbefriended him, that they were a good people, and that he knew it by\nthe spirit of God. \"When Mr. Cyrus Walker, an attorney, came to me,\nthose who had arrested me said that I should speak to no man and they\nwould shoot any man who spoke to me. An old man came up and said that I\nshould have counsel and told them he was not afraid of their pistols.\nMy freedom began from that time.\"\n\nSpeaking of the law, the Prophet said: \"Almighty God has taught me\nthe true principle of law and the true meaning of the writ of habeas\ncorpus. It is to protect the innocent and to prevent innocent men from\nbeing dragged into other states and from being punished by the avowed\nenemy.\n\n\"It did my soul good to witness the manifestation of your feelings and\nlove toward me. I thank God I have the honor to lead so virtuous and\nhonest a people, to be your law-giver as Moses was to the children of\nIsrael. Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! to the most high God! I commend you\nto His grace and may the blessings of Heaven rest upon you, I ask it in\nthe name of Jesus Christ. Amen.\"\n\nJuly 1st the trial of the Prophet came off. There were present Brigham\nYoung, Hyrum Smith, Parley P. Pratt, Lyman Wight, and Sidney Rigdon.\nThey were all called as witnesses and duly sworn. They recounted the\nhistory of the Missouri persecutions from the time they were driven\nfrom Jackson County until their expulsion from Far West by force of\narms. \"The recital of these scenes,\" says President Woodruff, \"caused\nmy blood to boil and the spirit of war was awakened in me, even the\nGentile {187} lawyers were shocked, and in their speeches counseled the\npeople to stand by their rights whatever the issue might be.\"\n\nThe Fourth of July was at hand and great preparations had been made\nfor its celebration. About fifteen thousand people assembled in the\ngrove. Orson Hyde addressed the vast multitude. He had lately returned\nfrom Palestine, and was then under appointment to carry the gospel to\nSaint Petersburg, Russia. In the afternoon the multitude of Saints\nwas greatly augmented by three steamboat loads of visiting ladies and\ngentlemen from St. Louis, Quincy, and Burlington. As the visitors\narrived they were escorted to the stand by the Nauvoo band, and their\npresence welcomed by the firing of cannon. Parley P. Pratt spoke at\nsome length, and was followed by the Prophet Joseph, who took this\noccasion to speak of himself. Elder Woodruff quotes him as follows:\n\n\"If the people will give ear a moment, I will address a few words\nin my own defense. In the first place I will state to those who can\nhear me that I never spent more than six months in Missouri except\nthe time I was in prison. While at Liberty, Missouri, I was at work\nfor the support of my family. I never was a prisoner of war during my\nstay there, for I had not made war. I never took a gun, nor a pistol,\nnor a sword and what has been said by our enemies on that subject is\nfalse. I have always been willing to go to any governor, judge, or\ntribunal where justice could be had and have the matter investigated.\nI could not have committed treason as I had no control of affairs\nexcept in spiritual matters. I was driven from Missouri by force of\narms under the exterminating order of Governor Boggs. I have always\nbeen a peaceable citizen, yet there is scarcely a crime that can be\ncommitted that is not laid at the door of Joseph Smith. I have been\ndragged before the courts time and again on charges that were false and\nevery time I have been acquitted. As often as God sees fit for me to\nsuffer I am ready, but I am as innocent of those crimes imputed as the\nangels in heaven. I am not an enemy to mankind, neither am I an enemy\nto Missouri, its governor, nor its people.\n\n\"As for the military station I hold and the reasons for holding it I\nhave this to say: When we came here the state required us to bear arms\nand to do military duty. As the Church had just {188} been driven from\nMissouri and our people had been robbed of their property and their\narms had been taken from them, they, therefore, had no arms with which\nto do duty, yet they were liable to a fine if they did not respond to\nthe orders of the state in the matter of military service even though\nthey had no arms. I advised them to organize into independent companies\nand to ask the state for arms. This they did. There were, however, many\nelders who had license to preach. They are exonerated by the law from\nmilitary duties. The officers, however, would not release them on those\ngrounds. I then told the Saints that although I was free from military\nduty by law in consequence of a lameness in one of my legs I would set\nthem an example and do military duty myself. They wanted me for their\nleader. From these circumstances and conditions the Nauvoo Legion came\ninto existence and I was made Lieutenant General. It was not because I\nwas seeking for power.\n\n\"There are those who say we all vote together and that our people vote\nas I say, but I never tell any man how to vote nor whom to vote for.\nLet me make a comparison. Suppose there were a Methodist society here,\nand that outside of that society there were two candidates running for\noffice. One of them says: 'If you will elect me to the gubernatorial\nchair I will take away the charter of your city and exterminate the\nMethodists.' The other says: 'If I am elected all men shall be equal\nbefore the law, and I will discriminate against no man or society.' Now\nwhom would the Methodists vote for? Certainly not for the man who was\ntheir bitter enemy and who would not protect them in their rights. It\nhas been so with us. Joseph Duncan said if the people would elect him\nhe would exterminate the Mormons, take away their charter. Mr. Ford\nmade no such threats, but manifested a disposition to give every man\nhis rights. The people, therefore, voted for him and he was elected\ngovernor. However, he has issued writs against me twice at the demands\nof the Missourians; this has caused me much trouble and expense.\"\n\nDuring these remarks much prejudice was removed. There was present a\nvast multitude of about fifteen thousand people, many of whom were\nnot members of the Church. They gave the strictest attention and were\nedified by what they saw and heard.\n\n{189} On the morning of July 7th, 1843, Wilford Woodruff rose early,\nblessed his wife and daughter, Phoebe, and in company with Brigham\nYoung and Elder George A. Smith, started on a mission to the East\nto strengthen the branches of the Church there and gather funds for\nthe Temple and the Nauvoo House. They left Morrison's landing on the\nsteamer _Rapid_ and arrived in St. Louis the next day. Here Elder\nWoodruff purchased supplies for the \"Times and Seasons\" and shipped\nthem to Nauvoo. The day following the missionary party boarded the\nsteamer _Lancet_ and went up the Ohio to Cincinnati, where they landed\non the 13th, their sixth day from Nauvoo. Enroute they obtained a view\nof the tomb of President Harrison.\n\nOn the night of their arrival in Cincinnati, Elder Woodruff dreamed\nthat Joseph would again be arrested and tried in Illinois, and the same\nnight Brigham Young dreamed that the Twelve were called home. These\ndreams were the preparation for coming events which cast their shadows\nbefore. The hearts of those brave men and devoted missionaries were\nreceiving a preparation for the troublous times that were to come.\n\nIn Cincinnati Elder Woodruff made further purchases for the \"Times\nand Seasons.\" From that city they went on to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania,\nwith the steamer _Adelaide._ They reached the place at six p. m. and\nimmediately repaired to the Temperance Hall, where a meeting of the\nSaints was convened. Here they met Elders Heber C. Kimball, Orson\nPratt, and John E. Page. The last named was preaching as they entered\nthe hall; and, contrary to the counsel of the Prophet, Elder Page was\nmaking war upon sects of the day. Next day the Twelve held a council,\nin which John E. Page was severely reproved by President Young for\ndisorganizing a branch in Cincinnati which three of the Twelve had just\nbefore that time organized, and for disobeying the Prophet's counsel\nin the matter of preaching against religious denominations. These acts\nof disobedience to the counsels of his file-leaders had, no doubt,\nsomething to do with his apostasy later on.\n\nElder Woodruff never forgets to put in his journal the historical\nitems of general interest and speaks of Pittsburg as a city which at\nthat time numbered about thirty-five thousand inhabitants. The city\nhad ninety-five churches, one hundred and twenty {190} preachers, and\ntwenty-one denominations. The Latter-day Saints numbered there at that\ntime seventy-five souls.\n\nOn Sunday, the 30th, six of the Twelve Apostles met in conference with\nthe Saints in Temperance Hall. They held three meetings and imparted\nmany valuable instructions to the Saints and visitors in attendance.\nElder Woodruff took minutes of the meeting and noted especially the\nteachings of President Young, as he attached most importance to the\nwords of the man standing highest in authority when giving an account\nof what was said on any occasion. President Young on this occasion bore\na strong testimony to the divinity of the work and to the mission of\nthe Prophet Joseph. \"Who,\" he said, \"is the author of this work? God\nis its author, Joseph Smith being the instrument in the hands of God.\nHe is the greatest man on earth. No other man of this age has power to\ngather such a great people from all the nations of the earth and with\nall their peculiar dispositions cement them together. This the Prophet\nis doing by the power of God, as the Saints are led by the Holy Spirit\nin their own hearts.\"\n\nJuly the 30th the members of the Twelve made a tour of the city. They\nvisited the glass-works, the water-works, and other places of note and\ninterest. Speaking of the water-works, Elder Woodruff says: \"Descending\nthe hill we had a view of the city water-works. The building was\npatterned after Roman architecture. The works cost two hundred thousand\ndollars. The building was designed by Elder Charles Beck, who was a\nmember of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\" Elder Beck\nwas present at the visit of the Twelve to Pittsburg and showed them\nevery courtesy. He further paid the railroad fare of the six members to\nBaltimore.\n\nFrom there they proceeded to Philadelphia, where they arrived August\n5th. The following day (Sunday) they met about three hundred Saints\nin conference. Elder Jedediah M. Grant was also present and opened\nthe conference by prayer. President Young, Orson Pratt, and George A.\nSmith occupied the principal part of the time in both of the meetings,\nafternoon and evening. In the forenoon Elder Woodruff accompanied\nPresident Young and others to hear the Reverend Mr. Litz, the Millerite\npreacher. The reverend gentleman strongly contended that the Jews would\nnever be restored to the land of Palestine or be gathered together.\n\n{191} On the 8th the Twelve took a steamboat excursion, and while\nthus riding for their enjoyment, a number of subjects came up for\ndiscussion. Among others the question: \"Is the prosperity of any\nreligious denomination a positive evidence of the truth of its\ncontention?\" John E. Page took the affirmative, and Elder J.M. Grant\nthe negative. President Young, who was chairman, decided in favor of\nthe negative.\n\nDuring the stay of the Twelve in this historic city, Elder Woodruff was\nvery active in visiting the Saints, strengthening them in their faith\nand laying before them the purpose of their mission. At intervals in\nhis labors he occupied himself in gathering a great variety of useful\ninformation within his reach. His journal is, indeed, an interesting\nhistory of the places visited by him in those early days. He speaks\nof the visit of himself, Elders Young, Pratt, Smoot, and Hessy to\nthe state house, also of his visit to Independence Hall. \"We saw,\"\nhe remarks, \"the room where the patriots signed the Declaration of\nIndependence. We sat in the chair occupied by John Hancock when he\nsigned that immortal instrument.\"\n\nOn the 14th, Elders Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, and William\nMuir parted with the Saints in Philadelphia and went by steamer to\nSchuylkill, then walked six miles to a Mr. Mosley's, where they\npreached in the evening. For several days Elder Woodruff traveled and\npreached in various neighborhoods of that vicinity. He visited the\nscene of the Battle of Brandywine.\n\nOn the 21st the party returned to Philadelphia, where they learned that\nthe other apostles had gone on to New York. They remained two days,\nthen followed their companions. In New York they held a conference on\nAugust 26th and 27th. At this conference many questions which are well\nunderstood doctrines of the Church were commented upon in such a manner\nas to show that they were not plain to the missionaries of those early\ndays, a fact, no doubt, due to the traditions and religious teachings\nwhich men of those times brought with them into the Church. Among other\nthings, the question was asked whether a man could be deprived of his\npriesthood and still retain his standing in the Church. President Young\nanswered decidedly, \"No.\"\n\nOn the 29th of that month Elder Woodruff went to Boston {192} with\nElders Davis and Wandell. This afforded him an opportunity to visit his\nfather and family in his old home at Farmington, Connecticut. On the\n9th of September, after reaching Boston, he, with six other members of\nthe Twelve; namely, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt,\nOrson Pratt, John E. Page, and George A. Smith, held conference in\nBoylston Hall. From his notes the following is taken: \"President Young\nsaid: 'The spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a gathering spirit, and\nits tendency is to gather the virtuous and good, the honest and meek of\nthe earth, in other words the Saints of God. Now is the set time for\nthe Lord to redeem Israel. He does not require every soul to leave his\nhome as soon as he believes, but requires him to hearken to counsel\nand follow the counsel which the Lord points out to him. You say the\nLord may save us as well where we are. Yes, if the Lord says so, but\nwhen He commands us to gather and we do not do it, He will not save us.\nYou might have been baptized seventy times in any other way than that\nordained of God and you would not have received the Holy Ghost. Can\nyou get an endowment in Boston? No, only in that place which God has\nappointed. If you do not help to build the Temple and the Nauvoo House,\nif you do not help to build up Zion and the cause of God, you will not\ninherit the land of Zion. Be faithful or you will not be chosen; for\nthe day of choosing is at the door. Why be afraid of sacrifice? I have\ngiven my all many times and would be willing to do so again. I would\nbe glad to hear the Lord say to His servant Joseph, \"Let my servant\nBrigham give all he has.\" I would obey in a moment if it took the last\ncoat from my back.'\"\n\nFrom a discourse of Heber C. Kimball the following is taken: \"We do not\nprofess to be polished stones like some of the elders. The more we roll\nthrough the forests and get the corners knocked off the better we are.\nIf we were polished and smooth it would deface us to have the surface\nchipped off. This is the case with Joseph Smith, he never professed to\nbe smooth and polished. Rolling around among the rocks has not hurt him\nat all, but in the end he will be as polished as any stone, while many\nwho were so very polished in the beginning will become badly defaced.\"\n\n\"Do the Saints of Boston know,\" said Parley P. Pratt, \"that they are\nidentified in laying the foundation of so great and mighty {193} a\nwork that it will include all the great and glorious purposes of God\nwhich are to be fulfilled in the dispensation of the fullness of times?\nMillions will yet celebrate the day when the foundation of this work\nwas laid.\"\n\nThe Twelve little dreamed that when they would meet again in Boston\nit would be on the sad 27th day of June, when the Prophet and the\nPatriarch would be called upon to lay down their lives at the hands of\na murderous mob.\n\nOn the 12th Elder Woodruff left for Portland, Maine. The express\ntrain conveying him to his destination was thrown from the track. The\nengineer was killed and a lady passenger bruised; all the rest escaped\nin a marvelous manner. From Maine Elder Woodruff wrote an account of\nthe wreck to the \"Boston Bee\" as well as to the \"Times and Seasons\" in\nNauvoo. He occupied some several days in visiting his wife's father,\nEzra Carter, and the family of Arthur and Lucy Milliken, the latter\nbeing the youngest sister of the Prophet Joseph.\n\nAfter his visit he returned to Boston, where he again joined the\nmembers of this quorum. While there he and several members of the\nTwelve were examined phrenologically by the noted Professor O. S.\nFowler. From his chart we take the following character delineation of\nPresident Woodruff:\n\nPHRENOLOGICAL CHART.\n\n_\"Wilford Woodruff:_ Is a man of great action, both physical and\nmental; does up things in a hurry; lets nothing sleep in his hands;\ngreat resolution; steamboat speed; loves his liberty; is not\ndisposed to be subject to the will or dictation of others; has great\nindependence; difficulties only stimulate him to increased action;\ngoes in for the largest liberty of the mass and is a democrat of the\nold school; prefers utility to beauty and substance to show; highly\nsocial and fond of family and friends; has but few secrets of his own\nand tells the plain, unvarnished facts; fears but little danger; is\nnot irresolute, but decides and proceeds at once to action; his first\nthoughts are always his best; he does his own religious thinking and\ndoes not hang his hopes upon the faith of others. He believes but\nlittle without proof; is a two edged sword--if he does not cut one way,\ndoes another. He makes positive {194} friends or positive enemies--has\nmuch severity; is sarcastic; bitter in reproaches; means to do right;\nfears the force of moral obligations. His jokes have more vinegar than\nmolasses in them. He recollects and explains facts well; reasons by\ninference from the facts, by analogy and induction; has good talking\ntalents, and is noted for his clear illustrations.\n\n\"Boston, September the 20th, 1843.\n\n\"(Signed) O. S. FOWLER.\n\n\"B. J. GRAY, Secretary.\"\n\nSoon after this the Twelve began their return to Nauvoo. They met\nin Philadelphia, and on the 5th of October continued their journey\nhomeward. The same day a large company of Saints left by rail to gather\nwith the Saints in Illinois. On the 19th they crossed the Alleghanies\nby means of an incline which hoisted the car, passengers, and freight\nfrom one elevator to another until the summit, nearly fifteen hundred\nfeet above, was reached. They were let down on the other side in the\nsame manner. In those days this was a novel contrivance, and the\nmechanism employed not being so perfect as that of today was attended\nwith many dangers. \"The whole passage across the mountains was a\nconstant scene of danger, and I called upon God in my heart to preserve\nour lives. Even while on the level we were running on the edge of a\nprecipice a hundred feet above the bottom of a chasm. In conversation\nwith a mate in the evening upon the subject of our passage across the\nmountains, he said that we were not aware of one-half the dangers we\nhad encountered.\"\n\nAt Pittsburg Elder Woodruff took passage for St. Louis and thence up\nthe river to Nauvoo, which he reached November 4th. On the 7th he met\nin council with the Twelve. He was appointed to raise five hundred\ndollars for the purchase of paper upon which to print the \"Doctrine and\nCovenants.\" On the 11th President Hyrum Smith sealed Wilford Woodruff\nand Phoebe Woodruff for time and eternity according to the patriarchal\norder of marriage which had previously been revealed to the Prophet\nJoseph Smith.\n\nAbout this time the Prophet delivered a strong discourse on the sin\nof adultery and kindred crimes. The discourse was the result of the\naction taken in the case of John C. Bennett, who, with {195} other\nprominent men, had been adjudged guilty of adultery. The Saints were\nwarned against such crimes. The Prophet thought that the example made\nof John C. Bennett and others was sufficient to show the fallacy of\nthose who advocated or justified such a course. He condemned adultery\nin unqualified terms and warned those present against its commission.\n\nIt was also about this time that General Fryeson came to Nauvoo and met\nwith the Prophet and Twelve to arrange for a memorial to congress in\nbehalf of the Latter-day Saints. Affidavits on the Missouri atrocities\nwere given by Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, P. P. Pratt, Lyman Wight,\nGeorge W. Pitkin, and Sidney Rigdon.\n\nTrouble was again fomented about this time by the Missourians. A\nmessenger had just arrived from St. Louis informing the brethren\nthat the governor of Missouri had issued another requisition for the\nProphet. Joseph had just made a touching appeal to the Green Mountain\nboys of Vermont, his native state, for assistance in obtaining\nredress for the wrongs heaped upon the Saints in Missouri. The appeal\nwas published in pamphlet form and sent to the authorities of the\ngovernment in Washington. A few days later a man named Elliot was\narrested and proven guilty of kidnapping brethren and of threatening\nthe life of the Prophet. Notwithstanding the guilt of this man, Joseph\nforgave him, and he subsequently left in peace. A warrant was also\nissued for the arrest of Colonel Williams, the leader of the kidnapping\nparty. He, however, gathered a mob and resisted the officers.\n\nDecember 2nd on the Sabbath morning P. P. Pratt, Orson Hyde, Wilford\nWoodruff, and Orson Spencer received their anointings; and on December\n23rd they met in Joseph Smith's home, where endowments were given to\nElder Marley and wife, Orson Pratt, Mrs. Lot, Fanny Murray, Phoebe\nWoodruff, Bathsheba Smith, Sister Orson Spencer, and Sister Phelps.\n\nChristmas day of 1843 was spent by Elder Woodruff with his old-time\nfriend, A. O. Smoot. They paid a visit to the Saints who had come from\nTennessee to Nauvoo. Part of that day Elder Woodruff worked upon his\nhouse and discharged many duties of a home nature. Thus another year\nin his life was closed. During 1843 he had traveled in thirteen states\nover five thousand {196} miles, held many meetings, baptized a half\ndozen persons, reported several sermons, endured a severe sickness,\nencountered dangers by rail and by water, and closed an eventful year\nwith feelings of gratitude, and with the fullest recognition of God's\ntender mercies in his behalf.\n\n{197}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 19\n\nEARLY DAYS OF 1844.\n\nConduct of the Laws and the Marks.--Discourse on Elijah by the\nProphet.--The Celestial Law.--Prophet's Candidacy for President of\nU. S.--Exploring Expedition to California Planned.--Joseph, Mayor\nof Nauvoo.--Hostility in Carthage.--Mischief Makers in Nauvoo.--The\nProphet Talks on Politics.\n\nThe year 1844, a year pregnant with momentous events--events which\nhistory has magnified because of their importance to mankind in general\nand to the Latter-day Saints in particular, was ushered in with a cold,\nblustering snow storm. Characteristic of his busy life, Elder Woodruff\ncelebrated the day by plastering and whitewashing the printing office.\nHe was enthusiastic over his new-found occupation and gave his heart\nand hand to the work before him.\n\nInto the midst of the busy, hopeful life of the Saints, there entered\nan element of uncertainty and of deep concern, and whispered threats\nagainst the life of the Prophet were circulated. The false charges of\nthe apostate element were growing in intensity.\n\nAs the outgrowth of these conditions in Nauvoo at that time, there was\nheld on the 3rd of January, in Joseph's store, a court of inquiry. The\ninquiry was directed to the conduct of William Law, Wilson Law, and\nWilliam Marks. Of William Law Elder Woodruff writes in his journal: \"He\nprofesses to believe that Joseph has instructed the police to kill him,\nbut the truth is that the Laws have turned traitors and are breeding\nmischief which is intended to take the life of the Prophet Joseph\nSmith.\" On the 5th of the month a second court was held relating to the\nsame matter. In contradistinction to the spirit of the Laws there was\nan enthusiastic, hopeful spirit which caused faithful men and women to\nlook forward with fond anticipations to the completion of the Temple.\nWork in the house of God was then taking hold upon the feelings of men\nand women who had had revealed to them the relation and duties they\nsustain to their progenitors as well as to their posterity. The spirit\nof Elijah was upon the elders of the Church.\n\nOn January 21st, Elder Woodruff records the fact that Apostle {198}\nParley P. Pratt had just received second anointings and that he had\nbeen instructed by the Prophet that it was his duty to have his wife\nsealed to him for eternity in order that his glory might be full. Elder\nWoodruff records the following words from the prophet: \"What shall I\ntalk about today? I discern that Brother Cahoon wishes me to speak\nupon the coming of Elijah. The Bible says, 'I will send you Elijah\nbefore the great and terrible day of the Lord shall come, that he\nshall turn the hearts of the fathers to the chidren and the hearts of\nthe children to their fathers lest I come and smite the earth with a\ncurse.' The word 'turned' should read 'point' or 'seal.' But, what is\nthe object of this important mission, or how is it to be fulfilled?\nThe keys are to be delivered, the spirit of Elijah is to come, the\ngospel is to be preached, the Saints of God are to be gathered, Zion is\nto be built up, and the Saints are to come forth as Saviors on Mount\nZion. But how are they to come as Saviors on Mount Zion? By building\ntemples, erecting baptismal fonts and receiving in the temples all\nthe ordinances, sealings, and anointings in behalf of our progenitors\nwho are dead, that they may come forth in the first resurrection and\nbe with us exalted to thrones of glory. I would to God that this\nTemple were now completed, that we might go forth and attend to these\nordinances in their fullness! I would advise all the Saints to gather\ntheir living relatives to this place and be prepared against the day\nwhen the destroying angel shall go forth. My only trouble now is that\nwhich concerns ourselves. The Saints may be divided, broken up and\nscattered before we accomplish the work now in view. There are so many\nfools in the world for the devil to act upon that it oftimes gives him\nthe advantage. Any person who is exalted to the highest mansion must\nabide the celestial law and the whole law, too, but there has been much\ndifficulty in getting understanding into the hearts of this generation.\nEven the Saints are slow to understand. How many will be able to abide\nthe celestial law, endure the trials, and receive their exaltation I am\nunable to say. 'Many are called, but few are chosen.'\"\n\nThe Temple was still incomplete. The Presidency and the Twelve were\nurging the work upon it. In order that the Twelve might be prepared\nto administer in the ordinances of the house of God they were given\ntheir endowments and their wives sealed to {199} them for eternity.\nElder Woodruff gives the exact dates when certain members of the Twelve\nreceived these ordinances. He says, in his journal, \"There is at this\ntime quite a revival throughout Nauvoo and an inquiry after the things\nof God by all the quorums of the Church generally.\"\n\nThere was a strange commingling of spirits in Nauvoo at that time.\nSpirits of life and death were at war, and the Prophet's approaching\nend was made manifest to him in a dream which he related in his office\nto Wilford Woodruff, Willard Richards, and W. W. Phelps. The Prophet\nclearly saw the coming storm of persecution which awaited him. His\nrelease from opposition was represented by his power to pass through\nthe air and be lifted up by the power of God above the earth.\n\nFurthermore this year was one for a presidential election. The Saints\nhad been constantly ground between the political parties of those days.\nWhatever significance may be attached to the candidacy of Joseph Smith\nat that time for the presidency of the United States, it has since\nbeen the subject of all sorts of speculation. Elder Woodruff, in his\njournal, says: \"A congregation of the citizens met in the room over\nJoseph's store to hear his views upon the affairs of government, views\nwhich he had written and which were read by W. W. Phelps. 'I would not\nhave permitted my name to be used by my friends as a candidate for the\nPresident of the United States if we could have enjoyed, unmolested,\nour religious and civil rights as American citizens--the rights which\nthe constitution guarantees to all citizens, but rights which have\nbeen denied us from the beginning. I feel it my right and privilege to\nobtain what influence and power I can, lawfully, for the protection of\ninjured innocence.'\"\n\nAt the close of the meeting there was a unanimous vote passed to\nsupport Joseph Smith. The Prophet had reason to appreciate the rights\nand liberties of mankind, of which he had been so often unlawfully and\nwantonly deprived.\n\n\"On the 21st of February,\" Elder Woodruff writes, \"I met with the\nquorum of the Twelve at Joseph's store, and according to Joseph's\ncounsel a company was selected to go on an exploring expedition to\nCalifornia, and to select a place for the building of a city. Jonathan\nDunham, David Fulmer, Phineas Young, Samuel W. Richards and several\nothers were named for the expedition.\" {200} The Prophet subsequently,\nin company with a number of his brethren, left Nauvoo on this proposed\nexpedition, but turned back, as all know from the sad story of his\nlast days, to be a martyr to the work he had been instrumental in\nestablishing.\n\nA curious circumstance of those times was the preaching of an\nEpiscopalian minister in an adjoining room. Following the preacher,\nJoseph said, \"The object with me is to obey and to teach others to\nobey God and all that He commands us to do. It matters not whether\nthe principle be popular or unpopular, I will always maintain it\nthough I stand alone in doing so.\" According to Elder Woodruff the\nProphet, in 1842, predicted that within five years the Saints would be\nestablished beyond the Rocky Mountains and became a mighty people in\nthe inter-mountain regions.\n\nOn the evening of February 25th the news of the death of Joseph\nDuncan and Governor Reynolds of Missouri reached Nauvoo. They were\namong the most persistent enemies of the Saints. The news of their\ndeath called forth a notable prophecy from Joseph Smith, who wished\nhis words recorded that they might be remembered when they were\nfulfilled. He declared that in five years the Saints would be rid of\ntheir old enemies, whether they were apostates or men who were never\nin the Church. Five years saw the Saints located in the valleys of the\nmountains. Those predictions were more the voice of the spirit than\nany expectations of the people who were eagerly working for an early\ncompletion of the Temple.\n\nOn the 7th of March there was a large meeting of the Saints in Nauvoo.\nEight thousand people had gathered by invitation to listen to the words\nof their Prophet and the Twelve. The latter directed their remarks more\nparticularly to the ordinances which should take place in the house of\nGod. \"One of the great objects I had in calling this meeting,\" said the\nProphet, \"was to make a few remarks relative to the laws and ordinances\nof the city and to the building of the Temple. The reason I want to\nspeak of the laws is that the officers have difficulty in administering\nthem. We wish to have the people rule, but rule in righteousness. The\nlaws are enacted and they can be repealed, if the people wish it, but\nthe people should not complain of the officers. I am instructed by\nthe city council to tell this people that if you do not like any law\nwe have passed, we will repeal it for we are your servants. There are\n{201} those in this community who would oppose anything good. If you\npreach virtue to them they will oppose it. If a case is tried here,\nthey want it appealed to Carthage.\"\n\nIn those days Carthage contained the chief enemies of the Prophet, and\nthe town became a gathering place for those bent upon his destruction.\nAny movement in opposition to him or to the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo\nfound sympathetic support there. Justice for the Prophet in Carthage\nwas therefore absolutely impossible. The lawyers and those encompassing\nhis destruction took advantage of the law on a question of venue to put\nthe object of their venom at the mercy of men whose attitude towards\nhim was always malignant.\n\nDuring these days the Prophet was the mayor of Nauvoo, and his\nhome-town sheltered men who were seeking to encompass the Prophet and\nhis devoted followers. Such men were indeed a very small minority, but\nthey were able to make a great amount of noise and do endless mischief.\nA certain individual had undertaken to appropriate the wharfage lands\nat the foot of Water Street, and thus create an issue between himself\nand the city. Such conduct awakened antagonism between people outside\nof Nauvoo desiring to carry on business there in the city. Outsiders\ndid not always discriminate between the conduct of the mischief-makers\nand the people at large. Everything disagreeable and annoying was laid\nat the door of the Latter-day Saints.\n\nThese facts will explain the Prophet's outburst of indignation when he\nsaid: \"I want every fool to stay at home and let the steamboats and\ncaptains and peace officers alone. How can we prevent mobs and the\nshedding of innocent blood unless we strike at everything that rises up\nin disorder.\"\n\nThere were in the city secret combinations planned to thwart the\npurposes of Joseph and to bring confusion upon him and the great\nmajority of the people. Among those plotting his ruin were men who\nprofessed personal friendship. \"I despise,\" he says, \"the man who\nbetrays with a kiss. A certain man has been writing to the New\nYork Tribune. I will not mention his name. He says much that was\nappropriated for the Temple has been spent for other purposes. But any\nman who has paid anything for the Temple can learn from the books that\nevery farthing has been used for that building. There are many men in\nour midst who are trying {202} to build themselves up at our expense,\nand others are watching for some pretended iniquity, and make a man an\noffender for a word.\"\n\nAfter an article entitled, \"A Voice of Innocence from Nauvoo,\" was\nread, Brigham Young addressed in the afternoon the assemblage. \"I wish\nto speak on the duties of lawyers,\" he said, \"classing myself with the\nlawyers in the house of Israel. When any man who is a lawyer takes a\ncourse to break peace instead of promoting it, he is out of the way of\nhis duty. A doctor of law should be a peacemaker. The great object we\nhave before us is the completion of the Temple this season. We have\nfelt the effects of slander and want a cure, or balm for it. I carry\none with me all the time, and I want you to do the same. I will tell\nyou what it is. It is to mind our own business and let others alone,\nto suffer rather than to do wrong. If anyone will take your property\naway let him alone and have nothing to do with him. A spirit intended\nto divide the Saints has been manifested in this city. We have built\nup this city. Would steamboats have landed here if the Saints had not\ncome, or would speculators make anything out of our lands if we had not\ncome to give them value? Israel is to be the head, and not the tail.\nAll who have gone from us have gone from the head to the foot. Oppose\nthis work and it will roll over you. When since it began did this work\never stop? What the Saints need to know is what the Lord wants of them\nand then have the courage to do it. If the Saints will keep the law of\nGod, the hypocrites and the scoundrels will not be comfortable in their\npresence.\"\n\nClosing the meeting the Prophet said, \"I care but little for politics;\nI would not give much for the presidential chair in comparison with\nthe office I now hold; but as men in the world have used the powers\nof government to oppose and persecute us, it is proper for us to use\nthose powers for our own protection and rights. Were I President of the\nUnited States I would never say to an oppressed people, 'Your cause is\njust but I can do nothing for you.'\"\n\nContinuing, he spoke of the annexation of Texas, and he further\nbelieved that the United States should receive all the territory\nthat it could. He was in favor of paying for the slaves and further\nbelieved that steps should be taken to give freedom to all colored\n{203} children after a fixed period. By these means he believed that\nmuch bloodshed would be averted and that in the end it would be less\nexpensive to the country at large. \"This government,\" he said, \"will\nreceive no suggestions from me. Those who hold the responsible places\nare controlled by a spirit of self-sufficiency, but they will have to\nmeet with fear and trembling in a day to come the false position they\nhave taken.\"\n\n\"The Prophet Joseph,\" says Elder Woodruff, in his journal, \"favored the\nadmission of Canada into the United States. He regarded all of North\nand South America as the land of Zion, and believed that the principles\nupon which the government of the United States was founded should\ngovern as well all the various nations on this continent.\"\n\nOn the 8th of March, a number of leading citizens met to consider the\nquestion of vice-president on the presidential ticket.\n\nThrough all the teachings of the Prophet in those days there ran a\nspirit of deep concern for the completion of the Temple, so that the\nordinances to be performed therein might be enjoyed by the Saints.\n\"These ordinances,\" Joseph insisted, \"must be performed in this life.\"\nHe spoke on the land of Zion and of the days to come when there would\nbe stakes established throughout North and South America. His words\nwere like the sounds of a distant echo; their realization was then\nscarcely within the compass of the most vivid imagination. Now that\nstakes of Zion are spreading out into Canada, Mexico, and various\nstates of the Union, the fulfillment of these prophetic utterances is\nwithin the understanding of all Latter-day Saints. And in view of these\nprophecies one may exclaim with the psalmist of old: \"Go about Zion;\ncount the towers thereof.\"\n\n{204}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 20.\n\nTHE MARTYRDOM OF JOSEPH AND HYRUM, 1844.\n\nMission of the Apostles to the East.--A Warning to W. W.--A Sad\nParting.--Political News of the Prophet Published.--W. W. Arrives in\nBoston, June 26.--The Martyrdom.--Its Announcement Reaches W. W. in\nPortland, Maine.--His Return to Boston.--an Epistle to the Elders\nand Saints in the World.--W. W. Visits His Old Home.--Return to\nNauvoo.--Conditions in That City.\n\nThe fourth of March, 1844, brought to Elder Woodruff's life the\nsatisfaction that comes to those who esteem it a divinely appointed joy\nto sit beneath their own vine and fig tree. He moved on that day to the\nnew home he had erected in Illinois; and for the first time he could\nleave his family, while abroad preaching the gospel, in some measure of\ncomfort and independence. He felt now, more than ever, from a material\npoint of view, that he had prepared for the missionary service which\nbelonged to his calling.\n\nThe opportunity for missionary service soon came. The Laws, Higbees,\nFosters, Blakesley, and others came out in open rebellion against the\nProphet of God, who now felt a foreboding of evil days to come. The\nProphet, therefore, made a call upon the Twelve to take a mission to\nthe Eastern States. He would not have their lives jeopardized by the\nenmity which was intensifying about him. Upon the Twelve rested the\nresponsibility of the Kingdom, should he be called to lay down his\nlife. Elder Woodruff left Nauvoo in company with George A. Smith, J.\nM. Grant, Ezra Thayer, and the latter's son. Of this circumstance he\nwrites, \"This was the last mission the Prophet ever gave to the Twelve\nApostles in this dispensation. He wished none of us to remain by him\nexcept Willard Richards. Apostle John Taylor was later required to\nremain and take charge of the printing and publications. The Prophet\nthen turned to me and said: 'Brother Woodruff, I want you to go, and\nif you do not you will die.' His words rested with mighty weight upon\nme when he spoke, and I have often thought since, in contemplation of\nthe awful tragedy of his and Hyrum's martyrdom, how truly his {205}\nwords would have been verified had I remained. Elder Taylor barely\nescaped. Willard Richards escaped the bullets altogether. He escaped,\nas was written of him later, 'without even a hole in his robe.' I\ntook the parting hand of Hyrum and Joseph, at their own dwellings.\nJoseph stood in the entry of his door when I took his hand to bid\nhim farewell. Brother J. M. Grant was with me. As he took me by the\nhand, he said: 'Brother Woodruff, you are about to start upon your\nmission.' I answered, 'Yes.' He looked me steadily in the eye for a\ntime without speaking a word; he looked as though he would penetrate\nmy very soul, and at the same time seemed unspeakably sorrowful as if\nweighed down by a foreboding of something dreadful. He finally spoke\nin a mournful voice: 'God bless you, Brother Woodruff; go in peace.'\nI turned and left him with a sorrowful heart, partaking of the same\nspirit which rested upon him. This was the last time I ever saw his\nface or heard his voice again--in the flesh. Sad were the last months\nof the Prophet's life. They were like the last days of Him who died\non Calvary for the redemption of a fallen world. The Apostles of\nthis dispensation, while not aware of the coming events in all their\nfullness, were yet more fully prepared for the sad event than were\nthe Apostles of Jerusalem. Those of the latter days had been endowed\nwith power from on high, and they did not slumber while their Prophet\nsuffered, as did those 'in the Garden of Gethsemane.'\"\n\nAfter departing upon his mission, Elder Woodruff and others passed the\nfirst week in holding public meetings, and on the 18th of May held\ntheir first conference in Newark, Kendall County, Illinois. With him at\nthis conference was George A. Smith of the Twelve. At its close they\nwere joined by Elders Charles C. Rich, David Fulmer, and Henry Jacobs\nfrom Nauvoo. The evening following they held a political meeting over\nwhich Wilford Woodruff presided. Henry Jacobs read the views of Joseph\nSmith on the policy and powers of the general government. Spirited\naddresses were made by David Fulmer, Wilford Woodruff, and George A.\nSmith. The day following they rode thirty miles to Joliet, where a\nsimilar meeting was held, and where a good impression was made upon the\nminds of the people. In his journal he says: \"We continued from place\nto place, holding forth in public assemblage upon political subjects,\nreading the {206} views of Joseph Smith and placing him before the\npublic as a fit candidate for the presidency of the United States.\n\n\"On the first of June we held conference in Comstock, Kalamazoo County,\nMichigan. There were present two of the Quorum, myself and George A.\nSmith. There were eight high priests; S. Bent, Charles C. Richor, David\nFulmer, H. Green, Z. Coltrin, Moses Smith, Ezra Thayer, and G. Coltrin;\neight seventies and fourteen elders; two priests and one deacon.\nCharles C. Rich, in council with the officers, appointed the elders to\ntheir respective stations in the several counties of the state, and\nhe manifested much wisdom in arranging to carry out his work both in\npolitics and religion in the state of Michigan.\"\n\nOn the eighth day they held a conference in Pleasant Valley, and\nanother in Franklin on the fifteenth. Soon after this Elder Woodruff\nproceeded to Boston, where he arrived on the 26th of June. On the 27th,\nthe most sorrowful day of this dispensation, he was in company with\nPresident Brigham Young. Of this day he subsequently wrote: \"The day\nof the martyrdom, Brigham Young and myself were seated in the railroad\nstation at the time Joseph and Hyrum were assassinated. This was June\nthe 27th, at quarter past five in the evening, at Carthage, Illinois.\nIt was half-past six in Boston. As we sat in the station, Brigham was\nvery sorrowful and depressed in spirit, not knowing the cause. This\nwas the time when Satan struck the heaviest blow he had struck since\nthe Son of God was crucified. We well knew afterwards why all the\nTwelve, wherever they were on that day and at that time, were, like\nthe president of our Quorum, sorrowful, and burdened in spirit without\nknowing why.\"\n\nOn the 29th of June the Twelve held a conference with the Saints in\nBoston. They met in Franklin Hall. There were present Brigham Young,\nHeber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, William\nSmith, and Lyman Wight. President Young presided. It occupied two days.\nThe conference was well attended, and every effort was made to present\nthe views of the Prophet and explain the character of the Latter-day\nSaints. The conference also received instructions in political matters.\n\nJuly first, by previous appointment, a convention was held in {207}\nMelodian Hall. Brigham Young of Nauvoo presided. William Smith and\nLyman Wight were vice presidents. Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, and\nA. McAllister of Boston, and N. H. Felt of Salem were secretaries.\nResolutions were passed and proceedings of the meeting were published\nin the \"Boston Times\" of July 2nd, 1844. An evening session of the\nconvention was held. A number of rowdies made their appearance in the\ngalleries. While President Young was speaking, a woman by the name\nof Folsom, arose and began to harangue the audience; then a rowdy,\nsupported by a large number of kindred spirits, made such a disturbance\nthat the police came in to quell those creating the confusion. The\npolice, however, were overpowered by the rough element and the meeting\nwas broken up. The convention, however, adjourned until 4 p. m. the\nfollowing day, to meet at Bunker Hill. Here Heber C. Kimball and George\nB. Wallace were elected delegates to attend the Baltimore National\nConvention.\n\nOn July 2nd the Twelve met in council and made their plans to support\nand attend the several conferences in the various states. Elder\nWoodruff and his old-time friend, Milton Holmes, whom he had not seen\nfor five years, went into Maine. \"We left Boston,\" he says, \"at seven\np. m. on the 2nd and arrived at Father Carter's home in Scarboro early\nthe next afternoon. I found my wife's father and mother and Brother\nFabyan and family all well.\" A Brother Stoddard had already made the\nappointment for their conference on the 6th and 7th at Scarboro, in a\nPresbyterian chapel. About six hundred people assembled. There were\npresent besides himself S. B. Stoddard, Milton Holmes, Elbridge Tufts,\nand Samuel Parker.\n\nOn the 9th, in company with Milton Holmes and Father Carter, Elder\nWoodruff visited Portland, and dined with his brother-in-law, Ezra\nCarter. While there he saw for the first time the announcement in the\npress of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It was published in\nthe \"Boston Times.\" In consequence of the shocking news, he repaired\nat once to Boston, and the day following his arrival there he met with\nthe Saints and gave them counsel and comfort in the hour of their\nbereavement. \"The next day,\" he says in his journal, \"I wrote a letter\nto the editor of the \"Prophet,\" published in New York, giving a word\nof exhortation {208} to the Saints abroad to maintain their integrity,\nand to keep the faith and endurance of the Saints even unto death. The\nfollowing morning we obtained information from Quincy, giving full\naccount of the horrible affair at Carthage and the great loss which the\nChurch had sustained.\n\n\"The governor himself acknowledged the death of Joseph and Hyrum to be\na wanton murder. The state of Illinois was in commotion, and Governor\nFord made Quincy his headquarters and issued a proclamation to the\ncitizens of the state. The news of the day stated that the Mormon\nleaders in Nauvoo had done all they could to restrain the disciples\nof the martyred Prophet from vengeance. Still there was evidently a\ndisposition on the part of the people and the troops to destroy Nauvoo,\nlest the Mormons should hold a fearful reckoning with the mobocratic\nelement in desperation over the assassination of their Prophet and\nPatriarch. 'The wicked flee when no man pursueth.'\"\n\nOn Sunday, the 14th, Elder Woodruff preached twice to the Saints in\nBoston, he being the only one of the Twelve then in that city. On the\nmorning of the 16th of July he received a letter from Erastus Snow and\none from John E. Page, both confirming the report of the martyrdom. The\nsame day he received the first letter he had obtained from his wife\nsince leaving Nauvoo. This letter contained the narration of a dream\ngiven to the Prophet Joseph a few days before his death. In the dream\nthere was clearly indicated to him the conspiracy and treachery of\nWilliam and Wilson Law, and the fact, too, that they would yet cry unto\nJoseph to deliver them from the grasp of the monster into whose hands\nthey had wilfully placed themselves; and that his power to help them\nwould be like that of Lazarus, to whom the rich man appealed. There was\na gulf between them.\n\nOn the 17th of July he says, in his journal: \"Elder Brigham Young\narrived in Boston. I walked with him to No. 57 Temple Street and called\nupon Sister Vose. Brother Young took the bed and I the armchair, and\nthen we veiled our faces and gave vent to our grief. Until now I had\nnot shed a tear since the death of the Prophet. My soul had been\nnerved up like steel. After giving vent to our grief in tears we felt\nmore composed. Brother Brigham left the city the same day, but soon\nreturned. Elders {209} Kimball, Hyde, and Orson Pratt also came. We\nheld a council and I was directed to write a letter to the \"Prophet,\"\nedited in New York, advising the elders who had families in Nauvoo to\ngo immediately to them, and all the elders of the Church to assemble\nforthwith at Nauvoo for a council. It was signed by order of the quorum\nof the Twelve, Brigham Young, president, and Wilford Woodruff, clerk.\nThis order of the quorum was subsequently published in the \"News,\"\nVolume 7, No. 447.\"\n\nOn July 18th, meeting was held in a hall on Washington Street, opposite\nBoylston Hall. Elder Hyde spoke on the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum,\nand was followed by Brigham Young, who said: \"Be of good cheer. The\ntestimony is not in force while the testator liveth; when he dieth, it\nis enforced. So it is with Joseph. When God sends a man to do a work,\nall the devils in hell cannot kill him until his work is accomplished.\nIt was thus with Joseph. He prepared all things and gave the keys to\nmen on the earth and said, 'I am soon to be taken from you.'\"\n\nSoon after this the Twelve left for Nauvoo. Elder Woodruff started\non the 20th, and two days later found himself at his native home in\nFarmington, Connecticut. \"I found my father and stepmother alone, there\nwas not a child with them in their decline of life to watch over them.\nI had twenty-four hours to stay and I happily improved the time.\n\n\"My father was sixty-seven years of age, and I might never see him\nagain in mortality. I felt deeply impressed of late that I had\nsomething to do for my parents. As the sable shades of a serene night\ndrew their curtain over the earth and sealed the cares of the day, we\nwent alone to prayer. There were none but congenial spirits there. I\nrose and with a spirit like that of Joseph of old towards his father\nJacob, opened my heart to my father, and he reciprocated my sentiments.\nI then laid my hands upon his head and ordained Aphek Woodruff a high\npriest and patriarch after the order of Melchisedek, and sealed him\nup unto eternal life. I shall never forget the deep satisfaction and\nheavenly spirit of that night beneath my father's roof. Sleep departed\nfrom me, and I was wrapped in the meditations and visions of days gone\nby and of days to come.\"\n\nThe day following he journeyed on to New York, where he {210} met Orson\nHyde and Orson Pratt. When they reached Schenectady they met Brigham\nYoung, Heber C. Kimball, and Lyman Wight. The six journeyed together\nuntil they reached Fairport, where Elder Hyde separated from them to\nvisit his family in Kirtland.\n\nOn this journey homeward President Young requested Elder Woodruff to\nkeep an account of the events of those times, for some day he would be\ncalled upon to give a record of them. It was during this journey that\nLyman Wight testified that while he was in jail in Missouri with the\nprophet, that Joseph informed him that he (Joseph) would not live to\nsee his 40th birthday, but enjoined him not to speak of it until after\nhis words had been fulfilled. It was during this journey also that\nElder Kimball had a dream. It showed the policy of the nation toward\nthe work of God and the important part the Twelve would perform in\nbuilding upon the foundation laid by the Prophet.\n\nThe Twelve arrived in Nauvoo on the sixth day of August, where they\nreceived a hearty welcome by families and friends. \"When we landed in\nthe city, a deep gloom seemed to rest over Nauvoo such as we had never\nbefore experienced.\"\n\nThose were days of heartfelt anxiety. Conflicting spirits were at\nwork in a struggle for ascendency. Selfish ambitions and sinister\nmotives were operating among the few. The Saints, generally, were\ntrusting themselves to an overruling Providence; they believed that\nat the proper time and in a manner unmistakeable, there would be\nsome manifestation of God's watchcare over His Saints. The personal\nambitions of men had gained no decided sway over the hearts and minds\nof the great body of the Church. The Apostles had just arrived. They\nwere strong men, and the people felt the power of their influence.\nThose who were promoting their own selfish ends were likewise concerned\nover the arrival of the Twelve. To them the presence of these men meant\nmore a contest for supremacy than it did an opportunity for more light\nand a better understanding. The humble and the God-fearing among the\npeople possessed the key of their own safety. They were seeking a will\nhigher than their own, and were willing when they found it to yield\nobedience. They knew that it was not their work. They appreciated\nfully the fact that they were humble instruments and therefore wanted\nto place themselves in harmony {211} with that divine authority which\nhad been their guide and their anchor in bygone days. Those who were\nseeking the light were the first to behold it. The days following the\narrival in Nauvoo of President Young and other members of the Twelve\nwere days of great future significance in the history of the Church;\nevery event of those days has been a land-mark in the history of God's\npeople. What followed of importance is carefully recorded by Elder\nWoodruff in his journal. The contents of that journal are of supreme\nhistorical importance in the annals of the Church.\n\n{212}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 21.\n\nTHE SUCCESSION, 1844.\n\nSidney Rigdon's Claim to Guardianship.--Rigdon's Spiritual\nCondition.--Comparison of Sidney Rigdon and Frederick\nWilliams.--Remarks of Brigham Young.--Meeting on Aug. 8, 1844.--Brigham\nYoung Follows Sidney Rigdon in Address to the People.--Members of the\nTwelve Speak.--Vote on Question of Leadership.\n\nThe return of the Twelve to Nauvoo at that particular time was both\nopportune and providential. Elder Woodruff's careful record of what was\nsaid and done gives us an insight into the condition of the city and\ninto the feelings of the people. The minds of the Saints were agitated,\ntheir hearts were sorrowful and darkness seemed to becloud their path;\nthey were like sheep without a shepherd, since their beloved Prophet\nhad been taken away.\n\nElder John Taylor was recovering from his wounds; and on the 7th of\nAugust, 1844, the Twelve met in the forenoon in council at his home.\nAt four o'clock in the afternoon the Twelve, the high council, and\nthe high priests met in the Seventies' Hall. It was there that Sidney\nRigdon made his appearance, he having returned from Pittsburg. On\ninvitation of President Young he took charge of the meeting. Sidney\nRigdon presented to the people his claims to the guardianship of the\nChurch. He recounted to those present, a vision which he said he\nreceived in Pittsburg on the 27th of June, the day of the Prophet's\nmartyrdom. This vision is given by Elder Woodruff in his journal as\nfollows: \"This was presented to my mind, not as an open vision, but\nrather as a continuation of the vision mentioned in the Doctrine and\nCovenants. It was shown to me that His Church must be built up unto\nJoseph and that all the blessings we received must come through him. I\nhave been ordained as spokesman to Joseph and must see that the Church\nis governed in a proper manner. Joseph sustains the same relationship\nto this Church as he has always done. No man can be a successor of\nJoseph. The Kingdom has to be built up to Jesus Christ through Joseph.\nThere must still be revelation. The martyred Prophet is still the head\nof this Church. Every quorum should stand in {213} the order in which\nits members received their anointings. I have been ordained a spokesman\nto Joseph and was commanded to speak for him. The Church is not\ndisorganized though our head is gone. We have a diversity of feelings\non this matter. I have been called to be a spokesman unto Joseph and\nI want to build up the Church unto him; and if the people call me to\nsustain this place, I want it upon the principle that every individual\nshall acknowledge my right for himself. I propose to be a guardian to\nthe people. In this matter I have discharged my duty and have done what\nGod has commanded me to do. The people may please themselves whether\nthey accept me or not.\"\n\nIt will be remembered that although Sidney Rigdon had for a long time\nbeen faithful and had passed through many persecutions and tribulations\nwith Joseph, he had weakened and had become \"weary in well doing.\" When\nhe came out of Liberty jail he made an expression both presumptuous\nand sacrilegious by saying, in substance, that the Savior was nothing\nin suffering, compared with himself. Again when the Prophet gazed upon\nCommerce, the place where Nauvoo was built, he prophetically remarked:\n\"It is a beautiful site but not long a resting place for the Saints.\"\nSidney was so impetuous and so weary of suffering that in a tone of\nvexation he said of Joseph's words: \"I thought that Joseph knew better\nthan to prophesy evil concerning the Saints.\"\n\nThe foregoing remarks disclose the state of Elder Rigdon's mind and\nexplain the interpretation which he put upon the sacrifices he had made\nfor the gospel's sake. From these sacrifices he sought honor rather\nthan the knowledge and spirit they contained. Elder Rigdon further\nmanifested a weakness in his faith by his critical attitude towards\nthe Prophet whose mind, to Sidney Rigdon's knowledge, had been so\nwonderfully enlightened by a divine power that enabled him to foresee\nfuture events. When Elder Rigdon, in closing his talk, remarked that\nthe people could do as they pleased about it, he manifested a weakness\nof conviction and a spirit of indifference to his own claims that\ncreated an equal indifference in the minds of those who listened to his\nwords.\n\nBefore his death, Joseph had conferred the keys of his divine authority\nupon the Twelve who stood next in authority to the {214} Presidency of\nthe Church and they succeeded to the leadership when the latter for any\nreason became disorganized.\n\nBefore the Prophet's death Elder Rigdon became separated from the body\nof the Church and really abandoned his calling by his return to his\nformer home in Pittsburg. Associated in this particular event in the\nhistory of the Church are the words of the Prophet which so perfectly\nportrayed, not only Sidney Rigdon's character and future life, but also\nthe marvelous inspiration which characterized the words of the Prophet.\nFrom Church History, Volume I., page 448, the following is given:\n\n\"Brother Sidney is a man whom I love but is not capable of that pure\nand steadfast love for those who are his benefactors that should\ncharacterize a president of the Church of Christ. This with some other\nlittle things, such as selfishness and independence of mind, which too\noften manifested, destroy the confidence of those who would lay down\ntheir lives for him--these are his faults. But notwithstanding these\nthings, he is a very great and good man; a man of great power of words,\nand can gain the friendship of his hearers very quickly. He is a man\nwhom God will uphold, if he will continue faithful to his calling. O\nGod, grant that he may for the Lord's sake. Amen.\"\n\n\"And again, blessed be brother Sidney, notwithstanding he shall be high\nand lifted up, yet he shall bow down under the yoke like unto an ass\nthat croucheth beneath his burden, that learneth his master's will by\nthe stroke of the rod; thus saith the Lord: yet, the Lord will have\nmercy on him and he shall bring forth much fruit, even as the vine\nof the choice grape when her clusters are ripe, before the time of\nthe gleaning of the vintage; and the Lord shall make his heart merry\nas with sweet wine, because of him who putteth forth his hand, and\nlifteth him up out of the deep mire, and pointeth him out the way,\nand guideth his feet when he stumbles and humbleth him in his pride.\nBlessed are his generations; nevertheless one shall hunt after them\nas a man hunteth after an ass that has strayed in the wilderness, and\nstraightway findeth him and bringeth him into the fold. Thus shall the\nLord watch over his generation, that they may be saved, Even so, Amen.\"\n\n\"The man who willeth to do well, we would extol his virtues, and speak\nnot of his faults behind his back. A man who {215} wilfully turneth\naway from his friend without a cause, is not easily forgiven. The\nkindness of a man should never be forgotten. That person who never\nforsaketh his trust should ever have the highest place of regard in our\nhearts, and our love should never fail, but increase more and more, and\nthis is my disposition and these are my sentiments.\"\n\n\"Brother Frederick G. Williams is one of those men in whom I place\nthe greatest confidence and trust, for I have found him ever full of\nbrotherly love, and kindness. He is not a man of many words but is ever\nwinning because of his constant mind. He shall ever have a place in my\nheart, and is ever entitled to my confidence. He is perfectly upright\nand honest and seeks with all his heart to magnify his Presidency in\nthe Church of Christ, but often fails because of lack of confidence in\nhimself. God grant that he may overcome all evil. Blessed be Brother\nFrederick for he shall never want a friend, and his generation after\nhim shall flourish. The Lord hath appointed him an inheritance upon the\nland of Zion: yea, and his head shall blossom, and he shall be as an\nolive branch that is bowed down with fruit. Even so. Amen.\"\n\nThe fulfillment of these words were wonderfully brought about recently\nthrough the discovery of Sidney Rigdon's son, John W., in New York. The\nson, most of his life, had been separated from the Church and all its\ninterests. The proselyting of the elders in that city awakened in him\na spirit of inquiry into the doctrines which his father had so ably\nexpounded. The son became converted to the divinity of those doctrines\nand espoused the teachings of the Church.\n\nOn the other hand, the posterity of Frederick Williams became numerous\nand faithful. In view of such divine insight into the lives of men as\nwell as into the course of events, who can doubt? Joseph Smith stood\nforth in prophetic majesty like Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Peter, James,\nJohn, and others of old.\n\nReturning to that important meeting in the Seventies' Hall, we find\nrecorded in Elder Woodruff's journal the words of President Young. They\nare given by that faithful chronicler as follows: \"I do not care who\nleads the Church as long as the Lord directs it. One thing I must know\nand that is what God says about it. I have the keys, and, therefore,\nthe means of obtaining the mind of God upon this subject. I know there\nare those in our {216} midst who will seek the lives of the Twelve as\nthey did the lives of Joseph and Hyrum. We shall ordain others and give\nthem the fulness of priesthood, so that if we are killed the priesthood\nshall remain. Joseph conferred upon our heads all the keys and powers\nbelonging to the apostleship which he held before he was taken away.\nNo man, no set of men, can get between Joseph and the Twelve in this\nworld or in the world to come. How often Joseph has said to the Twelve:\n'I have laid the foundation, and you must build thereon; for upon\nyour shoulders the Kingdom rests.' The Twelve as a quorum will not be\npermitted to tarry here long, they will go abroad and bear off the\nKingdom to the nations of the earth. They will baptize people faster\nthan mobs can kill them. I would like it, were it my privilege, to\ntake my valise and travel and preach until we had a people gathered\nwho would be true. My private feelings would be to let the affairs of\nmen and women alone, except to preach the gospel and to baptize people\ninto the Kingdom of God. However, what duty places upon me I intend to\nfulfill.\"\n\nUpon the suggestion of President Young, a special conference was\nappointed for the following Tuesday, August 8, at ten a. m. To this\nthose present gave unanimous assent.\n\nAt the request of William Marks, who then presided over the stake in\nNauvoo, a special meeting was held in the morning to choose a guardian\nfor the Church. At that time Sidney Rigdon took his position in a wagon\nabout two rods in front of the stand and talked to the people for\nabout an hour and a half upon the choice of a guardian for the Church.\nThose who were present on that occasion and who were familiar with the\neloquence of Sidney Rigdon, say that all his former inspiration and\neloquence had vanished while setting forth his personal claims for\nrecognition. He spoke as one who had forsaken the path of duty and had\nbecome, like many others, indifferent to his obligations in the Church.\n\nWhen this meeting was dismissed, President Young made an appointment\nwith the brethren to assemble at two p. m. that day. There were present\namong the assembled multitude, President Young, Heber C. Kimball,\nParley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Willard Richards, and\nGeorge A. Smith. The various quorums were assigned to their respective\nplaces around the stand. {217} After the opening exercises, President\nYoung arose and said: \"Attention all! This congregation makes me think\nof the days of King Benjamin when the multitude was so great that all\ncould not hear. Let none complain of the size of this congregation, it\nwas necessary to call you together. For the first time in the history\nof our lives, for the first time in this dispensation of the gospel, we\nare without the Prophet Joseph in our midst. I step forth, therefore,\nto act in my calling in connection with the Quorum of the Twelve, the\nApostles of Jesus Christ of this generation--Apostles whom God has\ncalled by revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith and who are\nordained and anointed to carry the keys of the Kingdom of God unto all\nthe world.\n\n\"Hitherto the people have walked by sight and not so much by faith. We\nhave had the Prophet as the mouthpiece of the Lord; now he is gone. He\nhas sealed his testimony with his blood. We are called for the first\ntime to walk by faith. Now that our Prophet and Patriarch are taken\nfrom our midst, in behalf of the Twelve I submit to the people this\nquestion: Do you want someone to guard, to guide, to lead you into the\nKingdom of God as a guardian, spokesman, or something else? If so,\nsignify it by raising your right hand. (There was no vote).\n\n\"When I came to this stand I had peculiar feelings and impressions.\nThe faces of this people seemed to say: we want a shepherd to guide\nus through this world. To all who want to draw apart from the Church\nI say, let them do it if they choose, but they will not prosper. They\nwill find that there is a power with the Apostles which will carry the\nwork off victoriously and which will build up and defend the Church and\nKingdom of God in all the world. What do the people want? I want the\nprivilege of weeping and mourning for thirty days at least, and then\nrising up and shaking myself and telling the people what the Lord wants\nof them. Although my heart is too full of mourning to launch out into\nbusiness transactions and into the organizations of the Church, I feel\ncompelled this day to step forth and discharge all those duties which\nGod has placed upon me.\n\n\"I now wish to speak of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ\nof Latter-day Saints. The Church is organized, and you want to know how\nit is organized, I will tell you. I know your feelings. Do you want\nme to tell you your feelings? There {218} is President Rigdon who was\ncounselor to Joseph. I ask, where are Joseph and Hyrum? They are gone\nbeyond the veil, and if President Rigdon wants to act as his counselor,\nhe must go beyond the veil where he is.\n\n\"There has been much said about President Rigdon being President of\nthe Church and leading the people--being the head, etc., etc. Brother\nRigdon has come sixteen hundred miles to tell you what he wants to do\nfor you. If the people want President Rigdon to lead them they may have\nhim; but I say unto you that the Quorum of the Twelve have the keys of\nthe Kingdom in all the world. The Twelve are appointed by the finger of\nGod. Here is Brigham, have his knees ever faltered? Have his lips ever\nquivered? Here are Heber and the rest of the Twelve, an independent\nbody who have the keys of the priesthood; the keys of the Kingdom of\nGod to deliver to all the world; this is true, so help me God! They\nstand next to Joseph and are as the Presidency of the Church. I do not\nknow whether my enemies will take my life or not and I do not care, for\nI want to be with the man I love.\n\n\"You cannot fill the office of a prophet, seer, and revelator. God must\ndo that. You are like children without a father, and sheep without a\nshepherd. You must not appoint any man at your head; if you do, the\nTwelve must ordain him. You cannot appoint any man at your head, but if\nyou do want any other man or men to lead you, take him or them, and we\nwill go our way to build up the Kingdom of God in all the world.\n\n\"I know who are Joseph's friends and who are his enemies; I know where\nthe keys of the Kingdom are, where they will eternally be. You cannot\ncall a man to be a prophet. You cannot take Elder Rigdon and place him\nabove the Twelve; if so, he must be ordained by them.\n\n\"I tell you there is an over-anxiety to hurry matters here. You cannot\ntake any man and put him at the head. You would scatter the Saints to\nthe four winds. You would sever the priesthood. So long as we remain as\nwe are, the Heavenly Head is in constant co-operation with us; and if\nyou go out of that course, God will have nothing to do with you.\n\n\"Again, some perhaps think that our beloved Brother Rigdon would not\nbe honored, would not be looked to as a friend; {219} but if he does\nright and remains faithful, he will not act against our counsel nor we\nagainst his, but act together and be as one.\n\n\"I again repeat--no man can stand at our head except God reveals it\nfrom the heavens. I have spared no pains to learn my lesson of the\nKingdom in this world and in the eternal worlds: and if it were not\nso, I could go and live in peace; but for the gospel and your sakes, I\nshall stand in my place. We are liable, all the day long, to be killed.\nYou have never lived by faith.\n\n\"Brother Joseph, the Prophet, has laid the foundation for a great work\nand we will build upon it. You have never seen the quorums built one\nupon another. There is an almighty foundation laid and we can build a\nKingdom such as there never was in the world. We can build a Kingdom\nfaster than Satan can kill the Saints off.\n\n\"What do you want? Do you want a patriarch for the whole Church? To\nthis we are perfectly willing. If Brother Samuel H. Smith had been\nliving, it would have been his right and privilege, but he is dead.\nHe is gone to Joseph and Hyrum. He is out of the reach of bullets and\nspears and he can associate himself with his brothers, his friends, and\nthe Saints.\n\n\"Do you want a patriarch? Here is Brother William left. Here is Uncle\nJohn Smith, uncle to the Prophet Joseph. It is their right. The right\nof the patriarchal priesthood belongs to Joseph's family.\n\n\"Do you want a trustee-in-trust? Has there been a bishop who has stood\nin his lot yet? What is his business? To take charge of the temporal\naffairs so that the Twelve and the elders may go on their business.\nJoseph condescended to do their business for them. Joseph condescended\nto offer himself for Presidency of the United States, and it was a\ngreat condescension.\n\n\"Do you want a spokesman? Here are Elder Rigdon, Brother Amasa Lyman,\n(whom Joseph expected to take as a counselor) and myself. Do you want\nthe Church properly organized, or do you want a spokesman. Elder Rigdon\nclaims to be spokesman to the Prophet. Very well--he was. But can he\nnow act in that office?\n\n\"If he wants now to be a spokesman to the Prophet he must go to the\nother side of the veil for the Prophet is there, but {220} Elder Rigdon\nis here. Why will Elder Rigdon be a fool? Who knows anything of the\npriesthood or of the organization of the Kingdom of God? I am plain.\nDoes the Church want it as God organized it, or do you want to clip the\npower of the priesthood, and let those who have the right go and build\nup the Kingdom in all the world wherever the people will hear them?\n\n\"If there is a spokesman, if he is a king and priest, let him go and\nbuild up a kingdom unto himself. The Twelve are at the head of the\nChurch. I want to live on the earth and spread truth through all the\nworld. You Saints of Latter-days want things right. If ten thousand\nshould rise up and say they have Joseph's shoes, I know they would be\nimposters. In the priesthood you have a right to build up a kingdom if\nyou know how the Church is organized.\n\n\"Now if you want Sidney Rigdon or William Law to lead you, or any body\nelse, you are welcome to them both, but I tell you in the name of the\nLord that no man can put another between the Twelve and the Prophet\nJoseph. Why? Because Joseph was their file leader and he has committed\ninto their hands the keys of the Kingdom in this last dispensation for\nall the world. I ask, who has stood next to Joseph? I have; and I will\nstand next to him. We have a head and that head is the Apostleship, the\nspirit and power of Joseph, and we now can begin to see the necessity\nof that Apostleship.\n\n\"President Rigdon was at his side, not above. No man had a right to\ncounsel the Twelve but Joseph Smith. Think of these sayings. You cannot\nappoint a prophet; but if you let the Twelve remain and act in their\nplace, the keys of the Kingdom are with them, and they can manage the\naffairs of the Church and direct all things aright.\n\n\"Now all this does not lessen the character of President Rigdon. Let\nhim magnify his calling and Joseph will want him behind the veil. Let\nhim be careful what he does lest that thread which binds us together be\ncut asunder. May God bless us all.\"\n\nFollowing the remarks of President Brigham Young, Amasa Lyman spoke a\nfew words fully sustaining President Young and the Twelve. Elder Lyman\nhad been chosen as a counselor to the Prophet Joseph and in reference\nto the matter pending said: \"I am gratified with the open, frank, and\nplain exposition {221} of President Young. He has seen the relation I\nbear to our deceased brother. I never did conceive that it gave me a\nright to stand above the Twelve. I make no exceptions, whatever, to\nanything he has said. President Young has stood next to the Prophet\nJoseph with the Twelve and I have stood next to them and will be with\nthe Twelve forever. We have a head here. What is that head? The Quorum\nof the Twelve Apostles.\"\n\nThe words, the appearance, and the spirit of Brigham Young were so\nconvincing and so like those of the Prophet Joseph that the people knew\nthe voice of their new shepherd.\n\nPresident Rigdon next called upon W. W. Phelps to speak for him as\nhe could not speak for himself. Although Elder Phelps spoke at some\nlength, he did not advocate the claims of Elder Rigdon. He sustained\nthe right and duty of the Twelve Apostles to stand at the head, and\nexpressed his hope that Elder Rigdon would submit to that authority.\n\nApostle Parley P. Pratt then spoke in support of President Young and\nthe Twelve and said with reference to the wicked men in Nauvoo: \"If\nthere are wicked men here, it is because we support them. Stop dealing\nwith them and they will go away. I am willing to do good to all men,\nespecially to the household of faith. Mobs and wicked men will cease\nonly when you cease to support them. I know we can all live and be\nhappy--when we deal with honest men. If some men want a doctor to cure\nthem, they will send directly for the worst man they can find. I would\ndie a natural death rather than have a wicked doctor help me off.\nCunning device and hypocritical sophistry gain an ascendency in Nauvoo,\nand this they have often done elsewhere in the History of the Church.\"\n\nAt the close of Elder Pratt's remarks President Young arose and said:\n\"If Brother Rigdon is the person you want to lead you, vote for him;\nbut if you do, then follow him and take his counsel hereafter as you\ndid the counsel of Joseph; and do not say so unless you mean to follow\nhim. I will say the same for the Twelve. Don't make a covenant to\nsupport them unless you intend to abide by their counsel. President\nRigdon wants me to bring up the first question of sustaining the\nTwelve. If the Church wants the Twelve to stand at its head, to be the\nPresidency of the Church in all the world, standing next to Joseph,\nto {222} walk in their calling and to hold the keys of this Kingdom,\nmanifest it by holding up the right hand. (There was a unanimous vote\nin favor of the proposition.) If there be any of a contrary mind, lift\nup your hands in like manner. (No hand went up). This supercedes the\nother question and the necessity of putting it to the quorums.\"\n\nThe remarks of President Young on this occasion clearly indicate\nthat there was no disposition to treat unkindly or with disrespect\nthe feelings of Elder Rigdon, or to disregard the fact of his long\nexperience, and of his sufferings for the gospel's sake. President\nYoung continued: \"We feel as though we could take Brother Rigdon along\nwith us. We want such a man. Let him be one with us and we one with\nhim.\" Later in his remarks President Young asked the congregation if\nthey would sustain Elder Rigdon in his relationship to the Twelve. The\nvote to do so was unanimous.\n\nOf the deceased Prophet, President Young said: \"You did not know whom\nyou had amongst you. Joseph so loved this people that he gave his life\nfor them. Hyrum loved his brother and this people unto death. Joseph\nand Hyrum have given their lives for the Church. Very few knew Joseph's\ncharacter, who loved you unto death. He has now sealed his testimony\nwith his blood. If the Twelve had been here, they would not have seen\nhim given up. He should not have been given up. He was in your midst\nand you did not know him. He has been taken away, for the people are\nnot worthy of him. I do not know whether my enemies will kill me or\nnot. I would wish to be with the man I love.\"\n\nThe patriarch of the Church had been taken away and the office\ntherefore left vacant. Of this matter President Young said: \"We shall\nhave a patriarch, and the right to this office is in the family of\nJoseph Smith. It belongs to some of his relations. Here is Uncle John.\nHe has been ordained a patriarch. Brother Samuel would have received\nit, but he also has been taken away. The right is in Uncle John or in\none of his brothers.\" The matter of selecting a patriarch was left to\nthe Twelve for future action and for the purpose of learning the will\nof the Lord concerning it. At that time the Patriarch Hyrum's son,\nJohn, who now fills the office was only ten years of age. Uncle John,\nbrother {223} to Joseph's father, was finally chosen to fill the place\nwhich he did with honor and satisfaction during the rest of his life.\n\nSince that memorable conference all therein said by President Young\nand his associates is confirmed by the position taken with respect\nto the authority or the leadership in the Church. Notwithstanding\nthe predictions of a migration by the Saints to the valleys of the\nRocky Mountains, the leaders adhered strictly to the divine command,\nadmonishing them to complete the Temple. By the conscientious regard\nfor the word of God which was manifested to them from day to day they\naccomplished the work at hand and trusted their future movements to the\nguidance of their Heavenly Father. They waited upon the Lord and were\ntaught by Him the lessons of patience as well as the lessons of faith.\nThe conference just closed was a notable landmark in the history of the\nChurch. Its decisions have been faithfully kept and the wisdom of those\ndecisions, time has justified.\n\n{224}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 22.\n\nSECOND CALL TO GREAT BRITAIN, 1844.\n\nThe New Leadership.--Second Call to Great Britain.--Warning Against\nLeading Companies from Nauvoo.--Instructions To Finish the Temple and\nTo Build up the City.--W. W. Visits Emma Smith and Others.--Parting\nAddress to the Saints.\n\nThe mid-summer days of 1844 were full of uncertainties, wonderment,\nsome misgivings, many jealousies, and considerable resistance to the\nnewly established authority and leadership in the Church.\n\nJoseph Smith was a wonderful man, a man with a marvelous career. The\nfull force of his prophetic mission had not fallen upon those who were\nhis contemporaries. A person's relationship with him in those days\nwas no doubt a favored opportunity. His magnetism, individual force,\nand the personal qualities of his life impressed those with whom he\nwas most intimately associated, those who had sincerely accepted\nhis divine calling. It is not true, however, that the highest and\nbest understanding of his prophetic mission could be had by personal\ncontact. The highest and best testimony that ever came to men and women\nin the world respecting the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith came to\nthem through the gift of the Holy Ghost. By that spirit men who never\nsaw him, never felt the magnetism of his personality, were among the\nmost devoted in their adherence to his teachings.\n\nThose Saints who saw in Joseph Smith the instrumentality of a divine\npurpose, and saw above and beyond their young Prophet the glories of a\nnew dispensation, did not hesitate at the call of a new shepherd, the\naccents and tones of whose voice had the ring of the same inspiration\nthat had moved other hearts in the days gone by. Ambitions had to be\nreckoned with, and they are full of seduction and danger when they\nobscure the vision by selfish aims. There is always darkness when men\nstand in their own light; there is nothing that dims a man's vision\nso much as his own shadow. There were aspiring men who cherished the\ndesire to put to the test their own personal influence. It is so easy\nfor personal influence to beget pride,--pride which not only shuts off\nthat influence, but which also makes men helpless {225} to realize\nits absence long after it has departed. Even after the vote of the\nconference had been general to sustain the new leadership, there were\nsmall factions who wandered away from the body of the Church.\n\nAt a meeting of the Twelve Apostles on the 12th of August, the subject\nof missionary work came up for consideration. The new movement called\nforth a proselyting spirit that was just as strong after Joseph's death\nas it was before. The American continent was considered none too large\nfor a field of operation. It was districted for missionary purposes\nand presidents were appointed over the several divisions. At this\nmeeting Elder Woodruff was chosen to preside over the European mission.\nOne never reads of his call abroad without some feeling of regret\nthat so faithful a chronicler of current events should be separated\nfrom the main body of the Church, and future generations deprived of\nthe detailed narrative which he gave of the counsels, teachings, and\nmovements of the leaders.\n\nOn Sunday, the 18th, President Young addressed a vast congregation of\nSaints, a synopsis of whose teachings is found in Elder Woodruff's\njournal. \"I discover,\" says President Young, \"a disposition in the\nsheep to scatter abroad now that their former shepherd has been taken\nfrom them. I do not mean to say that it will never be right for the\npeople to leave this place, but they should wait until the proper\ntime comes and until they can go under proper counsel. The report has\ngone through the city that the Twelve have secret understandings with\nthose who are going away, and with those who are taking companies with\nthem; and that although the Twelve will speak against it publicly, yet\nprivately they approve such migration. If it were the last words I had\nto speak before going into the eternal world, I would solemnly declare\nthat there is not one word of truth in such a report. No man has any\nright through consent of the Twelve to lead one soul out of this city\nexcept Lyman Wight and George Miller who have the privilege of taking\nthe Pine Company. If they go contrary to our counsel, they will go to\ntheir own self-destruction. If men do not cease striving to be great by\nexalting themselves and by leading people astray, they shall fall and\nnot rise again.\"\n\nThose were great words, words remarkably fulfilled in the subsequent\ncareer of Lyman Wight who rebelled against the authority {226} of the\nTwelve and led a little body of people into Texas. His influence,\nhowever, soon departed. His followers scattered and he died of mountain\nfever. The same fate befell others who pursued the same course. It was\ntoo bad that Wight should thus obscure what had been in him in earlier\ndays, a great loyalty and a great devotion.\n\nContinuing, President Young said: \"I wish you distinctly to understand\nthat the counsel of the Twelve is for every family that does not belong\nto the Pine Company to stay in Nauvoo to build the Temple and obtain\nthe endowments to be given therein. Do not scatter. United we stand,\ndivided we fall. It has been whispered abroad that all who go into the\nwilderness with Wight and Miller will get their endowments. They cannot\ngive an endowment in the wilderness. If we do not carry out the plan\nlaid down by Joseph we can get no further endowments. I want this to\nsink deep into your hearts that you may appreciate it.\n\n\"Do the people leave here because they are afraid? If so, I tell them\nbefore God that they shall have no place to rest, but shall flee from\nplace to place like the Jews. I would rather have the dead body of the\nProphet than some men who are alive. We want to build the Temple in\nthis place even if we have to do as the Jews did in their erection of\nthe Temple at Jerusalem: work with a sword in one hand and a trowel in\nthe other. Stay here. Plow, sow, and build. Put your plow shares into\nthe prairie. One plow share will do more to drive off the mob than two\nguns.\n\n\"Do you suppose the mouth of God is closed to be opened no more? If\nthis were true, I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for this\nChurch. If God has ceased to speak by revelation or by the Holy Ghost,\nthere is no salvation, but such is not so. Woe! Woe! Woe! to all who\nhave shed the blood of the Saints and the Lord's anointed. If you have\nthe spirit of God you can discern right from wrong. When a man is not\nright, even though his language is as smooth as oil, there will be many\nqueries about him, he will not edify the body of the Saints and I give\nthis to you as a key. Store your grain in Nauvoo, for it will be needed\nthere while you are building the Temple.\n\n\"I want to say to the hands upon the Temple, be united; and to the\ncommittee, don't turn away any person because he is English, Irish, or\nScotch. Employ every man you can, and build {227} the Temple and build\nyour homes. I would rather pay out every cent to build up this place\nand receive an endowment, even were I driven the next minute without\nanything to take with me.\n\n\"I had a dream which I will relate here. I saw a fruit tree and went\nto it in search of fruit. I soon discovered that some of the main\nbranches at the top of the tree growing from the body were dead. It\nseemed necessary to cut off the dead branches in order to save the\ntree. I asked someone to help me cut them off. He stepped on a large\ngreen limb. He was afraid it would break, so I put my shoulder under it\nand held it up while he cut off the dead branches. The green limb was\ncracked but it did not break. After we cut off the dead branches the\nwounds healed up and the tree grew nicely. Now let us cut off the dead\nbranches of the Church that good fruit may grow.\"\n\nThe central idea now in the mind of Brigham Young and the paramount\ninfluence actuating him in those days may easily be seen in the\nsteadfast purpose he manifested to build upon the foundation which the\nProphet had already laid. He had no ambition to excel his predecessor\nand was therefore loyal to the Prophet, and throughout all his life he\nmagnified his calling by sustaining the prophetic mission of Joseph\nSmith. A few of the leaders fell by the wayside, but those who were\nforemost in supporting the Prophet at the time of his martyrdom were\nfound faithful after his death.\n\nElder Woodruff was no less enthusiastic in the great latter day work\nthan he had formerly been. The men he most respected he regarded simply\nas instrumentalities of a divine purpose; for to his mind it was a\ngreat thing to be an instrument in the hands of God in the furtherance\nof a new and grand dispensation. His missionary zeal never waned\nand those mid-summer days of 1844 found him busily occupied making\npreparations for his departure to England where he was to preside over\nthe British Mission. His wife was to accompany him, and arrangements\nwere made to leave their son, Wilford, during their absence with his\nold time friend, John Benbow.\n\nBefore leaving Nauvoo, he paid a visit to Emma Smith to whose life\nhe sought to bring consolation in the hour of her bereavement. She\ngave him a piece of oak for a staff. The oak had been taken from\nJoseph's coffin. She also presented him with {228} a pair of white\ncotton gloves, and to his wife she gave a handkerchief. He and Mrs.\nWoodruff next called upon Mary Smith, widow of Hyrum, and the mother\nof President Joseph F. Smith. She gave Elder Woodruff several small\nlocks of hair taken from the heads of Joseph, Hyrum, Samuel, and Don\nCarlos, all brothers who had passed away into the other world. Speaking\nof these relics Elder Woodruff says: \"I also obtained some hair of the\nQuorum of the Twelve Apostles. My purpose in getting it was that I\nmight put a part of each of these collections in the knob of my staff\nas a relic of those noble men, the master spirits of the nineteenth\ncentury.\" These relics he held as something sacred during his life\ntime, and they are now in the possession of his family.\n\n\"I next visited Mother Lucy Smith, the mother of the Prophet, and of\na large family of sons. This noble mother and prophetess felt sorely\ngrieved over the loss of her children, and lamented the cruel treatment\nshe had received at the hands of an unfeeling world. She begged a\nblessing at my hands. I laid my hands upon her head and by the spirit\nof God pronounced upon her a blessing. This was August 23, 1844. I\nquote from that blessing as follows: 'Let thy heart be comforted in\nthe midst of thy sorrow for thou shalt be held forever in honorable\nremembrance in the congregations of the righteous. Thou shalt be\nremembered in thy wants during the remainder of thy days; and when thou\nshalt be called upon to depart, thou shalt lie down in peace having\nseen the salvation of thy God who has laid the everlasting foundation\nfor the deliverance of Israel through the instrumentality of thy sons.'\"\n\nThat God had made her sons the instrumentality in the opening of a new\ndispensation gave the aged mother an abiding consolation in the midst\nof her grief.\n\nOn the 24th of August Elder Woodruff was set apart for his mission to\nEurope under the hands of the Twelve Apostles, John Taylor pronouncing\nthe blessing. On Sunday the 25th Elder Woodruff addressed the Saints\nin Nauvoo, and from the synopsis he made of his remarks, the following\nquotation is here given: \"There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration\nof the Almighty giveth him understanding. It is through this spirit\nwhich giveth understanding that this congregation is assembled at this\nplace. You have {229} the spirit of God and you therefore understand\nHis ways and purposes. I have now one important declaration to make to\nyou and that is that inasmuch as you have been anointed in heart, mind,\nand action in supporting your counselors, the priesthood of God, the\npresent authorities of the Church, as you have supported the Prophet\nwhile he was alive, you will be safe and you will be blessed. You will\nalso be protected, but if you are divided and reject the counsels of\nGod, you will fall. Union and faithfulness are necessary for your\nsalvation. It is true that you have been led by one of the best men\nthat ever graced humanity or tabernacled in the flesh, but he is gone,\nhe sealed his testimony with his blood, he loved this people unto death.\n\n\"I now call upon the people to be united in building upon the\nfoundation which the Prophet laid during his lifetime. You have been\ncalled to suffer much for the cause in which you are engaged, but if\njudgment begins at the House of God, Babylon will not escape. If there\nis fire in the green tree, what shall happen to the dry tree. No people\nare better prepared for the shock that is coming to this world than\nare the Latter-day Saints. The real object we have is to secure the\nblessings which lie beyond the veil and which will be found in the\nfirst resurrection. For these blessings we are preparing ourselves.\n\n\"The fact that the Prophet sealed his testimony with his blood does\nnot destroy the gospel or lessen the power and purposes of God. Truth\nhas not been annihilated, neither has the priesthood found its burial.\nThe testimony of Jesus is now in force. My counsel, therefore, is to\nfollow the example of those who are gone and who have been faithful\nunto death. If you would be united, go in all your might and build that\nTemple and get your endowments.\n\n\"I earnestly exhort you to faithfulness and ask your faith and prayers\nin my behalf. I also want your forgiveness for any wrong I may have\ndone. I bid the congregation farewell.\"\n\n\"The next week I went to the river with Mrs. Woodruff where we were\nbaptized for some of our dead friends.\" At midnight of that day Elder\nWoodruff and his wife, accompanied by Chas. C. Rich, Elder Goddard,\nand several others ascended the walls of the Temple where they knelt\nin solemn prayer. Elder Woodruff, being mouth, poured out his soul to\nGod for the successful {230} completion of the Temple. He also implored\ndivine aid for a prosperous season for the Church.\n\nIn the completion of the Temple was centered the hope of all the\ndevoted Latter-day Saints of those days. The leaders of the Church\nprayed and labored unceasingly for its completion. The spirit of\napostasy in those times manifested itself most strongly in the efforts\nof those who sought to get away from Nauvoo, who wanted to establish in\nsome distant place the Church anew. These dissenters argued that Nauvoo\nmust be abandoned, and they were right in that conclusion; but Nauvoo\nwas not to be abandoned at that time nor under their leadership. It\nsometimes happens in this life that greater wisdom and virtue are found\nin the time an event is accomplished than in the accomplishment of\nthe event itself. The great truth of the exodus from Nauvoo was to be\nsought for rather in the circumstances of that exodus, than in the fact\nitself.\n\nThat was not the first time nor was it the last time that men,\nanticipating the accomplishment of some divine purpose, placed\nthemselves in front of those appointed for the accomplishment of God's\nwill. It sometimes requires as much virtue to refrain from doing when\nthe time has not yet arrived, as it required to do when the command was\ngiven. It is not always easy for men to wait upon the Lord, especially\nwhen they are actuated by an overweening ambition to anticipate His\npurposes and be the first to undertake their accomplishment.\n\nThe men in those days who were opposing the completion of the Temple,\nwere full of sophistries. They argued then, as men argue now, largely\nin harmony with their own selfish ends and overpowering ambitions. If\ntheir arguments could not be, to their minds, successfully answered,\nthey must be right. To their minds it was evident that the Saints must\nsooner or later leave Nauvoo. Why build the Temple, they asked, and\nthus throw away the labor of their hands in the hour of its completion.\nThey argued the folly of such a course, and some who were loosely\nanchored in their faith were led away by the sophistries contained in\nsuch arguments.\n\nWith the thoughtful, it was otherwise. The Temple might be destroyed\neven before its completion, or they might not be permitted to enjoy,\nat any length, its blessings after it was finished. {231} With them\nthat was not the question. Their highest guidance was found in the\nobservance of God's will. He had said so; if so, enough. The spirit\nbore testimony long before the mind had evidence of the great truth\ncontained in God's command. The same spirit that actuated Christ in the\ngarden of Gethsemane, actuated His faithful followers in those trying\ndays in Nauvoo. \"Thy will be done.\" It is hard for men who have strong\nwills to yield to other wills, even though it be God's will which is at\nvariance with their own. Men were taught then, as they were taught in\nancient Israel, to wait upon the Lord.\n\nThe over-anxious, the ambitious, the rebellious, would not wait upon\nthe Lord. They went their own way; they were scattered abroad. Not\nhaving learned the lesson of self-restraint, the light and truth of the\ngospel became obscured in their minds, and their own will they mistook\nfor God's will. They fell by the wayside.\n\nA letter containing his appointment is given in his journal as follows:\n\n\"Nauvoo, August 22, 1844.\n\n\"To all Elders and Saints in Great Britain Greeting:\n\n\"We send our beloved Brother Wilford Woodruff to England to take charge\nof all business transactions pertaining to the Church of Jesus Christ\nof Latter-day Saints, both spiritual and temporal. We wish you to\ngive diligent heed to his counsel in all things, and as we have not\nthe opportunity of informing you of what has transpired this season\nby letter, our beloved Brother will make known unto you all things.\nWe wish the brethren to be faithful and diligent in keeping all the\ncommandments of God, and in hearkening to the counsels of those who are\nsent to counsel them. Let no man or set of men think they have power\nof authority or the keys of the Kingdom above Apostle Wilford Woodruff\nwhom we send unto you to instruct you in the things pertaining to life\nand salvation. Though our Prophet be slain for the word of God and the\ntestimony of Jesus, yet the keys of the Kingdom remain in the Church\nand the heavens are not closed, neither is the mouth of the Almighty\nsealed up that He cannot speak. The God of Israel will communicate to\nHis disciples all things necessary for the building up of His Kingdom\non the earth until {232} Israel is gathered, yea even all the blood\nof Abraham scattered over all the earth, Zion established, Jerusalem\nrebuilt, and the whole earth be filled with the glory and knowledge\nof God. We wish all the Saints in England to continue their gathering\nas usual to the land of America; and they may have the privilege of\nappointing a committee to visit the land of America to prepare a\nlocation for a settlement of the brethren from Europe according to\ntheir desire under the direction and counsel of Elder Wilford Woodruff;\nand further we would say unto the Saints in all the world that may be\nvisited by Elder Wilford Woodruff that inasmuch as they will hearken to\nhis counsel, they shall be blest, inasmuch as they will render him any\nassistance in his mission they will be doing the will of God and shall\nnot lose their reward; and we desire that all Saints may use their\nefforts to sustain him in this important mission which he is called to\nfulfill by their faith, prayers, and brotherly love according to the\ngrace of God; for he is qualified to teach in all things pertaining\nto the Church and and Kingdom of God established in these last days.\nTherefore, dear brethren, we would say unto you in conclusion be humble\nand faithful and hearken diligently unto the counsel of this our\nbeloved brother in the Lord, Elder Wilford Woodruff, and the blessings\nof the Lord will attend you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.\n\n\"BRIGHAM YOUNG,\n\n\"President of the Twelve,\n\n\"WILLARD RICHARDS,\n\n\"Clerk.\"\n\n{233}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 23.\n\nIN THE BRITISH MISSION, 1844-45-46.\n\nDeparture.--Route.--Visits Home of Solomon Mack.--A Peculiar\nDream.--On the Ocean.--Copyright of Doctrine and Covenants.--Visit\nto Scotland.--Lemington.--Troubles in Nauvoo.--Condition of the\nMission.--Preparation for His Return.\n\nAugust 28th, 1844, was the day appointed for the departure of Wilford\nWoodruff and his companions to the British Mission. Those who were to\naccompany him were his wife and two children, Hyrum Clark and wife,\nand Captain Dan Jones and wife. He said good-by on the Temple Block\nat Nauvoo to his fellow members of the Twelve and started at once for\nChicago whither he and his companions were conveyed by teams.\n\nOn the 8th of September, they left Chicago on the propellor, Oswego,\nand made their journey eastward on the Lakes. They stopped about three\nhours at Manatou Islands where he with others had been wrecked on the\nChesapeake in September, 1841. While here they carved their names on\nsome white stones, and also the events associated with the wreck. At\nmidnight while on their way a fire alarm was sounded and the passengers\nwere brought together by terror of the alarm. The flame, however,\nwas soon extinguished and they all retired again to their rest. They\ncontinued their journey on Lake Erie, the Williams Canal, and Lake\nOntario.\n\nElder Woodruff then went by rail to his birthplace in Farmington,\nConnecticut, where he paid his aged father another visit. While he was\nlaboring among the Saints in and about Boston, his wife paid a visit to\nher home in Scarboro, Maine. The branches of the Church in Boston and\nLowell were not in a healthy condition. He, therefore, worked zealously\nto bring about a reformation and to warn the Saints against some\niniquities which had crept into the Church.\n\nWhile in the Eastern States he visited the home of Lucy Smith's\nbrother, Soloman Mack. The old homestead of Mother Smith awakened\nwithin him a feeling of reverence which he had for the Prophet, and for\nthe scenes associated with his mother's home.\n\n{234} From Vermont he went to Scarboro, Maine, to join his wife and\nchildren there. Leaving his oldest child, Phoebe, at the home of Ezra\nCarter, his father-in-law, he left with his wife and youngest child,\nSusan, for New York. The scenes of his former missionary experiences in\nthe Eastern States were both familiar and interesting to him. He knew\nthe inroads that are often made upon the faith of the saints when left\ntoo long without a shepherd. He encouraged, admonished, and warned them\nto be faithful to the covenants they had made. He makes note in his\njournal during this visit of October 22, 1844, the last day set by the\nMillerites for the second coming of Christ.\n\nSpeaking of his visit to Maine he says: \"While I was at the home of my\nfather-in-law I had a peculiar dream. Much of it was unutterable and\ncannot be written; indeed, I do not comprehend it myself. Among other\nthings I was called with the Twelve to hold the keys of the Kingdom in\nall the world. I traveled with them over much of the earth and I also\ntraveled through many countries alone. When I finished my journey I saw\nmany things which I cannot write, but in the end, Joseph, the Prophet,\nassisted me to come where he was and pointed out to me my place and\nwork. I immediately entered into the duties of the new calling to which\nI was appointed.\n\n\"The same night I had another dream. I was in the presence of the\nProphet, and was conversing with him about his death. I told him I felt\nbad over it, and that had I known he would have been taken so soon I\nshould have conversed with him more while he lived. I would have asked\nhim many questions. In reply he said that it was not his fault that I\ndid not.\"\n\nWhatever the significance of these dreams may have had, they clearly\nindicated the loving remembrance in which he held his great leader.\nAround the name and memory of the man there was to him a great halo.\nThe influence of Joseph Smith upon the life of Wilford Woodruff never\nwaned. There was something about this modern Prophet that invited the\nveneration of his devoted followers who proclaimed his name and mission\nfrom the housetops of every part of the world where their duties and\nmissions might take them.\n\nAfter reaching New York on the 29th of November, he paid a visit to\nElder Jedediah M. Grant who was then performing a {235} mission in\nPhiladelphia. On his return to the former city he made preparation for\nhis voyage to Europe. He speaks of a letter he received in New York\nfrom President Young in which the latter gives him an account of the\nreckless and unwarranted course of William Smith and George J. Adams.\nOn the 8th he and his party, together with Milton Holmes and Leonard\nHardy, set sail for Liverpool on the packet ship, John R. Skiddy. On\nthe 11th they encountered a severe storm at sea, a storm which greatly\nterrified the passengers. \"We kneeled down,\" he said, \"and unitedly\nprayed that the storm might cease and that the wind might change so\nthat we could go forward and not backward. In a short time the wind\nsuddenly ceased and finally changed to the southwest which gave us a\nfair wind.\"\n\nChristmas day they passed upon the ocean. On the 28th they entered the\nIrish Channel where they were driven about for some days by foul winds.\nFinally on the 3rd of January, 1845, they landed in Liverpool with\nfeelings of thanksgiving and prayer for their safe arrival. They were\ntwenty-seven days at sea.\n\nThe day following their arrival they were met by Elders Hedlock and\nWard. They inquired into the affairs of the mission and on January 5th\nhe addressed the people in Music Hall. They made their headquarters\nwith a Brother William Powell, who, Elder Woodruff observes, boarded\nthe elders for a quarter of a century.\n\nThe new year witnessed the beginning of his active work in the\nmissionary field. Arrangements had to be made for the emigration of the\nsaints to Nauvoo. In those days they went to New Orleans, thence up the\nMississippi to Nauvoo. Conferences had to be visited, business affairs\nof the mission transacted, and attention given to the opening of new\nfields for missionary activities.\n\nThe work in the British Mission, however, did not occupy wholly the\nthoughts and feelings of Elder Woodruff. He had left Nauvoo in an\nunsettled condition, the future of that city was full of uncertainty.\nThe work on the Temple was all important, with the conviction he had\nlong since formed that that sacred structure must be completed. Letters\nfrom home, however, brought him encouragement and assurances. President\nYoung {236} wrote him encouraging letters informing him of the unity\nand prosperity of the Church in America. He also told him of the call\nof parley P. Pratt to the presidency of the Eastern States Mission. He\nexplained the plan to publish a paper in New York City.\n\nOn the 16th of March special conference was held in Manchester. Elder\nWoodruff was there with his two counselors, Reuben Hedlock and Thomas\nWard. He mentions the fact that there were present five other high\npriests, thirty elders, twenty-one teachers, and four deacons. The\nconference there was crowded with eager listeners, both members and\nnon-members of the Church. \"The spirit of the Lord,\" he said, \"was\nwith us. Love and union pervaded the congregation. It was a scene that\nmade the heart glad when we beheld in a foreign land so many Saints\nassembled, Saints united in the everlasting covenant. I had often\nthought how much I would like to see the Prophet Joseph meet with a\nconference of Saints in England. It was not granted, however, to the\nBritish Nation to have the Prophet of God in that land. This was one\nof the most interesting conferences I had ever attended abroad. It\nfulfilled a prophecy I had made in the House of the Lord in Kirtland in\n1837 to the effect that I should attend a conference with Elder Milton\nHolmes in the British Isles.\"\n\nThese old associates of Wilford Woodruff, men tried and true, were\nalways held in loving remembrance by him. He loved those who loved God.\nThe names of those old-time friends lingered in his memory throughout\nall the years of a long, busy life.\n\nSince he could conveniently do so, immediately after the Manchester\nconference, he repaired to Idle, in Yorkshire, that he might visit the\nlast resting place of the remains of Elder Lorenzo Barnes, the first\nelder in this dispensation who had laid down his life in a foreign\nland. It was not that fact alone which brought forth this respect.\nThe memory of Lorenzo Barnes grew out of an old-time companionship in\ntheir early associations, and especially in the journey of Zion's Camp.\nOf this visit to the grave of his beloved friend he writes: \"Before\narriving we passed through a beautiful green valley which is located\non the top of a hill. The fields of grass were as green as in May,\nalthough it was now February. This gave to the landscape a charm both\npicturesque {237} and inspiring. As we traveled the road, we reflected\nthat we were covering the footsteps of a departed brother who had\ntraversed the same roadway many a time in his mission to disseminate\nthe teachings of Jesus Christ. I felt sorrowful, I was filled with\nmeditation. We called upon Elder Thomas Cordingly and family who cared\nfor Elder Barnes in his last sickness. They pointed out to us the room\nwhere he spent the last hours of his mortal life.\n\n\"After taking some refreshments we walked to the churchyard where we\ngazed upon the peaceful, silent grave of our departed brother. My\nfeelings were sensitive and sad. While standing over his grave I offed\nup a prayer to Israel's God that I too might die the death of the\nrighteous, that my end might be as peaceful and secure as that of our\ndeparted brother.\"\n\nThere is an illustration in that prayer, a marked characteristic in the\nlife of Wilford Woodruff. The burden of his thoughts, the great object\nof his supplication was that he might endure to the end. What the end\nshould be was with him the great concern of his life. He envied those,\nif he ever envied at all, who were valiant in every crisis and who\nwere steadfast to the death. To him there was no triumph in life like\nthe triumph in death. He was not so concerned about worldly greatness,\nabout the race of the swift, nor the battle of the strong; what he\nsought above all else was endurance, that endurance which, after all,\ncontains the greatest virtue, as it embodies the greatest strength. Yet\noften men underrate the supreme value of endurance in their ambition to\nbe great and strong.\n\nOn the 23rd of September, Elder Woodruff attended a conference in\nBradford. The meetings were attended by large numbers. Elder Elijah\nF. Sheets, long and honorably known throughout Utah as Bishop Sheets,\nwas then presiding over that conference. Of that occasion he writes in\nhis journal: \"The congregation was as still as death.\" He spoke upon\nthe mission and teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith whose recent\nmartyrdom had still its mournful affects upon the Saints who were\nsorely disappointed that they had not the opportunity in life to hear\nthe words that dropped from the lips of him whom God had called to open\nthe great dispensation of the last days.\n\n\"On my birthday, March 1st, 1845, I received a letter from {238} a\nfriend. It contained a copy of a letter dated Pittsburg, January 30th,\n1845, and was written by John Greenbow to his father in Kendall. The\nletter contained a statement to the effect that he was getting the\nDoctrine and Covenants stereotyped and that he would bring the plates\nto England for the purpose of printing, publishing, and copyrighting\nthe book so that the Church could not print and publish it. This was a\nbold scheme by apostates to steal the book containing the revelations\nof God to the Church. There was in this proposed action, no doubt, an\nintention to change the wording and thus deceive the world. I regarded\nthe receipt of the letter as nothing less than providential, an\ninterposition of our Heavenly Father who knew the evil design of the\nwicked and therefore caused the letter to come into my hands. I spent\nthe day examining the laws of England relative to copyrights.\"\n\nThis information aroused Elder Woodruff to immediate action, and as\nearly as June 7, 1845, he secured the copyright of the book which was\nentered at Stationer's Hall, England.\n\nOn the 9th of March Elder Woodruff records the fact that he held\nconference in Preston where he visited the old cock-pit, where Elders\nKimball and Hyde first openly declared the message of the gospel to\nthe people of England, and where they were soon followed by Willard\nRichards. He with his companion also walked up and down the river\nwhere so many hundreds of the Saints had been baptized. At the Preston\nconference he mentions the fact that there were several branches\nrepresented with the total membership of five hundred souls. This was\nthe first conference organized in the British Mission eight years\nbefore by Heber C. Kimball.\n\nThroughout Elder Woodruff's journal of those times may be found minute\ndescriptions of historical places and of public monuments. He was also\ndeeply interested in the history of the countries which he visited, and\nhis journal shows the special significance which historical monuments\nhad to his mind. He further knew that his sympathy and interest in the\npeople would be increased by knowledge of their national history and of\nthose conditions which in the past had been foremost in shaping their\ncharacter. Many an elder has, no doubt, realized the mistake of either\nfalsely or imperfectly estimating the character of those whose {239}\near he was seeking to gain. Elder Woodruff's journal shows, however,\nthat he greatly appreciated the superior qualities of the English\npeople and their great contributions to the system of free governments.\nFrom the history of the English people he often found it convenient to\ntake his text; in short, he made himself at home among the English by\nhis knowledge of them and their institutions.\n\nOn the 13th of March he left Liverpool, on the steamer Commodore,\nfor Scotland, whither he went to attend a conference in Glasgow. He\nwas accompanied by his counselors Hedlock and Ward, also by Elder\nBanks. They reached the mouth of the Clyde River at six o'clock in the\nmorning. The highlands were covered with snow and a severe storm was\nraging in Glasgow. On the way they passed the famous rock known in\nScottish history as Dumbarton on which was then stationed a regiment of\nsoldiers to protect the river Clyde. He also mentions Bell's monument\nerected in memory of John Bell who was the first to run a steamer up\nthe river Clyde to Glasgow.\n\nOn the evening of their arrival, a council was held with the officers\nof the Church in that city. Two days later a conference was held in\nFelon's Hall. There, fifteen branches of the Church were represented\ncontaining a total membership of 1,065 persons. There were present\nalso thirty-five elders, fifty-one priests, thirty-seven teachers, and\ntwenty-four deacons. Then, as now, Scotland was the home of a large\nnumber of the blood of Israel.\n\nWhile here, he paid visits to Cots Bridge, Whifflett, and Sterling.\nHe also visited manufacturing establishments and historical places.\nHe found special interest in those places that were so full of the\nmemories of Bruce and of Wallace and of John Knox. The company\nlater went to Edinburgh where they visited the Saints and the chief\nhistorical places about that city. The conference there consisted of\neleven branches with the membership of 409 souls. He was particularly\ninterested in the high cliff known as Arthur's Seat. It was there\nthat Elder Orson Pratt who first brought the gospel to Edinburgh was\nwont to go that he might engage himself in meditation and prayer.\nThis elevation affords a most excellent view of the city and its\nsurroundings.\n\nLeaving Edinburgh the company returned to Liverpool where a conference\nwas held on the 30th of March, 1845. At this conference {240} there\nwere present four high priests, eighteen elders, thirteen priests, and\neight teachers. It consisted of twelve branches with a membership of\n676 souls.\n\nLiverpool was then, as it has ever since been, the headquarters of\nthe Church in Great Britain. Preparations were made at the Liverpool\nconference for the general conference of the British Mission to be\nheld April 6th in Manchester. The meetings there convened in Science\nHall. It was the largest conference up to that time ever held in the\nBritish Mission. This mission at that time contained many of the finest\ncharacters ever known in the Church. The men who embraced the gospel,\nas a whole, in those days were strong characters whose endurance and\nwhose will power peculiarly fitted them for the pioneer work they were\nsoon to undertake in the development of this inter-mountain region.\n\nUpon his return to Liverpool, Elder Woodruff sent the following epitaph\nto Elder E. F. Sheets to be placed upon the tombstone of Elder Lorenzo\nD. Barnes: \"In memory of Lorenzo D. Barnes, who died on the 20th of\nDecember, 1842, aged thirty years. He was a native of the United\nStates, an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a\nmember of the high priests' quorum and also Zion's Camp in A. D. 1834,\nand the first gospel messenger from Nauvoo who has found a grave in a\nforeign land.\n\n  \"Sleep on, Lorenzo, but ere long from this\n    The conquered tomb shall yield her captured prey.\n  Then with thy Quorum shalt thou reign in bliss\n    As king and priest for an Eternal Day.\"\n\nThe latter part of April he paid a visit to Newton where he examined\nthe great vitriol works which are among the largest in the world. He\nalso went through the great engine factory at that place where a number\nof the brethren were working. They were men well qualified to carry\non the work in all its branches. He relates the circumstances of a\npeculiar tradition of a church in the vicinity of the city: \"From the\nNewton Engine Factory I walked several miles through very pleasant\nscenery consisting of green fields, hedges, trees, and gardens. I\nvisited a church {241} on the side of which was the figure of a pig in\nstone, and a stone was hung around its neck. According to tradition\nthe materials for this church were drawn to another place quite a\ndistance from where the church now stands. The pig came along and took\na stone in his mouth and carried it, squealing as he went. The pig\nfinally dropped the stone on the spot where the church now stands. The\ncircumstance the people regarded as an omen and erected their church on\nits present site.\"\n\nIn the beginning of May he visited the churches in Preston and\nBlackburn and then walked with Brother Speakman to Whaley where he\nvisited the old Abbey, the largest he had ever seen. It covered several\nacres of ground and was then almost in total ruin. It was built as\nearly as one thousand A. D.\n\nThe following day they visited the Jesuit College at Stoneyhurst.\nOn Sunday May 11th they attended the Clithero conference. Of this\nconference the following is taken from his journal: \"Elder Speakman was\ncalled to preside in the afternoon, the Sacrament was administered and\nthe power of God rested so abundantly upon the congregation that many\nwere moved to tears.\" (This is the conference of which Brother Kimball\nspeaks in his journal.) \"I was so overwhelmed by the spirit of God and\nthe simplicity of the people that I could scarcely speak. They were\nlike little children, as pure-minded and innocent as angels. Many of\nthem bore their testimony to the work of God.\"\n\nOn the 15th of the same month, he took a steamer for Carlisle to attend\na conference there. Of the steamship and voyage he wrote. \"It was newly\npainted from stem to stern and we could not sit down without carrying\naway the paint. I accordingly paid two shillings for the use of a bunk\namong the sailors. I had no sooner gone below than I was enveloped in\nthe most horrid stench rising from a cargo of guano. I lay down but\nbecame as sick as death and vomited at intervals for five hours. I was\nstrained to such a degree that blood ran out of my nose. The sailors\nfilled the place with tobacco smoke which was more intolerable than the\nother stench which I had to endure. This was the most horrible night I\never passed at sea. We reached port at two o'clock in the morning. I\ncrossed the ferry and took a canal boat to Carlisle.\"\n\n{242} At the Carlisle conference six branches of the Church were\nrepresented and the membership of the conference was 165. He returned,\nat the close of the conference, to Liverpool by the same boat which on\nthe return voyage, however, was loaded with sheep, horses, and cattle.\n\nHis journal at this time contains the following: \"On the 24th of May,\nwhich was the seventh day of the week, at six o'clock in the morning,\nthe last stone was laid on the Temple of the Lord at Nauvoo with shouts\nof joy and 'Glory to God in the Highest.' The Lord finished his work on\nthe seventh day and rested.\"\n\nOn the 6th of June, 1845, President Woodruff left Liverpool for London\nby rail for the purpose of securing the copyright of the Doctrine\nand Covenants. He immediately employed a printer and published three\nthousand copies. This was the first edition of that book published in\nthe British Mission.\n\nAs the 27th of June approached, President Woodruff appointed that day\na day of prayer and fasting throughout all the churches of the British\nIsles. It was the day of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. On the 18th\nof the following month there was born to him in Liverpool a son whom he\nnamed Joseph, in honor of the Prophet.\n\nOn the 13th of September he attended a conference at Manchester. That\nconference then numbered 1,769 souls, including 44 elders, 99 priests,\n57 teachers, and 27 deacons. During the three months preceding this\nconference, there had been baptized into the Church in that conference\na hundred and fifteen souls.\n\nOn October 5th he paid a visit to the Lemington conference. There was\nmuch prejudice at that place against the Saints. Shortly before this\nvisit there, mobs had assembled and broken up the bannisters, stairs,\nbenches, and tables in the building where the Saints met for worship.\nOf Lemington he said: \"This is one of the first aristocratic towns in\nEngland. Here the nobility come together for the select society of\ntheir own class, and because of the sulphur springs at this place. The\nstreets and buildings of the town are rich and splendid in appearance.\"\n\nOf Warwick Castle in that region he says: \"It is considered the\nmost splendid castle in England and is furnished {243} with all the\nmagnificence which art and the wealth of Earldom could bestow upon it.\nIt is 333 feet long and is divided into a large number of rooms. The\nwalls are hung with gorgeous tapestry, and the rooms furnished with\nthe costliest furniture and the richest damask. Chairs, tables, and\nstands were inlaid with pearl, and other precious stones. Some of these\narticles of furniture cost seventy-five thousand dollars each. From the\nwindows of the castle we looked out upon the stately cedars of Lebanon,\nupon oaks, firs, and a great variety of shrubbery. The castle is eight\nhundred years old. The tower is 150 feet high.\"\n\nElder Woodruff always availed himself of every opportunity to visit\nhistoric places which he describes at great length in detail.\n\nFrom Warwick Castle Elder Woodruff went with his counselor, Hedlock,\nto Birmingham. Here they were received with great demonstration, and\npreparations were made for a joyous reception for the President of the\nMission. Five hundred Saints awaited Elder Woodruff and his companions\nas they entered the door, and round after round of applause went up\nto greet them. There was such clapping of hands and stamping of feet\nthat the room in which they were gathered trembled. All wished to shake\nthe hand of their President and it was with great difficulty that he\nreached the stand upon entering the room. He talked to the people\nat some length. The manifestation of love for him, however, was not\nconfined to Birmingham. He enjoyed the affection and enthusiasm of the\nSaints wherever he went.\n\nWhile all this enthusiasm was manifested by the Saints in the British\nMission, their brethren and sisters over the sea in the city of Nauvoo\nwere filled with deep anxiety and fear. Mobs were gathering against\nthe Saints and the enemy were pressing in upon them with the spirit of\nhatred that brought depression and sorrow to the hearts of the people\nin the beautiful city of Nauvoo, which was fast reaching its doom.\n\nHe called a meeting of his counselors and the leading men before\nwhom he laid the spiritual and temporal conditions of the Church in\nEngland and gave them some idea of conditions at home. Soon thereafter\nhe received word from President Young that the mob was growing in\nnumbers and in violence, {244} that the only terms of peace they\nwould accept from the Saints was their exile from the state. This\ncondition of affairs Elder Woodruff characterizes in his journal as\nunjust, tyrannical, and un-American. Such news naturally depressed\nhis spirit greatly and made his continuance in the British Mission\nso uncertain that he looked forward for an early release. He at once\ncalled a special conference to be held in Manchester December 14,\n1845. According to the statistics he gives, there were during the\neight months previous 1573 baptized. The total membership of the\nChurch in the British Isles had now reached 11,032 exclusive of those\nin the Staffordshire conference which were not reported at that time.\nThere were reported in the priesthood one Apostle, eight high priests,\n392 elders, 590 priests, 311 teachers, and 188 deacons. This would\nmake, including those of the Staffordshire conference something like\n1,500 men in the mission bearing the priesthood. Those were days of\nmarvelous activity in proselyting. Within eight years the Church had\ngrown in that land to large proportions, and the people were constantly\nemigrating to America.\n\nOn Christmas Evening of that year he attended with his wife St. John's\nMarket where high mass was held in the Catholic Church. This was the\nfirst time in his life that he had attended such services. He desired\nto acquaint himself with the religious ceremonies as well as the\nreligious beliefs of others, and took advantage of opportunities to\nlearn all he could in view of his probable return in the near future to\nNauvoo.\n\nHis release soon came and he began at once to put the Church\nfinancially as well as spiritually in a safe and prosperous condition.\nHe reported property in excess of the debts to the amount of 574\npounds and 16 shillings. This was over $2800.00. Wherever a financial\ntrust was put upon him he regarded his duties in the matter as both\nsacred and important. All his life long he guarded himself against\nthe temptations that so frequently overtake men in administering the\nproperty of others. He fully realized that financial dishonor robs men\nnot only of the confidence of their fellow-men but of the blessings\nof God. He was scrupulously careful to account for every farthing\nentrusted to him, and his presidency, therefore, of the British\nMission was {245} marked both by zeal in preaching the gospel, and by\nhigh-minded honesty in the administration of funds.\n\nThe year 1845 was now drawing to a close. During the entire year his\nwork had been directed in a foreign land. He had personally baptized\nbut few, had administered to something like a hundred persons,\npublished three thousand copies of the Doctrine and Covenants, and\ntwenty thousand copies of the Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles. He\nhad collected three hundred pounds for the Nauvoo Temple and had been\nindefatigable in the management of the British Mission.\n\nHe was now released to return home. On the 3rd of January, 1846, he\nvisited Preston. On the 10th he made a feast for a few of his brethren,\nand on the 15th took his family on board the ship Liverpool. He went\nwith them 10 miles and then returned to the shore. It was planned that\nhis wife should go with the Saints then emigrating to Nauvoo. As soon\nas the business of the mission could be attended to, he expected to\nleave, himself. He wrote a valedictory for the Millennial Star and on\nthe 23rd of January he set sail for America and arrived in New York\nMarch 6th. The voyage was uneventful except that the second mate fell\noverboard and was lost at sea. He was performing some perilous duty\nthat he did not require of his men. The voyage at that season of the\nyear was attended by cold weather and the usual winter storms. They\nwere forty-three days en route.\n\nAfter reaching the United States, he paid a hasty visit to his old\nhome in Connecticut where his father and step-mother were preparing to\nemigrate to Nauvoo. He also went to Maine where he found his daughter\nwho had remained there during his absence. They reached Nauvoo in his\nfather's party on the 13th of April. He says: \"We stopped at Keokuk,\nand at two o'clock in the afternoon we began to ascend the rapids. I\ntook my spy glass and enjoyed a view of the city and the Temple in the\ndistance. They looked very beautiful to me.\"\n\nHe had been a zealous mission president. He kept a careful record.\nHe attended with scrupulous care to all the details of the mission.\nHe made himself familiar with the conditions in every conference. He\npromoted peace and good will among the Saints everywhere throughout\nGreat Britain. He was humble {246} and unassuming. He was simply the\ninstrumentality of God's purposes in promulgating the Gospel of Jesus\nChrist. He was devoid of those ambitions that engender jealousy,\nmisgivings, and hatreds. His own industrious life inspired those with\nwhom he was associated with the same indefatigable spirit with which\nhe was possessed. To this day the landmarks of his mission in Great\nBritain are pointed out to the elders who perform ministerial labors\nthere. He is referred to as a model missionary and is a man with a\nrecord that others are happy to emulate.\n\n{247}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 24.\n\nON THE BANKS OF THE MISSOURI, 1846.\n\nDedication of the Temple in Nauvoo.--The Exodus to Council\nBluffs.--Accident to His Father.--Reaches Mt. Pisgah.--Meets Brigham\nYoung.--Recruiting of the Mormon Battalion.--Colonel Kane.--Departure\nof the Battalion.--Organizations at Winter Quarters.--A Conference with\nthe Chiefs of the Leading Indian Tribes.--Explorations.--Remarks by\nPresident Young.\n\nBefore Elder Woodruff reached his home in Nauvoo, President Young with\na number of the Saints had already commenced their memorable exodus\nfrom that city. The Saints were in a state of active preparation\nfor their departure westward. The mob was active, determined, and\nvindictive. The hatred against the Saints had become so intense among\nthe anti-Mormon element in Western Illinois that it was a source of\ngreat disquietude among the people of Nauvoo. In the midst of the\npersecutions, however, there had been a faithful devotion to the work\non the Temple which resulted in its completion and preparation for\ndedication.\n\nUnder date of April 30th, 1846, Elder Woodruff's journal contains the\nfollowing: \"In the evening of this day I repaired to the Temple with\nElder Orson Hyde and about twenty other elders of Israel. There we\nwere all clothed in our priestly robes and dedicated the Temple of the\nLord, erected to His most holy name by the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints. Notwithstanding the predictions of false prophets\nand the threat of mobs that the building should never be completed\nnor dedicated, their words had fallen to the ground. The Temple was\nnow finished and dedicated to Him. After the dedication, we raised\nour voices in a united shout of 'Hosanna to God and the Lamb!' After\noffering our prayers we returned to our homes, thankful for the\nprivilege enjoyed in our evening services.\"\n\nOn May 1st, 1846, a public dedication of the Temple took place at which\nElder Woodruff opened the services by prayer. Elder Orson Hyde made\nappropriate remarks and then offered the dedicatory prayer. On Sunday\nthe 3rd the assembly room of the Temple was filled and addresses were\nmade by Elders Hyde {248} and Woodruff. A point had been gained; under\nstress and strain the Temple had been completed and dedicated. More,\nhowever, than the completion of the Temple had been accomplished by\nthe construction of that sacred edifice. Its rites and ceremonies had\nenlarged the vision of the Saints and broadened their conceptions of\neternity. Their relations and obligations to the dead brought home to\nthem greater responsibilities than they had ever heretofore imagined.\nFurthermore, they perceived the importance of a new gathering place\nwherein they might erect other Temples to the worship of their God.\nFrom that day to the present time, temple work has had a peculiar\ninfluence upon the lives of the Latter-day Saints. It has engendered\nbrotherly love, a spirit of unity, and a steadfast devotion to God that\nperhaps nothing else in all their experience in the Church has given\nthem. The work in Nauvoo was done; henceforth the city of the Saints\nwas to be nothing more to them than a memory until God should determine\notherwise. It brought its joys; but its history was also full of sad\nreminiscences, apostasy, murderous intent, and destruction.\n\n\"I was in Nauvoo,\" says Elder Woodruff, \"on the 26th of May, 1846, for\nthe last time, and left the city of the Saints feeling that most likely\nI was taking a final farewell of Nauvoo for this life. I looked back\nupon the Temple and City as they receded from view and asked the Lord\nto remember the sacrifices of His Saints.\"\n\nElder Woodruff had already left Nauvoo on the 16th and had preached his\nfarewell sermon there on the previous Sunday. The farewell of which he\nnow speaks followed his return to the City a few days later to obtain\ngoods which he had left behind. There he met a company of Saints who\nhad just arrived from Pennsylvania. Among them was Brother Sidwell who\ngave to Orson Hyde several hundred dollars for the Camp of Israel. He\nalso gave a hundred dollars each for Elders Hyde and Woodruff.\n\nThe little company of which he had charge consisted of his wife and\nchildren, his father, and a few other members of the family. They\nhad three baggage wagons, one family carriage, six yoke of oxen, six\ncows, four calves, one yearling, and a pair of mules, making in all\ntwenty-five head of animals. The father was {249} aged and had no\ngrown sons other than Wilford to assist him, so that the weight and\nresponsibility fell upon the son.\n\nThere began now the tedious and distressing journey across the state\nof Iowa. The inconveniences of loaded wagons and the inclemency of the\nweather superseded the comforts and conveniences of well-appointed\nhomes. On the first day out their wagon mired down in the mud; the\nwagon tongue and several chains were broken in the effort to extricate\nit. Similar accidents occurred at intervals, and on the twenty-seventh\nhe says in his journal that while his father was trying to climb into\nthe wagon fell to the ground. Both wheels of the wagon which was loaded\nwith twenty-five hundred pounds ran over his legs. It was marvelous\nthat no bones were broken.\n\nAt Farmington, Iowa, they bought a supply of flour consisting of\nfour barrels. There they crossed the Des Moines River at the ferry.\nThey were then twenty-five miles from Nauvoo on the 28th day of May.\nSeveral days later they overtook the Ramus Company consisting of about\ntwenty-five wagons. On the evening of Sunday the 7th they traveled some\ndistance when they came to a long swail which covered a distance of\none and a half miles. It was wet and miry. He succeeded in getting his\ncarriage across by dark, but in the center of the swamp his baggage\nwagons cut through the turf, and the wheels went down almost to the\nhubs. He worked most of that night in mud and water nearly knee deep\nand at the same time kept a watch upon the cattle. About daylight he\nrolled himself up in a buffalo robe and went to sleep. All day Monday\nthey were obliged to rest and prepare for the journey the following\nday. His anxiety to overtake the main body of the pioneers led to this\nviolation of his custom to refrain wholly from work on the Lord's day.\nTuesday, the 9th, the company traveled twelve miles and camped with a\nbody of Saints from Macedonia. The latter had thirty-one wagons. Here\nand there they were joined by scattered families of Saints who were\nwending their weary way westward. On the 15th of June they reached the\nCamp of Israel called Mt. Pisgah.\n\nPresident Kimball and others of the Twelve were still ahead. Elder\nCharles C. Rich had been left in charge at Mt. Pisgah. There were\nmany of his old-time friends there and the meeting brought with it\nreminiscences of earlier days. There was an exchange {250} of the\nexperiences which they had undergone since Brother Woodruff had left\nthem for his mission, more than a year before. \"I encamped,\" he says,\n\"on the east side of the creek near the Camp of Israel. Here I learned\nthat Brother Noah Rogers recently from a mission to the South Sea\nIslands had died and was the first to find a resting place in the\nburial ground at Mt. Pisgah. Brother Turnbow, one of our company, lost\na child today. I was present at its funeral.\" Lorenzo Snow was also in\nthis company and was suffering from sickness, but found great relief in\nthe administration of Elder Woodruff.\n\nOn the 21st he preached to a large congregation of Saints and was\nfollowed by Elders Rich, Benson, and Sherwood. That day a messenger\narrived from President Young, who was at Council Bluffs. The messenger\nbrought a call for one hundred mounted men who were to serve as\ndragoons and as buffalo hunters for the Camp of Israel. In response\nto the call, Elder Woodruff and sixty others stepped to the front. He\nreported the response to President Young.\n\nOn the 26th the camp was thrown into some excitement by the appearance\nof Captain Allen and three dragoons of the United States army. The\nobject of their visit was to raise volunteers for the Mexican War. He\nwas sent by Colonel Kearney who was acting under instructions from\nPresident James K. Polk. These messengers were shown every courtesy,\nbut were asked to confer with President Young. The day following, Elder\nWoodruff wrote President Young a letter in advance of the messengers\nwho were commissioned to make a call for volunteers.\n\nWhen the 27th of June arrived, the anniversary of the martyrdom of\nJoseph and Hyrum, Elder Woodruff though in poor health at the time\naddressed the Saints in Pisgah. It was his farewell sermon at that\nplace, for on the following day he took up his travels again for\nCouncil Bluffs.\n\n\"I stopped my carriage,\" he says, \"on the top of a hill in the midst\nof a rolling prairie where I had an extended view of all about me. I\nbeheld the Saints coming in all directions from hills and dales, groves\nand prairies with their wagons, flocks, and herds, by the thousands. It\nlooked like the movement of a nation.\"\n\nTraveling a few miles from this point of observation he met {251}\nParley P. Pratt, who was returning from Council Bluffs with a message\nto raise a company of men to go in advance to the Rocky Mountains\nwithout their families. The Quorum of the Twelve had volunteered to go\nand in Elder Woodruff's breast there was a heart-felt desire to take up\nthe proposed pioneer movement into the wilderness. He therefore hurried\non with as much speed as the ox-teams could endure. They traveled more\nthan twenty miles that day.\n\nThe day following they were overtaken by Parley P. Pratt who was\nreturning to Council Bluffs after having delivered his message. He was\naccompanied by Ezra T. Benson who had recently been chosen to take the\nplace in the Quorum of the Twelve formerly occupied by John E. Page.\nThese brethren expressed a wish that Elder Woodruff accompany them to\nthe Bluffs. The latter, in response, saddled his horse, and leaving his\nfamily and company, went on to join President Young and those with him\nat the front.\n\nOn the 4th of July they rode ten miles and breakfasted with some of\nthe brethren whom they met. To their great surprise they were informed\nthat President Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards\nwere near by on their way to Pisgah to raise volunteers for the service\nof the United States army. \"We immediately rode down to where they\nwere located,\" he says in his journal. \"It was truly a happy meeting.\nI rejoiced to strike hands once more with those noble men. It was the\nfirst time we had met since I left Nauvoo on my mission to England soon\nafter the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum.\"\n\nThis changed somewhat his plan of travel, and upon the invitation of\nPresident Young, Elders Woodruff and Benson returned with him until he\nmet his family and company with whom he journeyed to Council Bluffs\nwhich he reached on the 7th of July, 1846.\n\nUpon his arrival at the Missouri River, he set about the task of\nraising volunteers for the government service. It was about this\ntime that the Saints there were visited by Thomas L. Kane from the\nCity of Washington. His interest in the Latter-day Saints, his deep\nand unfeigned sympathy for them, naturally awakened feelings of\ngratitude toward one whose sympathies for them were so genuine. The\nColonel's description of Nauvoo, {252} and his defense generally of the\nLatter-day Saints, have always made his name with them a synonym of\nfriendship. To what extent their faith and beliefs brought conviction\nto his soul, it will perhaps be impossible to say. It is certain,\nhowever, that the new religion awakened in him some belief that these\nunpopular people were perhaps after all the instrument of a divine\nprovidence in transforming the religious views of the modern world; for\non the 7th of September he sought and received a patriarchal blessing\nunder the hands of father John Smith, who at the time was living in a\ntent. Elder Woodruff wrote the blessing as it fell from the lips of the\nPatriarch and presented it to the Colonel.\n\nIt was Colonel Kane's belief, and it was so represented by him to\nthe Saints, that President Polk was favorable to them and had really\nproposed the Mormon Battalion with the intention in his heart of\nhelping them across the plains by government aid. There was, however,\nsome skepticism, and a belief among some that the whole scheme was an\nanti-Mormon device, and intended to weaken the Saints in their exodus,\nand make them an easy prey to the Indians who might encompass the\ncomplete destruction of the Saints on the plains.\n\nBrigham Young and other leaders were actively engaged in recruiting men\nfor service in the Battalion. President Young had returned from Mt.\nPisgah and met in council with the Twelve. Colonel Kane was present.\nSuch tasks as these required just such enthusiasm and heart-felt\nconviction as men like Wilford Woodruff could give to them.\n\nOn July the 15th Elders Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt, and John Taylor\nwere appointed to a mission in Great Britain for the purpose of\nregulating the affairs of the Church there and of appointing a new\npresidency over that mission.\n\nOn the 16th of July Elder Woodruff writes: \"It was a great day in the\nCamp of Israel. Four companies of volunteers were organized and ready\nfor marching. They were brought together and formed in a hollow square\nby their captains. They were then addressed by several of the Quorum\nof the Twelve after which the Battalion began its march in double\nfile over the Redemption Hill, seven miles across the Missouri River\nbottom to the ferry. The brethren who formed these companies left their\nfamilies, teams, wagons, and cattle by the wayside not expecting {253}\nto meet them again for one or two years. They left their wives and\nchildren to their brethren and to the tender mercies of God, before\nthey went. With cheerful hearts they believed that they were doing the\nwill of their Heavenly Father. As I viewed them I felt as though I was\nlooking upon the first Battalion of the army of Israel, engaged in the\nservice of the United States.\"\n\nUpon the departure of the Battalion, the Twelve proceeded at once\nto ordain Ezra T. Benson who had been called to their Quorum. That\nevening Elder Woodruff entertained the Apostles as his guests at\nsupper. That body of men felt some pride in the success that had\nattended their efforts to enlist the Battalion. They were full of joy\nand were rejoicing together over the satisfaction which they felt in\naccomplishing that which they hoped would be of lasting benefit and\nhonor to the Latter-day Saints.\n\nA few days later while the Battalion of five hundred were in camp at\nthe ferry, they were addressed by President Young, who bestowed freely\nupon them his blessings and his promises of safety. After that a\nconcert was given in honor of Colonel Allen, the commander of the men,\nwho were now ready to begin their long and perilous march to the sea.\n\nWith the departure of the Battalion, another great move in the exodus\nhad been made. The way across the plains, however, had to be blazed\nand a route established for the travel of the tens of thousands who\nshould follow the first company in quest of a home far removed from\nthe confines of civilization, a home where the saints of God might\nenjoy the freedom and the rest that had been denied them ever since the\norganization of the Church in April, 1830.\n\nDuring that period of sixteen years the Saints had been constantly\nfleeing from mobs and from the tyranny of oppressors. They were in a\nstate of constant uncertainty and could find comfort and consolation\nonly in the divine assurance that they were a peculiar people, a chosen\npeople, destined to open a new and marvelous dispensation among the\nchildren of men.\n\nThe primitive conditions in which the Saints now found themselves along\nthe banks of the Missouri River naturally gave rise to misgivings,\nmurmurings, discontent, and sometimes rebellious sentiment. To maintain\npeace and order under such circumstances {254} was no easy task. The\nleaders labored early and late and urged constantly, peace, fraternity,\nand good will. A new burden had been imposed upon those who were left\nbehind and who were required to provide for the welfare of the families\nof the soldiers. About ninety men were appointed among the Saints to\nact as bishops. One of their special duties was to look after the\nfamilies of those who were left dependent upon the Church at large. On\nthe 21st of the month a high council was appointed. Isaac Morley became\nsenior member.\n\nPreparatory to the march across the plains the coming summer, some\nexplorations were begun. Elder Woodruff traveled along the country of\nthe Big Pigeon River on which the camp of the Saints was established.\nOn the 25th of July he crossed the river to the Nebraska side with\nhis family, wagons, and household effects. On the 2nd of August the\nTwelve met in council and decided that Winter Quarters should be\nestablished on the site then occupied by the camp. On the evening of\nthat day President Young and Elder Richards called at the tent of\nWilford Woodruff where President Young gave him and his family some\ninstructions on the subject of the priesthood and of the sealing power.\nThat day was also marked by the arrival of a messenger from the Mormon\nBattalion that was now within thirty miles from Leavenworth.\n\nAfter settling the question of a location for the winter, twelve men\nwere selected to serve in the joint capacity of a High Council and City\nCouncil for the transaction of all business relating to the settlement\nof the Saints during the winter.\n\nAbout this time there was a meeting of the Saints with Colonel Kane,\nand in it the adoption of certain resolutions of respect and gratitude\nto President Polk for the steps taken by him in arming five hundred\nmen and of furnishing them an opportunity to reach the valleys of the\nRocky Mountains. At this time they also urgently protested against the\nappointment of Lilburn W. Boggs, the former governor of Missouri, and\na bitter enemy of the people, as governor of California and Oregon,\na position he was anxious to occupy and one which his friends were\nhelping him to secure.\n\nAt this time President Young informed Colonel Kane that it was the\nintention of the Saints to settle in the Great Basin, and {255} that as\nsoon as they were located to apply for a territorial government. Thus\ntheir plans were early revealed to a tried and trusted friend.\n\nThe Sunday following, a meeting was held at a place prepared for\nworship, a place capable of seating about three hundred people. After\nthe people were addressed by Apostle Woodruff, President Young declared\nthat when the Latter-day Saints should finally reach their resting\nplace, he would labor hard to build another temple. The erection\nof a temple whose blessings they so meagerly enjoyed in Nauvoo was\nconstantly in the mind of the leaders who were inspired by a desire\nto enjoy the ordinances for the living and dead which belonged,\npeculiarly, to the temples of God.\n\nIn the management of the affairs at Winter Quarters, the Saints were\ndivided into encampments and these again into subdivisions. President\nYoung took charge of division 1. That allotted to Elder Woodruff was\nNo 10. It consisted of thirty-six men, thirty-two wagons, nine horses,\n129 oxen, 59 cows, four mules, and forty sheep. The whole of Winter\nQuarters consisted at this time of 549 men, 597 wagons, 229 horses,\n2,110 oxen, 1,168 cows, 49 mules, and 660 sheep.\n\nThe entire population of those that located at Council Bluffs at that\ntime is not stated in his journal.\n\nOn August 17 Orrin P. Rockwell arrived in camp and brought with him\nthe mail from Nauvoo. The letters from home showed that the mob were\nstill active, that some of the Saints had been whipped in a shameful\nmanner and that there was no hope of any return to the city they loved\nso well. There was nothing in the information that reached them from\nNauvoo to give the least encouragement to any of their number to turn\nback; their hope was now all directed westward.\n\nThere was naturally much suffering in the midst of all the exposure to\nwhich the Saints were subjected. Elder Woodruff records the fact that\nhis wife suffered a great deal from sickness and it was with great\ndifficulty that she was kept alive.\n\nThe Mormon Battalion constituted the advance-guard for the pioneer\nmovement. It is true that they were taking a route different from that\nwhich the body of the Saints intended to follow, but the Battalion was\npenetrating the great and unknown {256} wilderness. Its difficulties\nwould be their difficulties, its hardships, their hardships. All news\ntherefore brought back from the Battalion was discussed by the Saints\non the banks of the Missouri with intense interest. They had reason to\nbe proud of their representatives in blue. The soldiers were making\na good record. They were spoken highly of because of their exemplary\nhabits, their willing service, and their powers of endurance.\n\nHe writes in his journal of August 22nd that he, in company with other\nmembers of the Twelve, crossed the river to Council Point where they\nfound many of the people sick. They went about administering to them,\nand after rebuking the diseases that were afflicting the Saints, they\nwent on to what is called Redemption Hill. Upon their return to Council\nPoint, they found, to their great pleasure and gratification, that the\nexercises of the healing power with which the Lord had clothed them was\nresulting in the restoration of those to whom they had administered.\n\nThe leaders here were planning an exodus for the coming year.\nPreparations of all kinds were therefore being made for a journey of\na thousand miles through the wilderness, the country of the red man.\nThe Book of Mormon taught them who the red man was and the promises\nof which some day he should be a happy recipient. Their sympathy for\nthe Indian, therefore, rested upon religious convictions which they\nentertained for his future, a future in which he would find redemption\nfrom the slothful and slovenly conditions of life into which he had\nfallen.\n\nOn the 27th the Twelve and the high council met with the\nrepresentatives of two great Indian tribes. The object of the meeting\nwas to get the permission to remain upon their lands and use the wood,\ngrass, and water as long as they wished to stay. \"We first met with\nthe Ottos between whom and the Omahas there was a dispute as to who\nowned the land. The Ottos said the land was theirs. The chief with five\nor six others was present. We talked to him, after which he returned\nhome. We later met in council with the Omahas. The old chief's name was\nBig Elk and his son, a young chief, called Young Elk. There were also\npresent with them about sixty old men and braves of the tribe. As it\nwas late, the council adjourned until the morrow. On the 28th we met\nin the morning with the Omaha chiefs. We smoked the pipe of peace and\nPresident Young then spoke to {257} them through their interpreter. He\ntold them it was our desire to winter there; and if they wished it we\nwould do some work for them, make them a field, repair their guns.\n\nBig Elk replied: \"My son, thou hast spoken well. I have all thou hast\nsaid in my heart. I have much I want to say. We are poor, when we go\nto hunt game in one place we meet the enemy and so in another, and our\nenemies kill us. We do not kill them. I hope we shall be friends. You\nmay stay on these lands two years or more. Our young men may watch your\ncattle. We would be glad to have you trade with us. We will warn you of\ndanger from other Indians.\" Much more was said by Big Elk after which\nthe council closed and the Indians, after being fed, returned to their\nhomes.\n\nOn September 11, 1846, the leaders rode out in search of Old Council\nBluffs. They built a bridge to cross a creek, and after traveling over\nflats and hills they came to the object of their search about sundown.\nThey found that there was once on that place some old barracks. Nothing\nwas left of it except the body of the magazine with one gable end.\nThe object of this search was to make themselves familiar with the\nsurrounding country and to gain information.\n\nOrson Pratt had been on a visit to the Otto and Omaha Indians, and on\nhis return reported that it was the wish of each of these tribes to\nperform a war dance before the people. The Omahas were then on their\nway to war with the Sioux.\n\nIt was necessary to secure a certain class and a certain amount of\nprovisions for the journey of the coming season. Bishop Whitney and\nseveral others were delegated to proceed to Saint Louis and make the\nnecessary purchases. There was a busy life in the camp. As winter\napproached, men were actively engaged in putting up log cabins,\nmaking dugouts, and taking what precautions they could, under the\ncircumstances, against the inclemency of the winter season.\n\nThe situation was so full of anxiety and attended by so many fears,\nthat it was necessary to keep up the spirits and cultivate the hopes\nof the people. Amusements, chiefly dancing, were provided. These\namusements gave opportunity to unruly characters to demonstrate their\nunworthiness. Mirth, especially {258} excessive mirth, breaks down the\nnatural reserve of man and discloses much of his motives and especially\nhis follies and vices.\n\nThe Saints assembled at that time were gathered from all parts of\nthe states and from Great Britain. That community consisted of men\nand women of all shades of thought, all traditions, beliefs, and\ncustoms. The grave and austere, and devoted Saints mingled with the\nlight-minded, the indifferent, and the gay. There were those that\nconstituted the drift wood of the community. They were found piled up\nwhere the current had taken them. Some in the camp had no faith, others\nmade no pretensions to faith. There were young men who were wild and\nunruly. Such conditions naturally gave the leaders much anxiety and\nbrought to them some discouragement. They realized that it would be\neasy to bring disorder and confusion into their midst. Recording the\nremarks of President Young to the people on Sunday, Sept. 13th, Elder\nWoodruff quotes as follows: \"I wish to say a few words upon principle.\nThere is one thing I want you to realize and that is that God, angels\nand saints--Heaven and all of God's creations--are governed by law.\nI want the Camp of Israel to understand that we must be so governed.\nIf Heaven were not so controlled, what sort of a place would it be?\nEvery man would be in danger of losing his rights and of having them\ntrampled upon. All celestial beings are governed by law and order, for\nthe celestial law is a perfect order of things, a perfect system of\nlight, law, intelligence, exaltation, and glory. We do not arrive at\nthis all at once. A prophet once declared that we should have precept\nupon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little until\nwe arrive at a fullness of knowledge and glory, even a fullness which\nreigns in the Heavens.\n\n\"We must begin to be governed by law here before we are prepared to\nreceive the fullness that reigns in the Heavens. We must have law and\norder in our midst.\"\n\nSome agitation was manifested at this time in consequence of certain\nfavors received by those who then on the banks of the Missouri River\nwere permitted to have more than one wife. Respecting this President\nYoung is quoted as saying: \"Some young men are jealous for fear I\nshall receive more blessings, more wives, or some other blessings than\nthemselves. These men have {259} never preached the gospel in their\nlives. If they will travel the world over in poverty as I have done and\non foot with blood in their shoes and spend years and years to save\nthe world they will cease to be jealous of the blessings that I enjoy.\nA woman who has the spirit of God will join herself to a good man who\nhonors and bears the Holy Priesthood. Such a man, if he continues\nfaithful, will be saved in eternal glory and all who are with him.\n\n\"I am determined that my affections shall be with God. I will not allow\nthem to be placed upon things that perish. When plagues and disease\nget hold of our bodies we become loathsome, our beauty fades away.\nOur affections should be placed upon things that are noble, exalted,\nlasting, and glorious. I love an exalted mind, it is eternal and\ncannot fade. I want all my affections to be subject to God and to the\nprinciples of glory and eternal life.\"\n\nA pleasure loving camp in those days had many of the same temptations\nthat beset the pleasure loving world now. Those, then, in whose minds\nevery thing was associated with a pleasure loving spirit attributed\nself gratification to the motives of their leaders who were then\ninculcating faith by teaching and practicing the doctrine of plural\nmarriage.\n\nOn the 23rd of September the Saints removed their encampment from the\nprairie ridge where they had been located to the tableland on the bank\nof the Missouri River. At the latter place a townsite was laid out into\nblocks, 120 by 40 rods. Each block was divided into lots four by ten.\n\nTwo days later Daniel H. Wells and Elder Cutler arrived from Nauvoo.\nAt the meeting on Sunday afternoon of the 27th they gave an account\nof the Battle of Nauvoo, where the Saints were engaged in resisting\nthe encroaching mob. Three of the Saints were killed and two wounded.\nIt was never known how many of the mob lost their lives. The skirmish\nresulted in a treaty which required the Saints to leave the city within\nfive days. The little remnant of those compelled to leave was composed\nchiefly of men and women whose circumstances did not permit them to\nleave with the main body of the Church. A few remained to protect\nthe property rights of the people who had been driven from the city.\nThere were a few who fostered some lingering thoughts of returning\nto Nauvoo, or of mercenary advantages in days to come. {260} These\nproperty rights which the Saints sought to retain only excited the\ncupidity and murderous disposition of the mob. It was the property of\nthe Saints they craved and bloodshed did not stand between them and the\ncravings of their own selfish dispositions. This lingering remnant was,\ntherefore, inhumanely treated and driven into the wilderness without\nprovisions and without shelter. Their distress was pitiful. The Battle\nof Nauvoo removed from the hearts of all the Saints the last lingering\nhope of any return to that city. All was gone, their property rights\ndestroyed, and their homes passed to new ownerships. The destruction of\nall hope in their return to the city they loved made their undertaking\nin a new and perilous journey the only thing to be reckoned with.\n\nThe first Sunday in October, Orson Pratt, Amasa Lyman, and Wilford\nWoodruff began the organization of the new city of Winter Quarters.\nIt was divided into 13 wards, with a bishop over each. Thus,\nresponsibility was extended and order more firmly established\nthroughout the Camp.\n\nOn the 15th Elder Woodruff met with one of those serious experiences\nrecorded in his chapter of accidents. He was struck by a falling tree\nand disabled for a number of weeks. While he was recovering his little\nson Joseph was stricken with disease and died on the 12th of November.\n\nOn the 17th of that month Elder Woodruff took up again his manual\nlabor. Writing in his journal of those times he says: \"I had never seen\nthe Latter-day Saints in any situation where they seemed to be passing\nthrough greater tribulations. After being exposed to the sufferings of\na tedious journey of ten months in tents and wagons, they were obliged\nto build a city of log houses numbering more than one thousand. All\nthis work had only a temporary enjoyment. We had to go a great distance\nfor wood and timber, and it was difficult to secure from the deep\nravines and hollows where we found it. The labor was hard to endure. I\nwas endeavoring to build a log house for myself and one for my father.\"\n\nQuite a number died during the winter of 1846-47, in Winter Quarters.\nElder Woodruff records the death of Sister Benbow, the wife of his\ntime-honored friend.\n\nOn the 8th of December there was born to him a son whom {261} he\nnamed Ezra who lived only a few days and was buried by the side of\nhis brother Joseph. Thus afflictions and death visited the Saints\nwhile they were camping along the banks of the Missouri River. By the\nclose of that year their numbers reached 3483. Christmas day was duly\nobserved and such joy and such gratitude as were possible under the\ncircumstances were manifested throughout the Camp.\n\nOn the 29th the Twelve met to consider the organization of a pioneer\ncompany whose duty it would be to set out for the valleys the following\nspring. From now on there was a feverish excitement in consequence of\nthe preparation going on for the accomplishment of a journey whose\nvicissitudes they could not even imagine. Truly they had to walk in\nthe light of faith. In turn it filled their hearts with hope and fond\nanticipations. Faith taught them to look on the bright side of life and\nanticipate the best, that they might endure cheerfully the worst that\nwas to overtake them. Thus ended the year 1846 in the life of Wilford\nWoodruff.\n\n{262}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 25.\n\nDEPARTURE OF THE PIONEERS.--APRIL 7, 1847.\n\nArrival of Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor at Winter\nQuarters.--Organization of the Pioneers.--Manner of Forming\nCamp.--Horse Feed Enroute.--Pawnee Indians.--A Practical\nJoke.--Crossing Loup Fork.\n\nOn the outskirts of civilization, near the banks of the Missouri River,\non the 7th day of April, 1847, might have been seen a large body of\nmen and women anxiously gazing on a band of pioneers just taking their\ndeparture from wives and children, friends and neighbors, and setting\nout upon a perilous journey in quest of a resting place in the Rocky\nMountains. In the hearts of wives and friends there was a strange\nmixture of fear and faith. What the outcome would be, none could\nforesee; and the probabilities of danger from the hostile red man were\nonly mitigated by the fervent faith which had served them well in the\ntrying ordeal of other troublous times through which the Church had\npassed. The pioneers were missionaries whose trust in the direction and\ncare of an over-ruling Providence was uppermost in their minds.\n\nJust to the west of Winter Quarters, there arises one of those rolling,\nundulating ridges which skirt the Missouri for many miles. When the\ntop of this elevation was reached, Elder Woodruff took a parting view\nof the city, and through his field glasses he could see his wife and\nchildren whose lingering gaze followed the pioneers as long as they\ncould be seen.\n\nThe first day's journey covered a distance of seven miles from Winter\nQuarters. Naturally enough, many things necessary for such a journey\nhad been forgotten; some needed counsel had been overlooked; some\nwords of caution had not been spoken. The leaders of the pioneers not\nonly faced the uncertainties of a long and tedious journey, but they\nleft behind them a large number of brethren and sisters whose welfare\nand unity might be greatly disturbed in the absence of those trusted\nleaders, whose counsels had been their watchword and whose leadership\nseemed necessary for their safety. Under these circumstances a few days\npassed before the company was well on its way.\n\n{263} In the meantime, Parley P. Pratt had just arrived from his\nmission to Great Britain, and the tidings which this prince of\nmissionaries had brought from a foreign land were a matter of supreme\nimportance to the Prophet Brigham Young who returned to Winter Quarters\nto greet the newly arrived missionary. During this time, Wilford\nWoodruff was exploring the neighboring country. The delay of President\nYoung led him likewise to return to Winter Quarters. He was within a\nhalf mile of his home when he met the Twelve returning to the camp of\nthe pioneers. With characteristic submission to order and discipline,\nhe turned about without seeing his family and joined the brethren on\ntheir return.\n\nThe camp had scarcely been set in motion when news of the arrival of\nJohn Taylor from Great Britain caused the Twelve to return again to\nWinter Quarters. This time they were accompanied by Wilford Woodruff\nwho succeeded in adding to his equipment another horse for the\njourney. These reunions in the midst of troublous times were heartfelt\ndemonstrations of brotherly love and mutual good will. The importance\nof Elder Taylor's return was enhanced by the fact that he had brought\nwith him two sextants, two barometers, two artificial horizons, one\ncircle of reflection, and one telescope, which were highly valuable for\nthe acquisition of important data along the journey. The next return\nof the leaders to the camp of the pioneers was final and the journey\nwas taken up with renewed enthusiasm and a determination to move on\nunremittingly to the goal of their undertaking.\n\nThe first week of the journey was passed in reaching and crossing the\nElk Horn River which flows into the Platte whose banks were soon to be,\nfor most of the distance, the guide of the pioneers. It is a stream\nwhose small tributaries were to give the Saints considerable trouble\nin their efforts to get their wagons and teams over the treacherous\nquicksands that were common along the banks of the Platte in eastern\nNebraska.\n\nIt was during these early days that Jesse C. Little returned from\nthe Eastern States mission. He brought with him presents for the\nTwelve from friends in the East. \"Col. Kane had sent me a patent\nlife preserver and a stop compass.\" Brothers Little, {264} Rockwood,\nand Reading returned to Winter Quarters next morning (April 16), and\nthe company continued four miles up the Platte. \"Before we left this\nmorning, the camp came together and was organized as a military body\ninto companies of hundreds, fifties, and tens. Stephen Markham and A.\nP. Rockwood were appointed captains of hundreds.\" Of this organization\nBrigham Young was Lieutenant General and Wilford Woodruff was appointed\ncaptain of the first ten, an appointment which characterized the man.\nHis nervous energy, his untiring effort, his prompt and ready action\nnaturally fitted him for the leading captain.\n\n\"The camp consisted of seventy-three wagons, one hundred and\nforty-three men, three women, and two children, making in all one\nhundred and forty-eight souls. The general orders from Brigham Young\nfor the camp were as follows: 'The whole regiment was to journey in\na compact body as they were in an Indian country, and every man was\nto carry his gun loaded. The caplocks were to be shut on a piece of\nbuckskin with the caps ready to slip on in an instant in case of\nattacks; for flint-locks, guncotton or tow was to be put in the pan\nand the powder flask kept handy to prime without delay. Every man was\nto walk by the side of his wagon and not to leave it except sent away\nby order.' The object of all this caution was to prevent accident,\nfor strict discipline was necessary while traveling through a hostile\nIndian country.\n\n\"On Saturday, the 17th,\" continues Wilford Woodruff, \"some traders came\ndown from the Pawnees and camped with us over night; they had plenty of\nbuffalo meat dried, and gave us what we needed, and informed us that we\nwere in two days' drive of a large band of Pawnees.\n\n\"On the following morning President Young called the captains together\nand gave the following instructions: 'We were to start in the morning,\ntwo wagons abreast. All who were not driving teams were to carry their\nguns and walk beside the wagons, and no man was to go hunting or get\nout of sight of the wagons. In the morning the bugle was to be blown at\nfive o'clock and the pioneers were to arise and pray, cook, eat, and\nfeed the horses and start at the call of the bugle at seven o'clock.\nIn the evening the bugle was to be blown at half past eight when all\nwere to go to prayers in their several wagons and retire by {265} nine\no'clock. Each Saturday night we were to pitch what tents we had and\nprepare our camps for rest on the Sabbath.'\n\n\"On the morning of the 19th of April, Prof. Pratt took an observation\nand found the latitude to be 41 degrees 27 minutes and 5 seconds. The\npoint of observation was on the north bend of the Platte, 10 1/2 miles\nnorth of where the Saints had crossed the river. It was while camping\nat this place that Elder Little overtook the Saints on his return\nfrom the Eastern States mission. On the evening of that day we camped\nnear a grove of timber on the banks of the Platte where we formed a\nsemi-circle. The river on one side was our defense, and one of the four\nwheels of each wagon was driven up to the back wheel of the wagon ahead\nof it, and all the horses and cattle were taken into the corral thus\nformed so that we might be secure against the Indians. There was a hard\nwind during the night and the morning was fair with a strong southwest\nwind which covered our wagons with sand dust.\"\n\nAt this season of the year, the grass was not sufficiently high and\nmatured for suitable feed for the horses; and during the early part of\nthe journey cottonwood trees were cut down in order that the horses\nmight gnaw off the bark and browse from the limbs, a kind of food which\nthe horses at this season of the year seemed to enjoy. The ration of\ncorn for each horse was two quarts per day.\n\nOn Tuesday, the 20th, three islands in the Platte River were reached,\nthe largest of which, including an area of about ten acres, was covered\nwith timber. Thereafter for miles along the river there continued a\nchain of islands.\n\nIt was about this time that they approached the inhabited territory of\nthe Pawnee Indians who were somewhat given to petty thefts, but not\nso dangerous as the Sioux. Here and there individual Indians of the\nPawnee tribe would approach in concealment in the grass the horses of\nthe pioneers and a few were stolen, presumably by the Indians. What\ncaused the Pawness to gather in villages about 150 miles from the\nMissouri River was doubtless the presence of large herds of buffaloes,\nand the further fact that they were far removed from the outposts of\ncivilization on that great river.\n\nThe question of food was, of course, an important consideration; {266}\nand the existence of game at this stage of the journey gave rise to\nthe appointment of a body of men to be known as the hunters. Among the\nnames given, that of Wilford Woodruff does not appear, and yet he was\na skilled hunter and fisher all his subsequent life, and the part he\ntook in the buffalo chases indicates that he was an excellent hunter in\nfact, if not so named.\n\nIn the spring of the year, the rain and the wind produced a sort of raw\nweather which created a chilly sensation and consequent discomfort.\nIn consequence of the rains, the streams were often swollen and means\nfor crossing them had to be improvised. It was necessary, therefore,\nto send men in advance of the pioneers for the purpose of constructing\nbridges or selecting fords and making general observations respecting\nthe lay of the country. On the 20th they crossed a small stream called\nShell Creek. From this point Elders Woodruff and Pratt went ahead for\nthe purpose of taking observations. That night they cut down cottonwood\ntrees from the barks of which their horses fed.\n\nThe following day the ox-teams started at 7 o'clock, an hour in advance\nof the horses, and in the course of the journey an Indian made his\nappearance on a mound about five miles distant. He was mounted on a\npony. He soon disappeared but in a short time again came in sight at a\nfull gallop. As he approached the camp he was met by the brethren who\nshook hands with him in a friendly manner and with the seven others\nwho had accompanied him. They were escorted through the camp that they\nmight learn that there were no hostile intentions among the pioneers.\n\n\"At 12:30 we came in sight of seventy horses and mules, and soon in\nsight of a large Pawnee village on the north side of Loup Fork, and\nalso one on the south side of it. We drove on by the village, and\nsoon they began to sally out to meet us. We camped in the form of a\nhalf-moon, the bank of the river forming a parallel line in front. The\nIndians, numbering about two hundred on the south side of the river,\ncame down to the shore. Some waded over and about seventy-five came\ninto camp, including the grand chief of the nation, with many war\nchiefs. We met them and made them presents of four pounds of tobacco,\nfifteen pounds of lead, powder, fish-hooks, beads, flour, salt, etc.,\nbut still they {267} were not satisfied; considering our numbers, they\nthought they ought to have more. When we left the ground, the Indians\nappeared very dissatisfied, but we harnessed up our horses and drove\non to Looking-glass Creek and camped at its mouth for the night on the\nbank of the Loup Fork.\n\n\"After our horses were turned out, we were called together; and in\nconsequence of the dissatisfaction of the Indians, a guard of one\nhundred men was called for. The Quorum of the Twelve with nearly the\nwhole camp volunteered to stand guard, one-half of them the fore part\nof the night, and a half the other part. We also had a picket guard of\nfive men with their mules at each watch.\n\n\"I was one of the picket guards. We had a hard wind with rain in the\nafternoon which continued a portion of the time that I was on guard. I\nrolled myself up in my buffalo robe and let the wind and rain beat on\nme. We were released at about one o'clock and went to rest. No Indians\nappeared during the night.\n\n\"Looking-glass Creek was crossed fifteen minutes before nine on the day\nfollowing, April 22nd, and a westerly course continued and Beaver Creek\nreached at noon. Prof. O. Pratt took the meridian observation of the\nsun by the sextant for the latitude which was found to be 41 degrees 25\nminutes and 13 seconds. He also made other observations.\n\n\"We crossed Beaver Creek at half past two o'clock and traveled seven\nmiles and came to the Pawnee missionary station and camped for the\nnight. The bluff was skirted with oaks on the north side of the road in\nthe hills. We kept out a guard through the night as we were in danger\nof the Sioux on the one side and the Pawnees on the other.\n\n\"While watering the horses at the creek at the station this evening,\nBrother George A. Smith's horse mired, pitched forward, and jumped on\nhim, treading upon his feet and breast, and holding him fast in the mud\nuntil I caught the horse by the bit and backed him off. I was fearful\nthat Brother Smith was badly injured, but found that he was not.\"\n\nOn the morning of the 23rd, the camp enjoyed some diversion in one of\nthose practical jokes which characterize men traveling under similar\ncircumstances. Some of the guards during the {268} night had fallen\nasleep, and when awakened, found their guns taken. Col. Markham had\nlost his hat. Fatigue from their duties and arduous labors made it\ndifficult for men to remain awake when nature so persistently demanded\nsleep.\n\nAs the company made its way along Loup Fork River, a fording place was\nsought, as the purpose of the pioneers was to follow up the Platte into\nwhich Loup Fork emptied. In the evening a Pawnee missionary station was\nreached--a station which had been abandoned. There were several good\nlog houses and considerable land under cultivation. Here they found\nlarge lots of old and new iron, all apparently left to ruin. A quarter\nof a mile below the missionary village was a government station where\nFather Chase had been employed as a government farmer at a salary of\n$300 a year. When, however, Major Harvey learned that Father Chase\nhad joined the Mormons, he was dismissed from service. The Sioux had\nburned the government station houses and blacksmith shop, but had\nspared the missionary village. Some of the hay and fodder was used by\nthe pioneers, but none of it was carried away. Some of the plows were\ntaken on an account which Father Chase held against the government for\narrears in wages, but a strict report to the government was ordered and\nthe things taken were regarded as the property of Father Chase.\n\nThe crossing of Loup Fork was a mile-post on the journey; and the 23rd\nwas a day of great anxiety to those who had been looking carefully for\na suitable fording place from which they might drop down again on to\nthe banks of the Platte.\n\n\"In the morning twelve of us started on horseback to search out a ford\nacross the dangerous and troublesome Loup Fork of the Platte River. We\nwent down the river some distance when several men waded across. They\nfound the water so deep, and so much quicksand that we came to the\nconclusion to drive up to the old Pawnee village. So we returned to the\ncamp and harnessed up our horses. My gray horse named Titus was sick,\nyet I started out with him, and the camp drove up with some difficulty\nto the old Indian village, or a little below it.\n\n\"The men commenced searching out a ford and found the {269} whole bed\nof the river one body of quicksand into which if a horse or wagon\nstopped it would begin to sink. We had two channels to cross and a\nsand-bar in the middle. The deepest water was from three to four feet\nand very rapid and about three hundred yards across. At some places\nthe quicksand sank both man and beast instantly; and the more they\nstruggled to get out, the more they would sink. Of course, we avoided\nsuch places as much as possible.\n\n\"As I led the van with my ten, being captain of the first ten, it\nfell to my lot to make the first trial. Prof. O. Pratt, having a pair\nof strong horses, went forward and I followed him. I had two yoke of\ncattle and my horses on my carriage with about ten hundred on it. As\nsoon as I started, I immediately saw that the cattle did but little\ngood, being slow and in the way, we would begin to sink. I jumped out\nof my carriage into the water up to my waist. About ten men came to\nmy assistance with a rope and hitched it to the oxen and helped me\nin getting across the first stream, though with great difficulty. We\nstopped on a sand-bar out in the water, but my horses and wagon began\nto sink. By treading the ground a little, it would become a perfect\nquagmire, and though we were sinking in it, the men had to leave the\nwagon where it was and go to the assistance of Orson Pratt, who, in\ntrying to cross the second stream, had sunk into a bed of quicksand,\nand all the men had to go to his relief to get his horses and wagon\nout. The horses were unhitched from the wagon, and the load taken out\nand carried to shore; the wagon was drawn out by the men.\n\n\"I took off most of my load in a boat and went through the second\nstream. I got two other wagons in the same way, but it was so difficult\nan undertaking that the rest of the camp would not follow us, so here\nwe found ourselves on the opposite side of the river, six men of us, to\nspend the night, together with our horses and wagons to guard against\nthe whole Pawnee band, who were then camped below us on the same side\nof the river, and it was supposed that they numbered six hundred\nwarriors. We divided our company, putting three on guard at a time.\nBrother Pack, Orson Pratt, and myself went on guard the fore part of\nthe {270} night. Although I had been in the water the whole afternoon,\nI stood guard in my wet clothing one-half of the night and slept in\nthem the other half.\n\n\"When we had guarded our part of the night we were joined by five\nmen from the camp who crossed in a boat. They were sent by President\nYoung to assist us, making eleven of us in all, and we divided our\nforce accordingly. The night, however, passed off in peace, with no\ndisturbance from the hostile Indians.\n\n\"The morning was pleasant and Prof. Pratt took an observation on the\nsouth bank of the fording place of the Loup Fork. The latitude was\nfound to be 41 degrees, 22 minutes, and 37 seconds. The camp on the\nother side was now busy devising plans to cross the river. They drew\ntogether timber and rails to build two rafts and began to put them\ntogether. Some of the brethren made another trial to cross with wagons\nby putting on several horse and mule teams. They went a little higher\nup than we did and got over with much less difficulty. The more the\nground was trod in the water, the smoother and harder it grew, so the\nwhole company turned their wagons back to the ford and abandoned the\nraft. By unloading one-half of the baggage, they could cross in safety;\nand they all crossed by doubling teams and by going back and forth\nuntil all were over. Each captain with his ten assisted the others\nacross. In this way all Israel who were present went over the Loup Fork\nof the Platte River in safety without hurt to man or beast; and we felt\nthankful to God for His mercies and rejoiced that we were on the south\nside of the river.\n\n\"We all loaded up our wagons and drove four miles and camped for the\nSabbath on the bank of the river; and after our wagons were arranged,\nthe Twelve took a walk on the high table lands to make observations,\nthrough their glasses, of the surrounding country.\"\n\n{271}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 26.\n\nPIONEER JOURNEY CONTINUED, 1847.\n\nElijah Newman Healed.--Indians Attempt Theft.--Antelopes Killed.\nEncounter with Indians.--A Buffalo Hunt.--Meet Traders from Laramie.--A\nDecision To Keep the North Bank of the Platte.--Immense Herds of\nBuffaloes.--William Clayton's Mile Gage.--Letter Left for Next\nCompany.--Description of the Rodometer.\n\nThe task of crossing Loup River had been accomplished safely and\nthere was a general spirit of gratitude throughout the camp. The\nfollowing day was the Sabbath, April 25th. Meeting was held and general\ninstructions given respecting the observance of the Sabbath. It was\non that day that Elijah Newman was baptized for the restoration of\nhis health. He was afflicted by a black scurvy in his legs to such an\nextent that he could not walk except by aid of sticks and crutches.\nAfter the ordinance and confirmation, he returned to the camp without\nany help.\n\nA number of hunters were appointed to go ahead of the camp in quest of\ngame, seven to be horsemen; and ten, footmen. Here Elder Woodruff saw\nfor the first time in his life either elk or antelope. Four of each\nappeared at different times on the opposite side of the river. Although\nhe was not one of the hunters, the members of the Twelve were allowed\nto join those appointed. From later accounts, it will be seen that\nElder Woodruff took an active part in the chase. From now on till the\nfoothills of the Rocky Mountains were reached, a strict guard against\nthe Indians was kept. Of the first early troubles with Indians, Elder\nWoodruff writes:\n\n\"Early in the morning, before the break of day, two Indians crept upon\ntheir hands and knees, approaching the camp to steal horses. They got\nwithin three years of the guard before they were discovered. The guard\nat first thought them to be wolves and snapped at them. They rose and\nran. Two of the guards fired and four others rose out of the grass. The\nbugle was sounded and all arose to arms, but no more were seen then.\n\n\"I started out in the morning with the hunters. We saw eight deer and\nfour antelopes, but caught nothing. After traveling {272} eight miles,\nwe camped for noon. On the opposite side of the river were relics of an\nold Indian town. In the afternoon, we traveled seven miles and camped\non Clear Creek which had a hard gravel bottom, the first of the kind we\nhad found on the road. We killed one wild goose, and saw fresh signs\nof buffalo where we camped, the first we had seen. Brothers Young,\nKimball, Richards, and I went on to a high bluff to view the country.\n\n\"Just at dusk, a tremendous alarm was given through the camp. The\nIndians had crawled up and taken Porter Rockwell and his horse and made\noff with them. Many men mounted their horses and rode after them with\nall speed, but it was soon discovered that Rockwell was in camp. Only\ntwo horses were gone. They belonged to Dr. Richards and Brother Little.\nAbout twenty men, mounted and armed, went in search of the horses.\n\n\"On the morrow we continued our journey in a southerly direction to try\nto get on the Platte River. We came to some beautiful green grass, saw\na great many buffalo signs, but found no wood or water. We baited our\nhorses in a green valley after twelve miles' travel.\n\n\"Just as we were starting in the afternoon, we rose to a small bluff\nand saw two antelopes in the valley before us. Brothers Young, Kimball,\nand myself were together. Brother Brown and another brother were on the\nother side of the hill and saw them also. Brother Brown first fired at\none, and then the other man and I fired. We all hit him, but he did not\nfall, so we rode up and cut his throat. This was the first antelope\nkilled. He was dressed and put on board the wagon, and we continued\non and in a short time saw three more looking at us from the top of a\nmound. Brother Brown and I went after them, but could not get them, so\nwe turned about ten degrees east of south and went to the creek and\ncamped. Our cattle and horses were very dry, not finding any water\nduring the day. We had a heavy storm of thunder, lightning, wind, and\nsome rain which lasted about an hour.\n\n\"A rifle went off in Brother Brown's wagon by accident and the ball\nwent through a bag of clothes, set it on fire, then through the wagon,\nand broke the leg of a fine horse. The result was the breaking up of\none of the teams of the pioneer company.\n\n\"Brother Rockwell and three others had gone in the morning {273} again\nin search of the horses which the Indians were supposed to have stolen.\nToward evening they returned and reported that they had been attacked\nby fifteen Indians, who were in ambush in the grass. They came upon\nthem, determined to take their horses from them, but the brethren kept\nthem off by their rifles and pistols. The Indians were armed with guns\nand bows. When they found that they could not scare the brethren, they\nprofessed friendship to get to them; but the brethren were resolute and\ndetermined not to move but to fight, though only four to fifteen. The\nIndians finally rushed upon them to catch the horses by the bits. The\nbrethren drew their pistols upon them, determined to fight and do their\nbest. The Indians, seeing their determination, broke and ran, but fired\ntheir guns upon the brethren. The balls whistled around them, but no\none was injured. The brethren did not return the fire, not wishing to\nkill any of them if they could help it.\"\n\nThe morning of April 28th the company reached the eastern end of Grand\nIsland. There Elder Woodruff accompanied the hunters, but a wolf and a\ngoose were all they secured. In the evening, they camped on Wood Creek.\nGreat numbers of deer could be seen on the island, but President Young\nthought it dangerous to cross over, as the Indians might be in ambush.\n\nThe morning following was very cold. The camp was moved at five\no'clock; and after a drive of three miles, a stop was made for\nbreakfast. Here the hunters explored Grand Island which they found\ncovered by rushes and cottonwood. The grass was now in greater\nabundance. The cattle and horses were greatly in need of improved feed;\nand better grazing meant the entrance into the lands of the deer and\nbuffalo. They saw great numbers of antelope, but could not reach them.\nThe hunters killed four geese. Elder Woodruff killed two of them and\nshot one deer which he could not overtake.\n\nOn May 1st the pioneers were well into the home of the buffalo. It\nwas a great day for the hunters and welcomed by the pioneers who were\ngreatly in need of fresh meat. Those who knew President Woodruff's\nardent love of the chase will read the experience of his first buffalo\nhunt with some appreciation of what that day meant to him.\n\n{274} \"This was an interesting day to the hunters of the camp of\nIsrael. The pioneers made an early start, and after traveling six\nmiles, camped for breakfast on the prairie in sight of a herd of\nbuffaloes feeding on a bluff to the right of us. There were about two\nhundred. Three only of the hunters started out. They rode as near to\nthem as possible and crawled along the grass, but the buffaloes became\nfrightened and ran away. We had not traveled more than two miles\nfarther before we discovered another large herd five miles before us.\nThe hunters assembled and held a council. We determined to get some of\nthe buffalo meat if possible. We traveled, however, with the camp until\nwithin a mile of the herd when a halt was made and fifteen hunters\nstarted together. Amasa Lyman and myself of the Twelve were with them.\nWe went along together until we reached a bluff within a few rods of\nthe herd and then divided, Brother Grover and Luke Johnson went on to\nthe bluff, O. P. Rockwell and Brother Brown took the entire left, and\nso we divided into companies on the right, left, and center. I was with\nthe company in the center of the herd.\n\n\"We all made a charge upon them from the bluffs and rushed on to the\nplain. The herd ran down the rough bluff into the plain, but when we\nreached the plain we soon overtook them, and each company singled out\nits game. We made choice generally of cows, then rushed up to the side\nof them and fired upon them with our pistols, which we found much\nbetter to carry than the rifles which were very cumbersome in running.\nThe first we gave chase to was a cow with her calf. I rode up to her\nside and fired two balls, both of which took effect. The other brethren\nwith me also fired at her until she was killed. I then ran my horse\nto the assistance of another party who had wounded one which was soon\ndispatched.\n\n\"I then saw that O. P. Rockwell had three bulls at bay on the prairie.\nBrother Pack and myself ran with our horses to his assistance. At the\nsame time Brother Kimball came up. We surrounded them and commenced\nfiring. They bolted ahead. I put spurs to my horse and ran in front and\nwas within about a rod of them when they all pitched at me and gave me\na chase for a fight. It hurried me to get out of their way. Two broke\nfor the bluff and Brother Brown followed them; but Rockwell, Kimball,\nPack, {275} and myself stayed with an old bull. I fired two balls into\nhim, Kimball one, and Pack one. The bull fell dead. We also shot a\ncalf that was with him. I returned to Brother Brown on the bluff and\nfound that one of the bulls to which he had given chase was wounded and\nhad lain down; but Brother Brown having no more powder or ball, the\nbull got up again and ran into the herd on the bluff before I could\nreach him. We now all returned to our hunting ground to gather up the\nbuffaloes we had killed, there being three cows, three bulls, and five\ncalves, making eleven in all.\n\n\"In the morning, Brother Solomon Hancock had gone out to hunt buffaloes\non foot. As he did not return in the evening, we felt greatly concerned\nabout him; but in the morning he returned, having killed a three year\nold cow which he watched during the night to keep the wolves from\neating her. Three wolves came upon him. He shot one and the rest ran\naway. This was our first day's buffalo hunt and we considered the\nresults quite good in as much as we were all strangers to a buffalo\nhunt, very few of us having ever seen one before.\n\n\"We dressed our meat and the wagons came from the camp to take it in.\nA part of our chase was through an immense prairie dog town nearly ten\nmiles long by two miles wide, with burrows at nearly every rod. This\nwas very dangerous for our horses. My horse, in fact, ran into one and\nnearly fell, but no harm was done to any of the hunters by the prairie\ndog holes.\"\n\nThe next day was the Sabbath, \"and all were busy cooking and saving\ntheir meat.\" In the afternoon, the camp was moved on three miles in\norder that better feed might be found. While the pioneers were in\ncamp, a herd of buffaloes came to the river to drink at a place within\ntwo miles of the camp. The hunters were anxious to give them a chase,\nbut President Young prevailed on them not to do so. It was not a work\nof necessity. Here the Indians impeded the progress of the company\nby setting fire to the prairie, which rapidly burned a large area of\ncountry. That evening Presidents Young and Kimball went ahead several\nmiles to examine the fire and make general observations.\n\nOn Monday, the 3rd of May, the pioneers did not move camp on account of\nthe weakened condition of the teams. A company {276} of twenty hunters\nwere called to go in quest of game. \"We started out with two wagons. I\nhad taken a severe cold which had settled in my side where my bones had\nbeen broken last fall, and it made me sick and I was not fit for the\nhunt, yet I started with the hunters. I had shaken myself up badly the\nSaturday before and was now feeling the effects of it.\"\n\nAt the same time another party were out to explore the country ahead\nof them, as the Indians had been burning the grass for several days.\nAfter traveling about ten miles to and fro, and seeing no game, Elders\nWoodruff and Lyman began a retreat for camp. \"We sat down upon the edge\nof a bluff in sight of the camp when a company of horsemen approached,\nbearing a red flag. When they came within a mile of us, we trailed\nour guns and went down to meet them. We were informed that the party\nwho had gone up the river had come upon a camp of about four hundred\nIndian warriors, and that about one hundred of them had followed the\nparty down a ravine to cut off retreat. These horsemen had gone out to\ncall in the hunters. On their return the horsemen came on to a herd of\nbuffaloes. They brought in with them three calves and four antelopes.\n\n\"During the night a strong guard was kept and early in the morning the\ncannon was fired twice to let the Indians know the company was awake.\nTo provide against surprises, the wagons were driven five abreast.\nAfter traveling about five miles, some wagons were seen on the opposite\nside of the river, going down the Platte. One of their men waded the\nriver to find out who the pioneers were and to learn what he could of\ntheir movements. They were traders from Fort Laramie, and had been on\nthe way sixteen days from that place.\n\n\"The grass, he informed us, was good on the south side of the river,\nbut burned on the north side by the Indians. He consented to carry\nletters for us to Sarpee who lived near Winter Quarters. Here the\npioneers stopped long enough to write fifty-two letters. An epistle was\nwritten to the Church at Winter Quarters; and three of the brethren\naccompanied the Frenchman across the Platte, where they met the other\nmen of his company, nine in all. They informed the brethren that they\nhad not seen an Indian since they left Laramie where there was a ferry.\n\n{277} \"We drove on three miles and let our teams graze until the\nbrethren returned from the French traders. They made a report to the\ncamp of what was said to them. A council of the whole company of\nthe pioneers was then called to determine whether we should cross\nthe Platte, or continue along the north side of the river. We were\nconvinced that it would be better for us to cross the river on to the\nold traveled road to Laramie as there was good grass on that side,\nwhile the Indians were burning it off on the north side where we were\ntraveling.\n\n\"When, however, we took into consideration the fact that other\ncompanies would soon follow and that we were the pioneers, and had\nnot our wives and children with us, we thought it best to keep on the\nnorth banks and face the difficulties of burning prairies. A road would\nthus be made which would serve as a permanent route, independent of\nthe old immigrant trail. There was the further consideration that the\nriver would separate us from other immigrant companies that might be\ndisposed to quarrel with us over grass or water. Besides, by the time\nthe next company came along, the grass would be much better than on\nthe south side of the river. A vote was called for, and the decision\nwas unanimous that we continue along the north banks of the Platte.\nCol. Markham called the men together and drilled them in a military\ncapacity. The cannon was unloaded and carried on wheels.\n\n\"The Frenchman informed us that he had never seen so many buffaloes on\nthe route before as there were this season and that several times the\ntraders were compelled to stop while the herds passed. We saw many deer\nand antelope today and a few buffaloes. At night we camped near a herd\na short distance from us. We also afterwards learned that the alarm of\nthe 3rd about the four hundred Indian warriors was a false one, and\nthat a man had been frightened by a herd of antelope. He supposed them\nin the distance to be Indians.\"\n\nThe decision to keep the north bank of the Platte was justified by\nthe needs of the people in the movements of subsequent companies, and\nthe general lay of the country. Later, when the engineer applied the\naccuracy of his instrument to the scientific methods of road building,\nthe old \"Mormon Trail,\" as it was popularly called, was chosen for the\nUnion Pacific Railroad which {278} covered that \"trail\" for hundreds of\nmiles. In the years of follow there was a rush to the gold fields of\nCalifornia. The frontiers-men of Illinois and Missouri who had given\nthe Saints so much trouble were among the gold seekers. It was the part\nof wisdom to have between them and the migrating Saints the Platte\nRiver.\n\nOn May 5th a guard was kept in advance to keep the buffaloes from\nmixing with the cattle. In the afternoon, one cow and five calves were\nkilled. A wounded bull calf was brought into camp with the intention of\nkeeping it. It was true to its instincts and bunted men and dogs about\nwhenever it could reach them. The day following, it died.\n\n\"We stopped for the night, but found the grass on fire and had to\nreturn a mile, and then camped on the bank of the river on a spot which\nhad escaped the flames. Some, however, took their horses on to an\nisland near by in the river and cut down cottonwoods, from the barks of\nwhich they fed.\"\n\nOn the morning of the 6th, an early start was made; and the camp,\nafter traveling three miles, stopped where the grass was better for\nbreakfast. \"This morning the herds of buffaloes were numerous on both\nsides of the river and the antelope were in great abundance, some of\nwhich ran into camp. A young buffalo calf also came in and followed us.\nWe gave it some milk and left it.\n\n\"As we continued our journey, we saw many herds of buffaloes and\nantelopes and one large herd of elk. Two antelopes were killed in the\nmorning. As there was much meat in the camp already, it was thought\nbest not to kill any more game than we needed. Dr. Richards, George A.\nSmith, and myself walked up quite near several herds of buffaloes and\nexamined them through our glasses. They were shedding their coats. One\nbull had a mass of hair swinging by his side like a loose robe. Our\nherd of cows started to run among the buffaloes, but President Young\ngalloped his horse to separate them and had great difficulty in doing\nso. He lost a glass worth forty dollars in the chase. We continued our\njourney among herds of buffaloes and were not at any time out of sight\nof them. They had eaten the grass to such an extent that there was\nlittle remaining for the cattle, and timber was also scarce. At night\nwe camped near a herd of buffaloes {279} that reached as far as the eye\ncould see. This day the camp made twenty miles.\"\n\nThe day following was given in part for rest for the cattle and horses.\nThe meagre supply of grass made it necessary to lay over where there\nwas any supply of feed. A part of the day was devoted to military\ntactics. Such drills had a double purpose. They prepared the men for\ndiscipline in case it became necessary to defend themselves against\nthe Indians, and it further occupied their minds and consumed energy\nthat might otherwise have made them restless, and dissatisfied. Porter\nRockwell and those who went back with him in search of the field-glass,\nlost the day before by President Young, were successful. Others went\nahead to mark out a road. Ever since the pioneers had left the crossing\nat Loup Fork, they were obliged to pioneer their way. Had they chosen\nto take the other side of the river, they would have found a road\nalready made for them.\n\n\"We saw today ten thousand buffaloes, and came near one herd with an\nunusual number of calves, yearlings, and two-year olds. We also saw\nseveral large dead ones being devoured by wolves which could be seen\non every hand following the herds to eat those that died by wounds and\nfrom other causes.\n\n\"The next morning, May 8th, was very pleasant and not so cold and windy\nas the day before. A start was not made until 10 o'clock as the teams\nneeded rest and feed badly. I rode forward to-day with the Twelve and\nothers, and the buffaloes that our eyes beheld were most astonishing.\nThousands upon thousands would crowd together as they came from the\nbluffs to the bottom-land to go to the river and sloughs to drink,\nuntil the river and land on both sides of it looked as though the face\nof the earth was alive and moving like the waves of the sea. Brother\nKimball remarked that he had heard many buffalo tales told, but never\nexpected to behold what his eyes now saw. The half had not been told\nhim.\n\n\"When we stopped at noon, many of the buffaloes walked along side of\nour wagons so that it would have been easy to shoot them down. O. P.\nRockwell did shoot one through the neck and she dropped dead. It was\na two year old heifer and good meat. We {280} had great difficulty in\nkeeping our cattle and horses from getting among the herds; and if they\nhad got mixed, it would have been almost impossible ever to get them\nagain.\n\n\"We traveled eleven and one-fourth miles this day until we came to the\nbluffs that made down to the river and then we camped for the night.\nBrother William Clayton had prepared a mile-gage on the hind wheel of\nhis wagon so that the distance could be measured easily.\n\n\"Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, and myself went on\nthe highest bluff near by and took a survey of the surrounding country\nwithout glasses, and the scene before us, north, east, and west as far\nas our vision extended, looked as rough as the sea in a storm with the\nridges and valley mostly sand and scarcely any green thing upon it\nexcept a little scattering grass, and the Spanish soap root, which the\nMexicans used for washing. The top resembles a pineapple. I brought in\none root twenty-four inches long and two inches in diameter. I pounded\na little of it and found that it would fill a dish with suds like soap.\"\n\nThe bones of buffaloes had been more or less abundant since the company\nleft Loup Fork. This probably indicated the eastern limit of the\nbuffalo range. Among their bones there were frequently found skulls of\nhuman beings, probably Indians.\n\nOn Sunday the 9th the camp moved four miles and laid over for the day.\nTimber grew scarcer and the pioneers learned the value of the buffalo\nchip for making fires. At this season of the year, the cottonwood trees\nbecame green and were not fit for fires. \"I wrote two letters for\nBrother Wolsen to take with him to Pueblo. One was to Brother Ferguson\nand the other to Brother Bevin. We had a meeting and a good one. The\nspirit of God ruled over the camp. Peace, quiet, and contentment\npervaded almost every heart. The Twelve met and it was thought best for\nthe brethren not to start for Pueblo until they arrived at Laramie. I\nrode with the Twelve and others four miles up the river and saw large\nherds of buffaloes come to water.\"\n\nThe tenth was cold, the thermometer standing at 33 degrees, with a\nmoderate wind. Before leaving camp, a letter was put in a board by\nsawing an opening the width of the saw. It was nailed {281} to a post\nwhich was planted firmly in the earth. The letter was for the next\ncompany which was expected along in six or eight weeks. On the board\nwere the words: \"Open this box and you will find a letter; 316 miles\nfrom Winter Quarters; Pioneers; Latitude 40 degrees.\" The letter\ncontained an account of the journey.\n\nThe grass was so completely eaten off that the cattle were very\npoor and unfit for long journeys. The movement of the buffaloes was\neastward and they ate everything before them. It did not require many\ndays, however, at this season of the year for the grass to make a\nconsiderable growth. \"We passed through some miles of dead grass which\nwe burned to give new feed for the next company. It made a great fire\nindeed.\"\n\nHere in the midst of the journey, more than 300 miles from the\nMissouri River, with scant material, and few mechanical appliances,\nthe ingenious nature of man asserted itself to meet a daily desire to\nknow just how far the pioneers were traveling each day. William Clayton\nwrites under date of May 8, 1847:\n\n\"I have counted the revolutions of a wagon wheel in order to get the\nexact distance we have traveled. The reason why I have taken this\nmethod which is somewhat tedious, is because there is generally a\ndifference of two, and sometimes four, miles in a day's travel between\nmy estimation and that of some others, and they have all thought I\nunderrated it. This morning I determined to take pains in order to know\nfor a certainty how far we would travel today. Accordingly I measured\nthe circumference of one of the hind wheels of Brother Kimball's\nwagon, being the one I sleep in, in charge of Philo Johnson. I found\nthe wheel exactly fourteen feet eight inches in circumference, not\nvarying one eighth of an inch. I then calculated how many revolutions\nit would require for one mile and found it precisely 360, not varying\none fraction, which somewhat astonished me. I have counted all the\nrevolutions during the day's travel and find it to be a little over 11\n1/4 miles. According to my previous calculations we were 285 miles from\nWinter Quarters this morning before we started, and after traveling\nten miles I placed a small cedar post in the ground with these words\ninscribed on it with a pencil. 'From Winter Quarters 295 miles, May 8,\n1847. Camp {282} all well. Wm. Clayton.' Some have estimated the day's\njourney at 13 and some 14 miles, which serves to convince more strongly\nthat the distances are overrated. I have repeatedly suggested a plan of\nfixing machinery to a wagon wheel to tell the exact distance we travel,\nand many begin to be sanguine for carrying it into effect.\"\n\nThis tedious effort led to a mechanical contrivance which was later put\ninto effect. Considering the circumstances of the pioneers, it was not\na little extraordinary that such a rodometer should be constructed at\nsuch a time and under such circumstances. Here is a description of it:\n\"Let a wagon wheel be of such a circumference, that 360 revolutions\nmake one mile. (It happens that one of the requisite dimensions is now\nin camp.) Let this wheel act upon a screw in such a manner that six\nrevolutions of the wagon wheel shall give the screw one revolution.\nLet the threads of this screw act upon a wheel of sixty cogs, which\nwill evidently perform one revolution per mile. Let this wheel of\nsixty cogs, be the head of another screw, acting upon another wheel of\nthirty cogs; it is evident that in the movements of this second wheel,\neach cog will represent one mile. Now, if the cogs were numbered from\n0 to 30, the number of miles traveled will be indicated during every\npart of the day. Let every sixth cog of the first wheel be numbered\nfrom 0 to 10, and this division will indicate the fractional parts of\na mile, or tenths; while if any one should be desirous to ascertain\nstill smaller divisional fractions, each cog between this division,\nwill give five and one-third rods. This machinery (which may be called\nthe double endless screw) will be simple in construction, and of very\nsmall bulk, requiring scarcely any sensible additional power, and the\nknowledge obtained respecting distances in traveling will certainly be\nvery satisfactory to every traveler, especially in a country but little\nknown. The weight of this machinery need not exceed three pounds.\"\n\n{283}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 27.\n\nPIONEERS REACH FORT LARAMIE,--JUNE 2, 1847.\n\nIn the Redman's Country.--Indian Customs.--Hunting Became\nExcessive.--Description of the Bluffs.--Guide Board 409 Miles From\nWinter Quarters.--Chimney Rock.--Brigham Young Rebukes Card Playing and\nFrivolity.--Fasting and Prayer.--Arrive at Fort Laramie.--Ascending the\nPlateaux.--Word From the Mormon Battalion.\n\nAbout the 11th of May, the pioneers found themselves in the heart of\nthe Indians' country. The red man would naturally take some alarm at\nthe approach of so numerous a body of men, and his presence along the\nroute was indicated, as a rule, by the camping ground which had been\ndeserted at the approach of the white man. Here and there solitary\nIndians were observed, and occasionally a small number approached\nthe camp. The Sioux were a somewhat treacherous, warlike tribe; and\nfollowing the habits of the Indian, some of their tribe would follow\nthe pioneers for days, remaining concealed in daylight, hoping for\nopportunities to steal horses and cattle by night. Fortunately the\npioneers adopted the most precautionary methods of guarding against the\nloss of their horses and cattle.\n\nThe Indians were not without some knowledge of the retreat of their\nancestors before the western movement which was going on rapidly in\nthose days. Their viewpoint therefore justifies both the fear and the\ndislike of the white man. The pioneers, realizing the attitude of the\nIndian, did all in their power to assure him of their friendship, but\nit was not easy on a journey such as that to cultivate any particular\nacquaintance. Elder Woodruff's journal shows the remarkable interest\nthat he took in whatever related to the customs and manners of the\nIndians.\n\nSpeaking of the Sioux, he says: \"We found ourselves traveling over\ntheir hunting grounds. Some eight or ten days prior to our encampment\non the 11th of May, there had been a large band of some 500 to 1,000\nlocated at one place. They had taken the brains out of a large buffalo.\nGenerally they took the hide and some of the meat, and sometimes they\nbroke the bones for the {284} marrow. In one place we found a hundred\ncalves with nothing taken except the tongues, the legs to the knees,\nand the entrails. In another place thirty-five buffalo calves were\nfound dead where they had been washed up in heaps in their unsuccessful\neffort to cross the river. On one of the bluffs, I found a medicine bag\ntied to a stick six feet long, the stick having been stuck into the\nbank. I also found a saddle tied to a large buffalo for the purpose,\nI supposed, of showing the next party of Indians which direction the\nbuffaloes had gone.\n\n\"Wishing to explore the country somewhat, I left my horse to feed in\nthe valley while I went on to an elevated bluff. While gone, the horse\nstarted off, and not seeing the camp, took an opposite direction and I\nwas compelled to run after him. In doing this, I ran through a great\ncamping ground of the Sioux where lodges had been on their hunting\nexpeditions. Here I left my gun and followed my horse until I overtook\nhim. On my return I examined the ground more minutely and estimated\nthat there had been something like 500 lodges. There were acres of\nground covered with buffalo wool where they had dressed the skins of\nbuffaloes and wolves, etc. I brought in a good dressed white wolf skin\nwith me. The day following, many of the brethren went out and brought\nin parts of robes, leather, etc., which had been left. The next day,\nthe pioneers made a journey of eleven miles. The bluffs, for the first\ntime on the journey along the north fork, came boldly up to the river\nfront so that we were obliged to go over these bluffs with our wagons.\n\n\"There is one thing concerning the Platte River worthy of note. It is\nmuch of the way a mile in width, generally covered with water, but\nvery shallow. When the south wind blows hard, the water all rushes to\nthe north shore so that one would suppose that there was a great rise\nin the tide. When the wind shifts to the north, the water immediately\nrecedes from the north shore until one can walk across two-thirds of\nthe river on bare ground. Thus the river constantly ebbs and flows like\na tide.\n\n\"Early on the morning of the 14th, I went out to hunt buffaloes and\nreturned to breakfast and started out again with Phineas Young. I\nwas lost among the bluffs, but after a time, found my way out again.\nBrother Phineas shot a buck antelope which I carried into camp. All\ntold, three antelopes and one {285} buffalo were killed. Some of the\nhunters thought they heard Indian guns during the night on the opposite\nside of the river. An Indian had gone up to a pair of mules that were\ntied together and grabbed at them, but the mules sprang back and got\nout of the way. One of the guards shot at him and he ran. All the\nhorses were then brought into the circle of our camp and the cannon\nprepared, but no Indian being seen, it was not fired.\"\n\nSuch a large company would naturally be conspicuous to the Indians, and\nno doubt the sound of music in those solitary regions attracted them,\nas the camp was often animated in the evening by the sounds of music\nfrom all parts. On the morning of the 15th, bear foot tracks were seen\nin large numbers. That day the distance covered was only eight miles.\nThis short distance was due in part to the difficulty encountered in\ncrossing over the numerous bluffs along the river. In those regions\nthere was nothing to break the cold, raw winds that came from the\nnorth. Civilization had not then set up its wind breaks, and the winds\nmade the climate often quite disagreeable away into the month of May.\n\n\"Sunday, the 16th of May,\" he says, \"was cold. With Brothers Young,\nKimball, Benson, Rockwell, and Stephens, I rode four miles over the\nbluffs to pick out a road for the pioneers that they might again get on\nto the bottom land. We had a good meeting in the afternoon and the laws\nof the camp were read. One of the brethren had shot an antelope and a\nbuffalo. It was a violation of the camp to go hunting on the Sabbath.\nThe 17th was warm and pleasant, but the road was difficult. For two and\na half miles we drove through sand bluffs and again struck the bottom\nland four and a half miles from the camping place. The hunters brought\nin three buffaloes which detained the camp for some time. President\nYoung was not pleased with the excessive hunting, as they already had\nmuch meat in the camp. Large herds of deer were seen in the valley,\nmore than had been seen before. A young fawn was picked up and brought\ninto camp. I led the company of pioneers mostly through the bluffs\nin the morning before Brothers Young and Kimball came up. Upon their\narrival, we rode together all day picking out the road.\n\n\"The next day the camp was called together and President Young reproved\nsharply the hunters for killing more game than {286} was necessary, for\ndetaining the camp, and because of their indifference in helping to\npick out the road. He said there were but two men who had manifested\nany interest in helping to get the pioneers along. Afterward the\nhorsemen went forward to pick out the road instead of hunting, and I\ndid not hear a gun fired during the day.\"\n\nThe spring was well advanced and rain began to take the place of wind.\nElder Woodruff in his journal entry of May 19th says: \"We encountered\ntoday the worst sandhill on the journey; and what made it worse, the\nrain was pouring down continuously. We had more rain today than during\nthe whole journey. I rode forward during the day, picking out the road.\nWe made eight miles.\n\n\"Next morning we made seven miles and nooned near Ash Creek, on the\nsouth side of the river where the Oregon road first strikes the north\nfork of the Platte. Several of the brethren went over in the boat,\nwhich we were taking along, to examine the rocky bluffs, roads, creek,\netc.\n\n\"In the afternoon, we traveled eight and three-quarters miles and\ncamped for the night. We had a very good road most of the day on the\nbank of the river. There was a good deal of rocky bluff on both sides\nof the river, and some on the south side was formed into natural\nterraces, rotundas, squares, etc., from fifty to a hundred feet high\nand looked like good foundations for fortifications and strong-holds.\nThey resemble the works of art and look something like the old castles\nof England and Scotland. They were level on the top. There is a\nbeautiful Cedar Island in the river a short distance above Ash Creek\nwhich is a good landmark to show travelers where the Oregon road\nstrikes the river.\"\n\nNear by the nooning place was a cedar tree in the branches of which\nan Indian child was deposited for burial. Along with it were utensils\nnecessary for its future enjoyment.\n\nOn the 21st a large petrified bone was found. It was the leg bone from\nthe knee down. Its length was seventeen and a half inches, greatest\nwidth eleven inches, greatest thickness six inches, its weight was\ntwenty-seven pounds.\n\n\"Before we left the encampment in the morning, Brother Clayton put up\na guide board for the benefit of the next company. {287} 'From Winter\nQuarters, 409 miles; from the Junction 93 1/4 miles; Cedar Bluff 36\n1/2; Ash Creek 8 miles and 133 from Fort Laramie.' When we reached\nour camping place for the night, two Indians came up from the bluffs,\nmaking signs for us to come to them. It was a Sioux Indian and his\nsquaw. They talked by signs and went away.\n\n\"Our road on the journey the day following was very straight, but we\ncame over two and a half miles of the worst sand hill that we had\npassed. The bluffs presented the most singular natural scenery I had\never beheld in all my travels. They had the appearance of the old walls\nand ruins of the castles of Europe.\n\n\"The next day was Sunday the 23rd. In company with Brigham Young and\nthe Twelve, I visited the top of the highest bluff ruins that were\nopposite our encampment, which were truly a curiosity. We had a fair\nview of Chimney Rock from where we were. I carried a bleached buffalo's\nhead on the top and we wrote upon it our names and the distance from\nseveral places. Orson Pratt took a barometrical observation on the\nsolitary cedar tree on the top of the bluff ruins.\n\n\"The camp met at half past eleven in the morning for Sabbath services.\nErastus Snow addressed the meeting, followed by President Young who\nsaid he was satisfied that the Lord was with us and leading us. He\nhad never seen a company of people more united than the camp had been\nthus far on the journey, that we should pluck the fruit of the mission\nthrough all eternity, that he had many things to teach us but could\nnot do it except in a stake of Zion, but he was well satisfied with\nhis brethren and the Twelve, and the camp at large. One thing he would\nsay to the praise of the company and that was that not one had refused\nto obey his counsel on the journey. His peace with God was continually\nlike a river, and he felt that the spirit of peace rested upon the\nwhole company. Several others spoke and the meeting was then dismissed.\n\n\"We intended to ride out in the evening, but saw that a storm was\ngathering. It began to blow very hard and it was all we could do to\nsave our wagon bows and covers from being destroyed. It continued for\nabout an hour and then rained for another hour accompanied by hail. I\ncovered all my horses with all the blankets I could get, and got up\nseveral times in the night to see them. It {288} rained occasionally\nand the horses shook with cold, but when morning came all were alive\nand we continued our journey.\n\n\"As soon as we camped at noon, two Indians came to the camp. They were\nSioux and well dressed and clean. We gave them dinner and they left.\nWe camped at night near the Quicksand Mountain, making sixteen and one\nhalf miles that day. I rode about two miles forward to find grass and\na camping ground, and on my return saw about thirty Sioux plunge their\nhorses into the river on the opposite side and made towards us. I rode\nwith several others to the river and met them as they came out. They\nshook hands with us very friendly. The chief unfurled a large American\nflag with the eagle, stars, and stripes and presented me a letter\nwritten in French which we, however, made out. They were all well\ndressed and the chief was in a military coat. The brethren brought a\nwhite flag and planted it by the side of theirs. They wanted to go into\ncamp. We proposed for five of them to go and the rest to remain, but\nthey all wished to go, so we let them and gave them supper. They were\nin camp all night, but were good and stole nothing.\n\n\"Some trading was done with the Sioux next morning and we gave them\nbreakfast. They behaved well also when we started across the river. I\nhad to keep my carriage today having the rheumatism in my shoulders and\nback, and my teeth ached.\n\n\"We nooned next day, Tuesday, May 25th, in good grass two miles above\nChimney Rock; and I rode with Brothers Kimball and Benson to look out\na road. By our imperfect measurement by a trigonometrical observation\nby the sextant, Professor Pratt made Chimney Rock to be two hundred and\nsixty feet above the level of the river.\n\n\"Just before camping at noon while traveling on a smooth prairie, an\nIndian horse that was bought of the Sioux ran away with a singletree\nat his heels and gave tremendous fright to the cows, oxen and horses.\nIn an instant a dozen or more wagons were darting by each other like\nlightning and the horses and mules dashing over the ground, some\nturning to the right and some to the left and some ran into other\nwagons. The horses and mules that Brother Fowler was driving leaped by\nmy carriage like electricity and came within one inch of a collision\nwith my wheels which would have made a wreck. Another wagon with a\npair {289} of mules and a yoke of cattle dashed by which would also\nhave smashed my carriage had they locked. By this time, my own horses\nstarted to run, but were held back by the driver. Fowler's wagon\ncontinued regardless of rough or smooth ground about fifty rods, he\nbeing dragged the whole distance by the bit which was the case with\nmany others; but all were soon stopped and returned to their lines\nwithout accident which appeared truly a miracle. A person can hardly\nconceive the power manifested by animals, especially mules, in such a\nfright. It gave us some idea of what an Indian yell would do in a camp\nwith teams hitched to wagons.\n\n\"Brother Kimball and myself picked the road during our journey of the\nfollowing morning, and in the afternoon I piloted as straight as any\nroad yet made on the whole route, and picked out a camping ground on\nthe bank of the river in good feed. It should be understood that we\nwere pioneering a road for the whole House of Israel to travel over for\nmany years to come and it required, therefore, the greatest care in\nmarking the route.\n\n\"A cold rainy morning followed and we concluded not to start until\nthe rain stopped. We remained till 10 o'clock and traveled eleven and\none-half miles and camped for the night. During the evening, President\nYoung called at my fire, and seeing several brethren playing dominoes\nin a wagon near by, he began to teach, saying that the devil was\ngetting power over the camp which had for several days given way to\ncards and dominoes, etc., and that if they did not speedily repent,\ntheir works, labors, and journey would be in vain. He said that to be\nsure the camp did not quarrel, for the devil would not set them at that\nas long as he could draw them gradually away from their duty and fill\nthem with nonsense and folly, for the devil was very cunning in winning\naway the people of God. I felt the force of his remarks.\n\n\"During the evening I went into Dr. Richards' wagon and read a chapter\nin the Book of Mormon and prayed with him, after which President\nYoung, H. C. Kimball, Willard Richards, E. T. Benson, and myself met\nin council in Brother Brigham's wagon. President Young wrote some of\nthe words of the Lord concerning the camp and expressed his views and\nfeelings--that they must speedily repent or they would be cursed, that\nthey were forgetting their mission, and that he would rather travel\n{290} with ten righteous men who would keep the commandments of the\nLord than the whole camp while in a careless manner and forgetting God.\nWe stayed together until ten o'clock.\n\n\"Next morning President Young called the camp together and required\neach captain separately to call out his men and when all were present,\nexcept two who had gone out hunting, he addressed them in something\nlike the following words:\n\n'I think I will take as my text to preach my sermon from, _I am about\nto revolt from traveling with this camp any further with the spirit\nthey now possess._ I had rather risk myself among the savages with ten\nmen who are men of faith, men of mighty prayer, men of God, than to be\nwith the whole camp when they forget the Lord and turn their hearts\nto folly and wickedness. Yes, I would rather be alone and I am now\nresolved not to go any farther with the camp unless you will consent to\nhumble yourselves before the Lord and serve Him and cease your folly\nand wickedness. For a week past, nearly the whole camp has been card\nplaying, and checkers and dominoes have occupied the attention of the\nbrethren, and dancing has been going on continually.\n\n'Now it is time to quit it. There have been trials and lawsuits upon\nevery nonsensical thing; and if this is suffered to go on, it will be\nbut a short time before you are fighting, knocking each other down and\ntaking life. It is time it was stopped.\n\n'I do not want to hear any more such reports as I heard last Sunday\nof men going to meeting and preaching to the rest after playing cards\nuntil meeting time. You are a pretty set of men going to look out a\nlocation among the mountains for a resting place for the Saints--even\nthe whole Church of God--who have been driven out from the Gentiles and\nrejected of them. And after you have established a location, you are\nthen going out to preach the Gospel, seal salvation upon the house of\nIsrael, and gather the nations.\n\n'How would you look if they should know your conduct and ask you what\nyou did when you went to seek out Zion and find a resting place for the\nSaints where the standard of the Kingdom of God could be reared and her\nbanners unfurled for the nations to gather unto?\n\n'Did you spend a good deal of your time in dancing, pitching {291}\nquoits, jumping, wrestling, and the like? Yes, yes. Did you play\ncards, dice, checkers, and dominoes? O, yes. What could you do with\nyourselves? Why you would shrink from the glance of the eyes of God,\nangels and men--even wicked men. Then are you not ashamed of yourselves\nfor practicing these things? Yes, you are, and you must quit it.'\n\n\"After speaking somewhat lengthily upon these matters, President Young\ncalled the Twelve together, and the high priests, seventies, and\nelders. There were present eight of the quorum of the Twelve, eighteen\nhigh priests, eighty seventies, and eight elders. After this was done,\nPresident Young said unto the Twelve:\n\n'If you are willing to humble yourselves before the Lord and consent to\nthe right, and walk humbly before Him, make it manifest by raising the\nright hand.'\n\n\"Then each one raised his hand. The same question was put to the high\npriests, seventies, elders, and members and all consented with uplifted\nhands to humble themselves before the Lord, repent of their sins and\nkeep His commandments.\n\n\"President Young then spoke of those who were not in the Church, as\nthere were some present. They would be protected in their rights, but\nthey must not introduce wickedness into the camp, for it would not be\nsuffered. He also spoke of the standard and ensign that would be reared\nin Zion.\n\n\"Elder Kimball followed and said that the words of President Young were\nas the words of the Lord unto him and just as binding as though they\nwere a written revelation, and that they were just as binding upon the\nwhole camp as they were upon him, and he urged the pioneers to give\nheed to the teachings that had been given.\n\n\"Orson Pratt remarked that if the Saints had leisure hours, they could\nspend them to much better advantage than playing cards, as there was\na world of knowledge and science to be obtained and every moment\nshould be improved in storing the mind with some good principle. He\nacknowledged the teachings we had received to be of the Lord.\"\n\nElder Woodruff said: \"A burned child dreads the fire. He had not\nforgotten his journey in the Camp of Zion in 1834; and should he live\nto the age of Methuselah, he should not forget the {292} hour when\nthe Prophet and Seer, Joseph Smith, stood upon the wagon wheel and\naddressed that Camp and said that because they had not hearkened unto\nhis counsel, but disobeyed and transgressed from time to time, judgment\nwould come and that we should be visited by the destroying angel. And\nso we were, and more than twenty of our members fell by the stroke and\nwe all suffered much in our feelings. I pray the Lord I may not see\nanother such time; and I would now advise my brethren to be careful in\nkeeping the covenant we have made lest the word of the Lord come unto\nus as in the days of Joseph and we cannot escape a judgment. I would\nadvise all the brethren who have cards and the like to burn them, for\nif you keep the covenants you have made, you will have no time to use\nthem; and if you keep them for your children, they will only prove a\ncurse to them. My prayer to God is that we may all be enabled to keep\nour covenants with the Lord and each other. I rejoice that the watchmen\nin our midst are quick to comprehend and warn of evil and reprove us\nwhen wrong that we may be saved and do the will of God.\"\n\nThe change in the camp it would appear was quite as sudden as a gust\nof wind. It was only a short time before this that the pioneers were\ncommended for their zeal and unity. The dangers of self-satisfaction\nwere here demonstrated. Dancing, card playing, and a hilarious life\nwere not in consonance with the solemn mission of that band of pioneers\nwhose journey was to be likened in years to come to the exodus of\nthe children of Israel. That journey was to be an inspiration to\ngenerations that would follow. The Sabbath following, May 30th, was set\napart for prayer and fasting.\n\n\"In the morning I shaved, cleansed my body, put on clean clothing,\netc., read a chapter in the Book of Mormon, humbled myself before the\nLord, and poured out my soul in prayer before Him, and His spirit\ndescended upon me and I was blessed and prepared for the service of the\nday. Then I spent some time in writing in my journal.\n\n\"The camp had a prayer meeting in the morning and met again for public\nmeeting. President Young, with the Quorum of the Twelve and a few\nothers went into a valley of the hills and prayed according to the\norder of the priesthood. Porter Rockwell and Brother Carrington watched\nto see that no Indians came {293} upon us. We had a good time. A heavy\nshower appeared, but most of it went around us and there was but little\nrain where we were.\n\n\"We returned to our wagons, took some refreshments, having eaten\nnothing all day; and soon the sun came out pleasantly. In the evening I\nwent out two miles with the Quorum of the Twelve on to a high bluff. We\nhad a good view of the Black Hills. There we also engaged in prayer.\n\n\"Two days afterward we camped opposite Fort Laramie. This was June\n1st. When we arrived, we saw some men approaching us from the Fort. We\nfound them to be a part of the company of Mississippi brethren who had\nbeen in Pueblo through the winter. Brother Crow and his family, seven\nwagons and fourteen mules were at Fort Laramie. He informed us that\nthe remainder of the Mississippi company with a portion of the Mormon\nBattalion at Pueblo would start for Laramie about the 1st of June and\nfollow our trail. He told us of four of the brethren who had died, but\nhe had heard nothing of the main body of the Battalion.\n\n\"President Young suggested the propriety of our leaving all our ploughs\nat the Fort except such as we needed to use immediately when we got to\nour destination, and also to do our blacksmithing, mending of wagons as\nsoon as possible so that we might go on our journey speedily. A company\nwas appointed to attend to the herding and other branches of business.\n\n\"June the 2nd, in company with the Twelve and others, I crossed the\nriver to visit the Fort. We examined Fort St. John which was now\nvacant, but was still standing. The dimensions of this Fort were 144\nby 152 outside, and inside contained sixteen rooms. The largest on the\nnorth side was 93 feet long and 47 feet wide. The Oregon trail ran one\nrod from the S. W. corner of the Fort.\n\n\"We next visited Fort Laramie, then occupied by thirty-nine persons,\nmostly French who had married the Sioux. Mr. Burdoe was the\nsuperintendent. This Fort was 168 by 116 feet outside with six rooms\ninside. It was quite a pleasant location for a Fort.\n\n\"Mr. Burdoe was a Frenchman. He received us kindly and invited us into\na large sitting room. He gave us all the information {294} he could in\nrelation to our route and furnished us with his flat bottom boat on\nreasonable terms to assist us in ferrying the Platte. He informed us\nthat Governor Boggs and his men had much to say against the Mormons and\ncautioned him to take care of his horses and cattle, etc., lest they\nshould steal them. He tried to prejudice him all he could against us.\nBurdoe said that Boggs' company were quarreling all the time, and most\nof them had deserted him. He finally told Boggs and company that let\nthe Mormons be what they might, they could not be worse than he and his\nmen.\n\n\"After conversing with Mr. Burdoe some time we got into the flat bottom\nboat, about twenty of us, and went down the Laramie Fork to its mouth\nabout two miles and then up the Platte one-half mile to our camp.\nAfter dinner we met in council and decided that Amasa Lyman should go\nto Pueblo with several other brethren to meet the detachment of the\nBattalion that was there, and for them to come as soon as convenient to\nLaramie and follow our trail.\"\n\nThe pioneer company now found it necessary to cross the north fork\nof the Platte, just opposite Fort Laramie, the first permanent post\nerected in Wyoming. The low even country of Nebraska had been passed,\nand hereafter the company began its journey in Wyoming. They now found\nthemselves ascending the great eastern plateau of the Rocky Mountain\nsystem. Thence forward there began a gradual ascent to the Rocky\nMountains in which they hoped to find a safe retreat. The Fort was a\ntrading post in the center of Indian commerce, and had been established\nas early as 1834. The Fort, however, was located on the Laramie Fork.\n\nSome time was taken in exploring the region as it was to be in the\nfuture an important mile post in the journey of the Saints. The name\nof the river and the fort was taken from a French trapper whose name\nwas Laramie, and who was killed by the Indians on the stream which now\nbears his name. The Saints presented a busy scene repairing wagons and\nmaking preparations for the ascent of the Rocky Mountains. They had\nkept well to the north, but the route had been established by trappers\nand explorers. The river afforded a water supply for their animals\nas well as for domestic purposes. At this time there were practically\n{295} only two routes across the continent, one to southern California\nby way of Pueblo, the other along the present route of the Union\nPacific railroad. As Oregon was a great objective point in those days,\nemigrants turned to the northwest before reaching Utah.\n\n\"We continued our journey on the 4th of June. The scenery grew more\ninteresting as we began to ascend the Black Hills. Brother Robert Crow\nhad joined us which added to our company nine men, five women, and\nthree children, six wagons, thirteen yoke of oxen, twenty cows, three\nbulls, ten young cattle and horses which made our camp now one hundred\nand forty-eight men, eight women, five children, seventy-nine wagons,\nninety-six horses, fifty-one mules, ninety oxen, forty-three cows,\nthree bulls, nine calves, sixteen dogs, and sixteen chickens.\n\n\"As we traveled farther into the hills, they grew lofty and we began\nto come into an elk, bear, and mountain-sheep country. Soon after we\narrived at the Springs, fifteen miles from Laramie, the first company\nof Missouri emigrants came up, twelve wagons of them. We journeyed ten\nand one-half miles farther in the after-noon. The Missouri company\ncamped one-fourth mile below us.\n\n\"Next day was Sunday, the 6th, which we devoted to prayer and fasting,\nbut the Missouri company of emigrants started on in the morning. The\ncamp met for prayer-meeting at 8 o'clock and the spirit of the Lord\nwas with the people who met again for preaching at 11 o'clock. We had\na shower of rain and the meeting closed. Another company of Missouri\nwagons, twenty in number, passed us. The rain soon cleared off, and our\ncompany moved forward five miles and camped for the night on Bitter\nCreek.\n\n\"The two Missouri companies which had camped near us at night started\nbefore us in the morning, and while nooning, another company of\nthirteen wagons passed us. We were in a fair view of Laramie Peak with\nits snow covered top. We camped for the night on the Horse Shoe Creek\nin the best feed we had found on our journey. The hunters brought in\ntwo black-tailed deer and one antelope.\n\n\"Next day we formed a company of men and went forward with our teams\nand cleared the road of stone. We used pick-axes, bars, spades, etc.,\nand it was a great help to our weak wagons. {296} In the afternoon we\ntraveled eight and three quarters miles over the most mountainous road\non our way and then descended into the valley and camped for the night\non Labent Creek where there was an abundance of timber, water, and good\ngrass.\n\n\"Brother John Higbee went forward hunting, and saw the Missouri\ncompanies of emigrants, and when they started out they had much strife\none with another in trying to start first. They did not stop to milk\ntheir cows; and in clearing up their breakfast, they strewed their\nmeal, salt, bacon, short cake, beans, and other things upon the ground\nthroughout their encampment; and when we came up, three wolves were\nfeeding upon the fragments.\n\n\"In coming over the hills to-day, we found it so cold it pierced us\nlike winter. On reaching the valley, we found fires the companies\nin advance had built and we piled on the wood and soon got warm. An\nantelope lay before us which the hunters had brought in. We carved it\nup with our knives, forked it on sticks, roasted it, and satisfied\nourselves without the seasoning of salt.\n\n\"We started in the morning at 5 o'clock into better feed a mile farther\non and we turned out our teams. The brethren did some trading with the\nhunters who camped near us. At 7 o'clock, fifteen of our wagons were\nformed into a company to go forward to make a boat to ferry the Platte.\nThey went forward and we followed them. The traders started at the same\ntime.\n\n\"Soon another party of traders who were direct from Sante Fe overtook\nus. They informed us that the Mormon Battalion was in California, that\nthey went in January, and that Capt. Brown was in Sante Fe for money\nfor the detachment and would come on to us as soon as possible.\n\n\"In the afternoon of the next day, President Young and Brother Kimball\nrode with us. Our detached company had not been heard of since last\nnight when they camped with the fore-most company. We camped to-night,\nJune 9th, at Deer Creek. We had good feed and our horses and cattle\nwere gaining daily.\"\n\n{297}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 28.\n\nPIONEERS ENTER SALT LAKE VALLEY.\n\nFerrying the Missourians over the River.--Construction of\nRafts--Obtaining Provisions.--Ten Men Left at the Ferry.--Independence\nRock.--Devil's Gate.--175 Miles from Fort Laramie.--South Pass.--Meet\nMajor Harris, and Mr. Bridger.--Cross Green River.--Meet Samuel\nBrannon.--Independence Day.--Meet a Detachment of the Battalion.--Fort\nBridger.--Report of the Missouri Company That Perished.--Reach Salt\nLake Valley, July 24, 1847.\n\n\"On June 10th, I examined a splendid grinding stone quarry on the east\nside of the road as it leaves the hills and strikes the Platte, and\nBrother Carrington found a very excellent coal bed on Deer Creek. The\nspecimens produced were good.\n\n\"At the blowing of the horn at night, I did not feel much like retiring\nto bed, so walked half a mile from the camp on the bank of Deer Creek\nand found Brother William Clayton fishing with a hook. He had caught\ntwo dozen good fish. They resembled the eastern herring. Another\nbrother had also caught some. As they were leaving they left their\nlines for me.\n\n\"I sat down for half an hour musing alone as unconcerned as though I\nhad been on the banks of Farmington River in my native place, when\nsuddenly I heard a rustling in the bushes near me, and for the first\ntime the thought flashed across me that I was in a country abounding\nwith the grizzly bear, wolves, and Indians, and was liable to an attack\nat any moment from any one of them. I was away from my company and had\nno weapon to defend myself, even against a badger. I thought it wisdom\nto return to camp, and picking up my fishing rods, I walked leisurely\nhome and retired to rest.\n\n\"Next day we rode our horses into the river several times during our\njourney to find a fording place, but could not find one. Our detached\ncompany was reported at the ferry ten miles or so above us. Our hunters\nbrought in thirteen antelopes and the Missouri company killed three\nbuffaloes.\n\n\"I started on the following morning to go forward in company with\nBrother A. P. Rockwood, who was riding President {298} Young's steed,\nwhich unexpectedly sprang upon my horse, but instead of striking him,\nhe took my knee into his jaw and bruised me considerably, sinking one\ntooth to the bone through three thicknesses of clothing and one of them\nbuckskin.\n\n\"George A. Smith and myself then rode on to the ferrying place and\nfound our detachment ferrying over the Missouri company who paid the\nbrethren $1.50 for each wagon and load, and paid in flour at $2.50 per\ncwt., while flour through this country was worth at least $10.00 per\ncwt.\n\n\"It was very difficult to get over the river. They carried the goods\nover in a boat, but drew the wagons over with ropes by hand; and when\nthe current would strike them, they would frequently roll over several\ntimes in the water, and they were likely to drown some of the horses.\nOne of the men would have been lost had not the brethren picked him\nup with the boat. On the road the Missouri company had a stampede of\ntheir teams, turning over their wagons, bruising women and children\nand smashing their things. One ran into the river and would probably\nhave drowned and lost all, had not a little boy jumped out beside the\noff ox, which gave him a fright and he 'sided off' and ran upon a sand\nbank, dragging the others after him. The boy was knocked into the water\nand hurt, but the scene ended without any loss of life.\n\n\"Our blacksmiths have been working for the Missouri company for which\nthey get flour, money, etc., and our hunters have been busily engaged.\nThey had killed five fat buffaloes, one old she bear and three cubs\nand shot at two grizzly bears, but did not get them. Those killed were\nblack bears. Our hunters also brought into camp eight antelopes.\n\n\"Sunday, the 13th of June, was a very warm day, and the camp met for\nprayer meeting at 9 o'clock, and at 10 we had a regular meeting.\nPresident Kimball first addressed the meeting and was followed by\nPresident Young, who remarked upon the great difference between us as\na camp and the Missouri companies who were traveling the same road. He\nsaid, 'They curse, swear, rip, and tear, and are trying to swallow up\nthe earth; but though they do not wish us to have a place on it, the\nearth will soon open and swallow them up and they will go to the land\nof forgetfulness; {299} while the Saints, if faithful, though they\nsuffer some privations here, will ultimately inherit the earth and\nincrease in power, dominion, and glory.'\n\n\"He spoke much to our edification, and was followed by Elder O.\nPratt, after which the meeting was dismissed. The Twelve, colonels,\ncaptains, etc., of the camp then met at President Young's wagon and\nconsulted about the measures to be adopted to get across the river.\nIt was finally agreed to go immediately to the mountains with wagons\nand teams, and for every two tens to get poles and lash two or four\nwagons abreast to keep them from turning over and float them across the\nriver with boats and ropes. So a company of horsemen started for the\nmountains with teams to draw the poles.\n\n\"In the evening the flour, meal, and bacon which had been earned from\nthe Missouri company for ferrying them over were distributed through\nthe camp equally. It amounted to five and one-half pounds of flour, two\npounds of meal and a small piece of bacon for each individual in the\ncamp. It looked as much of a miracle to me to see our flour and meal\nbags replenished in the midst of the Black Hills as it did to have the\nChildren of Israel fed with manna in the wilderness; but the Lord had\nbeen truly with us on our journey and wonderfully preserved and blessed\nus.\n\n\"At daylight the next morning the first two tens were called together\nto make arrangements for crossing. Some of our party did not like the\nmode proposed of lashing wagons together, as the current was so strong,\nso we appointed Brother Grover as our captain to direct the rafting and\nconcluded to put our poles into a raft and carry our goods over in a\nboat and ford our wagons on the raft.\n\n\"We commenced at 5 o'clock in the morning and in four hours we had\nlanded eleven wagons of goods upon the north shore with our little\nleather boat, and during the day we got over all the wagons belonging\nto our tens, there being eleven wagons in all.\n\n\"The rest of the encampment--being twelve tens--got over only the same\nnumber of wagons as ourselves. They floated their wagons by tying from\ntwo to four together, but the wagons turned clear over each other,\nbottom side up and back again, breaking {300} the bows, covers, and\nboxes to pieces, and losing ploughs, axes, and iron that were left in\nthe boxes.\n\n\"Most of our company were in the water from morning till night, and all\nwere very weary when the work was done.\n\n\"Just as we had drawn Dr. Richards' two wagons to the shore and loaded\nhis goods into them, a storm struck us. I sprang into my carriage, tied\nall down very tight and applied my whole strength in holding my wagon\ncover on, but the rain, wind, and hail beat so heavily that it was a\ntask, and my bed and things were nearly drenched. It lasted only seven\nminutes, but was severe on our wagons and goods, and our horses ran two\nor three miles in the storm. I crossed the river, went after them, tied\nthem up, and returned weary, but had some pleasant dreams that night.\n\n\"I felt unwell next day from the exposures of the day before. My teeth\nached. I had suffered much from them on my pioneer journey. It was\nquite windy and our companies crossed the river very slowly. Another\nMissouri company came up with us.\n\n\"President Young thought it wisdom to leave a number of the brethren\nhere until our companies which were expected to follow us should come\nup. Those who remained were to keep a ferry for the emigrants on the\nroad not of our people. Such immigrants were to pay $1.50 per wagon in\nflour at $2.00 per cwt., and in cows at $10.00 each.\n\n\"The brethren made two new rafts on the third day of our fording the\nriver and got quite a number of our pioneer wagons over. I was still\nunwell, but in company with Orson Pratt, I went on to some of the\nbluffs to view the country, and shot an antelope. This was the first\nantelope I ever killed.\n\n\"We had some strong wind and heavy rain, and in the evening many of\nus went over the river and tied up our horses. When one company was\nreturning in the leather boat, it half filled with water, and they came\nnearly sinking.\n\n\"Early on the following morning, we swam our horses over, and one mule\nwas nearly drowned by being tangled in a rope, but the current carried\nhim ashore.\n\n\"The day before, twenty men went down the river to dig out two large\ncanoes to cover over and make a ferry boat. The emigrants {301} were\narriving daily at our fording place, and they reported one thousand\nwagons between here and Laramie. This was the 5th day spent in ferrying\nour pioneer company across the river, but now we had succeeded in\ngetting all over, and we once more formed our wagons into a circle. Our\nbrethren helped some of the Missourians to cross, and ran their boat\nall night in ferrying them over.\n\n\"Next day while we were still ferrying them over another large company\narrived. We gathered our cattle at 10 o'clock and harnessed our horses,\nbut did not start, as all were not ready, so we turned our teams out\nagain.\n\n\"In the afternoon we held a council and resolved to leave nine men\nto conduct the ferry and to ford emigrant companies and also our own\nbrethren who should come after us. The men were chosen and we met with\nthem again in the evening.\n\n\"President Young rebuked one who had asked to stay, but who later\nwished to continue on with us. He also instructed the brethren who were\nto tarry to keep together and divide their means accumulated equally\naccording to their labor, for each to esteem his brother as himself, in\nno wise to retain that which belonged to the traveler, to be careful\nof the lives and property of those they ferried, not to forget their\nprayers, and to come up after us with the next company of Saints.\n\n\"The men to remain at the ferry were Thomas Grover, captain; John\nS. Higbee, Luke Johnson, William Empy, Edmund Elsworth, Benjamin F.\nStewart, Francis Pomeroy, James Davenport, and Appleton Harmon.\n\n\"After seven days we continued our journey, traveled during the day\ntwenty and one-half miles, and had the most wretched camping ground\nat night we had found on the way. President Young thought it might\nproperly be called 'Hell Gate.' The country abounded with alkali and\nthe water was extremely nauseating. Our horses and cattle, being\nthirsty, drank some and left it. Some of the cattle got badly mired in\nthe marshes. Our hunters brought in one buffalo, one deer, and three\nantelopes.\n\n\"Early on Sunday morning, the 20th, we hitched up without feed or water\nand left our encampment of death, poison waters, and alkaline marshes\nand drove three miles to a good camping {302} ground and sweet water.\nThis was on the Willow Spring branch, about three miles from the head.\n\n\"We halted two hours and took breakfast. President Young wished me to\ngo on about fifteen miles and look up a camping ground for the night.\nSo I went forward with George A. Smith to the head of the Willow\nSpring. Here he stopped with a doctor of a Missouri company, who had\nbeen attending a sick family, to wait for our wagons to come up, and I\nrode on alone. After traveling alone several miles, Brother John Brown\ncame up, and we rode on together over a sandy, barren, sage country to\na creek of good water about ten miles west of the Willow Spring. We\narrived here at half past 1 o'clock, and turned our horses out to graze.\n\n\"Here we tarried till four o'clock and watched for our wagons to come\nin sight, but we could see none. At length two horsemen were seen\napproaching and we waved a small flag for them to come to us, supposing\nthey were of our company, but they turned out to be two hunters of\nthe Missouri company, carrying in buffalo meat to their camp. In the\ndistance they thought we were Indians and made off.\n\n\"I mounted my horse and put after them and soon overtook them and made\ninquiries concerning our company. They said they had not seen it, but\nhad seen about a dozen wagons coming by themselves.\n\n\"I then concluded that our camp had stopped at the Willow Spring.\nCaptain Smith, who was of the Missouri company, invited us to go on and\ncamp with them for the night, as they did not expect to go more than\na few miles farther than the creek we were then on. We could see five\nmiles on the road back, and no wagons were in sight; and as it was now\nfive o'clock, I concluded our company would not come on, and if they\ndid, they would come no farther than the creek.\n\n\"We accepted Captain Smith's proposal, and went on with him to spend\nthe night in his camp; but instead of journeying only a miles or so, he\ncontinued on mile after mile, finding neither feed nor water, excepting\nsalt and alkaline ponds until we struck the Sweet Water at Independence\nRock, so noted already in Fremont's {303} journal, and by other\ntravelers. This was twelve miles from the creek before spoken of.\n\n\"The Sweet Waters were sweet indeed, both to man and beast, after\ntraveling through so much alkali country, and there was good feed for\nthe stock.\n\n\"After a good supper of bacon, buffalo meat, corn bread, coffee, milk,\netc., I lay down in the tent with the Missourians, but did not rest\nwell. I found that there was a great difference between these Missouri\nemigrants and our own, where there was no such thing as cursing,\nswearing, quarreling, contending with other companies, etc., allowed or\npracticed.\n\n\"But to return to our pioneer company. At a late hour they came up to\nthe creek which we had left twelve miles back, and grass being poor\ncontinued on four miles west of the creek, and camped for the night.\nNot finding me at the creek, nor hearing from me at all, they felt\nsomewhat alarmed lest I was lost, or had got into trouble with the\nIndians. They blew the bugle and watched for me till midnight, and\nfinally fired the cannon, while I was camped ten miles from them, not\nthinking that I was giving them any trouble. I traveled this day a\ndistance of thirty miles and our pioneer company twenty.\n\n\"I arose early this morning, June 21, took breakfast, and in company\nwith Brother Brown rode around Independence Rock. We examined the many\nnames and lists of names of the trappers, traders, travelers, and\nemigrants, nearly all in black, red, and yellow paint. Some had been\nwashed out or otherwise defaced. The greatest number was put on during\nrecent years, but we found some of thirty years standing. Nearly all\nthe companies who pass put their names on it.\n\n\"After going around and examining it, we staked our horses and mounted\nit. I went forward and gained the high point on the south end of the\nRock which contains the names. I then went to the north end, which is\nthe highest point of Independence Rock. There is an opening or cavern\nthat would contain thirty or forty persons and a rock standing upon the\nhighest peak of about three tons weight.\n\n\"Upon this rock we climbed to the highest point and offered up our\nprayers according to the order of the priesthood, praying {304}\nearnestly for the blessing of God to rest upon President Young and\nhis brethren the Twelve and all the Pioneer Camp, the whole Camp and\nHouse of Israel in the wilderness, our wives, children, and relatives,\nthe Mormon Battalion, and the churches abroad. While offering up our\nprayers the spirit of the Lord descended upon us. I was the first\nLatter-day Saint on Independence Rock.\n\n\"We had a view of our camp from the rock, and expected they would noon\nthere, so we mounted our horses and concluded to examine the country\naround. We rode five miles to the northeast, went on the top of the\nhigh bluff and saw our camp in motion. We then rode to the foot of the\nmountain and traced the way to the Devil's Gate, through which the\nSweet Water runs. Here we spent but a few moments, and then hurried\nback to Independence Rock. As our camp had come up, before we could\nget to them, and camped half a mile east of it, I saw President Young\ngoing up to Independence Rock, and I related to him my travels since I\nleft the company. He asked me to go back with him, so I turned out my\nhorse, having ridden him twenty miles during the forenoon, and returned\nwith President Young, Willard Richards, George A. Smith, and others. We\nspent half an hour on the Rock and then returned to our camp, mounted\nour horses and rode to the Devil's Gate, five miles from Independence\nRock. We rode as far as we could into the Gate, hitched our horses, and\nwalked into about the centre of the cavern.\n\n\"The Devil's Gate is about four hundred feet high, one hundred and\ntwenty feet wide, and fifty rods long, and the water rushes through it\nwith a roar. The rocks are coarse, gray granite with a vein of black\ntrap rock running through them. We spent about half an hour here, and\nthen had to back our horses out, after which we rode around it on the\nsouth side. Some of the footmen walked over the top of it. We camped\nfor the night about one mile west of the Devil's Gate, on the bank of\nthe Sweet Water.\n\n\"A guide board was put up at Devil's Gate, stating that it was one\nhundred and seventy-five and one-fourth miles from Fort Laramie, and\nfifty and one-fourth from our ferry on the Platte River.\n\n\"Two more Missouri companies overtook us at noon on our next day's\ntravel, and they informed us that a man was drowned {305} at the ferry,\nafter we left, in trying to swim his horses, and that his body had not\nbeen found.\n\n\"The camp started on again after our company had nooned; but Brothers\nYoung, Little, Benson, and myself went back to meet Lorenzo Young,\nwho had broken an axletree of his wagon, and we were behind all the\nafternoon.\n\n\"After a journey of twenty and three-fourths miles, the pioneers camped\nat night at the foot of a mound about two-hundred feet high, on the\nbank of Sweet Water. Brother Kimball and myself went to the top of it\nand looked down upon the camp, and it appeared to us delightful. We\noffered up our prayers and the spirit of the Lord rested upon us, and\nthen we descended to the camp. The moon was shining beautifully. On the\n24th the best horse in camp, President Young's, was shot by accident.\n\n\"On the evening of the 26th of June, after a travel of eighteen and\nthree-fourths miles, we camped opposite the Table Rock and near the\nsummit of the South Pass. I was quite astonished at the road and\ncountry to-day, considering we were crossing at the South Pass of the\nRocky Mountains. It was the best road we had traveled over for many\ndays, and had it not been for the Wind River range of mountains in\nfull view on our right covered with eternal snow, and some snow banks\nten feet deep by the side of the road as we passed along, with the\nTable Rock on the left, I should almost have thought myself traveling\nover the beautiful prairies of Illinois and Missouri, except that the\ncountry was covered with more sage than prairie grass. The road for\nmany miles, and also the plain of beautiful grass lying north of the\nTable Rock, were strewn with very handsome cornelian stones. I saw more\nin one hour this evening than ever before during my whole life, either\nin the rude state or polished, in all the jewelers' shops I ever saw in\nmy travels.\n\n\"Elders Kimball, Pratt, G. A. Smith, and Brown had gone on to take\nobservation on the dividing ridge. They continued on to the Green\nRiver, seven miles from us, which runs into the Pacific, while we were\non the Sweet Waters, that run in an easterly direction. They supposed\nthat we would come on to them, and as they did not return, several of\nus mounted our horses to go in search of them, but we soon met Brother\nKimball returning, and {306} he informed us that the rest of the\nbrethren would camp on the Green River with some men from Oregon on\ntheir way to the States.\n\n\"June 27th, 1847, was the third anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph\nand Hyrum Smith.\n\n\"It was Sunday morning, but we harnessed up our teams and drove to\nwhere Brothers Pratt and Smith had camped with Major Harris, who had\nbeen traveling through Oregon and California for twenty-five years, and\nhad a wide acquaintance with the country. He brought a file of Oregon\npapers and one published by S. Brannon of California. We had a great\ndeal of conversation with him. He spoke unfavorably of the Salt Lake\ncountry for a settlement, but spoke of other places not far off that\nwere good.\n\n\"We parted with Major Harris next day, after doing some trading with\nhim, and in our afternoon's travel met Mr. Bridger of the Fort on the\nway with men going to Fort Laramie. He was expecting us and wished to\nhave an interview with President Young and the Twelve. We also wished\nto have an interview with him. We immediately returned to the Creek\nupon which we had nooned and camped for the night, and Mr. Bridger and\nhis men camped with us.\n\n\"We met in council with Mr. Bridger, and spent some hours in\nconversation, and found him to be a great traveler, possessing an\nextensive knowledge of nearly all Oregon and California, the mountains,\nlakes, rivers, springs, valleys, mines, ore, etc. He spoke more highly\nof the Great Basin for a settlement than Major Harris had done. He said\nit was his paradise and that if this people settled in it he would\nsettle with them; and that there was but one thing that could operate\nagainst its becoming a great grain country, and that would be frost,\nas he did not know but the frost might affect the corn. He conversed\nwith us about a great variety of subjects connected with the country;\nsaid he was ashamed of the maps of Fremont, who knew nothing about the\ncountry, only the plain traveled road, and that he could correct all\nthe maps published of the western world.\n\n\"We parted next day from Mr. Bridger who remarked that it would not be\nprudent to bring a great population to the Basin until we ascertained\nwhether grain would grow or not. O. P. {307} Rockwell and myself went\nforward to pick out a camping ground. We traveled fifteen miles from\nwhere we nooned before we could get grass, and this made the longest\nday's journey on the whole route, making twenty-three and three-fourths\nmiles.\n\n\"We traveled three miles on the last day of June, and camped on the\nbank of the Green River at the ferry. The afternoon was spent in\nbuilding a raft, as the river was high and could only be crossed upon\nrafts or boats.\n\n\"During the afternoon, the arrival of Elder Samuel S. Brannon from the\nbay of San Francisco was announced in camp, and we were glad to meet\nwith him, and to hear from the Saints who went with him. He gave us an\naccount of their landing, their travels, and present settlement, which\nwas two hundred miles up the river from the bay. They were putting in\nwheat and building up their place.\n\n\"During the following three days we were fording Green River. On the\nafternoon of the second, the Twelve held a council and four men were\nappointed to return and meet the Camp of Israel and pilot them. We each\nwrote our wives concerning the counsel to be given the camp. I wrote\nletters next day to my father, A. O. Smoot, and John Benbow, to be\ntaken back by the pilots. The ferrying was finished on the evening of\nthe third day and we moved on three miles and camped.\n\n\"The Fourth of July came on Sunday. I accompanied President Young,\nBrothers Kimball, Richards, and others with the pilots to the ferry\nto put them across; and when we arrived at the river we saw thirteen\nhorsemen on the opposite bank with their baggage on one of our rafts.\nTo our great joy, who should they be but our brethren of the Mormon\nBattalion belonging to Captain Brown's detachment, who had been at\nPueblo during the winter. Amasa Lyman, whom we had sent to them, had\nreached them with information of our movements and the whole detachment\nof one hundred and forty of the brethren were within seven days' drive\nof us.\n\n\"When we met these brethren there was truly a hearty greeting and\nshaking of hands. We put them all over the river excepting one who\nreturned with our pilots to meet the following companies of the Saints.\nThis small detachment of the Battalion had {308} about a dozen of their\nhorses stolen by some horse thieves, but they overtook them and got\nthem all back but two which had gone on to Bridger.\n\n\"We left Green River (the headwaters of the Colorado) on the 5th, drove\ntwenty miles, and camped on Black's Fork. There was neither feed nor\nwater between this place and Green River, but similar to the last two\nhundred miles, a sandy desert covered with sage brush.\n\n\"Next evening we camped on the west side of Ham's Fork, which we\ncrossed on the following day and drove to Fort Bridger. In the region\nof the Fort, before we got on to our camping ground, we crossed more\nthan a dozen trout brooks, the water running swiftly but clear, with\nhard, gravelly bottoms, and the whole region of country up and down\nthese streams was covered with grass knee deep.\n\n\"The brethren caught several brook trout which was the first I had seen\nsince I left England, and as we were to spend the next day at the Fort,\nI calculated on a day of fishing. As soon as I had my breakfast next\nmorning, I rigged up my fishing rod that I had brought with me from\nLiverpool, fixed my reel line and artificial fly, and went to one of\nthe brooks close by to try my luck.\n\n\"The men at the Fort said that there were but few trout in the streams,\nand a good many of the brethren were already at the creeks with their\nrods trying their skill, baiting with fresh meat and grasshoppers, but\nno one was catching any.\n\n\"I threw my fly into the water, and it being the first time that I ever\ntried the artificial fly in America or ever saw it tried, I watched it\nas it floated upon the water with as much interest as Franklin did his\nkite when he was experimenting in drawing lightning from the sky; and\nas he received great joy when he saw the electricity descend on his\nkite string, so was I highly gratified when I saw the nimble trout dart\nat my fly hook, and run away with the line. I soon worried him out and\ndrew him to shore.\n\n\"I fished two or three hours during the morning and evening and caught\ntwelve in all. One half of them would weigh three-fourths of a pound\neach, while all the rest of the camp did not {309} catch three pounds\nin all, which was taken as proof that the artificial fly is far the\nbest to fish with.\n\n\"In the afternoon I went to Bridger's house and traded off my\nflint-lock rifle for four buffalo robes which were large, nice, and\nwell dressed. I found things generally at least one-third higher than I\nhad ever known them at any other trading post I ever saw in America.\n\n\"I arose in the morning quite unwell and felt threatened with the\nmountain fever, yet I mounted my horse and rode till ten o'clock; but\nbefore I started I was called upon to administer to Brother Carter,\nwho was taken with the fever. There were new cases of the mountain\nfever every day in camp. At ten o'clock I had to give up and take to my\nbed in the wagon with distressing pain in my head, back, joint bones,\nmarrow and all through my system, attended with cold chills and hot\nflashes through the body. We traveled over thirteen miles of as bad\nroad as any we had on our journey, which made it exceedingly painful to\nthe sick. The day seemed very long to me. When we stopped at night, I\ntook composition, cayenne, and a dose of vegetable pills, had a better\nnight than I expected; and though I was feeble in the morning, I felt\nthat my fever was broken up and I was recovering.\n\n\"The night of the 10th we camped one and a half miles from Bear River,\nby the best stream of water we had found on the route, and a small\nstream near by a valley six miles long, grass knee deep, strong mineral\nsprings, copper, lead, coal, and lime.\n\n\"Camp fires were discovered about three miles from our camping ground\nand George A. Smith and others went over to them and found them to be\nin the camp of a Mr. Miles Goodyear. He had settled at Salt Lake and\nhad a garden and vegetables, he said, doing well. Several Missourians\nwere with him going to the States.\n\n\"The subject was brought up concerning the emigrant company who\nhad perished in the mountains last winter. They were mostly from\nIndependence and Clay Counties, Missouri, and were a mob company that\nthreatened to drive out the Mormons who were in California, and started\nwith that spirit in their hearts. But it seemed as though they were\nripe for judgment. The snows {310} fell upon them eighteen feet deep\non a level, many died and others turned cannibal. About forty persons\nperished. They were mostly eaten up by those who survived them. Mrs.\nL. Murphy of Tennessee, whom I baptized while on a mission in that\ncountry, but since apostatized and joined the mob, was in that company\nand died, or was killed, and eaten. Her bones were sawed to pieces for\nher brains and marrow, and then left strewn upon the ground.\n\n\"We spent the Sunday in camp, but some of the brethren rode out to seek\nout the road and found a tar spring about fifteen miles south of our\ncamp.\n\n\"Early Monday morning, I rode to Bear River, and for the first time I\nsaw the long-looked-for Bear River Valley.\n\n\"The spot where we struck it was not very interesting. There was\nconsiderable grass in the valley and some timber and thick brushes on\nthe bank of the river. My object in riding to the river before the camp\nwas to try my luck in fishing for trout. After fishing for several\nhours, I started after the camp, having caught eight trout in all.\n\n\"The pioneers had traveled nine miles and nooned in a valley. I found\nPresident Young very sick with the fever. The company had started on,\nbut President Young lay so sick that he concluded not to move from\nwhere he was. Brothers Kimball, Benson, Rockwood, and others stayed\nwith him with their wagons.\n\n\"We drove without any road over hills and dales, having to make our\nroad as we went along. We camped at night by the side of Reddings\nCave. The valleys were beginning to grow more fertile and the air more\npacific.\n\n\"I arose quite unwell in the morning. Several brethren went to meet\nPresident Young, and the camp lay still waiting for him to come up.\nBrother Kimball came at noon and a council of the whole camp was\ncalled, and it was resolved that Orson Pratt take a company of about\ntwenty wagons and forty men and go on to the canyon and make a road as\nthey went, so we would not be hindered when we came along. There were\ntwenty-three wagons in all that started at 1 o'clock.\n\n\"We had found but little game for many days until yesterday, when the\nhunters brought in twelve antelopes, and ten today.\n\n{311} \"President Young was better today, but decided not to move until\nto-morrow. In the afternoon I walked out with Elder Richards, in search\nof springs of water.\n\n\"Next morning I rode back seven miles to visit President Young and\nfound him much better in health and quite cheerful. The evening before,\nDr. Richards, myself, and George A. Smith went before the Lord and\nprayed for Brother Young, and we had a testimony that he would recover\nfrom that hour. I found Brother Rockwood the sickest man that had been\nin our company. I tarried until near night, assisting the sick, and\nthen returned to our encampment.\n\n\"I started early on the morrow with my carriage and horses to go back\nfor President Young and Brother Rockwood. I was two hours driving seven\nmiles to their camp. I found them much better, and they thought they\ncould ride, as my carriage was the easiest vehicle in our company. I\nmade up a bed and took them both into my carriage, and the rest of the\nwagons started and drove to the main body. The sick seemed refreshed by\ntheir ride. After a short halt, the whole company drove four and a half\nmiles and camped for the night.\n\n\"Next day I again took Brothers Young and Rockwood in my carriage and\ndrove them during the day. We had bad roads for the sick, and Brother\nBrigham was worn out and worse at night. At night I went to Weber Fork,\none mile from our encampment, and caught a trout for him.\n\n\"He was still sick in the morning, and after we had driven three miles\non to the Weber's Fork, we camped the remainder of the day because\nPresident Young was worse. The Twelve and others went out and prayed\nfor him and for the sick generally, according to the order of the\npriesthood.\n\n\"Sunday, the 18th, was spent holding meeting; and on the morrow\nmorning, forty-one wagons went on. With them were Dr. Richards' and\nGeorge A Smith's. Fifteen wagons remained with President Young. Two of\nmine were of the number.\n\n\"In company with Heber C. Kimball, E. T. Benson, and Howard Egan, I\nrode over the mountain called Pratt's Pass, with the company that went\non, and then returned to President Young.\n\n\"Next morning we started early and stopped for breakfast {312} after a\nfive-mile drive. I carried Brother Brigham in my carriage. The fever\nwas still on him, but he stood the ride well.\n\n\"After breakfast we traveled ten miles over the worst road of the\nwhole journey. Our camping ground at night was on a trout creek. Here\nwe found three wagons that had tarried in consequence of the sick.\nBrothers Sherwood, Johnson, and Dewey were so sick they could not\njourney, and we camped with them and baptized them for their health,\nand I confirmed them. This morning Brother Pratt's company was only\neight miles further on than where we camped at night.\n\n\"We remained in camp next day because of sickness. We were on East\nCanyon Creek, and the route we were taking was Reed's Pass, which we\nnamed Pratt's Pass, in consequence of his going on to make the road.\n\n\"Next day eight miles of our journey was made, and East Canyon Creek\nwas reached. It was eight miles of the worst of roads, and Brother Case\nsmashed one of his hind wheels. We had to wait two hours to bring his\nwagon up. The sick stood the journey better than we expected during the\nday, considering the bad road.\n\n\"We left East Canyon Creek on the 23rd and traveled to the west five\nmiles up hill which brought us to the summit, and then descended the\nmountain six miles through a thick timber grove. The timbers had\nbeen cut out of the road, yet it was full of stumps and it kept each\nteamster very busy to dodge the stumps and not break his wagon. One man\nturned his wagon over and smashed the top all to pieces. There were two\nchildren in the wagon, but they were not hurt.\n\n\"We nooned at a beautiful spring in a small birch grove. There was more\ntimber during this half day's travel than we had seen in a month, and\nthe valleys, both ascending and descending, were extremely fertile and\ncovered with vegetation to the tops of the hills.\n\n\"At the spring where we nooned we were met by Brothers Pack and Matthews\nfrom the forward camps. They brought us a letter informing us that\nit was only ten miles to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, or Great\nBasin, and fourteen to their camp. They had explored the country as\nfar as possible and made choice of a {313} spot to put in crops. After\nnooning we traveled up another very tedious hill and down into a valley\nand camped for the night.\n\n\"This, the 24th day of July, 1847, was an important day in the\nhistory of my life, and in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ\nof Latter-day Saints. After traveling from our encampment six miles\nthrough the deep ravine valley ending with the canyon, we came in full\nview of the valley of the Great Salt Lake, or the Great Basin--the Land\nof Promise, held in reserve by the hand of God as a resting place for\nthe Saints.\n\n\"We gazed with wonder and admiration upon the vast fertile valley\nspread out before us for about twenty-five miles in length and sixteen\nmiles in width, clothed with a heavy garment of vegetation, and in\nthe midst of which glistened the waters of the Great Salt Lake, with\nmountains all around towering to the skies, and streams, rivulets and\ncreeks of pure water running through the beautiful valley.\n\n\"After a hard journey from Winter Quarters of more than one thousand\nmiles, through flats of the Platte River and plateaus of the Black\nHills and Rocky Mountains and over the burning sands, and eternal sage\nregions, willow swails and rocky regions, to gaze upon a valley of such\nvast extent surrounded with a perfect chain of everlasting mountains\ncovered with eternal snow, with their innumerable peaks like pyramids\ntowering towards heaven, presented at one view to us the grandest\nscenery and prospect that we could have obtained on earth. Thoughts\nof pleasant meditation ran in rapid succession through our minds at\nthe anticipation that not many years hence the House of God would be\nestablished in the mountains and exalted above the hills, while the\nvalleys would be converted into orchards, vineyards, fields, etc.,\nplanted with cities, and the standard of Zion be unfurled, unto which\nthe nations would gather.\n\n{314}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 29.\n\nRETURN OF THE PIONEERS TO WINTER QUARTERS, 1847.\n\nIn Retrospect.--First Crop of Potatoes Planted.--The Beginning of\nIrrigation.--First Sunday.--Explorations South to Utah Lake.--Choice\nof Temple Block.--Address by Brigham Young.--Return to Winter\nQuarters.--Meet the Second Company of Pioneers.--Encounter with the\nIndians.--Reach Winter Quarters, Oct. 31, 1847.--First Presidency\nOrganized, Dec. 27, 1847.\n\nAs the valley presented itself to view before the gaze of this sturdy\nband of pioneers, President Young expressed his full satisfaction\nwith the place. The Lord had shown him the view before in a vision;\nand now as he lay upon his bed (still physically indisposed) in Elder\nWoodruff's carriage, the Lord also showed him many things concerning\nthe future of the valley; and with one united testimony, the pioneer\ncompany felt that they had reached their destination. They could now\nrest the soles of their feet in peace and be free from fury of angry\nmobs.\n\nThat was sixty years ago; and in view of the great change which has\nbeen brought about, we are led to exclaim, \"What hath God wrought!\"\nThen, sage-brush plain, with no inhabitants excepting the wandering\nLamanite, not a building, not a fence, not a furrow, the silence of\na barren desert reigned supreme. To-day, a mighty city of 100,000\npeople stands, with a Temple of the Lord, many houses of worship and of\nlearning, modern inventions, and all other evidences of civilization.\nIt is one of the most beautiful cities in all the land, where the weary\ntraveler and the home-seeker from nearly every land and clime have\nfound a place of rest. What a debt of gratitude these busy thousands\nowe to the pioneers of sixty years ago will not be fully known until\nthey are quickened by a perfect understanding of man's relationship to\nGod and man, and the purposes of a Supreme Being.\n\nOrson Pratt, Erastus Snow, and a number of others had entered the\nvalley two days before and had already plowed by the side of two small\nstreams nearly five acres of land. After gazing a short time over the\nvalley, the company moved over the {315} table-land into the valley\nabout four miles to the encampment of their brethren. Brother Woodruff\nhad one-half bushel of potatoes, and before eating his dinner, he\nplanted them in the earth and hoped, by the blessings of the Lord, to\nsave enough for seed the following year.\n\nThere were no idlers in the camp, all were busy as bees. They dammed up\none creek, and before night had spread the water over a large tract and\nirrigated the parched ground. This was the beginning of irrigation in\nthe Salt Lake Valley, July 24, 1847. Since then the work of irrigation\nhas spread abroad in all the arid regions of the West from Nebraska\nto California. The various methods of utilizing the water have been\nstudied and improved. Irrigation has occupied the attention of great\nminds assembled in Congresses to discuss the subject, and has been\nconsidered in the legislative halls of the nation; but the pioneers in\nthis enterprise were the little band of faithful and great men led by\nthe Prophet Brigham Young to the Valleys of the Mountains.\n\nOf the future, Elder Woodruff records the meditations of their minds\non that occasion thus: \"Thoughts of pleasant meditations ran in rapid\nsuccession through our minds in anticipation that not many years hence\nthe House of God would be established in the mountains and be exalted\nabove the hills, while the valleys would be converted into orchards,\nvineyards, and fields planted with cities, and the Standard of Zion be\nunfurled for the gathering of the nations.\" Such positive utterances\nshow how deeply convinced were the pioneers that God had led them to\nthe valley. They knew the future in general, as well as we of to-day\nknow the past in detail. They said that the Lord had shown it unto\nthem, and the fulfillment of their predictions proves that He did. It\nwould indeed be a wilful unbelief on the part of the descendants of\nthese pioneers to doubt the inspiration which guided President Young\nand his associates in the settlement of the Salt Lake Valley.\n\nToward the evening of the 24th, as if to give hope of future moisture,\nthe Lord sent a beautiful thunder shower, and it rained for a short\ntime over the entire valley. President Woodruff says: \"We felt thankful\nfor this, as it was the general opinion that it never rained in the\nvalley during the summer season.\" Thus closed the day, the great\nPioneer Day, to be celebrated each {316} year by thousands and indeed\nby millions yet unborn.\n\nThe following day was Sunday, and the pioneers met for worship at about\n10 a. m. The first sermon delivered in the valley was by President\nGeo. A. Smith, and Bro. Woodruff writes that, \"It was an interesting\ndiscourse.\"\n\nPresident Heber C. Kimball and Ezra T. Benson also spoke in the\nforenoon.\n\nAt 2 p. m., the Sacrament was administered. The congregation was\naddressed by Elders Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards,\nand several others with closing instructions by President Young in\nwhich he warned them against breaking the Sabbath. They must not\nwork, fish, or hunt on that day. He warned them against sin of every\nkind, and thus there was begun the work of God in the Valleys of the\nMountains.\n\nOn Monday the 26th President Young and several brethren ascended the\nsummit of a mountain on the north which they named Ensign Peak, a name\nit has borne ever since. Elder Woodruff was the first to gain the\nsummit of the peak. Here they unfurled the American flag, the Ensign\nof Liberty to the world. It will be remembered that the country then\noccupied by the Saints was Mexican soil, and was being taken possession\nof by the Mormon Battalion and pioneers as a future great commonwealth\nto the credit and honor of the United States.\n\nElder Woodruff soon became active in exploring the valley, and\npenetrating southward to the Utah Lake. He came in contact with roaming\nIndians but found them friendly and desirous of trading with the\nwhites. After exploring a couple of days, and seeing the new land, with\nhere and there a herd of mountain goats, sheep, and antelope, he and\nhis brethren returned to the pioneer encampment.\n\nFour days after the arrival of the pioneers in the Valley, they\nselected the site upon which to build the Temple of the Lord. President\nYoung called the Twelve together on this important occasion, and all\nwere united in the choice of the Temple Block. Those who were present\non that occasion were President Brigham Young, Elders Heber C. Kimball,\nOrson Pratt, Willard Richards, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa\nLyman, and Ezra T. Benson.\n\nAt that time it was moved and carried that the Temple lot {317} should\ncontain forty acres, but later it was deemed too large a tract to care\nfor properly, and the lot was limited to the ten acre block upon which\nthe Temple now stands.\n\nThe city was laid out in blocks of ten acres, divided into eight\nlots, of equal size, one and a fourth acres in each. President Young\nexpressed a desire that the houses be built in the center of the\nlot, so that in case of fire the neighbors' houses would not be\nendangered, being so far apart. The design of President Young was that\nno speculation in lands by the brethren should be allowed whereby the\nfirst comers should enrich themselves at the expense of their brethren\nwho should follow.\n\nClose up to the city limits, the farming land was parceled out in\nfive acre plats, joining them a little farther out into ten acres,\nand outside of these, twenty acre fields. This arrangement prevented\nany one man from holding a large tract near the city, and by so doing\nprevented speculation by the individual to the detriment of the whole\ncommunity.\n\nThe city could easily extend its borders without purchasing much land\nfrom any one individual. In other words, the interest of the whole was\nto be uppermost in the mind of each man, and the spirit of greed and\navarice seldom asserted itself on the part of those noble founders of\nUtah's great commonwealth.\n\nI have heard my respected step-father, Jesse W. Fox, say that he\nsurveyed many of the cities and much of the land between Logan and St.\nGeorge, a distance of over 400 miles, and the desire to select a town\nlot or a farm lot in any of the places for speculative purposes never\nentered his heart; and if any one asked him to select one for him he\npromptly refused, saying that those who owned the land should be the\nbuilders on it and that no one by his assistance should ever speculate\nat the expense of the poor Saints coming to the Valley to serve God and\nkeep His commandments.\n\nThis was the spirit and sentiment of President Young, Elder Woodruff,\nand all those noble men, and it was generally shared throughout all the\ncamp of Israel. Indeed, it is the spirit of the Gospel of Christ.\n\nOn July 29th, about one hundred and forty of the Mormon Battalion came\ninto camp with one hundred Saints from Mississippi. Captains Brown,\nHiggins, and Lieutenant Willis of the Battalion {318} were among the\nnumber. They were met about four miles out by President Young and\nparty, and received from them a hearty welcome to the home of the\nSaints.\n\nThey brought with them sixty wagons, one hundred head of horses and\nmules, three hundred head of cattle, all of which served to strengthen\nvery materially the settlement of the Saints. While some were\nexploring, others were plowing and planting so that in less than a week\nfrom the 24th of July they had fields planted with potatoes, corn,\nbeans, peas, and buckwheat.\n\nWhat a busy, hopeful, energetic scene the Pioneer Camp must have\npresented at that time! They visited the warm and hot sulphur springs\non the north, and bathed in the latter.\n\nA number of the Utah Indians visited the camp, and the subject of\nthe course to be pursued in dealing with them was discussed, and the\ncounsel to feed them and not fight them has been followed by the\nLatter-day Saints from that day to the present. Had this policy been\npursued by all the whites, much blood and treasure would have been\nsaved to the nation; and it is safe to say that many lives and much\nproperty have been saved the people by the course of peace and love\npursued by the Latter-day Saints toward their red brethren.\n\nSunday, August 1st, the Saints assembled for worship and were edified\nby discourses from Elders Kimball, Pratt, Lyman, and others. Elder\nWillard Richards read a letter from the commanding officers of the\nBattalion highly commending the deportment of the Mormon volunteers in\nthe American service. The revelation given to President Young at Winter\nQuarters was read to the assembly and accepted as the word of the Lord\nby their unanimous vote.\n\nIn the evening the Twelve met in council and decided that Brother\nEzra T. Benson and three others should return east until they met the\ncompany following the pioneers, ascertain their welfare, and bring on\nthe mail.\n\nElder Woodruff joined with Elder Geo. A. Smith in cutting and hauling\nlogs for their cabins while awaiting also the preparation of adobes for\ntheir more permanent dwellings. Brother Woodruff reports his first day\nat chopping logs as very fatiguing. Many of the horses belonging to the\npioneers were exposed to the {319} Indians, but none was stolen, \"and\nthis,\" writes Elder Woodruff, \"increased our confidence in the Indians.\"\n\nAbout this time President Young felt impressed that he and the brethren\nof the camp should renew their covenants by baptism. August 6th, the\nTwelve were rebaptized by President Young. Elder Kimball baptized\nPresident Young and the latter confirmed his brethren and re-sealed\nupon them all their former blessings. Following this, the brethren\nselected their inheritances. Brother Woodruff's was the corner\ndiagonally across the street from the south-west corner of the Temple\nBlock, facing the east and north.\n\nIn the evening Elder Kimball baptized fifty-five members of the camp.\nElder Woodruff assisted in their confirmation. August the 8th the\ngeneral work of rebaptizing continued. Elders Kimball, Snow, Lewis,\nGoddard, Everett, and Shumway did the baptizing, while President Young\nand the Twelve confirmed. \"This made 288 in all who had been rebaptized\nduring the last three days. The camp assembled as usual at 10 o'clock\nfor public meeting and was addressed by Heber C. Kimball, much to our\nedification. I followed and was never blessed with greater liberty of\nspeech.\"\n\nThe practice of the Saints coming into the Valley to renew their\ncovenants by baptism was followed for many years, but later, when the\norganizations abroad became more perfect, and the Saints came with\nspeedy and direct transportation from their native lands to the stakes\nof Zion, this practice has been discontinued as not being of the same\nnecessity as in the early pioneer days.\n\nSunday, August 15th, Elder Woodruff attended the services and reported\na lengthy and very interesting discourse by President Brigham Young.\nOn the 11th a little child of Brother Crow was drowned and President\nYoung offered some consoling remarks bearing upon this sad event, and\nhe also spoke upon the resurrection. Much of his discourse was upon\nthe authority of the priesthood, from which we quote a few lines:\n\"Brother Joseph received the Patriarchal or Melchisedek Priesthood from\nunder the hands of Peter, James, and John. From those Apostles Joseph\nreceived every power, blessing, and privilege of the highest authority\nof the Melchisedek Priesthood ever committed to man on the earth.\nSome have had fears that we had not power to {320} obtain revelations\nsince the death of Joseph, but I want this subject from this time and\nforever to be set at rest. I want the Church to understand from this\nday henceforth and forever, that an Apostle is the highest office\nand authority that there is in the Church and Kingdom of God on the\nearth. Joseph Smith gave unto me and my brethren, the Twelve, all the\npriesthood, power, and authority which he held, and those are powers\nwhich belong to the Apostleship. We shall take time, and each step the\nSaints take, let them take time enough to understand it. Everything at\nNauvoo went with a rush. We had to build the Temple with the trowel\nin one hand and the sword in the other, and mobs were upon us all the\nwhile, and many crying out, 'Oh! the Temple can't be built.' I told\nthem it should be built. This Church should not fall; and the Lord\nsaid if we did not build it we should be rejected as a Church with our\ndead. Why did He say it? Because the Saints were becoming slothful and\ncovetous, and would spend their means upon fine houses for themselves\nbefore they would put it into a House of the Lord; but we went at it\nand finished it and turned it over into the hands of the Lord in spite\nof earth and hell, and the brethren were so faithful that we labored\nday and night to give them their endowments.\n\n\"When I look upon the great work the elders of Israel have to perform,\nand look around upon them, and see them vain and foolish, it makes me\nsorrowful. They forget their calling. O, ye elders of Israel, think\nfor a moment what manner of persons ought ye to be--men who hold the\npriesthood and keys of salvation, who have power to go to the nations\nof the earth and say to the people, 'We have salvation for you if you\nwill receive it, and celestial glory awaits you; or condemnation, if\nyou reject it.' It is no trifling affair to have power put into your\nhands to deal with the eternal destinies of the sons and daughters of\nAdam who form the nations of the earth.\"\n\nIn the afternoon Elders Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow edified the people\nunder the influence of the spirit of the Lord. In conference of the\nleading men, they gave to the city the name of \"The City of the Great\nSalt Lake.\" It has since been abbreviated to Salt Lake City. The stream\nrunning westward was given the name of \"City Creek,\" which it still\nbears; the river on the west, \"Western Jordan,\" to distinguish it from\nJordan in Palestine; the {321} two streams from the mountains on the\neast, \"Great Canyon Creek\" and \"Little Canyon Creek.\" In the main,\nthese names have been preserved. It was also decided to fence the city,\nand to appoint a president, and high council for the new stake of Zion.\n\nElder Woodruff and his associates were occupied until August 26th in\nsetting things in order and preparing for the pioneers' return to\nWinter Quarters.\n\nOn the way, they met Elder Benson as a messenger from the moving camp\nof Israel, and later on met the camp itself in different bodies,\nchiefly in charge of Elders Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor. The whole\ncompany consisted of 600 wagons. President Woodruff met his father in\nthe train but his step-mother had gone back to Iowa to live with her\ndaughter Emma. On the journey many interesting meetings were held and\nmuch choice instruction given and some reproofs meted out, especially\nby President Brigham Young. It was a constant schooling. Like ancient\nIsrael, the Saints were not free from faults, and needed training and\nreproving to prepare them for greater things.\n\nBrother Woodruff recorded in his journal nearly all the counsels,\nteachings, and ministrations of President Young which occurred on\nthe journey. A few incidents of an exciting nature occurred on the\nroute. On the 10th of September, near the Sweet Water, the horses were\nstolen, and also those belonging to the Saints on their way to the\nValley. Of this episode Elder Woodruff writes: \"The alarm was given\nearly next morning that a lot of our horses and mules were stolen.\nBells were found cut from the horses, also lariats cut off, an arrow\npicked up, and other signs of Indians were in evidence. The trail was\nfinally found and a company of 200 horsemen started in pursuit of the\nIndians. It looked gloomy to see so many women and children here in the\nmountains with their horses and cattle stolen. Thirty horses were taken\nfrom the pioneer camps, and twenty from the other camps.\n\n\"The company remained together during the day, and in the evening\nassembled for meeting and was addressed by Orson Pratt. Heber C.\nKimball, and Brigham Young. During the evening, two of the brethren\nreturned from the pursuit of the Indians and brought back five of the\nhorses.\n\n\"Next morning we parted with our friends who were going West, and those\nof us who had not lost horses divided with those {322} who had. As we\njourneyed on, we met the remainder of our brethren returning from the\nIndian chase, but with no more of the horses that were stolen. The\nenemy had taken forty three.\"\n\nTen days later, on the morning of September 21st, another exciting\ndisturbance with the Indians took place. He writes: \"About 9 a. m. the\ncall was made to get our horses. I started for them in the timber,\none-half mile from camp. When about two thirds of the way one of the\nmost exciting scenes occurred. I heard several reports of guns in quick\nsuccession. At the same time, our guard cried out, 'Indians! Indians!'\nIn less than a minute the timber and bluffs were lined with mounted\nIndians charging with all speed upon our guard, horses, and camps.\nThey shot at several of the guards but missed them. The Indians took\na couple of the guards and tried to carry them off by force, but the\nguards knocked them down with their fists and escaped. Some of the\nbrethren snapped their guns at the Indians but the guns missed fire and\nno blood was shed.\n\n\"As soon as I heard the report of the guns and the cry of Indians, and\nsaw them driving off horses, and gathering thick and fast upon every\nhand, I ran to camp with all speed and gave the alarm, calling upon\nall to gather arms and mount their horses. Brothers Kimball, Rockwood,\nMatthews, and several others sprang to their horses with guns and\npistols in hand and ran to stop the horses the Indians were driving\naway. One party of Indians had driven about a dozen horses and mules\nover the hills. Brother Kimball took after them. Two Indians had gone\nover the bluff with my horse and mule. Brother Rockwood went after\nthem, and at the same time about 20 of our horses came rushing toward\ncamp, frightened by the Indians. With great exertion President Young\nand one or two others succeeded in getting them stopped and turned them\ninto camp.\n\n\"As soon as I arrived in camp, I opened my trunk, took out my belt\ncontaining 8 pistol shots, buckled it on as soon as possible, put a\nsaddle and bridle on a broken down horse, for want of a better one,\nand mounted without spur or whip and gave chase after my own horses. I\ncould not go fast over rough roads with a poor horse, but went as fast\nas possible. As soon as I began to ascend the bluffs, I saw Indians\ngathering thick on every hand, closing in between me and the camp. As\nI passed one Indian, {323} he was priming his gun, but I continued\nthe chase. While going up a ravine with steep bluffs on each side, an\navalanche of some thirty Indians rushed down upon me and hedged me in\nso that I could not get out. Within a few feet of me a large Indian\ndrew a gun on me. I presented a sixshooter at his breast and gave a\nyell, which I had no sooner done than he gave a whoop and ran up the\nhill, all the other Indians following his example.\n\n\"As soon as my horse and mule got over their fright and were out\nof sight of the camp, they tried to return to it, and troubled the\nIndians in driving them. Brother Rockwood soon came near them, and\nwhen the Indians found they were overtaken, one stopped and professed\nfriendship, while the other tried to drive the horses on. Brother\nRockwood fired his pistol at him and the Indians both ran away, and we\nsoon caught the horses. While this was going on, nearly forty Indians\nsurrounded Brother Kimball and some of the brethren started to his\nassistance. Indians were also on every side of me until I got to the\ncamp.\n\n\"The brethren who were with me having gone to the assistance of Brother\nKimball, the camp was left with but few to protect it, so that when I\narrived I found one hundred and fifty warriors had gathered around it,\nall dressed in the greatest war style. The old chief then addressed us\nand said they were good Sioux, and they had taken us to be Crows or\nSnakes. When they found they could get no more of our horses and that\nthree had been retaken, they professed friendship. There were eleven\nhorses in all taken by the Indians who numbered about 200 warriors,\nwell mounted, while there were not more than 20 of our men engaged\nin stopping and retaking the horses. Brother Gould took one of the\nIndian's horses and an Indian brought back Brother Woolsey's horse and\nexchanged for him. This, with my two horses, were the only ones taken\nduring the skirmish.\n\n\"When the Indians gathered before our camp, they saw that we were\narmed, and knew that we had treated them kindly on our way to the\nValley. The old chief then proposed that we smoke the pipe of peace;\nand that if our chief, pointing to President Young, would go to their\ncamp, they would smoke with him and give up the horses they had taken.\nBrother Brigham was not well, and we did not think it prudent for him\nto go.\n\n\"While engaged in the above conversation with the Indians, {324}\nBrother Kimball who had been out on the chase, returned bare headed,\nhaving dropped his hat. He was accompanied by Brother Benson, and in\nriding into camp rushed his horse through the midst of the Indians.\nThey feared some treachery, or that he was an enemy. They leaped upon\ntheir horses and dashed away from the camp, some even running into the\ncreek. As soon as they saw that no harm was intended, they returned and\ntook their places, having a hearty laugh at their fright.\n\n\"Brother Kimball volunteered to accompany the chief into his camp, in\nplace of President Young, that we might get our horses. Brother Stephen\nMarkham and myself volunteered to go with him, so we three mounted our\nhorses and started on the expedition. We took a Frenchman with us who\ncould speak a little of the Sioux language.\n\n\"The Indians told us their camp was one mile away, but we traveled\nseven miles over bluffs and valleys before we came in sight of it. The\ncamp was three miles distant yet, so we halted and waited for them.\nWhen they came up to us they pitched about one hundred lodges. They\nnumbered about six hundred, men, women, and children, and brought with\nthem about one thousand horses and mules, all of which we supposed were\nstolen from emigrants and from Indian tribes.\n\n\"Their camps presented a very picturesque and amusing appearance. Among\ntheir horses we readily recognized our own, which were stolen on the\nnight we camped with Brother Grant's company. We lost nearly fifty head\nthat night and here they were in the drove which these Indians had.\n\n\"The old chief called together the war chiefs and placed them on his\nleft hand, and ourselves on his right, and sat down upon the grass,\nfilled a long pipe with kinnikinic, smoked it, and passed it to his\nchiefs. They smoked and passed it to us, and we each smoked in turn.\nThe old chief then told us to pick out our horses, which we undertook\nto do, but found it no easy task to pick out a few horses from among\none thousand others scattered for nearly two miles up the creek. After\na laborious search, we got all but two that were stolen that morning.\nWe spoke to the chief about the two horses they still had in their\npossession, but while they acknowledged they had them, they gave us no\nencouragement that they would let us have them upon our arrival {325}\nat Laramie, but would only let us have one of them now. The brethren\npresented the chief with three bushels of salt and we then returned to\ncamp. Thus ended the exciting scenes and business of the day.\"\n\nIn a subsequent effort to regain these stolen horses they were\nunsuccessful. It appears that the Indians did not fulfill their\npromise, but spirited the horses away where they could not be found.\n\nOn the 2nd of October, Brother Woodruff and Luke Johnson started out in\nsearch of some buffalo meat. He writes of this as follows: \"We started\nat day break, and the wolves, whose cries had rent the air during the\nnight, were slinking away in all directions as we rode along, and the\nbeautiful swans were floating upon the water, adding charm to the\nscene. Soon, a large herd of buffaloes was in sight. We left our horses\nand stole upon them as stealthily as we could. The picket guards were\nfrightened several times, but we managed to reassure them. There is no\nwell disciplined army of men more particular to have an old experienced\nguard on a close look out than a herd of buffaloes.\" After an exciting\nhunt they succeeded in getting only one cow. On the 8th they had a\nbeautiful view of a herd of elk, but did not succeed in procuring\nany. On the 17th they organized a hunting expedition and succeeded in\nkilling two buffaloes, which supplied them with meat for a short time.\n\nOn the 19th they were met by the police from Winter Quarters, who were\nled by Brother Hosea Stout. These brethren escorted the pioneer company\nback, and they all arrived on the banks of the Missouri, October\n31st, 1847. A few days previous to Brother Woodruff's arrival, Sister\nWoodruff had given birth to a daughter. Mother and child were doing\nwell, and all were cheerful and happy.\n\nThe eventful year of 1847 was now drawing to a close, and ere it\nbecame merged into eternity, one more great event had been catalogued\nin the great book of God's purpose for fulfillment. On December 5th\nin a council held at Elder Orson Hyde's, President Brigham Young was\nchosen and sustained by the counsel to be the President, Prophet, Seer,\nand Revelator to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,\nwith Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards as his first and second\ncounselors. {326} Father John Smith, uncle to the Prophet Joseph,\nwas chosen the following day to be the Presiding Patriarch of the\nChurch. This action was ratified by the unanimous vote of the general\nconference held in the Log Tabernacle, December 27th, 1847. About 1,000\nsouls were assembled, and with one united vote sustained these brethren\nin the First Presidency, and in the Patriarchal office of the Church.\n\nThe Apostles present at the council and the conference were Brigham\nYoung, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards,\nWilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa Lyman, and Ezra T. Benson. Of\nthe event, President Woodruff wrote in his journal:\n\n\"From President Young's teachings we learned that it was necessary\nto keep up a full organization of the Church, through all time, as\nfar as could be, at least the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve,\nSeventies, and Patriarchs, over the whole Church.\"\n\nThe affairs of the Saints at Winter Quarters were prosperous, and\nprospects bright for the New Year.\n\n{327}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 30.\n\nA MISSION TO THE EAST, 1848.\n\nIn Winter Quarters.--Battle of Nauvoo Commemorated.--Organization of\nPottowatamie County.--Bids President Young and Saints Good-by.--Journey\nfrom Winter Quarters to Nauvoo.--From Nauvoo to Maine.--A Letter to His\nWife.--Healing the Sick.--Discovery of Gold in California.\n\nDuring the first three months of the year 1848, Apostle Woodruff\ndevoted himself to the usual routine of business incident to\nfrontier life. They were laying the foundations of a commonwealth\nand strengthening the religious organizations which were to play an\nimportant part in the social and religious life of the people. There\nwere frequent meetings of the Twelve and the Presidency, and the\nfuture aspects of both the people and the country were under daily\nconsideration.\n\nIt was during the early part of this year that petitions were sent\nto the Iowa Legislature, one asking for a county on the Pottawatomie\ntract of land, and the other for a post-office. Elder Henry Miller\nwas the bearer of these petitions. About the same time the question\nof a disposition of the Nauvoo Temple came up, owing to the recent\narrival from that city of Almon Babbit, Hyrum Kimball, and John Snyder.\nPresident Young was firm in his view that the Temple there should not\nbe sold.\n\nThe battle of Nauvoo, which had been fought on September 12th, 1846,\nwas commemorated on this anniversary by those who had taken part in\nthe engagement. They wore a red badge on the left arm, as they had\ndone during the contest, to distinguish them from their enemies.\nThe disparity in numbers between the Latter-day Saints and their\nenemies,--about 100 of the former and between eight and ten hundred of\nthe latter--was so great that the Saints felt that they had been the\nrecipients of Divine favor, especially in view of the fact that only\nthree of their number had been lost.\n\nAbout the middle of the same month, Orson Hyde returned from the East.\nNews also came at the same time of the success which the missionary\nwork in Wales was achieving, principally {328} through the labors of\nCaptain Dan Jones. While the opposition there was intense, the struggle\nredounded to the spread of the Gospel and the increase of Saints\nthrough baptism.\n\nMarch 1st was the 41st anniversary of Wilford Woodruff's life. A\nfew days later, on the night of March 15th, he records a remarkable\ndream in which he passed in spirit through the air from state to\nstate, escaped from his enemies and passed on to heaven. \"I saw,\"\nhe says, \"Joseph and Hyrum and many others of the Latter-day Saints\nwho had died. The innumerable company of souls which I saw seemed to\nbe preparing for some grand and important event which I could not\nunderstand. Many were engaged in making crowns for the Saints. They\nwere all dressed in white robes, both male and female.\"\n\nAbout this time Wilford Woodruff recorded in his journal the death\nof John Quincy Adams, and made special mention of the death of John\nAdams and Thomas Jefferson, men in whose life and attainments he had\ntaken great interest. His life was not confined to the limits of his\npersonal activity, as he took a deep interest in all that was going on\nthroughout the world.\n\nOn the 27th of March, the leaders of the Church met in council for\nthe purpose of establishing a political organization of Pottawattamie\nCounty. The relations of the Church to political questions were\ncarefully considered, and from the outset it was determined to keep\nseparate the religious and political organizations of the new county\nwhich they were bringing into existence. They were a religious body\nof men in whose minds religious influences were dominant. It would\nhave been the most natural thing, perhaps, in the world, for them\nto establish a politico-ecclesiastical government; however, they\nrecognized from the outset, the constitution of their country,\nrespected the forms of civil government, and so separated it from\ntheir religious organizations that non-Mormons who should thereafter\nsettle in their midst, might enjoy with perfect freedom their political\nrights. This, however, did not mean as some non-Mormons thought it\nought to mean, that they should be elected to office, and the failure\nto recognize them became a source of disturbance.\n\nAs the time for holding the annual conference for April approached,\nthere appeared before the leaders several Pawnee chiefs asking in\nbehalf of their people who were starving for food, {329} for one\nhundred bushels of corn. The request was granted, the corn loaded upon\nthe backs of the mules belonging to the Indians, who returned to their\npeople with feelings of joy and appreciation. The spirit begotten by\nsuch an act of generosity opened the hearts of the Saints for the\nenjoyment of their conference, and fitted them more perfectly for\nthe worship of God. President Young commented upon the organization\nof the Presidency which he said might have been effected the first\nconference after the Prophet's death, but it was not wisdom to do so.\nThe authority and keys had been committed to the Twelve, and the Saints\nin following Brigham Young and the Quorum of which he was president,\nfully demonstrated their spirit to discern where the presiding\nauthority of the Church was to be found. The interval between the death\nof the Prophet and the organization of the new Presidency gave the\nSaints ample opportunity by experience to confirm their belief in the\nleadership of President Young and his council. Before the conference\nclosed, officers of the high priests and elder's quorum where chosen,\nalso a high council for the Church in Pottawatamie County.\n\nSpecial attention was also given at that time to the condition of the\npoor, particularly to the families of the soldiers who had enlisted in\nthe Mormon Battalion. A special committee was appointed to locate the\npoor and provide for their wants. A call was made for teams and wagons,\nand a hearty response was given. After the conference, Philo Dibble\nexhibited his paintings of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,\nand of Joseph's last address to the Nauvoo Legion. There are many of\nthe present generation who will remember Elder Dibble's efforts to\npreserve and disseminate the early history of the Church by exhibitions\nof his art, which he gave for the benefit of the Saints for many years\nthroughout the stakes of Zion.\n\nSoon after the close of conference three of the Battalion boys\narrived from Salt Lake Valley, popularly know as \"The Valley,\" and\ngave encouraging reports from the Saints there. They brought with\nthem letters to the families that remained in Winter Quarters. At\nabout this time an effort was made to move the bodies of the dead to\na new cemetery which had been selected. The graves of many were so\nmarked that they might be identified in years to come. There, two of\nWilford Woodruff's sons, {330} Joseph and Ezra, were buried in a grave\ndesignated No. 34, and marked \"J. E. W.\"\n\nWhile the spirit of gathering to their new found home in the tops of\nthe mountains was uppermost in the minds of those at Winter Quarters,\nthe leaders kept constantly before them their mission of carrying the\nmessage of the new revelation to the nations of the earth. Apostle\nWoodruff was preparing for a mission to the East, and Orson Pratt,\nto England. These men were specially fitted by nature and experience\nfor missionary work, and their talents were fully recognized and made\nuse of. At the same time President Young was making preparations for\nanother journey across the plains to Salt Lake Valley.\n\nThese were busy days at Winter Quarters. All were full of hope and\ngrand expectations. On Sunday, April 14th, President Young in an\naddress prophesied that the Saints would never be driven from the Rocky\nMountains, unless they were guilty of insurrection among themselves,\nand he had no fear of that. In the midst of preparations, a steam-boat\narrived on the Missouri River at Winter Quarters loaded with groceries\nand general provisions needed by the people. The same steam-boat\nafforded Orson Pratt an opportunity to embark on his mission to\nEngland. A few days later another steamer came with 150 Saints from\nEngland. These were accompanied by Elders Franklin D. and Samuel W.\nRichards on their return from the British mission.\n\nOn Friday the 26th day of May, 1848, President Young began his second\njourney to the Rocky Mountains. Elder Woodruff writes: \"In company\nwith Orson Hyde, E. T. Benson, and others, on the 22nd of June, I rode\nout to the Horn to meet Presidents Young and Kimball and the Camp of\nIsrael. We found on our arrival that all had crossed, and that Lorenzo\nSnow and Zera Pulsipher, captains of hundreds, had gone on, each with\nhis hundred. There were about 600 wagons in all and they made a grand\nencampment--a beautiful sight, indeed. I spent a little time with\nPresident Young; went through the camp, and on the following day bade\ngood-bye to the Saints and returned to Winter Quarters.\"\n\nThe efforts to provide the necessary equipments for this second\nexodus across the plains brought its hardship to those who remained.\nThe latter were without sufficient means to meet {331} their wants.\nPresident Richards was at this time sick and in straightened\ncircumstances, so that he was unable to accompany the Saints on their\nwestward journey.\n\nThose who remained were naturally weakened in their ability to defend\nthemselves by the departure of the strongest--those best able to endure\nthe journey. They naturally feared their weakened condition and the\ndanger from Indians, to which they were subjected. On the 14th there\nwas a bugle sound \"To arms!\" The report came that the Indians were\ncoming upon the people. The alarm, however, was not justified, although\nthe people were greatly disturbed in their feelings by such excitement.\n\nIt was distinctly the Indian's country in those days, and the Saints\nhad no one but themselves to look to for protection. The forces of the\nUnited States government were then engaged in Mexico. It is interesting\nat this point to observe that where the city of Omaha now stands the\nSaints were once busily engaged cultivating the soil and providing\nmeans for their expected journey westward, although Winter Quarters was\na few miles north from the present site of Omaha.\n\nOn June 21st, 1848, Elder Woodruff with his family, and several others,\neleven in all, started upon his Eastern mission. They first went to Mt.\nPisgah where they found a number of the Saints to whom they preached.\nThere would naturally be some misgiving as to the faith and continuity\nof those who remained some distance in the rear of the Saints, those\nwho were unwilling to follow the lead of President Young and the Twelve\nwould naturally discourage the more timid ones.\n\nIt was during this journey, and on the 5th of July, that Elder Woodruff\nrecords a miraculous escape by one of those spiritual impressions that\nfrequently came across his life. He had tied his mules to an oak-wood\ntree beside which he was camping. His children were sleeping in the\nwagon, and he felt impressed to move from his camping-ground, so he\nmoved his children into a house. Only a short time elapsed when a\nthunder-storm swept over the place in great fury. Of the circumstance\nhe writes: \"We had just retired when the storm reached us in great\nfury, and in a moment the large oak came thundering down to the ground\nwith a terrific crash. Had I not moved my mules, it would probably have\nkilled them. Had I not moved my carriage, it would have {332} been\ncrushed to atoms, and we would have been killed, as the tree fell where\nmy carriage stood. It just missed Brother Kingsley's wagon. I consider\nmy impression an interposition of Providence to save our lives.\"\n\nOn the 9th, they arrived at Nauvoo and went through the Temple from\nbasement to steeple, and again gazed on the once beautiful, but now\ndesolate city of Nauvoo. While at the city, in the home of Almon\nBabbit, Elder Woodruff met a man who had come from Michigan to hear the\ngospel, and to whom he preached for one hour and then led him down into\nthe waters of the Mississippi. During the same day, in a house built by\nGeorge A. Smith, and occupied by Elder John Snyder, he confirmed the\nman whom he had just baptized and ordained him an elder and sent him on\nhis way rejoicing.\n\nBefore leaving Nauvoo on his eastward journey, he sold his mules,\ncarriage and harness and took steamer down the river to St. Louis. From\nthis point Elder Woodruff boarded a steamer for La Salle, Illinois, and\nthence to Louisville, where he visited his brother-in-law and sister,\nLuther and Rhoda Scammon. Here death, for the fourth time, entered his\nfamily circle and called to the spirit world an infant of nine months.\n\nHere Elder Woodruff's industrious nature asserted itself, and he went\ninto the wheat field pitching bundles of grain. After leaving his\nkinsmen he continued his journey by wagon, rivers, lakes, and railways\nvia Chicago and arrived in Boston on August 12th, 1848. The journey, by\nthe route which he had taken from Council Bluffs, covered a distance of\n2,595 miles. He remained some time preaching the gospel at Boston and\nthen continued his journey to Portland, Maine. From there he went to\nScarboro where he met other relations. It was a happy reunion after a\nseparation of eight years.\n\nThe return of Apostle Woodruff to the East would naturally awaken\nwithin him the keenest satisfaction over the opportunity it afforded\nto meet, after years of strenuous life and marvelous adventure, old\nfriends and kinsmen. To them, his affections first turned, and he\ntold all the wonderful things which God had wrought in the gathering\nof the Saints to the Valleys of the Mountains. From Maine he returned\nto Boston, went on to New York, and a little later took up his labors\nin Philadelphia. {333} It was here he called on Colonel Kane, a tried\nand true friend to the Mormon people in the hour of their sorrow. By\nColonel Kane he was most cordially welcomed.\n\nTo his wife who remained with her people in Maine, he wrote on October\n18th, 1848, this very significant letter: \"I have been much blessed by\nthe spirit of God since I saw you. I have felt more of the presence and\npower of God in me than I expected to enjoy on this Eastern mission. I\nhave felt that someone has prayed for me much of late. I wonder if it\nwas Phoebe! I know how often you pray for me, and I feel its power and\nprize it much. I have never felt such a desire to prove worthy of your\nconfidence and trust, and shun every appearance of evil, keep out of\nthe path of all temptation, and do right in all things. I have had much\nof the spirit of secret prayer, have poured out my soul in supplication\nto God with tears of joy, and at the same time the visions of my mind\nhave been opened so that I saw clearly my duty to my God, to my wife,\nto my children, to the Saints, and to the world at large. I have also\nseen the awful and certain judgments of God, which like a gathering\nstorm are ready to burst upon the whole Gentile world, especially\nthis nation which has heard the sound of the gospel but rejected it,\ntogether with the testimony of the servants of God; has stoned and\nkilled the prophets; has become drunk with the blood of martyrs and\nSaints; and finally has driven the entire Church with the priesthood\nand keys of eternal life out of its midst into the wilderness and\nmountains of Israel.\"\n\nAt New Haven, on the 21st, a remarkable case of healing occurred, of\nwhich Elder Woodruff writes as follows: \"A sister Turtle was very low\nwith yellow fever. Some of Job's comforters had called upon her and\nreproached her for being a Latter-day Saint, and had asked her why\nshe did not get her elders to heal her. While under this strain and\nreproach she cried out, 'O, that the Lord would send Brother Woodruff\nhere!' It was only a few moments before she received a note from me\nsaying that I was coming to see her. When I came, we laid hands upon\nher and she was healed, and I returned home praising God. The following\nday, Sunday, Mr. Smith Turtle and his wife, who had been healed the day\nbefore, were present in our meeting.\n\n\"On the 23rd of October, 1848, I ordained Jairus Sanford {334} a high\npriest. He was nearly 86 years of age. He had been liberal with his\nmeans and faithful in his duties. I left the aged patriarch rejoicing\nin God and went on my way to North Haven.\"\n\nOn the 25th of October, Elder Woodruff arrived in Boston by rail and\nfound himself in the midst of a grand demonstration. The people were\ncelebrating the inauguration of a new water system by which the water\nof the Long Pond was conveyed into the city of Boston. The procession\ncovered a distance of seven miles, requiring two and a half hours to\npass any given point. Of that occasion Elder Woodruff writes: \"At the\nclose of the speeches the mayor arose and said: 'Fellow citizens, it\nis proposed that the water of Lake Cochitreate be admitted into the\ncity of Boston. All those who favor it say, 'aye.' The response was\nin a voice of thunder. At a given signal a column of water 8 feet in\ndiameter shot up 80 feet in the air and fell into a great reservoir.\"\nIn the evening there were fire-works and other illuminations. This was\nconsidered at this time the grandest celebration ever witnessed in any\nAmerican city.\n\nOn the following day, October 26th, Elder Woodruff went to New Bedford\nwith Brother Nathaniel Coray. It was there he read with feelings of\ndeep sorrow the burning of the Nauvoo Temple by a mob. He then went\nto Maine where he had parted from his wife earlier in the year, and\nreturned with her to Cambridgeport on the 17th of November. Here he\ntook a house for his family, and finished the labors of the year in\nBoston and its vicinity. Here he compiled a brief account of the\ncurrent events among the nations of the earth. He read history in the\nlight of God's recent revelations, and out of it he extracted the signs\nof the times.\n\nThe year had been a trying one to the Saints in Utah who were greatly\ndistressed because of the cricket plague, from which, however, they\nwere measurably relieved by the miraculous destruction of these insects\nby the sea-gulls.\n\nGold had been discovered in California by members of the Mormon\nBattalion, and by others, a circumstance which created a feverish\nexcitement throughout the Eastern States. The rush to California again\nbrought the Saints in Utah into conspicuous relations with the outside\nworld. That meant financial relief to the people in Salt Lake City.\n\n{335} In his journal he records the fact that Captain Dan Jones by his\nlabors in Wales was adding to the Church many persons each month. Elder\nOrson Spencer gave very encouraging accounts of the work throughout the\nBritish Isles.\n\nIt was at this time that Almon Babbit called upon Elder Woodruff\nand sought to induce him to go to Washington for the purpose of\naccomplishing certain things which he said would be favorable to the\nLatter-day Saints. \"After hearing him, I concluded that he was working\non his own account and without the counsel of the President of the\nChurch. I therefore concluded that my health, calling, and the spirit\nwithin me would not permit me to leave the mission upon which I was\nsent, to go to Washington.\" Subsequent events proved the correctness of\nhis impressions.\n\nConcerning the events of the year he remarks: \"At home new towns were\nlaid out, both to the north and south of Salt Lake City. Elders were\narriving from the Sandwich Islands. Walker, the Indian chief, visited\nthe Saints in the Valley and expressed friendship for them and his\nantipathy toward the Spanish. Brothers Brown, Browett, Allen, and Cox\nwere killed by the Indians in the California mountains, while they were\nexploring the country. These brethren I baptized in Herefordshire soon\nafter I commenced preaching at John Benbow's. Brother Browett had been\nan especially earnest, true Latter-day Saint, and I know nothing to\nthe contrary of the others. They went into the army as soldiers in the\nMormon Battalion and died in the cause of their country.\"\n\n{336}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 31.\n\nELDER WOODRUFF'S RETURN FROM THE EAST.\n\nLetter to Orson Pratt.--Baptism of His Father-in-law, Ezra\nCarter.--Labors in New England.--Meets Dr. John M. Bernhisel.--Healing\nthe Sick.--Interview with Col. Kane.--Hears Indian Chief.--Release\nfrom His Mission.--Return to the Valleys.--Conditions at the\nFrontier.--Stampede on the Plains.--Brigham Young Appointed\nGovernor.--Salt Lake Temple Planned.--Salt Lake City Given a\nCharter.--Visit to the Southern Settlements.--Fourth Celebrated\nat Black Rock.--Celebrating of Twenty-fourth.--Death of His\nStepmother.--Judge Brocchus Speaks in Conference.--Beautiful Words of\nPatriarch John Smith.--A Vote To Discontinue Use of Tea and Coffee.\n\nThe beginning of the year 1849 found Wilford Woodruff actively at work\nin the spread of the gospel. It was a glorious message which he was\nbearing to the people of the East, and he gave to it all the ardor of\nhis intensely religious nature. Nor was he less concerned about the\nintegrity and devotion of his wife to the faith they had espoused. His\nfamily was carefully instructed in the duties and sacraments of the\nChurch. On the 15th of the month he wrote a lengthy letter to President\nYoung and Council in which he reported his travels and labors. He\nprepared a historical sketch for the historian's office, and wrote to\nOrson Pratt, who was presiding over the British mission, as follows:\n\"I am 42 years old today, March the 1st, 1849. How peculiar such\nfigures look to a man while counting up his years in this probation.\nThe very sight of them crowds on to his mind a flood of thoughts more\nthan tongue can utter or pen describe. The last sixteen years of my\nlife have been passed endeavoring to preach the gospel and build up\nthe Kingdom of God in association with my brethren. The past is gone,\nI have no desire to recall it. I would not wish to live my life over\nagain if I could. I feel like looking forward and not backward.\n\n\"While the Jews were high-minded and in the height of their power, the\nSon of God, in lamb-like meekness, bowed to the ordinance of baptism\nand all other rites of the gospel and commandments of His Father. He\nwas looking forward to a time when He {337} should make His second\nvisit to His brethren after having overcome death and the grave. At\nthe present day, while emperors, princes, kings, lords, nobles, and\ngreat men of the world have been making a wonderful effort to maintain\ntheir dignity, and appear to good advantage before the world, many of\nthe noblest spirits that ever dwelt in the flesh, like Jesus and the\nApostles, have been meekly submitting to the ordinances of the gospel,\nand like little children have submitted to the authority of the holy\npriesthood.\"\n\nDuring the month of March Elder Woodruff visited Cape Cod, preaching\nto the Saints and strangers, the latter including sea-captains,\nsailors, and fishermen. There he also organized a branch of the Church\nwith 21 members. Upon his return home to Cambridgeport, he found his\nfather-in-law, Ezra Carter Sr., awaiting him. On the 22nd of March\nFather Carter was baptized, his wife having received the gospel before\nthis. Elder Woodruff records these events as the fulfillment of\nprophecy by Father Jos. Smith, the patriarch, who, in blessing him and\nhis wife years before, promised that their household should receive the\ngospel and stand with them in the Church. Elder Carter lived to be 96\nyears of age. His old home, in a beautiful rural district of southern\nMaine, still stands. It is near the roadside as you go from Saco to\nPortland.\n\nOn the 12th of April he started a company of Saints for Zion. There\nwere 71 all told, 50 of whom were from Philadelphia. From Philadelphia\nhe visited Saints in the neighboring towns. At Hornerstown he baptized\nthree members of the Woolf family. They had been believers for a number\nof years, having been visited by the Prophet and a number of the\nTwelve. Leaving Pennsylvania he traveled through New Jersey to New York\nwhere he met T. D. Brown, just returning from England. From New York he\nwent on to Cambridgeport to his family.\n\nAfter journalizing the calamities occurring in St. Louis, New Orleans,\nCalifornia, and other parts of the world, Elder Woodruff started on a\nvisit to Fox Islands where he had introduced the gospel twelve years\nbefore, having baptized nearly one hundred people. He passed many weeks\non the Islands but with much less success than upon the first mission\nthere. From here he went to New Brunswick, Canada, performing a large\npart of the {338} journey on foot. One day he walked 35 miles, carrying\na heavy load part of the distance.\n\nArriving at the ferry of Beauburs Island, he crossed in a boat and\nwalked a mile through a pleasant grove to the home of Elder Joseph\nRussell, who for eleven years had been the owner of the entire island,\nwhich is a mile and a half in length, by a half a mile in width. Elder\nRussell was a ship-builder and had constructed 23 ships with a tonnage\nof 650 tons each. He was a man of considerable wealth, worth at that\ntime, at a low estimate, $30,000. He was liberal with his means and\nfaithful in the discharge of his duties to the Church. At that place\nthere was a small branch of the Church over which he presided.\n\nOn the 28th he went with Elder Russell and son to Bedque. While here\nhe received word that Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, and Franklin D.\nRichards had been chosen members of the Twelve Apostles.\n\nOn the 5th of August, Elder Woodruff set out upon his return to\nCambridgeport, Elder Russell having first contributed $1,500 with which\nto aid the Church in its newly chosen home. He remained but a short\ntime at home, when he started for Fall River and New Bedford to visit\nthe Saints in those places. On his return from his trip to the South,\nhe met at Cambridgeport, Dr. John M. Bernhisel, who, after giving an\naccount of affairs in the Valleys, informed Elder Woodruff that he had\ncome to Washington as our representative, bearing a petition for a\nTerritorial Government.\n\nUnder date of July 25th, 1849, the President of the Church wrote\nBrother Woodruff a statement of conditions of the Church in the Valleys\nand expressed their desire to be admitted into the Union as a sovereign\nstate. In that letter the President remarked: \"The next time that you\nencounter the hardships, privations, and toil over the plains and\nmountains, you will meet with a very different reception from that\nwhich you did on your first arrival here. Friends will greet you, the\nproducts of the earth will be administered for your comfort. We shall\nbe very happy to see you again.\"\n\nDuring the remainder of the year 1849, Elder Woodruff visited the\neastern branches, preaching the gospel and comforting all who would\nlisten. In Cape Cod an aged lady of 84 years was {339} instantly healed\nby his administrations. She immediately arose from her bed of sickness\nand went about her work.\n\nHe again went to Philadelphia where he had several visits with Colonel\nKane with whom he talked over the situation relative to a Territorial\nGovernment. The following he quotes as the words of Col. Kane: \"I\napplied, according to the wish of President Young for a Territorial\nGovernment, and had my last, sad, and painful interview with President\nPolk. I found he was not disposed to favor your people, and had men of\nhis own stamp picked out to serve as governor and in other positions,\nmany of whom would oppress you in any way simply to fill their own\npockets. President Polk was unwilling to appoint men among yourselves,\nand I saw it was absolutely necessary to have officers of your own\npeople to govern you, otherwise you would be better off without any\ngovernment at all. It was necessary for me to use my discretion and I\ntherefore withdrew the petition.\"\n\nOn December 3rd, he paid a visit to Gerard College of Philadelphia.\nOn the 15th of the month he attended a meeting there where a Mr.\nKoh-Ge-Ga-Gah-Bow, chief of the Ozebwa nation, delivered a lengthy\nand spirited address in behalf of the American Indians, in which he\nappealed to the citizens to induce the government to give the Indians\na territory they could call their own, and to forbid the encroachment\nthereon of the whites. He censured the white men in no uncertain terms\nfor their pretended Christianity and religious professions, while in\nreality they were filled with deceit, hypocrisy, and wickedness.\n\nThe year 1850 witnessed a change in the character of Elder Woodruff's\nlabors. Missionary work was in harmony, not only with his spiritual\nnature, but with the grand conceptions which he entertained for the\nfuture of the Church with which he had associated himself. Upon his\nreturn from Cambridgeport, he received a letter from the Presidency in\nwhich he was required to return to the Valley, and to bring with him\nall the Saints he could gather, and such means as could be collected\nfrom their properties and from contributions in the East. The Saints\nin the Valleys of the Mountains were so far removed from manufacturing\ncenters that they felt the necessity of home manufacture, especially\nin the establishment of woolen and cotton factories in order that they\nmight be self-supporting. The New England states {340} where Elders\nWoodruff's labors had been directed contained many factories, and it\nwas the operatives from these factories whose services would be needed\nin the new enterprises at home.\n\nOn the 2nd of March, he went to Maine where arrangements were made to\ngather with him to the Valleys of the Mountains his wife's people.\nHis wife's brother, Ilus F. Carter, had bought ten wagon loads of\nmerchandise which was sent with Elder Woodruff. Mr. Carter, however,\nreturned from the Missouri River to his home in Maine on account of\nill health. A number of the brethren had engaged in gold-mining in\nCalifornia and sent money to their friends in the East to assist them\nin their emigration. The manufactured products of the East were greatly\nneeded by the Saints in the Valleys, and the money sent from California\nbecame very helpful in providing a stock of goods that would contribute\nto the comfort of the earlier settlers whose supply of clothing by this\ntime was almost entirely depleted.\n\nOn the 23rd of March, Elder Orson Pratt arrived from England on\nbusiness, intending to return before going to the Valleys. He found\nElder Woodruff busily occupied in the purchase of such merchandise as\nwould be most helpful to those who had gathered. About the same time,\nElder John Taylor and Curtis E. Bolton were on their way to France;\nLorenzo Snow and Joseph Toronto to Italy; Erastus Snow and Peter Hanson\nto Denmark; Franklin D. Richards and several others to England. Elder\nErastus Snow sailed from Boston to his field of labor on April 3rd.\n\nBy the 9th of the month, Wilford Woodruff with his family and\nrelatives, and with about 100 other Saints left for New York where\nthey were joined by another 100, making all told 209 people. Their\nbaggage amounted to 42,000 lbs. On their way to Pittsburg, they passed\nthrough Philadelphia. At the former place they secured passage to St.\nLouis where they arrived on the 1st day of May. From St. Louis to\nCouncil Bluffs they took passage on the steamer, _Sacramento._ They\nleft St. Joseph on the 12th of May and Ft. Kearney on the 15th, and the\nfollowing day Elder Woodruff went to Kanesville to visit Elder Orson\nHyde. On this journey they were accompanied by Elder Orson Pratt.\n\nThis frontier town was a busy place in those days. The Saints were\nconstantly coming and going, and the people were generally in a state\nof excitement, and the very nature of the circumstances {341} gave\nrise to some discontent. The well-to-do hurried on to the Valleys,\nand the poor were left to make such arrangements as they could for\npresent support and their future emigration to the Zion of their God.\nProvision, of course, for the emigration of the poor was made wherever\npossible, but yet their numbers were so great as to bring distress\nto the people of Kanesville. President Woodruff explained that he\nhad received counsel from the Presidency to stretch out his arms and\ngather all he possibly could to Zion. He had baptized, while on this\nmission, about 200 people. Every effort was made to pacify those who\nwere discontented in this frontier town. The fact, however, that the\nauthorities had instructed him to gather all he could was the guiding\nmotive in bringing with him to Kanesville the poor, as well as those\nwho were in fairly good circumstances.\n\nElder Woodruff, when counsel came to him, never quibbled, never\ndoubted, never stopped to ask his file-leaders the whys and the\nwherefores. He was like Adam when the angel said to him: \"Adam, why\ndost thou offer sacrifice?\" And he answered, \"I know not save that\nGod has commanded me.\" He was also like Nephi of old who uttered the\nmemorable saying: \"For I know that the Lord giveth no command unto\nthe children of men save that He shall prepare the way for them to\naccomplish the thing which He commandeth them.\"\n\nOn the 21st of May the company starting to Zion was organized into\nhundreds, fifties, and tens with a captain over each. Robert Petty,\nLeonard W. Hardy, Edson Whipple, Joseph Hall, James Currier, Miner\nAtwood, and two others whose names are not given, were appointed\ncaptains. Some of the teamsters of this company did not belong to\nthe Church, and in time became unruly. The ring-leader, however,\nwas discharged, and later the others also. On the 9th of July,\nLucy Johnson, Matilda Hardy, a Sister Snow, and Emily Huntington\ndied. Deaths this year, 1850, on the plains were frequent and Elder\nWoodruff's company suffered with others. On the day following, Elder\nWoodruff baptized fourteen in the Platte River, among them his wife's\nniece, Sarah E. Foss. On the 15th, a few days later, a severe thunder\nstorm arose and Brother Ridge, from Staffordshire, England, and his\noxen were killed by lightning.\n\nThe 30th of the month witnessed one of those scenes not {342} uncommon\nto the plains in the early days of emigration by ox teams. Those\nwho have not witnessed a stampede can hardly imagine the scenes of\nconfusion and dangers to which it gives rise. There were often thirty\nor forty teams close together. These teams consisted of from two\nto five yoke of oxen. The wagons they drew were loaded with women,\nchildren, and merchandise. The stampede generally took place without a\nmoment's warning and the cattle ran in all directions.\n\nWriting of this scene Elder Woodruff says: \"Our stampede commenced in\nthe following manner. While my son Wilford was mounting his horse,\nWilliam Murphy struck the horse with a whip which started him to run.\nWilford was thrown over the horse's head to the ground. The saddle\nturned under the horse and as a result he ran away. As he approached\none of the wagons, a Mr. Cannon's team became frantic and started off\nat a great speed. In a moment twenty or thirty teams followed the\nfirst that stampeded and the whole company was rushing apparently\nonward into the jaws of death. On my carriage was a fine black steed,\nand in it were Rhoda Foss and Susan Woodruff. We were at the head of\nthe company, and when the stampede commenced, I was by the side of my\ncarriage. I saw Mrs. Woodruff rush into the midst of the scene with\nmany other women and children. Their lives were in constant danger. I\ntold Rhoda to let my horse run into the bluffs, and do the best she\ncould. I gave him a cut to start him on to a run and left them to the\ncare of Providence. I then rushed into the midst of the stampede in\norder to save the lives of my wife and as many others as possible, but\nI had hard work to save even my own life. Mrs. Woodruff soon found an\nopening and fled out of the midst of the scene. Brother Petty's wagons\nwere turned over. My family wagon with four yoke of oxen ran over one\nof his wagons, and a wagon ran over one of his children. Prescott Hardy\nwas knocked down by his own team and badly injured in the thigh and\narm. Wherever I saw women and children in danger, I did what I could to\nrescue them. However, only little can be done at such times, and each\none must dodge the best he can to save his life if possible.\n\n\"When I found I could do no more, I ran forward to see what condition\nmy family carriage and wagon were in. I found {343} my noble horse\nstill running, but on three legs. One of the ox-teams had run on to\nthe horse and carriage, bent one of the axles and smashed one of the\nhorse's legs. Rhoda was thrown out of the carriage and Susan was lying\nupon her back with her feet hanging out between the wheels. She held\non, however, till I came and rescued my daughter. Later I had to shoot\nmy horse to put him out of his misery. It was very painful to have to\ndo so. It was a miracle that no one was killed, and there was really\nbut little damage done to oxen and wagons.\"\n\nBarring some break-downs and delays, the company arrived in Salt Lake\nCity, October 14, 1850. Soon after their arrival, Elder Woodruff\nmoved from the old Fort into his house near Temple Block. He was also\noccupied in disposing of ten loads of merchandise sent out to the\nValley by his brother-in-law, Ilus F. Carter. In the Council he read to\nthe brethren the speech of Mr. Copway (Koh-Ge-Ga-Gah-Bow), the Indian\nchief, and the views of Col. Kane on the government of Deseret.\n\nWilford Woodruff's work at this time as a missionary had given him\ndistinction and he was frequently regarded by his brethren as the\n\"Herald of the Gospel.\" The following winter two vacancies occurred\nin the legislature by the death of Newell K. Whitney and Cornelius P.\nLott. Governor Young appointed Elders Woodruff and Charles C. Rich to\nfill these vacancies, and thus began the experiences of Elder Woodruff\nas a legislator.\n\nThe new year, 1851, witnessed the dedication of a new school house\nin the Fourteenth Ward of Salt Lake City--the ward in which Elder\nWoodruff first located and where he built his home on what was\nsubsequently known as the old Valley House corner. The people were\npoor in those days, but they nevertheless did all that a community\ncould under similar circumstances to promote education. They needed\nboth schoolhouses and meeting-houses, but their condition generally\ncompelled them to make one building answer a double purpose.\n\nThe country to which the Saints had come was a wilderness, and the\nsurroundings of the people were such that it was not always easy to\nkeep men and women under proper restraint, especially young men who\nin a wild country naturally were prone to be uncouth and sometimes\nprofane in their language. The Puritan spirit of the early pioneers\nwas so intense that an effort was made {344} to check evils in their\nincipiency and to wage a crusade against them as fast as they made\ntheir appearance. Profanity was one of the evils that could not be\nendured. The Authorities on the 12th of January, in a congregation\nof the Saints, called attention to the use of such language, and the\nwhole congregation voted to \"put down swearing\" throughout the City\nand the Territory. Into the reform movement, Elder Woodruff threw all\nhis energies and preached with all the ardor of his soul against the\nimproper use of words that profaned the name of Deity.\n\nThe time had come to erect another temple for the holy ordinances that\nare peculiar and confined to that sacred structure. The work should\nbe begun as far as possible with the absence of every semblance of\nevil; and on January 19, President Young announced to the congregation\nassembled that the time had arrived for the erection of a temple.\nTruman O. Angel was appointed architect, and during the day plans\nfor the new Temple were submitted for inspection in the Seventies'\nHall. That building now stands on State street in a good state of\npreservation.\n\nOn the 28th, news of the appointment of President Young to be the first\ngovernor of Utah reached the people. This appointment gave universal\nsatisfaction. When the news came, President Young was about fifteen\nmiles north of the city. The leaders and a band went out to meet him;\nand upon his arrival in the city, he was welcomed by a salute of ten\nguns.\n\nAbout this time, on February 2nd, a pretender arose who styled himself\nElijah, and a Mr. Bateman spoke for about 9 minutes in his behalf. The\nnew Elijah, however, received no encouragement.\n\nIt was about the same time also that there began those regular weekly\nmeetings of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles which have continued to\nthe present time. The object was to keep the Twelve in harmony with\none another, that each might know what the other was doing, that there\nmight be uniformity, and that they might be actuated by a spirit of\nunity.\n\nEarly in February of that year, the legislature granted a charter to\nthe community that was to be known as a municipal organization under\nthe name of Salt Lake City. Concerning the charter President Woodruff\nwrites that President Young said: \"We do not want the Church to pass\nlaws to punish crime, but {345} to try members only on questions of\nChurch fellowship. If the members transgress the laws of the land, turn\nthem over to the authorities of the land. We want to protect the Church\nalso in its rites of worship and protect every other sect that comes\nhere. When the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdoms of our Lord\nand Savior Jesus Christ, will their people all be members of the Church\nof Jesus Christ by obeying the Gospel? No, not one-eighth part of them.\nNo more than a telestial kingdom is a celestial one, and they stand in\nabout the same relation to each other.\"\n\nElder Woodruff, on the 23rd of April, in company with a party of\nabout forty men with twenty wagons entered Utah Valley. This was his\nfirst visit to the settlements there. He met the Indian chief Walker.\nHe thought him rather an ugly looking specimen for an Indian chief.\nLater on the company reached Sanpete valley. Here there were about one\nhundred families located. These families were engaged in farming. They\nhad erected a schoolhouse and had commenced a council house.\n\nPassing on from Sanpete, the company went through Sevier Valley to\nMarysvale and on to Cedar City. \"We passed over the worst road the last\nfew days that I ever knew. We had to draw our wagons up and let them\ndown with ropes in places where the roads were so bad, and at places\nthe slant was so great that we had to hold our wagons up to keep them\nfrom turning over.\" In the valley near Cedar City the company was\nmet by President George A. Smith who at that time had charge of the\nsouthern settlements. The settlers had been there only three months.\nThey had enclosed a fort of 19 acres, plowed and sown 1,000 acres with\nwheat, had fenced 600 acres, built a sawmill, and erected the first\nstory of their council house. The little community welcomed President\nYoung and party by the firing of a cannon and by waving the stars and\nstripes. This small settlement of pioneers had about one hundred men.\n\nThe discovery of coal and iron ore in the vicinity of Cedar City\nawakened in the Latter-day Saints a special desire to establish iron\nfoundries. Men had been called to this work as a mission. Among the\none hundred, there were perhaps thirty who were discontented. Part of\nthem desired to return to Salt Lake City to get their families, and\nothers to abandon the mission at Cedar {346} entirely. Apostle Woodruff\nrecords the following words of President Young to these men: \"If you\nwere now on a mission to France or England or to any other part of\nthe earth, you would not sit down and counsel together about going to\nget your families, or about going home till your mission was ended.\nThis is of quite as much importance as preaching the Gospel. The time\nis now come when it is required of us to make the wilderness blossom\nas the rose. Our mission is now to build up stakes of Zion and fill\nthese mountains with cities, and when your mission is ended you are at\nliberty to go. Only do what is right. When I go on a mission, I leave\nmy affairs in the hand of God. If my house, flocks, or fields are lost\nin my absence; if my wife or children die, I say, Amen, to it. If they\nlive, I say, Amen, to that and thank the Lord.\" The words of President\nYoung removed much of the discontent and most of them remained to fill\ntheir mission in honor.\n\nIn speaking at this time of the Indians in that section the President\nsaid: \"These Indians are the descendants of the Gadianton robbers\nwho infested these mountains for more than a thousand years.\" At the\nconclusion of this visit, the party returned to Salt Lake City which\nthey reached on the 24th of May, 1851.\n\nElder Woodruff's journal contains many of the discourses preached by\nPresident Young in those days on subjects of practical religion, home\nindustry, prayer, financial integrity, farming, tithing, and kindred\nsubjects. His talks contained just such subject matter as one would\nexpect to hear from a leader whose mission it was to make the desert\nblossom as the rose. Elder Woodruff, here and there, used stenographic\ncharacters in making notes in his journal. He was not a stenographer,\nhowever, but he was so accustomed to writing the sermons in long hand\nthat his memory was trained for the work, and a large measure of\naccuracy was given to these journalistic efforts.\n\nTo this work he had been called by President Young soon after the\nmartyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. The day would come when the details of\nthat early history would be in great demand among those who would love\nto know the beginning of the work of God in this dispensation. \"Some\nday,\" said President {347} Young, \"I shall look to you for my journal.\"\nThis work was so carefully done, and the devotion of Elder Woodruff was\nso great towards his brethren that one is impressed by the splendid\nfidelity with which he honored the call.\n\nOn the Fourth of July of 1851 the Saints joined in a celebration\nat Black Rock on Salt Lake. \"The procession was led by the general\nauthorities with the Nauvoo Legion as an escort. It consisted of\n140 wagons which reached Black Rock at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.\nPatriotic speeches were made, and after the meeting, social pastimes\nwere indulged in, and many enjoyed a bath in the lake. It was as\npleasant a Fourth of July as I ever spent, and my family was with me.\nNext day we returned to Salt Lake City.\"\n\nThose were happy days. The simplicity of their faith, the candor of\ntheir words, and the friendship of their lives produced a remarkable\nunity which in itself was both inspiring and joyful.\n\nThe Twenty-fourth of July was honored by a celebration. There was music\nby the Nauvoo brass band. The citizens came out in great numbers. There\nwas a procession at the head of which the aged fathers and mothers were\nplaced--men and women whose frames were shaped by the hardships and\nstruggles of those early days. The procession ended at the bowery where\nthere were speeches, instrumental music and singing. \"The songs of\nZion were sung not in a strange land, nor were our harps hung upon the\nwillows. The shades of evening came over the city and there had been\nno accident to mar the proceedings of that hallowed day. There were no\ncurses, no drinking, no rabble, no strife to mar the occasion.\" There\nwas, perhaps, a little Church mixed up with the State in those days.\nMen had conceived the idea that God should be honored as much in the\nadministration of civil as of religious affairs.\n\nThe harvest season followed the Twenty-fourth and Elder Woodruff was as\nenthusiastic and energetic on the farm as he was in a celebration or as\nhe was in preaching the Gospel abroad. He was a model of industry. His\nlittle twenty-acre farm just south of the city was under a high state\nof cultivation. With a cradle in his hands, he went to the work of the\nharvest with singular pleasure. His restless nature often carried him\nbeyond {348} his strength, but he loved to work. He always worked, and\nwith him one kind of work was as honorable as another; for God honored\nhonest toil.\n\nAt his home on the farm, there lived with him his aged father. The\nstepmother had remained with her daughter in Iowa. About this time,\nhe received word that she had died on the 20th of March and that his\nbrother Azmon's wife had also died on the 3rd of January of that year.\nHis brother also wrote him relating the sorrow and trouble he had\nencountered ever since he had left the Church. His letter bore evidence\nof humiliation and repentance, much to the joy of his faithful brother\nWilford.\n\nOn the 7th of September, there was a general conference of the Church.\nAfter addressing the Saints upon practical affairs and the daily duties\nof life, President Young said: \"No better man than Joseph Smith ever\nlived on this earth. Hear it, O, ye heavens, O, ye earth, and all\nmen! It is my testimony that he was as good a man as ever lived, save\nJesus.\" In harmony with these words, Willard Richards related his\ntestimony to the mob in Carthage at the time of the Prophet's death to\nthe effect that they were Prophets of God, and two of the best men that\never lived on earth.\n\nDuring this conference, Judge Brocchus of the United States court in\nUtah, requested the privilege of speaking. The request was granted and\nhe proceeded to cast unsavory reflections upon the character of the\nSaints. This President Young resented in strong terms. In the course\nof his remarks, the Prophet said to those who were going on missions:\n\"Don't go and tell the people of different denominations that because\ntheir sins are not forgiven that they are always going to dwell in\nhell; for if they are honest, they will have a glory greater than many\nwho carry the gospel to them. There are good people among all sects,\nGentiles, Jews, and heathens. They act according to the best light they\nhave. What is the condition of the people of this country? Light has\ncome into the world, and many men love darkness rather than light. They\nreject that light, fight the prophets, and shed their blood. For this\nthey will be damned.\"\n\nAt this conference N. H. Felt and John Banks were appointed traveling\nbishops. E. T. Benson, J. M. Grant, and Orson Hyde were called on\na mission to Kanesville to gather out all the Saints {349} in that\nregion. Elder Woodruff here records the remarks made by Patriarch\nJohn Smith, uncle of the Prophet, and father to President George A.\nSmith. He had been a member of the Church since 1832. \"I was ordained\nan elder under the hands of Joseph Wakefield. The Smith family was\ncalled to bring forth this work. My team hauled the first load of stone\nfor the erection of the Kirtland Temple. My son George A., drove that\nteam. There were four brothers of us on the stand at Kirtland. I am\nnow left alone. I was in jail with my nephews, Joseph and Hyrum, the\nnight before they were killed. Next day three guns were snapped at me.\nI could not weep for a long time; when I could, I wept much. I have\nlabored much from that day till this. Now pay your tithing, make your\nmeasures good when you sell anything, and fulfill all your covenants if\nthey are properly made. Then we shall prosper in this Valley. I am an\nold man and cannot say much.\"\n\nWhen the pioneers returned to Winter Quarters from Salt Lake Valley,\nfather John Smith was left in charge of the Church here. He was a man\nof the utmost honor and of sterling integrity both to God and man.\nThree generations of this man have been apostles in the Church.\n\nIt was at this conference that all the brethren and sisters voted to\ndiscontinue the use of tea, coffee, and tobacco. It was then adjourned\nuntil October 6th.\n\n{350}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 32.\n\nTHE YEARS, 1852, '53, '54.\n\nDiscourse of Brigham Young on Sin.--The Descendants of Cain.--Edward\nHunter Chosen Presiding Bishop.--Parowan Stake Organized.--David\nPatten.--Talk on Dancing.--Death of Willard Richards.--Jedediah M.\nGrant Chosen Counselor to Brigham Young.--Journey South.--Walker, the\nIndian Chief.--John Smith, Son of Hyrum Smith, Called To Be the Head\nPatriarch of the Church.--Visit North.--Legislature.--Philosophical\nSociety.\n\nThe beginning of the year 1852 found Elder Woodruff actively engaged\nin the legislative business of the new Territory. There was much to\nbe done. The foundation of a new commonwealth was being laid, and the\nprinciples of civil government were emphasized and kept separate from\nthe religious organization. About three years and a half had elapsed\nsince the pioneers entered Salt Lake Valley. In 1852 the census\nshowed that there were all told in Utah, 11,354 souls. Counties were\nestablished with proper organizations, and judges appointed for the\nadministration of laws therein.\n\nElder Woodruff kept in his journals the civil and religious movements\nof those early days. Extracts from prominent sermons were written,\nespecially those delivered by President Young. The following is a\npartial extract of a discourse by him on the subject of Sin. \"If you\nsin against God, go to Him for forgiveness, if that sin is not unto\ndeath. There is a sin unto death which we are told we need not pray\nto have forgiven. If you sin against your brother, go to him for\nforgiveness. Ask forgiveness at the hands of the innocent. If you sin\nagainst your family, your parents, your husband, your wife, or your\nchildren, seek forgiveness at their hands; for what is done in secret,\nHe will forgive in secret. In seeking forgiveness for sins that are\nsecret, go no farther than is necessary to be forgiven of God. But\nwhere sins are committed openly, forgiveness should be sought openly.\"\n\nThe Saints had not forgotten the troubles which their shortcomings and\nneglect of the things of God had brought upon them in days gone by.\nThe leaders understood very well the necessity {351} of avoiding the\ntroubles of the past by keeping themselves in harmony with God's will.\nThey knew that sin meant trouble not only for the individual but for\nthe Church. The authorities felt that if the people could be kept from\nsin there would be love and union and prosperity in the new homes which\nthey were establishing in the Rocky Mountains.\n\nThe attitude of the Saints on the question of slavery had been a source\nof trouble to them in Missouri. There was naturally throughout the\nUnited States some interest in the position which the new Territory\nshould take upon that question. In those days the influence of the\nSouth was predominant, and the pro-slavery party was asserting itself\nwherever possible. The lines were drawn more distinctly between the pro\nand anti-slavery communities. In those days men might have regarded\nit as good policy to keep friends with the South and the democratic\nparty. To be pronounced for or against slavery was sure to invite the\nopposition of the North or of the South.\n\nPresident Young felt it, however, to be his duty to make plain the\nattitude of the Mormon people in Utah on the subject. In an address\nto the legislature he said: \"The Lord said I will not kill Cain, but\nI will put a mark upon him, and that mark will be seen upon the face\nof every negro upon the face of the earth; and it is the decree of\nGod that that mark shall remain upon the seed of Cain until the seed\nof Abel shall be redeemed, and Cain shall not receive the priesthood,\nuntil the time of that redemption. Any man having one drop of the seed\nof Cain in him cannot receive the priesthood; but the day will come\nwhen all that race will be redeemed and possess all the blessings which\nwe now have. I am opposed to the present system of slavery.\"\n\nElder Woodruff writes extensively in his journal of the teachings of\nthe President. In one of his discourses the Prophet declares that God\nhas passed through all the trials and experiences that we have, and the\nSavior likewise. On another occasion, he speaks of the responsibilities\nof parents; the desirability of a prayerful spirit that they may not\nonly receive the noble spirits from the spirit world, but that they may\nenjoy the influence of the Holy Ghost which should be the inheritance\nof every child born into the world.\n\nFrom a report of the tithing in those days it also appears {352} that\nfrom October 1848 to April 1852, there was paid in, $353,755.69, a\ncreditable showing when the hardships of those times and the limited\nnumbers of Saints are taken into consideration.\n\nIt was at this conference, April 1852, that Edward Hunter was chosen\nand set apart as the Presiding Bishop of the Church. Many people will\nremember the quaint words and sayings of Edward Hunter. When asked to\nselect his counselors, on that occasion, he arose and said: \"I select\nfor my counselors Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.\"\n\nOn the 23rd of April, 1852, Wilford Woodruff accompanied the First\nPresidency on a tour through the southern settlements as far south\nas Cedar City, which they had visited once before. On this trip they\norganized the Iron Company for the purpose of developing the iron\ndeposits of that region. The rodometer showed the distance from Salt\nLake to Cedar via Sanpete Valley to be 314 1/2 miles. It was on this\nvisit that the Parowan Stake was organized, with John L. Smith as\npresident, John Steele as first, and Henry Lunt as second counselor.\n\nOn the 28th of August, 1852, a special conference was held and about\none hundred missionaries were called to Europe and other parts of\nthe world. The following October witnessed the call of still other\nmissionaries. In speaking of their blessings President Woodruff\nsaid: \"The spirit and power of God rested upon us in a great degree.\nThe heavens were opened, and our minds were filled with visions,\nrevelations, and prophecy, while we sealed great blessings upon the\nheads of the elders and foretold what would befall them by sea and by\nland; that they would do a great work and gather many Saints and much\nwealth to Zion.\"\n\nBefore the close of the year, there were special meetings of the\nCouncil of the Twelve in which the importance of keeping a history\nof the Twelve was emphasized, and Elder Woodruff was at that time\nappointed to write a history of his Quorum. Speaking of the Twelve at\nthis time he says: \"There has not been a death in the Quorum of the\nTwelve Apostles except that of David Patten, who fell a martyr to his\nreligion, according to the special request he made of the Lord that he\nmight die that death. I lament the fact that David Patten did not leave\na record of his life, for he was a true prophet, an apostle, and a fine\nman. Many {353} miracles were wrought by him. He once told a rich man\nin Tennessee who fought the work of God, that he and his family would\nyet beg for their bread. Robert C. Petty saw that same man cry at a\nblacksmith shop because the blacksmith would not sharpen his plough on\ncredit.\"\n\nSpeaking upon the principle of writing a history he said that since\nhe had been a member of the Church he had been inspired to write not\nonly of his own acts and life but to write the sermons, teachings, and\nprophecies of the Prophet Joseph, President Young, and Council of the\nTwelve Apostles as far as he was acquainted with their labors.\n\nWhen the new year of 1853 opened Wilford Woodruff gave expression to\nthose noble inspirations which characterized his life. In his journal\nhe writes: \"A new year in a new era! How time flies, and how wonderful,\nhow magnificent are the events which are borne upon its wings! It is\nthe opening of a dispensation that includes all other dispensations\nsince the world began. The events of the one thousand years past pale\ninto insignificance compared with the work of the present time.\"\n\nOn New Year's day Wilford Woodruff, with other members of his Quorum,\nall being present, except Orson Pratt, marched in a body to the homes\nof Presidents Young, Kimball, and Richards, and to the home of Father\nJohn Smith, the patriarch, in the order named and with loving respect\nwished them a happy and prosperous New Year. Each of the Presidency\nand Father Smith pronounced their blessings, and in return the Twelve\nblessed them. In the evening of that day, the Presidency and the Twelve\ndedicated the Social Hall for social purposes, and with about two\nhundred of the Saints joined in a dance with praise and thanksgiving to\nthe Lord.\n\nThe 14th of February, 1853, witnessed the dedication of the site of the\nSalt Lake Temple. The Presidency and the Twelve broke the ground with\na pick. It was an occasion of great joy among the Saints, as a temple\nmeant so much to their hopes and faith. On April the 6th, the four\ncorner-stones were dedicated, and speeches were delivered. Forty years\nthereafter, Wilford Woodruff, more than 86 years of age, presided at\nits completion and dedication.\n\nOn the 25th of August Elder Woodruff went with members {354} of the\nTwelve to locate a new Weber settlement. The people there were growing\ndissatisfied and changed their location several times. At the October\nconference, following, Wilford Woodruff and Ezra T. Benson were\nappointed to select fifty families to settle in Tooele Valley. The work\nin that valley engaged his time largely during the remainder of the\nyear until the 12th of December, when he again took up his work in the\nHouse of Representatives.\n\nThe new year of 1854 dawned upon the Sabbath day. In the afternoon the\nSaints were addressed by Apostle Woodruff. On the evening of the 2nd\nthere was a dancing party given in the Social Hall. The parties there\nwere attended by the leaders, and an effort was made to give to those\noccasions an innocent joy and a high social quality that would uplift\nthe dance and make it a suitable place for Saints, and not allow it\nto be the exclusive pastime of the sinners. In those early days there\nwas a much greater opposition on the part of the different religious\ndenominations of the world than there is today. This practice, from the\noutset among the Latter-day Saints of taking their religion with them\ninto the social life was one of the alleged faults which the religious\nworld condemned. In those times when there were so many difficulties,\nso many hardships different from those which the people had to\nencounter in the East, the dance was about the only sort of amusement\nwhich the Saints could enjoy.\n\nThe following are the words of President Young which give his views of\nthe ball room, and which he gave on the evening of the 2nd: \"I consider\nthis a suitable place to give some instructions. The world considers it\nvery wicked for a Christian to hear music and to dance. Many preachers\nsay that fiddling and music come from hell, but I say there is no\nfiddling, there is no music in hell. Music belongs to heaven, to cheer\nGod, angels, and men. If we could hear the music there is in heaven, it\nwould overwhelm us mortals. Music and dancing are for the benefit of\nholy ones, and all those who come here to-night who are not holy and\nrighteous and do not worship God have no right to come here.\"\n\nMen and women were taught that in all they did on the week day as upon\nthe Sabbath they should honor God. If, {355} later on, excesses in\ndancing and its improper practice were corrected by a Prophet of God,\nJohn Taylor, it was because of the excesses and the improprieties of\ncertain classes, and not because of the ball room itself. To him, there\nwas great objection in permitting the dance room to become a financial\nscheme.\n\nIn the year of 1854 President Willard Richards was suffering from\npalsy, and the attention which he received at the hands of Elder\nWoodruff was characteristic of the latter's tender regard and loving\nadministration for those whom he esteemed. Besides giving his attention\nto the sick, he also began the work of teaching and preparing the young\nmen for their duties in the office of the lesser priesthood. He was\nespecially solicitous of the training of his young sons, especially\nWilford junior.\n\nThose were days of extreme sociability and neighborly love. In his\njournal Elder Woodruff writes of a visit to his home of Ann Whitney and\nEliza R. Snow: \"I read over several of the old sermons of Joseph that\nwere not recorded anywhere except in my journal. We passed a pleasant\nevening together, and before they left they sang in tongues in the pure\nlanguage which Adam and Eve spoke in the Garden of Eden. This gift\nwas obtained in the Kirtland Temple through a promise of the Prophet\nJoseph Smith. He told Sister Whitney if she would rise upon her feet\nshe should have the pure language. She did so, and immediately began to\nsing in tongues. It was nearer to heavenly music than anything I ever\nheard.\" This beautiful gift Sister Whitney retained throughout her life\ntime, and upon appropriate occasions exercised it to the edification\nand joy of the Saints.\n\nIn those days Elder Woodruff found some time in the midst of public\nduties to devote to the reading of good books, among them was the first\nvolume of the life of Benjamin Franklin, and into his journal he copied\nFranklin's rules of perfection. Whatever was high-minded, choice, or of\nvalue as discipline, Wilford Woodruff cherished.\n\nOn the 11th of January of that year President Willard Richards died.\nHe had been a sufferer for many years, but through faith his life had\nbeen prolonged. Of him Elder Woodruff writes: \"He is the first of the\nTwelve or of our Presidency who has died in the faith a natural death.\nAll who have gone before in full fellowship have died martyrs.\" He and\nPresident {356} Richards had formed a strong attachment for each other,\nand they had traveled together quite extensively in their missionary\nlabors and pioneer work. At the time of President Richard's death,\nPresident Young was too ill to attend the funeral.\n\nThe following month of March Elder Woodruff visited Tooele City,\nGrantsville, and other places in Tooele Valley, the colonization of\nwhich had been largely intrusted to himself and Elders Benson and\nMaughan.\n\nOn the 27th of that month, he returned to Salt Lake City and met with\nthe Twelve at his home. Here, the missionaries who were going to\nEngland had been set apart, and Franklin D. Richards was called to\npreside over the European mission.\n\nThe April conference which followed was one of considerable importance.\nIt became necessary to select someone to fill the place made vacant\nby the death of Willard Richards. President Young asked the Twelve to\nsuggest some man for the place, but they considered it his privilege\nto choose his own counselor, and so informed him, at the same time\npromising to endorse his selection. When the authorities were\nsustained, Jedediah M. Grant was taken into the First Presidency of the\nChurch. He had been a faithful and distinguished elder, and was loved\nby all the Saints.\n\nIt was at this conference that the question of Consecration was\npresented. Speaking of that subject, President Kimball said: \"I want\nall I have to be secured in the Kingdom of God.\" They knew the dangers\nand temptations of wealth, the selfishness which it begets, as well as\nits destruction of brotherly love.\n\nAt the same conference, President Kimball spoke on Plural Marriage and\ndeclared its divine origin. \"Many of you have fought it,\" he said,\n\"you may continue to fight it until you go down into your graves, and\nit will still continue to be the work of God, and will still continue\nthrough all Eternity.\"\n\nAt that time Elder Parley P. Pratt was appointed to establish a stake\nof the Church at Horner's ranch in California. Erastus Snow was called\non a mission to St. Louis, and Orson Pratt to Cincinnati. Joseph F.\nSmith, then a boy less than 16 years of age, was called upon his first\nmission to the Sandwich Islands.\n\nOn the 3rd of May, a party of the leaders, of which Elder Woodruff was\none, started on a tour of the southern settlements. {357} Their first\nday's drive was to Union Ward, where the Saints had been counseled to\nbuild their homes within a fort, as a protection against the Indians.\nIt appears that to some extent this counsel had been ignored by the\npeople there. In speaking of that fact President Young said: \"I am\nresponsible for the counsel I give. If you want to know any more\nconcerning it--do right; pray to the Lord, that you may have His mind\nrevealed and may understand the truth and know for yourselves what lies\nbefore you--then you will not question these things, but will go to\nwork and do them with all your might.\"\n\nIn those days there was a special anxiety to protect the people, who\nwere scattering out to form new settlements, against the attacks of the\nIndians. The people noted the special supervision of their leaders who\nwere constantly directing the settlements which were in time to come to\nbe the strongholds of the Latter-day Saints. Every detail was thought\nout, and nothing escaped the vigilant watch-care of their Prophet. In\nhis journal Elder Woodruff recorded the remarks of President Young\nspoken to the people of Pleasant Grove: \"Your stacks are so placed that\none Indian could fire the whole place, and others could shoot you down.\nWhile you were fighting the fire they could kill every man, woman, and\nchild in this place.\"\n\nThe party continued the journey from here to Provo, Springville, and\nPayson. When they reached Payson they were approaching the Indian\ncountry, and the Indian question was discussed. President Young\ncounseled the Saints to feed the Indians and treat them kindly. When\nthe company reached a place about fifteen miles south of Payson an\norganization was effected: Robert T. Burton was made captain of the\nguard; W. Woodruff, historian; Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor,\nchaplains; Edward Hunter, chief bishop; and Dr. Sprague, physician and\nsurgeon.\n\nAfter leaving Nephi, Elder Woodruff makes this interesting record:\n\"The next day, May 11th, we rode to Chicken Creek and spent the night\nnear Walker and his band. President Young and council tried to talk\nwith him, but he was sulky and not disposed to talk. When we first\nformed our corral within forty rods of his camp, he gathered all of his\nwarriors and made quite a display, but we did not go to meet them, so\nthey turned their horses out and went to their tents.\n\n{358} \"When we called upon Walker, he lay down in the dirt and was\naverse to talking. Brother Young manifested great patience even when\nalmost any other man would have been exhausted. He went to him and\nlifted him out of the dirt and finally drew from him a conversation.\nWalker said he had no spirit, he had no heart, he did not wish to\ntalk. 'I want to sit still and hear President Young and others talk.'\nPresident Young gave him some tobacco. The chief said when he had\nplenty of tobacco all his friends would come and smoke with him, but\nwhen he had no tobacco they would stay away from him. President Young\nthen said: 'I have brought some beef cattle for you. I want one killed\nso you can have a feast while we are here.' Walker then wanted the\nMormons to sing before the parties took a smoke. The chief said, 'Ezra\nT. Benson came, and his heart was good. Diminick Huntington came, and\nhis heart was running.' We then sang, and when this was done Walker\nsaid, 'I have not got the spirit of the Lord. If there is anyone here\nwho can give me the spirit of the Lord I wish he would do it.' Speaking\nfurther, the old chief said, 'White people in heaven are happy.' An\nIndian by the name of Tulpidge then spoke amid much crying and tears.\nHe was the Indian who had his wife killed. He said Diminick Huntington\nhad been good to him, and he had not seen him since his child's death.\nHe said: 'We now have good hearts and the Mormons who are now here have\ngood hearts. We can lie down in peace without fear, and I want to live\nin friendship with this people.'\n\n\"We now left the Indian camp and returned to our wagons, but President\nYoung had another talk with Walker the same day. On the following day\nwe again visited Walker's tent, but the chief was still sulky and would\nnot talk. He left his tent and went into the willows while the others\ntalked. The Indians had a sick child which they wished the elders to\nadminister to. President Kimball with Elders Benson and Wells did so,\nand Dr. Sprague left some medicine for the child and for others who\nwere sick. The Indian said if his sick child died he would have to\nkill an Indian child or a Mormon child to go with it--this is their\ntradition. The interpreter told him he must not do it as that was\nwrong; that when a Mormon child died we did not kill another to go with\nit and they must not do it. The Indian said that {359} if the child got\nwell, he would go with us. He said Walker was a great chief, and that\nPresident Young was a great chief.\n\n\"Peteetnet spoke and said they would be good and not steal, neither\nwould they kill anybody, and that anyone could go alone and not be\nkilled. Walker wished President Young to write a letter that he might\nshow to the people and let them know that we were at peace with each\nother. This, President Young did. Dr. Sprague gave them some medicine,\nand after a talk of peace and good will from the old chief we shook\nhands and smoked the pipe of peace. Walker received his presents. We\nkilled a beef and made a great feast for the Indians. They traded\nblankets for horses and bought two Indians who were prisoners. After\nmaking peace we left them and rode on to Sevier River. Walker,\nSquashead, and many others went with us and spent the night on the\nSevier. We made a raft and took our wagons over in an hour and a half.\nNext day we reached Fillmore, a distance of thirty-five miles.\"\n\nFrom Fillmore the party passed through Beaver and Parowan to Cedar\nCity. Here they visited the Iron Works and saw some of the products.\nErastus Snow was present and explained to them the difficulties to\nbe contended with in the manufacture of iron, as they were so far\nfrom railroads. During this trip the company visited Harmony and then\nreturned to the North, reaching Salt Lake the 30th of the month, having\ntraveled a distance of 574 miles.\n\nJune the 27th, 1854, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and\nHyrum, was observed. The Church held a general conference, according to\nprevious appointment. Elder John Taylor was called on a mission to New\nYork, while other elders were called to different parts of the world.\nJohn Smith, son of Hyrum Smith, was on that day called to the position\nof presiding patriarch of the Church. He was the fourth to occupy that\nplace in this dispensation.\n\nDuring those busy times of travel and teaching, Elder Woodruff also\nfound time to farm his land. He records that on that year he raised 369\nbushels of wheat, 400 bushels of potatoes and 200 bushels of corn.\n\nOn November 27th, he set out upon a visit to the settlements in the\nnorth. On the 2nd of December, he paid his first visit to Ogden,\nwhere he found a large colony of Saints on the east side {360} of the\nWeber River. Here he counseled the people respecting the payment of\ntheir tithing, the Poor Fund, the establishment of schools, also the\nbuilding of a wall around the city for protection against attacks by\nthe Indians. At this time he also visited North Ogden, then called\nOgden Hole, seven miles north of Ogden City. It was at that time one of\nthe most flourishing settlements north of Salt Lake City. There were\nforty-seven families and a school with fifty pupils. The people here\nraised in 1854, 16,000 bushels of wheat.\n\nOn the 4th of December, Elder Woodruff visited Willow Creek, now\nWillard. From there he went to Box Elder, later known as Brigham City,\nwhich was then chiefly settled by Saints from Scandinavia and Wales.\nReturning, he reached home December 9th. On the next day he listened to\nCharles C. Rich, who gave an account of the rise and progress of the\nsettlement of the Saints in San Bernardino.\n\nOn the 11th of December the legislature met. The Council then consisted\nof four members: Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells, Orson Pratt, and\nWilford Woodruff. The House had nine members: Albert Carrington,\nLeonard E. Harrington, Aaron Johnson, Isaac Morley, John A. Ray, Geo.\nA. Smith, Lorin Farr, and Erastus Bingham. At that time there were only\nseven counties, viz., Salt Lake, San Pete, Millard, Iron, Davis, and\nWeber.\n\nOn Christmas day of that year, there was some excitement created by a\ndrunken brawl among the soldiers who were quartered in the heart of\nthe city. Some of the citizens became mixed up with it. Some of the\nsoldiers fired upon the people who threw stones at them. The officers,\nhowever, with the aid of the marshal and mayor restored peace. In the\nevening, Col. Steptoe and Judge Kinney gave a ball and invited the\nPresidency and Twelve. Of the occasion Brother Woodruff writes: \"It was\na splendid affair. We had a good supper and a splendid dance.\"\n\nIn order to give some intellectual pastime, a Philosophical Society was\norganized to which the leaders gave special attention and encouragement\nto those who were anxious to improve their minds.\n\nClosing his journal for that year Elder Woodruff notes that he traveled\nover 1,800 miles, attended 47 meetings, and preached 44 discourses. He\nalso attended two general conferences, and passed twenty days in the\nlegislature.\n\n{361}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 33.\n\nEDUCATIONAL EFFORTS.\n\nEducation Promoted.--Adventurers.--Endowment House.--President Young\nSpeaks of the Resurrection.--Death of Judge Schafer.--Provo.--Work\nin Educational Societies.--In the Legislature at Fillmore.--Words of\nConfidence from Kanosh, an Indian Chief.--Some Peculiarities of Wilford\nWoodruff.--Poisoned.\n\nThe first day of the year 1855 was observed by a social entertainment\nwhich the Governor and the Legislature of Utah gave in the new Social\nHall. \"It was the most splendid party up to that date ever gotten up\nin the Territory. The United States judges and military officers were\ninvited. Dancing commenced at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and closed\nwith a supper at mid-night.\"\n\nThese hardy pioneers had grand ambitions in their humble homes, amid\nhumble surroundings. They established a grammar school under the\ndirection of Orson Hyde. They also organized a Universal Scientific\nAssociation for the study of science, the promotion of education,\nand the accumulation of a library and museum. They already had their\nPhilosophical Society and later organized a Horticultural Association\nfor the purpose of encouraging the growth of fruit in the Territory.\n\nOn the 4th of February, at the Sunday meeting, some attention was given\nto the attitude which the Saints had taken toward a host of new comers\nwho were not of their faith. Most of them belonged to an adventurous\nclass and were unscrupulous men. Against them the Saints were warned.\nThis warning created considerable excitement among them. The new comers\nwere angry, but the Saints were firm. In time excitement quieted down.\nSome of the outsiders soon learned that there was a social barrier\nwhich they could not break down. They were not here to establish homes,\nand many were disappointed when they could not prey upon the homes of\nthe Latter-day Saints.\n\nAs spring approached new problems arose. The new country was a kind\nof experiment station, and the people were anxious to get all kinds\nof seeds that they might experiment with the soil and climate. Elder\nWoodruff was among the first to introduce fruit {362} trees. He\nobtained thirty-one different kinds of choice applegrafts. The future\nbegan to look more hopeful. They had in mind a grand commonwealth,\nwhich by their faithful industry they would establish. They were\nspreading out over the Valleys of the Mountains and establishing homes.\nThey were a happy people, full of hope and grand expectations--if the\nsoil responded to their efforts.\n\nThe political situation became disappointing. At first Brigham Young\nhad been appointed Governor, and had given satisfaction. He was beloved\nby his people; and respect for their local self-government and their\nwishes would have continued him as such, but men were not slow in\ncirculating evil reports and in creating prejudice and hatred in the\nhearts of those who leaned toward the Latter-day Saints. The word came\nthat another was to succeed Brigham Young as governor.\n\nAnnouncement was made that on February the 18th President Young\nwould give the views of our people concerning the government of the\nUnited States. On that date the Tabernacle was crowded, and there\nwere probably one thousand people on the outside who could not find\nentrance; but President Young was sick and unable to attend. His\nstatement, however, to the people was read in which he expressed\nloyalty to the Constitution and laws of the country, but disapprobation\ntowards those who were severe, and towards men in high places who\ndisregarded the rights of the people here. The address was published in\nthe _Deseret News_ and later on, in the _Journal of Discourses_.\n\nOn February 18th John Smith received his ordination to the office of\nPatriarch of the Church, he having been previously called to that high\nstation on the 10th of March, 1853. Elder Woodruff records the death of\nan old friend, Joseph Russell, who was faithful and true, and who had\ngiven nearly all his means amounting to about $7,000.00 to the Church.\n\nThe conference of that year began on April 6th, with about 12,000\npeople in attendance. Times were somewhat exciting, and there was a\npronounced demonstration on the part of the Saints in the matter of\ntheir adherence to the work of God. At that time about one hundred\nmissionaries were called. A little later on in the same month the\nDeseret Theological Society was organized.\n\nOn May the 15th, the Endowment House was dedicated. To the older of\nthe present generation its sacred precincts, its rites, {363} and\nordinances are among the most cherished memories. Apostle Woodruff was\npresent at its dedication; and later in life when the Temple supplanted\nit, he ordered it removed. On the day following its dedication, Geo,\nQ. Cannon gave an interesting account of his mission to the Sandwich\nIslands.\n\nOn the same date President Young in speaking of the resurrection, as\nrecorded by President Woodruff, said: \"The identical particles of\nmatter in which we have honored our spirits, our tabernacles, in which\nwe have suffered, traveled, labored, and built up the Kingdom of God\nwould be the identical bodies resurrected, and no others. They will be\nraised from the grave to immortality and eternal lives. Evil was placed\nupon the earth that man might know the good from the evil, for without\nan experience in those things, men could not know one from the other.\nUpon the earth the devil sowed the seeds of death in everything, so\nthat as soon as Adam and Eve began to eat of the fruit of the earth\nthey received into their systems the seeds of mortality--death. Their\nchildren thus became mortal and subject to pain, sorrow, and death.\nBy this means they were redeemed and partook of life, peace, and\nhappiness, and they would know how to prize them. Father Adam would\nnever cease his labors to redeem his posterity and exalt them to all\nthe glory they were capable of receiving. Yet man has his agency to act\nfor himself--choose good or evil, and to be rewarded according to his\nworks.\"\n\nOn May the 19th Elder Woodruff set out upon another visit to the\nsouthern settlements in company with President Young. At Cedar City\nthey found the iron works in full blast. They were making good iron,\ncasting pipes and other necessary appliances needed by the people.\nWhile there, they organized a stake of Zion comprising Iron County.\nOn reaching Lehi on their return they had an interesting visit from\nAropene, an Indian chief. This was the latter part of May, and by this\ntime the crops and gardens had almost entirely been destroyed by the\ngrasshoppers.\n\nIn his journal of June 30th of that year he records the funeral of\nJudge Schafer, Chief Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court of\nUtah. The funeral was held on that day. The Saints turned out in\nlarge numbers and showed great honor to the judge whose justice and\nuprightness were so greatly respected.\n\nOn July the 13th Elder Woodruff attended the conference {364} in Provo\nwith Presidents Young, Kimball, and Grant. During the conference, they\nhad a visit from an Indian chief whose English name was High Forehead.\nHe and others of his tribe addressed the congregation, expressing their\nconfidence in President Young and the people over whom he presided.\nThere was in those days a class of people in Provo whose conduct was\nnot entirely satisfactory. It was a gathering place for many uncouth\nminers, whose habits of drinking and gambling did not give Provo a very\ngood name. Speaking of the town, Apostle Woodruff says in his journal:\n\"There was a strange spirit in Provo and many had not the spirit of\nGod.\" Many of the early inhabitants of the town will find in that\nremark something of the spirit of charity.\n\nOn Elder Woodruff's return to Salt Lake City he speaks of the\nexcellent times they had in the Polysophical Society as well as in the\nUniversal Scientific Society. These social gatherings for intellectual\nimprovement afforded the progressive men of those days some opportunity\nto satisfy their desires for education. Elder Woodruff rarely failed in\nhis journal to give an account of the doings of those societies, and\nto express the great delight he had had over the information imparted\nby the lectures. In his journal he says: \"On September 13th we met in\nthe Social Hall under the organization of a Pomological Society. The\nhouse was well filled and the subject discussed was the organization\nof a Horticultural Society. A committee was appointed to draft the\nconstitution and by-laws to govern said society. I was chosen chairman\nof this committee, and subsequently president of the society which did\nmuch to promote the culture and growth of fruit in the Territory.\"\n\nThe spirit of Wilford Woodruff was pre-eminently missionary in every\naspect of his life. If he raised fruit, it was in fulfillment of a\nmission to promote an industry. When he sat in the legislative halls,\nhe regarded his work as a grand mission for the establishment and\nspread of the principles of civil government. It all made him an\nenthusiastic worker. If he farmed, he did it as much to teach others\nhow to farm as to obtain a livelihood from it. With him, all life and\nlabor was a mission. It was all in the spirit of a teacher and he was\nconscientious in the extreme about what and how he would teach. In\nattending a {365} quarterly conference at Farmington in October, 1855,\nhe writes in his journal: \"After retiring to bed I prayed to the Lord\nto show me what we should teach the people, and this I received as an\nanswer. 'Let my servants obtain the Holy Ghost and keep My spirit with\nthem and that will instruct them what to teach the people continually.\nInstruct the people to keep My spirit with them and they will be\nenabled to understand the word of the Lord when it is taught unto\nthem.'\"\n\nIt is quite natural, therefore, that he should keep a careful account\nof missionary work both at home and abroad. He notes in the fall\nof that year that Nathaniel V. Jones returned from his mission to\nHindoostan, also the appointment of Lorenzo Snow, Ezra T. Benson, and\nPhineas Young to England.\n\nElder Woodruff was appointed as a missionary, in connection with Elders\nOrson Pratt, and Parley P. Pratt, to travel throughout the Territory.\nHe speaks of this event as giving him much pleasure and adds: \"It is\nthe first time since the organization of this Church and Quorum that\nI have had the privilege of being associated with these two men on a\npreaching mission. We have met but little except in conference from\ntime to time.\" He mentions about this time the death of Orson Spencer\nwho had died in St. Louis. Of him he says: \"Many friends mourn his\nloss. He was a firm pillar in the Church and Kingdom of God.\"\n\nHaving been again elected to the legislature, Elder Woodruff set out\nfor Fillmore which was then the capital of the Territory. He went in\ncompany with Lorenzo Snow, Loren Farr, and Jonathan C. Wright. While\nin Fillmore, in January, 1856, he reported and wrote in his journal\nan account of an excellent discourse preached by President Young. The\nfollowing was taken from his journal: \"It is our duty to make every\nsacrifice (if it may be called a sacrifice) required of us by our\nFather in Heaven, that He and His holy angels may know our integrity.\nI see a thousand weaknesses in myself that I now regret, and it is\nso with all those who have the spirit of God, and they will try to\novercome them. People may be guilty of various sins, and do you think\nthey can be forgiven in a moment. No, every Latter-day Saint knows\nbetter. This would be sectarianism. The religion of the world is that\na man may commit murder, and when on the {366} gallows, he can repent\nand be forgiven and go straightway to Abraham's bosom. It is a false\ndoctrine. It is not true. Some may say that they cannot overcome their\npassions when they are tempted and tried, they cannot help scolding,\nswearing, etc., but I tell you they can help it, and must overcome\nit sooner or later or they cannot be saved. We should improve day by\nday, be a better man or woman to-morrow than we are to-day. Mothers,\nwhen you are cross and attempt to correct you children, conquer\nyourselves first. Fathers, when you feel angry passions rise, then\nyou need the grace of God to bring yourselves into subjection to Him\nthat you may gain victory over your feelings. Live so that you may\nhave the revelations of God concerning you in all things--that you\ncannot be deceived. When Sidney Rigdon claimed to be the leader of the\npeople, the people knew not his voice. Parents are under the greatest\nobligation to live their religion, so also the young men and women,\nthat when they marry and have a posterity their children may be born in\nholiness and righteousness, and it will then be hard to make anything\nout of them but Latter-day Saints.\"\n\nOn January the 16th, Kanosh, an Indian chief, made an address to the\nbrethren, as follows: \"I am just beginning to get my eyes opened. I\nknow that President Young's talk is good. What he says is so. He tells\nus more good, and I am like the sun just rising in the East, and so\nwith my people. We have been in the night, I have had eyes but I could\nnot see, and ears, but I could not hear; and this has been the case\nwith my people. Our hearts could not understand, but now our eyes\nsee, our ears hear, and our hearts understand. All that Brigham and\nHeber have said is straight; but when I talk with Col. Steptoe and\nhis men, he is not straight, I would not believe, for a tenth part of\ntheir talk is not straight, and so it is with the Spaniards, and with\nall the white men until I saw the Mormons. They are the first to tell\nme the truth. You are here to make laws. I hope you will make good\nlaws to punish the guilty and spare the innocent. I wish to do right\nand have my people do right. I do not want them to steal nor kill. I\nwant to plant and raise wheat, and to learn to plough, and do as the\nwhite people do. I want to learn to read and to write, and to have my\nchildren learn so that we may understand what you say to us.\" This is\nbeautiful manifestation {367} of the confidence which the better class\nof Indians had in the Mormon people.\n\nAfter the adjournment of the legislature, and on the 26th of January,\na large mass meeting was held in Salt Lake City to consider the\nestablishment of a mail and passenger service between the Western\nStates and California. Governor Young was chosen chairman. A committee\nwas appointed to draft resolutions regarding the project. About this\ntime the _First Reader_ published in the _Deseret Alphabet_ was gotten\nup. To this work Elder Woodruff gave much of his time. During the month\nof February he reports in his journal that three boys had been killed\nby the Indians who had driven off a number of horses and cattle.\n\nOn the 3rd of March Elder Woodruff was called on a mission to the\nEast to secure type for the _Deseret Alphabet._ On the 7th of April,\nduring the spring conference of that year, he was appointed assistant\nhistorian of the Church. In those days missionaries were usually called\nat conference, and that occasion had in it surprises for many who were\ncalled to go on a mission without a moment's notice. At this time\nElders Orson Pratt and Ezra T. Benson were called to England to preside\nover the European mission.\n\nThere was, too, a humorous side to Wilford Woodruff's nature,\nnotwithstanding the seriousness which he possessed. It seems that\nin one of the Sunday meetings President Jedediah M. Grant found it\nnecessary to refer to some thefts which had taken place a short time\nbefore. Among other things stolen was some flour that had been taken\nfrom Elder Woodruff's home. After concluding his rebuke for these\nthings President Woodruff arose and said: \"If they have taken the flour\nbecause of hunger and will ask the blessing upon the bread when it is\nmade, and send me home the bags, I will bring no accusation against\nthem.\" The bags were put in a sack and brought to his home next morning.\n\nA circumstance somewhat of the same nature as that referred to,\noccurred in which the writer was a witness. He and one of his\ncompanions were chasing a flock of tame ducks up the street along Elder\nWoodruff's fence. The latter saw them and came out. He being a nervous,\nquick-spoken man, the boys expected a scolding. \"Boys,\" he said, \"if\nyou will let those ducks alone, I {368} will give you some apricots.\"\nThey hardly knew how to compose themselves--so great was their\nsurprise--but they went with him to the orchard, one of them filling\nhis hat and the other a bucket. Nothing further disagreeable was said,\nbut the boys never thereafter chased the ducks.\n\nOn the 22nd of April of that year, the missionaries who were called\non missions left the city for their fields of labor. It was a greater\neffort in those days to take a mission. The sacrifice was greater for\nall concerned. The dreary plains had to be crossed again, and the\nexpense was naturally very great. At this time George A. Smith and John\nTaylor went to Washington to urge claims of Utah for admission into the\nUnion. A few days after the missionaries left, Apostle Woodruff was\npoisoned in consequence of skinning an animal which had been killed by\npoison. His system became so infected that his life was despaired of,\nbut his faith was so unceasing and so disassociated from all doubt that\nthrough administration he was healed. Brother Woodruff records in his\njournal the blessing which President Young pronounced upon his head, as\nfollows: \"Brother Woodruff, I say to you in the name of Jesus Christ,\nthat you shall not die, but you shall live to finish your work which\nwas appointed you to do upon the earth. The adversary has sought many\ntimes to destroy your life but the Lord has preserved you, and will\npreserve you until your work is done.\"\n\nOn his recovery he makes record of a letter received from the chief\ngardener of Queen Victoria, who desired to open a correspondence with\nthe Horticultural Society of Utah. Such matters were of course highly\ninteresting to the people here, because those were days of experiments.\n\n{369}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 34.\n\nTHE REFORMATION, 1856.\n\nHard Times Were Difficult for Some To Endure.--Recording Church\nHistory.--Dedication of Historian's Office.--First Hand-cart\nCompany.--The Reformation Inaugurated.--Death of Jedediah M.\nGrant.--Suffering of the Hand-cart Companies.--Heber C. Kimball's Dream.\n\nThe year 1856 found the people engrossed in the labors incident to\npioneer life. They were beginning to appreciate more than ever the\nwonderful resources of their new Zion. The growing opportunities to\naccumulate means were absorbing the more progressive classes. The\nsocial life of the people, however, was not neglected, and there were\npicnics and celebrations. The Fourth and the Twenty-fourth were great\ndays. The out door amusements of those times were more enjoyable\nbecause of the general surroundings. This year the Fourth was ushered\nin by the firing of cannon and the ringing of bells. There were\nprocessions and orations that pleased and inspired the people. The\ncanyons were near by and they were agreeable resorts in days when\nthere were few groves. These occasions helped the people to forget\nmany of the hardships incident to pioneer life. Some could not easily\nendure the trials of those days because they had not sufficient faith\nto penetrate in the least the future. To them all was darkness and\nhardship. Some were discouraged.\n\nAbout this time, one of the chief clerks in the Historian's Office\nbecame weary of the hardships of those days, was a victim of despair.\nHe entertained doubts of the truth of the work; and though he was\ntreated well by all the brethren, he was nevertheless unhappy and\nreturned to England to take up again the life in which he had been\nreared. Apostle Woodruff wrote of him thus: \"He could not stand the\nhard times, and did not know whether Mormonism was true or not, so he\nreturned home. He had taken a very honorable course in all his business\ndealings.\" The man was respected and spoken well of. He felt that he\nhad made a mistake, but he was honest and honorable. He never sought to\nshift the burden of his own unhappiness and discontent on to the {370}\nshoulders of others. He aimed to be fair and wanted to do what was\nright. The man had not the faith to support him in the trying ordeals\nof those early years in Utah. It was one circumstance out of many; and\nlike some others who left the Church, he never felt it his duty to\nbring reproach upon those whose faith he could neither understand nor\nappreciate. The man was not hindered in the execution of his wishes. He\nwas wished God speed, and his old-time friends would still be friends,\neven though there might be a great disparity in the matter of faith.\n\nIn those days, Elder Woodruff was occupied largely in the historian's\noffice reading Church history to President Young. From the beginning of\nthe Church in Utah, President Young had felt the importance of keeping\nan accurate and extended history of God's dispensation in the Valleys\nof the Mountains. Many important things connected with the Church in\nits infancy had not been recorded, and were then even becoming matters\nof hearsay.\n\nOn the 6th of September, 1856, a large number of missionaries were set\napart and the burden of the instructions to them then was the keeping\nof a journal. The special instructions on that occasion were given to\nthem by Parley P. Pratt and Wilford Woodruff, the latter outlined in a\ngeneral way what should make up a journal. The record was to be \"full,\ncorrect, and proper.\" Matters were to be so fully given that future\ngenerations would not be at a loss to understand them. They should be\nso correct, that credence could be given to what was written, and so\nproper that inappropriate and irrelevant matters should not fill up and\nmake a journal tedious and of no consequence, except, perhaps, to the\none who wrote it. All official acts in the exercise of the authority of\nthe priesthood should be carefully kept. Whenever it became important\nfor the Church to give a history of any event, it should be able to put\nits hands on the records of those who took part in them.\n\nParley P. Pratt said: \"I have reflected upon this subject for years to\nknow what a man should write, and have come to the conclusion that he\nshould write his official acts in the priesthood. I am sorry that I\nhave not kept more of a journal than I have. I wish I had written every\nman's name that I ever baptized, or administered to in any manner. In\nsetting forth the hand dealings of God with this people, the elders of\nthe Church become personal {371} witnesses for God, and every event\nwhich is a manifestation of God's power in their lives and ministry\nshould be recorded.\" They fully appreciated the fact that though\nan event may not be of great importance to-day, it may be valuable\nto-morrow in the light of all that follows it.\n\nOn the 10th of September, Apostle Woodruff and the clerks in the\nhistorian's office moved to their new office, which was an imposing\nbuilding in those days, and which still stands on South Temple Street\nbetween State and Main Streets. Elder Woodruff was mouth in the\ndedication of this building on September 15th, 1856. Elder Woodruff\nrecords this blessing in his journal and exclaims therein: \"Wilt thou\nbless, O Lord, with thy holy spirit this building, that we may never\nprofane thy name in this house, or dishonor the holy priesthood, or\nbring approach upon thy cause, or grieve thy holy spirit in any way.\nBring to our remembrance all things necessary to be written in the\nhistory of the Church, and cause that papers and documents that are\nnecessary may be brought to us that we may be enabled to compile a\ncorrect, useful, and proper history.\"\n\nOn the 26th of the same month, the two first hand-cart companies\nentered Salt Lake Valley. They were in charge of Edmund Ellsworth\nand Daniel Duncan McArthur, the former was the husband of President\nYoung's oldest daughter. Elder Ellsworth died some years ago, but\nElder McArthur, at this writing, 1909, still lives in St. George in\nthe 86th year of his age. For some years he was president of the St.\nGeorge stake of Zion. These companies of Saints were met at the mouth\nof Emigration Canyon to the east of the city and were escorted with\nmuch display and honor to the city. President Young and the general\nauthorities went out to meet them. Bands of music enlivened the\noccasion, and the presence of many Saints gave great distinction to the\nscene. They had pushed and pulled their hand-carts from the Missouri\nRiver, over a thousand miles. They had waded the streams, climbed the\nmountains, and had made better time than either the ox or the horse\nteams.\n\nThis new method of crossing the plains had been first suggested\nand decided upon in England during the presidency in that mission\nof Franklin D. Richards. It was, in a measure, an outburst of the\nenthusiastic desire and spirit of the people there {372} to gather with\ntheir religious comrades in the Valleys of the Mountains. The first\ncompanies had fared measurably well, but those who came later, and were\nthe victims of an unusual and extraordinary winter, suffered greatly.\n\nAt this place in Elder Woodruff's journal, he records a dream related\nby Daniel H. Wells and the latter's interpretation of it. He saw in\nhis dream a butcher's cleaver in the heavens, from which he was led to\npredict the near approach of war and bloodshed in the nation. The time,\nhe declared, was nearer than people imagined.\n\nThe completion of the Historian's Office this year was followed by\nthe dedication of the Endowment House on October 2nd. The leading men\nof the Church met at the baptismal font where the dedicatory prayer\nwas offered by Heber C. Kimball. Elder Woodruff says: \"It was full of\nsublimity and prophecy which found its fulfillment in the history of\nthe font and the building.\" It would be difficult even to estimate the\nsacred influence which that building has exercised upon the lives of\nuntold thousands who felt themselves within its sacred precincts in the\npresence of their God. The purity that went out from that sacred house\ninto the lives of those who were married there has been the guiding\nstar and the savior of thousands of men and women in the Church. How\nstrange, how remarkable, that a place with such sacred and uplifting\ninfluence should be made the object of vicious attacks by those who\nwere the enemies of the Church and its persecutors!\n\nThe completion of the font signalized the importance of the so-called\nReformation in the Church which began in that year. President Young\nentered the font and baptized his counselors, Heber C. Kimball, and\nJedediah M. Grant. Later Elder Woodruff and others were baptized;\nand the privilege extended to all the Saints throughout the Church\nto renew their covenants. There was a spirit of trouble brewing; a\ngrowing opposition throughout the United States toward the Saints was\nfelt by the leaders, who were impressed by the spirit of reform. It\nwas important that the people should be so upright and chaste in their\nlives that the Lord should have no occasion to punish them for their\nshortcomings. It was a time of revival in the observance of the duties\nand the ordinances in the Church. The people were called upon {373} to\nrepent. Questions touching their morals and the manner of their worship\nwere put to the people both in public places and in their homes. The\npeople generally were asked to renew their covenants by baptism.\n\nAn excerpt from the journal of Elder Woodruff illustrates something of\nthe spirit of those times. After explaining to a certain individual\nthat he considered it a privilege to be re-baptized, the man professed\nhis immunity from sin.\n\n\"In all the trials incident to the pilgrimage and pioneer life, have\nyou never sworn nor used bad language?\"\n\n\"No sir,\" was the prompt reply.\n\n\"Have you never broken the Sabbath day?\"\n\n\"No sir,\" came the quick response.\n\n\"Have you never cheated your neighbor in trade?\"\n\n\"No sir,\" thundered the unrepentant man.\n\n\"Then, for heavens sake, go off and do something. You are the only\nperfect man I ever saw, and hope never to see another in this life.\"\n\nSubsequent events, however, proved that the man who was so\nself-assertive was the very sort of an individual who was greatly in\nneed of repentance.\n\nFrom the days of the gold excitement in California, there had been an\ninflux of adventurers into Utah. Most of them were men of reckless\nlives, men of improper habits. Their influence became greatly\ndetrimental to many of the Saints. It must be counteracted, and the\nso-called Reformation was to be the means of setting the people right.\nIt was to be a time of repentance. Every responsible position that\nmen held, whether ecclesiastical or civil, called for the most devout\nobedience to God's law. Men who were legislators observed the ordinance\nof baptism that they might more conscientiously and more uprightly\nenact laws for the happiness and welfare of the people.\n\nThe October conference which was then at hand was devoted to the\nproclamation of repentance throughout the Church. The new zeal was felt\neverywhere, both at home and abroad. There were frequent visits from\nhouse to house. The leaders of the Church were foremost in the new\nmove. A special call was put upon Jedediah M. Grant. To him the work of\nthe Reformation was a special mission. He was by nature a most zealous\nman, {374} and this special call increased his zeal. He gave to the\nwork all his energies and carried more the burden of that mission than\nany other man of his time. It proved too much for his physical nature,\nwhich could not bear the incessant labors, and consequently on the 1st\nof December, 1856, he departed this life.\n\nOf him Elder Woodruff writes in his journal: \"He died December 1st,\n1856, twenty minutes past 10 o'clock. He was aged forty years, nine\nmonths, and seven days. We went immediately to his house where we found\nhis wives and children weeping bitterly. Jesse C. Little, Leonard W.\nHardy, Daniel H. Wells, Doctors Sprague, and Dunyon, and Israel Ivins,\nstood by him as he breathed his last. As I gazed upon his tabernacle of\nclay, I felt to exclaim, a mighty man in Zion is laid low, a valiant\nman in Israel and a great champion of the Kingdom of God is taken from\nus! We feel his loss deeply. For two months it seemed as though he had\nbeen hurried to close up his work. He had been preaching for several\nmonths calling upon the people to repent. His voice had been like\nthe trumpet of the Angel of God. He has labored night and day until\nprostrated by sickness. He called at the Historian's office on the 19th\nof November which was his last day out. During his sickness, he beheld\na glorious vision from which he related to the brethren all he had seen\nof the spirit world.\"\n\nOf President Grant, Elder Woodruff records the following testimony by\nBrigham Young: \"We have no cause to mourn for Brother Grant. He is\nwell off. He has lived in advance of his age and is better fitted for\neternity in the forty years of his lifetime than many would be in one\nhundred years.\"\n\nElder Woodruff records among the closing events of those years the\nsufferings and other experiences of the hand-cart companies. He tells\nof the anxiety about those who were overtaken by the storms in Wyoming.\nRelief parties were sent out, provisions were forwarded, and at the\nfire sides of the Saints, there were fervent prayers for the protection\nof their unfortunate brethren and sisters struggling to reach the land\nof Zion--the goal of their ambition, and the object of their devotion.\n\nOn the 12th of October, 1856, Elder Woodruff records the ordination of\nLeonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little as the first and second counselors\nto the presiding bishop. Edward Hunter. {375} About this time,\nFrederick Kesler was ordained bishop of the 16th ward, a position which\nhe held with honor for nearly one-half century.\n\nThrough all the latter months of 1856, the work of the Reformation was\ngoing on. There was quite a universal spirit favoring the highest and\npurest standard of life. Men of a sensitive and a religious nature\nfound within themselves an excessive conscientiousness that sometimes\nmade them imagine they were sinners because of a state of perfection\nthey saw, but could not feel. Such a condition brought with it doubts\nand misgivings. Some of the very best men in the Church felt their\nunworthiness and shrank from responsibilities which they imagined\nothers could fulfill better than they. President Woodruff records at\nthis time that he and Lorenzo Snow called upon President Young and\noffered to surrender their apostleship. They had received it at his\nhands and were willing to give it up in favor of any one that the\nPresident might think more competent and more worthy. President Young\nexpressed his perfect satisfaction with them and his confidence in\ntheir integrity and labors, and gave them every assurance of his love\nand blessing.\n\nThere were those, however, in those days who were not so conscientious\nand by nature so upright. They took advantage of the repentant and\nhumble condition of others. They exercised authority that was unjust\nand harmful. The dangers of the excesses of a certain class began\nto be felt and restraint was put upon them. When the movement had\naccomplished the good intended and dangers arose, the Reformation\nsubsided and has gone into history with a mixture of evil with a vast\namount of good. Elder Woodruff records his belief that the Reformation\nhad a great effect for good upon the lives and the conduct of the\npeople. It also had a tendency to separate those who were insincere and\nuntrustworthy. It was a judgment upon the Saints that they themselves\npronounced in their willingness or unwillingness to be in harmony with\nthe spirit of the times.\n\nThe spirit of the leaders at that time when the call to repentance was\nloudest was one of the most enthusiastic and God-fearing character.\nThey felt themselves in the presence of heavenly beings and constantly\nanswerable to God for the condition of the people Elder Woodruff speaks\nof a tongue lashing which {376} he received from one of his brethren\nwho did not take kindly to the spirit and methods of the times. The man\ndid not care to have his conduct brought into question. He had repented\nand been baptized once and the repetition of repentance was not in\nharmony with his feelings, and he resisted the call made upon him by\nhis brethren who did not hesitate and who were not easily brushed aside\nin their purpose and determination to bring about a reformation. To\nthose who did not take kindly to the spirit of those times, it looked\nlike an invasion of their personal liberty.\n\nIn his journal, Apostle Woodruff records a dream related to him by\nHeber C. Kimball, which reflected not alone the latter's views of the\ntimes, but the general spirit among the leaders. The dream runs as\nfollows:\n\n\"I dreamed that I was traveling with a companion, and we came to a\npowerful, rapid stream of water like the Niagara River. The waves\nwere rolling very high and increasing in size. They had been muddy,\nbut were getting clear. As we came to this rushing stream, we did not\nknow how we should get over it. I turned my eyes a few moments from\nmy companion, and when I looked back I saw him on the other side of\nthe river and climbing a steep hill. I did not know how he got there.\nI wanted to cross, so I called to him as loud as I could to stop and\nwait for me, but he paid no attention to me, but went on as fast as he\ncould. Then a person came to me and said you have an iron rod in your\nhand, which I perceived I had. It was several feet long. The angel said\nto me: 'You must use this rod and feel your way over the river.' Then I\nawoke.\n\n\"I considered my dream and interpreted it as follows: My companion was\nJ. M. Grant, who had suddenly died and left me, and was on the other\nside of the veil. The waters mean the people. They are increasing in\nstrength and growing better and clearer. The iron rod is the word of\nGod, which I must cling to till I get through life. I consider there\nare great things awaiting this people.\"\n\n{377}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 35.\n\nCELEBRATION OF 24th, 1857.\n\nWords of Brigham Young.--Talk by the Indian Chief,\nAropene.--Assassination of Parley P. Pratt.--Return of Thomas B. Marsh\nto the Church.--Celebration of the Twenty-forth in Big Cottonwood\nCanyon.--News of the Army's Approach.\n\nThe year 1857 made its appearance in the midst of an unusual and\nextraordinary snowstorm. The ushering in of the new year in such a\nmanner was portentous of the stormy and extraordinary experiences\nof the Saints. Elder Woodruff records that he passed most of the\nday in company with President Young and Franklin D. Richards. They\nwere actively engaged in compiling Church history. It is remarkable\nhow completely attached to the leaders of the Church Elder Woodruff\nwas. His trust in them was both complete and sublime. He never found\noccasion to suppose for one moment that these leaders ever proved\nunworthy of the trust he imposed in them. In his mind, Brigham Young\nwas a Prophet of God, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, as truly and\nperfectly as was Samuel of old, or Peter, or Paul. His reverence and\nrespect for the living oracles were as perfect as for the dead. The\nwords of both Joseph and Brigham, he was always careful to write down\nin his journal. In time when the sermons were recorded by reporters of\nthe Church, he confined his record to sayings that were made when there\nwas no reporter present.\n\nOn the 11th of January, in the Eighteenth ward, President Young\naddressed the people and from his sermon Elder Woodruff records among\nother things these words: \"It is sometimes taught among us that we\nshould follow Brother Joseph or Brother Brigham, or some other leader,\nand do as they say, and that is all that is required. Now this is in\none sense a false doctrine. No man should trust solely the testimony of\nanother. He should have a direct testimony from God for himself. Then\nobedience is intelligent and not blind. I might have listened to Joseph\nSmith testify to the truth of the Book of Mormon until I was as old as\nMethuselah, and in the end I would have gone away in darkness had I not\n{378} received a testimony from God that he was a prophet and that he\nknew by revelation whereof he spoke. Men should get the spirit of God\nand then live by it.\"\n\nIn those days there was a strong sympathetic interest in the welfare\nof the Indians. The better ones among them were feeling constantly\ngreater confidence in the people and in their leaders. They had a real\nfriendship for those white men who treated them, not only kindly,\nbut with high consideration for their rights. The Indian felt that\nthere were reasons why he should command respect as well as receive\njustice. Aropene seems to have been a chief specially favored among the\nIndians and respected by the Saints. In the early part of that year,\nElder Woodruff records that this chief delivered a strong discourse to\nthe Saints in which he exhorted them to respect the counsel of their\nleaders and to abstain especially from the use of liquor, and to do\nright in all things.\n\nOn the 17th of February of this year, Elder Woodruff addressed a\nmeeting of the bishops and gives in his journal a brief synopsis of\nhis instructions to them. \"No man should boast of the authority and\npower of the priesthood, or contend about the comparative greatness of\na seventy or a high priest. Men should not boast of that power until\nthey have received some manifestation of it, and when they receive\nit they will not feel like boasting about it. Its power will create\nhumility and not pride. It is seldom that I have seen the power of the\npriesthood made manifest among the children of men in our day to any\nvery great degree. There are, however, some instances. One was when the\nProphet Joseph beheld the sick and the dying in his dooryard, and when\nthey were also strewn along the banks of the river for two miles. He\narose and shook himself like an old lion and commenced at his tent door\nand healed all the people who were not dead on both sides of the river,\nby the power of God, and his voice was as the voice of God and the\nearth almost trembled under his feet as he went along commanding the\nsick to arise and be made whole. It was also made manifest by Joseph\nwhile in prison and in chains in Missouri.\n\n\"Again, David Patten was taken by an armed mob under a United States\nwarrant. When he was surrounded by about forty {379} such men who were\nacting under the garb of law, and who forbade him to say one word in\nhis own defense, he arose in the power of God and held them fast to\ntheir seats until he had addressed them for about one-half hour. He\ntold them that they were cowards, rascals, and villains, and proved it\nto them and they had not the power to harm one hair of his head, and\nthey let him and Warren Parish go free.\n\n\"This power was again made manifest by President Brigham Young on the\nbanks of the Missouri River at Winter Quarters, when the merchants\nbrought up goods to sell to the brethren who were going to the\nmountains. Old Major Miller, the Indian agent, was there, surrounded by\nofficers. In order to show his great authority, he told the merchants\nwho owned some alcohol not to roll a barrel off the boat or he would\nknock the head of the barrel in and pour the liquor upon the ground.\nPresident Young thereupon stepped up and told the men to roll it out.\nMiller and his officers turned pale, and the liquor was rolled out and\nnobody was hurt. Other instances might be named where the power of the\npriesthood has been strongly manifested. These men never boasted of it,\nand they never will.\"\n\nMarch 1st brought Elder Woodruff to his 50th birthday. About this\ntime he recorded in his journal instructions from President Young\nupon the importance of keeping a journal. The President quotes from\ninstructions from the Prophet Joseph on the subject. He shows that the\nwritten testimony of the things of God is quite as important as the\nspoken testimony, that the world will be judged by what is written in\nthe books, and that where it is the duty to record the manifestations\nof the spirit of God and men neglect to fulfil that duty, the spirit\nwill be withdrawn from them. \"Were you to be brought before the civil\nauthorities and accused of a crime or a misdemeanor, you may be\npunished if you cannot prove from your journal that you were somewhere\nelse and are innocent. Your enemies may prevail against you.\"\n\nThese words from the lips of Brigham Young in those early days are\nsignificant because of the position the enemies of the Church sought\nto place him in. How often he was subject to accusations which were\nlaid at his door and which the enemies insisted were true if he could\nnot prove his innocence. How often {380} that has been the case in the\nhistory of the Latter-day Saints concerning whom, in the minds of their\nenemies, there are no presumptions whatever of innocence. The order of\nproof with them has been different too often from that followed by the\nworld in the administration of law and justice. From these admonitions\nof the Prophet it may be seen that so far as the Latter-day Saints are\nconcerned, they may often be compelled to prove their innocence, for\ntheir enemies will not treat them with the fairness with which they\ntreat one another, and regard men as innocent until they are proven\nguilty.\n\nJust before the opening of spring conference, on March 23rd, President\nWoodruff officiated in the dedication of the baptismal font which\nhad been erected by the people of the Fourteen Ward. The semi-annual\nconference in those days created a great deal of interest as well as\nanxiety because of those whose names were announced for the first time\nas missionaries to the nations of the earth. As the list was read\nat the close of conference, a profound silence fell upon the entire\ncongregation, as wives and mothers, as well as fathers and husbands,\nnever knew when the minute call would come to them or to their\nhousehold.\n\nThis spring the missionaries adopted the hand-cart method of crossing\nthe plains. They were an enthusiastic body of men who on the 23rd of\nApril hitched themselves to their carts and made their way through the\ncanyons and over the mountains to the Missouri River and other terminal\npoints, from which they adopted a more convenient method of travel.\n\nElder Woodruff records in his journal on June 23rd that the \"eastern\nmail arrived bringing the sad news of the assassination of Elder Parley\nP. Pratt, who had been killed near Ft. Smith in Arkansas, by a man\nnamed McLean.\"\n\nApostle Woodruff was always careful in his journal to say something\nof the lives of men and women whose integrity to God he knew and\nesteemed. He rarely failed to record his testimony of those who were\nvaliant when anything important occurred in their lives, or when they\ndied. Of a Sister Vose who had just come to the Valleys he said: \"She\nwas seventy-seven years of age and rode 1,200 miles in twenty-three\ndays, at least one-half the distance by team. She has been a member of\nthe Church almost {381} from the beginning, and has given thousands\nof dollars to build up the Kingdom and to assist the elders in their\nministry.\"\n\nJust about this time, he records the return of Thomas B. Marsh to the\nfold. This man had once been president of the Twelve Apostles. He had\nforsaken the Church and in time he was forsaken by his family and\nhis friends. There still, however, remained within him a lingering\ntestimony of the spirit that had once led him to a higher and better\nlife. He appealed by letter to President Young to be restored to\nthe Church. The request was granted by the President who said: \"Let\nhim be baptized and confirmed and then come to the Valleys.\" This\nbrother reached Salt Lake City, and on the 16th of September, 1857,\nwas presented by President Young to the congregation in their Sabbath\nmeeting. As they gazed upon him, they saw a wreck--a relic of his\nformer self. He was now crippled and palsied in body, miserable and\nunhappy in his spirit. When he arose, he called the attention of the\nSaints to himself as an object of pity and commiseration, and warned\nthe Saints against apostasy and asked them to forgive him. President\nYoung put his request to a vote and he was unanimously received into\nthe fellowship of his brethren and sisters. A few years later he died\nin Ogden.\n\nThe approach of mid-summer awakened in the hearts and feelings the\npatriotic spirit of a devoted body of pioneers, who loved their\nreligion and who consequently loved their country. The Fourth of July\nwas celebrated as usual by a \"splendid military performance.\" The\nprocession disbanded before the Governor's office at noon.\n\nThey loved their country and they also loved their religion. Their\nadvent into the Valleys of the Mountains was a mile-stone in what\nto their minds was the greatest historical event of modern times.\nThat event must not be forgotten. Future generations must hold it in\nsacred remembrance, for it was God's history which the world some time\nwould recognize by appropriate and almost universal observance. The\nremembrances of the pioneer journey were green in the memories of all\nbut the little children. The Twenty-fourth of July recalled the scenes\nat one thousand camp firesides on the plains and in the mountains. It\nreminded them of suffering, recalled their hopes, and strengthened\ntheir {382} faith. They were witnesses of God's providence in\ndispelling fears that human courage could not overcome, and in removing\nobstacles that seemed to them insurmountable.\n\nOn the 22nd of July, 1857, a great procession of people might have\nbeen seen wending their way along the eastern hillsides of the Salt\nLake Valley on their way to a lake in Big Cottonwood canyon. The\nnight of that day, they camped at the granite quarry from which the\nrock was then already being hewn for the foundation of the Temple. On\nthe following morning, President Young and the leaders of the Church\nled the procession up through the canyon to a place selected for the\ncelebration. The first arrived at noon and the last came in about\nmidnight. Of this occasion President Woodruff writes: \"This was a great\nturnout. The company numbered 2,587 persons, 468 carriages and wagons,\n1,028 horses and mules, and 332 oxen and cows. Flags were raised upon\nthe highest peaks and the stars and stripes were unfurled upon the\nhighest trees. The surrounding scenes of mountains, valleys, lakes,\nwoods, and meadows made the sight the most interesting I ever beheld.\nWe had prayer at night and an address from President Young. There were\nfive bands in attendance to discourse sweet strains of music.\"\n\nNext day being the Twenty-fourth, ten years had passed since the\nfaithful pioneers entered the Valleys of the Mountains. The day was to\nbe celebrated in an enthusiastic manner. The program consisted of the\nfiring of cannon, speeches, songs, recitations, and music. They were\nalso there to render their thanks-giving and praise to God for His care\nover them, and above all for the testimony of His spirit, which burned\nwithin them. Some engaged in trout fishing, others roamed over the\nhills, and there were social pastimes that promised a great day for the\nSaints.\n\nAt noon, Bishop Smoot, Judson Stoddard, Judge Elias Smith, and O. P.\nRockwell arrived in camp. The first named two brought the unhappy news\nwith them from the East that the government had withdrawn the mail\ncontract, and were sending a new governor, judges, and 2500 troops to\nUtah to suppress an insurrection that had never existed. The action of\nthe government was based upon the falsehoods sent broadcast by Judge\nDrummond and other unprincipled men.\n\n{383} President Young met the issue in a spirit of indignation and with\na determination not to submit to another injustice. At day-light, on\nthe 25th, the company broke up and commenced their homeward journey.\nTheir joy and enthusiasm had now been turned to wonderment, anxiety,\nand sorrow. The approaching army was the theme of their conversation.\nDark clouds hovered over them. A new problem had to be solved. What was\nto be done? Where could they go? What was to be the result of another\ninjustice perpetrated against them? Their faith was again brought to\ntheir service. They exercised it by humiliating themselves in prayer\nand fasting. The spirit of joy had been transformed into one of the\ngreatest solemnity.\n\n{384}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 36.\n\nWAR TIMES, 1857.\n\nDeposit of Church Records in Temple Foundation.--Approach of\nthe Army.--Present of a Team.--John D. Lee.--Visit of Captain\nVan Vliet.--Lot Smith.--Col. Alexander Writes President\nYoung.--Communication from Governor Cumming to Governor\nYoung.--Miraculous Escapes.--High Price of Salt at Army\nHeadquarters.--Prediction of Calamity to the Nation.--A Poetic Tribute\nby Eliza R. Snow.\n\nApostle Woodruff was asked by President Young to notify the Twelve\nto meet at the Temple foundation, on August 13th. The purpose of the\nmeeting was to deposit the works of the Church in the foundation of\nthe Temple and to dedicate the corner-stone containing the deposit.\nAbout 7 o'clock in the morning, President Brigham Young, Heber C.\nKimball, Daniel H. Wells, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow,\nFranklin D. Richards, also Elders Truman O. Angel, Alonzo H. Raleigh,\nBenjamin F. Mitchell, Jonathan Pugmire, Jr., Edward L. Parry, Henry\nMaiben, Jesse C. Little, Albert Carrington, John Lyon, Joseph A. Young,\nand Brigham Young, sons of Brigham Young, met on the grounds where\nPresident Young and Wilford Woodruff packed about 65 books, chiefly\nChurch works, and a number of coins in a stone box, whose dimensions\nwere as follows: length 2 1/2 feet, depth 20 inches, and width 19\ninches. At 15 minutes to 8 o'clock the lid was put on, soldered with\nlead and covered with plaster of paris. The stone box was turned bottom\nside up and placed in the south-east corner. After this a dedicatory\nprayer was offered by President Young.\n\nThree days later, President Young delivered a discourse to the\nthousands who had congregated for the purpose of receiving instructions\nwith reference to the policy to be pursued respecting the approach\nof the so-called Johnston's army. There was naturally a great deal\nof anxiety and heartfelt prayer over a situation that seemed to\nforebode nothing but evil and misfortune to the Saints. The vast\nmultitude, however, with uplifted hands pledged {385} their support to\nthe President and the leaders of the Church. It was one of the most\nimportant days, says Elder Woodruff, ever witnessed in Israel.\n\nOn September 5th, a messenger arrived with the news that General\nJohnston was at Ash Hollow, with nearly 2,000 men who were traveling\nfifteen miles per day. The people were promised that, if they would\nfollow counsel, they should never be driven from the Valleys.\n\nThe spirit of the times, and the willingness of men to make any\nsacrifice are well illustrated in a little circumstance which at this\npoint Elder Woodruff records in his journal. President Young had sent\nfor him and asked if he had a team, to which the latter replied: \"'Yes,\nI have a pair of small ponies.'\n\n\"'Can you spare them?' he asked.\n\n\"I hesitated a moment and then answered, 'Yes, I can do anything that\nis wanted.'\n\n\"President Young then said: 'I have a pair of good horses which I wish\nyou to have as you are laboring here in the Historian's Office.\n\n\"I was taken by surprise, but accepted them and felt very thankful.\nThey were a fine, large team of sorrel horses.\"\n\nThe Saints now realized that though far away in the Valleys of the\nMountains, they were nevertheless the objects of hatred by many\nthroughout the nation. Men sought popularity among the masses by\ndenouncing them. At this time, Stephen A. Douglas was receiving\n\"honorable mention\" for President of the United States. He had known\nPresident Joseph Smith in the early days of the Church, and had\ndefended him against the injustice of his enemies, but he knew how\nunpopular the people were and sought the support of the masses in a\nbitter denunciation of the Saints. Elder Woodruff says that Sunday,\nAugust 30th, President Young, himself, and others were engaged in\na discussion of the Douglas speech, which was answered by Albert\nCarrington.\n\nCaptain Van Vliet of the United States army reached the city on the\n8th of September, and at once had an interview with Governor Young.\nThe next day he met with the Presidency and the Twelve and presented\na letter of introduction to Governor Young which was read to those\npresent. Little, it seems, was said on {386} this occasion, but there\nwas a deep-seated anxiety in the hearts of all those present. Later\nin the day, the President introduced the Captain to his wives and\nchildren. He then escorted him through his orchard and garden, and then\nwent with him to Albert Carrington's orchard, where he introduced the\nCaptain to Mrs. Carrington. He asked her if she was willing to destroy\nher beautiful orchard and leave it desolate for her religion's sake.\nShe said she was, and would remain up nights to do so if it became\nnecessary.\n\nThe Captain was much impressed by the thrift and industry of the\nLatter-day Saints, and in his interview with President Young said:\n\"The Mormons have been lied about more than any people I ever knew.\"\nHe admitted his belief that Judge Drummond's lies, charging the Saints\nwith burning court records, led to the sending of the army to Utah.\nGovernor Young thereupon told Captain Van Vliet of the impositions that\nhad been heaped upon the Latter-day Saints, and said that the people\ndid not wish to fight the United States. \"If we are driven to it, we\nshall put our trust in God and do the best we can. He has set His\nkingdom upon the earth and it will never fail; and if they drive us to\nfight, God will overthrow those who do so. We are the supporters of the\nUnited States Constitution. We love the Constitution and the laws of\nour country, but it is the corrupt administration of these laws that\nwe suffer from and not from the laws. If the laws had been enforced\nin Missouri, Governor Boggs would have been hanged and many of his\nfriends who took part in killing and driving the Saints. The government\nofficers who have been sent here have no interest in common with ours.\nThey have sought to destroy us. Captain Van Vliet, we have treated all\nmen who have been sent to us as government officials as well as we have\nyou, and will treat them well; but if they drive us to fight, we shall\nput our trust in God and do the best we can.\"\n\nThe Captain, who was deeply impressed by the statement of Governor\nYoung, felt thoroughly convinced that he meant every word he said.\nOn the 13th he attended services in the Tabernacle and listened with\nattention to sermons from John Taylor and President Brigham Young. On\nthe evening of that day, the Captain had another interview with the\nleaders, in the course of which he said: \"If our government pushes\nforward this thing and {387} makes war against you, I shall withdraw\nfrom the army, for I will not take a hand in shedding the blood of\nAmerican citizens.\"\n\nUpon the departure of Captain Van Vliet, Elder Woodruff presented\nhim with a box of peaches which he had raised in his own garden. The\nCaptain was accompanied by Dr. Bernhisel. The two departed together for\nthe East for the purpose of reporting conditions in Utah.\n\nAll the time these agitations were going on, the Saints pursued the\neven tenor of their ways, raising fruit and grain. There were home\nmissionaries among them preaching home industry and self-support.\n\nThe purpose of the authorities was to impede the progress of the army\nand so delay it that the government might have an opportunity to make\nan investigation into the real condition of affairs in Utah, and after\nlearning them, withdraw the army which was then approaching Salt Lake\nCity. A body of men under the command of Daniel H. Wells and Lot Smith\nhad been sent to the front to stop the progress of the army. This\nthey did by stampeding the cattle and horses. They were enjoined by\nPresident Young to avoid the shedding of blood except in self-defense.\n\nThose who had thus volunteered to act in the defense of their homes\nand their liberties were without sufficient equipments and provisions\nto sustain them in their defensive warfare. They had no well-equipped\ncommissary like that with which an army is provided. The teams and\nwagons were a part of the equipment which belonged to the farm. They\nwere needed at home. Very naturally in such an emergency they suffered\ngreat privations and were anxious that the difficulties and dangers\nmight end as speedily as possible.\n\nBefore Captain Van Vliet had left, he promised to hasten to Washington\nand speak in our favor. President Young told him that the Lord would\nbless him in so doing, for he felt that He had sent him to Utah. On his\nreturn, the Captain endeavored to persuade the army to remain at Ham's\nFork for the winter, but the Tenth regiment swore it would come on at\nall hazards. The Captain then informed them that if they did, they\nwould get a different reception from anything they had ever encountered\nbefore.\n\nJust at this time, when the advance of the army was the all-absorbing\n{388} topic and the dangers of its approach weighed heavily upon the\nleaders, John D. Lee added to their distress the news of the Mountain\nMeadow massacre. He had reached Salt Lake City from his home in Harmony\non the 29th of September, 1857.\n\nAt this place in his record and at this time, Apostle Woodruff gives\nthe account of the Mountain Meadow massacre which John D. Lee gave to\nPresident Young: \"A company of California emigrants of about 150 men,\nwomen, and children, many of them belonging to the mobbers of Illinois\nand Missouri, had been massacred. They had many cattle and horses with\nthem. As they traveled along south, they went damning Brigham Young,\nHeber C. Kimball and the heads of the Church, saying that Joseph Smith\nought to have been shot long before he was. They wanted to do all the\nevil they could, so they poisoned beef and gave it to the Indians and\nsome of them died. They poisoned the springs of water and some of the\nSaints died. The Indians became enraged at their conduct and surrounded\nthem on a prairie. The emigrants formed a bulwark of their wagons,\nbut the Indians fought them five days until they killed all their\nmen--about 60 in number. They then rushed into the corral and cut the\nthroats of their women and children, except some eight or ten children\nwhich they brought with them and sold to the whites.\n\n\"The Indians then stripped the men and women of their clothing and left\nthem in the broiling sun. When Brother Lee found it out, he took some\nmen with him to the place and buried their bodies. It was a horrible\ntask. The whole air was filled with an awful stench. The Indians\nobtained all their property, cattle, horses, wagons, etc. There was\nanother large company of emigrants who had 1,000 head of cattle. They\nwere also damning both Indians and Mormons, but were afraid of sharing\nthe same fate. Brother Lee had to send interpreters with them to the\nIndians to try to save their lives.\"\n\nThe foregoing statement from the journal of Elder Woodruff which was\nrecorded at that time is of special importance in view of the fact that\nthe enemies of the Church for years endeavored to fasten upon President\nYoung some responsibility for that awful affair. There is nothing in\nthe statement whatever which bears the least semblance of deception.\nIt was one of those straightforward {389} records which characterize\nElder Woodruff's journal from beginning to end. Then the character and\nintegrity of the man are both guarantees of the truthfulness of the\nstatement made by John D. Lee to President Young as recorded in Elder\nWoodruff's journal.\n\nIf President Young neglected at this time to give the report of John\nD. Lee as much attention as it perhaps should have received, and if an\ninvestigation was not immediately instituted, there is ample excuse to\nbe found in the circumstances of those times. The army was pressing\nupon the people and uttering dire threats as to what would take place\nwhen it reached the Valleys.\n\nImmediately following the record of John D. Lee's visit, Elder\nWoodruff says in his journal: \"An express came in at night saying that\nthe troops were near Bridger and had formed into three bodies while\ntraveling. General Wells sent word to President Young to let them come\non to Echo Canyon and there give them battle. At 6 o'clock on the\nmorning of the 30th the drums beat, and an army of soldiers, some 400\nin number, paraded the streets. They were in readiness to march at a\nmoment's notice to the seat of war. We had at this time about 800 men\nin the mountains. It was a solemn time; for the armies of the Gentiles\nwere making war upon us because of our religion, and we had to defend\nourselves against a nation of 25,000,000 people, and the war had just\ncommenced. We had to trust in God for the results. We resolved to do\nwhat we could and leave the work in His hands. All were anxiously\nawaiting the arrival of the express. I told President Young that I was\non hand at any moment to go into the mountains when he would say the\nword. I went up in the evening to the President's office and learned\nthat the California mail had arrived. I heard some letters read. One\nstated that the government had made arrangements to send light draft\nboats up the Colorado with men and arms against us from that point.\n\n\"Next morning, Oct. 1st, I arose early and looked for an express signal\nflag but saw none. There was a great deal of anxiety throughout the day\nwhile we were waiting, for the express had arrived late. Word came from\nGeneral Wells respecting the conditions existing at the seat of war.\"\n\nThe time for conference was now approaching, but the agitation {390}\namong the people about the approach of the army was so great, and there\nwere so many of the men absent, that the meetings were not largely\nattended. The conference continued only two days, the time being\noccupied by President Young and members of the Twelve.\n\nOn Oct. 8th an express arrived with the news that Captain Lot Smith had\nburned up fifty of the government wagons, but gave to the teamsters all\ntheir arms and ammunition. One deserter from the army came in reporting\nthat rations were short among the soldiers. To each man, he said, there\nwas allowed only three biscuits, two cups of coffee and a small piece\nof beef per day. Elder Woodruff writes: \"The enemy is in a close place.\nTheir provisions are rapidly diminishing and there are prospects of\nstarvation. We have prayed that the Lord would lead them into the pit\nwhich they had prepared for the Saints, and the Lord heard our prayers\nand our enemies are now in a trap and are suffering humiliation without\nus harming a hair of their heads.\"\n\nThe express which arrived on the 16th of October brought a threatening\nletter from Col. Alexander to President Young. He threatened\nextermination if the Saints resisted, and expressed confidence in his\nability to carry out the orders of the government. Governor Young sent\nthe Colonel a strong reply; wanted to know why he spent an entire\nmonth on Ham's Fork if he was confident in his ability to carry out\norders. He gave the Colonel to understand that on our part there was no\nsurrender. \"We shall trust in God and go ahead.\"\n\nThe Sunday following, President Young addressed the Saints and declared\nhis belief in their ability to keep the enemy back, and counseled the\npeople to go on with their farming, fruit raising, etc. President\nKimball arose and prophesied that if the Saints would hearken to\ncounsel they would continue to live in their own homes in the valleys,\nproduce crops, and remain until they returned to Jackson County,\nMissouri. President Young thereupon shouted out, \"I believe it.\" At the\nsame time, communications were coming in from the army, but they only\nreceived from him the same determined answer that the army should not\nenter Salt Lake Valley until conditions had changed and the sentiment\nof bitterness and hostility had been allayed.\n\n{391} About the same time Governor Cumming arrived at the headquarters\nof the army and sent a communication to Governor Young, in which he\ndeclared himself the Governor of Utah. At the same time he charged\nwith treason all who opposed his and the army's movement. Mr. Cumming\nno doubt felt some misgivings from the fact that the horses and mules\nbelonging to the army were dying by the hundreds, and the soldiers were\nshort of provisions. The difficulty of the situation was rendered worse\nfrom the fact that there existed both among the officers and soldiers a\npronounced division. Some of them openly declared that Governor Young\nwas perfectly justified in his course in defending the rights of the\npeople of Utah.\n\nIn December the Mormon soldiers were disbanded and allowed to return\nhome for the winter, and the change was welcomed by them. Their\nprovisions were not more than half their actual wants, and there were\nno comforts on the frontier. In summing up the condition of affairs\nat the close of the year Apostle Woodruff writes: \"The expedition of\nthe season is now entirely closed, and we have clearly seen the hand\nof the Lord made visible in our behalf. An army has been sent by the\nUnited States to make war upon us for the sole purpose of destroying\nthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church has been\ndriven from the confines of the United States into the Rocky Mountains,\nthen a Mexican Territory, with the hope of the nation that we should\nperish; but as soon as they found that we were to live and prosper\nthey became alarmed and resolved upon our destruction. As soon as this\nintention was known to us, the leader of the Church and Kingdom of God\narose up in the strength of Israel's God and proclaimed Israel free. In\nthis, his counselors, Heber C. Kimball and D. H. Wells, with the Twelve\nApostles, sustained him, and all the people said, 'Amen.'\"\n\nContinuing, Elder Woodruff wrote: \"From two to three thousand of the\nbrethren, who went into the mountains under the command of Gen. D. H.\nWells to hedge up the way of the enemy, have arrived. Our brethren made\nlarge entrenchments and ditches and piled up large masses of rocks\nabove the narrow passes for the purpose of rolling them down upon the\nenemy; but the Lord has fought our battles and hedged up the way. When\nthe army {392} reached Ham's Fork, 150 miles from our city, the storms\nand cold killed their horses, mules, and cattle, by the hundreds, so\nthat when the whole army got together with the governors and judges,\nwhom the government had sent to rule over us, they had not teams enough\nleft to draw one-third of their train and were obliged to stop and pass\nthe winter in the storms of the mountains. Their wisdom seems to be\ntaken from them, and our brethren have been able to herd them like a\nherd of cattle. The soldiers shot grape and musket and many balls at\nour men from time to time, and those balls fell like hail around the\nservants of God, but not a drop of their blood has been shed, neither\ndid the brethren return fire upon the enemy even in a single instance.\nFear had so taken hold of the soldiers that they would flee into the\nmain body of the army at the approach of a small number of our brethren.\n\n\"Through all this President Young has been as calm as a summer's day.\nThe army of Zion is now returning to its home with the same spirit of\ncomposure and quietude that it carried with it into the mountains. As\nthe men passed, on their return, by President Young, they gave him a\nquiet salute and went silently to their homes, while President Young\ngazed upon them with thanksgiving and praise to the God of Israel.\"\n\nPresident Woodruff here relates the circumstance of a Brother Maxwell\nwho had been in charge of a small scouting party: \"After going into\ncamp for the night, Elder Maxwell felt strongly impressed that danger\nconfronted him and his companions, and so informed them. He said they\nwould have to leave, but some were opposed to his recommendation and\nthey retired to rest. The same impression, however, increased upon\nElder Maxwell until he promptly arose from his bed and said they must\nall leave or serious trouble would befall them. His brethren quickly\nfollowed, and it was only a short time when a hundred men surrounded\nthe place of their encampment with the expectation of taking them\nprisoners.\"\n\n\"At another time, Col. Allen of the Mormons, fell a prisoner in the\nhands of the enemy. Col. Johnston threatened to hang him. At the camp\nfire at night Col. Allen took off his boots and pretended to warm his\nfeet. Suddenly, he leaped by the guard and ran into a herd of cattle.\nHis pursuers became confused and he made {393} good his escape. He ran\nthirty miles to the camp of his brethren, in his stocking feet.\"\n\nDuring these trying circumstances in the army, President Young sent\nsome salt which they needed very much. One of the sacks of salt which\nwas sent, however, was lost, and later picked up by a traveler who\nsold it to merchants for twenty dollars. They in turn sold it to the\nsoldiers for two hundred dollars. Ben Simons, a Cherokee, took to the\narmy nine hundred pounds of salt, which he sold for two dollars and a\nhalf a pound, or a total of two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars.\nHe sold them service berries for one dollar a pound. It will be seen\nthat the expedition was becoming a very expensive piece of folly.\n\nAs the year was closing, the legislature convened, and Elder Woodruff\nwas again a member of that body. In his journal, speaking of these\ntimes, he prophecies: \"The judgments of God will now begin to rest\nmore fully upon this nation and will be increased upon it, year by\nyear. Calamities will come speedily upon it and it will be visited with\nthunder, lightning, storms, whirlwinds, floods pestilence, plagues,\nwar and devouring fire; and the wicked will slay the wicked until the\nwicked are wasted away.\"\n\nHis journal closes with a copy of the poem dedicated to him by Eliza R.\nSnow.\n\n  POEM.\n\n  \"With true respect, and as a tribute due\n  To friendship, Brother Woodruff, unto you,\n  As one more blessed than most your fellow men,\n  I now address the effusion of my pen.\n\n  You were appointed, ere your mortal birth,\n  To an apostleship upon the earth;\n  The Lord our God has His eye on thee,\n  With watchful care from earliest infancy.\n\n  You were preserved, midst Babylonish night,\n  From atheistic and sectarian blight;\n  From manly rectitude you did not swerve,\n  The Priest of Baal you never stooped to serve.\n\n  {394} From heavenly courts, the light that's shining now,\n  Shone on your path, and mantled o'er your brow;\n  Eternal visions opened to your view,\n  You loved the truth and found salvation, too.\n\n  You then with joy the Gospel banner bore\n  To distant lands and on your native shore,\n  In truth's defense most valiantly you stood,\n  And cleared your garments of the Gentiles' blood.\n\n  One of the chosen Twelve, who're called to stand,\n  To turn the Gospel key for every land;\n  Your name in honor, as a faithful one,\n  To future generations will be known.\n\n  With heart inspired, rich matter to indite,\n  In Zion now your business is to write,\n  With skill you wield the ready writer's pen;\n  'Tis yours to immortalize the deeds of men.\n\n  Full many a righteous act and gifted word\n  By Saints performed from lips of prophets heard,\n  Had slipped the mem'ries of judicious men,\n  But for the promptings of your faithful pen.\n\n  The Church historian's labors to divide,\n  As his assistant coupled side by side,\n  You write for Zion, where her history's known,\n  Inscribing her's, perpetuates your own.\n\n  Faithful to God, to your brethren true,\n  Integrity has twined a wreath for you,\n  Of never-fading laurels, which will be,\n  A glorious coronet eternally.\n\n  In that blessed world, where light and knowledge dwell,\n  Your blessedness no earthly tongue can tell,\n  Where heaven's effulgence will your head surround,\n  And you with everlasting glory crowned.\n\n  {395} Filled with immortal majesty and might,\n  Associated with the Gods of light,\n  With gifts and powers of endless lives you'll be,\n  Progressing on and on eternally.\"\n\n{396}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 37.\n\nARMY ENTERS SALT LAKE VALLEY, 1858.\n\nPresident and Congress of the U. S. Memorialized.--Words of Brigham\nYoung.--Arrival of Col. Kane.--Governor Cumming Reaches Salt Lake\nCity.--Migration Southward.--Delegates from Nicaragua.--Want Mormons To\nMove to Central America.--Proclamation from President Buchanan.--Peace\nCommission.--President of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing\nSociety.--Indian War Threatened.--A Striking Dialogue.--The Mob\nElement.--Mogo's Deception.--Attacks on President Young.--Greeley\nVisits Utah.\n\nNew Year's day, 1858, was celebrated in the evening by a social\ngathering at Ballou's Hall, in the Fourteenth Ward. Brother Woodruff\naddressed the assembly, made reference to the critical conditions then\nconfronting the Saints, but prophesied good for the future and declared\nthe overthrow of all who fought against the people of God.\n\nOn the 5th of January he records a Memorial passed by the legislature\nin which the wrongs inflicted upon the Saints were set forth, and\nCongress was asked to investigate the condition of affairs in Utah. On\nthe 16th of the same month a mass-meeting was held in the Tabernacle.\nResolutions were adopted and a Memorial sent to the President and\nCongress of the United States.\n\nAbout the same time Elder Benson and others returned from England and\nfrom the States where they had been on missions. They reported that\npersecutions were rife against the Saints, even in England, where the\nelders were assaulted with sticks and stones in the hands of street\nmobs.\n\nOn February the 3rd the California mail brought the news that President\nBuchanan recommended a strong force against the Saints. Later advices\nbrought word that a steamer was to bring four thousand men by the\nsouthern route; four thousand more were to come from Oregon; and two\nthousand, from the Missouri River. There were then at Fort Bridger two\nthousand, making in all an army of twelve thousand men. In his journal,\nElder Woodruff writes: \"The trials and sacrifices the Saints may be\n{397} called upon to pass through, I do not know, but I pray the Lord\nto give us grace according to our day.\"\n\nPresident Young and the brethren were busily occupied in preparation\neither to meet the foe or burn the city and leave it desolate. Grain\nwas sent to the mill and ground, and preparations were made for caching\nit in the earth. While the Saints were preparing to fight, they were\nalso engaged in prayer and in temple work. The Endowment House was\nvisited by hundreds who came there to receive its blessings.\n\nOn the 15th of February he records this in his journal: \"I walked up\nto the Historian's Office and then to the President's where I found\nPresident Young, D. H. Wells, Chas. C. Rich, and Chas. Wandell.\nPresident Young said: 'All our sufferings in this life are for our\ngood that we may learn the contrast between good and evil. Jesus\ndescended below all things that He might rise above all things. All men\nwho receive the same glory must abide the same law. Some are alarmed\nbecause so many of my family are sick. I have as good a right to be\nsick as any body. I do not wish to escape affliction, sickness, pain,\nor sorrow any more than others escape them; for if we make a right use\nof them they will return to us in blessings. I made up my mind years\nago to be governed by certain principles. I resolved that I would never\nbe controlled by my passions, by women, nor by anger, but that I would\ngovern myself. This resolution I have endeavored to carry out in my\nlife.'\"\n\nThese were times that tried mens souls, and it was quite natural that\nthey should turn their eyes inwardly and examine their own hearts to\nsee if they were true to God and His cause. Such remarks indicate the\nrich, deep, and beautiful spiritual natures of the men whom the world\nhas misjudged and illy treated.\n\nOn February 15th Apostle Amasa Lyman reached the city, bringing with\nhim a messenger direct from Washington. It was no less a personage\nthan their old-time friend, Col. Thomas L. Kane. They had made the\njourney from San Francisco in twenty days. Col. Kane brought with him\ndispatches from national head-quarters to Governor Young and the army.\nPresident Young immediately called a council for 7 o'clock, and Col.\nKane was presented to the brethren by Joseph A. Young. The Colonel was\nvery weary from his long journey. He reached the {398} home of Governor\nYoung at 8 o'clock, and after an introduction, addressed those present\nas follows: \"Governor Young and Gentlemen: I come as an embassador\nfrom the chief Executive of our nation, and am fully prepared and duly\nauthorized to lay before you more fully and definitely the feeling and\nviews of the citizens of our common country and of the chief Executive\ntowards you, relating to the present position of officers in this\nTerritory and of the army of the United States now camped upon your\nborders. After giving you the most satisfactory evidence in relation\nto matters now pending and concerning you, I shall call your attention\nto the poor soldiers who are now suffering in the cold and snows of\nthe mountains, and request you to render them aid and comfort. I shall\nask you to assist them to come here, and to bid them a hearty welcome\ninto your hospitable valley. Captain Van Vliet made a good report about\nyou, and used his influence to have the army stop east of Bridger. He\nhas done a great deal in your behalf. You all look very well. You have\nbuilt up an empire here in a short time.\"\n\nWhen asked if Dr. Bernhisel had taken his seat in Congress, he said:\n\"Yes, he was opposed by the Arkansas members and a few others. They\nwere foolish, for had he been refused his seat, it would have been\na declaration of war.\" The Colonel conversed further on matters\npertaining to the government and answered questions put to him by\nGovernor Young.\n\nGovernor Young then spoke for some time expressing his gratitude for\nthe visit of Col. Kane, and also occupied some time in speaking upon\nthe principles of righteousness which control the actions of the\nLatter-day Saints. \"They are in the hands of God. He will preserve His\npeople.\" President Young then related to Colonel Kane how the Lord in\na marvelous manner had placed means in the hands of himself, President\nKimball, and other while on missions and elsewhere engaged in the work\nof God. These instances, he declared, were just as miraculous as those\nrelated in olden times by Peter and Paul.\n\nAfter a late hour in the evening, the interview closed and all present\nfelt that the visit of Colonel Kane was full of promise for the peace\nof Utah and the safety of the Saints. Elder Woodruff records several\nenjoyable visits which he had with Colonel Kane during his sojourn in\nthe city.\n\n{399} March the 1st Elder Woodruff reached the fifty-first milestone\nin his life and celebrated the occasion by fitting out his son-in-law,\nRobert Scholes, to relieve the guards then in the mountains. He,\nhimself, spent much of his time, however, in the Historian's Office in\nwriting biographies of the leading men. They were called in to have\nread to them the history of their lives; and President Young, himself,\noften listened to many of the biographies and other items of Church\nhistory.\n\nAt this time he records the troubles that the Saints had with the\nIndians in the North in which two or three of the former were killed\nand many cattle were driven off. A little later trouble arose with the\nIndians in Rush Valley. Elder Woodruff sent his son Wilford with a team\nto help move the women and children of that locality to Tooele Stake\nfor safety. During the son's journey he was lost in a heavy snow-storm\nand was compelled to plow his way through snow and mud nearly two feet\ndeep to accomplish his mission. When the father heard of the son's\npredicament, he went on horseback to meet him but found him safe, he\nhaving been preserved from death by the blessings of the Lord.\n\nAlthough the presence of Col. Kane greatly relieved the situation,\nthe people, nevertheless, felt considerable anxiety as to the final\noutcome. They sent, however, relief to the United States soldiers and\nprepared to let them come peaceably into the Valley. In the event,\nhowever, that all hostility could not be eliminated from the army,\nthe people prepared to burn the city, leave it desolate, and move\nsouthward. Throughout the city there was the greatest activity. People\nwere packing up their provisions and such household goods as they could\ntake with them with the view of moving to the south.\n\nIn the midst of all this excitement the 6th of April arrived. The\nannual conference of that year lasted only one day on account of the\nhasty preparations which the people were making for their exodus\nsouthward. Elder Woodruff's wives, Sarah and Emma, had already moved to\nProvo. Many others had left their homes and taken up their journey.\n\nOn April 6th he writes: \"We shall evacuate the city of Great Salt Lake\nand leave it, if needs be, in the hands of our enemies. We may burn\nour habitations and lay waste everything we possess, {400} inasmuch\nas our enemies are coming upon us intent upon our destruction. We are\ndetermined to worship God and acknowledge His hand in all things. The\nroads are lined with men, women, children, teams, and wagons,--all\nmoving south.\"\n\nOn the 7th of April Elder Woodruff loaded his wagons with goods and\nwith records from the Historian's Office and began his journey to Provo\nin a heavy snow-storm. It was so severe that the people suffered,\nand some nearly perished by the way. The horses and cattle suffered\nintensely. Some unhitched their teams, leaving their loaded wagons in\nthe mud, and made their way to various places of shelter. His first\nday's journey was twelve miles south to Union Ward, where he remained\nall night in the home of Martesia Smith. The storm was so bad the\nfollowing day that he was compelled to remain in doors. The roads were\nso bad that he unloaded two of his wagons and returned to Salt Lake. On\nthe 11th he attend services in the Tabernacle.\n\nThe 12th of April, 1858, witnessed the arrival in Salt Lake City of\nGovernor Alfred Cumming, who was accompanied by Colonel Kane. Both\nwere escorted to the city by a Mormon guard. The Governor expressed\nregrets that the people were moving, and begged them to discontinue\ntheir exodus. There were, however, some doubts as to the Governor's\nsincerity, especially in view of the fact that the Saints had been\nbetrayed so many times, either by pretended friends or open foes. They\ndecided, however, to carry out their program, and continued the work of\nmoving to Utah Valley.\n\nDuring the remainder of April, May, and June, Elder Woodruff and\nother Church leaders were busy in their preparations for the journey\nsouth and many trips were made to and from Provo. Council meetings\nwere held and the work of evacuating the city went steadily on. Yet,\nthey had faith that God would somehow bring about the fulfillment of\nthose prophesies which declared peace and safety, and that they would,\naccordingly, in the end, remain in their homes.\n\nAdded to the troubles which they were under in consequence of the move\nsouthward, word came that the Indians at different points were making\ntrouble for the people, and speculators thought they saw an opportunity\nto make money from the Saints by purchasing their homes in these the\nhours of their distress. Important {401} events followed in swift\nsuccession. Two delegates from Nicarauga called on President Young for\nthe purpose of persuading him and the Mormons to buy land in Central\nAmerica, and emigrate with the Saints to Nicarauga. Their efforts,\nhowever, were unavailing. President Young was firm in his conviction\nthat it was God's purpose that the Saints should inhabit these Valleys\nof the Mountains. He further saw that there was a growing opposition\nto the policy of President Buchanan. General Houston had taken a bold\nstand against the action of the government and boldly defended the\nrights of the Latter-day Saints. President Young records it as his\nopinion at that time that Houston was the only man in the United States\nSenate who had the moral courage of his convictions.\n\nThe coming of other armies from different directions complicated the\nsituation. They must be stopped. The presence of thousands of soldiers\nin Salt Lake Valley would make trouble even under the most favorable\ncircumstances. Col. Kane hurried, therefore, to the East and succeeded\nby his prompt and faithful efforts in stopping the other armies until\nmatters could be adjusted.\n\nAt this time there came a Peace Commission with the proffer of peace\nand a pledge that the army should not molest the Saints in any way by\ncoming into the Valley. But with this Commission President Buchanan\nsent a proclamation charging the Saints with treason and other crimes,\nand then forgave them without an acknowledgement on their part, or a\nplea for pardon.\n\nIt was evident to all that President Buchanan had committed a blunder,\nand that he was anxious to extricate himself the best he could from a\nsituation that was proving daily more embarrassing to him. Each step he\ntook made him more ridiculous in the eyes of fair-minded men and more\nopen to condemnation by those who opposed him. He had believed the lies\nof the federal officials, acted upon their falsehoods and squandered\nthe nation's money without taking any steps to learn whether he had\nbeen imposed upon or not. Brigham Young said President Buchanan had\nmanifested more folly in his official acts than any other man that ever\noccupied the presidential chair.\n\nThe Peace Commission sent out to adjust matters consisted of Senator\nelect Powell from Kentucky and Major McCullough {402} from Texas. After\nseveral meetings in Salt Lake City, they visited Provo and were treated\nas all had been before them, with the utmost respect and courtesy. They\nhad an opportunity to witness the action of the Saints in moving from\ntheir homes and their preparations to destroy the city which they had\nfounded. These concessions on the part of the government brought about\na change of policy.\n\nFrom July 1st to July 25th Elder Woodruff was occupied in moving his\nfamily back to Salt Lake City and in harvesting his grain. It was quite\nnatural that this strain upon President Young should tell against his\nhealth. He had been poorly for some time and sought rest in Cottonwood\nCanyon. Brother Woodruff also found himself impaired in health. The\nrelaxation after months of great strain resulted in something of a\ngeneral collapse of their physical strength.\n\nIt will be remembered that Colonel Alexander of the U. S. army had\nformerly been arrogant in his demands on President Young. On the 9th\nof August he called upon the President and manifested toward him a\nfriendly spirit--a spirit that breathed peace and good will. A great\nchange had come over the Colonel.\n\nThe time of the leaders during the month of August, 1858, was taken up\nquite largely in entertaining the officers of the United States army\nand in receiving visits from them. Many strangers also called upon\nthe authorities at this time. The situation, however, was more trying\nin one respect as the army had its camp followers. Along with it came\nadventurers, and drunkenness was common in the streets and several men\nlost their lives. Of these times Apostle Woodruff says: \"Thus we have\nthe fruits of civilization as manifested by the world, and introduced\ninto our Territory. Until the army and its attendants came here, we had\nno such scenes enacted in our midst. For the first time we now have\ndrunkenness and gambling, street broils, and murders are of frequent\noccurrence.\"\n\nThe Saints, however, made every endeavor to pursue again the even tenor\nof their way. President Woodruff returned to his work of compiling\nChurch history. As the fall of the year approached, preparations were\nmade for a State Fair. He was chosen as President of the Deseret\nAgricultural and Manufacturing {403} Society, and made special effort\nto put on exposition the fruits of the industry of the Latter-day\nSaints.\n\nIn the midst of peaceful prosperity, there was agitation among the\nIndians. Brother Josiah Call was killed by the red men in Sanpete\nCounty. The Indians had awakened within them a strong resentment toward\nthe soldiers whom the Indians declared had treated them wrongfully.\nAropene, the chief, who had formerly addressed the Saints in their\npublic meetings, declared his intention to make war upon the army,\nand that no man could stop him in his determination to fight. The old\nchief had been outraged because the soldiers had killed one of his\nbest men. Upon learning of the chief's wrath and intention, President\nYoung immediately sent him a letter by a messenger, Jeremiah Hatch. In\nthe letter he explained to Aropene how wrong it was to shed blood, and\nasked him to live in peace with all mankind. The letter evidently had\na persuading influence upon the mind of the old chief, who was calmed\nthereby, and he accepted the counsel of his faithful friend, Brigham\nYoung.\n\nA circumstance at this time arose which had a tendency to create a\nmisunderstanding between the Indians and the Latter-day Saints who had\nfed the Indians for ten years past without remuneration. Dr. Forway had\nbeen appointed Indian agent and a large sum of money was placed in his\nhands with which to care for the Indians. The temptation to use this\nmoney for personal advantages was so great that he insisted that the\nSaints should continue to feed the Indians as they had done before. To\nthis request an exception was taken. The money belonged to the Indians,\nand the Saints insisted that the Indians should have the use of it.\n\nElder Woodruff records under date of November 12th, 1858, a\nconversation between Captain Woolf, of the United States Army and\none of the elders, which breathes faith, integrity, and the spirit\nof those times. The captain asked: \"Are you a Mormon?\" \"I am.\" \"I\nsuppose you are an out and in Mormon, just as it suits you.\" \"I am a\nthorough Mormon and believe in all the principles of our religion.\"\n\"What, polygamy and all?\" \"Yes.\" \"How many wives have you?\" \"I have\nthree wives and twelve children.\" \"How do you suppose those children\nwill look upon you when they are grown up?\" \"They will point to me and\nsay: {404} 'There is my father, who has raised me, fed, clothed, and\neducated me, watched over me through persecution, oppression and scorn,\nand I will honor and obey him.'\" Continuing, the elder then said to\nCaptain Woolf: \"You have children at Fort Leavenworth, St. Louis, and\nother places, but you do not acknowledge them, and will not provide\nfor them; and their mother will point you out to them with words of\nshame, and they will be taught to despise you.\" Captain Woolf replied\nwith an oath, and at the same time scratching his head: \"That is true.\nI never thought of it in that way before.\" \"What would you think,\"\ncontinued the Captain, \"if the government ordered your life destroyed\nif you would not put away your wives?\" \"I would go where I could enjoy\nmy wives and children in some secluded spot of the earth, or give up my\nlife rather than put them away.\" The conversation of Captain Woolf was\nthen turned upon President Young. He said: \"Governor Young, ought to be\nthe next president of the United States for he is the brightest man in\nthe nation, and I should vote for him.\"\n\nSpeaking of Lot Smith, the wagon master of the train that Lot had\nburned, said that Lot Smith and his men were gentlemen; and that it\nwas one of the wisest and best things that Governor Young could have\ndone, for it stopped the progress of the army until events so changed\nthat peace came. It prevented the shedding of blood on either side and\nsent him back to the States, where he could escape the suffering of the\nsoldiers who wintered in the mountains.\n\nOn the 24th of November, that year, Apostle Woodruff lost his little\nson, Hyrum Smith, who expired after several days illness. He was an\ninfant, one year, one month, and one day.\n\nIt was quite natural in those times that differences should arise\nbetween the camp-followers and adventurers on the one side, and the\nSaints on the other. The latter were naturally strict in the observance\nof the rules of sobriety and morality. The social distinction became\nmarked. This gave rise to bickerings and hatred on the part of those\nwho opposed the Saints. On the night of the 22nd of November, the\nruffians of the city created a great disturbance in what was then known\nas Kinkade's store. Their purpose was to challenge the police to arrest\nthem. The latter, however, avoided as much as possible the spirit of\nretaliation until {405} they became too strong, when the leader knocked\ndown several of the mob. Shots were exchanged, but no one was killed.\n\nIn these street broils and disturbances, Judge Cradlebaugh and other\nofficials favored the mob element; but to the credit of Governor\nCumming, be it said, he was disposed to deal justly and fairly with\nall parties. In an interview with A. O. Smoot, the Governor expressed\nhis desire to support the police. The Governor also charged Judges\nCradlebaugh and Sinclair that they knew very well that the people had\nnot been treated very civilly or lawfully, and that it would be the\nbetter policy on their part to pursue pacific measures, and not to\nprecipitate trouble.\n\nDuring these trying times efforts were constantly made to drag\nPresident Young into court on every and any trivial charge that could\nbe devised. There was also a disposition to assassinate him. He was\noften, therefore, obliged to place himself under the protection of\na guard. On one occasion when he was requested to appear in court,\nanxiety for his safety became so great that his friends crowded the\ncourt room and left but little space for others.\n\nOn November 29th, Judge Sinclair harangued the grand jury for the\npurpose of inducing them to prefer a charge of treason against\nPresident Young, the Twelve, and others. The district attorney,\nhowever, took the ground that the grand jury had no jurisdiction in the\nmatter, as the alleged offense had come before the Peace Commission,\nand by that official body the whole matter had been settled. The\nPresident of the United States had extended pardon, and the ground\ntaken by the judge, he concluded, was untenable.\n\nDecember 6th of that year Elder Woodruff occupied much of his time in\nlegislative work. His journal for that month gave an account of the\nsurvey of roads made by Jesse W. Fox, from Salt Lake City to various\nplaces.\n\nIn closing his journal that year he points out the world's great\nachievements and its important history. The electric cable had\nconnected America and Europe. The slaves in Russia had been liberated.\nThere had been war in British India, and there were preparations for\nwar among the nations. The year at home had been such as to create\nanxiety and disturbance, but the Saints were nevertheless full of\ngratitude; for better prospects awaited them.\n\n{406} On January 2nd, 1859, the Saints met for the first time in public\nassembly since May 30th, 1858. The approach of the army and the move\nsouth had disturbed very greatly the peaceful worship of God.\n\nThere were now more non-Mormons in Salt Lake Valley than there had\nbeen. Indeed, the city seemed to be over-run by speculators and\nadventurers. There was also a class of desperate men who undertook\nto terrify the citizens, and publicly to manifest their contempt for\nthe Mormons and their local police authorities. A party by the name\nof Andrew Bernard attempted the life of policeman Christensen and was\nshot and killed in the fracas. Christensen, who was an officer, acted\nin self-defense. Every possible effort was then made to convict the\npoliceman. When that failed the anti-Mormon element made an effort to\nimplicate President Young and D. H. Wells.\n\nOn March 24th, 1859, trouble arose between a number of soldiers and\nHoward Spencer. They undertook to prevent him from entering his ranch\nhouse in Tooele County; and when he insisted in occupying his own\npremises, one of them beat him brutally over the head with a gun. His\nskull was fractured in several places, and for some time his life was\ndespaired of. Such disturbances were encouraged by the action of Judge\nCradlebaugh, who in Provo had been having leading men arrested on\nvarious spurious charges. By false pretensions he had induced a part of\nthe army to leave camp Floyd and come to Provo. All these troubles the\nSaints bore with grace and warded off much contention and bloodshed by\nso doing.\n\nGovernor Cumming, however, maintained the attitude which he had first\nassumed and stood for the right. He condemned openly the course\npursued by Judges Cradelbaugh and Sinclair. Naturally, these judges\nstrongly opposed the Governor, and they were aided by the State\nSecretary, Hartnett, the Indian agent, Fornay, and other disreputable\npersons who sought the removal of Governor Cumming by circulating\nmisrepresentations against him.\n\nAt this time Elder Woodruff records a somewhat humorous incident\nthrough which some of the officials and other adventurers were duped\nby a foreigner whose name was Mogo. This man, it seems, had a brewery\nin the southern end of the valley, which he {407} wished to sell at a\nhigh price. He brought together a number of merchants, Judge Sinclair,\nSecretary Hartnett, and other dignitaries. He represented that he had\nfound gold in the hills near his brewery. Elder Woodruff gives the\nfollowing in the language of Mogo: \"'The Mormons have hunted all this\ncountry over for gold. They no find him, none at all, but I find him\nplenty. Heap more than in California. I 'fraid Mormons get him now. My\nfriends, I want you to go with me and get him heap of gold.' The scheme\nproved too much for those who listened. The word gold was enchanting.\nIt was what the Mormons could not get. The deception worked, and they\nagreed to buy Mr. Mogo's property, which he divided into thirty shares\nof one thousand each. His dupes invested. They bought up the shares,\nstarted out at night secretly so that the Mormons would not suspect\nanything. They camped that night at Mogo's brewery. He placed one on\nguard, while with the others he went in search of the gold. Mr. Brockie\nstood guard, cursing the cold weather while the others climbed the\nhills. At a certain point they dug up several bags of dirt and returned\nwith them to the camp. They procured an old pan, and while they were\nwashing out the dirt, one of them stood over the pan with a magnifying\nglass. The following account is given of their gold washing. Gilbert\nsaid: 'Brochie, what do you see?' 'Nothing but mud.' 'There, what\nis that?' 'Nothing but mud.' An oath followed; and so one bag after\nanother was washed out, and each time they asked Brockie, 'What do you\nsee with the magnifying glass,' and there came back the same withering\nanswer, 'Nothing but mud.' Gilbert shouted out at the top of his voice\nand with an oath, 'We are sold.'\"\n\nIn the meantime Mr. Mogo had made his way to Camp Floyd, while his\ndupes made their way back to Salt Lake City, the poorer if not wiser.\n\nOn the 28th of January, 1859, Elder Woodruff's eldest daughter, Susan\nCornelia, was united in marriage by him to Robert Scholes; and on March\n3rd President Young married the second daughter, Phoebe A. Woodruff, to\nElder Lorenzo Snow.\n\nOn March 29th Governor Cumming issued a proclamation in which he\nprotested against the act of the United States court in calling out\ntroops to protect the courts when there was no occasion for it. \"This,\"\nApostle Woodruff says, \"created stronger feelings {408} than ever among\nthe anti-Mormon element. The action, however, was sustained by the\nbetter class of non-Mormons who did not acquiesce in the high-handed\nproceedings of Judge Cradelbaugh and others.\"\n\nMarch 31st Elder Woodruff attended the funeral of Mrs. Mary Woolley,\nwife of Bishop E. D. Woolley, a woman he esteemed most highly. Her\ndeath was greatly lamented, and the authorities, generally, showed\ntheir respects by their presence at the funeral and by the discourses\nwhich recounted her noble and faithful qualities of mind and heart.\nApostle Woodruff was always greatly attached to those who were devoted\nto the work of God. They were God's friends and he wanted their\nfriendship. It made to him no difference that their station in life was\nhigh or low. If they loved the work of God, he loved and honored them.\nFrom the accounts given at this funeral, Sister Woolley had been a most\nexemplary woman. She had been valiant in the support of plural marriage\nand by her example and precept had sustained valiantly this practice.\nPerhaps the best testimonial that could be given to the woman, who at\nher funeral was so extolled, is the exemplary and faithful character of\nher descendants.\n\nApril conference came with its usual call for missionaries and its\nspiritual feasts which the Saints in those days so much enjoyed. About\nthis time they found relief in the decision of Judge Cradelbaugh to\nleave the Territory and locate in California. It was an occasion for\nthanksgiving and gratitude. But the Saints were soon disturbed by a\nreport which reached head-quarters that about two thousand of the\ntroops were on their way to Salt Lake City from Camp Floyd, where\nthey first located upon entering the Territory. They were accompanied\nby Judge Sinclair. President Young felt somewhat alarmed and at once\nbegan preparations to leave the city. He informed Governor Cumming that\nhe would look to him for protection of his family. He said he had no\nobjection to being tried by a respectable court, that he was guilty of\nno wrong, but that he would not allow himself to fall into the hands of\na military mob. He knew very well what that meant. He and the leaders\nwere determined to burn the city and leave it desolate if the soldiers\nmade war upon the people. However, the affair passed by without\ndisturbance and the trouble the Saints so much feared was warded off.\n\n{409} Elder Woodruff related in his journal that on the 1st of July\nMr. Miller of the firm of Wardle, Russell, and Miller called upon\nPresident Young. It was a firm of speculators who were making money out\nof the conditions incident to the presence of the United States army.\nDuring the conversation Mr. Miller told President Young that Stephen\nA. Douglas would most certainly be the next president of the United\nStates. Stephen A. Douglas had manifested his hostile attitude toward\nthe Saints. It was like the prediction of a calamity. President Young,\nhowever, knew better. He remembered the words of the Prophet Joseph\nwho had prophesied that Douglas should be defeated, in case he ever\nraised his voice against the Saints. Douglas was beaten and died a\ndisappointed man.\n\nThe Fourth of July that year was celebrated with the same spirit of\nloyalty that had characterized the people in the past. In the early\npart of July there was organized a Chamber of Commerce for the purpose\nof protecting the citizens against the exorbitant prices demanded by\nthose merchants who were taking advantage of the times. In his journal\nApostle Woodruff reports these words from the lips of President Young:\n\"If this community had done as much as I have to introduce sheep, the\nwhole Territory would now make clothing for its people. I would make\nmy own and wear sheep's gray. It is good enough for me and my family.\nI shall not stop my labor until we are able to make nails and iron.\nNow, had those who were intrusted with the business been controlled by\nprinciple, they would not have made a failure of this enterprise.\"\n\nJuly 13th he records a visit of Horace Greeley and his interview with\nPresident Young, Mr. Greeley was very inquisitive about tithing, Church\norganization, and plural marriage; but to all his questions he received\nprompt and frank answers. His description of the distinguished visitor\nin his journal runs as follows: \"Mr. Greeley is a singular looking\nman, fairly well dressed. He had a soft, groaning voice and feminine\nappearance and asked many questions. However, he was a learned man and\nhis ability must be acknowledged.\"\n\nOn the 16th of July, when Mr. Greeley lectured, he expressed his\nsurprise at seeing any women present. He said: \"I had not expected to\nsee a woman while I was here. Well, I do declare, I {410} am glad to\nsee so many women here tonight.\" The following Sunday Mr. Greeley sat\non the stand in the meeting while Orson Pratt preached on the evidences\nof the Book of Mormon. Elder Woodruff said: \"Mr. Greeley took special\nnotice of the women in the congregation, but fell asleep while the\nsermon was being preached.\"\n\nAs the year advanced and harvest came on, Elder Woodruff entered his\nfield with cradle in hand. It was the first cradling he had ever done,\nbut with the usual zest which characterized the man, he did the work\nwell. He also worked hard during that summer and fall in teaching\nthe people who came to Zion, and urged among the Saints the new home\nindustries which had been started--the sugar mill and the nail factory.\n\nHe recorded in his journal the return of N. V. Jones from India, who\nbrought with him the information which he had derived from a learned\nman in that country that there was in the Persian library a history in\nwhich an account was given of two families who left Jerusalem and set\nsail for the Western Continent.\n\nOn September 18th the elders departing upon their missions received\ninstructions from President Young who is reported as saying in part:\n\"When you labor until your mind is exhausted, stop. Don't overtax\nit. It is wrong. The way I get through with so much business is to\ndismiss from my mind the subjects on which I am occupied as soon as\nthe discussion of them is finished. When I get through I think no more\nabout them. I can lie down and go to sleep and let my mind and body\nrest. Don't fret, nor get in a hurrying spirit, for that wears out the\nbody.\"\n\nFrom October 18th, until December 1st, 1859, Elder Woodruff passed\nthrough a serious period of sickness, the worst he had ever experienced\nin his life. Much of that time his life was despaired of. On one\noccasion he gave his family parting instructions and prepared his mind\nfor the other world. He was administered to by the authorities who were\nprompted to prophesy his recovery. This promise awakened his faith and\nhe rallied and lived for nearly thirty-nine years.\n\n{411}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 38.\n\nBEGINNING OF THE REBELLION, 1861.\n\nEmbarks in Sheep Industry.--Adventures of One Gibson.--Lectures to\nYoung Men in Police Court.--Counsel to Missionaries.--Visit to Cache\nValley.--Schools Investigated.--Celebration of the 24th.--Prophecies\nof Civil War.--Little Children in the Resurrection.--Brigham Young on\nSecession.--Death of Aphek Woodruff.--Governor Dawson.\n\nThe first day in the new year, 1860, came on Sunday and found Elder\nWoodruff feeble in body from the effects of the severe sickness which\nhe had just undergone. During the early months of that year, he was\noccupied largely in the Historian's Office. He had, however, found\na new occupation that made demands upon his attention, since he had\npurchased some sheep which he kept at Fort Herriman where one of his\nfamilies lived.\n\nEarly in January of that year there arrived in the midst of the Saints\na man by the name of Walter M. Gibson. He had traveled extensively\nin the Indian Archipelago and on various islands of the sea. The\nnovelties of these lands, the peculiarities of their people, and the\nproducts of the soil afforded interesting subject matter for a series\nof lectures which Mr. Gibson delivered in different places. These talks\ninterested Elder Woodruff, and he gives a synopsis of several in his\njournal. Gibson claimed to be originally from South Carolina, and was\naccompanied by a young woman whom he introduced as his daughter. After\na short stay in the city, they both professed faith in the Gospel,\njoined the Church, and received the ordinances of the House of God.\nSubsequent events, however, proved the Captain to be an adventurer,\ninsincere and dishonest in his motives, ambitious for the honors of men.\n\nElder Woodruff records that on February 7th Justice Clinton called upon\nhim with a request that he come to the court room and talk to a number\nof young men who were to be fined for rowdyism and for threatening to\ntake the life of others. He responded to the invitation. The young men\nlistened with marked attention, and what he said was received by them\nwith great respect {412} and earnest consideration. They felt that his\nwords were the fruit of an honest God-fearing life.\n\nOn the evening of that day, a party was given to which Governor\nCumming, General Stambough, his staff, and others were invited. The\nPresidency, the Twelve, and many of the Saints were in attendance, and\neverything was done to make the occasion one of social pleasure and\nfraternal good will. It was not easy in those days to draw the line.\nThere were honorable men whose society was not offensive and whose\nmanly course entitled them to attention and to social considerations\nand friendly intercourse. On the other hand, there were adventurers\nwhose motives were well known and whose conduct was offensive. They\nwould have broken in upon the integrity and purity of the Mormon homes\nwithout any conscientious respect for the religious feelings of their\nneighbors.\n\nOn March 1st he said: \"I am fifty-three years old to-day. I feel\nsensitive when I look upon these years and see how truly short life\nis--like a weaver's shuttle, it soon passes. Man should strive\ndiligently to make his life useful. He should speak the truth, live\nhonestly, practice virtue, and set an example in all things worthy of\nimitation. It will pay no man to defraud his neighbor or to break the\ncommandments of God.\"\n\nThe conference this year convened on the 6th of April and some\nfifty-four elders were sent abroad on missions. Among them was Captain\nWalter M. Gibson. President Young's instructions given to the elders\nare recorded by Apostle Woodruff as follows: \"I want you to go upon\nyour missions in the spirit of God. You will do more good by bearing\ntestimony of the work of God through the Holy Ghost than by all the\nargument you can use. Take for example two men, one learned and able to\npreach eloquently from the Bible; the other may be ignorant of science\nand arts, but filled with the Holy Ghost. The man, however, who relies\nupon that spirit will make ten converts to one made by the man who\nrelies upon his learning. I would not throw one straw in the way of the\nelders obtaining knowledge of the arts and sciences and of being armed\nwith truthful arguments upon every subject; indeed, they should seek\ndiligently to acquire knowledge, but they should obtain the Holy Ghost\nto assist them in their ministry. Some of you are going to visit your\nrelatives. When {413} you go where they are, don't sit down at your\nease and give up preaching, but remember that you are on a mission and\nthat you should improve your time.\n\n\"You will have all manner of evil spoken against you, and all I ask of\nyou and all that God or angels will ask of you is that not one word\nspoken against you shall be true; and I want you for my sake and for\nyour own sake and for the sake of Christ and the Kingdom of God to live\nso that the wicked shall have no cause to speak evil against you.\n\n\"Another subject I wish to speak about is that of begging while upon\nyour missions. I do not wish you to beg, but trust in God, and do not\nrob any one or take anything unjustly, but go and preach the Gospel\nfaithfully. If you trust in the Lord, He will give you all you need.\n\n\"There is another subject of importance, and that is the temptation you\nwill meet from women. This has caused the downfall of more elders in\nthe Church than any other thing. Some elders go upon missions nearly\nall their lives and keep themselves clean and pure, while others come\nhome and are shady, their countenances fall, they cannot look you\nstraight in the eye. They have fallen into a snare. Joseph said to the\nfirst Twelve that they would have to guard against this evil, for they\nwould have more trouble from this source than from any other. While you\nare gone, let women alone.\n\n\"Again, you will meet with many who want to debate with you. Don't\ncontend with any man. If they have one truth which you do not possess,\nyou may accept it. In crossing the plains, have your prayers in camp.\nThere must be no swearing or contention. If you think some one does\nwrong, impute it to the head and not to the heart. There must be no\nabuse of the cattle. I have never permitted the abuse of dumb animals\nwhere I have had control.\"\n\nSuch instructions were so perfectly in harmony with the life and\ncharacter of Apostle Woodruff that it was quite natural that he should\nmake special note of them in his journal; for in the observance of such\ncounsel, he was, perhaps, as perfect a model as could be found in all\nIsrael.\n\nThe troubles of those days are frequently referred to in Elder\nWoodruff's journal. The spring of 1860 was stormy. {414} There was much\nsnow and frost. Much of the fruit was killed. Then socially, the times\nwere stormy. The country was infested by thieves and outlaws. There\nwere frequent brawls in the streets and several bad characters were\nkilled.\n\nFrom the first to the middle of June, Elder Woodruff in company with\nPresident Young and party made a journey to the far north, to the land\nof snow and frost. Cache Valley in those days was looked upon with\nmany misgivings as a suitable place for colonization. Lorenzo Snow\nhad been called to preside over Box Elder stake and Ezra T. Benson in\nCache Valley. Franklin seems to have been the extreme outpost in the\nnorth in those days. On this visit, Preston Thomas was made its first\nbishop. Still, those settlements had so prospered that Apostle Woodruff\nexpressed his great delight with the advancement which had been made.\n\nAfter his return from this visit, Elder Woodruff devoted some time\nto the investigation of the school system as it then existed. He\nand Robert L. Campbell visited a Brother Mousley's school which was\npronounced the best they had seen. Elder Woodruff was a strong advocate\nof education. He had been deprived of its advantages in his youth, but\nthe spirit and revelations of God had created within him a desire to\nmake good in learning as far as possible what had been denied him in\nhis youth.\n\nThe summer of 1860 brought some relaxation from the strain under\nwhich the people had been placed by the approach of the army. They\nnow indulged in patriotic and social pastimes which characterize the\ncelebrations of the Fourth and the Twenty-fourth of July. On the\noccasion of the Twenty-fourth, hundreds of people went to Cottonwood\nCanyon where three large boweries were built, and where speeches,\nsongs, dancing, music, fishing, and other diversions were enjoyed by\nthe Saints who felt that peace had come to them. At this celebration,\nWilford Wodruff wrote, \"There are 1,120 persons with 56 carriages, 163\nwagons, 235 horses, 179 mules, and 168 oxen. The animals were in good\ncondition, were well treated, and the people were happy.\"\n\nIt was here that three years before the Saints received word that\nJohnston's army was coming. They had reason to feel grateful over the\nchange that had taken place. They had been permitted to enjoy their\nhomes in peace.\n\n{415} In the opening of the year 1861, Elder Woodruff referred to the\nprophecy of Joseph Smith relating to the war and calamities which\nshould befall the nation. He said: \"The United States, this year,\nwill be visited with much greater afflictions than they have ever\nexperienced since they became a free government. The Lord is about to\nvex the nation as He has declared He would do twenty-eight years ago.\"\nSpeaking of the prophetic character of Joseph Smith in this connection,\nhe related the circumstance of a man who cursed Joseph Smith and\nalso the God who called him to be a prophet. The man was seized with\ninsanity on the spot and was taken home and died insane.\n\nAs time went on, in the memorable year of 1861, the news from the front\nwas looked for with intense interest by the Latter-day Saints. Those\nwere days of the pony express, and the events of the secession were\nnaturally greatly delayed. They looked upon the movements then taking\nplace in fulfillment of the prophecy uttered by Joseph Smith in 1832.\nIn the midst of the war news, Elder Woodruff recorded the current\nevents on all important subjects.\n\nHe was careful, however, to write down the teachings of President\nYoung. He recorded a sermon delivered by him at the funeral of Charles\nLittle, in which President Young is quoted as saying: \"Some one asks,\nWhere is the spirit world? It is here on the earth where they lived and\nwhere we live. I believe all spirits live here after death and nowhere\nelse. At least, those who have tabernacled in the flesh, whether they\nbe good or bad. Satan has no power in the spirit world over those who\nhave overcome him in the flesh, but he will have over those who have\nserved him all their lives in this world.\n\n\"When Joseph had a revelation, he had, as it were, the eyes of the\nLord. He saw as the Lord sees. How did I know what was going on in\nWashington? I have known what was going on there all the time, and I\nknow what is going on in other places. I know it by the spirit of God.\nIt is revealed to me. Spirits administer to us but we do not know it.\nCharles Little here, will administer to his mother, but she will not\nknow it. She will see in the spirit world the wisdom of the Lord in\nplacing a veil between the living and the dead, that the living may\nbe tried and have a greater glory than they otherwise would have. The\nliving {416} cannot see the departed spirits, but the latter can see\nand administer to those in the flesh, even though the latter know it\nnot. My wife awakened the morning that Charles Little died and said to\nme: 'I think Charles Little is dead, for I have seen him with Joseph,\nin a dream; and if Brother and Sister Little could see what I have\nseen, they would not wish him back. He was very happy with Joseph, and\nJoseph said he wanted him; that he had a particular place for him. He\nlooked glorious.' We should be satisfied with the principle that our\nchildren will be restored to us in their glorified bodies.\"\n\nElder Woodruff recorded that on the 8th of February, Elder Taylor and\nhe went on a mission to the northern settlements. At South Weber they\nfound a number of the Saints in a condition of apostasy. Richard Cook,\nthe bishop, and fourteen others were cut off the Church for rejecting\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and for upholding Joseph\nMorris as the man holding the keys of the Kingdom.\n\nElders Woodruff and Taylor went on to Brigham City, where they met the\nSaints, and where Elder Woodruff recorded the following dream related\nby Isaac Laney, who received seventeen bullet wounds at the time of the\nmassacre at Haun's Mill. Elder Laney said, speaking of that time: \"I\ndreamed that a shower of serpents were all around me in the air. They\nwere rattle-snakes and many of them bit me all over my body. I was told\nthat if I would not fall down, but keep on running, they would not hurt\nme. When the shower of bullets came and they pierced my body, they did\nnot hurt me any more than a scratch of a pin, although I looked at the\nmouth like an ox with its throat cut. I kept on my feet and continued\nto run until beyond the reach of the mob. A man came to me and said:\n'Brother Laney, do not deceive yourself by expecting to live, for no\nman ever lived after being shot as you have been.' But I said: 'I shall\nlive.' And so I am yet alive to the honor and glory of God, for it was\nby His power that my life was preserved.\"\n\nIn Brigham City they also found a number of Welsh Saints who had become\ndisaffected. They were labored with, and many of them repented and\nrenewed their covenants with God.\n\nOn March 4th of this year President Lincoln was inaugurated. {417}\nElder Woodruff's journal contained an account of that exciting period.\n\"President Lincoln's enemies declared that he would never sleep in the\nWhite House.\" During these trying days of the nation, the Saints were\nloyal to the Union. In reference to the war, President Young said:\n\"Many of the people of the nation have persecuted the Saints of God,\nand they now have trouble of their own. The rulers in the nation and\nthe states did nothing for us. Governor Cumming, however, has done us\ngood. He stood between us and the army, although at first he also was\nopposed to the people and wrote threatening letters. However, Col. Kane\nvisited him and greatly changed his attitude towards us. He and Col.\nJohnston were at swords points.\"\n\nPresident Young was asked if the President of the United States should\nsend Secretary Harris, their bitter enemy, here as governor if we would\nnot also secede. He answered emphatically, \"No. We will sustain the\ngovernment and keep our record clean. We shall want to compare records\nby and by and show that we have been right all the time. The banks and\nrich men North and South are consecrating their wealth to prosecute the\nwar. Several times we have been called to consecrate our homes at the\npoint of the bayonet. It is now the nation's turn to consecrate, and it\nwill be vexed as the Prophet foretold some twenty-eight years ago.\"\n\nIn the midst of the excitement of the war, the April conference was\nheld, and missionaries, as usual, sent to the nations of the earth.\n\nOn the 15th of May that year Elder Woodruff was a member of the company\nof President Young, who took one of his tours through the southern\nsettlements. Elder Woodruff at the time traveled in company with Ezra\nClark of Farmington. The company consisted of forty-eight men, fourteen\nwomen, and two children. There were twenty-three carriages, twenty-one\nhorses, and forty mules. During those tours to the settlements the\ncompany was frequently met by the mounted militia, and escorted from\ntown to town. It was an occasion of general interest to the people\nand they were always enthusiastic over the presence of their leaders.\nDuring this visit they went as far south as Santa Clara. While on this\njourney Elder Woodruff's father, Aphek Woodruff, died. The father was\neighty-two years, six months and {418} seventeen days old. He was\nbaptized by his son into the Church in 1839.\n\nThe 4th of July, 1861, brought with it again one of those enthusiastic\ncelebrations in which the Saints always took delight. President\nWoodruff declared it was the greatest celebration he ever witnessed. He\nwas a typical American of the old New England time, and no one was more\nready than he to honor the day.\n\nUnder date of Sunday, July 21st, Elder Woodruff recorded one of\nthose characteristic remarks of President Young, in which the latter\ndeclared: \"The Lord will not permit me or any other man to lead this\npeople astray. If the leaders do wrong, the Lord will take them away.\nIf an Apostle does not magnify his calling, the Lord will remove\nhim and not permit him to lead away the people.\" This has been to\nthe Latter-day Saints a prophetic assurance, and that idea has been\nfostered in their hearts to the present time.\n\nPresident Young was severe in his denunciation of the liquor traffic.\n\"Any man,\" he said, \"who will make whiskey to sell would sell the\nKingdom of God for a picayune. I despise the whisky maker more than I\ndo the thieves, and I have no use for either. Harlots and publicans\nwill enter the Kingdom of God before the whisky dealer. 'Cursed is\nhe that putteth the cup to his brother's lips.'\" In later years the\nCouncil of the Presidency and Twelve resolved that the liquor dealers\nmust repent and forsake their business or lose their standing in the\nChurch.\n\nThe conference of October 6th was characterized by the plans then\ndiscussed for the development of the cotton industry in southern\nUtah. Soon after it closed, quite a number were called South to make\npreparations whereby the cotton industry should be self-sustaining.\n\nOn the 8th of the following November, Elder Woodruff gave in his\njournal some statements from President Young relative to the order\nof the Church and family government. \"If Brothers Kimball and Wells\nwish to be united with me, they should go with me and follow me. It\nis not my place to follow them. So with the Twelve, they must follow\nthe Presidency. The seventies and high priests must follow the Twelve\nand so on throughout the Church. If this is not done, there will be\nseparation and confusion. {419} The same principle should be observed\nby a man whose duty it is to stand at the head of his family. If the\nwife and children do not follow the husband and father, there will be\nan eternal separation. If the man follows his wife or children instead\nof leading them himself, there will be confusion and the family life\nwill be destroyed. Men should not interfere with and undertake to\ndirect their file leaders. I never found a word of fault with Joseph in\nmy life.\"\n\nUnder date of December 3rd Elder Woodruff recorded the arrival of\nGovernor Dawson, who succeeded Covernor Cumming in office. On the 8th\nof the month he made note of an accident which befell his son, David\nPatten Woodruff, who was kicked in the head by a mule, and carried\ninto the house apparently dead. The child, however, was restored in a\nmarvelous manner through the blessings of the Lord.\n\nWhen the end of that year approached, Elder Woodruff made the following\nreview: \"It is past. It has borne to heaven a report of the deeds\nof all men. This year has brought to pass the fulfillment of many\nprophecies uttered in olden and in modern times. On January 1st of\nthis year I declared, as a prophetic historian, that this would be the\nmost distressing year the government had ever seen since it became an\nindependent nation. Time has verified the statement. Eleven of the\nstates have seceded. This has brought a terrible war upon the country,\nbringing as it does upon the battle field more than a million of\nmen and a debt of five hundred million of dollars, and this is only\nthe beginning of the trouble. The state of Missouri, from which the\nSaints were driven, and where the blood of many was shed, is now the\ngreat battle field of the West. In it there is pitted man against\nman, neighbor against neighbor. Those who brought trouble upon the\nSaints are themselves in distress. Jackson County is nearly destroyed.\nThe President and Senate are sending rulers to Utah as governors and\njudges. Many of them are so corrupt that they are a hiss and a byword\nto all who know them.\"\n\nJohn W. Dawson arrived early in December and delivered his message to\nthe Legislature. He began a course of shameful debauchery. He insulted\nwomen until the widow of Thomas Williams drove him from her house with\na fire shovel because of {420} his vulgar abuse of her. On the last day\nof the year he left in the stage coach for the East, a known libertine\nand debauchee. \"This is the kind of rulers the nation sent to rule the\nLatter-day Saints. The Lord has declared that the measure this nation\nmetes out to others shall be measured unto it.\"\n\nIt was a year of deep anxiety, and the Saints felt the spirit of\noppression which their political rulers manifested. Elder Woodruff\nexclaimed in a prayerful appeal: \"Take away the sceptre, rule, and\ngovernment from the wicked and give it into the hands of just and\nupright men, that they may rule in righteousness before Thee. Give\nThy oppressed people, O Lord, the privilege of appointing their own\ngovernors, judges, and rulers, that the poor and oppressed may rejoice\nin the Holy One of Israel!\" That prayer told the story of an oppression\nunder which the Saints suffered.\n\n{421}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 39.\n\nTHE YEARS 1862-63.\n\nKilling of Thieves.--John Baptiste, the Grave Digger.--Value of\na Daily Journal.--Erection of the Salt Lake Theatre.--State of\nDeseret.--Foundation Stones of Temple Raised.--Indian Troubles on\nBear River.--Visit of the Moquitches to Salt Lake City.--Their\nCustoms.--Attempt To Arrest President Young.--Settlement of Bear Lake\nValley.--Mining.\n\nThe new year, 1862, found Elder Woodruff in both a reminiscent and\nprophetic mood. He had closed his journal of the previous year by\npointing out the fulfillment of prophecy. He still felt that the hand\nof God was in the affairs of this nation, even though he regretted the\nsorrow and suffering the war was bringing on. He wrote his predictions\nof still greater bloodshed, of pestilence, earthquake, and famine.\n\"This,\" he said, \"is a wicked generation, and the earth groans under\nits abominations, and because of these things, the Lord will pour\nout his judgments upon the wicked of the earth until the earth is\ncleansed from them.\" The spirit of the historian was upon him. His\nNew Year's day he celebrated in the Historian's Office, writing the\nevents of Church history. It was a great history. It would be greater\nas time went on; and in years to come, men would want to know even the\nslightest details of those events, which in their day seemed to be of\npassing consequence.\n\nHe speaks of Wood Reynolds, the stage driver, who gave the retiring\nGovernor, John W. Dawson, \"a good sound thrashing\" at Ephraim Hanks'\nstage station, while the stage driver's horses were being changed. This\nhe did because Dawson had grossly insulted the widow of Thos. Williams\nand other women.\n\nJanuary 6th he designated as one of the most important days in the\nhistory of the Church since its location in the Valleys. That day a\nmass-meeting was held, and nine delegates were elected to attend a\nTerritoral Convention which was to frame a constitution, organize a\nprovisional state government, and ask for admission into the Union.\nHe was a strong advocate of the movement, even though he did not feel\nquite sure that the Saints {422} would obtain their full rights. They\nwere at least pursuing a course that all true and loyal men should\npursue under like circumstances. The experience of the people with\nfederal officials had been a most unhappy one. The spirit and prejudice\nwhich had sent the army to Utah also sent its federal officials. They\ncame with malice in their hearts, and of course were not prepared to\ndo justice to an unpopular people. Elder Woodruff did not believe\nthat men should sit supinely by and allow their rights to be trampled\nupon without a protest. He thought it was becoming in free men to\nassert their rights and demand justice that they might maintain their\nself-respect, even though their protestations were unheeded.\n\nThe delegates to this Convention were Daniel H. Wells, Albert\nCarrington, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Abraham O. Smoot, James\nFerguson, Reuben Miller, Archibald Gardener, and Elias Smith,--all men\nof strong character and of great integrity.\n\nFrom Elder Woodruff's journal, the people were tried, even exasperated,\nby the thefts and other depredations committed by men of unscrupulous\ncharacter. In those trying times the people could illy afford the\nloss that came to them by the work of the cattle thieves. On the 17th\nof January he reports the killing of Lot Huntington, John Smith,\nand Moroni Clawson, who resisted the officers while the latter were\nattempting to arrest the former. The first named was killed in Rush\nValley, the latter two in Salt Lake City, while attempting their escape.\n\nOn the 27th Elder Woodruff's journal also contains an account of John\nBaptiste's episode in the cemetery. This grave digger, after finishing\nhis official duties exhumed the bodies, and robbed the dead of their\nclothing. The discovery of this grave digger's crime was made when the\nfriends of Moroni Clawson obtained permission to remove his remains\nfrom the city cemetery to that of Big Cottonwood. His clothing was\ngone. The grave digger was at once suspected, and upon arrest, made\nconfession. He had practiced his crime for years.\n\nBaptiste was born in Venice, in 1814. He followed the occupation of\na grave digger in Australia, where he also robbed the dead. From the\nproceeds of his criminal practice he built a house of worship and\ncontributed it to the Methodist church in that land.\n\n{423} On February 12th, Elder Woodruff recorded a synopsis of a lecture\nhe gave in the Seventies' Hall upon history and journalizing. The house\nwas crowded. Among other things, he said: \"I think it more profitable\nfor the Saints to meet to hear lectures delivered on various principles\nthan to spend so much time in dancing and light amusement. I would\nrecommend Rawlins' Ancient History. This author gives a history of the\nancient nations, describes their conditions, literature, and laws, and\nespecially their wars. I also recommend the reading of Josephus, the\ngreat Jewish historian. It appears to me, that no man can read it with\nindifference. His account of the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans, in\nthe light of fulfillment of prophecy, the destruction of the Jewish\ncity and its temple, are of great interest to those who enjoy reading\nand gaining information that will be of lasting benefit. In order that\nhistory may be preserved for future historians, records and journals\nshould be kept.\"\n\nHe went on to refer to the testimony which those who kept journals\nin ancient dispensations have left for the edification and faith of\nsucceeding generations. \"Men should write down the things which God has\nmade known to them. Whether things are important or not, often depends\nupon God's purposes; but the testimony of the goodness of God and the\nthings He has wrought in the lives of men will always be important as a\ntestimony.\"\n\nIn those days the Seventies' Hall was the centre of an educational\neffort to uplift the people in learning relating to the arts and\nsciences. It was largely a work of self-improvement, of mutual aid.\nElder Woodruff was always present when there was anything instructive\nor elevating to be imparted. He loved history. His spirit was the\nhistorian's spirit, and passing events, to his mind, should be\ncarefully recorded that God might, if He would, give them importance\naccording to the needs and history of His people.\n\nThe spirit of the leaders in those days was to be educational whether\nthey were attending lectures, reading history, or enjoying themselves\nin amusement. Everything should be to the honor and glory of God.\nTheir lives were strenuous, and there was need of relaxation. Anything\nthat was elevating, or that could be made elevating, was to be for the\nglory of God and the happiness of His people. The theatre was thought\nto be desirable, and the Salt Lake Theatre was erected in 1861 and\n1862, and dedicated {424} on the 2nd day of March in the latter year\nwith the same fervent desire to recognize God in all things. D. H.\nWells pronounced the dedicatory benediction. President Young upon that\noccasion offered remarks instructing the people upon the character\nof their amusement. One of the first plays to be rendered in the new\ntheatre was \"Pride at the Market of Versailles.\"\n\nIt is wonderful how Wilford Woodruff busied himself in a multitude\nof occupations. His journal furnishes evidence of a remarkably busy\nlife. One moment he was recording stirring events in the history\nof the world; then he is writing Church history; the next moment\ntells something of a correspondence received from those who desire\ninformation concerning the Latter-day Saints. The next page contains\nan account of his orchard and the work of planting more fruit trees;\nlater, he is found in the irrigation furrows; then he is addressing\nmissionaries upon their duties and responsibilities; on the same page\nhe opens a prophetic inspiration of his soul, and tells of things to\ncome. In all he sees the glory and goodness of God. He listens to\nthe words of the prophet and makes a careful record of them. Then he\ndiscourses upon the principles of a free government and the rights of\nthe people under a constitution.\n\nThe State of Deseret had been formed. President Young was elected\nthe first Governor of the State. He delivered his message to\nthe legislature, and all went on in the spirit of sincerity and\nearnestness. They would do their part, even though they were denied\nadmission to the Union. With them, the fulfillment of every duty, as\nthey saw it, had a place in divine economy; and their acts, though\napparently unavailing, were like bread upon the waters to return after\nmany days.\n\nElder Woodruff records on January 8th, 1862, the following words from\nPresident Young: \"Moses took the children of Israel out of Egypt into\nthe wilderness, and there taught them the principles of their every-day\nlife. It is the same with the Saints here. They gather to Zion so that\nthey may be taught how to live. We cannot teach this in the world, for\nthere, we preach the gospel of Christ; but when they come here to Zion,\nthey should be taught in all the duties of every day life, including\nhousekeeping, farming, work in the orchard, and on the farm.\"\n\nIn the spring of 1862, there was considerable destruction {425} through\nhigh water and floods, whose damage was witnessed in the destruction\nof mill-dams, fences, bridges, and grain fields. Elder Woodruff in\nthese trying scenes was found at the front with his shovel in his\nhand, working strenuously to protect the fields from damage. He drops\nhis shovel to devote himself to the ministry. He lays his hands upon\nthe head of his sick and old-time friend, A. O. Smoot. He rebukes\nthe disease and fever and notes an immediate change that takes place\nin the sick man's condition, and acknowledges the hand of God in it.\nHe attends the funeral of Frederick Gadd, a man whose integrity and\ncharacter won his admiration; for no matter how humble a man's position\nin the Church, Elder Woodruff loved and honored him, if convinced that\nhe loved and honored God.\n\nOn June the 9th, Elder Woodruff wrote that the foundation stones of the\nTemple were raised because of the poor work done on it by the masons.\nThe work was a disappointment to Brigham Young and the leading men.\n\nElder Woodruff recounts the trouble with the Morrisites in Weber\nCounty, an account of which is fully given elsewhere. He also gives a\ndescription of the grand celebration of the Fourth of July that year.\nThere was a program consisting of speeches, songs, recitations, etc.,\nand in the evening a ball was given at the Social Hall.\n\nOf the war which was then going on, and which was watched by him with\nthe utmost attention, he said: \"There has been more bloodshed and lives\nlost in the United States in the battles between the North and South\nthan there were in the Revolutionary War and that of 1812. In the ten\nprincipal battles, the number slain and wounded will not fall far short\nof half a million. Many have died the past year through pestilence.\nA vast amount of property has been destroyed by fire. The spirit of\ndisunion seems to increase among the people. There has been a great\nwant of breadstuff in England and France, caused in a great measure by\nclosing the Southern ports against the exportation of cotton. France\nhas opened war with Mexico. There are many widows and orphans and much\nlamentation and mourning throughout the land, but the end is not yet.\nWhile these troubles are going on, the Saints are gathering home to\nZion to build up the Kingdom of God, that the Lord may rule over His\nSaints. Nearly five {426} thousand Saints have gathered to the Valley\nthe past year. Many improvements have been made and the blessings of\nGod have been with His people.\"\n\nOn the 4th of January, in the year of 1863, Elder Woodruff records the\nnews of the Emancipation Message by President Lincoln, and the results\nof some of the great battles. His history, during those times, showed\nhim to be a close student of current events which he interpreted in the\nlight of God's revelations in this dispensation.\n\nThe Saints could not very well entertain much hope of admission\ninto the Union, yet the Provisional State Government which had been\norganized continued, and met in its opening session, January 19th.\nElder Woodruff was an active member, and by this time was becoming\nsomewhat familiar with the duties of a legislator. Governor Young,\nunder the State constitution, delivered his message, and two thousand\ncopies were published for circulation. Not much work, however, was\naccomplished. \"Many,\" said President Young, \"may not be able to tell\nwhy we are in this capacity. I do not think you understand this matter\nas it is. Our constitution, which has been sent to Washington, has been\nclosely scrutinized by the members of Congress. If we do not take care\nof ourselves, no one else will take care of us.\"\n\nOn February 3rd, 1863, Elder Woodruff recorded the birth of his son,\nAshael Hart, who was named after his uncle. He was the son of his wife\nEmma, and is now bishop of the Waterloo Ward in the Granite stake of\nZion.\n\nOn the same date, Elder Woodruff gave an extensive account of the\ntrouble with the Bannock and the Snake River Indians north of Bear\nRiver. They had been killing miners and emigrants, who were on their\nway to Oregon. He says: \"Colonel Connor sent a part of his command to\nthe Indians to get a white boy that was among them. They got the boy\nbut killed a number of the Indians and then returned to Camp Douglas,\nnear the city. Thereupon, the Indians began killing more white men.\nCol. Connor then sent against them sixty infantry and fifteen baggage\nwagons. Later, he sent three hundred cavalry. They found the Indians\nencamped near Bear River, which they had to ford in order to get to\nthem. The Indians were camped in a big ravine. The cavalry {427}\nmade a charge upon them, but were driven back. They then left the\nhorses and made a charge on foot, and were again repulsed. The third\ntime, they made a charge and rushed into their midst. They used their\nrevolvers and shot as long as they could find anything to shoot at.\nThe result of the battle, as reported, was two hundred and twenty-five\nIndians killed, four hundred horses taken. The loss of Col. Connor's\ncommand was seventeen dead, forty wounded, and seventy badly frozen.\nTwo officers were also wounded, and it is reported that Lieutenant D.\nChase, once a Mormon elder, was mortally wounded. He was ordained into\nthe Quorum of Seventies on the corner-stone of the Temple in Far West,\nat the time that George A. Smith and myself were ordained into the\nQuorum of the Twelve. Chase went to California where he apostatized and\njoined the army.\"\n\nAbout the same time he recorded a visit of three Moquitche Indians\nwith Jacob Hamblin to President Young. These Indians were entertained\npart of the time, during their stay, at the home of Elder Woodruff who\nmade them very welcome, and of course learned from them and from Elder\nHamblin all that he could about their lives and customs.\n\n\"The Moquitche Indians live in New Mexico, one hundred and twenty-five\nmiles southeast of the Colorado, and three hundred and thirty-five\nmiles from St. George. They live in a walled city built upon top of\nthe rocks as a protection from their enemies. They do not go to war\nnor fight except in extreme cases of self-defense. They never scalp an\nenemy and do not like to shed blood. They cultivate the earth, raise\ncorn, beans, melons, pumpkins, squash, red pepper, and a large quantity\nof peaches. They also raise cotton, keep sheep and goats, and spin and\nweave their own cloth. They have seven villages. The largest town has\nabout three hundred families. All told, they number about two thousand\nsouls. They are very intelligent and light colored. There are some with\nblue and some with hazel eyes. They have never mixed their blood with\nany white man or other Indian tribes.\n\n\"They have a tradition that good men will come from the West and bring\nthem the truth. They think we are the prophets, and they have come as\nambassadors to see the people and to learn if we are the ones they have\nbeen looking for. They seem anxious that we should instruct and direct\nthem in their affairs. Their forefathers {428} formerly lived west of\nthe Colorado but their enemies drove them east of the river.\n\n\"Twenty-four men now went as a company to visit these Indians, and\nfound them quite poor. They had been robbed by the Navajoes, they had\nfew sheep, but a good crop of grain. During one of their drouths, Elder\nWoodruff recounts the fact that in answer to their prayers the snow\nfell to a depth of one foot.\"\n\nSpeaking of Elder Hamblin's efforts to bring the Indians North he\nwrote that when the Lamanites reached the Colorado, they were afraid\nto cross it; but upon being urged by Elder Hamblin to make the effort,\nthey offered sacrifice in the following manner: \"The Indians took some\ncotton thread of their own spinning, about eighteen inches long, and\ntied in each end a bunch of feathers as big as a man's thumb. They then\nplaced it in the edge of the water, then they put some bread called\n'piek' between the feathers. They also had some dried peaches which\nthey put into the water. Afterwards, they sprinkled consecrated white\ncornmeal upon its surface, and later reached the opposite bank safely.\nThey then proceeded to thank the Lord for bringing them over without\nharm.\"\n\nOn the 13th of February Elder Woodruff recorded the death of N. V.\nJones of whom he says: \"He has been a true and valuable man, always a\nminute man, ready to go at the call of the Presidency of the Church.\nFrom the time he was taken sick he felt that his hour had come.\"\n\nAt this time the leaders were greatly harassed by federal officers\nwho sought to bring trouble upon President Young and other leaders\nof the Church. Those were exciting times and the people were often\naroused to a spirit of determined resistance. On November 3rd of that\nyear, Wilford Woodruff writes that a great mass-meeting was held in\nthe Tabernacle to protest against the conduct of Governor Stephen S.\nHarding, and Judges Drake, and Waite, and to ask for their removal.\nAn effort was then made to arrest President Young by military force\non a charge of polygamy, but he opposed such an unlawful proceeding.\nHundreds of men turned out to defend him, whereupon Col. Connor and his\nsoldiers returned to the Fort. Excitement ran high, but there were no\nserious occurrences at the time.\n\nAs these events took place, they were recorded by Elder {429} Woodruff\nin the dispassionate manner of the historian who seeks diligently to\nrecord facts. It is wonderful how quietly and effectively he could turn\nfrom exciting scenes to the ordinances in the house of God, and then to\nhis labors about his home. His faith was a constant quality, and his\nadministration was sought by the sick and afflicted. Orson Pratt at\nthis time was in a critical condition. In administering to him Elder\nWoodruff said: \"I told him in the name of the Lord that he should live\nand not die, for he had not finished his work in the flesh.\" He began\nat once to improve, and in a few days was able to attend meeting.\n\nThat Wilford Woodruff had a true conception of the message and work\nof Mormonism, is evinced by the great pleasure which he took in the\ncall of his son Wilford to a mission. It was something to which he had\nlooked forward with great pleasure. No greater honor can come to a man\nthan the privilege of carrying the gospel to the nations of the earth.\nTo have sons was, of course, a great joy; but to meet the expectations\nof their father, they should fill honorable missions and maintain their\nintegrity in the Church.\n\nIt was now time to divert his work from the Historian's Office to the\nfarm and to the care of his sheep. In those days the warm sulphur\nsprings were converted into a sort of dipping vat in which one hundred\nand twenty-eight sheep could be washed during the day. Whether\ndipping sheep, or sowing grain, or writing history there was the same\nenthusiastic devotion in all he did.\n\nOn June 12th he recorded the killing of two stage drivers coming from\nCamp Floyd; and on the 12th he also recorded the drowning of Albert\nSmith, in the Jordan River. He was the first male child born in the\nChurch after the entrance of the Latter-day Saints into the Valley. He\nwas a good youth, dutiful to his parents, and died in the faith.\n\nWhen the mid-summer months arrived, and his fields and orchards could\nbe left, he set out upon a journey in company with President Young to\ndifferent parts of the Territory. Fruit growing was at that time the\ntheme of many discourses. He stated in his record of July 31st that,\n\"With J. V. Long. Thos. Bullock, Robert Campbell, and John Jacques,\nI visited in Provo the garden of Brother Hemingway. He has the best\norchard, nursery, and flower garden combined in the Territory.\" A\nlittle later they returned {430} from the South and went on a visit\nto Logan. There, while addressing the Saints, he pointed to the hill\neast of the town and prophesied that a temple of the Lord would soon\nbe built upon it. When President Young arose to speak, he said that\nApostle Woodruff had spoken by revelation and his words would be\nfulfilled. As all know, President Woodruff lived to see that Temple\ncompleted and dedicated to the Lord.\n\nIt was on this visit to Cache Valley, in the latter part of August,\n1863, that a decision was reached to form settlements on Bear River.\nApostle Chas. C. Rich was placed in charge of those called to settle\nthe valley east of Cache, which was subsequently known as Rich County.\n\nOn the return of President Young from Logan, a meeting was held in\nOgden where the Word of Wisdom was preached with great force, and\nwhere President Young spoke strongly against the practice of some of\nthe people in leaving their farms to become prospectors for gold and\nsilver. In those times, the mining excitement in California was running\nhigh. If the Saints were to remain in the Valleys of the Mountains\nwhere they were to build up settlements by co-operative effort, they\nmust not yield to the temptation of the mines in California. If they\nbegan mining here, it was the first step to the abandonment of the farm\nand a rush to the gold fields of the coast.\n\nElder Woodruff related in his journal the circumstance of a brother who\nwent three times to President Young to secure his approval of a trip to\nCalifornia for the purpose of making money. Each time, the President\ncounseled him to remain at home, but finally yielding to the man's\nentreaties he said: \"Yes, go if you will against counsel. You will make\nmoney but you will lose it before you get home.\"\n\nThe man went. After remaining about a year and accumulating several\nbags of gold-dust, he was greatly elated by his success, and started\nhome with his money; but the word of prophecy was against him, and when\na few days out from San Bernardino, he was held up by a gang of robbers\nand relieved of all his gold-dust. The man returned to Utah with some\nremorse of conscience and a witness to the folly of treating lightly\nthe counsel of his superior in a wild desire to obtain wealth.\n\nIn September of that year, in consequence of the agitation {431} that\nwas going on against the leading brethren, and the efforts to try\nPresidents Young and Wells upon false charges, the brethren left their\nhomes for a place of safety while the excitement lasted. Elder Woodruff\nreported at some length the circumstance of the death and funeral of\nSister Ivins, the grandmother of Apostles Heber J. Grant, and A. W.\nIvins. Her funeral sermon was preached by President Young who spoke\nin the highest terms of love and esteem for the deceased. \"She was a\nwoman,\" he said, \"of faith and good works, worthy of the confidence and\nrespect of all. We shall meet her in the resurrection. She has been\nwell treated by her children and by all the family, and I feel to bless\nthem for it.\"\n\nDuring these times Elder Woodruff's journal contained frequent\ninstances of the healing of the sick by the laying on of hands both in\nhis own home and in the household of his friends. He often dwelt in a\nreminiscent mood upon the manifestation of God's power in the healing\nof the sick throughout the early history of the Church and during the\nearly days in the Valleys of the Mountains. He spoke of the goodness\nof God, of His wonderful mercy and of His divine power manifested in\nbehalf of the Saints. All that he said and all that he did he ascribed\nto the glory of God. To him, death, however, is nothing, if men and\nwomen die in the faith of the Lord Jesus. It is a wonderful faith which\nhe recorded through every year of his life, and his daily record shows\nthat he never abandoned his faith or felt desolate or despondent in the\nmidst of the most trying scenes. He was no pessimist. Every page of his\njournal threw out hope, and revealed a spirit of grand expectations.\n\nJuly 27th, Elder Woodruff recorded trouble with the Indians in Cache\nValley in which Irwin Merrill was killed, and his brother seriously\nwounded.\n\nHe also recorded on a subsequent date a statement by President Young\nrespecting the claim of Sidney Rigdon, in 1844. Of those times\nPresident Young said: \"When I met with the Saints in Nauvoo the first\ntime after the Prophet's death and defended the arguments of the Twelve\nagainst the claims of Sidney Rigdon, I had in mind then that there\nwould be a presidency of three appointed, but I knew the people were\nnot prepared for it at the time; and on our return with the pioneers to\nthe Valley, I {432} broached the subject, first to Apostle Woodruff and\nthen to the rest of the Quorum. They received and sustained it.\"\n\nOn the first of September, a large company of Saints, largely from\nGermany and Switzerland, reached the city. They were under the\npresidency of Elder James D. Ross. Elders Woodruff, George A. Smith,\nLorenzo Snow, and F. D. Richards paid them a visit and gave them\nspecial instructions relating to their new homes and their duties\nand labors in Zion. Elder Bonnelli acted as their interpreter. Elder\nWoodruff recorded the following words from the mouth of Elder George\nA. Smith, by way of instructions to the Swiss and German Saints: \"Be\nfaithful. Repent of your sins and live your religion. Don't be in a\nhurry to marry men who profess to save women by the wholesale. Wait\nuntil you get acquainted and find out that men are worthy to be saved\nthemselves, before you marry them. Be careful not to be cheated by\nspeculators. Some who come here feel that everyone should be perfect.\nWhen they see the failings of men, they become dissatisfied, without\nlooking at their own failings. Don't be in a hurry to get rich. Do\nright, and all will be well with you. When we first came here, we had\nnothing given us to eat. There was only that which we brought with us.\nYou should turn your hand to any honorable employment. Don't be greedy\nto get too much land to begin with; what you get, cultivate well. Learn\nall you can of the work of God, for I know it is His work, and Joseph\nSmith was a true prophet.\"\n\nElder Woodruff recorded at this time a visit of Captain Burton of the\nBritish Army, whom he describes as a free, noble-minded man. President\nGeorge A. Smith gave him a history of the troubles of the Saints for\nthe past five years. Captain Burton had traveled extensively and threw\noff the yoke of prejudice and superstition.\n\nSeptember 9th, that year, in his address to the Saints in the\nTabernacle, President Young spoke at length upon the conduct of those\nmissionaries who accumulated money while on their mission with which to\nbuy goods and establish themselves as merchants. Some of the money used\nfor this purpose he said had been obtained from the Saints abroad. Such\na practice was severely rebuked, and the missionaries, generally, were\ninstructed thereafter to abstain from such a course.\n\n{433}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 40.\n\nTHE YEARS 1864-65.\n\nSome Enjoyments.--He Visits a Condemned Man in Prison.--Troubles Made\nby Gibson on Hawaiian Islands.--Lorenzo Snow's Escape from Watery\nGrave.--Visit to Bear Lake Valley.--Remark of President Young in\nLogan.--Ordination to Apostleship of Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow,\nErastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards.--Hot Springs at Midway.--Second\nInauguration of President Lincoln.--Treaty with Indians.--Colfax Visits\nUtah.--Jane Blackhurst.\n\nThe journal of Wilford Woodruff for the year 1864 opens with the\nfollowing statement: \"I have lived to see fifty-six new years, and I\nhave kept a daily journal of my life for the last thirty-five years. In\nsome measure it is also a life of others. I have written many sermons\nand teachings of the Prophets Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and\nsermons of apostles and elders of the Church. I have watched the signs\nof the times for many years and noted the fulfillment of prophecy.\" The\nnew year, as usual, awakened within him a prophetic spirit. The future\nwas of great importance in his expectations of the fulfillment of God's\npurposes. The fulfillment of prophecy was so certain to his mind that\nhe dwelt upon it as if he were discussing events of the past.\n\nHe celebrated his New Year's day by visiting his wives and children at\ntheir homes and by taking them for a sleigh ride. In those early days\nthe snow lay longer upon the ground than in recent years. The jingle of\nthe sleigh bell made the hearts of the people glad.\n\nElder Woodruff was a many-sided man. While he was possessed of the\nacutest spiritual nature, he assumed temporal responsibilities with\npeculiar satisfaction, and loved to work on the farm. He was, perhaps,\nthe highest type of those requirements laid down by Alma and Amulek\nrelative to the spiritual and temporal responsibilities of a servant\nof God. His writings show that he did not place the highest value upon\nthe man who was fitted for only one class of labor, as preaching or\nprofessional work.\n\n{434} Early in January he took up again his legislative work; and\nwhen not occupied there, officiated in his ministerial calling. On\nthe 9th of the month he records the fact that he dedicated the new\nmeeting-house in Farmington.\n\nIf he was interested in the welfare of the Saints, he was no less\nconcerned about the condition of the sinner. He says that on the 11th\nand 12th he paid visits to Jason Luce, who was in prison sentenced to\ndeath for murder. Luce was one of the notorious gang in those days,\nled by Hickman, a man who preyed upon his fellow-man and who was\nguilty of some of the most atrocious crimes, which he undertook to lay\nat the feet of the leaders. Elder Woodruff recorded his conversation\nwith Luce, who is quoted as saying that he had never killed any person\nor had a hand in the death of any one except Rhodes and Burting. He\nhad killed them in self-defense. He said that William Hickman had\nadvised him to do many things that made his flesh crawl, but that\nhe had not followed Hickman's advice in these things. He felt that\nHickman had betrayed him and done him a great injury. Luce said that\nHickman had been his ruin and the ruin of others, and that in all\nthese things Hickman had carried his point by declaring that President\nYoung had given him counsel to do them. This statement Elder Woodruff\ncharacterized in his journal as \"a cursed lie.\"\n\n\"Luce asked me to pray with him that he might have strength to go to\nhis execution and pay the penalty of his crimes. I prayed with him\naccording to his request, and then bade him good-bye as did others who\nwere with him.\" There was no request in that prayer that Luce be taken\nto the bosom of Jesus. There was no promise of a glorious exaltation\nfor him. He had committed a crime, he had to pay the penalty, and Elder\nWoodruff left him to God's mercy as he felt merciful toward him.\n\nThe interest of Apostle Woodruff in Jason Luce arose in part from the\nfact that he belonged to a family with whom Elder Woodruff had long\nbeen acquainted and with whom he had labored; but Jason had fallen\ninto bad company and became one of a gang of thieves, and disregarding\ncounsel, went finally the way of the wicked.\n\nFrom the drift of affairs at home, the attention of the authorities\n{435} was called to the condition of the Church in foreign lands,\nespecially on the Hawaiian Islands. There, Walter M. Gibson, a\nmissionary, had organized a church of his own and for some time had\nwielded a wonderful influence over the natives. Elders Ezra T. Benson,\nLorenzo Snow, and Joseph F. Smith were sent to the Islands to put in\norder the Church there and to restore the natives to their proper\nrelation with the authorities in Salt Lake City. Gibson was promptly\nexcommunicated and went the way of all adventurers and deceivers whose\nmotives are the accumulation of wealth and the honors of men. It was on\nthis visit to the Islands that Elder Lorenzo Snow was actually drowned.\nThe boat in which he attempted to land was capsized. President Snow was\nrescued by a native, but to all appearances was dead. It was some time\nbefore he showed any signs of life.\n\nOn the 4th of April following, Elder Woodruff records the fact that he\nwas chosen a member of the grand jury. The work was somewhat new to\nhim, but he soon adjusted himself to his duties and gave it his special\nattention. From the grand jury room he went to the Historian's Office,\nthen to his conferences, and mingled religious and secular duties in\nsuch a manner as to show the responsibility that he felt himself under\nto do the very best he could in every calling of life.\n\nOn the 16th of the following May, he joined President Young's party\non a visit to the northern settlements, especially to those in Bear\nLake Valley, whither Charles C. Rich had gone to preside. When the\nparty arrived at Franklin, they had to cross the mountains. \"We left\nFranklin at six o'clock and traveled the first twenty miles in a severe\nrain storm. The country was hilly and the road very crooked. On our\narrival at the summit, the animals were nearly exhausted. We found the\nway wet and muddy. After proceeding about a mile we entered a mud hole\nsix miles long, the worst I ever saw in my life. I could not compare\nit with anything better than by taking all the mud holes I ever saw in\nmy life and place them in a line. What made it worse than Illinois or\nIndiana mud holes was that they were nothing but mud while this was\nfull of tree stumps and brush. Both the horses and mules struggled\nfearfully, belly deep, in the mud to make headway. Occasionally a pair\nof horses or mules would {436} fall and be buried all over except their\nheads. Men would go and pry out the animals and pull the vehicles out\nwith ropes and then make another start. Some carriages were broken.\nIn this way we wallowed through the mud until eight o'clock in the\nevening. We later continued our journey to Bear Lake and reached Paris\nat 3 o'clock in the morning of the 20th of May. The distance was about\ntwenty miles.\"\n\nSpeaking of Bear Lake he says: \"We found this to be a large valley.\nThe soil is good and the water is sufficient to irrigate it all and\nthere is abundant timber. It is a great stock range and the lake is\nthe finest in Utah. It is about thirty miles long and ten miles wide\nthrough the middle. It is said that in many places a line two hundred\nfeet long fails to reach the bottom.\"\n\nElder Woodruff was a fisher, and of course tells the story of the trout\nin that region: \"Great numbers of trout ran in the streams from the\nlake. They ranged some of them from ten to twelve pounds in size. The\nboatmen sometimes killed them with clubs and sometimes caught them with\nnets.\"\n\nOn the return home, he said: \"An accident occurred which came near\ncosting Geo. A. Smith his life. A man by the name of Merrill put a\nloaded rifle in the carriage. The gun rested on the seat by Brother\nGeorge A. While he was thus riding, the wheel struck a rock. Brother\nSmith threw his body on the upper side of the carriage to balance\nit, and at that instant the gun went off. The ball went through the\nbuffalo-robe by him, passed by his side and went through the wagon\nbehind him. It was a providential escape from death.\"\n\n\"On May the 24th we drove to Logan where President Young spoke on\nthe doctrine of the plurality of wives. He said that there were but\nfew elders in the Church that would receive the exaltation they were\nlooking for in that order. It would be given to many more women than\nmen. There are but few men that enter into that law that keep it.\"\n\nOn date of June 5th Elder Woodruff makes record in his journal of the\ndrowning of Matthias Cowley. Elder Cowley was a nephew by marriage to\nApostle Woodruff, and had come from the Isle of Man to Nauvoo when\nthirteen years of age. Later {437} he emigrated with his parents to\nSalt Lake Valley. Elder Woodruff secured a number of men and a boat and\nwent in search of the body, which, however, was not recovered until a\nweek later.\n\nEarly in July Elder Woodruff accompanied President Young on a trip to\nProvo, where they preached under the bowery to a congregation of some\nthree thousand persons. While there, Elder Woodruff records that a\nmessenger came from Salt Lake stating that the Governor had placed a\nprovost guard in the Church storehouse opposite the Temple Block. The\nGovernor intended to put the city under martial law. A guard of one\nhundred men accompanied the President and party home. They found his\nhome guarded by two hundred and fifty men.\n\nThis annoyance created a good deal of agitation among the Saints, and\nElder Woodruff says that on the 12th of July he spent most of the day\ngetting singers to the petition to remove the soldiers to the outside\nof the inhabited portions of the city. The leaders had learned during\ntheir early experience that one of the means that the enemy had used\nto drive out the Saints was to create some sort of a conflict by\naggravating the leaders. It was hoped that some kind of retaliation\nwould be resorted to that would bring them into conflict with the civil\nauthorities. It was so easy to style such a conflict a rebellion. The\nnext step, of course, would be martial law. The Saints and leaders,\nhowever, were on their guard constantly, and took every precaution to\nkeep down disturbances.\n\nIt would not be possible in a biography of this character to follow\nElder Woodruff in his travels to the various counties throughout the\nChurch. Towns were multiplying rapidly. The Saints were coming into the\nValleys by the thousands. The pioneer work of extending the borders of\nthe Church was already beyond the personal supervision of the leaders.\nOn his return from one of these visits he said that he had budded four\nhundred and nineteen peach trees in the old Fort block, where the\npioneers had early located. On this block Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo\nSnow, Erastus Snow and Franklin D. Richards were ordained apostles, on\nFeb. 12, 1849. The block is now owned by the city, and held as a park.\n\nOn the 18th of August a visit was made to Heber City. Elder {438}\nWoodruff described the Hot Springs, located at Midway, and the peculiar\nformation around them. He said that about twenty of them were filled\nwith water. In some instances the water was running over the top. Some\nwere about fifteen feet in depth, and some apparently bottomless. On\none they sank a weight one hundred and twenty-five feet and found no\nbottom. He spoke of the rattle-snake den, and the fact that between\nfour and five hundred rattle-snakes had been killed in a single day. In\nthe spring they appear on the outside and form into a bunch that would\nalmost fill a bushel. They tie themselves together in knots with their\nheads sticking out in all directions for defense. The country around\nthe craters is apparently hollow, as indicated by the sounds caused by\nthe rumbling of wheels.\n\nSoon after their return from Heber City, September the 1st, a tour of\nthe southern part of the Territory was made, and extended as far as St.\nGeorge and Santa Clara. These visits fired the hearts of the Saints and\ngave rise to an ambition to make the desert blossom as the rose. At\nFillmore Elder Woodruff made a careful note of the splendid condition\nof the apple orchards. He also stated they held a party there that\nevening in the stake house, but President Young broke it up because of\nthe confusion and disorder in the house.\n\nOn their return from the south, Elder Woodruff made record of the\nfollowing: \"While on the road from Washington to Harrisburg, we stopped\non the edge of a high precipice which presents very interesting scenery\nof the valley below. While standing there, Brother Eddings wished me\nto help him lift up a flat stone that he wanted to throw off from the\ntop to the depth below. As I took hold of it. I caught a scorpion\nbetween my fingers. The sting gave a shock to my whole system. It was\na small scorpion and I mashed it to pieces in lifting the stone. This\nsting alarmed me somewhat, as the sting of the scorpion is considered\nvery dangerous and some have even lost their lives by it. I soon got\nsome tobacco and bound it on my finger. This seemed to take the poison\nout, and I received no material injury from the bite.\" Elder Woodruff,\nhowever, felt the blessings of the Lord in his escape from poison and\nfound a parallel in the life of Paul, who, while {439} on the island of\nMalta, shook from his hand a scorpion whose bite did him no harm.\n\nThe October Conference followed their return. It was largely attended\nand characterized by the interest the people had in those semi-annual\ngatherings. It is remarkable that so many came together when we note\nthe difficulties under which Salt Lake City was reached in those days.\n\nImmediately after the conference, on October 10th, the survivors of\nZion's Camp held a meeting. It was the first gathering of that body\nsince their expedition to Missouri. Elder Woodruff recorded the fact\nthat there were over fifty of the survivors out of the two hundred\nand five that belonged originally to Zion's Camp. In the evening they\nenjoyed themselves in a dancing party in the Social Hall. \"It was the\nmost interesting party I had ever attended.\" Bishop Hunter and his\ncounselors provided for those veterans a good dinner and supper, a\nprecedent since observed by President Joseph F. Smith. At this date,\n1909, there remains but one survivor of Zion's Camp,--Nathan Tanner.\n\nThe harvest season was practically closed, yet the molasses mill was\nan important adjunct to the farm. Sugar was scarce and the price high.\nMolasses was a necessity, and one of the common articles of diet of\nthe people. Elder Woodruff had erected a molasses mill, which was kept\nrunning not only by the cane that he raised on his own farm, but by the\npatronage of his neighbors. Almost every fall and winter, therefore,\nhe had large quantities of molasses to sell. Bread, molasses, fruit,\nmilk, and butter were the products of his own farm, and were the\nchief supply of his table. He raised his own mutton and beef, and his\nfamily made clothing from the wool of his sheep. He took a special\npride in the fact that he lived by the labors of his own hands and was\nself-sustaining.\n\nElder Woodruff's journal of November 9th, that year, contained\nmentioned of his visit to Kays Ward, where he met a Sister Mary\nPhillips, the oldest person in Utah. In three weeks she would reach\nher ninety-first year. She had been baptized by Elder Woodruff in\nHerefordshire in 1840.\n\nOn his return home he encountered one of the old-time east winds which\nswept down through the canyon and mountains east {440} of Farmington.\nIt was so severe that the party had great difficulty in keeping their\ncarriages from being upset. That night Elder Woodruff enjoyed the\nhospitality of Ezra Clark, an old-time bosom friend of Elder Woodruff.\nHere the roof of the house of Ezra Clark was blown off, also that of\nthe Bountiful meeting-house. Hay stacks were torn down and scattered\nover the country. These winds in early days were so frequent and severe\nas to give the people in Farmington and vicinity grave apprehension.\nThey were so destructive and so dreaded that President Young rebuked\nthem in the name of the Lord and they immediately became less frequent.\nIn late years these winds have occurred in some of their old-time\nseverity.\n\nThe year 1865 bore witness of stirring events that had much to do in\nshaping the sentiments of the Latter-day Saints in political matters.\nPetty annoyances and officiousness on the part of federal officers gave\nthe Saints cause for complaint. Between religious and civil opinions\nthere had always existed, and perhaps will always exist, more or less\njealousy over the question of influence. In those days there was no\nreal collision in the matter of authority. The influence of President\nYoung and leading men of the Church was so incomparably much greater\nthan that exercised by judges and governors that there would naturally\narise feelings of suspicion as well as of jealousy.\n\nThe Saints were anxious to avoid disputations and collisions, and\nyet they felt at times resentful when subjected to what they felt\nunnecessary indignities. They were loyal to the government, honored the\nofficers of the law in their place; but they were also religious. With\nthem, God had a part in the affairs of this nation, and they foresaw\na divine purpose in what was going on among the nations of the earth.\nTheir interpretation of events, even though they were loyal, were often\nmisunderstood and just as often wilfully misconstrued.\n\nIn February, 1865, Elder Woodruff records the purchase for the Church\nof a large tract of land in Oahu on the Sandwich Islands. This purchase\nwas brought about through the instrumentality of Francis A. Hammond.\n\nNovember, the preceding year, had witnessed the re-election of Abraham\nLincoln as President of the United States. On March {441} 4th he was\nto be inaugurated. This gave the Saints an opportunity to meet the\nofficers and soldiers of the Fort in a friendly celebration. There was\nfraternal good will and the celebration did much to mitigate suspicion\nand illiberal feelings. At the conclusion of the celebration George\nA. Smith arose, and waving the stars and stripes said: _\"One country,\nan undivided country, the old flag forever!\"_ The toast awakened\nenthusiasm, and it truthfully expressed the unanimous sentiment of the\nLatter-day Saints.\n\nAt the close of the services, Elder Woodruff and several other leading\nmen repaired to the City Hall, where they took dinner with Colonel\nGeorge and staff, Colonel George having succeeded General Connor in\nthe command of Fort Douglas. Conditions in Utah now seemed improved.\nThe war was over, and peace was to be the watchword of the nation. Why\nshould the people of Utah not also have their share of that sacred boon?\n\nThe country, however, was aroused almost to a state of frenzy by the\nassassination of President Lincoln. The Territory mourned with the\nother territories and states of the Union. On April 16th Elder Woodruff\npreached the funeral sermon in honor of the martyred President in the\nTabernacle at Salt Lake City. In the afternoon of that day Franklin D.\nRichards and Geo. Q. Cannon also spoke upon the same subject. April\n19th, however, they set apart as a day of general mourning throughout\nthe land, and in Salt Lake City thousands assembled in the Tabernacle\nto take part in the services. They consisted of Mormons, Jews and\nGentiles, civil and military authorities. The audience was addressed by\nAmasa Lyman and the Rev. Norman McLeod.\n\nBetween June 1st and 15th of that year, Elder Woodruff joined President\nYoung's company on a visit through the settlements as far south as\nPayson. Near that town they visited the Indian camp, where they found\nColonel Irish, who was persuading the Indians to enter into a treaty\nby which they might thereafter occupy a reservation in Uintah. Of that\nevent Elder Woodruff said: \"President Young and company drove to the\nIndian farm and held a meeting with the Indians. Colonel Irish, the\nagent, had called upon President Young to assist him in making a treaty\nwhich he could not bring about because of the opposition {442} of the\nIndians to it. Mr. Irish made a speech and the Indian chiefs made\nspeeches. They did not want to sell their lands and go away. President\nYoung then made a talk to them, explained that it would be best for\nthem to sign the treaty, and the advantages that would come to them\nfrom it. They finally said they would do as he said; but they wanted to\nthink it over until the next day. When they met again, the chiefs came\nforward and signed the treaty, except one by the name of Sanpitch, who\nclaimed to be the main chief. He lay in his tent on his face for about\ntwo days. He was on his dignity. The other chiefs paid no attention to\nhim. After all was over, Sanitch came forward and wanted his presents\nand wanted to sign the treaty. However, he got some presents, but had\nto come to Salt Lake City to sign the treaty. Colonel Johns of the\nUnited States Army was present and Colonel Irish informed him that\nhe could do nothing with the Indians except through the influence of\nPresident Young.\"\n\nAbout this time Schuyler Colfax, Governor Bowles and others paid the\nTerritory a visit. \"We spent about two hours with them and had a free,\nsocial interview. They talked about a variety of subjects, among\nthe rest gold digging. President Young showed Mr. Colfax how much\nbetter off those were who had stayed at home, cultivated the earth\nand made improvements than those who had gone to dig gold. Mr. Colfax\nthought that if we did not open the mines ourselves that others would.\nPresident Young said that, 'if they open mines in this territory, it\nwill be against all the faith that I can exercise with my God; for the\npeople have spent twenty dollars for every one they have obtained from\nthe mines.'\"\n\nPresident Young felt that it was not wisdom to encourage the mining\nindustry at that time when so much depended upon the colonization of\nthe Territory, in the construction of canals, and in bringing the land\nunder cultivation. Mr. Colfax and party visited the Salt Lake Theater\nand pronounced it, according to Elder Woodruff's journal, the best,\nwith the exception of two, west of New York City.\n\nWhile Mr. Colfax and party were here, Gov. Doty died. Great respect was\nshown throughout the Territory for the occasion. {443} The Latter-day\nSaints, wishing to secure the appointment of some one who understood\nconditions here, and who would not act in a spirit of antagonism\ntowards them, sent a petition to Washington, asking for the appointment\nof Colonel Irish. Their petition, however, was not granted.\n\nThe October conference of that year was well attended. President Daniel\nH. Wells had just returned from England, and gave an interesting\naddress to the Saints.\n\nOn December 22nd the President and Twelve gathered as usual at the home\nof Sister Jane Blackhurst, whose devotion to her faith and humble,\nGod-fearing life endeared her to all with whom she came in contact.\nOf her Elder Woodruff said: \"In the history of the whole world I do\nnot know of a woman occupying a position like that of Sister Jane\nBlackhurst. A woman once fed the Prophet Elisha in time of famine,\nand the Lord increased her cruse of oil and measure of meal. One or\ntwo women were last at the cross and earliest at the grave of Jesus.\nSister Blackhurst has made a feast for the Presidency and the Twelve,\nannually, for the last fifteen years, although she is a poor, crippled\nwoman.\" He then proceeded to bless her in an inspired manner.\n\nElder Woodruff closed his journal for 1865 by recognizing the hand of\nGod in all that had befallen the people. In the midst of political\nturmoils of those times, and the enmities that existed against the\nSaints, he found reason to praise God, the giver of all good.\n\n{444}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 41.\n\nTHE YEARS 1866, '67, '68.\n\nNew Year's Greetings.--Evil Spirits Rebuked.--Love for Little\nOnes.--Drawings in His Journal.--Mrs. Godbe's Dream.--Brigham Young's\nRemarks on the Atonement.--Sept. 5, 1867, Joseph F. Smith Selected\nas One of the Twelve.--Amasa Lyman Dropped from Twelve.--School of\nthe Prophets.--Move to Provo.--Grass-hopper War.--Advent of the\nRailroad.--Remarkable Prophetic Utterances at Logan.--Visit to\nSanpete.--Call to First Presidency of Geo. A. Smith.--Accident to His\nSon Ashael--Summary of 1868.\n\nNew Year's Day, 1866, found nine of the Twelve Apostles at home. Elder\nWoodruff says they met at ten o'clock in the Historian's Office in a\nbody and went across the street to the home of President Young where\nthey greeted him with the compliments of the season, and in return\nreceived his best wishes and blessings. They then called upon Heber\nC. Kimball and paid him their compliments. He, in turn, blessed them\nand prophesied respecting the future blessings which awaited them. To\nOrson Hyde he said: \"You shall overcome all things, conquer in the\nend, without a spot or blemish, and shall be crowned with glory in the\npresence of God, as Joseph saw you thirty years ago.\" \"Brother Franklin\nhas passed through trials and will also be vindicated in the end.\" \"I\nwill say concerning Schuyler Colfax, who aspires to the Presidential\nchair to the downfall of the Latter-day Saints, that he shall go down\nas Douglas did and shall be a disappointed man.\" They then called on\nPresident Wells, to whom they extended a like greeting. After this they\ncalled upon Apostles George A. Smith and John Taylor. Apostle Taylor\nprovided three sleighs and they all drove to Orson Pratt's home, where\nthey greeted his family, he being on a mission at that time. They paid\ntheir respects to Mayor Smoot and Governor Durkee. These New Year calls\nhaving been made, they made their way to the home of John Taylor, who\nprovided the company with a New Year's dinner.\n\nAfter giving an account of his labors in the Historian's Office for\nthe months of January and February, Apostle Woodruff's journal of\nMarch 17th contains the narration of a peculiar circumstance {445}\nwhich transpired at the City Hall. The police had in their custody a\nman possessed of evil spirits. He was a raving maniac. Elder Woodruff\ncalled to see him, and being alone with him, he laid his hands upon the\nman's head and commanded the devils to leave him. They obeyed; and the\nman became instantly sane and begged Elder Woodruff to take him to his\nhome. The latter complied, and the man remained in a sane condition\nof mind until about one o'clock the following morning, when he again\nbecame possessed. Again Elder Woodruff rebuked the evil spirit. The\nman was relieved and remained quiet until morning. There were some\nsubsequent attacks upon this unfortunate, but through the power of\nfaith, he was healed.\n\nElder Woodruff's journal is devoted to a narration of family life as\nwell as to those of public services. His heart is full of love for his\nwives and children, and he felt especially tender toward the little\nones. On May 4th he said: \"My grandson, four years old, brought wood to\nme nearly all day. I told him I would record it in my journal so that\nhe could read it when he became a man.\" This was a little thing, but\nthat is one of those little things that showed the appreciation and\ngratitude of Apostle Woodruff toward the humblest and most child-like\nof those who administered to his wants. There is something remarkable\nabout the appreciation of Elder Woodruff for what was good and true and\nbeautiful in life. Good sermons always delighted him for they were food\nto a hungry soul.\n\nJune 3rd, 1866, Elder Woodruff recorded a synopsis of a sermon\ndelivered by President Young, who took as a text, \"If I am lifted up,\nI will draw all men unto me.\" \"I considered it in some respects the\ngreatest sermon I ever heard in this dispensation.\" He also referred\nto the sermons of Orson and Parley P. Pratt and of President Joseph F.\nSmith, who was then a young man. Elder Woodruff was free from envy and\nwas not swayed by ambitious motives. In his journal of June 24th he\nsays: \"Joseph F. Smith spoke an hour and fifteen minutes, and the power\nof God was upon him. He manifested the same spirit that was upon his\nuncle, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and upon his father, Hyrum Smith.\"\n\nOn the first of July following, he makes this record, respecting the\nwords of President Young at the close of a prayer circle {446} which\nhad just been held by the Presidency and some of the brethren. As they\nwere about to leave, President Young spoke up: \"'Hold on. Shall I do as\nI feel led to do? I always feel well when I follow the promptings of\nthe spirit. It has come to my mind to ordain Brother Joseph F. Smith\nto the Apostleship, and to be one of my counselors.' He then called\nupon each one of us for an expression of our feelings and we responded\nwith our hearty approval. Joseph F. Smith was then ordained under the\nhands of Brigham Young and the brethren present to be an Apostle in the\nChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to be a special witness\nto the nations of the earth. He was further ordained to be a counselor\nin the First Presidency of the Church.\"\n\nAs the summer days opened, and travel was facilitated by the warm\nweather, frequent tours were made to the various towns and stakes of\nthe Church. On these visits of President Young, Wilford Woodruff's\npresence was almost always noticeable. He did not delve much into\nthe mysteries of the kingdom, but was a safe counselor in matters of\nevery-day life. His own example afforded excellent encouragement to the\nSaints in the development of every industry required in those times.\nHis spiritual nature was fed by the ordinances in which he officiated\nin the house of God. When ever possible he went there to officiate and\nto take part with his brethren in administering both to the living and\nto the dead.\n\nWilford Woodruff had a curious practice in keeping his journal of\nmaking some peculiar or appropriate drawing at the head of some\nparticular event of which he wished to take notice. These drawings, no\ndoubt, helped him in after years to find the record of these events\nin lieu of an index. For example, there may be seen at one place the\ndrawing of a number of coffins. The drawing suggests Baptiste, the\ngrave-robber. The drawings are more significant than artistic; however,\nthey were no doubt helpful in locating certain events to which at some\nfuture time he might wish to refer.\n\nUnder date of March 29th Elder Woodruff said: \"My attention was called\nto a dream of Mrs. William Godbe published in the _Deseret News_ of\n1867. The dream related to life in the spirit world, and gave the\nexperience of herself and others there. It awakened much interest\namong the people and was the subject of general conversation. Elder\nGeorge Davis, who drove {447} an express wagon, asked his wife if she\nthought the dream was true; and when she replied that she believed it\nwas, Elder Davis said that he felt like going into the spirit world\nto see for himself. Elder Davis read the dream over to his wife three\ntimes, and finally said to her: 'If I should die to-night or to-morrow\nit would be alright.' Early in the morning he went with another man to\nget a load of gravel. He had thrown into the wagon only a shovelful\nwhen the bank caved in upon him and he was buried about three feet. His\ncompanion dug him out as quickly as possible, but he was dead.\"\n\nElder Woodruff preached the funeral sermon, and regarded the man's\ndeath as an evidence that there are times set for our departure from\nthis life. Such circumstances as that always made a deep and lasting\nimpression on Elder Woodruff, and his thoughts, feelings, and desires\nseemed close to the world beyond.\n\nSoon after the April conference of that year, President Young set\nout upon one of his tours through the southern settlements of the\nTerritory. It was a sort of triumphal procession. Everywhere the\nChurch leaders were received with manifestations of a heart-felt\nwelcome. Sunday school children lined the road sides and helped make\nthe occasion in the different settlements one that would be long\nremembered. Efforts had been made among many non-Mormons to cast\ndiscredit upon the character of Brigham Young and lessen his influence\nover the people. It was that influence that was bitterly contested.\nThe people, however, knew the voice of their shepherd and gave him the\nstrongest assurance of their love and fellowship.\n\nAt Fillmore, on the return trip, May 12th, the speakers, in their\nturn, emphasized the subject, \"The Necessity of the Atonement.\" It was\nthe home of Amasa Lyman, who was breaking away from his moorings and\nadvocating a strange doctrine respecting the atonement of Jesus Christ.\nIn his remarks at that time President Young said: \"There never was, and\nnever will be, a world created and redeemed except by the shedding of\nthe blood of the Savior of that world. I know why the blood of Jesus\nwas shed, and I know why the blood of Joseph and Hyrum was shed, and\nwhy the blood of others will be shed in the future. It is all to answer\na purpose. Adam subjected himself to the conditions of this world as\ndid our Lord and Master, that redemption and exaltation {448} might\ncome to man. Without descending below all things, we cannot rise above\nall things. The gospel of salvation will never change. It is the same\nin all ages of the world and will be through all ages of eternity.\"\n\nIt was not long after their return to Salt Lake that a trip of the\nleaders was made to Provo, where a new meeting-house had been erected\nand was to be dedicated. Elder Woodruff made the following description\nof it: \"It is built after the Presbyterian order. It has a pulpit in\nit, a very narrow one, that gives but little room to stand in, and\nthere is barely room for three or four on the stand behind it. The\nhouse has been twelve years in building.\" In his discourse to the\npeople from the pulpit he said: \"I thank God with every sentiment of my\nheart that I have lived to see a Presbyterian meeting-house filled with\nthe Saints of God, and the pulpit occupied by the Apostles of the Lamb,\nwho have dedicated this house unto the Lord.\" This meeting-house still\nstands in Provo, but is now superseded by one much larger and more\ncommodiously arranged.\n\nThe leaders on their return from Provo made a visit to Logan. Here,\nPresident Young is quoted as saying that the ten tribes of Israel are\non a portion of the earth,--a portion separated from the main land.\nThis view is also expressed in one of the sacrificial hymns written by\nEliza R. Snow:\n\n  \"And when the Lord saw fit to hide\n  The ten lost tribes away,\n  Thou, earth, was severed to provide\n  The orb on which they stay.\"\n\nIt was here on the 5th of September, 1867, Elder Joseph F. Smith was\nselected to be one of the Twelve Apostles, he having been ordained\nsometime before as an Apostle without having been made a member of\nthe Quorum of the Twelve. He was sustained at the general semi-annual\nconference which took place between the 6th and 9th of October.\n\nThat conference was one of unusual interest to the Saints. The new\nTabernacle was then completed and between eight and ten thousand people\nmet to honor the occasion and attend conference. The organ was not\nquite completed. It was designed to have {449} two thousand pipes, but\nthen had only seven hundred and fifty.\n\nAt this conference one of the brethren spoke upon the God-head. The\ndiscourse met, in the main, the views of President Young. The latter,\nhowever, said: \"When any man publishes or preaches his peculiar views\nhe should not say they are the views of the Church.\" At the close of\nthe meeting President Young talked very plainly with him about saying\nthat such and such were the doctrines of the Church; about telling\nwhat would have been if Christ had not died; if Adam had not fallen;\nor if there had been no Savior prepared, the world would not have been\ncreated.\n\nThe conference was further characterized by the call to Dixie of a\nhundred young men. Instructions were also given on the laws of life\nand health. A simple life was urged upon the people. President Young\nfurther impressed upon young ladies the necessity of some sort of\nbusiness education. He thought they should study telegraphy, learn to\nkeep books, and prepare themselves for the lighter vocations of life.\n\nThe conference had its shadows. Much that was taught was no doubt a\nresult of peculiar views which Amasa Lyman preached. This Apostle was\ndropped from his position in the Quorum of the Twelve.\n\nElder Woodruff recorded the marriage on October 12th of his son Wilford\nto Emily Jane Smith. To the father, the ordinance was in keeping with\nman's express duty to his God and his obligation to the Church. He\nthought it was a circumstance in a young man's life which called forth\na prayerful desire to serve the Lord. Indeed, such sacred obligations\nas marriage should never be undertaken without resorting to prayer for\nGod's guidance.\n\nThe organization of the School of the Prophets was again taken up and\neffected on the 16th day of December, 1867. Its members met in the\nCity Hall. It had been organized in earlier days of the Church by the\nProphet Joseph through revelation, and was designed for the spiritual\ngrowth and development of the Saints of God. Of this school Elder\nWoodruff was a devoted and active member.\n\nThe winter of 1866 and '67 was an open one. Up to January 1st the\nground was bare. The weather was warm and there had {450} been a\nconsiderable fall of rain. The winter months of that spring were\noccupied by Elder Woodruff in legislative work.\n\nHe had with him at that time two Indian boys whom he undertook to\neducate. One was called Moroni, the other Sarrowkeets. The latter, he\nsent to a private school taught by Elizabeth Cowley in her home in the\nFourteenth Ward. These Indian boys, in one way or another, caused him\nconsiderable trouble, yet he bore with them patiently and sought to\neducate them and provide for them a father's care. Moroni died as a\nboy. Sarrowkeets or \"Keets,\" as he was familiarly called, yielded to\nthe wandering spirit of his ancestors and left home. It is supposed\nthat he was run over and killed by a Short Line train four miles north\nof Salt Lake City.\n\nIn his journal of January 21st he recorded some instructions given to\na body of the priesthood. \"Who was Michael, the Archangel?\" \"He is\nAdam, who was Michael in the creation of the world. It will take all\nthe ordinances of the gospel to save one soul as much as it will take\nto save another,--the dead as well as the living. Jesus Christ Himself\nobeyed all the ordinances of the gospel that He might fulfill all\nrighteousness. Therefore, those who have died without the gospel will\nhave to receive it in the spirit world from those who preach it to the\nspirits in prison. Those who dwell in the flesh will have to attend to\nall the ordinances of the gospel for and in behalf of the dead.\"\n\nContinuing, he remarked: \"There are some keys which the Prophet Joseph\nheld which no other man held while he lived. So it is with Brigham\nYoung. The keys of the sealing power are held by the President alone,\nalthough he permits others to administer in this ordinance.\n\n\"When I was baptized into this Church, I was observing the seventh day\nas the Sabbath of the Lord, and not the first day of the week; but I\nknew that the Latter-day Saints were the people of God, and had the\ntrue Church of Christ; and if I had had a hundred traditions I would\nhave laid them all aside.\"\n\nElder Woodruff observed that in the School of the Prophets the brethren\nwere instructed not to dabble in astrology, or any system which\nmight contain a mixture of truth and error. Not one ray of light had\never been thrown upon the principle of salvation in the practice of\nclairvoyance and spiritualism. These {451} subjects are not such as men\ncan act upon with the ordinary intelligence God has given them.\n\nIn the early part of the year 1868, Elder Woodruff, John Taylor, and\nJoseph F. Smith with others were called to Provo for the purpose of\nassisting in the work to be done there. Abram O. Smoot was elected as\nmayor, and Elder Woodruff with others, constituted the City Council.\nThe town was in need of a new spiritual life. It also needed strong\nmen to guide its destinies and make it a center of one of the leading\nstakes of the Church. Elder Woodruff, however, did not long remain\nthere, and upon receiving his release returned with his family to Salt\nLake City.\n\nWhen he reached Salt Lake City, he found there a letter from his\nbrother Azmon, who had embraced the gospel when he did in the state of\nNew York. The brother, however, was in a dissatisfied state of mind.\nHe wrote letters occasionally to Wilford in which he set forth some of\nhis objections to the work. In reply to these letters, some of which\nwere copied in Wilford Woodruff's journal, he spoke to his brother with\ngreat plainness, told him about his wives and children, and gave a\nstrong defense of the principle of Plural Marriage.\n\nThis was the year of the grasshopper war. Swarms of them had swept\nover the country. They were so thick at times as to cloud the rays of\nthe sun. The struggle with these insects was rightly characterized as\na war. It is difficult to realize at this distance of time what it\nmeant in those days to protect the crops against the ravages of the\ngrasshopper. All the ingenuity and device that men could bring to their\nassistance were used in the effort to save out of the ruins enough\nbread for winter use. Furrows were ploughed, nets were devised, and by\nthese different means Elder Woodruff says in three days they caught and\ndestroyed one hundred and seventy-five bushels of grasshoppers. Elder\nWoodruff gave to that war all his strength and ingenuity.\n\nWe next find him, according to his journal, grubbing willows, breaking\nland, building bridges, digging ditches, constructing roads, erecting\nfences, barns, and houses. He was, indeed, a model of industry. He\nwas as pliable in spirit as he was in body. All honorable work was\nGod's work, whether he dug a ditch, preached a sermon, or wrote\nhistory,--with him it was all alike for the glory of God.\n\n{452} In 1868 Apostle Woodruff made a record of the enthusiasm which\nhe, in common with others, felt over the advent of the railroad. It\nwas approaching the Territory from both the east and the west. There\nwas considerable agitation about its location. President Young and\nothers had taken contract for the construction of the road-bed. Where\nthe railroad entered Utah was of course to them a matter of great\nimportance, as Salt Lake City was the headquarters, and its future\npossibilities seemed wonderful to them. On the 10th of June Elder\nWoodruff walked from his farm on Canyon Creek to Salt Lake that he\nmight take part in a mass-meeting which was to discuss the entrance\nor place of entrance of the roads into the Territory. Should these\ntrans-continental lines meet in Ogden or Salt Lake City? To their minds\nSalt Lake City was the place. In that event, the road would go south of\nthe lake, instead of north of it. Those, however, whose word was final\nin the matter decided to make Ogden the Junction City, and plans were\nat once entered into to construct from that place to Salt Lake City a\nbranch line.\n\nWith the advent of the railroad, the interests of the Territory became\nso diversified that there were subjects to interest and occupy the\nnon-Mormon and Mormons alike. There were more public platforms on which\nall might stand with equal interest.\n\nHeretofore, the Fourth of July had been the principal occasion for\nuniversal celebration; this year it was observed in the customary\nmanner. All the Sunday schools of the city marched to the Tabernacle,\nwith them were enough grown people to make an audience of some ten\nthousand. Addresses were delivered by Governor Durkee, George A. Smith,\nGeneral A. L. Chattan, and George Q. Cannon. Colonel E. H. Head was\norator of the day. The Twenty-fourth was also appropriately celebrated\nby the Saints.\n\nIn August the leaders visited the settlements north as far as Logan.\nIn his address there Elder Woodruff said: \"When I was a youth, I felt\nthat I would have gone hundreds of miles to see a prophet or an apostle\nof the Lord, or any other man called of God and inspired to preach the\ngospel of Christ in its fulness and purity. Now, as I travel through\nthe country I see thousands of children, also men and women who behold\nprophets, apostles, and elders. They greet President Young, the Twelve,\nand others as {453} we travel through the country. This is an excellent\npractice, as it will make a lasting impression upon the minds of all,\nespecially the children. They will never forget it. When they meet\nin the years which are to come they will converse upon the scene of\nthis visit something as follows: 'Oh! what a great change has taken\nplace since the Prophet Brigham Young and the Apostles visited Logan\nin 1868. Then, it was a new country. There were a few settlements and\nonly about ten thousand people, all told, in Cache Valley. Then, we had\nno tabernacle in which to worship--no Temple of the Lord stood upon\nthe bench to the east of the city. Now, we have a great tabernacle, a\nbeautiful Temple of the Lord, from whose summit we may view the glory\nof this valley filled with cities and towns from north to south. Then,\nour fields were filled one-half with sun flowers and noxious weeds.\nNow, they are properly tilled and no man occupies more land than he can\ncultivate properly.'\"\n\nOn the return from this trip, a journey was taken by the leaders\nthrough the settlements south of Sanpete. The disagreements between\nthe authorities and many non-Mormons of those times had created an\nenthusiastic determination on the part of the people to stand by their\nleaders. The efforts to imprison Brigham Young and to bring reproach\nupon his name only awakened the stronger their confidence and love.\nWhen the company reached Nephi many women and children came out to meet\nand greet him. They built a large pyramid of evergreens with the word\n\"Welcome\" woven into it. Their enthusiasm kindled into a heartfelt\nexpression, \"Blessed are they that come in the name of the Lord.\" There\nwas a grand ovation wherever the leaders went.\n\nPresident Young, however, was not exalted in his feelings because\nof these attentions. The welfare of the Saints was a matter of deep\nconcern to him. The Saints were admonished to abandon the use of tea,\ncoffee, and tobacco; to cease to use liquor; and not support those in\nthe country who were the deadly enemies of the Saints--those, who,\nenriching themselves by their patronage, were sending lies abroad\nagainst the people. At Nephi the stake of Zion was organized with Elder\nJacob Bigler as president.\n\nOn reaching Mt. Pleasant, the enthusiasm of the people exceeded {454}\neven that at Nephi. \"It was the greatest display and the largest\nprocession I ever saw outside of Salt Lake City.\" At Ephraim there was\na torchlight procession. There, President Canute Peterson was selected\nto preside over the priesthood in that place. He subsequently became\npresident of the Sanpete Stake. At Ephraim Elder Woodruff recorded in\nhis journal the following: \"I had an interview this morning with a\nDanish brother by the name of Soren Christensen, a man seventy-five\nyears of age. He had lived under five reigning kings of Denmark and had\nserved as a soldier under Napoleon. He was a very strong man.\"\n\nThe leaders returned for general conference which convened that fall on\nthe 6th of October. \"It was the first time for thirty-two years,\" said\nElder Woodruff, \"that all the Quorum of the Twelve had been together.\nThe last time before this was at the home of Elder Heber C. Kimball in\nKirtland. They were then contending one against the other, and Brigham\nYoung prayed that all the Quorum might never meet again until it could\nmeet in peace and union. The entire Quorum never met since then until\nthis day.\" Only three of the original Quorum still remained. They were\nBrigham Young, Orson Hyde, and Orson Pratt. The Quorum at this time\nconsisted of Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff,\nGeorge A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Chas. C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Franklin\nD. Richards, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith. At this conference\nGeorge A. Smith was called to the First Presidency of the Church to\nfill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Heber C. Kimball, and\nBrigham Young, Jr., was called to fill the place made vacant in the\nQuorum. He had, however, been previously ordained as an apostle.\n\nOn October 26th of that year, Elder Woodruff recorded a circumstance of\na misfortune that befell one of his sons. The Indian boy \"Keets\" whom\nhe had taken to raise, in a fit of surliness left his post of duty at\nthe molasses mill where he was feeding the rollers. No one was left to\ntake the Indian boy's place except Elder Woodruff's little son, Ashael,\nthen only five years old. While the child was feeding the mill, his\nright hand was drawn between the rollers and badly crushed. The father\nand mother {455} immediately brought him to the city where the thumb\nand two of the fingers were amputated by Dr. Ormsby.\n\nDecember 8th he recorded the death of Daniel Spencer, president of the\nSalt Lake Stake; and on the 9th, the death of Leonora Cannon Taylor,\nwife of President John Taylor.\n\nIn closing the record of the year 1868, he made a summary of his labors\nfor that year. He traveled one thousand three hundred and four miles,\nattended one hundred and seventy-six meetings, preached seventy-nine\ndiscourses, attended thirty-two prayer meetings with the Presidency\nand Twelve, twenty-six meetings of his own prayer circle, two general\nconferences. He labored twenty days in the Endowment House, gave\nendowments to two thousand and twenty-five persons, married four\nhundred and nine couples, out of a total of one thousand one hundred\nand nine for that year. He officiated in other ordinances for eighteen\npersons, met with the School of the Prophets forty-seven times,\nbaptized one, confirmed one, blessed one child, met in a council with\nthe body of the priesthood three times, met with an Irrigation Company\ntwice, and while in Provo met four times with the City Council. During\nthe year he wrote eighty letters and received sixty. He attended the\nlegislative council forty days. Besides all this, he labored on his\nfarm plowing, planting, reaping, and irrigating. He killed about three\nhundred bushels of grasshoppers. What a marvel of industry!\n\n{456}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 42.\n\nTHE YEARS, 1869, '70.\n\nCo-operative Movement.--Cove Fort.--Pronouncement Against Use\nof Wine.--Organization of Bear Lake Stake.--Visit of Schuyler\nColfax.--The Godbe Movement.--Descendants of Cain.--Utah Central\nR. R. Completed.--Plural Marriage.--Boston Board of Trade Visits\nUtah.--Sayings of Brigham Young.--The Newman-Pratt Discussion.--Martin\nHarris Rebaptized.\n\nJanuary 1st, 1869, Wilford Woodruff accompanied Brigham Young to Ogden,\nwhere a meeting was held for the purpose of discussing a grant of land\nto the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads for the use of their\nterminal station. On the 2nd they met Governor Stanford of California\nand Mr. Durant, both railroad men. The former rode with President Young\nto view the proposed depot site. The authorities had done all in their\npower to make Salt Lake City the terminal, hoping that the Central\nPacific would come by way of the south end of the lake. They accepted\ntheir disappointment gracefully and did all they could to expedite the\nconstruction of the railroads and terminal facilities at the Junction\nCity.\n\nMuch of the month of January was devoted by Elder Woodruff to his\nlegislative work. Under date of the 22nd, however, he recorded the\ntestimony of Joseph B. Nobles to the effect that he officiated in the\nfirst plural marriage of this dispensation, by sealing Eliza Beman to\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith, on May 6th, 1841.\n\nOn the following 7th of February, a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Mr.\nStewart, was accorded the privilege of addressing the Saints in the\nTabernacle, and in the evening at the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Room.\nFrom the earliest times in Utah there was a manifest willingness on\nthe part of the leaders to grant the use of their places of worship\nto ministers of the various denominations. The teachings of these\nministers afforded the Saints an opportunity of contrasting the\ndoctrines of the Latter-day Saints with those of the various sects.\n\n{457} Elder Woodruff, in his journal, said that the year 1869 was\ncharacterized by the great co-operative movement, which made rapid\nheadway throughout the settlements in Utah. The early work of the\npioneers had been the redemption of the land. To their mind, however,\nthere was a special virtue in the cultivation of the soil and the\nmanufacturing of those things needed by the pioneers. Trade and\nspeculation were somewhat at variance with the religious spirit and\ntendencies of those times, but the movement was hastened by the advent\ninto the Territory of large numbers of Gentiles who fed and fattened\nupon trade and speculation. The wealth acquired by these parvenu\nmerchants was quite naturally a source of considerable power. They\nhad the money to carry on almost any propaganda which they saw fit\nto inculcate in the minds of the people of the United States; more\nthan that, the great profit to them often became a heavy burden to\nthe people. There were in those days strong antagonisms, and partisan\nspirit ran high. Many of the merchants used their money in a manner\nharmful to the best interests of the Latter-day Saints, and in such a\nway as to engender a hatred towards them by the people of the United\nStates.\n\nTo mitigate these unfortunate conditions, and lessen the power\nof certain ones of their enemies, and for the further purpose of\npermitting the Latter-day Saints themselves to reap their share\nof business profits, the co-operative system was inaugurated. The\npeople were encouraged to take stock in these institutions which were\norganized largely under the direction and control of the religious\nleaders in the various communities.\n\nIn traveling through the settlements of the Saints, the subject of\nco-operation was one of the chief topics of discourse. Every town,\nwhere the Saints had settled, organized its co-operative store. In\nearly days these stores were potent factors, and the control of prices\nwas often regulated by them. The authorities urged the managers of\nthose institutions to practice equity in their business affairs.\nThe first wholesale dry goods store to do a wholesale business, was\norganized March 1st, 1869.\n\nThe non-Mormon merchants of Salt Lake City naturally felt the force\nof the new movement and made a proposition to President Young to the\neffect that they would be glad to sell him {458} their establishment\nand merchandise at cost, he to collect debts and assume their\nliabilities. Upon his doing so, they promised to quit the Territory.\nThey based their grievance largely upon the instructions given to the\npeople, in which they were admonished not to trade with their enemies.\nBrigham Young, who was equal to the occasion, called their attention\nto the fact that any and every man had a perfect right to engage in\nbusiness within this Territory. He stated, however, that his objection\nwas to a certain class of merchants who took advantage of the wealth\nwhich they accumulated from the people to spread misinformation about\nthe Latter-day Saints.\n\nOf course the offer was a bluff. These men might have left the\nTerritory and they might have come back the next day. There was no\noffer on their part to put themselves under obligations not to take up\nmerchandising any time they saw fit, after disposing of their property;\nand even if they had entered into such a bond, it would have been\nillegal in restraint of trade. It was a bluff, and used for outside\neffect. President Young thought they would make a most excellent\nbargain if they could sell out on the terms proposed,--terms that any\nmerchant would be glad to accept.\n\nOn the 16th of April Elder Woodruff took up another of those preaching\ntours with President Young to St. George, and settlements lying along\nthe way. He stated in his journal that just before leaving Salt Lake\nhe received word that his nephew by marriage, Franklin B. Woolley,\nhad been killed by the Indians, near the Mohave River in Southern\nCalifornia. Elder Woolley was at the time in charge of a company of\nmen who were engaged in freighting goods from southern California to\nthe St. George co-operative store. He was the son of Bishop Edwin D.\nWoolley of the Thirteenth Ward of Salt Lake City. When his remains were\nfound, it was discovered that his body had been pierced by several\narrows. The mule upon which he rode was tied to a tree with its throat\ncut.\n\nAlong the way they dedicated, on the 17th of April, the new\nmeeting-house in Springville, President D. H. Wells offering the\ndedicatory prayer. On reaching Nephi the authorities took up the Word\nof Wisdom and urged it most strenuously upon the Saints. The trip was\nattended by severe storms, rain, and snow. {459} Almost all the way\nthe roads were very disagreeable. When they reached Cove Creek Fort,\na sort of half-way station between Kanosh and Beaver, the stopped for\nthe night. The distance between Beaver and Kanosh was so great that it\nafforded the Indians an excellent opportunity to attack travelers and\nmake good their escape.\n\nElder Woodruff's journal records the following description of it: \"This\nFort is a very substantial building. I think it is the best in the\nTerritory. It is built of volcanic rock laid in with mortar. Each of\nthe four walls is one hundred feet long on the outside, eighteen feet\nhigh from the foundation. On the east side is a gate way fourteen feet\nwide with a substantial arch six feet deep and three inches thick, set\ninside. Above this, preparations are being made for a look-out and\ntelegraph office. On the west side is a gate way eight by four feet,\nwith projections inside ten and one-half feet wide, ten feet high. The\nfront contains twelve rooms, six on the north and six on the south\nside, ten of which are sixteen by fourteen feet, and two are sixteen by\nseventeen feet, and nine feet four inches high. There is a chimney to\neach room, three feet wide and two feet thick. The chimneys rise six\nfeet above the top of the wall. The rooms are well lighted and have\nfive panel doors. The roof is covered with good shaved pine shingles.\nThe entire building contains two thousand two hundred and fifty perch\nof rock, one thousand nine hundred and seventy-five bushels of lime,\nand has cost to the present $22,690.00.\"\n\nThe Fort was a great protection in those days. It stood not far from\nthe mouth of the canyon which ran up into Sevier Valley, and was a\ngreat necessity to all travelers, Mormon, Jew, or Gentile, who in those\ndays went to California by what was called the Southern Route.\n\nOn reaching Toquerville, the company turned east and drove up the\nVirgin River as far as Rockville. \"Here we found a beautiful place.\nA street one-half a mile long with rows of houses on each side and\nfine gardens and orchards running through the center of the town. The\nbeautiful vineyards and the high mountains make the scene somewhat\nromantic.\"\n\nOn the 29th of April, the company returned to Toquerville {460} where\nPresident Young, in a pronounced manner, depreciated the use of wine.\n\"You put wine on your table morning and night and it will be an injury\nto you. Set a good example before all, and keep the Word of Wisdom; if\nyou do not, you will soon be severed from the Church.\"\n\nOn leaving there they went directly to St. George. The town had grown\nwonderfully in those days, and had become one of the most flourishing\ntowns in Utah. A number of most excellent families had been called to\nsettle the place under the leadership of Erastus Snow, who had charge\nof the work in the southern part of the Territory. It was here that\nPresident Young recommended the establishment of wholesale stores for\nSt. George and Parowan. When they had reached the latter place on\ntheir return, President Young suggested that an invitation be sent the\nMoquitche Indians to come and locate with the Saints, the report having\nreached him that these Indians felt desirous of so doing.\n\nOn their return, Elder Woodruff said: \"On May 16th Apostle Cannon\nand myself spoke in the Tabernacle. We were followed by a Methodist\nminister, a Mr. Allen, a descendant of Col. Ethan Allen. Mr. Allen had\nalso spoken in the morning. He was very favorably impressed with what\nhe had seen and with the doctrines of the people.\"\n\nOn the 10th of May Elder Woodruff recorded what to him was a very sad\nevent. His daughter Susan and children, obedient to the wishes of their\nhusband and father, left Utah for the States. The husband had little or\nno faith and did not care to remain longer among the Saints. However,\nElder Woodruff blessed his daughter and children and prophesied good\nthings concerning them and lived to see his daughter and all her\nchildren but one return unto the fold and come back to Salt Lake City.\n\nIn the month of June Brigham Young and party started on another tour\nto the North. The pioneer work in the outposts of the Territory needed\nthe watch care and encouragement of President Young, who gave detailed\nattention to everything which affected the welfare of the people. The\nSaints who located in these distant places were not permitted to settle\ndown, by reason of their isolation, into a neglectful and indifferent\nlife. They were unlike most pioneers on the outskirts of civilization,\nas their {461} religious duties imposed upon them public obligations\nwhich were educational in their effect. In Bear Lake on this journey,\na new stake organization was effected, with Elder David P. Kimball as\npresident. Apostle Charles C. Rich had already located in Paris, Bear\nLake, and was the general supervisor of the colonizing work in the far\nnorth.\n\nOn their return to Salt Lake City, Elder Woodruff took up his work on\nthe farm, where he hoed corn, hauled hay, and harvested his wheat.\nOn Pioneer Day, which was celebrated throughout the cities and towns\nof Utah, Elder Woodruff wrote meditatively as follows: \"Twenty-two\nyears ago today I drove the team which brought President Brigham Young\nfrom Emigration Canyon into this City. He lay upon a bed, sick in my\ncarriage. As soon as his eyes rested upon the beautiful yet desert\nscene of the valley before us he said: 'This is the place; for the Lord\nhas shown it to me in a vision.' We now number more than a hundred\nthousand souls. See what God hath wrought! Let His name be honored\nabove all else!\"\n\nOn the 25th of that month he recorded the return of George Nebeker from\na mission to the Hawaiian Islands. He brought with him Napela, a native\nSaint, who addressed the Saints in the Tabernacle of that date. Napela,\nwas the first Hawaiian to visit Utah.\n\nOn the 14th of September, that year, Elder Woodruff recorded the\ndeath of Ezra T. Benson, who died suddenly at Ogden City, at the home\nof Elder Loren Farr. The following Sunday Elder Woodruff preached a\ndiscourse in the Tabernacle, in honor of Brother Benson, and gave a\nbrief sketch of his life. He said that on that occasion there were\nabout sixty ladies and gentlemen from Ohio, who occupied the front\nbenches and who gave strict attention to what was said.\n\nIn those times many distinguished visitors passed through Salt Lake\nCity, enroute to California. They naturally remained over to visit Salt\nLake City and listen to the discourses of the Mormon authorities. From\nElder Woodruff's journal it will be observed that the speakers dwelt\nextensively upon the principle of the patriarchal order of marriage.\nThey explained the views of the Latter-day Saints and defined them on\nreligious, {462} moral, and scientific grounds. The members of Congress\nwere frequently in the audience, and had the opportunity of listening\nto the authorities, and therefore obtained their information on that\nimportant subject first-hand.\n\nOn October 3rd he gave an account of the visit of Schuyler Colfax,\nMr. Ordway, the Sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representatives, and\nseveral members of Congress. These distinguished visitors attended\nmeeting in the afternoon, and the 14th Ward meeting-house in the\nevening. In those days there was a great deal of discussion about the\nprinciple of Plural Marriage, and its rightfulness was urged with\ngreat force by the Church leaders. The Territory was gaining notoriety\nthroughout the country, and the practice of the people here was a\nmatter of frequent and bitter discussion. The leading men of the nation\nwere somewhat puzzled over a situation that was indeed peculiar to\nthem. The fruit was good, the tree was bad, as they found it. There\nwere prosperous and happy homes. There was progress in every direction.\nThe leaders were painstaking, industrious, frugal, God-fearing men.\nThere was every evidence of their integrity, but their system of\nmarriage was not in harmony with the traditions of the past, and the\nreligious practices of Christendom. These distinguished visitors felt\nto praise and also to condemn. They were listening to discourses on a\nquestion to which they could not give their assent.\n\nThey were entertained by means of a Territorial Fair, at which there\nwere seen the products of the Territory. Mr. Colfax and his friends\nexpressed their surprise at what they saw. The grain, vegetables,\nfruits, horses, cattle, merchandise, and all the evidences of industry\nwere far beyond their expectation. Thousands of people thronged the\nfair grounds, and the occasion was one of general enthusiasm. Apostle\nWoodruff did not conceal the pride which he felt in the premiums that\nwere awarded because of his horses, his sheep, and a cow.\n\nThe day after the opening of the Fair, the October Conference convened.\nThe attendance was unusually large. A large measure of prosperity was\nenjoyed, and the people gathered by the thousands. Albert Carrington\nwas chosen a member of the Twelve in consequence of the death of\nEzra T. Benson. A {463} Mr. Coe from Jerusalem was in attendance and\naddressed the congregation.\n\nThe Territory now had organized a militia which was called out for\ndrill in the various counties. At this time these gatherings of the\nmilitia upon the large drill grounds, in different parts of the\nTerritory, was a source of military pride, which quite generally\naroused a militant spirit. The militia of Salt Lake County met on their\nlarge drill ground on the west side of the Jordan. Their organization\nwas complete. The difficulties with the Indians, too, had much to\ndo with this new organization. Patriotic spirit was engendered, and\nthere was generally considerable excitement on those occasions. Elder\nWoodruff participated in these drills and in 1870 acted as chaplain.\n\nJust about this time he recorded a visit which he, together with\nOrson Pratt and George Q. Cannon, made to William S. Godbe, E. L. T.\nHarrison, and T. B. H. Stenhouse. This was popularly known as the\nGodbe Movement. These men were strong characters, and men of a set\ndetermination to have their own way. The mercantile movement of these\ntimes, by which co-operative stores were established, afforded them,\nthey pretended, an opportunity to declare against President Young and\nhis policy. His leadership was a source of jealousy to them. These\nChurch leaders hoped to persuade them not to yield to what was their\nevident purpose, to oppose the Church. Elder Woodruff said he found\nthem in the dark, and bitter. He pleaded with them to repent and turn\nfrom their wrongful course. Subsequently, however, they broke away\nentirely, and they and their families left the Church.\n\nOn the 27th of October the leaders took up one of their tours of the\nsouth. New towns were springing up, and new conditions were so rapidly\narising that constant vigilance was required.\n\nThis closed the year 1869. It was an important year in the history of\nSalt Lake because of the completion of the Utah Central Railroad branch\nline from Ogden to Salt Lake City. It had been a year of considerable\nanxiety to the Saints in consequence of the efforts of Congress to\nlegislate against the practice of plural marriage among the Latter-day\nSaints. Elder Woodruff {464} wrote of the bill as \"a bill to deprive\nthe Latter-day Saints from keeping the commandments of God. The Lord\nhas revealed the patriarchal order of marriage, and we shall be damned\nif we do not obey it.\"\n\nIn order to counteract the influence against the Latter-day Saints,\nthe ladies in Salt Lake City held a mass-meeting in the Tabernacle to\nprotest to Congress against the passage of the Cullom Bill or any other\nbill which might militate against the practice of plural marriage. The\nmeeting was one of great enthusiasm. Stirring speeches were made and\nresolutions adopted and forwarded to Congress.\n\nOn the 10th of January Elder Woodruff wrote: \"This is a great day\nin Utah. Some twelve or fifteen thousand people of the city and\nsurrounding country, men, women, and children, assembled around the\nrailroad depot to celebrate the completion of the Utah Central Railway,\nand to see the last rail laid and the last spike driven by President\nYoung. This railroad was built by the laboring men of the Latter-day\nSaints. There were present bands of music from the City and Camp\nDouglas. On the stand were the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles,\nthe officers of the Union and Central and Pacific Railroad, including\nthe officers of Fort Douglas.\n\n\"A large steel mallet was used on the occasion. It was made by James\nLawson and elegantly chased on the top, and there was engraved upon it\na bee hive surmounted by the inscription \"Holiness to the Lord.\" Under\nthe bee hive were the letters \"U. C. R. R.\" The spike was constructed\nof home made iron and manufactured by the late Elder Nathaniel V.\nJones. It was ornamented like the mallet and the ornamentation was\nalso the work of Brother Lawson. Before the ceremony of laying the\nlast rail commenced, the sun, which had been completely concealed by\nthe clouds during the early part of the day, burst forth with great\nbrilliancy as if determined to enhance the general joy by his genial\nrays. The ceremony took place about nine o'clock, after which a salute\nof thirty-seven guns was given,--a salute for each mile of the road.\nCaptain Croxall's band enlivened the scene by its strains of sweet\nmusic.\"\n\nThe following prayer was then offered by Elder Woodruff: {465} \"O God,\nthe Eternal Father, we have assembled on this occasion to celebrate one\nof the grandest events of the generation in which we live, and to offer\nup the gratitude of our hearts with thanks-giving for Thy merciful and\nprotecting care that was over us when we were led into these Valleys\nby Thy servant Brigham Young twenty-two years ago. We found then a\ncomplete desert inhabited only by wild beasts and a few red men, who\nroamed over the plains. To-day we behold the teeming thousands of the\nAnglo Saxon race assembled here to celebrate the completion of a line\nof railroads into this City, which has opened up commerce between us\nand all the world. Thou hast enabled the Saints who have gathered here\nfrom the nations of the earth, to fill these Valleys of the Mountains\nwith six hundred miles of cities, towns, villages, gardens, orchards,\nvineyards, and fields; and the desert has been made to blossom as\nthe rose. We should be ungrateful did we not acknowledge Thy hand in\nThy protecting care, which has been over us and which has enabled us\nto assist in levelling these mountains and exalting the valleys and\nin laying an iron band which has bound this continent together from\nocean to ocean and made all the various states and territories of\nthis mighty nation neighbors to each other. For all these blessings\nwe render the gratitude of our hearts unto Thee, and we pray that Thy\nblessings may rest upon this day. We dedicate this railroad unto Thee,\nthe Lord our God. We pray that Thy blessings may rest upon it, and\nupon those who have built it and labored on it. We thank Thee for the\npeace and quietude we have enjoyed, for the many years that we have\ndwelt in these Valleys of the Mountains. Continue Thy blessings, O God,\nwe beseech Thee, unto the inhabitants here and throughout the nation.\nThese favors and blessings we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our\nRedeemer, Amen.\"\n\n\"A speech was then read by George Q. Cannon for President Young.\nTelegrams from Governor Stanford of California and others, expressing\ntheir regrets at not being able to be present, were then read, after\nwhich addresses were made by Wm. Jennings, Col. B. O. Carr of the\nUnion Pacific, T. B. Morris, chief engineer of the Western Division\nof the U. P. R. R., John Taylor, and Mr. Campbell, superintendent\nof the Utah Division of the Central Pacific R. R. These were all\npublished in the _News_ of January 11th, 1870, with the exception\nof Mr. Campbell's which {466} the recorders could not hear. The\nbenediction was pronounced by Henry W. Naisbitt. In the evening the\nstreets were enlivened by great throngs of people. The illumination of\nthe City began at six o'clock p. m., and by seven o'clock there was\nthe greatest brilliancy throughout the streets and in the skies. All\npublic buildings and stores were illuminated. I attended a grand ball\nin the Theatre where two hundred persons could occupy the floor at the\nsame time in the dance. There were some fifteen hundred people present,\nincluding the military officers of Camp Douglas. All the federal\nofficials, including the Judges, were there. I took with me three of my\nwives, Phoebe, Emma, and Sarah. We ate supper at the Townsend House.\"\n\nOn the 16th of January Elder Woodruff with a number of others started\nby train to Ogden for the purpose of attending the funeral of Bishop C.\nW. West, who had died in California. On the way to Ogden the train was\ndelayed by an accident so that those aboard reached that place only in\ntime to witness the burial service. \"Coming back, we held in the car\none of the best meetings I ever attended in my life. We had twenty-two\nspeeches and about the same number of songs. Among the speakers were\nElders John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, George Q. Cannon,\nJoseph F. Smith, and Brigham Young, Jr., much of the spirit of God\nrested upon us, and strong testimonies were borne. We reached home\nabout ten o'clock.\"\n\nOn January the 27th he recorded the death of his Uncle Ozem Woodruff,\nwho had died the preceding December at the advanced age of ninety-two.\nAbout the same time he was industriously mailing papers to his friends\nin the East in order that he might circulate the speech against the\nSaints by Vice-president Schuyler Colfax and the reply thereto by Elder\nJohn Taylor.\n\nThe conference of April 6th, that year, was poorly attended owing to\nthe inclemency of the weather. There was a foot of snow at the time\non the ground. Naturally, some excitement existed at the time in\nconsequence of the legislation by congress. Conference was held but one\nday and then adjourned until the 5th of May, when it reconvened and\nlasted three days.\n\nThe latter part of May was made interesting to the people of Salt Lake\nby a visit of the Boston Board of Trade. The company {467} occupied\neleven Pullman cars, and consisted of one hundred and twenty wealthy\nmerchants and business men from the City of Boston. They attended the\nTabernacle meeting and were addressed by Elders Woodruff and George A.\nSmith. In the afternoon President Young spoke to about three hundred\nstrangers and a large congregation of the Saints. After the service,\nPresident Young, George A. Smith, D. H. Wells, John Taylor, Orson\nPratt, Wilford Woodruff, and George Q. Cannon were invited to dine in\nthe palace cars with the noted visitors.\n\nOn the fourth of June a large party of the leading men of the Church\nstarted on one of their tours through Malad and Bear Lake Valleys.\nPresident Young was indefatigable in his travels throughout the Church.\nHe was everywhere present with counsel and encouragement to build up\nthe Zion of God. The people were not allowed to sleep upon the laurels\nthey had won. They were not permitted to settle down to an indifferent\ncomfort. On that trip they were received everywhere with honor and\nenthusiasm.\n\nOn different occasions Elder Woodruff quoted President Young as saying:\n\"We are surrounded by the Lamanites who are degraded and cast down, yet\nthey are of the house of Israel and we should set them a good example.\nLet us not get down to their ways, but rather seek to exalt them.\" Of\na certain class he said, \"Elders many times are vain and trifling, and\nseem to forget their calling and position in the Church. We should\ncome to realize that we have the priesthood and are set as an example\nto all men. We should magnify our calling and walk with dignity before\nthe Lord.\" In reference to the building up of Zion he further said: \"It\nis our duty to build up Zion. We cannot do it by singing and praying\nalone. It will take the work of the people. When Zion is built up, it\nwill be beautiful and glorious. All we have done already is attracting\nthe attention of the world.\"\n\nOn that journey Elder Woodruff quotes the words of Lorenzo Snow, who\ngave an account of his experience when drowned in the Pacific Ocean. He\nwas under many feet of water and was restored to life by the power of\nGod. He said that for many years previous to this event he had suffered\nfrom sick headache, but afterwards it had left him and he had been\nentirely healed from it.\n\n{468} Following the account given by Lorenzo Snow, he quoted these\nwords from the lips of President Young: \"Mark my words, every\nLatter-day Saint who gets rich and does not acknowledge the hand of\nGod in it will be damned. A hypocrite or a traitor cannot gain the\nconfidence of God or man. We must obey the Lord and keep His laws. The\nGod of Heaven has kept the Celestial Law, and so must we if we obtain\nthe same glory with Him. I would rather have slept with Joseph Smith\nin death than to live to turn one honest man from the Church. The\nauthorities in these towns and cities should deal kindly and justly\nwith the Saints.\"\n\nThe spirit of those times is repeated in the language of Lorenzo Snow\nin his address to the people at Logan on the occasion of that tour:\n\"The Lord does not intend that the Saints shall live always in dens and\ncaves of the earth, but that they shall build fine houses. When the\nLord comes he will not expect to meet a dirty people, but a people of\nrefinement, having glory as the bride to the Lamb of God. When we were\ncalled to go south, I continued to improve my property up to the last\nmoment; at the same time I expected to burn up everything except what\nwe had to take south with us. When we were called to go south we were\nunited as the heart of one man.\"\n\nAfter the return of the President's party from the north, Elder\nWoodruff busied himself by giving encouragement to the silk industry\nwhich the people were then endeavoring to establish in the Territory;\nand in company with Robert T. Burton took up the work of selling the\nbonds of the Central Pacific Railroad.\n\nOn the 12th, 13th, and 14th of August he gave an account of the\ndiscussion between Orson Pratt and Doctor Newman on the subject\nof Polygamy, an account of which has been issued as a separate\npublication. The Sunday following the discussion, William H. Seward,\nformer Secretary of State, attended the services in the Tabernacle. He\nwas then on his way to China. He was deeply impressed by the growth and\ndevelopment of the Saints, and was led to say that America had \"never\nproduced a greater statesman than President Brigham Young.\"\n\nOn the 4th of September, Martin Harris, one of the Witnesses to the\nBook of Mormon, appeared before the people in the Tabernacle, he having\nbeen brought to Utah largely through the interest {469} and labors of\nElder Edward Stevenson. \"Martin Harris arose and bore his testimony to\nthe truth of the Book of Mormon. He was eighty-eight years old, and he\nfinally came up to Zion to lay his body down with the Saints. He has\nbeen separated from the Church thirty-three years and was far behind\nthe times, yet he bore a strong testimony to the truth of the Book of\nMormon.\" On the 17th of that month Elder Stevenson rebaptized Martin\nHarris and he was confirmed by John Taylor.\n\nIn closing his journal for that year he says that he traveled in all,\nseventeen hundred miles, attended one hundred and sixty-six meetings,\nand preached seventy-five discourses. In the Endowment House he sealed\nover five hundred couples. In addition to his religious duties, Elder\nWoodruff served forty days in the Territorial Legislature. He also took\npleasure in the thought that he had labored upon his farm considerable\ntime in plowing, harvesting, planting, and hoeing. He speaks of his\npotatoes, of his squash, and his apples and his hay. These were the\nproducts of the soil, which he raised for the support of himself and\nof his wives and children. No public man upon whom weighed heavily the\nduties of both church and state more perfectly loved and honored that\ndivine command, \"By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou earn thy bread.\"\n\n{470}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 43.\n\nPIONEER LIFE IN RICH COUNTY, 1871.\n\nArrest of President Young and Others.--Experiences in Randolph.--Caught\nin a Snow Storm.--Reaches Salt Lake City.\n\nThe year 1871 found the anti-Mormon element entrenched behind a\nconsiderable adverse eastern sentiment against the Latter-day Saints,\nand persecutions therefore took on a renewed vigor.\n\nThere was a contest on between the Federal and the Territorial officers\nrespecting the control of the penitentiary, which had been constructed\nin part by the Territory, and in part by the Federal government. As all\nsuch questions were decided by Federal and hostile courts, the Mormon\npeople were, of course, losers at every step in the controversy.\n\nSalt Lake City was, at this time, visited by large numbers of\nstrangers, who were generally en route for California. That state\nwas the eldorado of an adventurous and speculative class of citizens\nwho had learned how to take advantage of new conditions. They were\nnaturally quite curious to attend services in the Tabernacle, and in\nthe evening they usually visited the Fourteenth Ward meeting-house,\nthat assembly room being in close proximity to the Townsend Hotel, at\nthat time the chief hostlery of the Territory.\n\nIn October of that year, President Young was arrested by United States\nMarshal Patrick, on the charge of unlawful conduct with his plural\nwives. A little later President Wells and George Q. Cannon were also\narrested on the same charge.\n\nElder Woodruff said in his journal of October 28th that President\nWells, Hosea Stout, and William Kimball were arrested on a false\ncharge, made by William A. Hickman, a notorious murderer, who sought\nan opportunity at a time when there was great excitement against the\nleaders, to shield himself from accusations and prosecution. The\nchief purpose of these arrests was to excite the public indignation\nthroughout the United States against the Mormon leaders. They were\ntherefore taken to Fort Douglas, and there kept under military guard.\nThe one excuse {471} for such extraordinary action, was that there\nmight be an uprising among the people, which would require the military\npower to overcome.\n\nWhile these brethren were thus confined at the Fort, they were visited\nby Apostle Woodruff, who says that he found them cheerful and satisfied\nthat they would be delivered from the power of their enemies. One\nGeneral Morrow asked President Wells if they (the Mormons) would give\nup polygamy and submit to the demands of the government, or fight. He\nreplied:\n\n  \"We will neither submit nor obey,\n  Neither fight nor run away.\"\n\nWhile Elder Woodruff was not personally selected as an object of the\nenemies' attack, he was nevertheless deeply interested in the safety of\nhis brethren, and watched over them with a brotherly love. He was ever\nready, if necessary, to lay down his life for his brethren.\n\nWhen President Young was on trial, Elder Woodruff was in the court\ntaking notes of the proceedings, and listening with eager and anxious\nfeelings. At that time President Young was prosecuted by Maxwell and\nBaskin, and defended by Major Hempstead and the eloquent Thomas Fitch,\nthen the most noted attorney in the Territory.\n\nOn the 28th of June, the year following, he reported his sermon in\nhonor of Mary Philipps of Kaysville, who died in her ninety-eighth\nyear. She had been baptized by Elder Woodruff in England in 1840. He\nalways manifested a strong attachment for those who had been the fruit\nof the gospel in his early labors.\n\nA little later a peculiar experience came to him in the death of a\nSister Allen, who was sorely afflicted at the home of one of Abram O.\nSmoot's wives. She had suffered severely for two years and very much\ndesired that she might be released from her sufferings in this life.\nShe therefore called upon Elder Woodruff to bless her to that end. He\nprayerfully asked the Lord to let her go, and being impressed that it\nwas proper that she should go, he dedicated her to the Lord, and in one\nhour she passed peacefully to the great beyond.\n\nAbout this time, Apostle Woodruff entered on some new and rather\nextraordinary experiences in an effort he made to {472} assist in the\ncolonization and development of Rich County, Utah. He therefore made\na home at Randolph for his wife, Sarah. His son, Wilford, had been\nreleased from the Muddy Mission, and returned to Randolph to assist his\nfather, and to establish a home for himself there.\n\nHis new activities in the early settlement of Randolph brought him into\nsomewhat close relation with the people who were, at this time, busily\noccupied in the settlement of Bear Lake.\n\nWhile on a visit to Soda Springs, where he met President Young and\nparty, there died a Mrs. Rose, a wife of Major Rose, both of whom he\nhad baptized thirty years before in England. The Rose family were then\nand have since been somewhat prominent in the affairs of that part of\nthe country.\n\nBesides visiting people for their spiritual edification, he also\noccupied a part of his time in hauling wood from the near-by canyons to\nhis family in Randolph.\n\nOn one occasion he recorded his experience as follows:\n\n\"David and myself went to the canyon to get wood, and as it was all the\nway down hill, we put on about two and one-half cords of dry quaking\nasp. While going down a very steep hill, the ring of the neck-yoke\nbroke and the wagon pushed on at great speed. One of the mules fell\njust as the wagon was about to stop. The front wheel run over it and\npinioned it fast to the ground, with the sway bar across its back,\nwhile the tongue of the wagon ran into the ground nearly six feet. The\nmule had to lie there until we unloaded the wood, uncoupled the wagon,\ndug the tongue out of the ground with an axe, and tipped the wheels\nover to release it. We thought it would be almost if not quite dead,\nbut to our surprise, the mule rose up, shook itself and began to eat.\n\n\"The neck-yoke and irons of both whipple-trees were broken, yet I\nstrapped them up and reached home with one cord of wood.\"\n\nContinuing his journal, he said: \"During those days it was very\nstormy, and on the 24th of November it rained nearly all day. I felt\nimpressed, strongly impressed, that I should return to Salt Lake City.\nThis feeling had been upon me since Monday, though my family urged\nme to remain. On the 15th the same spirit again rested upon me and I\ntold Sarah and Wilford that I must {473} go; so after I ate breakfast\nI prepared my team, bade my family good-bye, and started about eight\no'clock in the morning.\n\n\"I drove to Woodruff, fed my horses and talked a while with Bishop Lee.\nI then drove on, and when about twelve miles from Wasatch, a great\nsnow-storm struck me. It was terribly blinding. However, I arrived at\nWasatch in the night with my horses and wagon covered with snow and\nwater. I called upon Brother George Rowley, who was the one Latter-day\nSaint in the place. He received me kindly and assisted me to get my\nhorses into the store-house, but for which I think they would have\nperished, there being no stable in the place.\n\n\"I traveled thirty-five miles that day and slept little through the\nnight. I rose on Sunday morning, the 26th, and found the snow about two\nfeet deep, and falling thick and fast. It looked very gloomy and I did\nnot know what course to pursue.\n\n\"I could not travel the road so I went to Mr. Haven, an operator and\nU. P. agent, and asked him what chance there was to take a car. He had\nno baggage car he said, and if he had, he did not know how I could\nget my wagon and horses on board, as all the appliances for loading\nsuch articles were moved to Evanston. I could not buy any grain in the\nplace, and the only hay there, was in the hands of a Mr. Hammond, an\napostate Mormon, and a very bitter one. I brought from Randolph about a\nhundred lbs. of hay, which was all the feed I had. The snow was rapidly\ncovering up my wagon. In that dilemma I went to the house and fed them\na little hay, and then kneeled down and prayed the Lord to deliver me.\n\n\"I could get no water to my horses except as Brother Rowley, who had\ncharge of the engine, would run it on a track near the horses, and turn\nit into the buckets and I would then carry it to them.\n\n\"The night of that day I went to bed while the snow was still falling\nand everything looked gloomy. The 27th was quite an important day with\nme. I rose in the morning and found the snow three feet deep on the\nlevel. It was still snowing furiously. I could see no deliverance for\nmyself and team unless the Lord opened the way for us. I had to wallow\nto my arm pits in snow to get to my horses, or anywhere else.\n\n{474} \"Mr. Haven sent to Evanston for a car for me, the night before\nby my request, but how to get my wagon and team into it was the great\nquestion. Neither did the agent see how it could be done. My wagon was\ncovered with snow and was some three hundred feet from the station.\nThere was no help except the Chinamen who were under the control of\na Mr. Carpenter, whose duty it was to keep the track clear of snow.\nI spoke to him but he said he had no right to take his men from the\nrailroad to dig out a span of horses.\n\n\"I then made my way through three feet of snow about three hundred\nyards to the place where my horses were housed. I rubbed them down,\ncaressed them, but only had a morsel to feed them. I knelt down and\nprayed earnestly to the Lord to deliver me and my team. It might be\nthought a little matter to allow the horses to remain and starve in\norder to take the car myself and save my own life. But my team had\nwallowed through the snow some twelve miles to save my life and I felt\nit my duty to do all in my power to save theirs. I prayed earnestly to\nthe Lord to deliver me and save my animals from starvation. The spirit\nof the Lord came upon me while praying and I had a testimony that my\nprayers would be answered and that I should be delivered.\n\n\"I rose from my knees and wallowed some sixty rods through three feet\nof snow to the telegraph office and talked with Mr. Haven, the operator\nand agent. I told him he must help me. The spirit of the Lord rested\nupon him and he said he would do all in his power for my deliverance.\nHe went with me to see Mr. Carpenter, the same spirit came upon him and\nhe said he would do all he could. He then told the ten Chinamen to take\ntheir shovels and follow him. We all went to where the horses and wagon\nwere and it took us nearly five hours to dig out the wagon and open the\nroad to the station.\n\n\"Then we had to build a staging some ten feet high and cover it with\ncoal cinders to get the horses up, but they would not walk up the\nplanks. I then went to Mr. Hammond, the apostate Mormon, who had the\nonly hay in the place, and asked him to sell me fifty cents worth. He\ngot the same spirit as the others, put up the hay for me and carried it\nto the depot. I laid it on the platform at the head of the staging and\nboth of my horses readily {475} went to it. I then put them inside. We\nthen took the wagon to pieces and lifted it up, piece at a time, and\nplaced it in the store-house.\n\n\"When the freight train came along, Mr. Haven stopped it and had the\nengineer bring up the car a hundred yards to the platform. In trying\nto get my box in with the bows and cover on, it became fastened with\none end on the platform and the other against the side of the car. The\nengineer would not wait any longer, but started on with his train and\nleft me.\n\n\"Mr. Haven then telegraphed to Evanston to send him an engine. While\nit was coming, we took off the cover and bows to the wagon box, and\nfinally succeeded in loading my outfit. It was in order when the engine\narrived. Mr. Haven ordered the engineer to hitch on to the car. He did\nso reluctantly as he had to travel something like one hundred and sixty\nmiles to get to Ogden and back, just to take me and my wagon and team.\n\n\"I bade my friends good-bye, and as the cars started I knelt down by\nthe side of my horses and returned thanks to my Heavenly Father for the\ndeliverance he had brought to me.\n\n\"My clothing was wet, I having wallowed in the snow all day, so I put\non dry ones.\n\n\"We arrived in Ogden about ten o'clock, when I went to Bishop Herrick\nand passed the night with him. Brother Herrick lent me money to pay my\nbill to the railroad, which, strange to say, was only $26.00. Had they\ncharged me in full, their usual rates for car and engine and all that\nwas done, it would have been about $150.00.\n\n\"On the 28th of November I drove my team from Ogden to Salt Lake, where\nI arrived home with a grateful heart to be delivered from my perils and\nto find my family all well.\"\n\n{476}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 44.\n\nTHE YEARS, 1872-74.\n\nJudge McKean.--Journalizing.--Early Church Historians.--Holy\nGhost.--Visit to San Francisco.--Funerals of Pitt and Player.--Thomas\nL. Kane.--Garden of Eden.--Paralysis.--Earl Rosebury.--Fall from a Tree.\n\nAccording to Elder Woodruff's journal, the year 1872 opened with a\nheavy snow-storm. The year also found the Saints considerably agitated\nover the indictments found against Brigham Young and leading men of the\nChurch, on the charge of murder. These indictments had been largely the\nresult of Judge McKean's well-known animosity toward the Mormons, and\nespecially toward the leaders of the Church. He was styled \"a judge\nwith a mission.\" The conduct of Judge McKean was so full of bias, and\nhis rulings so unjust in all matters touching the Mormon people, that\nhe made himself, more or less, a terror to the Latter-day Saints.\n\nIn his journal at the opening of 1872, Elder Woodruff said: \"Certain\nmen in the nation, high in authority, have set themselves up against\nthe work of God and are determined to destroy it if possible.\" Elder\nWoodruff began to predict the failure of such men as McKean to\naccomplish the ends they had in view. So far as McKean was concerned,\nhis predictions were fulfilled. On the 20th he gave the synopsis in his\njournal that he made upon the subject of keeping a record of events in\nthe affairs of the Church by those who had responsibilities resting\nupon them. \"There is one subject I wish to speak upon and that is the\nkeeping of a journal with respect to the dealings of God with us. I\nhave many times thought the Quorum of the Twelve and others considered\nme rather enthusiastic upon this subject; but when the Prophet Joseph\norganized the Quorum of the Twelve, he counseled them to keep a history\nof their lives, and gave his reasons why they should do so. I have had\nthis spirit and calling upon me since I first entered this Church. I\nmade a record from the first sermon I heard, and from that day until\nnow I have kept a daily journal. Whenever I heard Joseph Smith preach,\nteach, or prophesy, I always {477} felt it my duty to write it; I felt\nuneasy and could not eat, drink, or sleep until I did write; and my\nmind has been so exercised upon this subject that when I heard Joseph\nSmith teach and had no pencil or paper, I would go home and sit down\nand write the whole sermon, almost word for word and sentence by\nsentence as it was delivered, and when I had written it it was taken\nfrom me, I remembered it no more. This was the gift of God to me.\n\n\"The devil has sought to take away my life from the day I was born\nuntil now, more so even than the lives of other men. I seem to be a\nmarked victim of the adversary. I can find but one reason for this:\nthe devil knew if I got into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day\nSaints, I would write the history of that Church and leave on record\nthe works and teachings of the prophets, of the apostles and elders. I\nhave recorded nearly all the sermons and teachings that I ever heard\nfrom the Prophet Joseph, I have in my journal many of the sermons of\nPresident Brigham Young, and such men as Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt\nand others. Another reason I was moved upon to write in the early days\nwas that nearly all the historians appointed in those times apostatized\nand took the journals away with them.\"\n\n\"Another subject I wish to say a few words upon here is the spirit of\nGod to men, the Holy Ghost which is given the Saints, the inspiration\nof the Almighty which giveth the spirit of men understanding. That\nspirit is the greatest testimony man can possess. His eyes and ears may\nbe deceived in seeing the miracles such as the magicians wrought in the\ndays of Moses, and such as false prophets will work in the last days,\nbut when men receive the Holy Ghost they can not be deceived. It is not\nin the thunder or in the whirl-wind that we should look for the spirit\nof God, but in the still small voice.\n\n\"I give one instance in which I profited by the spirit. When I was\nbringing the eastern Saints to this Valley, I arrived in Pittsburg,\nand there I chartered a steamboat to take the Saints to St. Louis. As\nsoon as I had done it the spirit said to me, 'Don't go on board of that\nboat.' The captain relieved me and I chartered another. The steamer\nthat I first chartered, after starting down the river, soon took fire,\nburned the wheels and ropes in two, and {478} nearly all the passengers\neither burned to death or were drowned. Such an experience is given to\nmany elders in this Church.\"\n\nThis year's journal also contains the accounts of the customary\njourneys, north and south, to the various communities of the Saints. In\nPayson, on the 20th day of July, he dedicated the new meeting-house. He\nwas also busy that year on his farm and in his efforts to build up a\nhome at Randolph, in Rich County.\n\nOn the 9th of September, in company with George A. Smith, George Q.\nCannon, and A. M. Musser, he paid a visit to the Pacific Coast. His\npurpose was to attend the state fair of California, as he was President\nof the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society of Utah. His\njournal contains a long account of the things he saw and the things\nwhich greatly interested him.\n\nThe following excerpts are taken from it:\n\n\"This morning found us at Truckee, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada\nMountains. We had a view of the lake where the company of emigrants\nperished in 1847.\n\n\"San Francisco is a very fine place. The city looks as though it were\na hundred years old instead of twenty. It contains 175,000 inhabitants\nand a vast amount of wealth. We visited China's part of the city, saw\nthe Chinese god and the temples where fires were continually burning.\nThey are very numerous in that city. We visited Mr. Alston's princely\npalace and were received with all the attention that princes could\nexpect. He had a telegraph line from his bank in San Francisco to his\ndwelling, twenty miles distant. He had telegraphed to the family to\nreceive us kindly and make us happy, and they did so. His princely\nmansion did not cost less than a million dollars, and his wife spent\na quarter of a million in furnishing it. The chairs were made of the\nfinest ebony in China. Even the spitoons were carved out of the finest\nParisian marble. The rooms were decorated with marble statuary and\nbronze. The chandeliers cost many thousands of dollars, in fact, the\nwhole palace had more the appearance of a museum than of a private\ndwelling. It had its Turkish and Russian baths. There were scores of\nbath rooms, of baths connected with the bedrooms. He had a retort and\nmade his own gas for the purpose of lighting his dwelling and barns.\nThere were many mirrors, large and costly. The surrounding grounds\nof 100 acres were cultivated at great expense. I almost felt like\nspending the night in visiting the house and surroundings {479} instead\nof going to sleep. I became so dazed and bewildered with the scenery\nand attention of the last twenty-four hours, since our arrival in\nCalifornia, that I felt like asking myself the question: 'Am I an elder\nof the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints? If so, what is coming\nover the world that such a great change is manifest towards us?'\"\n\nDuring this visit, Elder Woodruff and his companions received great\nattention from the leading men of San Francisco, and were given every\nopportunity of witnessing the growth of California as set forth in\nthe exhibits of the State Fair. Elder Woodruff took a great deal of\npleasure in the wonderful showing of fine animals, and witnessed the\nraces with great pleasure.\n\nContinuing the description of his visit, he said: \"The Governor showed\nus on this visit to Sacramento every attention. We were escorted\nthrough the State House that had cost $2,500,000. We went to the top\nof it, 280 feet high. On the 22nd, a Sunday, we attended the Catholic\nChurch and heard Father Calcham preach. His discourse was a very\ngood, practical sermon. We attended the Methodist Sunday school in\nthe afternoon. We endeavored also to attend the Baptist Church in the\nevening, but in consequence of the street cars, which delayed us, we\nwere disappointed in that part of our program.\"\n\nApostle Woodruff was painstaking in recording all that interested and\ndelighted him during this his first visit to the western coast. In\nlater life, he paid several visits to California, and something like\ntwenty-six years from that time laid down his life on the shore of the\nGolden Gate. He returned in time to attend the semi-annual conference\nof that year, and he recorded the fact that the mission of President\nGeorge A. Smith and others to the Holy Land was considered at this\ntime. The purpose of the mission was to dedicate the land of Palestine\nagain for the return of Judah and of the Twelve Tribes.\n\nThe close of the year 1872 and the first of the year 1873 again found\nElder Woodruff at his home in Randolph. He and his wife, Sarah, her\nchildren, and his son, Wilford and family, were among the earliest\npioneers of Rich County. New Year's day 1873, found him busily engaged\nin putting floors in his house. That part of the state is a higher\naltitude, and being located well to the north, the climate there is\nmore severe than in Salt Lake {480} Valley. Notwithstanding he was\nnow sixty-five years of age, he faced the storms and severe winds and\nflying snow with as much pluck as a man of twenty-five. At intervals\nhe enjoyed a hunt very much, from which he rarely ever returned\nempty-handed.\n\nHe spoke in the journal at this time of the special interest he felt in\nthe Deseret News as a medium of instruction and of correct information\nto the Latter-day Saints. He felt that it was a proper guide to the\npeople, if well edited, and would keep them in harmony with the\nelders. At one time he was appointed editor of the News, but being\noverburdened, he could not do justice to the call and was honorably\nreleased.\n\nAfter his return to Salt Lake City on the 3rd of February that year, he,\nwith others, started on a visit to Cache Valley by the Utah Central and\nUtah Northern Railroads. Although two engines were used to draw the one\ncar in which the party rode, they were unable to plow their way through\nthe snow-drifts, through Box Elder and Cache.\n\nFebruary 23rd found him again in Salt Lake City, where he attended\nthe funeral of William Pitt, a man who had received the gospel from\nhis teachings in Herefordshire, in the year 1840. His funeral was\nattended by hundreds of people and there were several bands of music in\nattendance. Elder Woodruff was one of the speakers on that occasion. He\nmentions a peculiar circumstance which took place at that time. Brother\nWilliam Player, then eighty years old, was one of the pall-bearers.\nThe handle broke in his hand, and turning aside he leaned up against\na post. His son, who was anxious about his father's condition, went\nimmediately to his assistance, and when asked what the trouble was,\nsaid: \"My breath has given out, but I would like to follow my old\nfriend to the grave, for I shall soon be in a similar condition myself.\nI wonder if as many will attend my funeral when I die?\" The father was\ntaken home in a wagon, and in about four hours was dead. Elder Woodruff\nalso preached at his funeral.\n\nOn the 4th of March he gave an account of a visit of Thomas L. Kane\nand wife to Utah; and on that day, with President Young and party, he\naccompanied this old-time friend and wife as far as Ogden on their\nreturn home to the East. Colonel Kane had done much to defend the\nLatter-day Saints against their foes and to alleviate their sufferings\nin times of trial. Colonel Kane was also {481} pleased at that time at\nthe failure of Congress to pass bills affecting the Latter-day Saints.\n\nAt a conference of the Sunday school children in the old Tabernacle,\non the 30th of March, Elder Woodruff reported President Young as\nsaying, \"I thought while I was looking at the school children to-day\nthat I should see a larger assembly of them in the spirit world, and I\nwondered if there I should see as large a percentage of grown people\nwith them, that is, of teachers to direct their minds there as they are\ndoing here. Joseph, the Prophet, told me that the Garden of Eden was in\nJackson County, Missouri. When Adam was driven out he went to the place\nwe now call Adam-ondi-Ahman, Daviess County, Missouri. There he built\nan altar and offered sacrifices.\"\n\nAt the April conference President Young chose five additional\ncounselors because of the heavy labors devolving upon him. These were\nLorenzo Snow, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington,\nand John W. Young. President George A. Smith at that time was made\ntrustee-in-trust with twelve other brethren as his assistants.\n\nOn the 12th of May twelve high counselors were selected for the Salt\nLake Stake of Zion, and about that time William Hyde, William Budge,\nElias Smith, and fifty others were selected to receive ordination to\nthe office of patriarch.\n\nJune 1st he visited Provo in company with President Young. The latter,\nin speaking there of another temple, said that he had once asked the\nLord what kind of temple we should build. The answer was that He did\nnot make any two things alike, and we need not build two temples alike.\nOn the 18th of the same month he went as far east as Evanston to meet\nGeorge A. Smith and his party on their return from Palestine. The\ndescription of that country greatly interested Apostle Woodruff, whose\nfamiliarity with the Scriptures made those ancient scenes of prophets\nand apostles very sacred to him.\n\nOn the 9th and 10th of August meetings were held in the new Tabernacle,\nwhere President Young, Elder Woodruff said, chided the Saints for the\ntoo frequent claim on their part for the sacrifices which they made\nfor the gospel's sake. Instead of making sacrifices, he said, they\nwere only exchanging dross for gold. Apostle Joseph F. Smith at the\ntime further remarked on the same {482} subject that it was almost a\nlibel on the Lord the way some people talked about making sacrifices\nfor the gospel's sake. He then pointed out to them the blessings they\nhad received temporally, spiritually, and socially. Their circumstances\nwere in every way more favorable than those which surrounded them in\nthe land they had left.\n\nAbout this time a party of editors from the East came to Salt Lake\nCity, and in August Elder Woodruff escorted them to places of interest,\nincluding the Temple Quarry, at Granite, and Provo. The party also\nvisited Lehi, American Fork Canyon, and on their return to Salt Lake\nCity a feast was given them and they were treated in a most hospitable\nmanner.\n\nElder Woodruff recorded in his journal that on the 25th of September,\n1873, he was stricken apparently with paralysis; his condition was\nalarming to both himself and members of his family. To him it seemed\nthat he could live but a short time. \"A strange feeling came over me, I\nturned out my horses and went to bed. I felt as though I was stricken\nwith death and should live but a short time. My blood, spirit, and life\nall seemed to be leaving my limbs, and death to be closing around my\nheart and vitals. I sent for my wife, Phoebe, and Brother George Q.\nCannon. I also sent for my neighbor, Brother William Wagstaff, who came\nand administered to me. I suppose he came quickly, but it seemed to\nme it was an hour before he reached the bedside. When he came I felt\nas though I was about to give up the ghost. He laid his hands upon me\nand rebuked the affliction and I was instantly liberated. Soon, Mrs.\nWoodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Brigham Young, Jr., arrived. These\nbrethren also blessed me, and returned home.\" For a time his limbs were\naffected with numbness and he was generally feeble; however, he lived,\nsubsequent to this, twenty-five years and three days. Speaking of his\ncondition at the time he wrote: \"I feel the effects of the paralytic\nstroke, and unless there is a change in me, my journal writing in this\nlife is about done; but should I not live to finish my biography, it is\nmy desire that the historians of the Church or some friends do it for\nme.\"\n\nIt was only a short time after this that he found himself again active\nin his ministerial duties. On the 14th of October he visited Provo,\nwhere he took part in the dedication of the Utah County {483} Court\nHouse. It was an occasion of special public interest and attended by\nprominent men in the County as well as in the Territory. Elder Woodruff\nmentioned the visit of a distinguished Scotch earl who subsequently\nbecame Lord Rosebery, at one time Prime Minister of England. \"He was a\nyoung man then, quite unassuming, free, easy and sociable,\" said Elder\nWoodruff. He had come from England to Salt Lake City to see President\nYoung and the Latter-day Saints. The young earl conversed about an hour\nwith the Church leaders and after taking supper with them went to the\nball in President Young's party. The next day the party visited the\nseminary, factory, Z. C. M. I., and other places of interest about the\ntown.\n\nPresident Woodruff was again taken to Provo on the 25th of November to\ncelebrate with the citizens there the beginning of the Utah Southern\nRailroad. It was perhaps the greatest assemblage of people the town had\never known. The progress of the railroad was always a source of special\npride to Elder Woodruff, who realized how much the development of the\nTerritory depended upon improved means of transportation.\n\nIt was a practice of Elder Woodruff to record the death of his friends,\nespecially those who had been devoted to the cause which he represented\nand who were faithful to the end. He gives in a general way the\ncharacters of the men and the work they performed, when he pays tribute\nto them at the time of their death. On the 2nd of March he made special\nrecord of the death of Bishop William Hyde of Hyde Park, Cache County.\nBishop Hyde was a brother of his old missionary friend, Heman Hyde.\nWilliam, he speaks of as a member of the Mormon Battalion and refers to\nhim as a leading spirit in building up Cache Valley; mentions the fact\nthat he was probate judge and prominent in the Territorial militia.\nHe also mentions on the 11th of April, 1874, the death of an old\nassociate, Robert L. Campbell, a man, in his estimation, who was tried\nand true. A summary from his journal of many of the grand characters\nin Church history, who bore the burden in the heat of the day, would\nbe interesting were it not beyond the scope of this biography. Elder\nWoodruff had a high sense of appreciation for those honored Saints of\nGod, who were true to themselves and true to the Church.\n\nConference of that year was postponed until May 7th, in consequence\n{484} of the prolonged stay of President Young that winter in St.\nGeorge. On his return, President Young gave out as a key-note of\nthe conference, the subject of the United Order, a subject that had\nevidently weighed upon his mind during that winter. When free from all\nstrife, from his struggles and contentions, he enjoyed the communion\nof the spirit, which opened to him the great duty that rested upon the\nSaints to put in operation God's purposes with regard to the United\nOrder, by the consecration of the private wealth to the common good of\nthe people. The underlying principle of the United Order was that there\nshould be no rich and no poor, that men's talents should be used for\nthe common good, and that selfish interests should make way for a more\nbenevolent and generous spirit among the Saints.\n\nWilford Woodruff, before closing his biography for the year 1874,\nrecorded one of those accidents with which his life was peculiarly\nbeset. He fell from a tree, a distance of about ten feet, and was\nquite seriously hurt, especially in his side and hip. One naturally\nwonders what a man at his time of life was doing up a tree. In the\nfirst place, with Elder Woodruff it was never a question of age when\nhe saw something he thought ought to be done, provided it was possible\nfor him to do it. He was everywhere. It never required any length of\ntime for him to change his surroundings or labors, he was ready for any\nemergency at any time. If he saw a limb in the top of an apple tree\nthat should be sawed off, the thought barely took possession of him\nbefore he was in the top of the tree, and it was always hard for him to\nask anybody else to do a thing that he could do himself.\n\n{485}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 45.\n\nST. GEORGE TEMPLE DEDICATED.\n\nVisit to Randolph.--Governor Axtell.--Visit of President Grant.--Visit\nof Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil.--Dedication of St. George Temple.--A\nGrand Birthday Celebration.\n\nOn January 6th, 1875, Elder Woodruff accompanied by his son-in-law,\nJesse Moses, left for Randolph, Rich County. Although the winter there\nwas very cold he hauled wood from the mountains for the use of his\nfamily. He records that on the 17th of the month three men, while on\ntheir way from Evanston to Woodruff, had their feet badly frozen. With\nBishop Lee he went to visit them and did all he could to save the\nunfortunate persons from the necessity of having their feet amputated.\nWhile in that section of the country he visited the Saints in Bear\nLake as far north as Paris. On his return to Salt Lake City he met on\nthe train, and became acquainted with the new Governor of Utah, Samuel\nB. Axtell. \"I was much pleased with his sentiment and spirit,\" writes\nElder Woodruff in his journal. Axtell was so honest and fair with all\nparties that the anti-Mormon element, whose tool he refused to become,\nby their opposition succeeded in obtaining his removal in about one\nmonth after he reached Utah. He was then made Governor of one of the\nsouthern territories. While in Utah, he spoke one night in the Liberal\nInstitute, and related some of the iron-clad laws of the Medes and\nPersians. \"God grant,\" he said, \"that such a rule may never come to\nUtah.\" He was a man of good education and of refinement, and was fairly\nopposed to the corrupt methods of Judge McKean, as well as to those of\nother Federal officials.\n\nOn the 19th of February he went to York, terminus of the Utah Southern,\nwhere he met President Young and George A. Smith on their return from\nSt. George. On the anniversary of Washington's birthday, February 22,\nthat year he records the fact that he sealed for time and eternity\nthe first Lamanite receiving the celestial marriage ceremony in this\ndispensation.\n\nIt was during this year that President Young was subjected {486} by\nJudge McKean to the latter's court indignities in consequence of Ann\nEliza's divorce suit; and on the eleventh day of March 1875, President\nYoung was sent to the penitentiary for contempt of court for one day\nbecause of his refusal to pay her alimony. Elder Woodruff went to the\npenitentiary with President Young and asked the privilege of spending\nthe night with him, but was denied his request. However, D. H. Wells\nand Doctor S. B. Young were allowed to remain with the President. \"This\nwas the first time,\" says Elder Woodruff, \"that President Young was\never confined in prison by order of any court.\" A few days later, March\n17th, word came that Judge McKean had been removed and his successor\nappointed. \"Glory Hallelujah, the Lord has answered our prayers and\nJudge McKean is removed out of his place!\" Elder Woodruff wrote.\nSome time before this Elder Woodruff had written in his journal a\nprophecy of his in the name of the Lord, that Judge McKean would have\nhis downfall and his disgrace. His words were literally fulfilled;\nthe Judge became almost a cipher in the community. His health was\nshattered and he died of typhoid fever a little less than four years\nlater in Salt Lake City. There is, perhaps, no more interesting study\nin Mormonism than the fate of those who have been conspicuous in the\noppression of the Saints. Since the days of Joseph Smith men have\nsought popularity and honors by their bigoted efforts to solve the\nMormon problem. To one of these so-called reformers has come obscurity,\nto another misfortune, to another disgrace, some have been handed over\nto the buffetings of Satan, and others have died in obscurity and\nunmourned.\n\nGoing back in the early history of the Church we find such names as\nBoggs, Hinckle, Bennett, Law, Foster. They are remembered only in\nassociation with Church history. To more than three hundred thousand\npeople they have become a hiss and a by-word. Those not of the Mormon\nfaith have no reason as they have no desire to do them honor. They are\ntherefore left to the judgment of the Mormon people.\n\nOn the 6th of April, conference convened in the midst of a heavy\nsnow-storm. The Church had grown from its membership of six to\nsomething like one hundred and fifty thousand souls. This conference\nwas full of interest and lasted six days. At one of these sessions\na Hawaiian brother spoke. After conference {487} Elder Woodruff and\nErastus Snow went to Provo, where they held meetings and visited Provo\nWoolen Mills.\n\nOn his return from Provo he took up his work again on the farm; and\non the 31st of May he recorded the return of his brother, Azmon, and\nwife to the body of the Church. The two brothers had not met for\nthirty-eight years, they therefore hardly knew each other. The light so\nlong dimmed within him left him blind to the most important progress\nof the Church; although he had returned to the fold, there was a\nstriking difference in the character of the two brothers. However,\nWilford Woodruff was happy to receive Azmon and cheerfully assisted\nhim in building a house in his own field, where now, Waterloo is\nlocated. In his journal of June 25th that year he wrote, that with\nOrson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, and Albert Carrington he assisted in\nlaying the corner-stone of the new Z. C. M. I. building, and offered\nthe dedicatory prayer. The co-operative movement, then inaugurated\nthroughout the Church, received a great impetus from the establishment\nof this wholesale mercantile house, which has given a large measure of\nstability to all the mercantile institutions of the state.\n\nOn the 10th of July he went to Ogden and escorted some seventy eastern\neditors to Salt Lake City. Elder Woodruff's frequent selection by\nPresident Young to receive the strangers was largely due to the fact\nthat he was a man of social instincts and friendly feelings towards\nall. Again, he was so sincere and so devoted to his faith that his\nwords always created a strong impression of his integrity. Strangers\nliked him. There was nothing affected in his demeanor, or unnatural in\nhis address.\n\nThe party on this occasion was escorted to the Tabernacle, where\nabout three thousand children were assembled in a singing practice,\npreparatory to Pioneer Day of that year. He also escorted the editors\nto Clinton's Hotel on Salt Lake. Here a steamboat ride was given them.\n\nOn the 13th of July, in the evening, according to his journal, there\nwas a priesthood meeting held in the old Tabernacle, where the subject\nof renewing covenants by baptism was discussed. The whole assembly\nvoted to renew their covenants, and later the Presidency, the Twelve,\nthe Seventies, and the Presiding Bishopric were baptized and entered\ninto a special covenant to observe the rules of the United Order. Among\nthem was this: \"We will {488} sustain home industry and patronize our\nbrethren who are in the Order, as far as possible.\" This movement\nbecame general throughout the Church.\n\nOn the 24th of the month there was a celebration in which twelve\nthousand people, mostly children, took part in the Tabernacle. \"It was\nthe grandest sight I ever witnessed in my life. The Tabernacle was\nadorned with one hundred and fifty thousand artificial flowers, and\nroses strung upon some three miles of cord. Mr. McCornick, late member\nof Congress, and wife, and other strangers were present. They were much\nastonished at what they saw.\" The Saturday and Sunday following, Elder\nWoodruff visited Provo, where a two days conference was held. At that\ntime, August 1st L. John Nuttall was ordained the bishop of Kanab;\nGeorge Halliday, bishop of Santaquin; Harvey H. Cluff, of the fourth\nward, Provo; and John B. Maiben, of Manti, Sanpete.\n\nOn September 1st, 1875 Elder Woodruff recorded at some length the death\nof President George A. Smith. Concerning this counselor of President\nYoung, Elder Woodruff, in his journal, wrote: \"Time and death are\nthinning the ranks of the First Presidency, and the Twelve Apostles,\nand first elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. No\nman has ever lived in this Church who has left a cleaner and brighter\nrecord for both time and eternity than the Apostle George A. Smith. No\nman has been more diligent, virtuous or valiant in the testimony of\nJesus Christ than he has been. He was an apostle foreordained before\nthe foundation of the world to come forth in the last dispensation and\nfullness of times. He has well and faithfully filled his mission. He\ndrew the first load of stone for the erection of the first Temple ever\nbuilt by command of God in the last days, the one in Kirtland, Ohio.\nIn all the trials of life, like Caleb and Joshua, he never murmured,\nhe labored diligently to build up the work of the Lord to the day\nof his death. We were together in Zion's Camp; we traveled together\non missions in the United States; we were ordained apostles on the\nsame occasion on the corner-stone of the temple in Far West, Caldwell\nCounty, Missouri, in 1839. We traveled together in England, built up a\nchurch in London with Brother Heber C. Kimball. We returned together\nin the same ship, sleeping in the same berth. We have labored together\nfor fifteen years as historians of the Church in {489} the same office.\nFor many years we labored as members of the legislature. I can bear\ntestimony that in all these labors and associations with Brother George\nA. Smith, under all these circumstances, an unpleasant word never\npassed between us.\"\n\nOn the 3rd of October that year he wrote: \"President Grant is\nexpected in this city, at 10 a. m. to-day. The city council appointed\na committee to meet him. President Young and several of the Twelve\nApostles went to Ogden in President Young's car to meet President\nGrant. Governor Emery and several non-Mormons went ahead as far as Echo\nto meet the President. When he arrived in Ogden the Utah Central Engine\nwas attached to President Grant's cars. At this place President Young\nwas introduced to President Grant by George Q. Cannon. As they shook\nhands Brigham Young said: 'President Grant, this is the first time\nin my life that I ever had the pleasure of seeing a President of the\nUnited States and of shaking hands with him.'\" This was also the first\ntime Apostle Woodruff had ever seen a President of the United States.\n\n\"Upon reaching Salt Lake City, the distinguished visitors were taken\nto the Walker House. Thousands of people lined the streets. Among\nthem were several thousands of children. As they rode up the street,\nPresident Grant said to Governor Emery: 'Whose children are these?'\nThe Governor replied: 'They are Mormon children.' The President, in a\ntone of serious meditation, said: 'Then I have been deceived respecting\nthese people.' On the 4th President Grant, wife, and son visited the\nTemple Block where they went through the Tabernacle. Mrs. Grant and\nson remained in the building and listened to the organ while President\nGrant rode on to the hill above the City where he could view the\nvalley. While the organ was playing, Mrs. Grant prayed for the people.\"\n\nAt the October conference that year, President Young presented in\nprinted form his sermon on the resurrection, which was read by Elder\nGeorge Q. Cannon. On the 9th of the month Elder Taylor offered the\ndedicatory prayer for the new Tabernacle. On the evening of that\nday twenty-five hundred men bearing the priesthood met in the old\nTabernacle, where there was read to them the rules of the United Order.\nOn this occasion Elder Woodruff in his talk to the priesthood said:\n\"I see in my mind's {490} eye forty thousand men in these mountains\nbearing the Holy Priesthood, foreordained to come forth in this\ndispensation. Then I see in the vision of my mind's eye forty million\ndevils gathered to make war against these forty thousand priests of\nthe Lord. We have many bishops and elders who have but one wife. They\nare abundantly qualified to enter the higher law and take more, but\ntheir wives will not let them. Any man who will permit a woman to lead\nhim and bind him down is but little account in the Church and Kingdom\nof God. The law of Patriarchal marriage and plurality of wives is a\nrevelation and commandment of God to us, and we should obey it; but one\nsays, 'If you do, Judge McKean will be after you.' What has given us a\nfuture in these Valleys of the Mountains? It is because we have obeyed\nthis part of the Celestial Law of God.\"\n\nOn the 11th of October Elder Woodruff assisted in setting apart\nseventy-five missionaries. At that time eleven Lamanites were ordained\nto the priesthood. Closing his journal for that year, he said: \"The\nfuture is before us and great events await us in this generation.\nThe redemption and establishment of Zion, the fall of Babylon, the\ngathering of Judea and all the tribes of Israel, and the second coming\nof Christ, are all near at hand.\n\n\"This is the commencement of the Centennial year of the American\nIndependence. One hundred years ago the nation was composed of an\nhonest, industrious, Christian people, and the chief men of the nation\nwere poor, honest statesmen, who lived to promote the welfare of the\nwhole people. They established a constitution and laws, which were a\nglorious legacy to their descendants. By January 1st, 1876, a great\nchange has come over the American government. To a great extent,\nvirtue has departed from the land, and honesty has been driven from\nthe various departments of government. Men seek office to aggrandize\nthemselves rather than to serve the interests of the people. Death and\ndestruction are sown in the land which is ripening for the harvest.\"\n\nOn the 22nd of April, Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil arrived in Salt Lake\nCity. He was the first emperor to visit the Saints. In the evening he\nwent to the theatre, and on the 23rd attended a meeting in the 14th\nward meeting-house, but left before the close of the services to take\nthe train.\n\nDuring the summer of the year 1876, Elder Woodruff traveled {491}\nthrough the various stakes of the Church. In Provo he wrote that he\nblessed Father Samuel Vincent, one hundred and one years old, and his\nwife ninety-nine. He also assisted in blessing Vienna Jacques, who is\nspoken of in the Doctrine and Covenants. At that time she was ninety\nyears old. Much of the summer was also occupied in Temple work, a work\nin which Elder Woodruff always took a supreme delight, it was so in\nharmony with his spiritual nature.\n\nIn the early part of November that year, President Young and a large\nnumber of elder of the Church left for Saint George, whither they went\nto dedicate the Temple. This was the first Temple erected in Utah.\nDuring their stay in Saint George, preparatory to the completion of\nthe Temple, President Young was in poor health, as he was nearing the\nlast months of his life. The completion and dedication of the House of\nGod in Saint George was to Wilford Woodruff a most joyful event. He\nsaw in it opportunities which the Saints in earlier days had not been\npermitted to enjoy. In later days it became to him a haven of rest and\nspiritual strength.\n\nThere was perhaps no duty or labor in the Church more pleasing to him\nthan the ordinances performed in the Temple of God. Its completion was\na matter not only of special pleasure but of great pride to him. He had\nlooked forward to its dedication and prepared his mind to participate,\non that solemn occasion. He writes: \"This is a very important day to\nthe Church and Kingdom of God on the earth. President Brigham Young and\nmembers of the Twelve, with some two thousand Saints assembled within\nthe walls of the Temple in St. George to dedicate certain portions\nthereof, that we might commence to administer the ordinances ordained\nof the Lord for the salvation of the living and the dead. President\nYoung was ill and could not stand upon his feet.\"\n\nAt 12:30 on the 1st of January, 1877, Wilford Woodruff stood upon the\nupper step of the font and called the attention of the people to whom\nhe spoke as follows: \"We are this day blessed with the privilege which\nvery few since the days of Adam have enjoyed. We assemble in a Temple\nbuilt by the commandment of the Lord for the salvation of the human\nfamily. We have met to dedicate certain portions of this building. I\nrealize that {492} this assembly is too large and too crowded to bow\nupon their knees, but all are asked to bow their heads and hearts unto\nGod. All who are here are Saints, or should be, for none others ought\nto be in this holy Temple. I want the Saints assembled to repeat the\nwords in secret that our prayers may ascend to the Lord of Sabbaoth,\nthat they may be answered upon our heads.\"\n\nMrs. Susa Young Gates, daughter of President Young, was requested to\ntake in short-hand the proceedings of the dedication. The room was so\nthickly packed that there was no place for a table. She, therefore,\nlaid her book upon the back of one standing in front of her while\nshe made a stenographic report of the proceedings, which included\nthe dedicatory prayer that was offered by Apostle Wilford Woodruff.\nAfter placing in remembrance before the Lord the Temple grounds, the\nbuilding with its furnishings, and the organization of the Church, he\nconcluded his prayer as follows: \"May the blessings of God rest upon\nall the elders of Israel in all the world. We pray Thee to remember in\nmercy the Aaronic Priesthood, with its bishops, priests, teachers, and\ndeacons, who are appointed to be standing ministers unto the Church.\nBless their wives and their children. Bless, we ask Thee, Thy aged\nservant, Edward Hunter, who is called to preside over the Bishopric of\nThy Church. Thou hast seen his labors and Thou knowest the integrity of\nhis heart. Clothe him with Thy Holy Spirit; fill him with the spirit\nof counsel and with consolation for his brethren. Preserve him in the\nflesh, as long as he shall desire life; and when he shall sleep with\nhis fathers, may he rest in peace and may the works of righteousness\nfollow him. Bless all the organizations of Thy Church and Kingdom. May\nThy people accomplish the work unto which they are ordained, build\nup the Zion of God, and prepare the earth for the second coming of\nthe Son of Man. Bless the female Relief Society throughout the land\nof Zion. May that organization accomplish fully the object of its\norganization, which was effected through the Prophet Joseph. May the\nsociety influence the daughters of Zion to deeds of virtue, holiness,\nrighteousness, and truth. May the blessings of Sarah, Huldah, Hannah,\nAnna, and Mary, the ancient prophetess, and of the holy women rest\nupon them. O God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, remember, we pray Thee,\nthe covenants which Thou hast made with all the house of Israel:\n{493} remember them in their abidings in these last days. We pray\nthat in this Temple of our Lord Thou wilt make bare Thine arm in the\npreservation and salvation of the small remnants of the Lamanites\nthat are left in the land. Deliver them, we pray Thee, from the hands\nof the Gentiles who are bringing about their threatened annihilation\nfrom off the earth. Inspire their hearts with Thy spirit, that they\nmay receive the Gospel of the Son of God, that they may be prepared to\nbuild up Zion, and to fulfill the covenants and promises made to them\nby their forefathers who inherited this land. Remember, O Lord, Thy\ncovenant people in the north country; hasten the day when they shall\ncome in remembrance before Thee, when their prophets shall smite the\nrocks and the mountains of ice shall flow down before them. May the\nhighways speedily be cast up in the midst of the great deep, that they\nmay come over dry shod. May the everlasting hills tremble at their\npresence and their enemies disappear before them. May they come forth\nunto Zion and bow the knee, that they may be crowned under the hands of\nEphraim, Thy servant. We hold in remembrance before Thee the sons of\nJudah; wilt thou show unto them mercy, since the blood of Jesus Christ\nhas rested upon them for more than eighteen hundred years. They have\nbeen trampled under foot of the Gentiles and have been made a hiss and\na byword in the fulfillment of the words of Moses, their law giver, and\nof Jesus of Nazareth. We pray Thee, O Thou great Eloheim, that their\npast sufferings may suffice. Inspire their hearts to return home to\nJerusalem, the land of their fathers, and to rebuild their city and\ntemple. Prepare them for the coming of Shiloh, their king.\n\n\"O hear, O hear us Lord in these our petitions and answer us from\nheaven, Thy holy habitation, and we will ascribe all honor, glory, and\nthanksgiving unto God and the Lamb both now and forever, amen and amen.\"\n\nAfter this a dedicatory hymn, composed by Elder Charles L. Walker,\nwas sung. The vast audience then moved on to the main room above the\nfont, where a prayer of dedication was offered by Apostle Erastus Snow.\nThe sealing room was dedicated by Apostle Brigham Young, Jr. In the\nassembly room President Young, who had been carried from one apartment\nto another because of rheumatism, now arose before the vast assembly\nand spoke in part {494} as follows: \"I cannot consent in my feelings\nto retire from this house without speaking to this people. Perhaps\nit would not be prudent to say all I have it in my heart to say to\nthose assembled. I will say a few encouraging things to the Latter-day\nSaints. We are enjoying to-day a privilege which but few have enjoyed\nsince the days of Adam. Solomon built a temple for the performance\nof certain ordinances, but through apostasy little was accomplished\ntherein. I will not say that Enoch had not temples in which he\nofficiated. His people became so perfect that the Lord took them to\nanother place that removed them from the presence of the wicked.\n\n\"The Latter-day Saints have been laboring for over forty years in\naccordance with the revelations of the Lord to Joseph Smith, who was\ncommanded to establish the kingdom by gathering the Saints, by building\ntemples, by organizing the people as a heavenly family upon the earth.\nWe built a temple at Kirtland and one in Nauvoo. Joseph located the\nsite for one in Jackson County and for another in Far West, Missouri.\nFrom these we were driven by ruthless mobs; now we have a Temple\nwhich will be completely finished in a few days. There is enough now\ncompleted to commence work. Those who can see the spiritual atmosphere\ncan see that many are still glued to the earth. They are lusting and\nlonging for the things of this world, in which there is no profit.\nWhile we ought to look after temporal things, we should devote them all\nto the Kingdom of God. Where are the hearts of this people; where are\ntheir forefathers? What are they doing for their own salvation and for\nthat of their forefathers? If we were awake to this great truth, this\nhouse would be crowded from Monday morning until Saturday night. This\nTemple has been built in a warm climate, where the people, including\nthe Lamanites, can come in the winter and labor for their salvation and\nthat of their progenitors. What do you suppose the fathers would say\nif they could speak from the dead? Would they not say: 'We have lain\nhere thousands of years in this prison house, bound and fettered in the\nassociation of the filthy and corrupt.' If they had the power the very\nthunders of heaven would resound in our ears. All the angels in heaven\nare looking to this little handful of people. When I think upon this\nsubject {495} I want the tongue of seven thunders to awaken the people\nto action. When we closed the Endowment House many of the people of the\nnorth came to us crying. They begged the privilege to be baptized for\ntheir dead. They can now come here, do the work and bid the prisoners\ngo free. I shall never be satisfied until Satan is conquered and driven\nfrom the face of the earth.\" When he made this last remark, he struck\nthe pulpit with a hickory cane and drove the knots of it into the wood.\nThe indentations of the cane still remain upon the pulpit.\n\nUpon the close of the dedication, Wilford Woodruff was appointed to\npreside over the work in the Temple. This appointment was a most\nfitting one in view of the spirit of Elijah which had always rested\nupon him. He worked for many years in the Endowment House in Salt Lake.\nHe was familiar with the ordinances and instructions which belong to\nthe House of God. His whole soul was wrapped up in the temple work for\nboth the living and the dead. Within the walls of a sacred edifice,\nsuch as a temple, he found comfort, joy, and consolation. Such work\nwas more important in his mind than public honors, and the station and\nhonors that come from the world. The first to be baptized and confirmed\nin the new Temple was Sister Susa Young Gates, who preserved for the\npages of history in stenographic report a voluminous record of the\ndedication.\n\nThe opening day, two hundred and twenty-four baptisms were performed.\nThose whose services as administrators in the Temple were given, were\nElders John D. T. McAllister, Alonzo Raleigh, and Henry W. Bigler.\n\nMarch 1st of that year witnessed his seventieth anniversary. On that\noccasion one hundred and fifty-four maidens and mothers in Israel\nassembled in the Temple to receive endowments for the dead female\nrelatives of Wilford Woodruff. The address delivered to those gathered\non that occasion is given in his journal as follows: \"My beloved\nsisters, I present myself before you this morning, not only with prayer\nand fasting, but with a heart filled with praise and thanksgiving to\nmy Heavenly Father, for His many mercies and for His kindness to me\nthis day. I am thankful to you also, my sisters, for a blessing of such\nmagnitude as you are bestowing upon me. I do not suppose such a {496}\nscene as this was ever before enacted upon the earth. Ever since I have\nbeen working in this Temple, my mind has been exercised in behalf of\nthe dead. I have a great desire to see my dead redeemed before I pass\naway.\n\n\"A few days ago I went before the Lord in this holy Temple, where I\noften go to pray. There is no more acceptable spot on this earth to\nthe Lord than this Temple. While in humble prayer, with the subject of\ntemple ordinances resting upon my mind, I prayed the Lord to open the\nway for the redemption of my dead. The spirit of the Lord rested upon\nme and gave me the following testimony: 'Let My servant Wilford call\nupon the daughters and mothers in Zion, and let them enter into My holy\nTemple on the 1st day of March, the day that My servant Wilford shall\nsee the time allotted to man, three score years and ten. There let\nthem receive their endowments for his dead kindred, and this shall be\nacceptable unto me, saith the Lord. The dead relatives of My servant\nshall be redeemed in the spirit world and be prepared to meet My\nservant at the time of his coming, which shall be at the time appointed\nunto him, yet not revealed to man in the flesh. Now, go to and perform\nthis work and all shall be accomplished according to the desires of thy\nheart.'\n\n\"This was merely a key to me, a light burst upon my understanding, and\nI saw an effectual door opened to me for the redemption of my dead.\nWhen I beheld this I felt like shouting, 'Glory hallelujah to God and\nthe Lamb.' I did not pursue this course, however, without first making\nknown my testimony to President Young. Upon consulting him, he said\nthat my course was proper; what I did was right; and what I received\ncame from the Lord. He offered to provide several persons himself. In\nthe assembly on this occasion were three of his wives and five of his\ndaughters. I feel thankful to you, my sisters, for this manifestation\nof your kindness to me. Had you sought the world over you could not\nhave found a birthday present so precious to me as this. If I can\nredeem my dead and save myself and family I shall be highly gratified.\nI feel that when we get into the spirit world, we shall see the\nimportance of this day. I pray that we may meet with our kindred dead\nin the Celestial Kingdom of our God.\"\n\n{497} Late in the afternoon, at the close of the Temple services,\nApostle Woodruff was escorted to St. George Hall, where he was greeted\nby the large assembly of more than one hundred, who were to join with\nhim around the tables spread with the luxuries of life. The chief\nornament of the tables was a three story cake adorned with suitable\ntrimmings. On it were pieces of satin, containing poems composed for\nthe occasion by home talent, Mrs. A. Randall, and Mrs. Emily B. Spencer.\n\nThose were truly his brothers and sisters who in common with him\nenjoyed the spiritual life within the sacred precincts of God's house.\nSuch manifestations of their love and confidence naturally touched\nhim deeply and awakened within him the joys and satisfactions of the\nsincerest friendship.\n\nHenceforth his temple work took on new pleasures and brighter hopes. He\ngave to the work his undiminished and undivided love. He felt the honor\nof his new calling and nothing that ever came to him in life gave him\nmore supreme satisfaction.\n\nDuring his life time three other temples were finished, in the\ndedication of which he took a leading part. As the April conference\nof 1877 approached, he looked forward to the occasion as something\nout of the usual. It was convened that year in the St. George Temple.\nThere were present, President Young, Daniel H. Wells, John Taylor,\nWilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Erastus Snow, F. D. Richards, and\nBrigham Young, Jr. Following this conference April 6th, President\nYoung left for Salt Lake City. Elder Woodruff recorded in his journal\nthat this was the last time that he and President Young ever met in\nthe flesh. They had long been closely associated in the ministry. They\nhad traveled thousands of miles; they had rejoiced and had suffered\npersecution together. President Woodruff, after the parting continued\nhis labors in the Temple. President Young and party, on their way home,\nstopped at Manti, on the 25th of April, where they dedicated the ground\nfor another Temple. On the 18th of the following month, ground in Logan\nwas dedicated for a similar purpose. There was thus brought about the\nfulfillment of God's purposes wherein He declared, \"I always command My\npeople to build a temple.\"\n\n{498} On the first day of June, that year, Brigham Young reached his\n76th birthday. Apostle Woodruff, in behalf of himself and associate\nTemple workers, wired President Young, as follows: \"Dear Brother: All\nofficiating in the Temple join with me on this your 76th birthday,\nin wishing you health and happiness, and that you may live to see\nwickedness swept from the earth and righteousness triumph. Wilford\nWoodruff.\"\n\nPresident Young's response read as follows: \"Salt Lake City, June 1st,\n1877. Wilford Woodruff. My thanks and blessing for the words of kindly\ngreeting contained in your dispatch. I desire nothing more anxiously\nthan to see wickedness swept away and righteousness prevail. My health\nis good. I leave at six o'clock for Provo, where we hold a local\nconference, commencing to-morrow. May peace, abundant blessings, and\ngreat joy attend your lives and labors. Brigham Young.\"\n\n{499}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 46.\n\nDEATH OF BRIGHAM YOUNG, AUG. 29, 1877.\n\nDeath of His Son, Brigham Young Woodruff.--Prophetic\nUtterances.--Baptisms for the Signers of the Declaration\nof Independence.--Death of Brigham Young Changes His\nPlans.--Funeral.--Visit to Logan.--Visit to St. George.--A Vision.--Old\nFolks' Excursion.--Zion's Board of Trade.\n\nOn the 16th of June, 1877, while on a visit to Pine Valley, southern\nUtah, Elder Woodruff received the sad news of the death of his son,\nBrigham Young Woodruff, who was drowned in Bear River. The young\nman was in point of spirituality very much like his father, and his\ndevotion, therefore, to the Church was a matter of both joy and pride\nto Elder Woodruff, who looked forward to his son's labors in the Church\nwith great pleasure. The young man was also ambitious in an effort to\nobtain an education, and devoted himself at home and in the university\nto diligent study. At this time Elder Woodruff had changed the location\nof his family in Randolph, Rich County, to Smithfield, Cache.\n\n\"We cannot always comprehend the ways and means of Providence,\" the\nfather said. \"There is a mystery hanging over this affair. I never\nsaw a person more anxious to obtain an education than he, as he often\nstudied until midnight during the past two years. I now feel calm and\ncomposed and reconciled in this bereavement. I have done, and am doing\na great deal of work for the dead. It may be necessary that one of my\nfamily be in the spirit world to labor among those for whom we are\nofficiating in the Temple of the Lord.\"\n\nUpon the return of Elder Woodruff to St. George, he resumed his work in\nthe Temple there. During this and the immediate subsequent years Elder\nWoodruff devoted himself with great diligence to the work for the dead\nin the Temple at St. George. Work-day parties were gotten up for him.\nHundreds of people gave him a day or two days or more in the Temple in\nthe ordinances for his kindred dead.\n\nIf it can be truthfully said of any man that he followed the {500}\ninjunction of the Savior, \"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and\nHis righteousness, and all else shall be added thereto,\" it may be\ntruthfully said of Wilford Woodruff. In his journal he wrote at that\ntime: \"I have passed through the whole history of the Church from the\nday I embraced the gospel until now; and after so long a time and such\nexperience, I wish to bear my testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet\nof God, ordained from before the foundation of the world to come forth\nin the last dispensation of the fullness of times to lay the foundation\nof the Church and Kingdom of God on the earth, and his life was\npreserved against every foe by the power of God until he accomplished\nall that his Maker ordained him to do, then he sealed his testimony\nwith his blood, and that testimony is in force upon all the world.\n\n\"I am now called to preside over the only Temple there is on the earth,\nbuilt for the salvation of the living and the dead. There are but a\nfew of us living who were in Zion's Camp. I will here say that God has\ninspired me to keep a journal and write the history of this Church,\nand I warn the future historians to give credence to my history; for\nmy testimony is true, and the truth of its record will be manifest in\nthe world to come. All the words of the Lord will be fulfilled upon\nthe nations, which are written in this book. The American nation will\nbe broken in pieces like a potter's vessel, and will be cast down to\nhell if it does not repent,--and this, because of murders, whoredoms,\nwickedness, and all manner of abominations, for the Lord has spoken\nit. Awake, therefore, O Zion, to the coming of the Son of Man. Let the\npeople sanctify and purify themselves before the Lord, and be prepared\nfor the redemption of Zion and the coming of the Son of God, for His\ncoming is at the door, and will overtake the world like a thief in the\nnight.\"\n\nThere is throughout the journal of Wilford Woodruff that continuous\nspirit which manifests itself in the revelations and head-dealings of\nGod. His spirit is like that of the prophets and patriarchs of old, and\nwhat he has written day by day represents the spirit of the times and\nis in response to the needs of the hour. He was always in close touch\nwith the Prophet and was always in harmony with his divine calling.\nThere may be traced throughout the journal of this remarkable man a\ncertain devotion to those fundamental principles which God revealed\nin the establishment {501} of the Church in this dispensation. These\nprinciples gave him his guiding star, and by them he interpreted\nthe history of the world and its destinies. He was not overtaken by\nvagaries, and he never had a thought of stamping his own personality\non anything that he did or said. He was always impressionable to the\nspirit. His journal, therefore, is a storehouse of beautiful and\nconvincing testimonies; for his testimonies beget faith and lead to a\nbetter and more exalted life. Elder Woodruff lays bare his spirit in\nhis journal day by day, and it is the same humble devoted childlike\nfaith from the first to the last page.\n\nLeaving St. George, Elder Woodruff made a tour of the settlements in\nsouthern Utah. He celebrated the 24th of July in the State House at\nFillmore. On this tour, he, for the first time, visited the beautiful\nPanguitch Lake. He was a great lover of scenic beauty. The work of God\nwas no less precious to him than the word of God. At that lake he also\nenjoyed the opportunity of his favorite pastime, fishing for trout. He\nwas a great fisher and hunter, both of game and men.\n\nAfter his return to St. George on the 21st of August, that year, he was\nbaptized for the signers of the Declaration of Independence and other\nnotable patriots in the history of his country. It was a part of his\nloyalty to the United States to crave God's blessing upon the men and\nwomen who had laid the foundation of free institutions. To his mind\nthey were all the instruments of a divine purpose, and he sought their\nwelfare according to the light and intelligence which God had given him.\n\nHis work in the Temple was suddenly disturbed by a telegram stating\nthat President Young had died at four o'clock p. m. August 29th, 1877.\nHe, therefore, in company with Erastus Snow, hastened by private\nconveyance and stage to York, the railroad terminus, that they might\nreach Salt Lake City as soon as possible. A distance of three hundred\nand forty miles was covered in two and a half days, though Elder\nWoodruff at that time was over seventy years old. On reaching Salt Lake\nthey immediately went to the Tabernacle where the remains of President\nYoung lay in state. From his journal we learn that something like\ntwenty-five thousand people took a parting look at the remains of the\ndead Prophet. At his funeral Elder Woodruff spoke. Perhaps no man in\nthe Church knew Brigham Young better than he knew him. {502} They were\npioneers together, and spent months and years together preaching the\ngospel and compiling Church history.\n\nThis change brought the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with John Taylor\nat the head, in control of Church affairs. The following September,\nElder Woodruff visited Logan, where he took part in laying the\ncorner-stones of the Temple, concern-whose erection he had prophesied\nmany years before. Temple work was now the burden of his thought and\ndiscourse; and at the following October Conference he talked at great\nlength of his labors in the St. George Temple, where, he said, between\nthe first of June and the first of September twenty-three thousand nine\nhundred and eighty-nine baptisms for the dead had been performed. He\nwas now also joyful in anticipation of the Temple which was to be built\nin Manti. This location on the hill overlooking the country made him\nfeel, when its erection was completed, that it was truly the mountain\nof the Lord's House.\n\nDuring this year repeated mention of his work on the farm is made in\nhis journal, though at the time he had passed three score and ten years\nof life. He loved farm work and devoted to it much thought. With him it\nwas all in the purpose of God and his devotion never flagged whether he\nwas on the farm, in the canyon, or in the pulpit. His Church duties,\nhowever, as time went on, weighed more heavily upon him, and on the\n15th of December, that year, he resigned his position as President of\nthe Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, a place he had\noccupied with zeal, interest, and honor, as well as with ability, for\nfifteen years.\n\nOn Christmas of that year he made note of the joy he found over the\nprivilege of being at home with his wives and children, whose happiness\nand welfare were matters of great satisfaction to him. He watches them\ntake their presents from the Christmas tree, and he enters into the\nchildish joy of his little children with a tender and fatherly love.\nIt would swell beyond due proportions his biography to recount his\nmovements to the different parts of the Church, and the daily duties\nof his life. Elder Woodruff was an excessively busy man. He was always\nlooking for something to do, and he never had any difficulty in finding\nit. His constant travels and administrations among the Saints made him\nto them one of the most familiar figures among their leaders.\n\nEarly in January he set out on a mission to the southern settlements\n{503} and St. George, which he reached on the 22nd of the month. There,\nhe again took up his labors in the Temple. The people there knew how\nhappy Temple work made him and they turned out in great numbers to\nrender him assistance in the work he had planned to do for his kindred\ndead.\n\nIt was at this time that he paid his first visit to Kanab, going by way\nof Rockville and Grafton. He calls the Hurricane Hill there the worst\nhill he ever drove a team up in his life. He and his companions camped\nfor the night on the summit. He slept on the ground. The next morning\nhe encountered a heavy snow-storm which continued until noon. At night\nthey reached Pipe Springs, a little oasis in northern Arizona. This was\nalso the first time he had been in that Territory.\n\nOn the return to St. George he resumed his work in the Temple. Of\nthat work he said: \"In one year and fourteen days endowments had been\nreceived for ten hundred and sixty-two of my dead.\" On March 20th he\nreturned to Salt Lake City by way of Parowan, Cove Creek, Richfield,\nManti, and Nephi.\n\nHe wrote a brief account of the April conference. Here, it should be\nsaid that matters of general Church interest which were taken down by\nstenographers ceased to find a place in his journal, and he confines\nhimself more to personal affairs and matters of special interest. In\nmany places, taking it for granted that the facts are known, he made\nhis journal simply a commentary.\n\nAbout the time of conference that year, there were difficulties between\nthe heirs of President Young and the Church over the estate of the\nlate President. \"I will say,\" he wrote, in his journal, \"for and in\nbehalf of the executors of the estate of Brigham Young; namely, George\nQ. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., and Albert Carrington, that they have\ndone all in their power to settle this estate in justice, equity and\nrighteousness.\" In those trying difficulties Elder Woodruff acted as a\npeace-maker.\n\nThe year 1878 began to witness some of those beautiful outings,\ndesignated \"The Old Folks' Excursion.\" The early history of the Church\nwas beginning to crystallize in beauty and importance. To the Latter-day\nSaints, the men and women who had borne the burden of those early days\nwere veterans of distinction, and the people loved to honor them;\nbesides there is something in the spirit and teachings of Mormonism\nthat calls forth reverence {504} and honor for old age. There is within\nthe Latter-day Saints a marked disposition to manifest gratitude. On\nthe 11th of June, that year, thirteen cars conveyed the aged veterans,\nmen and women, to Ogden, where they were received by a hundred and\ntwenty-five conveyances and taken to Farr's Grove. Since then, these\noutings have become frequent and general throughout the Church.\n\nElder Woodruff gives us some data of an Old Folks' Excursion in those\ndays. He says that prizes were distributed for various distinctions.\nMrs. Catherine Wilson received one because she was the oldest person\npresent--ninety-six years. William Wilde was likewise honored because\nhe was the next oldest, ninety-five years. Five sisters obtained prizes\nbecause they had yoked and unyoked two yoke of cattle and driven\nthem across the plains. Five others received them because they had\ndrawn hand carts to Salt Lake Valley. One woman, Mrs. Ann Moses, was\ndistinguished because she was the mother of twenty-one children. Mrs.\nElizabeth Taylor came in also for her honors because she was the mother\nof fourteen children and six hundred grand, and great grand children.\nElder P. Green Taylor, fifty-one years old, got a prize because he had\nmore children than any man present; namely, thirty-six. Nor was Elder\nWoodruff forgotten on this occasion. He received a prize because he\nhad baptized and had been instrumental in bringing into the Church a\ngreat number of souls, something like two thousand. He tells us in his\njournal that there was a foot-race by William Barnes, eighty-nine;\nElias Adams, eighty-six; and Thomas Edmunds, likewise eighty-six years\nof age. He says Brother Edmunds won.\n\nOn the second of September, that year, he said he took part in blessing\na number of missionaries and of setting apart Orson Pratt and Joseph F.\nSmith for a short mission to Missouri to visit the Whitmer families and\nplaces of note in the travels of the Church.\n\nThe October conference of that year was held in the Tabernacle and\nat its close there began the organization of a general Zion's Board\nof Trade, of which the Apostles were made honorary members. Local\norganizations of the same character were effected in different parts\nof the Church. The purpose of this organization was to promote the\ntemporal welfare of the people and aid them in acquiring the best\nmarkets for their produce by co-operative effort.\n\n{505} On the 25th of that month Elder Woodruff records his visit with\nSenator McCrary of Kentucky and Mr. Hooper of Mississippi and other\nprominent gentlemen to the Smelting Works of Mr. L. E. Holden. Upon\ntheir return these gentlemen called upon President Taylor.\n\nOn the 28th of November, Elder Orson Hyde died at his home in Spring\nCity, San Pete County, at the age of seventy-three. This left but one\nof the first quorum of the Twelve Apostles living; namely, Elder Orson\nPratt. On the 30th Elder Woodruff attended the funeral. Proceedings of\nwhich are found in the Deseret News of Dec. 5th, 1878.\n\nClosing his long description of the scenes of a remarkable dream which\nhe gives in detail at this time, he uses the following words: \"I saw\na short distance from the Missouri River, where I stood, twelve men\ndressed in the robes of the Temple. They stood in a square near by and\nI was given to understand that they represented the twelve gates of the\nnew Jerusalem. Their hands were uplifted while they were consecrating\nthe ground; and later they laid the corner-stones of the house of God.\nI saw myriads of angels hovering over them, and above their heads\nthere was a pillar-like cloud. I heard the most beautiful singing in\nthe words: 'Now is established the Kingdom of our God and His Christ,\nand He shall reign forever and forever, and the Kingdom shall never be\nthrown down, for the Saints have overcome.' I saw people coming from\nthe river and from distant places to help build the Temple. It seemed\nas though there were hosts of angels helping to bring material for\nthe construction of that building. Some were in Temple robes, and the\npillar-like cloud continued to hover over the spot.\n\n\"Later I found myself in the Ogden Tabernacle, where I was calling upon\nthe people to listen to the beautiful strains of music there. I rolled\nover in my bed and heard the clock of the City Hall strike twelve.\"\nThis was December 16, 1877.\n\n{506}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 47.\n\nEXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1879.\n\nIn Arizona.--An Epistle to the World.--Birthday Celebrated in St.\nGeorge.--Travels in Arizona.--Hunt with Pelone, the Apache Chief.--A\nVisit to the Zunies.--Travels with Lot Smith.--Dream.--Letters.\n\nOn New Year's Day, 1879, Elder Woodruff moved to his new brick home\nnext door south of the Valley House. The old Valley House had been his\nfirst mountain home. On the third of the month, in company with Moses\nThatcher, he started on a tour of the southern counties. One of the\nchief purposes of this tour was to organize local boards of trade.\nWhile they were at Nephi on the 6th, Elder Thatcher received word of\nhis appointment to fill the vacancy in the Quorum occasioned by the\ndeath of Elder Orson Hyde. They reached St. George on the 20th of the\nmonth.\n\nOn February 7th Elder Woodruff found it necessary to go into exile\nbecause of the special effort at that time to prosecute those in Plural\nMarriage. \"For the first time in my life I have had to flee from\nmy enemies for the gospel's sake, or for any other cause. They are\ntrying to arrest me for obeying the law of God in reference to Plural\nMarriage.\" To escape his pursuers he went to Arizona where he remained\na couple of weeks, and then returned to St. George. While there in the\nTemple on Washington's birthday he wrote an epistle to the world, dated\nFebruary 22nd, 1879, from which the following is taken:\n\nEPISTLE OF ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF, ONE OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES.\n\n_To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to all the\nworld, greeting:--_\n\nI feel desirous once more, while in the flesh, by the word of God\nand testimony of Jesus Christ, to bear my testimony unto you as the\nChurch and Kingdom of God, established on the earth by the God of\nheaven in this last dispensation and fulness of times; {507} I also\nwish to bear my testimony to all nations under heaven, to emperors,\nkings, presidents, statesmen, governors, judges, Jew, and Gentile,\nand to all rulers, and the ruled who dwell upon the face of the whole\nearth. My testimony is this unto all men and nations, that you live\nin the day and hour of the judgments of God Almighty. You live in the\nday and generation when the God of Israel has set His hand to perform\nHis work, His strange work in the latter-days. You live in the age in\nwhich God will bring to pass the fulfilment of that flood of prophecy\nand revelation which has been spoken by all the prophets since the\nworld began, which stands recorded in the sacred books of divine truth;\nand the fulfilment of these revelations will involve the destiny of\nthe whole world, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, high and low, saint\nand sinner, Babylon and Zion. Therefore, prepare yourselves, O! ye\ninhabitants of the earth, for the hour of God's judgment is at the\ndoor. As it was in the days of Noah and of Lot, so shall it be in the\ndays of the coming of the Son of Man.\n\nI address myself first to the Saints of God, who have entered into\ncovenant with the Lord and have been ordained unto the holy priesthood.\nIf you are living your religion, and enjoy the spirit of inspiration,\nwhich is your duty and privilege, you know as God lives that Joseph\nSmith was a prophet of God; that he received the administration of\nangels; that he brought forth the Book of Mormon, and translated it by\nthe power of God. You know he received the fulness of the Everlasting\nGospel, and the holy priesthood and apostleship and the keys thereof;\nand that he organized the Church of Christ, the only true and living\nChurch upon the face of the whole earth, with its gifts and graces,\nwith which the Lord is \"well pleased.\" You do know Joseph Smith, the\nProphet, left his testimony upon the earth and sealed that testimony\nwith his blood, and that testament is in force upon the world, and that\ntestament is filled with the revelations of God, that stand upon its\npages like flames of living fire, ready to be fulfilled upon all the\ninhabitants of the earth. In this testament the Lord has commanded His\nservants to go to all the world and preach this gospel of the kingdom\nto every creature, as far as doors are open. He also commanded His\nservants to visit New York, Albany, Boston, and all the notable cities\nand villages of the world, reproving them for their ungodly deeds,\n{508} and warning them of the desolation and utter destruction which\nawaits them, if they reject the testimony of the servants of God. \"With\nyou, saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms, for I will\nshake not only the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble; you\ncannot see it now, but soon you will see it and know that I am God.\"\nYou Latter-day Saints, do you not know these things are true? You do,\nand so do I, for the spirit of God bears record, and the record is\ntruth, and truth abideth forever. Under the circumstances, what manner\nof men and women ought we to be? Are we prepared as a people for the\ngreat events which await us; which await both Zion and Babylon? Judge\nye! What is our duty as Saints of the living God? It is our duty to\nhumble ourselves before the Lord and call upon His name, until we are\nfilled with the Holy Ghost and the spirit of inspiration, which is the\nlight of Christ. Pay our tithes and offerings, keep the commandments of\nGod and have faith in His word, remember and honor the ordinances we\nhave observed, and the covenants and obligations we have entered into\nin the holy places and temples of our God. We should unite ourselves\ntogether in a temporal as well as in a spiritual point of view, as\ndirected by the wise men of Israel. We should seek to build up the\nKingdom and Zion of our God, and not ourselves alone. When we do these\nthings we are prepared as a people to let our prayers ascend into the\nears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, and they will be heard and answered upon\nour heads. Again, this testament which Joseph Smith left, contains a\nrevelation and commandment from God, out of heaven, concerning the\npatriarchal order of marriage. The Lord has commanded us to have our\nwives and children sealed to us, for time and eternity, that we may\nhave them with us in our family organizations in the resurrection\nto dwell with us forever in the eternal worlds, that we may have an\nincrease of posterity forever in connection with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,\nand all the ancient patriarchs. I would say to all Israel, treat your\nwives and children kindly, and keep the commandments of God and trust\nin Him, and He will fight your battles. And I will say, in the name of\nJesus Christ, the Son of the living God, that \"Mormonism\" will live\nand prosper, Zion will flourish, and the Kingdom of God will stand in\npower and glory and dominion as Daniel saw it, when this nation is\nbroken to pieces as a potter's vessel and laid in the {509} dust, and\nbrought to judgment, or God never spoke by my mouth. Therefore I say\nto all the Saints throughout the world, be faithful and true to your\nGod and to your religion, to your families and to yourselves. Jesus\nof Nazareth has suffered death on the cross for the redemption of the\nworld, and his apostles followed his example for the word of the Lord\nand testimony of Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith proved to God, angels,\nand men that he would and did abide in his covenants unto death, and\nnone of us shall be called to do anything more. We certainly, any of\nus, would be ashamed to deny the faith, to accommodate our enemies,\nthen meet the prophets and apostles in the spirit world. May God forbid\nthat this should be the case with any of the blood of Ephraim. I wish\nin this testimony to say that the time is not far distant when the rich\nmen among the Jews will be called upon to use their abundant wealth to\ngather the dispersed of Judah, and purchase the ancient dwelling places\nof their fathers in and about Jerusalem, and rebuild the holy city and\ntemple.\n\nFor the fulness of the Gentiles has come in, and the Lord has decreed\nthat the Jews should be gathered from all the Gentile nations where\nthey have been driven, into their own land, in fulfillment of the\nwords of Moses their law-giver. And this is the will of your great\nEloheim, O house of Judah, and whenever you shall be called upon to\nperform this work, the God of Israel will help you. You have a great\nfuture and destiny before you and you cannot avoid fulfilling it; you\nare the royal chosen seed, and the God of your father's house has\nkept you distinct as a nation for eighteen hundred years, under all\nthe oppression of the whole Gentile world. You may not wait until you\nbelieve on Jesus of Nazareth, but when you meet with Shiloh your king,\nyou will know him; your destiny is marked out, you cannot avoid it. It\nis true that after you return and gather your nation home, and rebuild\nyour City and Temple, that the Gentiles may gather together their\narmies to go against you to battle, to take you a prey and to take you\nas a spoil, which they will do, for the words of your prophets must be\nfulfilled; but when this affliction comes, the living God, that led\nMoses through the wilderness, will deliver you, and your Shiloh will\ncome and stand in your midst and will fight your battles; and you will\nknow him, and the afflictions of the Jews will be at an end, while\nthe destruction of the Gentiles will be so {510} great that it will\ntake the whole house of Israel who are gathered about Jerusalem, seven\nmonths to bury the dead of their enemies, and the weapons of war will\nlast them seven years for fuel, so that they need not go to any forest\nfor wood. These are tremendous sayings--who can bear them? Nevertheless\nthey are true, and will be fulfilled, according to the sayings of\nEzekiel, Zechariah, and other prophets. Though the heavens and the\nearth pass away, not one jot or tittle will fall unfulfilled.\n\nI would say to the Lamanites, if I could speak to them understandingly,\nthat you are also a branch of the house of Israel, and chiefly of the\nhouse of Joseph, and your forefathers have fallen through the same\nexamples of unbelief and sins, as have the Jews, and you, as their\nposterity, have wandered in sin and darkness for many generations; and\nyou, like the Jews, have been driven and trampled under the foot of\nthe Gentiles, and put to death through your wars with each other, and\nwith the white man, until you are almost destroyed. But there is still\na redemption and salvation for a remnant of you in the latter days. It\nis time for you to cease shedding each other's blood or making war upon\nyour fellow-man. Cease to destroy one another, learn to cultivate the\nearth, and raise your food therefrom; call upon the Great Spirit to\nprotect you and deliver you from bondage and darkness, and the Great\nSpirit will hear you and deliver you, and a remnant of you will again\nbecome a delightsome people as your forefathers were when they kept the\ncommandments of God.\n\nCould I speak to the Ten Tribes of Israel, in the north country, I\nwould say, call upon the God of your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,\nthat your prophets may come in remembrance before God, that they may\nhear His voice and no longer stay themselves, but smite the rocks, that\nthe mountains of ice may flow down at their presence. \"A highway shall\nbe cast up in the midst of the great deep;\" their enemies shall become\na prey unto them. Bring forth your records and rich treasures unto the\nchildren of Ephraim, the servants of the Lord in the land of Zion, and\nthe boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at your presence,\nand you shall fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by\nthe hands of the servants of God, even the children of Ephraim, and\nyou shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy; behold this is the\n\"blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes {511} of Israel, and\nthe richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows.\"\n\nThese events referred to are but a very limited portion of the\nrevelations of God which are about to be fulfilled upon the heads of\nthis generation. I wish to warn all nations of the judgments of God\nwhich are at their doors. Thrones will be cast down, nations will be\noverturned, anarchy will reign, all legal barriers will be broken\ndown, and the laws will be trampled in the dust. You are about to be\nvisited with war, the sword, famine, pestilence, plague, earthquakes,\nwhirlwinds, tempests, and with the flame of devouring fire; by fire\nand with the sword will God plead with all flesh, and the slain of\nthe Lord will be many. The anger of the Lord is kindled and His sword\nis bathed in heaven, and is about to fall upon Idumea, or the world.\nAnd who is able to abide these things? And who will stand when He\nappeareth? The fig trees are leaving, and the signs of all heaven and\nearth indicate the coming of the Son of Man. The seals are about to be\nopened, the plagues to be poured forth. Your rivers and seas will be\nturned to blood and to gall. And the inhabitants of the earth will die\nof plagues. And the unbelief of great Babylon, with the whole Christian\nworld, will not make the truths of God without effect. Let the world\nlook, for example, at the ancient cities of the nations. Where are\nThebes, Tyre, Sidon, Nineveh, and Babylon the Great, which were built\nto defy all time, and all power but God Himself? They were laid in\nthe dust and their inhabitants destroyed, when they were ripened in\niniquity, and this too, in fulfilment of the word of God unto them\nthrough the voices of righteous men, who spake as they were moved upon\nby the Holy Ghost. In like manner was Jerusalem destroyed and the Jews\nscattered among the Gentiles in fulfilment of the words of Moses and\nJesus Christ. Will the Lord any more spare the cities of the Gentiles\nand Great Babylon than he spared the ancient cities of the Jews? No,\nverily no. The question may be asked, why these judgments are coming\nupon the world in the last days? I answer, because of the wickedness\nof the inhabitants thereof. The very proclamation of the angel of\nGod when he delivered the fulness of the Gospel as revealed in the\nRevelations of St. John was, \"crying with a loud voice, fear God and\ngive glory to Him for the hour of His judgment is come.\" And when that\nproclamation {512} was made to Joseph Smith the Prophet, it was half\na century ago, \"light has come into the world, and men love darkness\nrather than light, because their deeds are evil.\" The Lord has raised\nup prophets and apostles who have cried aloud to this generation with\nthe proclamation of the Gospel for half a century, and warned them of\nthe judgments which were to come, and the inhabitants of the earth have\nrejected this testimony, and shed the blood of the Lord's anointed and\npersecuted the Saints of God, and the consequence is this: \"Darkness\ncovers the earth, and gross darkness the people,\" and the Lord is\nwithholding His spirit from the inhabitants of the earth, and the devil\nis ruling over his own kingdom and wickedness and abominations of every\nkind have increased a hundred fold within the last few years, until the\nwhole earth is filled with murders, whoredoms, blasphemies, and every\ncrime in the black catalogue that was manifest in the antediluvian\nworld and in Sodom and Gomorrah, until the whole earth groans under\nits abominations, and the heavens weep, and all eternity is pained,\nand the angels are waiting the great command to go forth and reap down\nthe earth. This testimony I bear to all nations under heaven, and I\nknow it is true by the inspiration of Almighty God, and the decision\nof the Supreme Court of the United States bears me out in the opinion\nthat the constitution gives me the privilege of enjoying my belief,\nand faith and opinion in religion. Therefore the execution of all\nthese tremendous events I leave for the God of heaven, which He most\nassuredly will bring about. What I have spoken I have spoken, and I\nexcuse not myself, and \"though the heavens and the earth pass away, my\nwords will not pass away, but will all be fulfilled,\" saith the Lord of\nHosts.\n\nI subscribe myself an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and member of\nthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\n\nWILFORD WOODRUFF.\n\nOn his birthday, March 1st, Elder Woodruff was greeted by a hundred\nwomen and forty-eight men, who assembled in the Temple for the purpose\nof aiding him in the ordinances for his kindred dead. For that occasion\nMrs. Emily Spencer, and Moses Farnsworth composed in his honor verses\ncontaining congratulations and praise.\n\n{513} On the 6th of March, accompanied by Erastus Snow, he left St.\nGeorge at three o'clock in the morning. They went direct to Kanab\nwhere they held a two days meeting, and then with William Johnson, and\nBrigham Y. Duffin he began his pilgrimage and exile among the colonies\nof Saints and among the Indians of Arizona. The following account of\nhis travels is taken from the _Deseret News,_ Weekly, 1879, page 314:\n\nSUNSET, ARIZONA, May 29th, 1879.\n\n_Editors Deseret News:_\n\nAs I have been traveling for a season as a missionary among the Saints\nand Lamanites in Arizona, and have taken observations of the country,\nmen and things, I have thought perhaps a few dottings by the way would\nnot be uninteresting to the numerous readers of the _News_. After\ncrossing over the great Colorado River at Lee's Ferry, and crossing\nthe hog's back, which seemed to be the most difficult and dangerous\nroad for loaded teams to pass over that I ever saw, I indulged in the\nthought and hope that not many years would pass before a suspension\nwire bridge would span that river many miles below its present\ncrossing, which would save fifty or one hundred miles of weary travel,\nand entirely escape the dangerous crossing of that terrible mountain.\n\nWe viewed the Colorado River far below the ferry, confined within its\nnarrow bed by solid perpendicular stone walls two thousand feet high,\nwhich made the stream look quite diminutive. It being a very dry season\nthroughout the whole country, the wells, tanks, and springs were dry\nin a great measure. It makes it very difficult for companies to travel\nthis season owing to the want of water for both man and beast. The\ndistance from Willow Springs to Moan Copy is some fifteen miles over a\nstrange country of a barren desert of rocks, sand hills, mounds, gravel\nbeds, and many curious rocks which look as though they were hewn, some\nof them twenty feet long by twelve to eighteen inches wide, and twelve\nto eighteen inches thick. The hills are of thin slate in a decayed\nstate, rocks are in every shape of men, women, children, and palaces.\nThe country is without water, grass, or soil, until we arrive at the\nMoan Copy wash bottoms which contain a large quantity of good land,\ncovered with vegetation and soil suitable for wheat or any cultivated\ncrops.\n\n{514} The present settlement, in a fort form, is located on a hill a\nhundred feet above the cultivated land, in the midst of sand hills.\nA good spring of water is a hundred feet below the fort, the water\nis brought into the fort by a hydraulic ram, placed there by John W.\nYoung. This saves much labor, as it avoids the necessity of carrying\nthe water a hundred feet up a steep hill. There is a townsite laid out\ntwo miles north of the fort, called Tuba, which stands upon a plat\nof good soil, with good springs of water. A number of families are\nbuilding upon the new location. I consider Moan Copy a very important\nlocation in many respects for a settlement of the Saints, as an\noutpost, and especially its connections with the surrounding Lamanites\nof the Moqui and Navajo tribes. I held many interesting meetings with\nboth the Saints and Lamanites, and with the Indian chiefs at Moan Copy.\n\nThe great change which has of late come over all the tribes of Indians\nin Utah, Arizona, and Mexico, from war to peace, is visible to every\nobserving mind and could have been accomplished only by the power of\nGod. A few years ago neither \"Mormon\" nor \"Gentile\" could travel with\nany safety among the Navajo, Apache, or other Indian tribes of this\ncountry; while to-day any white man can travel, either alone or in\ncompany, with safety, if he will attend to his own business and not\ninterfere with the Indians. Many of the Lamanites are uniting with the\nSaints at Moan Copy, Sunset, and other settlements in cultivating the\nearth, raising wheat, corn, and vegetables, and the brethren are doing\nwhat they can to help them. A young man by the name of Polakkah, son\nof the Chief Cashaby, has a prospect of being a benefit to his tribe.\nHe speaks seven different languages, including good Spanish, and some\nEnglish. He is raising wheat at Moan Copy, and learning English. He is\nintelligent, and active, is trying to understand the geography of the\nearth. The Indian tradition is that there is a new sun every day. But\nwhile he was trying to understand that the earth revolved upon its axis\nand we have but one sun, his faith was tried. While on a visit to San\nFrancisco, he saw the sun sink into the sea and the water put it out.\nHe could not see for a while how it could come out again, but being\ninformed the earth was round, and the sun was hidden from view by the\nrotation of the earth, he became reconciled.\n\nBrother John W. Young has established a trading store at {515} Moan\nCopy, and is furnishing the Lamanites goods for their wool and the\nbrethren goods for their labor, which is a benefit for both the Saints\nand Lamanites. He pays a liberal price for wool and sells goods very\nreasonably. This brings the Moqui and Navajo tribes, both chiefs and\npeople, to Moan Copy to trade. He has bought some thirty thousand\npounds of wool this season, baled it up and sent it to Utah to be\nmanufactured. He laid the corner-stone of a woolen factory at Moan Copy\non the first day of May, and it, with its surroundings, was dedicated\nto the Lord. The walls will be built of stone; plenty of good rock can\nbe obtained within a few rods of the building. The walls were being\nrapidly erected when I left. If the factory proves successful in its\noperation, it will be a great blessing to both the Saints and Lamanites.\n\nIn company with John W. Young and several other brethren, I left Moan\nCopy on the 17th of April, to visit the San Francisco Mountain country.\nWe camped at night upon the Little Colorado River, and found the\nstream rather low. On the 18th we visited the Black Falls, where both\nthe bed of the river and shore were composed of black volcanic rock.\nA short distance above, the river could easily be taken out, without\nany dam, to irrigate a good deal of land, supposed to be suitable\nfor cultivation, and the surrounding country is very suitable for an\nextensive herd ground. On the 19th we nooned at the Grand Falls, the\nmain fall we judged to be about one hundred feet. On the night of the\n20th we camped at Turkey Tanks, which are composed of hard volcanic\nrock; the one we watered at is about one hundred feet by twenty-five\nwide, and ten feet deep; the water formed from rain and snow, was\nclear, cold and good; another tank, twice the size was about three\nhundred yards below. Our barometer gave the altitude six thousand nine\nhundred feet. The country abounds with deer, antelope, and turkey which\ndrink at these tanks. We saw twenty antelope and heard the turkeys\ngobble before we were out of bed. We entered on the east side of that\nnoble pine forest, which surrounds the San Francisco Mountain, and\nspent the night of the 21st at the Flagstaff Springs, eight miles south\nof San Francisco Springs. We found three men at the Flagstaff Springs,\nbuilding and farming; they were raising good wheat, potatoes, early\ncorn, squashes, and vegetables without irrigation, their altitude {516}\nbeing seven thousand five hundred and seventy-five feet. On the morning\nof the 22nd, we drove eight miles to San Francisco Springs, which have\nbeen purchased by John W. Young, who has erected two buildings and done\na good deal of fencing; his house and springs stand at the north end of\none of the finest parks, either natural or artificial, I ever saw; it\ncontains about 4,000 acres, without stick, stone, or bush, with a soil\nas black and rich as the Missouri bottoms. It is shielded on the north,\neast, and west by the San Francisco mountains and hills, and open to\nthe south, and is surrounded on every side by that immense forest of\ngiant pine timber. I look upon this as one of the finest bodies of pine\ntimber in America. There is no underbrush and the trees stand from 6\ninches to 4 feet in diameter, and from 50 to 150 feet in height, and a\ngood deal of it from 20 to 40 feet to the first limb. The whole face of\nthe earth, both forest and parks, is covered with a heavy body of good\nnutritious bunch grass, even to the very top of the highest volcanic\ncones, that we ascended to the height of 10,000 feet, and there seems\nto be range enough to support tens of thousands of horses, cattle, and\nsheep. We rode our mules on to the top of a cone some 2,000 feet above\nthe park, where we had a view of all the surrounding country, as far as\nthe eye could extend, and we saw the same immense forest interspersed\nwith parks from 100 to 10,000 acres. The altitude of San Francisco\nspring is 8,040 feet; still the men eight miles south, who had spent\nseveral winters there, said they had but little snow and that the\nstock kept fat all the year round. All this country abounds with game.\nBrother Young's men had commenced plowing to put in wheat and spring\ncrops. We had to travel, as the road ran in a circle nearly all around\nthe mountain, about 120 miles from Moan Copy, when, if a road could be\nlocated on the north side of the mountain to the Little Colorado River,\nMoan Copy could be reached in half the distance.\n\nI left Moan Copy on the 14th instant to visit Sunset. On my arrival\nat the Little Colorado River, I found a great change had taken place;\nthe drouth had almost entirely dried up the river for 50 miles; no\nwater running at Black or Grand Falls, only a little found in pockets\nsufficient to water our horses, some herders having removed their stock\nfrom the Black Falls, not getting water for them to drink. Brother\nAugust Wilcken accompanied {517} me to Grand Falls, at which place he\nturned west to the San Francisco mountains. I continued on south until\nI arrived at Sunset on the evening of the 17th instant, where I was\nwelcomed by Brother Lot Smith and many Saints. I here found plenty\nof water in the Little Colorado River to irrigate all the cultivated\nlands and to run to the grist mill. I was agreeably disappointed in\nthe general appearance of the country surrounding Sunset and Brigham\nCity. I could not have formed a correct idea of the country from any\ndescription I had ever heard of it. I found these two settlements\nstanding on the borders of the Little Colorado River, surrounded by a\nlarge open country, which was covered with the very best of grass for\nmany miles upon every hand. Ten thousand head of horses and cattle\ncould keep fat without going many miles from the settlements, and there\nis a belt of good thrifty forest of cottonwood timber, a mile wide,\nfor 50 miles up and down the Little Colorado River, and sufficient dry\nwood strewn along the bottom to supply the settlements with fuel for\nmany years, without cutting any green timber. The cottonwood groves are\nsufficiently dense to give herds of deer hiding grounds all the year\nround. On Sunday the 18th, I met the Saints of both settlements, in the\ndining hall of Sunset, (some 55 feet in length) which was completely\nfilled. I spoke to them during the forenoon and afternoon some two\nhours and a half; a good spirit prevailed.\n\nThe people of these settlements all live in the United Order, and eat\nat one family table. I stopped with Brother Lot Smith who is president\nof the Stake. I took my meals with him at the family table, the center\ntable being 45 feet in length and the side table 50 feet, making\nthree rows of persons. Each man has his place at the table with his\nfamily with him, the same as though he were with his family in his\nown house. Prayer is always offered at the table morning and evening\nbefore eating, and blessing is then asked. And this is practiced in all\nplaces connected with these settlements, at the sheep herd, saw mill\nand dairies. There seemed to be universal satisfaction among both male\nand female with this order of things. I conversed with several of the\nsisters. They preferred it to cooking at home. All fared alike, the\npresident, priest, and people. If any were sick they were nourished.\nIf any man was called on a mission he had no anxiety about his family,\nknowing they would fare as well as the rest. If any man {518} died his\nfamily would have a support as long as they lived with the people, and\nI must say that I felt in spirit that these settlements, in connection\nwith Orderville, were living in the United Order as near as any people\ncould in mortality, until a better way shall be revealed. I could see\nmany advantages they had above those who were living, each man for\nhimself. They were out of the reach of temptation to quarrel with\ntheir neighbors over water ditches, or over their neighbor's stock\ngetting into their crops. They were all interested alike in the use of\nthe water, or the preservation of their crops. All is theirs, stock\nand crop, as though one man owned the whole, and instead of eating\nup or wasting their substance, they are daily getting rich and are\nenabled to assist other settlements to bread and means. The presidents\nand leaders are as hard laboring men as any in the settlements, and,\nuntil I can learn a better way, I feel to say with every sentiment of\nmy heart to Orderville, Sunset, Brigham City, Pleasant Valley, and\nevery other settlement living in the Order, go ahead and God bless\nyou; and, as President Young instructed the Saints who came to form\nthese settlements, to get as near the United Order as they could; and\nas President Taylor and the Apostles advocate the same principle, I\nhope that all the priesthood will sustain, by their prayers, faith and\ninfluence, those who are striving to live in this United Order, until\nsomething more perfect shall be revealed unto us. It appears to me that\nthe further we withdraw from this union into individuality of gardens,\nlots, orchards, cows, pigs, and chickens, the further we withdraw\nfrom the United Order, and the more we open the door for selfishness,\ntemptation, and fault-finding with each other, the same as before we\nattempted to unite, and would open a door to give each man an excuse\nto spend his time in attending to his individual affairs, instead of\nlaboring for the general good of all.\n\nThe Sunset settlement consists of 25 families, 24 men, 30 women, 66\nchildren; total 120 souls. They have 13 men at work on the farm; they\nhave put in 200 acres of wheat, 100 of corn, 15 of cane, 15 acres of\nlucern, and 5 of other vegetables, besides 25 acres of wheat for the\nLamanites. They have 65 brood mares, 30 yearlings, 21 young colts, and\n15 horses; also 30 oxen, 160 milk cows, 257 dry stock, not including\nthis year's calves; also 1,200 sheep, and 500 lambs.\n\n{519} Brigham City consists of 40 families, 38 men, 40 women, 122\nchildren; total souls, 200. They have ten men on the farm, who have put\nin 155 acres of wheat, 50 of corn, 20 of cane, 10 of lucern, 5 of oats,\n5 of potatoes, 18 of orchard, and 15 of other vegetables. They have 25\nbrood mares, 7 colts, 15 horses; also 200 cows, 150 calves, 70 oxen,\n280 young stock; also 700 sheep, and 500 lambs. They have 40 wagons,\na blacksmith and wagon maker. These settlements have a good water\ngrist mill, carding machine, steam sawmill, and a good pottery, all in\nsuccessful operation.\n\nOn the 22nd, I visited the sheep herd at McNeil Springs, in the pine\nand oak forests, 32 miles from Sunset. The house stands upon the bench,\nbut the spring is in a deep gorge, so steep it is difficult for men to\nbring water up to the house. The water is guided into several large\npine troughs, where 1,000 sheep drink daily. The wild cats are so\nnumerous that it is difficult to guard the lambs by night from cats.\nWe visited Pleasant Valley on the 23rd. This is the location of the\ndairy of the various settlements in the United Order, and is one of the\nfinest valleys in Arizona. It is five miles in length, and three miles\nin breadth, covered with the best of grass, except a lake of fresh\nwater which covers many acres, where the horses, cows, oxen, deer,\nantelope, and turkeys come down to drink. I was informed the deer and\nantelope came into the valley daily to drink, at times as many as a\nhundred antelope in a drove, and that this lake, both fall and spring,\nwas covered with thousands of ducks and geese, the ducks remaining\nthroughout the year. Orvil E. Bates presides over this settlement\nand is directing the cheese and butter making department. I took a\nhorse-back ride in the evening with Brother Bates to take a view of the\ncountry. We saw 15 deer, 17 antelopes, and 5 gobbler turkeys during the\nday.\n\nOn the 24th, we held a meeting at Pleasant Valley with the Saints.\nBrother Lot Smith, George Lake, and myself addressed the people. A good\nspirit prevailed. At the close of the meeting we drove 10 miles to the\nUnited Order sawmill. We saw a dozen turkeys on the road. This steam\nsawmill is one used at Trumbull, and has a capacity of sawing 10,000\nfeet of lumber daily; stands in the midst of that vast pine and oak\nforest, some 45 miles south of San Francisco Mountain. I saw groves of\nwhite oak {520} from the size of hoop poles to three feet in diameter\nand 50 feet in height.\n\nOn Sunday, 25th, we held a meeting forenoon and afternoon, with the\npeople at the mill. I spoke about one hour and a half, followed by\nBrothers Lot Smith, L. H. Savage, O. E. Bates, and W. C. McLellan; a\ngood spirit prevailed.\n\nOn the 26th, after killing and dressing a large antelope, and taking\na portion of the meat with us, we left our friends at the mill and\nreturned to Sunset on the eve of the 27th.\n\nI have had an interview with Brother Lewellyn Harris concerning\nhis administrations among the Lamanites sick with the small-pox.\nHe confirms as truth all that was published in the _Deseret News_\nconcerning it.\n\nWILFORD WOODRUFF.\n\nOn the 24th of June with Lot Smith and others he made a journey to a\nnumber of settlements in that district of the country. The 25th found\nhim at Woodruff, a small town on the Little Colorado, that had been\nnamed in his honor. The people of the town represented in some manner\nthe persistency that characterized the life of Apostle Woodruff.\nAn existence along the Little Colorado, especially when it depends\nupon the permanence of dams constructed on its quicksands, is both\nprecarious and difficult.\n\nElder Woodruff always had the happy faculty of adjusting himself to the\nconditions of people wherever he was. He was as much at home on the\nfarm as in the pulpit or in the temple. He helped the brethren gather\ntheir crops and labored in the fields.\n\nDuring the latter part of July, Elder Woodruff went to Snowflake where,\nwith President Jesse M. Smith, he took up his labors among the Saints.\nWhile there, during the early part of August, he accepted an invitation\nto go on a deer hunt with Pelone, an Apache chief. On this occasion,\nthough fond of hunting, he was much more interested in preaching the\ngospel to the chief and other Indians than he was in pursuing the\nchase. He says that when they were ready, the Indian painted himself\nwith white clay, put on a striped shirt resembling the color of an\nantelope. The Indian likewise made his limbs take on the same striped\nappearance. On his head he put artificial horns, thus making himself\n{521} a decoy to antelope. Pelone and the Indians with him were told\nabout the Book of Mormon and the promises of the Lord respecting their\nforefathers.\n\nOf these visits Elder Woodruff related a circumstance as follows:\n\"Pelone gave three young Mormon Elders the strongest rebuke I ever\nheard from an Indian. The boys were smoking and asked Pelone to smoke\nwith them. He looked them sternly in the face and said: 'No, the Great\nSpirit has told me that if I would not smoke, nor drink whiskey, I\nshould live a long time, but if I did, I should live but a short time.'\nI then said to the boys, you should take that rebuke to heart, and\nnever again set such an example before an Indian.\"\n\nTwo days later Elder Woodruff had another talk with Pelone and one\nPedro. The latter was also an Apache chief, the two being the principal\nchiefs of the tribe. The former had related to Pedro all that Brother\nWoodruff had taught him and appeared much interested in the message.\n\nFrom Snowflake Apostle Woodruff made his way to St. John, from which\nplace with Ammon Tenney he paid a visit to the Zunis and other Indian\ntribes, an account of which is given in a communication of September\n15th, 1879, to President John Taylor, as follows:\n\nSUNSET, APACHE CO., ARIZONA, Sept. 15th, 1879.\n\n_President John Taylor and Council:_\n\nDEAR BRETHREN:--I arrived on Saturday night, the 13th inst., all well\nand in good spirits and found Brother Lake, of Brigham City, and\nBrother Bates, of Pleasant Valley, very sick. They had been to the\nVerde, baptizing some and administering to the sick. Brother Lake has\nbeen looked upon as dangerous, but was some better yesterday.\n\nIn my short communication of the 2nd inst., I promised to give a fuller\naccount of my visit to the Isletas, which I will now endeavor to do. I\nview my visit among the Nephites one of the most interesting missions\nof my life, although short. I say Nephites because if there are any\nNephites on this continent we have found them among the Zunis, Lagumas,\nand Isletas, for they are a different race of people altogether from\nthe Lamanites. I class {522} the Navajoe, Moquis, and Apaches with\nthe Lamanites, although they are in advance of many Indian tribes of\nAmerica. I class the Zunis, Lagumas, and Isletas among the Nephites.\n(See Sec. 3, verse 17, Doc. and Cov.) The Zunis are in advance of the\nNavajoes, Apaches, or of any other Lamanites. The Lagumas are much\nabove the Zunis, and the Isletas are far above them all in wealth,\nin beauty, cleanliness, and order of their homes and persons, the\nadornment of their dwellings, their industry and indefatigable labors,\nand in their virtue, and in the purity of their national blood. Their\nbearing and dignity in their intercourse with strangers, and, above\nall else, the expansion of their minds and their capacity to receive\nany principle of the Gospel, such as endowments or sealing powers,\nfully equal the minds of any of the Anglo Saxon race. While I have been\nstanding in the midst of that noble-minded people, teaching them the\ngospel, I could not make myself believe I was standing in the presence\nof American Indians or Lamanites, neither was I. The Isletas of which\nI speak is a village twelve miles below Albuquerque, on the Rio Del\nNorte, containing 3,000 souls that stand at the head of this class of\nmen that I call the Nephites. They occupy forty villages, containing\na population of 32,000, speaking sixteen distinct languages, but\nnearly all good Spanish scholars. I look upon this as a great field of\nmissionary labor for some forty good, faithful \"Mormon\" elders, who\nshould be able to speak the Spanish; and I hope next conference will\ncall some of them, at least, into the field. I visited this people,\nlocated in their homes in company with Brother Ammon M. Tenney, who\nhad visited most of them before, and I think has done much good in\nopening doors among them. He had baptized 115 of the Zunis on a former\nmission. My journey and visit with him was a visit of observation,\nand I was amply rewarded. In what way, I do not know, but in almost\nevery village I visited, they were looking for me. I can only make a\nbrief outline from my journal of our journey. On the 19th of August,\nwe entered the Zuni village, containing about 3,000 souls. The village\nstood on a piece of elevated ground; many buildings were three stories\nhigh, and the upper stories were entered by ladders at the top. There\nhad been a heavy struggle in this village between the Catholics and\nMormon Zunis. The priests had done all they could to lie about the\nMormons and had drawn away {523} a few who had been baptized, but\nothers remained firm. I went through the old Catholic cathedral in the\nvillage; it looked as though it were 500 years old. It had two bells\nhanging in the tower and over the pulpit was some of the finest carved\nwork in wood I ever saw, representing Christ, the apostles, and angels.\nI went all through the village and, for the first time in my life, I\nhad a view of the white Indians called _Albinos._ Their hair, face, and\nlimbs were nearly as white as milk, much whiter than any Americans.\nI met with many who had been baptized and they were very glad to see\nme. They had 2,000 acres of corn, looking well without irrigation.\nOn the day following, we visited their village at their farm called\nFish Springs. I was here introduced to Brother Juan Bautista (John\nBaptist), the first man baptized in the Zuni nation by A. M. Tenney.\nHis son's wife was the most handsome woman I ever saw of the Indian\nrace; had a beautiful child, nearly white. I went through their wheat\nfields, which they were cutting with sickles. We visited several ruins\nof the ancient inhabitants; some of the outside walls of stone were\nstanding some eight feet high. On Sunday evening, the 25th, we held\na meeting in a village of the Lagumas, called _Mosita Negra._ We had\nan interesting talk with the Governor of the place (Jose Carido),\nand the spiritual advisor (Lorenzo Coreo) and both wanted a meeting.\nThey called the people together, men, women, and children. We opened\nby singing and prayer, and Brother Tenney spoke to them in Spanish\nthirty minutes. I spoke a short time. Brother Tenney interpreted and\nwe dismissed, thinking we had kept them long enough. As soon as we\ndismissed, a Nephite arose, full of the spirit of the Lord, and said:\n'Friends, why do you dismiss us and leave us in this way. This is the\nfirst time we have heard of our forefathers and the gospel, and the\nthings we have looked for from the traditions of our fathers. If our\nwives and children are weary, let them go home; we want to hear more.\nWe want you to talk all night, do not leave us so.' This speech raised\nme to my feet and the next hour was one of the best meetings we had. We\nall felt inspired, missionaries, Nephite men, women, and children. I\nspoke and Brother Tenney interpreted. I never felt the want of tongues\nmore than on this occasion. I taught the things of the Kingdom of God\nand found hearts capable of receiving it. All were deeply interested\nand the seeds we {524} had sown in the hearts of that people will bring\nforth fruit. At the close of the meeting, the man who spoke in the\nmeeting came to me and said, 'When you return, drive to my home and all\nyour wants will be supplied,' which we did and held another meeting\non the Sunday following. We should have baptized him, the Governor,\nand many others, I think, but the Governor who had followed us, as did\nthe spiritual advisor, some sixty miles to Isletas, had not returned.\nThe people did not wish to take any steps until their Governor was\nwith them. On the following morning, my carriage was surrounded by the\nGovernor and people that we had talked to the night before. Some of\nthem took breakfast with us and I had to talk to them on the principles\nof the gospel and their record and signs of the times, until I left;\nand the leading men of the village followed us sixty miles to Isletas\nand stopped with us most of the time we were there. On the morning\nof the 26th of August, we drove through Frisco, crossed the Rio Del\nNorte, which we found very low, and entered Albuquerque, containing\nabout 3,000 inhabitants, Jews, Gentiles, Americans, and Mexicans. I was\nintroduced to Judge Parks, the U. S. District Judge of that District,\nfrom Illinois. I went through the city or town. It is quite a place\nof business. I went through the Catholic cathedral accompanied by an\nItalian padre, or priest. He took great pains to show us everything in\nit, robes of the priests and deacons; some robes woven from pure gold\nthread that cost $1,000.00. There was much more wealth than I would\nhave looked for in as obscure a place as Albuquerque. We spent the day\nin the place and left in the evening and camped five miles below on the\nbanks of the river. On the 27th of August, we entered the village of\nIsletas (Ysleta), being the day before the great annual feast of this\npeople. Brother Ammon M. Tenney had visited this people three years\nago and had made friends in the place. We called upon an old patriarch\nthat had received him before. His name was Juan Reylocero (John King).\nHe was glad to receive us. He furnished us with mutton, fruit, and\nanything we needed. He was one of the leading spirits, was one of the\nmost influential men in the village, and was over eighty years of age;\nbut by his labor and activity he did not appear more than seventy.\nIt should be understood that the Catholic power has had dominion for\ncenturies over most of the American tribes. This is the case with all\n{525} these tribes, as well as others, and the priests who now occupy\ntheir villages are mostly French or Italian. The priests who dwell in\nIsletas have had a hard contest with the old patriarch, because he had\nreceived the Mormons and their religion. He told the priest that he had\nhis own rights and agency and no men should take his rights or religion\nfrom him; and they had not spoken to each other for two years. This\nspirit is manifest through all the tribes when the gospel is preached,\nand the Lamanites and Nephites throughout all the land are beginning to\nbe weary of the Catholic priests and their religion. The inhabitants\nof Isletas stand at the head of these 32,000 Nephites; all the other\n40 villages come to them for counsel. They have their own laws, police\ncourts, and judgment seat. They are very rich. The man we stopped\nwith possessed 9,000 sheep, 100 brood mares and horses, 100 mules and\nasses, 500 cows and oxen, a ranch worth $8,000.00, and $25,000 of other\nwealth. He rents many houses in the city, and he is a sample of many of\nthe Isletas nation. They allow no white man or Mexican to mix with them\nin their blood; all their marriages are in their own tribe. Our friend\n(Reylocero) said the Americans had called them wild men. If they were\nwild, they were honest and virtuous. It was very seldom that a case of\nseduction of a wife or daughter was known in their tribes. Whenever\nsuch a case did occur, the penalty of death was executed and had been\nfor centuries, until civilization was introduced by Americans, who had\nintroduced seduction and corruption wherever they had a chance, and\nnow, if a man were put to death for seduction, the civilization of the\nday would kill his slayer. In fact they were so much afraid of white\nmen coming in contact with their women, that Brothers Tenney and Robert\nH. Smith, of the 15th Ward, Salt Lake City, three years ago, came\nnearly starving to death before they got thoroughly acquainted with\nthem. They were not willing for these brethren to go into the presence\nof their women; but after the old patriarch had reached full confidence\nin Brother Tenney, he put his grand-daughter (a very handsome young\nwoman) in his charge, as he was going away for a season, and a young\nMexican wished to court her, and the old gentleman did not wish him\nto marry her. And as the people in that village had full confidence\nin him, on our arrival we were kindly received and entertained by all\nwe {526} called upon. I look upon the Isletas as the most industrious\nand hard laboring people of any I ever met (the Latter-day Saints not\nexcepted). This Nephite village has a field of corn ten miles in length\nand one in width. It lies north and south of their village, and is\nirrigated. The corn is quite as good as any I ever saw in Utah, and\nperfectly clean; not a weed could be found in a hundred acres. They\nhave also twenty-one vineyards bordering on their city and 1,000 vines\nto each vineyard, some of them 60 years of age, all kept perfectly\nclean and loaded with the finest of fruit, and as heavy a crop as\nI ever saw in St. George. The vines stand from two to four feet in\nheight and, in the fall of the year, each vine has a mound of earth\nformed around it, until it is covered out of sight. In the spring it\nis uncovered and the earth leveled. This is an immense work. They have\nalso many apple, pear, and peach orchards, all ripe as well as the\ngrapes. Isletas is occupied only by the Nephites themselves. There\nare no Mexicans or white men. The houses generally are made of adobe,\ncement, or concrete, and plastered. The outside walls are as white as\nsnow, and the floors are made of mortar or plaster, very smooth and\nmany of them very neatly carpeted. We saw some as handsome women and\ngirls as could be found in America, barring their dark complexions.\nThere is one practice that exceeds that of any civilized city on the\nglobe that I ever heard of. No man, woman, or child is allowed to sweep\na particle of dirt or dust from their floors into the door yards or\nstreets, under penalty of a fine. It all has to be gathered in cloths\nor baskets and carried to mounds which are located in different parts\nof the city. The room we occupied was in the center of the town and\nthe mound formed from the sweepings of the floors in that part of the\ntown measured 150 yards at the base and some thirty feet high, which\nhad probably been 100 years in collecting, for they did not appear to\ncart it away. I found in Isletas and in other villages of the Nephites\nthe same kind of crockery and stone ware painted in all its brilliant\ncolors that we find in the remains of their ancient cities, or in\nruins of the ancient inhabitants. All of their water jugs and main\ncrockery are of this material, for they still hold the art of making\nand painting it. We visited quite a number of the families in the\nvillage and were kindly entertained. Among {527} others, we visited\nMrs. Pascual Avieta, a Nephite lady, I should judge 50 years of age,\na large portly woman, with a large, fine home. Her floors were neatly\ncarpeted, and settees were covered with Navajoe blankets, worth $15\neach. She was neatly dressed. I was introduced to her by Brother Tenney\nand to her daughters and sons. She received me and treated me with\nall the cordiality that any refined lady could, and presided over her\nhousehold with all the dignity and grace of a Martha Washington. When\nher daughters were introduced to me, after bowing and shaking hands,\nthey very reservedly and modestly retired across the room, sat down\nupon a settee and listened to what was said in silence. The matron\nsat down beside me and conversed with great freedom. While the family\ncould speak good Spanish, her son, a fine young man of 20, could speak\ngood English, which was a God send to me, and I thoroughly improved it\nby preaching the Gospel of Christ and blessings of the Kingdom of God\nto him, which he gladly received and promised to deliver the same to\nhis father and mother. The matron invited us into her pear, peach, and\napple orchard, and grape vineyard where fruit was ripe. We feasted to\nour satisfaction, and repeated by invitation the same ceremony each\nday while in Isletas. The feast was on the 27th of August. There were\nhundreds of Mexicans from all the surrounding country gathered. The\nMexican women and girls had their long trails. Most all the drinking,\ngambling, and fighting, which lasted all night, were done by the\nMexicans, while the Isletas were in their homes with doors locked at\nan early hour. The Governor and leading men of Mosita Negra, where we\npreached, were with us and did not take part in the Mexican carousal.\n\nThus, dear brethren, I have given you an outline, merely, of the field\nof labor which I consider the God of Israel has opened unto us, and\nwhich I consider the revelations of God require us to perform. I think\nthere is element sufficient for forty good, faithful elders. There is\nneed for a goodly number of elders who can speak the Spanish language,\nor who will be able to learn it. I have already sent Brother Taylor a\nsmall list of names, including the Indian missionaries that are already\nin this country, as far as I can remember them, and if there are any\nin St. George {528} or southern Utah, or northern, who can speak the\nSpanish, or who will learn it, I would like Brother Taylor to consider\nthem at the October Conference.\n\nI am happy to be able to state that most of the settlements I have\nvisited of the Saints have been blessed with fair crops of grain,\nnotwithstanding the dry season. They were just finishing threshing as\nI left Snowflake. They will have over 3,000 bushels of grain, mostly\nwheat, and I am confident they will have over 4,000 bushels of wheat at\nSunset.\n\nI have not written anything for publication concerning my journey to\nLamanites or Nephites of late, thinking it would not be wisdom to\npublish anything about our labors among the American Indians under the\npresent state of excitement on Mormonism. I forwarded a list of names\nin my other communication, as missionaries. I forward a few more in\nthis communication and those I send from here are mostly persons who\nhave given in their names and are willing to engage in the mission.\nSome incidents occurred on our mission which were interesting to me\nand showed that the Lord was at work with and for us, to open the way\nfor the introduction of the gospel among this branch of the house of\nIsrael. But I have already lengthened this communication much more\nthan I intended at the commencement. I learned of the release of the\nApostles from prison from the _\"News,\"_ which has given joy to all the\nfaithful Saints of the land. The devil is making a hard struggle to\nstop the building of temples, and the work of God, and the wicked are\nhelping him, but, brethren, God reigns and will stand by you to the\nend. The lawyers, judges, and the nation are hastening to their doom as\nfast as time will permit, and they are sure of their fate. That God may\nbless you and give you the victory, is the earnest prayer of\n\nYour brother in the gospel,\n\nWILFORD WOODRUFF.\n\nBrother Woodruff here in his journal, referring to his epistle in\nsupport of Plural Marriage, said: \"I am composed and tranquil. I am in\nthe hands of God, so is the United States Government. I rejoice in that\nepistle and in the testimony which I have borne to all the world. God\nwill back up my testimony and the testimony of the righteous though the\nheaven and earth shall pass {529} away.\" During those days in Arizona,\naway from the turmoil and busy scenes of his former active life he had\nopportunity to give himself up to the inner workings of the human soul.\nIt was not only an opportunity to rest, but it was an abandonment to\nthe workings of the spirit of God in the wilderness of Arizona, from\nwhich he gave out some of the most inspiring utterances of his life.\n\nNor was his life there without some inconveniences and indeed some\nhardships. In November of that year he traveled with Lot Smith through\nthe mountains where the snow lay a foot deep. The weather was very cold\nand the wind was piercing. They cut down pine limbs to make a shield\nagainst the cold blast, and made their bed upon the earth. The weather\nwas so cold that night that Elder Smith, fearing his horses might\nfreeze, arose and brought them to a big fire which they kept ablaze\nmost of the night. It was on that journey that he records a visit\nof President Young and Elder Orson Hyde to him in a dream. He asked\nPresident Young if he would not address the Saints, and he answered,\nNo, saying that he had done his talking in the flesh and that work was\nnow left for Elder Woodruff and others to do. From the dream he quotes\nPresident Young as saying: \"Tell the people to get the spirit of the\nLord and keep it with them.\"\n\nIt was also at that time that he employed his leisure moments in\nreading McCabe's History of the World. He also helped the brethren\nin the fields, dressed buckskin, and did everything that came in his\nreach. The last days of 1879 were passed with John W. Young, and other\nbrethren. They visited the different wards, held conferences, and gave\nencouragement to the people. In a section of country where material\nadvantages were not the best, what the people lacked in worldly\nadvantages they really enjoyed in spiritual blessings.\n\n{530}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 48.\n\nREMARKABLE EXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1880.\n\nIn a Shepherd's Tent in Arizona.--A Revelation Given Jan. 26,\n1880.--Organization of First Presidency.--Call to Apostleship of\nFrancis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith.\n\nNew Year's Day, 1880, found Apostle Woodruff at the home of a Brother\nGreer at the Little Colorado meadows, Apache County, Arizona. He says\nhe passed much of the day in reading and in meditation upon the past.\nHis mind was also occupied with his present situation, and he was\nled to contemplate the future. The day following he went to a small\nuninteresting town about fifteen miles from St. Johns to a meeting.\nJudge Stinison was present at the meeting to hear Elder Woodruff in his\ndiscourse upon the divinity of the great latter-day work. On the 5th\nhe rode to what was known as Perkins' ranch, where he ordained John\nH. Perkins to the office of a seventy and set him apart for a mission\nto the Lamanites. At this time Elder Woodruff was strongly impressed\nwith the desirability of opening a mission among the Lamanites, and\ntherefore set apart Elder Greer and Henry W. Despain for that mission.\n\nAfter his visit along the settlements up the Little Colorado Elder\nWoodruff returned to Brigham City, and later took up his abode in a\nshepherd's tent about twenty-five miles from Sunset. Here he wrote\nletters to President Taylor and others, and was especially thoughtful\nof Elder George Reynolds, then a prisoner in Lincoln, Nebraska, Elder\nReynolds having been convicted of polygamy. It was here in this\nshepherd's tent that he felt the solemnities of eternity resting upon\nhim and desired to know the mind and will of the Lord concerning the\nApostles and the nation, and especially the purpose of the persecution\nagainst the Saints of God. On the 26th of January in his journal he\nsays: \"I went to bed filled with prayer and meditation. I fell asleep\nand remained in slumber until about midnight, when I awoke. The Lord\nthen poured out His spirit upon me and opened the vision of my mind so\nthat I could comprehend in a great measure the mind and will of God\nconcerning the nation and concerning the inhabitants {531} of Zion. I\nsaw the wickedness of the nation, its abominations and corruptions and\nthe judgments of God and the destruction that awaited it. Then I also\ncomprehended the great responsibility which rested upon the Quorum of\nthe Apostles. My head became a fountain of tears, and my pillow was wet\nwith the dews of heaven. Sleep departed from me. The Lord revealed unto\nme the duty of the Apostles and of all the faithful elders of Israel.\"\nThe revelation was submitted to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles just\nprior to the April conference of that year. It was accepted by that\nbody as the word of the Lord, according to Elder Woodruff's journal,\nunder date of April 4th, 1880.\n\nOn the morning following the revelation, January 27th, he said: \"I\narose in the morning after the vision of the night. My heart was filled\nwith joy and gratitude for a manifestation of the spirit of God to\nme. It was given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I had read a\nrevelation in the Doctrine and Covenants and prayed earnestly to the\nLord to manifest to me His mind and will concerning myself and my\nbrethren, the Apostles, and the Lord gave me that revelation in answer\nto my prayers.\n\n\"On January 28th I was again given a vision. It concerned the destiny\nof our nation and of Zion. My pillow was again wet by a fountain of\ntears as I beheld the judgments of God upon the wicked. I was strongly\nimpressed that the Apostles and elders should warn the inhabitants of\nthe earth.\"\n\nOn his return to the settlements from the mountains, February 1st, he\nwrites: \"I have passed eleven days in the mountains in the midst of\ndriving snow, making my bed upon the ground in a shepherd's tent. I\nate my bread and meat twice a day with thanksgiving. I drank the cold\nsnow water and indeed have had the best of health, although when I left\nSunset I had a severe cold on my lungs. I also passed several days in\nthe saddle, from eight to ten hours a day, when the cold north wind was\nblowing in my face. I shall soon be seventy-three years of age.\"\n\nBetween the 20th and 27th of February with John W. Young he visited\nmuch of the mountain country where in places it was necessary to let\nthe wagons down over the rocks with ropes on account of the rugged\ncharacter of that region. On the 28th and 29th he attended the Stake\nConference.\n\nMarch the 1st was Elder Woodruff's birthday. The Saints of {532}\nSunset and Brigham City honored him with their presence. About one\nhundred guests sat down to his birthday dinner. The Saints of that\nregion were greatly devoted to Apostle Woodruff, and some named their\nchildren after him. His sojourn in Arizona during those months of exile\ndisclosed more than anything else in later years of his life the spirit\nthat actuated the man. Far removed from the busy life which the leaders\nof the Church were leading at the time, his mind was touched by the\nvisions of God, and it was a time of spiritual enjoyment.\n\nOn the 3rd of March, in company with Lot Smith, he left for St. George,\nwhich he reached on the 18th. On his way, at Kanab, Elder Woodruff\nmentions the fact that Elder David K. Udall of that place was wanted\nto be bishop of St. Johns, Arizona, a position which Elder Udall\nsubsequently filled, and later he became the president of the stake, a\nposition he now holds. During his stay at St. George he refers to the\nmany happy hours he passed in connection with Erastus Snow, James G.\nBleak, Moses F. Farnsworth, John D. T. McAllister and others. On the\n24th of March, in company with Erastus Snow, he left St. George and\nreached Salt Lake City, after holding meetings en route, on the 2nd\nof April. On the 4th and 5th of the month meetings were held by the\nCouncil in the Assembly Hall preparatory to the conference which began\non the 6th of April.\n\nThe April conference of 1880 was one of the most important in the\nhistory of the Church. Fifty years had passed since its organization.\nPresident Taylor felt inspired to make it a year of jubilee to the\nLatter-day Saints. The people were, therefore, forgiven their debts\nto the Church to the extent of eight hundred thousand dollars, money\nchiefly due to the emigration fund. Unpaid tithing was also forgiven\nto the amount of seventy-six thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine\ndollars. Hundreds of cows and thousands of sheep were given to the\nwidows and other worthy poor. The discourses at the conference were\nespecially effective in bringing comfort and consolation to the\nLatter-day Saints who were in financial need. On the 27th of May\nfollowing, Elder Woodruff wrote his last will and testament, as he felt\nthat at any time he might be called to the great beyond; yet he lived\nsubsequently eighteen years.\n\nOn the 24th of July following he wrote: \"We had the greatest {533}\ncelebration to-day in commemoration of the entrance of the pioneers\ninto this valley that we ever held in Utah. A procession two miles long\nwas arranged. It passed through the streets of the City as an object\nlesson in Church history. It is recorded in full in the _Deseret News_\nof July 26th.\"\n\nOn the 6th of October the fall conference was held. It was the third\ntime in the history of the Church that the Presidency had been\norganized. President John Taylor, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith\nwere ordained to that position. The vacancies in the quorum thus\ncreated were filled by the appointment of Francis M. Lyman, president\nof the Tooele Stake, and John Henry Smith, bishop of the Seventeenth\nWard. On that occasion the voting was done by the different quorums\nand the scene was most impressive upon all present. Elder Woodruff\nwas called at this time to be the President of the Twelve Apostles.\nThe ordination of the new Apostles, however, in consequence of Elder\nLyman's absence, was postponed until October 27th, that year. It had\nbeen the practice theretofore for the President of the Church to ordain\nwhen there was only one Apostle to be ordained. When two, the second\nwas ordained by the first counselor, and the third, where there were\nthree, by the second counselor. Apostle John Henry Smith, speaking of\nthe circumstance, said: \"I had secretly asked the Lord that President\nWoodruff might ordain me, and that if he did so I would accept it as a\nspecial testimony that my call to the apostleship came from the Lord.\"\n\nHis prayer was answered. Elder Woodruff records the fact that at\nthe close of that year, December 28th, he was inspired to write a\nprayer to be presented before the Lord in keeping with the revelation\ngiven him in the wilderness of Arizona. The prayer was approved by\nPresident Taylor and was recorded in the journal of Apostle Woodruff\nand presented to the Lord in accordance with divine command. It was\nanswered by the blessing and protection of God's people. The close of\nthe year brought the Saints nearer to those eventful chapters that\nbegan in the year 1882.\n\n{534}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 49.\n\nYEARS OF GREAT AGITATION, 1881, 1882.\n\nLeonard Hardy's Birthday Party.--Prophecy Concerning Joseph F.\nSmith.--Death of Orson Pratt.--Visit to St. George.--The Edmunds\nLaw.--Oscar Wilde.--Conditions at St. Johns, Arizona.--Call of\nPresident George Teasdale, Heber J. Grant and Seymour B. Young.--Death\nof Captain William H. Hooper.\n\nIn the beginning of the year 1881 Elder Woodruff found it possible to\nenjoy the quietude of his home, free from the threats and undisturbed\nby the agitation of his enemies. He appreciated the liberties he now\nenjoyed, and so far as his own life was concerned, he characterized the\nNew Year not by personal resolutions, but by prayer. He had no will of\nhis own to carry out, but wanted to be in a position to do God's will.\nThere is something about the prayers of Elder Wodruff that was on his\npart an intense interest in the welfare and happiness of others. He is\nalways zealous for God and the Church; and those who were true to their\ncalling had a special claim upon his friendship and love.\n\nJanuary 1st was the anniversary of Bishop Leonard W. Hardy's birth. The\nvenerable leader had a well-earned reputation for integrity to God and\nto his fellow-men. In the sunset of life his family came to appreciate\nmore and more the arduous labors of an honored sire, the anniversary of\nwhose birth they now celebrated by a surprise party. Elder Woodruff was\npresent and joined in the congratulations of the family and friends.\nSuch occasions always made him reminiscent. In learning so thoroughly\nthe history of the Church, he had also learned the history of those who\nwere its representative men. He also knew, too, when their spirit was\nin harmony with the spirit of the great latter-day work.\n\nAs long as Elder Woodruff stood at the head of the Young Men's Mutual\nImprovement Associations he devoted himself specially to their\ninterest. Like all those who are full of enthusiasm and have hope\nconstantly enkindled within their hearts, he was naturally young in\nspirit. On January 16th that year he attended a conference of the young\nmen in Ogden City, where he explained to them the importance of divine\nauthority, and showed the meaning {535} of those keys which unlock the\ndoor of salvation to the human family. Those keys, he explained, had\nbeen in the keeping of God's trusted servants from the most ancient\ntimes; by them different dispensations were opened. He exhorted the\nyoung men to study the Scriptures. They were of all books the most\nimportant to the welfare and happiness of mankind. He also recommended\nto them the study of ancient history, wherein they might see the hand\ndealings of God with the human family.\n\nOn the 19th of January, 1881, the President and the Twelve, the\nPatriarch, Bishop Hunter, L. John Nuttall, the President's secretary,\nmet in solemn council and prayer by which they represented to the Lord\nthe needs of His people. They implored His protection against the\nenemy, whose growing power was an increasing menace to the peace of the\nChurch. This meeting was in obedience to the Lord's command, given in\nthe revelation to Elder Woodruff in the wilderness of Arizona. \"It was\ntruly a solemn occasion,\" writes Elder Woodruff, in his journal.\n\nOn the 21st he went to Ogden, where he took part in a social party,\ngotten up in honor of Eliza R. Snow, it being the anniversary of her\nbirth.\n\nThe Quarterly Conference there, convened on the 22nd and 23rd, and\nit was on this occasion, after an address to the people by Joseph F.\nSmith, that Elder Woodruff arose and prophesied that the man to whom\nthey had just listened would yet become the President of the Church in\nall the world. In his journal he asks that the prophecy be made a note\nof, and that it be made a matter of special record when its fulfillment\nwas realized, which was October 17th, 1901, more than twenty and a half\nyears after the prophecy was uttered, and more than thirty years from\nthe time he made the same prediction in Nephi.\n\n\"NEPHI, March 22nd, 1909.\n\n\"About the year 1869, two Apostles visited Nephi and held meeting\nthere. They were Wilford Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith. On Sunday\nmorning they attended Sunday School, which was held in the old Social\nHall. Elder Woodruff interested the children by speaking of incidents\nin the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of his labors. He then\nturned to Elder Joseph F. Smith and asked him to arise to his feet.\nElder Smith complied. {536} 'Look at him, children,' Wilford Woodruff\nsaid, 'for he resembles the Prophet Joseph more than any man living. He\nwill become the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day\nSaints. I want you, every one of you, to remember what I have told you\nthis morning.' After this Brother Woodruff called on Elder Smith to\nspeak. The latter said he could remember the Prophet, although he was\nthen very young. He remembered sitting upon his knees. I was present on\nthis occasion.\n\n\"Respectfully,\n\n\"LANGLEY A. BAILEY.\"\n\nEarly in the month of February we find him in Smithfield, where he was\nbuilding a new home for his family. His journal shows considerable\nimpatience over the delay in the work on his house. He was himself a\nman of action. Whatever he had to do, he went at with all his might.\nHis presence, however, had the desired effect, and it was not long\nbefore his home was completed and his wife and children thereby made\nmore comfortable.\n\nOn his return to Salt Lake he manifested great interest in the\ncondition of Orson Pratt and Charles C. Rich, who were both in a\ncritical condition physically. On the 20th, feeling that Elder Pratt's\nmission in this life was nearly ended, and to the end that his last\ndays might close in peace, he gave him a blessing of comfort that he\nmight be resigned to the will and purposes of God concerning life and\ndeath.\n\nIt was a practice with Wilford Woodruff whenever he gave an important\nblessing, to record it in his journal. In blessing Elder Pratt, he\nsays: \"It has been your lot to dwell as an Apostle in the flesh and\nstand in the Church and Kingdom of God longer than any other man in\nthis generation. It has been your lot to cross the ocean to proclaim\nthe words of salvation more than any other man. Let your heart be\ncomforted. Let your soul be full of joy, for the Heavenly hosts are\nwatching over you.\"\n\nBefore the close of February, Elder Woodruff started again for St.\nGeorge. His associations there were always to his mind those of the\nmost heavenly character. There was, perhaps, no place in the Church\never settled by a choicer class of men than those who were called\nto St. George. The men and women of that place possessed spiritual\nnatures that were in harmony with the {537} life and aspirations of\nElder Woodruff. St. George has, therefore, in his journal, a very\nprominent place. On the anniversary of his birth, in St. George that\nyear, he says: \"I have passed my birthdays in this Temple in the years\n1870, 71, 72, and 74. My seventy-third birthday I passed in Sunset,\nArizona. This is one of the most glorious days of my life. This morning\nthere appeared at the Temple two hundred and thirty-nine persons for\nendowments. Many of these had come to assist him in his Temple work.\nHe also records the fact that for his dead there had been performed\ntwo thousand seven hundred and forty-nine baptisms, two thousand and\nthirty-seven had been endowed, and seven hundred and five couples\nsealed.\n\nOn March 22nd he returned to Salt Lake. After the spring Conference of\nthat year Elder Woodruff was prostrated by a sickness which lasted most\nof the month of April. On May 1st, however he attended the Quarterly\nConference in Logan and held meetings in Smithfield, Franklin, and\nother places. The summer months of that year he was occupied in\nvisiting the leading stakes of Zion, both north and south of Salt Lake\nCity.\n\nOn the 2nd of July he expressed his horror at the shocking news of the\nassassination of President Garfield. Respecting the celebration of\nthe Fourth of July that year he writes, that as a people they do not\nconsider it proper to be celebrating while the President of the United\nStates lies in the agonies of death, brought about by the hand of an\nassassin.\n\nOn the 16th he records the death of Joseph Young, aged eighty-seven\nyears, three months and nine days. Joseph Young was at the time of his\ndeath senior president of the Seventies, and had been from the first\norganization of the first council to the end of his life.\n\nOctober 3rd he records the death that day of Apostle Orson Pratt. At\nthe funeral Elder Woodruff spoke at some length on the life of Elder\nPratt, and read the revelation given through Joseph Smith to Orson\nPratt in 1830. \"Brother Orson Pratt has lived in the Church longer\nthan any other man, perhaps he has lived in it longer than any former\nman could ever live in the Church. He has crossed the Atlantic Ocean\nsixteen times and has traveled more miles than any other man in the\nChurch. He has preached more sermons; he has brought many thousands to\na {538} knowledge of the truth. He had this revelation given to him\nwhich I have read in your hearing. He has lifted up his voice long and\nloud. He has done a great work and I cannot mourn his death. I cannot\nmourn over the death of inspired men who have died in the faith. Any\nman or woman who has kept the Celestial Law of God on the earth and\nhas died in the faith will open his or her eyes to a scene of glory\nand blessings and eternal life that men cannot obtain from any other\nprinciple.\"\n\nAfter the October conference, Elder Woodruff accompanied President\nTaylor and party to all the stakes in the southern part of the\nTerritory. They were absent three weeks. That visit gave to the Saints\nnew courage and awakened a stronger desire to attend to their duties.\nElder Woodruff was present the early part of January, when the Gardo\nHouse was opened and a reception given on that occasion by President\nJohn Taylor, who shook hands with something like two thousand people.\nOn the 8th he was also in the Assembly Hall when the Temple Block was\ndedicated.\n\nIn the early part of 1882 the Saints began to feel the effects of the\nagitation abroad against them, and Congress was beset by the enemies of\nthe Church, who importuned that body to pass the most drastic measures\nagainst the Mormons. Throughout the United States the most vicious\nand absurd stories were circulated. The President and the Twelve made\nspecial efforts to get the facts before the country, and especially\nbefore the Congress of the United States. The spirit, however, of\nanti-Mormonism had worked itself into a state of frenzy. Ministers of\nthe United States held frequent meetings in all parts of the country.\n\nUnder date of February 15th, 1882, Elder Woodruff says: \"There has\nnever been a time since the organization of this Church when such a\nuniversal howl was raised against us. The whole land is flooded with\nlies against the people of God. The government seems determined on the\ndestruction of the faithful Latter-day Saints.\"\n\nIn the midst, however, of the political excitement, Elder Woodruff\ntook comfort in that spiritual nature with which God had so richly\nendowed him. Nor was he forgotten by his faithful co-workers in St.\nGeorge. On March the first there came to him the following telegram:\n\"President Woodruff: Temple {539} workers of St. George greet and\ncongratulate you on this your natal day, praying peace, length of days,\ncontinued usefulness, and the increasing power of the heavens to rest\nupon you.\" His reply reads: \"Thanks for the greeting of my friends.\nMay our friendship and union increase and continue throughout time and\neternity.\" Such exchanges of friendship and such assurances of love\nmeant much to him. He was a man of a most friendly nature and those\nfriendships of life which his integrity won, he never lost.\n\nThe month of March, 1882, was an important landmark in the history\nof God's people. After years of constant agitation, and after the\ncirculation of the most pernicious falsehoods, and after a campaign by\nthe ministers of the country against the Latter-day Saints, Congress\npassed a law most drastic in its terms, and doubly so in the manner of\nits execution. From that period dates what has been properly styled,\nthe Crusade.\n\nOn the 14th of March, 1882, the Edmunds Bill passed the House of\nRepresentatives by a vote of one hundred and ninety to forty-two. Elder\nWoodruff records in his journal, to their credit, the names of those\nwho voted against the bill, and the states which they represented. Of\nthe bill itself he writes: \"It is entirely a breach of the Constitution\nof the United States; condemns men before trial or conviction by court\nor jury; takes away the right of trial by a jury of their peers;\nmakes an _ex post facto_ law and a bill of attainder; takes away from\nthe Latter-day Saints, because of their religious convictions, the\nfranchise, and deprives them from sitting on juries because of their\nopinions; but if the nation can stand it, we can. It is taking a stand\nagainst God, against Christ and His kingdom, and against His people.\"\n\nTen days later, the 24th, the bill became a law by the signature of\nPresident Arthur. The words of President Woodruff will be debated and\ncontradicted. It will be pointed out that the Supreme Court of the\nUnited States, in passing upon the constitutionality of that law, is\nthe final arbiter; and so it is, so far as this nation is concerned;\nbut the Latter-day Saints held then, as they do now, that there is One\nwho holds in His keeping the destinies of nations; One who is raising\nup a people to Himself, who shall practice virtue and righteousness.\nWhether the words of Elder {540} Woodruff were prophetic, or merely the\nexpression of disappointment and anger, must be left to Him in whose\nname, and in whose name only, men have authority to prophesy. One thing\nis certain: the Latter-day Saints, in a spirit of resignation, have\nleft the conduct of this nation toward them in the hands of God. At the\nsame time, they have no desire to hinder the progress of this nation\nor thwart any patriotic purpose. On the contrary, they hope for the\nbest, teach loyalty, patriotism, and uphold the Constitution of their\ncountry. They feel that men must come sooner or later to recognize the\nhand of God in His judgments.\n\nWhen the spring conference convened, on the 6th of April, that\nyear, there was considerable anxiety among the people; for with\nthem there was a general desire to submit themselves to the will of\nGod; and it is a part of their religious training, indeed, their\nconviction and testimony that there are properly appointed channels\nthrough which divine guidance comes to them. The words of their\nleaders at this conference were received with solemn attention and\nheartfelt determination. President Taylor spoke with great power and\ndetermination, counseled the Saints to keep the commandments of God and\nhonor the constitutional laws of the land. On that occasion a reporter\nof the _New York World_ and a correspondent of the _London Times_ were\npresent and listened to the proceedings of the conference.\n\nElder Woodruff was a many-sided man. He never surrendered himself or\nhis interests to one thing exclusively. To him the program of life was\nmade up of all sorts of conditions and experiences. From the affairs\nof the conference he records in his journal the lecture delivered\non the 10th of the month by Oscar Wilde on \"Art and Beauty.\" Elder\nWoodruff was slow to judge men and then only upon the most impressing\nconvictions. However, of Oscar Wilde he said: \"It was a very singular\nlecture, indeed, and he seemed a very singular man.\" His subsequent\nhistory proved him to be very singular indeed.\n\nOn the 13th he met with his council, when it was voted to call twenty\nyoung Indians and educate them in the Brigham Young Academy at Provo,\nthat they might be missionaries among their own people. His heart was\nin the Indian mission,--the great possibilities of that people were so\nclear to his mind as to make him somewhat impatient concerning their\nfuture.\n\n{541} On the 20th he said: \"We received a telegram this morning from\nGeorge Q. Cannon, saying that a vote was taken on his case in the House\nof Representatives. One hundred and twenty-three votes were cast for\nhis expulsion, and seventy-nine against it. Ninety did not vote at all.\nHis seat in Congress was therefore declared vacant.\"\n\nShortly after this he referred to his visit to the quarterly conference\nin Logan with President Taylor, whom he quotes at that time as follows:\n\"When we go to the spirit world, we go naked, as we came into the\nworld, or if we get any clothing it is as much by our dependence upon\nothers as when we were born into this world. If we get a mansion in our\nFather's Kingdom we shall also be dependent upon Him for it.\"\n\nOf Joseph F. Smith's sermon, he quotes: \"Can we say that that which is\nperfect has not come? Are not the revelations and commandments of God\nperfect? Is not the gospel of Christ, with the priesthood which God\nhas revealed, perfect? Although we ourselves have not arrived at that\nstage of perfection which it is our privilege to obtain, yet the means\nof perfection has been given us.\" At the close of the meeting Elder\nWoodruff said: \"I went to the tower of the Temple in a rain storm and\nfound the work there progressing very nicely.\"\n\nElder Woodruff kept in close touch with affairs in Arizona. His recent\nexperiences there had endeared the Saints to him, and the opportunities\namong the Indians had made that Territory important from the standpoint\nof Church history. A number of Saints located in St. Johns, which was\na Mexican town. In those days the people were surrounded by a class of\nruffians known there as cowboys. There was also some friction between\nthe Saints and the Mexicans, and altogether the people of St. Johns\nwere subjected to considerable anxiety because of the contentious\nspirit around them.\n\nIn Elder Woodruff's journal we take the following account of a\ndisturbance, which came to him through private correspondence.\nThe event mentioned occurred June 24th, 1882. \"The Mexicans were\ncelebrating St. John's day, when several men rode into town armed\nwith pistols and guns. The Mexicans ordered them to leave town or put\naway their arms. They refused to do either, when fighting broke out\nbetween the two parties. The Mexicans gathered {542} their arms and\ndrove the cowboys into some unfinished houses. Three of the leaders\nwere then taken prisoners, one killed and another wounded. It was on\nthis occasion that Elder Nathan C. Tenney, one of the Saints there, was\nkilled while trying to make peace and stop the fight.\"\n\nOn the 27th of the following September they met in council to consider\nfully all the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve and the First\nCouncil of Seventies. It was decided to leave the nominations entirely\nto the President of the Church, which has been largely the custom from\nthe beginning. A little later Elder Abraham H. Cannon was chosen to\nfill the vacancy in the First Council of Seventies.\n\nOn the 13th of October the First Presidency and the Twelve met to\nreceive the revelation of God to President Taylor, in which the\nduties of the Priesthood and of the Saints were set forth. In that\nsame revelation appears the call of President George Teasdale of the\nJuab Stake, and President Heber J. Grant of the Tooele Stake to the\nvacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Seymour B. Young was\ncalled to fill the vacancy in the First Council of Seventies and\nrequested to keep the whole law of God as a preparation for his new\ncalling and labors.\n\nConcerning the Patriarchal Order of Marriage, President Taylor said:\n\"If we do not embrace that principle soon, the keys will be turned\nagainst us. If we do not keep the same law that our Heavenly Father has\nkept, we cannot go with Him. A man obeying a lower law is not qualified\nto preside over those who keep a higher law.\" In harmony with the\nremarks of President Taylor Elder Woodruff observed: \"The reason why\nthe Church and Kingdom of God cannot advance without the Patriarchal\nOrder of Marriage is that it belongs to this dispensation just as\nbaptism for the dead does, or any law or ordinance that belongs to a\ndispensation. Without it the Church cannot progress. The leading men\nof Israel who are presiding over stakes will have to obey the law of\nAbraham, or they will have to resign.\"\n\nOn the 30th of December Elder Woodruff's journal contains the\nfollowing: \"I dreamed last night that Captain William H. Hooper was\ndead. I told my family this morning that when I heard from him I should\nhear that he was dead. Later, Brother {543} Jacques informed me at the\nHistorian's office that the captain died at twenty minutes past eight.\nI saw Captain Hooper in the spirit world in my dream. I saw a few of\nthe mansions in the Celestial Kingdom of God which were composed of\nbeautiful stones and of materials that were as real as anything on\nearth, and that the best architects in heaven were employed in the\nconstruction of these buildings.\"\n\n{544}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 50.\n\nTHE CRUSADE OPENS, 1883-1885.\n\nExemplary Deacons.--Adam-ondi-Ahman.--Visit to Colorado.--The\nPatriarchal Order of Marriage.--Andrew Burt.--Farm Life.--The Crusade\nOpens.--The Family Celebration of His Birthday.--Call of Jno. W.\nTaylor.--Call of Wm. B. Preston.--Land Troubles in Arizona.--Dedication\nof the Logan Temple.--A Visit to Snake River Country, Idaho.--Growth\nof Children After the Resurrection.--Call of John Morgan.--In\nExile.--Conference at Fish Lake.\n\nOn the 2nd of January, 1883, President Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith\nspoke at the funeral of Captain William H. Hooper. He had occupied\na prominent place in the history of Utah. Besides representing the\npeople in Congress he was one of a small number of strong financiers,\nwho had much to do with the material development of the Territory. On\nthe 20th of the same month he makes mention of the appointment of L.\nW. Shurtliff, bishop of Plain City, to succeed David H. Peery as the\npresident of the Weber Stake of Zion, at the same time Elders Chas. F.\nMiddleton, and N. C. Flygare were chosen as counselors.\n\nOn the 27th of the same month Elder Woodruff attended a Stake Quarterly\nConference at Nephi where George Teasdale had been called to preside.\nA circumstance took place on Saturday at that conference which was\nexceptionally gratifying to Elder Woodruff and he desires that it have\na place in his journal and history. He said, \"As the meeting-house was\nnot large enough to hold all the people, some fifteen deacons gave up\ntheir seats. Leaving the meeting-house they obtained axes and went\ndirectly to President Teasdale's home where they cut up several cords\nof wood. They then went to the homes of some half dozen widows in the\nplace where they cut up the wood they found there. They also cut up the\nwood at the home of one of the deacons who had met with an accident\nso that he was unable to cut his own wood. They continued in this\nemployment throughout the day. When Brother Teasdale arrived home, to\nhis surprise he found all his wood pile missing, but was much gratified\nto find it all cut up and in his wood shed. God bless such deacons.\"\n\n{545} During the early months of 1883 a number of prominent men\nthroughout the Church died. It was always a gratification to Elder\nWoodruff to record his testimony to the character of men who died\ndevoted to the Church, true to their covenants and faithful to the\nlast. He makes special mention of the death of John Van Cott, Bishop\nWilliam Bringhurst of Springville, Harrison Burgess, Bishop L. E.\nHarrington, and David Evans. The latter two, however, died about the\nlast of June.\n\nOn the 22nd of February Elder Woodruff was present at the dedication\nof the Gardo House. The prayer was offered by Franklin D. Richards.\nThis residence had been in process of construction for some time and\nits use was delayed in consequence of litigations begun by the heirs of\nPresident Young against his executors. President Taylor was therefore\nits first occupant. That he himself might be in position to ward off\nthe persecutions of himself as head of the Church, he left his families\nin the homes he had built for them and made his sister matron of the\nnew official residence. His care, however, proved unavailing since\npersecution was aimed specially at him.\n\nDuring their lifelong experiences in the Church, President A. O. Smoot\nof Provo, and Elder Woodruff were devoted friends. Their associations\nhad been intimate, and in the trying times of early Church history\ntheir relations were the most cordial and brotherly. The home of\nPresident Smoot in Provo always gave the fullest hospitality to Elder\nWoodruff on his visits to that town. On the 12th of May he records the\ncircumstance that President Smoot's wife began immediately to regain\nher speech, after it had been lost through paralysis, by the special\nadministration of Elder Woodruff and others. At that time his old\nfriend related a peculiar circumstance of history that occurred at\nAdam-ondi-Ahman. President Smoot said that he and Alanson Ripley, while\nsurveying at that town, which was about 22 miles from Jackson County,\nMissouri, came across a stone wall in the midst of a dense forest of\nunderbrush. The wall was 30 feet long, 3 feet thick, and 4 feet high.\nIt was laid in mortar or cement. When Joseph Smith visited the place\nand examined the wall he said it was the remains of an altar built by\nFather Adam and upon which he offered sacrifices after he was driven\nfrom the Garden of Eden. He said that the Garden of Eden was located\n{546} in Jackson County, Missouri. The whole town of Adam-ondi-Ahman\nwas in the midst of a thick and heavy forest of timber and the place\nwas named in honor of Adam's altar. The Prophet explained that it was\nupon this altar where Adam blessed his sons and his posterity, prior to\nhis death.\n\nOn the 5th of June Apostle Woodruff with President Smith, Brigham\nYoung, and President John Morgan, paid a visit to the Saints in San\nLouis Valley, Colorado. The Saints there were emigrants largely from\nthe Southern States. It was during this visit that Silas S. Smith was\nsustained as stake president. While traveling on the Denver and Rio\nGrande Railroad, Elder Woodruff felt and expressed his admiration for\nthe beauty of the scenery. Whenever he contemplated the laws of God or\nhis Creator's marvelous works it intensified his religious devotion and\nhis sense of gratitude. It was to him also a source of satisfaction\nthat much of the work in the construction of the railroad over which he\npassed was the work of his brethren.\n\nOn his return to Salt Lake City the next important circumstance he\nmentions was the threatened destruction of the great Tabernacle by\na spark of fire which had been thrown by an explosion from the old\nwagon yard just across the road south of the Temple block. On the\n21st of June this year the old Council House and Savages Art Callery\nwere burned to the ground. This threatened destruction of the great\nTabernacle led to the removal of its old shingled roof and the\nsubstitution therefor of an iron one.\n\nSoon after this we find him at a conference in Nephi. As plural\nmarriage was then attacked from all sides, it received special\nattention from the leaders of the Church who maintained the importance\nas well as the divinity of the institution. In his discourse at Nephi\nhe quoted himself as having made the following remarks, \"The law of the\nPatriarchal Order of marriage belongs to this dispensation, and after\nit was revealed to the Prophet Joseph, he was commanded to receive it.\nIf he and the people had rejected it, the Church and Kingdom of God\nwould have advanced no further and God would have taken it from them\nand given it to another people. It has been said that the Patriarchal\nOrder of marriage has caused more sorrow to the daughters of Eve than\nany other principle ever revealed from Heaven to men, but this {547} is\nnot true. No divine principle brings trouble to those who faithfully\nobey it. If they who are in it have troubles it is not the fault of the\nprinciple but because of weakness and of the false traditions which\nsurround them. The Lord never gave a law to the children of men which\nwill give to them exaltation and glory except through the observance\nof that law. The Lord's people who abide that law are entitled to\nHis protection by the oath and covenant which He has made with them.\nFrom the day that the apostles and elders published that law to the\nworld with the determination to maintain it, the Lord has fought their\nbattles.\"\n\nThe 24th of that year was celebrated in the Tabernacle with great\nenthusiasm. Ten thousand people were present. On the anniversary of\nthat day Wilford Woodruff was always reminiscent. As time went on,\nthe earlier impressions of his mind were confirmed in the fulfillment\nof God's promises which year after year were to his mind more plainly\nfulfilled. He felt that the observance of that day was a duty which the\npeople owed to their God because of the care He had manifested over\nthem and the wonderful manner in which He had made the desert blossom\nlike the rose.\n\nIn his journal of August 27th he mentioned regretfully the death of\nAndrew Burt who had been killed on the 25th by a mulatto. At Bishop\nBurt's funeral there were about nine thousand people, and it is said\nthat before the exercises something like fifteen thousand viewed\nthe remains. Captain Burt's splendid integrity, his simple life and\nunassuming demeanor had won for him a respect quite universal. He was\nbishop of the 21st ward.\n\nWilford Woodruff's love for men whose friendship was tried and true\nand whose devotion to the things of God was above question, was again\nverified. It made no difference to him what their standing in life was,\nhe saw above the honors of men that which he esteemed true greatness,\nsuch greatness as he sincerely believed God recognized.\n\nIn reading his journal one learns to esteem more highly the practice\nof manual labor. He exalted work by the interest he took in the\nworkmanship of his own hands. If he ever felt the temptation to leave\nhis ministry for any length of time it was the temptation which came to\nhim in his love of manual labor. {548} All through his journal he was\ntelling about the things that he did on his farm. He wrote about his\nhorses, his cows, his orchards, his crops, he spoke of them in detail,\nthey all meant much to him. One is constantly reminded in reading his\njournal of the life and doctrines of Tolstoi, the great Russian author,\nwhose simple life and labors upon his farm with the Russian peasants\nhave won the admiration of millions of admirers.\n\nAs the year 1883 was drawing to a close the times became more trying.\nThe hatred of the enemy was greatly intensified. The brethren felt\nthe impending storm coming upon them, there was often a spirit of\ngloom which it was not easy to cast aside. Elder Woodruff's journal\nof October 12th that year contained an account of a meeting of the\nPresidency and Twelve, a meeting of fasting and prayer that the\ntroubles which were coming upon them might be diverted if it were the\nwill of God, and if they were not to be diverted that they might have\nthe strength to bear them and the wisdom and patience and spirit to do\nthe will of the Father. To all these unhappy forebodings was added the\nsorrow that comes from separation of old friends. On the 19th of that\nmonth Bishop Edward Hunter died, and on the 17th of the month following\nhe was joined by Charles C. Rich.\n\nDuring the year 1883 he traveled, according to the summary which he\nmade in his journal, over six thousand miles, held 213 meetings and\npreached 144 discourses.\n\nThe year 1884 was the beginning in the Church of a great crusade.\nIt was a land-mark in history. What began that year is likely to be\ntold from generation to generation. The hardships that it brought\nto the Church and the trials which the people underwent were themes\nfor household conversation throughout the entire Church. The Edmunds\nlaw of 1882 had been put into effect so far as it related to the\nimprisonment of the Saints. The enemy were at first occupied in its\npolitical phases. As time went on it was seen that the disappointment\nof the enemy in the political advantages to be derived from the law\nbecame more apparent. The law was really a disappointment to them. The\nUtah commission which it established was filled by appointees from the\nEast and those who were grasping for political power in the Territory\nfound their hopes unrealized. This disappointment led to a spirit of\nintensified anger and the criminal part of the law began to {549}\nreceive its enforcement in the most drastic, spiteful, and revengeful\nmanner. Everything possible was done to prepare the people for dark\ndays to come. The revelations of God were to the effect that men should\nset their families in order.\n\nElder Woodruff on his birthday, March 1st, had a family gathering.\nOf the 46 members of his family, 39 were present. This included his\ndaughters-in-law and grandchildren. As a token of respect on the part\nof his family, an address to him was read by his little grandson, Elias\nSmith Woodruff: \"To our beloved Grandfather,--we greet you on this\nyour seventy-seventh birthday. We wish you many happy returns of the\nday, for this and more we ever pray. We all shall strive to walk in\nyour footsteps and listen to your counsel as you are a man of God. We\nlikewise hope to be like you by the help of our Heavenly Father. You\nhave done a vast amount of good, both for the living and the dead. Your\ndays have been many and many call you blessed. You have been in the\nhands of God, the savior of thousands. Through the blessings of the\nLord your life has been preserved in many dangers through which you\nhave been called to pass. You have accomplished a great work and we\nall with one voice say: 'Peace and blessings be with you to the end of\nyour days.' Please accept this tribute of love and respect. From your\nlittle grandson. Written for him by Julia Woodruff.\" The family little\nimagined at that time that President Woodruff would continue with them\nin life yet fourteen years.\n\nThe 6th of March he became very much interested in the visit to Salt\nLake City of the great singer, Adelina Patti. Her world-renown fame\nmade her a person of great interest. She in turn recognized the\nimportant stand occupied by the leaders of the Church, and invited\nPresident Taylor and Elder Woodruff to visit her private car which\nhad cost something like sixty thousand dollars. Its conveniences and\nbeautiful apartments greatly interested Elder Woodruff whose powers to\nobserve were always strong.\n\nAs the year went on reports of the activity of the enemy and the\nintense anti-Mormon hatred came to the Presidency of the Church. Miles\nRomney brought word from St. Johns, Arizona, of the opposition there\nfrom both the Mexicans and the whites. The April conference witnessed\nthe call of John W. Taylor to fill {550} the vacancy occasioned by the\ndeath of Charles C. Rich. William B. Preston was made the presiding\nbishop of the Church. That same month word also came from Arizona\nof the attempt to rob the people there of their lands by means of a\npurchase of railroad land which the Saints had occupied and cultivated\nlong before the railroad was built and before any grant had been\nreceived by the railroad. Presidents Taylor and Cannon were absent at\nthe time, but a telegram signed by President Woodruff and others was\nsent to General Williamson, Washington, D. C., the general agent of\nthe railroad lands, asking him not to sell the land in question before\nreceiving a letter from them. The method here referred to of robbing\nthe Saints was due to the fact that the enemy was taking advantage\nof special information of which the Saints were ignorant. The lands\ngranted to the railroad in that part of Arizona were of little value\nexcept as they had been made valuable by the labor of the Latter-day\nSaints. It was a specie of robbery, but those who engaged in it\nthought, no doubt, that their unscrupulous methods would be condoned by\nexciting prejudice against the Saints.\n\nThe next circumstance of importance was the dedication of the Logan\nTemple, May 17th, 18th, and 19th. The services were attended by\nthousands of people and were repeated in order to accommodate all who\ndesired the privilege and were entitled to be present. People were\nadmitted to the services by tickets of recommendation given them by\ntheir bishops. On that occasion a circumstance happened analogous to\nthat of Annanias and Sapphira who lied to the Lord and to Peter in the\ndays of the ancient apostles. As the hosts of people were climbing the\nstairs to the assembly room of the Temple, President Taylor discerned\nin the multitude one woman unworthy of admission. He did not know her\nbut said to President C. O. Card, \"Turn that woman back.\" \"Why?\" asked\nPresident Card, \"She has come with a ticket of recommendation as well\nas all the others.\" \"I don't know why,\" replied President Taylor, \"only\nthat the spirit of the Lord says, 'Turn that woman back.'\" President\nCard observed the instructions to him and upon special investigation\nlearned that the lady was altogether an improper person, and by\nconnivance with another she had procured the ticket for the price of\none dollar. In commenting upon this circumstance later, President\n{551} Taylor said: \"You may deceive the bishop, the president of the\nstake, the apostles, the president of the Church, but you can't deceive\nthe Lord, Jesus Christ, nor the Holy Spirit, and sooner or later the\nunworthy, the hypocrites and unrepenting transgressors will be found\nout and separated from the assembly of the righteous.\" At that time M.\nW. Merrill was chosen by revelation to preside over the Logan Temple, a\nplace he held up to the time of his death in February, 1906. The first\nbaptisms were performed there by Elder David H. Cannon of St. George,\nand the first recipients of them were Franklin D. Richards, and Rachael\nGrant.\n\nIn his journal relating to that occasion, Elder Woodruff wrote: \"While\nattending the dedication of this Temple my mind was carried back to the\nmany hours of prayer I had passed in my early manhood days. I prayed\nthat I might see the Church of Christ established on the earth and that\nI might see a people raised up who would receive the ancient gospel\nand contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints. The Lord then\npromised me that I should live to see that day, to find the people of\nGod and have a name and place within His House, a name that should not\nbe cut off. To-day I rejoice in the fulfillment of that promise, I\nrejoice in the opportunity of assisting in the dedication of another\nTemple to His most Holy Name, to God and the Lamb. Praises be to His\nname for ever more.\"\n\nOn the 29th, in company with Heber J. Grant, he left on an extended\ntour of the settlements in the Snake River and Teton Valleys. In those\ndays that part of Idaho was in process of settlement by the Saints,\nunder the leadership of Thomas E. Ricks, who met Elders Woodruff and\nGrant and conveyed them by team from Market Lake to Rexburg. When the\nbrethren on that occasion visited those parts not much had yet been\ndone in bringing that district of country under cultivation. In 1884\nthere was but one stake of the Church extending from Paradise in Cache\nValley on the south, to the Montana line on the north. To-day there\nare ten stakes, six of which are along the Snake River Valley; namely,\nPocatello, Blackfoot, Bingham, Rigby, Fremont, and Yellow Stone. To-day\nthere are also in that region of country three large factories in\noperation.\n\nCongress adjourned that year without passing special bills {552} that\nwere inimicable to the Latter-day Saints. The anti-Mormons of Utah were\nlike hungry wolves clamoring for prey. They wanted all the offices and\nwere constantly importuning Congress to disfranchise in a body the\nLatter-day Saints. When congress therefore adjourned without further\nlegislation Wilford Woodruff exclaims in his journal, \"Thank the Lord\nfor another breathing spell.\"\n\nLater he attended the Sevier Stake Quarterly Conference held at Fish\nLake. Hundreds of teams had conveyed the people to that place. While\nadministering Sacrament there he said it was the first time it had\ntaken place since the ancient Nephites had had a similar feast in those\nparts. He manifested on this and other occasions a special interest\nin the material welfare of the people. He examined their farms and\norchards, visited their canals, made a critical examination of their\nwater dams and head gates, and it may perhaps be said of him as\ntruthfully as of any man that ever lived, that he subordinated his own\npersonal interests to the general interest of the Church.\n\nEvil days were soon to fall upon the Church. The failure of Congress\nthat year to pass anti-Mormon legislation intensified the rage of\nthe anti-Mormons. A campaign of slander and falsehood was taken up\nby the anti-Mormon press of Salt Lake City, and press dispatches to\nembitter the minds of the people in the East were sent; and in making\nthis campaign it was well understood by those who engineered it that\nCongressmen might be made to fear their constituency and pass laws\ntheir own judgment condemned.\n\nThe _Tribune_ published and sent out an alleged \"Red Hot Address.\"\nIt purported to be an inflammatory address by Bishop West of Juab.\nThe purport of the address was the recommended assassination of the\nGovernor of Utah. There was no meeting held in Juab on the occasion\nreferred to, there was no Bishop West, and of course no such address.\nThe lie, however, inflamed the public mind abroad; and to those who\nlove a lie and darkness rather than light, it had the desired effect.\n\nOn the 10th of August following in Lewis County, Tennessee, Elders\nBerry and Gibbs, and two members of the local Church their names being\nJames Riley Hudson, and Martin Condor, were shot and killed by a mob as\nthey were about to begin {553} their Sabbath services. Mrs. Condor, the\nmother of the murdered boys, was also shot but not killed.\n\nThe Church was making history during those days and special care was\ntaken to give an exact record of current events. Hubert H. Bancroft\nwas publishing his history of the Pacific Coast and included Utah\namong his volumes. Elder Woodruff opened to him the records of Church\nhistory that he might give both sides of the question and draw fair and\nimpartial conclusions.\n\nSeptember 3rd he visited Provo where he attended the funeral of\nMargarette T. Smoot. On that occasion he gave it as his opinion that\nchildren would grow and develop after the resurrection and obtain all\nthe blessings of adult persons. The visit to Provo was followed by\nthe October conference, which that year was chiefly noted by the call\nof John Morgan to be one of the presiding seventies. Elder Morgan had\nbeen a missionary in the South for twelve years, and for ten years\nthe distinguished president of the Saints in the South. Elder Morgan\nwas a man of strong character, a conspicuous preacher, and a fearless\nadvocate. He was ordained to his new calling on October 7th, 1884.\n\nThe last part of the year 1884 found the storm of persecution growing\nin intensity. Men and women to escape prison went into exile. Men and\nwomen were pursued by a spirit of vindictiveness and hatred perhaps\nnever known in a civilized age. Stories of the Mountain Meadow\nMassacre, the Bishop West address, and other malicious inventions had\ndone their work. Public opinion in the East had been so aroused as to\njustify any sort of cruelty that the anti-Mormons in Utah might inflict\nupon the Saints. All efforts to run down falsehoods by the circulation\nof truth seemed a hopeless task. Elder Woodruff also found it necessary\nto go into exile and he said: \"I am a wanderer from home because of\nmy religion. It is not the first time I have been a wanderer in the\nwilderness for the gospel's sake.\" However, he appeared in public at\nspecial occasions for a short season.\n\nOn the first of January, 1885, he took part in the dedication of the\nBrigham Young College, at Logan, but on the 14th he found it necessary\nto go again into exile with all the Presidency and most of the Twelve\nApostles. Stake presidents, bishops of wards, and other leading\nmen were rapidly filling up prisons or {554} concealing themselves\namong friends. It was not a movement to suppress immorality. Men\nwere not harangued and imprisoned because of lascivious cohabitation\nas it obtains throughout the Christian world, but because men had\naccepted from the Lord a principle which would, if universally carried\nout, give to every woman in the world a husband and a home, the\nopportunity of honored wifehood and motherhood, conditions desired by\nevery right-feeling and sound-minded woman. Under these persecutions\nPresident Woodruff was among the number sought for. After a few days\nof seclusion in his own home and neighborhood he boarded a south bound\ntrain for southern Utah. At Nephi he was joined by George Teasdale,\nand together they made their way by private conveyance and without\npublicity to Saint George where they labored for some time in the\nTemple. He also made a trip down the Virgin River to the Muddy country.\nDuring his absence he read Josephus and Cassell's History of England.\n\nOn one occasion during those times we find him making calculations\nfrom history of what the civil war had cost his country in the loss of\nhuman lives, and the expenditure of money. That war he looked upon as\na judgment of God upon the country because of the wrong doings of the\npeople. \"This shows,\" he wrote, \"in a measure, what it costs a nation\nto shed the blood of the prophets, apostles, and the Lord's anointed.\"\nHe sincerely believed that before very many years the judgments of God\nwould follow the persecutions which he was then undergoing.\n\nIn July he visited the stakes of the southern part of the Territory,\nand was at a conference October 18th, and 19th, at Fish Lake.\nConference, he wrote, was attended by 1,136 persons. There were 187\nvehicles, and 517 animals. While there, he with others, sounded the\ndepths of the lake which measured all the way from three feet near the\nshore to 168 1/2 feet in the deepest places. He thought the lake was\nthe largest depository of trout in the mountain valleys. It is located\nabout 9,000 feet above the sea level. After going as far north as Manti\nhe returned again to St. George.\n\nIn his journal he makes special mention of an effort on the part of\nthe federal officers to create a disturbance on the 4th of July,\nbecause certain persons manifested their sorrow for departed liberty\nby placing the flag at half-mast on certain buildings {555} owned\nchiefly by Mormons. At the same time threats were made that if the flag\nwere placed at half-mast on the 24th, war would be waged against the\nMormons with the utmost bitterness. The flag, however, on that date was\nplaced at half-mast by order of the President of the U. S. in honor\nof General Grant who died July 23rd. There was no likelihood that any\nof the leaders would encourage any one to place the flag at half-mast\nupon the 24th, but the threat of the anti-Mormons was, in the end, all\na challenge that brought to the enemy chagrin because of the peculiar\ncircumstance.\n\nAs a rule nearly all who were indicted under the law went to prison\nrather than promise the abandonment of their wives and children.\nOccasionally a man would enter court and make the required promise\nto escape punishment. As a rule the practices of such men were not\nin harmony with the requirements of the gospel and those times gave\nthem an opportunity to demonstrate their unworthiness rather than a\nlack of courage. Later, such men undertook to draw comfort from the\ncircumstance that the leaders counseled men under indictment to give\nthe demanded promise. They failed, however, to make the distinction\nbetween an order for retreat coming from those at the head and the act\nof desertion while in the ranks.\n\nIndictments in those days were followed as a matter of the course by\nconvictions. Juries were made to order. Judges considered themselves\nmissionaries and the greater their trespass on justice the more they\nwere honored by the anti-Mormon element. Their vindictiveness became an\nobject of honor, and the leaders in the crusade walked the streets of\nSalt Lake City with feelings of special pride. They were pointed out to\nthe curious and were the objects of adulation of those whose religious\nhatreds were most intense. Leaders of the persecution were making a\nrecord over which they were not only proud but boastful, although\nin the beginning the feelings of antagonism between the persecutors\nand the persecuted were most intense. As time went on, feelings of\nresignation sprang up in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints who more\nand more became disposed to leave in the hands of God the future of\nthose who despitefully used them. In passing, it may here be remarked\nthat the persecutors of the Latter-day Saints will, in days to come, be\nleft to the Latter-day {556} Saints for the estimation in which they\nwill be held by those to whom their lives will be of no consequence;\nin other words, those whom they persecuted will in turn become their\njudges whose verdicts will go down to history.\n\nElder Woodruff, after returning to the south, took an active part in\nthe daily lives of the people. In Pine Valley he assisted Brother\nThompson in repairing his grist mill. He dressed the Burr stones, since\nby trade he was a miller. However, it had been fifty-five years since\nhe had done such work and in some respects such labor was restful to\nhim and would have been healthful had it not been for the constant\nstrain which those evil days placed him under.\n\nIn October he received word that his wife Phoebe was in poor health and\nhe therefore hastened home to Salt Lake City where he arrived on the\n5th of November. He remained, however, in seclusion in his home and\nneighborhood. On the 10th of November she died. He was greatly affected\nby her death and painfully humiliated by the circumstance under which\nher funeral was held. He stood concealed in the Historian's Office\nas he watched the funeral procession pass by on its way to the city\nof the dead. \"I am,\" said he, \"passing through a strange chapter in\nthe history of my life. Persecution is raging against the Latter-day\nSaints. I hope I may prove true and faithful to the end and that I may\njoin her in the celestial Kingdom of God and have part in the first\nresurrection.\"\n\n{557}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 51.\n\nELEVATION TO PRESIDENCY OF THE CHURCH, 1889.\n\nArrest of George Q. Cannon.--Governor Murray's Dismissal.--Death\nof President Taylor.--President Woodruff Appears in the\nTabernacle.--Change in Federal Officers.--April, 1889, Wilford Woodruff\nBecame President of the Church.--Visit to California.--M. W. Merrill,\nA. H. Lund, and Abraham H. Cannon Called to Apostleship.--Senator\nMorgan Visits President Woodruff.\n\nThe highest point of intensity in the crusade against the Latter-day\nSaints was reached during the year 1886. Although President Woodruff\nhad been in exile previous years he had always enjoyed in some\nmeasure the privilege of meeting with the Saints and of exercising\nhimself in the vindication of his calling as an Apostle of the Lord,\nJesus Christ. Persecution became most bitter, the whole atmosphere\nof anti-Mormon association was charged with intense hatred. Hundreds\nwere in prison and in exile and leading men were hunted down with a\nfury perhaps unsurpassed by the Roman persecutions in the days of the\nearly Christians. During that year he did not appear once in public\nnor did he preach a single discourse. He passed some time in Ashley\nValley and enjoyed such diversion in fishing and hunting as his\ncircumstances would permit. At the opening of the new year he recounted\nthe experiences of the past year and prophecied concerning the year to\ncome. He felt that the Lord would fight the battles of the Saints and\nthat those who were prominent in the persecution would be humiliated.\nOn the 13th of February that year President George Q. Cannon was\narrested in Nevada. A few days later he was brought to Salt Lake City\nin the custody of United States officers. To intensify excitement\nabroad and to make it appear that the Territory was on the verge of\nrevolt, Governor Murray sent troops to guard the prisoner to Salt\nLake City. Upon George Q. Cannon were heaped various indignities and\non his arrival in Utah he was placed under forty-five thousand dollar\nbonds. John Sharp and Feramorz Little went on his bonds for twenty-five\nthousand, and Francis Armstrong and H. S. Eldredge for twenty thousand.\nIn view of the extreme bitterness then {558} manifested toward him and\nin view of the fact that offenses might be segregated to imprisonment\nfor life, President Cannon decided to forfeit the bonds. Sharp and\nLittle paid promptly the twenty-five thousand, while Armstrong and\nEldredge declined to pay until the question of excessiveness of bail\nshould be determined by the courts. When the case was carried to the\nsupreme court at Washington it was finally dismissed. Later, by action\nof Congress, the 25,000 dollars was returned.\n\nGovernor Murray was removed from office, and under the restraining\ninfluence at Washington, the persecution in Utah became less offensive.\nMurray's conduct had for some time been unsatisfactory to President\nCleveland, especially in view of the misrepresentation of conditions in\nUtah. When Murray vetoed the general appropriation bill passed by the\nTerritorial Legislature the President of the United States decided to\nremove him. The President further considered Murray's effort to coerce\nlegislation wholly unjustifiable, and his attempt to appoint officers\nby proclamation as revolutionary. He also remembered that he had been\ntwice deceived by Murray on the \"Mormon Uprising.\"\n\nWhile the close of the year did not by any means witness the end of\nthe crusade, the hand of God was visible in defeating certain purposes\nof the enemy. President Taylor and his associates were vindicated. The\ncourse taken by them and the changed attitude of the general government\nmarked the fulfillment of prophecy uttered by President Woodruff at the\nbeginning of the year.\n\nAt the close of the year Edward M. Dalton of Parowan was shot and\nkilled by Deputy Marshal Thompson. The feelings of resentment among\nthe people were high. They felt more and more the force of President\nTaylor's words at the beginning of the crusade when he informed the\npeople that nothing was to be done except to turn up their coat\ncollars and as much as possible turn their back to the storm until it\npassed over. Outrages were daily increasing and there was an evident\ndetermination on the part of the federal officers to stand by one\nanother and manipulate the machinery of government for their own\nprotection as well as for the oppression of the Mormons. However,\nfederal zeal in Utah exceeded so far the bounds of all propriety that\nthe authorities in Washington determined to exercise some restraint\nover their agents in Utah.\n\n{559} General McCook was transferred to another post. Marshal Ireland\nand Judge Powers went out of office.\n\nOn the 8th of February, 1886, a circumstance transpired by which\nPresident Woodruff and Apostle Erastus Snow escaped arrest. President\nWoodruff thought the circumstance worthy of a place in history. Early\nin the morning of that day he and Erastus Snow went to the Historian's\noffice in pursuance of an appointment to meet a number of the brethren\nthere. Before he had been long in the building it was surrounded by\ndeputy marshals. He and Elders Snow and Richards had been watching the\nofficers from the windows as they searched the Gardo House. They had\nalso observed the raid made upon the President's office and the tithing\noffice. When the marshals, however, came to the Historian's office,\nPresident Woodruff offered a silent, fervent prayer in his heart that\nthe Lord would blind his enemies. He then, in company with Andrew\nJenson, went into the street in the midst of nearly twenty officers.\nThey were apparently dazed as he walked before them and he attracted\nno attention. He crossed the street to the President's office, passed\nthrough the east gate, entered a buggy with Seymour B. Young, and was\ndriven to the home of Elder Young's mother. In the evening he made his\nway to his home in Farmers Ward, then took his departure for a year\nof exile from his family and associates in office. During the year he\ntraveled about sixteen hundred miles and closed the year in the city of\nSt. George, accompanied by his wife Emma and some of her children.\n\nHe found St. George a comparatively safe place, as the people there\nwere almost wholly Latter-day Saints and offered him every opportunity\nto visit his friends and to enjoy immunity from arrest. The sufferings\nof those times were enhanced by the constant threats of more drastic\nlegislation and the confiscation of Church property.\n\nWhile in St. George and on the 4th of February, 1887, he wrote an eight\npage letter to David Whitmer, one of the witnesses to the Book of\nMormon, and bore to the latter a strong testimony to the continuance of\nthe work of God under the administration of Presidents Young and Taylor.\n\nA considerable time before the death of President John Taylor\nhis demise was shown to Wilford Woodruff in a dream. {560} When,\ntherefore, word came to him in St. George from President George Q.\nCannon and Elder John Jacques on the 16th of July that President\nTaylor's condition afforded no hope of recovery he at once set out on\nthe following day for Salt Lake City. He traveled most of the way by\nteam and while at a Brother Bartholomew's in Fayette, Sanpete County,\non the 26th, he received the sad news of John Taylor's death which\nhad occurred the day before at about eight p. m. That night he lay\nawake sorrowing over the mourning that had come to all Israel in the\ndeparture of their great leader. Elder Woodruff's mind was greatly\ntroubled by the responsibilities which he felt crowded upon him. In\nhis journal he wrote of President Taylor as follows: \"Thus another\nPresident of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has passed\naway. President John Taylor is twice a martyr. He was shot four times\nin Carthage Jail when Joseph and Hyrum were slain, and there he mingled\nhis blood with the marytrs; this was in 1844. Now, in 1887, driven\ninto exile by United States officers in consequence of his religion,\nhe lays down his life for the truth. All honor to the name and memory\nof President John Taylor. 'Leave judgment with me for it is mine and I\nwill repay,' saith the Lord, God.\"\n\nContinuing, he wrote: \"President John Taylor's death places the chief\nresponsibility and care of the Church of Latter-day Saints upon\nmy shoulders, in connection with the Twelve, which now become the\npresiding authority of the Church. This places me in a very peculiar\nsituation. It is a position I have never looked for, but in the\nprovidence of God this new responsibility is thrown upon me. I pray\nGod, my heavenly Father, to give me grace equal to my day. It is a\nhigh responsibility for any man and it is a position which requires\ngreat wisdom. I never expected to outlive President Taylor, but God has\nordained otherwise.\n\n\"Bishop Hunter said on several occasions that I would outlive President\nTaylor and become President of the Church. On these occasions I rebuked\nthe Bishop and asked him not to prophesy of me such a thing. Each\ntime he answered, 'Nevertheless it is true and will come to pass.'\nIt certainly has come to pass. I can only say, Marvelous are Thy\nways, O Lord Almighty, for Thou hast truly chosen weak instruments to\nperform in Thy hand Thy work on the earth. May Thy servant, Wilford,\nbe prepared for {561} whatever is required at his hands by the God of\nheaven. I ask this blessing of my heavenly Father in the name of Jesus\nChrist, the Son of the living God, even so, Amen.\"\n\nThose acquainted with the modesty and humility of President Woodruff\ncan easily understand his feelings of grave concern and deep anxiety\nat such a time. While he sought no honors for himself and would\nalways \"prefer his brethren to him,\" he was nevertheless quick to\nmaintain himself or any other man in the calling to which the Lord by\nrevelation, or by the order established in the priesthood, placed upon\nhim.\n\nOn the 28th of March, 1887, he wrote to one of the brethren in answer\nto these questions: \"Do you know of any reason in case of the death of\nthe President of the Church why the Twelve Apostles should not choose\nsome other person than the president of the Twelve to be the President\nof the Church,\" as follows: \"I know several reasons why he should not.\nFirst, at the death of the President of the Church the Twelve Apostles\nbecome the presiding authority of the Church, and the president of the\nTwelve is really the President of the Church by virtue of his office as\nmuch while presiding over the Twelve Apostles as while presiding over\nhis two counselors. In the appointment of Brigham Young and John Taylor\nto the presidency of the Church it never entered the heart of any one\nof the Twelve Apostles to claim the right to preside over Brigham Young\nor John Taylor, as they were all the presidents of the Church, and\nif they were not fit to preside over the Church they were not fit to\npreside over the Twelve Apostles. Second, in case of the death of the\nPresident of the Church it takes the majority of the Twelve Apostles\nto appoint the President of the Church, and it is very unreasonable to\nsuppose that the majority of that Quorum could be converted to depart\nfrom the course marked out by inspiration and followed by the Apostles\nat the death of Christ and by the Twelve Apostles at the death of\nJoseph Smith. I see no reason for discussing this subject until there\nis some reason for it.\"\n\nWhether or not this statement of President Woodruff is taken as\ndoctrine, it shows very clearly his sentiment of respect for the line\nof action which had been taken and his determination not to depart\nfrom it as a matter of policy. He felt that man was at best but a weak\ninstrument in the hands of God. As this was {562} God's work the man\nthat lived most humbly and contrite before his Maker was most entitled\nto divine guidance. He had striven in the humility of his heart to gain\ndivine favor. He had been the recipient of that favor and had done\nnothing of which he was conscious to forfeit it.\n\nOn the 12th of March he recorded the following in his journal: \"I\ndreamed last night that the Latter-day Saints were holding a great\nconference in the Salt Lake Temple. I saw a great rush to finish the\nTemple. I was called upon to open the conference, and I was given\nthe keys of the Temple to open it. I saw thousands assembling and I\nmet President Young, who asked me what was the matter with the great\nmultitude at the door. Some one answered that the elders did not want\nto let the people into the Temple. He exclaimed, 'Oh, oh, oh;' he then\nleaned over to me and said, 'Let all come into the Temple who seek\nsalvation.' I saw several who were dead, among them my wife, Phoebe.\nI believe there is some special meaning in this dream.\" The dream is\nexplained by what happened when the Temple was dedicated.\n\nOn the 29th of July the funeral of President Taylor was held in the\nTabernacle. As most of the elders were in exile, only a few were in\nattendance. These were Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Heber J.\nGrant of the Twelve. Also President Daniel H. Wells, A. O. Smoot,\nLorenzo D. Young, Joseph B. Noble, and Angus M. Cannon. One hundred and\ntwo carriages followed the remains to their final resting place. There\nwere several bands of music in attendance. The occasion was indeed\nsolemn, mourning was silent and deep; men with bowed heads and in the\ndeepest sorrow wondered at God's providences and prayed for deliverance.\n\nFrom the President's office Wilford Woodruff watched the procession as\nit passed. President Woodruff says that to himself he remarked, as he\nstood in silent gaze, \"There goes to his final rest the third President\nof the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\"\n\nImmediately President Woodruff and the Twelve entered upon the duties\nof the presidency. These duties were numerous and pressing. President\nWoodruff was not yet free from the probability of arrest and therefore\ndid not appear in public. He signed hundreds of recommends to the\nTemple as they came to him from day to day. On the 9th, however, of\nOctober, at the general semi-annual {563} conference of that year, in\ncompany with Lorenzo Snow and Franklin D. Richards, he entered the\nbuilding at the afternoon session. As the people recognized their\nvenerable President they greeted him with a round of hearty applause\nwhich did not cease until he arose and waved his hand in salutation.\nHe addressed the multitude for thirty minutes and then quietly retired\nbefore the singing, as he deemed it unwise to expose himself to arrest.\nDuring the rest of the year he remained quietly at his home.\n\nThe duties of President Woodruff now called his special attention to\nthe general affairs of the Church so that he remained constantly near\nheadquarters. While the presidency of the Church devolved upon the\nTwelve, President Woodruff now looked to Presidents Cannon and Smith\nfor information and assistance, on account of their familiarity with\nChurch affairs during the presidency of John Taylor.\n\nWhile the crusade was by no means at an end, its extreme bitterness was\ngradually vanishing. During the year Judge Zane was succeeded by Judge\nElliott Sanford of New York. Mr. Sanford was a man of refinement and of\nmoral courage. He manifested no personal bias and no excessive zeal in\nthe administration of the law. During his tenure of office George Q.\nCannon was sentenced to 185 days' imprisonment and a fine of $450.00.\nApostle F. M. Lyman and others were also sentenced by him. Judge Judd,\nanother federal appointee, acted in harmony with Judge Sanford in\ndealing with the Latter-day Saints.\n\nThose days were trying to President Woodruff, especially in view of the\nwaste of property going on through the process of confiscation. Private\nindividuals were enriching themselves at the expense of the Church,\nand to the discredit of the government. Men unable to provide for more\nthan the daily wants of life suddenly came into possession of moderate\nprivate fortunes. The Latter-day Saints beheld the travesty of this\ngross injustice as men, under the guise of law and as reformers, showed\nan unrighteous zeal to lay their hands upon Church property.\n\nDuring the year 1888 Elder Woodruff records the death of a number\nof prominent men with whom he had been closely associated for many\nyears. Erastus Snow died May 27th at the age of sixty-nine years. On\nJune the 24th Judge Elias Smith passed away, at eighty-three. Horace\nEldredge also died on September {564} 6th at the age of seventy-two.\nAzmon Wodruff died at the advanced age of eighty-six years. President\nWoodruff was now eighty-two, but still active. He found pleasure in\nmanual labor whenever he could snatch away some time in which to devote\nhimself to his garden and to his field. One day during the summer\nof 1888, while hoeing corn by the side of a grandson, who was too\nswift for his grandfather in the corn field, the latter observed in\nhis journal: \"Well, this is the first time in my life that any of my\nchildren have beaten me hoeing corn or at any other manual labor.\"\n\nFebruary 21st of that year President George Q. Cannon was liberated\nfrom prison. Gradually the leading men began to obtain their freedom\nand to appear in the public assemblies of the Saints. On Washington's\nbirthday some fifty Hawaiians met at the President's office for a\nsocial reunion. The Tabernacle Choir was present and rendered inspiring\nmusic. On the Sunday following ten thousand people were gathered in the\nTabernacle and were addressed by Presidents Cannon and Woodruff.\n\nOn the 1st of March Elder Woodruff's birthday was celebrated. On a\ncake presented to him by Elder John Gallagher the following sentiment\nwas given and a copy of it taken from President Woodruff's journal. It\nreads as follows:\n\n  \"Fourscore years and two have fled in the work for Zion's cause\n     on earth.\n  This day we greet our honored head to show our love and tell his\n     worth.\n  We pray that heaven may long extend your life to testify unmoved,\n  As with your family, in the end find welcome by God approved.\"\n\nAt the April conference of 1889 and on the seventh of the month,\nWilford Woodruff was sustained as President of the Church, with\nGeorge Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as his counselors. \"This 7th\nday of April, 1889,\" he said, \"is one of the most important days in\nmy life, for I was made President of the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints by the unanimous vote of ten thousand of them. The\nvote was first taken by quorums and then by the entire congregation\nas in the case of President John Taylor. This is the highest office\never conferred upon any man in the {565} flesh. It came to me in the\neighty-third year of my life. I pray God to protect me and give me\npower to magnify my calling to the end of my days. The Lord has watched\nover me until the present time. I wish to counsel my wives and my\nchildren and whoever may read this journal to honor God and keep His\ncommandments to the end of their lives that they may receive eternal\nlife and celestial glory in the presence of God and the Lamb.\"\n\nAbout the middle of April President Woodruff, accompanied by his\nwife, Emma, and President Cannon, Charles H. Wilcken, H. B. Clawson\nand his daughter, and President Woodruff's daughter, left Salt Lake\nCity on a trip to California. Their purpose was twofold. One, to look\nafter the interest and welfare of the people, and the other to obtain\nrecuperation after a long exile. Here the party met old-time friends\nwho received them cordially and extended to them the hospitality of\ntheir homes. Senator Stanford had long been friendly to the Mormon\npeople and their leaders. On this occasion they met a Doctor McDonald,\nformerly of Nauvoo and a friend to the Latter-day Saints.\n\nThey returned to Salt Lake City on the 26th of April, when President\nWoodruff took up his labors and began a visit to a number of stakes of\nZion. At the October conference of that year Elder M. W. Merrill and A.\nH. Lund and Abraham H. Cannon were chosen to fill the vacancies created\nin the Quorum of the Twelve.\n\nOn the 12th of that month President Woodruff records an interesting\ninterview which he had with Senator Morgan of Alabama. The Senator was\npassing through Utah and asked President Woodruff, who was then at\nProvo, to meet him at the station there. The invitation was complied\nwith, and the Senator held the train for an hour while in conversation\nwith Presidents Woodruff and Cannon. Mr. Morgan was very friendly. He\nwas one of those who, in the United States Senate, had taken a strong\nstand against the Edmunds-Tucker Law. He was pronounced not only in his\nopposition to the law itself, but against the manner of its enforcement.\n\nOn the 21st of October that year President Woodruff again made a tour\nof the Pacific Coast and to Canada.\n\nNotwithstanding the improved condition of the people with respect to\nthe crusade which began in the most drastic manner in {566} 1884,\nthere were those who urged some compromise that would ensure, as they\nbelieved, the favor of the government and the complete cessation of\nhostilities by the enemies of the Church. Appeals were therefore made\nto President Woodruff to exercise the authority conferred upon him\nby revelation and suspend thereby the further extension of plural\nmarriages.\n\nIn concluding his journal for the year 1889 he wrote: \"This ends the\nyear. The word of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, has been fulfilled wherein\nhe declared that the whole nation would turn against Zion and make war\nupon the Saints. The nation has never been so full of lies against the\nSaints as it is today.\n\n{567}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 52.\n\nTHE MANIFESTO AND EVENTS OF 1890-91.\n\nThe Political Situation.--Visit to California.--The Manifesto.--Its\nEffects.--Sugar Industry.--Henry M. Stanley.--Deaths of Prominent\nMen.--Earthquake in Southern Utah.--Address to Irrigation\nCongress.--Interpretation of Manifesto.--Remarks at Brigham City on the\nManifesto.\n\nThe year 1890 saw a continuation of the bitter struggle that had been\ngoing on for political supremacy in Salt Lake City. On the 10th of the\nmonth President Woodruff witnessed from an upper room in the Deseret\nNational Bank building the People's party in parade. It was conducted\nin the evening by torch lights and bands of music in such a manner as\nto make the affair one of the most brilliant ever witnessed in Salt\nLake City. He declared that it was the finest display of the character\nthat he had ever seen. The Liberal party made a similar display and\nsucceeded in carrying the election the following month.\n\nThe political success of the Liberal party at this time gave strength\nto its efforts to secure more adverse legislation for Utah. The Cullom\nBill was a most drastic measure and had it passed in pursuance of the\nwishes of the anti-Mormons, the Latter-day Saints would have been shorn\npractically of their political and material rights. Senator Edmunds,\nwho had been skillful in the adroit measures which he succeeded in\ncarrying against the Latter-day Saints and by which they had suffered\nso much, was unwilling to go the length of the measures provided for in\nthe Bill.\n\nThe imprisonment of Latter-day Saints under the Edmunds act of 1882\nwas not bringing the results politically that the anti-Mormons hoped\nfor. What they wanted was absolute political control of the Territory.\nThey had used a popular prejudice against polygamy to further their\npolitical ends, but there was a great sentiment throughout the nation\nthat as long as violators of the Edmunds Law were being punished, and\nthe law was vigorously enforced further measures were hardly necessary.\n\nMarch 1st of that year witnessed President Woodruff's {568}\neighty-third birthday. His mind was active, and he enjoyed all his\nfaculties to a remarkable extent. As the birthday of his wife Emma also\ncame on March 1st, that day became in his family life an important one\nand was celebrated in a becoming manner.\n\nHowever, his advanced age told on his vital powers. The excessive heat\nof the summer was very debilitating to him and it frequently became\nnecessary throughout the subsequent years of his administration to seek\na change of climate or go into retirement where he could find relief\nfrom the heavy responsibilities which were difficult to bear at his age\nof life.\n\nIn August, in company with his counselors and Charles H. Wilcken, he\nmade a tour of Arizona, first going by way of the Colorado Stakes of\nZion.\n\nOn his return he visited Joseppa, a settlement in the western part of\nTooele County, which had been organized for the accommodation of the\nSandwich Islands Saints who had gathered to a considerable extent in\nand about Salt Lake City. For the purpose of aiding them a large tract\nof land had been selected, so that they might enjoy the opportunities\nof agricultural pursuits. On that occasion Joseph F. Smith, his\ncounselor, acted as interpreter and offered the dedicatory prayer.\n\nIn early September President Woodruff went to California where he\nattended on the 9th of the month a celebration of the pioneers of that\nstate. It was conducted in San Francisco where about twenty thousand\nmen in uniform took part in the procession. The purpose of this visit\nto California was to transact some business matters relating to the\ninterests of the Church. During the stay of President Woodruff and\nparty they were treated with great courtesy by Colonel Trumbo, Judge\nEstee, Mr. Livingstone, and other friends of the Mormon people.\n\nOn the 19th of the month the Southern Pacific tendered President\nWoodruff and party a private car by which they were taken to Sacramento\nfor the purpose of visiting the state fair which was in session there\nat that time. President Woodruff's devotion to agriculture and fruit\ngrowing made the wonderful exhibit at his fair a matter of uncommon\ninterest to him. He had also found on the coast a generous sentiment\nwhich he greatly appreciated, a sentiment indeed favorable considering\nthe conditions in Utah for the past five years.\n\n{569} During the agitation in Washington for more drastic measures\nagainst the Latter-day Saints, Utah's representative at the Capitol\nhad not unfrequently declared that polygamy was a dead issue. There\nwere strong political sentiments in favor of some sort of a compromise,\nand President Woodruff had been importuned to recede from his former\nattitude on that important principle.\n\nOn the 24th of September he met in council with his counselors and with\nseveral of the Twelve and under existing conditions he issued with\ntheir consent the manifesto, which reads as follows:\n\nOFFICIAL DECLARATION.\n\n_To Whom It May Concern_:\n\nPress dispatches having been sent for political purposes from Salt Lake\nCity, which have been widely published, to the effect that the Utah\nCommission, in their recent report to the Secretary of the Interior,\nallege that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that forty\nor more such marriages have been contracted in Utah since last June or\nduring the past year; also that in public discourses the leaders of\nthe Church have taught, encouraged, and urged the continuance of the\npractice of polygamy;\n\nI, therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day\nSaints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these\ncharges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage,\nnor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that\neither forty or any other number of plural marriages have, during that\nperiod, been solemnized in our temples or in any other place in the\nTerritory.\n\nOne case has been reported, in which the parties alleged that the\nmarriage was performed in the Endowment House, in Salt Lake City, in\nthe spring of 1889, but I have not been able to learn who performed\nthe ceremony. Whatever was done in this matter was done without my\nknowledge. In consequence of this alleged occurrence the Endowment\nHouse was, by my instructions, taken down without delay.\n\nInasmuch as laws have been enacted by congress forbidding plural\nmarriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional {570} by the\ncourt of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those\nlaws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which\nI preside to have them do likewise.\n\nThere is nothing in my teachings to the Church or in those of my\nassociates, during the time specified, which can be reasonably\nconstrued to inculcate or encourage polygamy, and when any elder of the\nChurch has used language which appeared to convey any such teaching, he\nhas been promptly reproved. And I now publicly declare that my advice\nto the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage\nforbidden by the law of the land.\n\nWILFORD WOODRUFF,\n\nPresident of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\n\nIn his private journal he made no particular mention of the\ncircumstances leading up to the Manifesto, neither did he make any\ncomment upon it further than to say: \"I have been called upon this day\nto act for the Church.\"\n\nIt was a solemn day to all Israel. The thought of suspending the\npractice of a principle for which they had already suffered so much,\nwas indeed painful to thousands of the people. The responsibility,\nhowever, the Prophet of God placed upon the nation for rejecting a\nprinciple which had within it the power to redeem the world from the\ngreatest of social evils and according to Isaiah, to take away the\nreproach of women who have been unjustly dealt with by ungodly men.\n\nOn the 6th of October, 1890, the Manifesto was presented to the Saints\nassembled at the semi-annual conference, and unanimously adopted.\nFollowing its presentation, President Woodruff made these remarks\nrespecting the action he had taken:\n\n\"I want to say to all Israel that the step which I have taken in\nissuing this Manifesto has not been done without earnest prayer before\nthe Lord. I am about to go into the spirit world, like other men of my\nage. I expect to meet the face of my Heavenly Father--the Father of my\nspirit; I expect to meet the face of Joseph Smith, of Brigham Young,\nof John Taylor, and of the Apostles, and for me to have taken a stand\nin anything which is not pleasing in the sight of God, or before the\nheavens, I would {571} rather have gone out and been shot. My life is\nno better than other men's. I am not ignorant of the feelings that have\nbeen engendered through the course I have pursued. But I have done my\nduty, and the nation of which we form a part must be responsible for\nthat which has been done in relation to this principle.\n\n\"The Lord has required at our hands many things that we have not done,\nmany things that we were prevented from doing. The Lord required us to\nbuild a temple in Jackson County. We were prevented by violence from\ndoing it. He required us to build a temple in Far West, which we have\nnot been able to do. A great many things have been required of us, and\nwe have not been able to do them because of those that surround us in\nthe world.\n\n\"It is not wisdom for us to make war upon sixty-five millions of\npeople. It is not wisdom for us to go forth and carry out this\nprinciple against the laws of the nation and receive the consequences.\nThat is in the hands of God, and He will govern and control it.\n\n\"I want the prayers of the Latter-day Saints. I thank God that I have\nseen with my eyes this day, that this people have been ready to vote\nto sustain me in an action that I know, in one sense, has pained their\nhearts. Brother George Q. Cannon has laid before you our position. The\nLord has given us commandments concerning many things, and we have\ncarried them out as far as we could; but when we cannot do it, we\nare justified. The Lord does not require at our hands things that we\ncannot do. Our nation is in the hands of God. He holds its destiny. He\nholds the destinies of all men. I will say to the Latter-day Saints,\nas an Elder in Israel and as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, we\nare approaching some of the most tremendous judgments God ever poured\nout upon the world. You watch the signs of the times, the signs of the\ncoming of the Son of Man. They are beginning to be made manifest both\nin heaven and on earth.\n\n\"I pray God that He will bless these apostles, prophets, and\npatriarchs, these seventies, high priests, and elders of Israel, and\nthese Latter-day Saints, who have entered into covenant with our God.\nYou have a great future before you. I ask my Heavenly Father to pour\nout His spirit upon me, as His servant, that in my advanced age, and\nduring the few days I have to spend here in {572} the flesh, I may be\nled by the inspiration of the Almighty. I say to Israel, the Lord will\nnever permit me nor any other man who stands as the President of this\nChurch, to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in\nthe mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me\nout of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the\nchildren of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty. God\nbless you. Amen.\"\n\nUpon the subject of the Manifesto he also spoke at a conference in\nBrigham on the 25th of October.\n\nThe effect of the Manifesto upon the more radical anti-Mormon element\nwas one of chagrin and disappointment. It removed their chief pretext\nfor continued agitation.\n\nWhile the Manifesto was a concession but few ever expected to witness,\nthere were, nevertheless, many who had but little confidence in any\ncontinued good effect it would have upon the bitter anti-Mormon element.\n\nFor years the sugar industry had been a subject of some investigation,\nand Arthur Stayner, of Farmington, had made a number of experiments\nsufficiently satisfactory to justify the venture of its manufacture in\nUtah on a large scale.\n\nIn January, 1891, President Woodruff in his journal wrote: \"The\nPresident and Twelve met and were in harmony in their conversation upon\nthe manufacture of sugar. The President and Twelve, as the leaders of\nthe people, have to shoulder the responsibility of this question.\" Men\nof wealth in the community were afraid of such an enterprise and were\nespecially fearful should it be started it would be crushed at the\noutset by the great sugar trust.\n\nUpon the question, however, President Woodruff was so pronounced that\nhe felt inspired to say that it was the will of the Lord that the\nsugar industry should be established among the Saints. The matter of\nraising money for this great enterprise was, of course, an important\nquestion. Elder Heber J. Grant was sent to New York to borrow of\nwealthy men money for this new enterprise. When he was asked by them\nwhat security could be given, he replied that the factory itself and\ncertain bank stocks would be given to secure the loans. \"No,\" replied\nthey, \"we don't want that, if Wilford Woodruff, the President and\nTrustee-in-Trust {573} of your Church will give his name as security\nit is all we ask.\" He accordingly signed his name. It was about\nthe first debt he had ever contracted, but he did that for what he\nconsidered the good of the people. $300,000 was obtained and the Lehi\nsugar factory became a living, paying, industry. Since then among the\nSaints there have been one established in Ogden, two in Cache Valley,\none in Garland, one in Oregon, one in Canada, and four in Idaho. The\nestablishment of the sugar factory in Canada was a venture perhaps\ngreater than even the one first built at Lehi. Conditions in that new\ncountry did not appear at all favorable, even in the light of all\nthat had been done in Utah. Apostle John W. Taylor, however, gave to\nthis new Canadian industry his enthusiastic and detailed attention.\nJesse Knight, who built the factory at Raymond, was wont to say that\nthe enterprise was outside all his interests and the fields of his\noperation. In building his factory in Canada he had acted solely upon\nhis impressions and against the business advice of many of his friends.\n\nNothing has done more in this inter-mountain region to promote the\nfinancial well being of the people than the sugar industry. It has been\nthe means of distributing very generally its wealth among the people.\n\nThe Church at that time felt the severe losses which the confiscation\nof its property had brought to it and it was not in a condition to\nlose any money in an unsuccessful enterprise. In his journal President\nWoodruff said: \"We are passing through a great financial difficulty,\nthe Lord alone can help us out.\"\n\nHis birthday that year found him somewhat indisposed, but on the 9th\nhe was able to enjoy the pleasant interview with the great African\nexplorer, Henry M. Stanley. He attended Mr. Stanley's lecture and\npronounced it the most interesting one he had ever attended.\n\nThe latter part of 1890 and the first part of 1891 marked the death of\na number of President Woodruff's old-time friends. Among these were\nBishop Millen Atwood, George W. Hill, the Indian interpreter, and on\nMarch 25th, 1891, President Daniel H. Wells. The funeral of Daniel H.\nWells was held on the 29th. President Woodruff was one of the speakers\non that occasion.\n\nThe April conference of 1891 was noted for the large number {574} of\nTwelve Apostles and the First Presidency that could be in attendance.\nThe Manifesto had helped to bring about this new condition and to give\na greater liberty to the leading men of the Church than they had for\nsome years enjoyed.\n\nOn the 20th of that month Elder Woodruff recorded in his journal the\nvisitation of a slight earthquake to southern Utah. It was sufficiently\nstrong to shake the houses and overthrow some of the chimneys. The\ngeneral damage, however, was slight. The volcanic evidences in the\nregion of St. George indicate that that section of country in the past\nhad been subject to violent eruptions.\n\nOn the 23rd he also recorded a visit of the Reverend Doctor Shehadri,\nan Indian from Bombay. The gentleman had been a Brahmin, but was now\na convert to Christianity. President Woodruff attended the Reverend\nGentleman's address in the Assembly Hall.\n\nOn the 8th of the following month Salt Lake enjoyed for the third time\na visit from a President of the United States.\n\nIn his journal President Woodruff said: \"President Harrison visited\nSalt Lake City. There was a great demonstration and a large procession\nmarched to the Park where speeches were made. President Cannon and\nmyself headed the pioneers. We were introduced to President Harrison\nand shook hands with him.\"\n\nA few days later he also recorded in his journal the interview with\nformer Governor George W. Emery. \"He was governor of this territory\nwhen President Grant visited this city. Governor Emery told me that\nwhile riding up from the depot with President Grant and while the two\nwere beholding the multitude of Sunday school children who lined the\nstreets, President Grant said to him: 'I have been deceived with regard\nto these people, the children are as nice and clean as any children I\never saw.' 'Before he left Utah,' said Governor Emery, 'the President\nsaid to me: 'See that the Mormon people are fairly treated.' Governor\nEmery has always treated the Mormon people well.\"\n\nOn the 21st of May, that year, President Woodruff laid the foundation\nfor a new house on his farm, not far from the old homestead he had\noccupied for years, and on the 5th of June {575} he was made president\nof Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company.\n\nThat summer Presidents Woodruff and Cannon again visited California for\na short time. On this occasion they met Judge Estee and other prominent\nmen.\n\nMatters of political interest were at that time pressing upon the\npeople. After the Manifesto the People's Party dissolved and the\nmembers of that party cast their lot with the one or the other of the\ngreat national parties.\n\nJudge Estee and Roswell G. Horr, of Michigan, as well as other\nprominent men, paid a visit to Utah and discussed before the people the\nissues of the great political parties.\n\nIn September the Irrigation Congress met in Utah. On that occasion\nPresidents Woodruff and Cannon addressed the Congress. Their words made\na good impression upon the delegates in attendance. President Woodruff\nwas a New England miller and farmer, and a pioneer in irrigation; he\nwas the man who, in 1847, planted the first potatoes in Salt Lake\nValley. His advanced years, his rugged honesty, and freedom from\naffectation made splendid impression upon those whom he addressed on\nthat occasion as well as upon other strangers who were visiting the\nCity of the Saints. The work of a pioneer came now to be more and more\nappreciated. Governor Rickards, of Montana, declared in speaking of\nPresident Woodruff: \"To the pioneer and the soldier who fought for the\nflag I always take off my hat.\"\n\nPresident Wilford Woodruff addressed the Irrigation Congress, September\n16th, 1891, as follows:\n\n\"Gentlemen of the Irrigation Congress: I feel myself very thankful\nthat I have lived in the flesh long enough in this Territory to behold\nthe faces of such a congregation of gentlemen as I see here today.\nIt is not my purpose to occupy your time or attention in arguing, or\ntalking, or conversing particularly upon the subjects, or at least\nthose principles for which you have assembled; but what I will say will\nbe a few words concerning our arrival here, and upon the experience\nin irrigation. Fifty-one years ago, the 24th of last July, I entered\nthis Valley with one hundred and forty-three emigrants, or in other\nwords, pioneers. We were led by President Young. This country, upon\nour arrival, was called the Great American Desert, and certainly,\nas far {576} as we could see, it did not discredit its name in the\nleast. There was no mark of the Anglo-Saxon race, no mark of the white\nman--everything was barren, dry, and desolate.\n\n\"We pitched our camp a little distance to the southeast from here\nabout 11 o'clock in the day. We had a desire to try the soil, to know\nwhat it would produce. Of course all this company--nearly the whole of\nus--were born and raised in the New England States, Vermont, Maine,\nMassachusetts, Connecticut--had no experience in irrigation. We pitched\nour camp, put some teams on to our ploughs (we brought our ploughs with\nus), and undertook to plough the earth, but we found neither wood nor\niron was strong enough to make furrows here in this soil. It was like\nstone. We had to turn water on it. When we came to put our teams upon\nthe ground again they sank down to their bellies in mud. We had to wait\nuntil the land dried enough to hold up our teams. We put in our crops\nand we stayed here one month. During that time President Young laid out\nthis city, as you see it today, in the midst of sagebrush, with not a\nhouse within a hundred miles of us. We built a fort around ten acres,\nthree sides of adobe, walls eighteen feet high, and one side with\nlogs out of the canyon. We then returned to the Missouri and some two\nthousand men came later. President Cannon here was one of the company\nthat came in after us.\n\n\"Now what I wish to say is this: You gentlemen come here today; you\nsee the city, you go through the country. Here are a thousand miles,\nI might say, through these mountains, filled with cities, towns,\nvillages, gardens, and orchards, and the produce of the earth that\nsustains the people. Without this water, this irrigation for which\nyou have met here today, this country would be as barren as it was\nin 1847, as we found it. Irrigation is what you have met to discuss.\nWhatever you decide upon in this matter, and unite upon, will, I am\nsure, prove a great blessing, not only to Utah, but to every state and\nTerritory where these arid lands are found. We have had to learn by\nexperience, and all that we have obtained in these mountains has been\nby irrigation. There are portions yet which have not been irrigated,\nand as one gentleman said here, if you can make two drops of water\nwhere there was one, or two spears of grass where there was one,\nyou are a {577} benefactor to mankind. I say, God bless you in your\ndeliberations.\" (Applause.)\n\nOn the 19th of October, 1891, President Woodruff was cited before the\nMaster and Chancery to testify to the scope of the Manifesto in the\nEscheat cases. The question there involved was the subject of unlawful\ncohabitation. He had issued the Manifesto and was therefore best\nqualified to interpret the meaning which it had to his mind, or which\nwas conveyed by his language.\n\nIn November he recorded a visit to Utah of Mr. Norton, a member of\nthe British Parliament. He speaks of Mr. Norton's interview with him\nas a pleasant conversation. On the last day of that month he moved\nthe Church office from the Gardo House to the old President's Office,\nacross the road north. This was done to save the rent which the Church\nwas obliged to pay the government for the use of its own property.\n\nDuring that year he said he traveled 3,570 miles, attended 22\nconferences, signed 3,875 recommends, wrote 303 letters, and received\n2,045.\n\n{578}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 53.\n\nDEDICATION OF THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE, 1892.\n\nNew Home.--Visit of President Eliot to Salt Lake City.--Completing the\nTemple.--Amnesty.--Dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.--Visit to the\nWorld's Fair, Chicago.--Liberal Party Disbands.\n\nBy the opening of the year 1892 President Woodruff had well in\nhand, not only the routine duties of his office, but the general\nadministrative needs of the Church. He was in good state of health\nand grateful for the peaceful conditions which then prevailed. The\nprosecution for plural marriage had literally ceased, though the\nLiberals still had control of the city.\n\nHe had for some time been interested in the completion of his new home\nin Waterloo, a home which was to be called the Woodruff Villa. It was a\ncomfortable brick house, though not at all pretentious. While his home\nsurroundings in the past had afforded him the needed comforts of life,\nthey were simple and in harmony with his neighbors' homes, and with his\nown unpretentious character.\n\nOn the 1st of March he reached his eighty-fifth year, and his wife\nEmma her fifty-fourth. That day was selected for the dedication of the\nnew home, an event to which he looked forward with a large measure of\nsatisfaction.\n\nOn March 6th he made a record of the visit of President Eliot to Salt\nLake City. President Eliot was accompanied by his wife. During the day\nPresident Woodruff dined with them and listened to an address delivered\nin the Tabernacle by Harvard's eminent President. Of the occasion\nPresident Woodruff wrote: \"He spoke about forty-five minutes in a\nbeautiful and pleasing manner, and advocated the rights of all people\nto the free enjoyment of every religious and political guarantee. I\nmade a few remarks and then thanked President Eliot for his liberal\nviews.\"\n\nIt will be remembered that in the course of President Eliot's remarks\nhe compared the pioneer journey of the Mormon people to Salt Lake\nValley and the hardships of those early experiences with the Pilgrim\nFathers and their early settlement on the New {579} England coast.\nThis was more than the good people of Puritan descent could endure;\nto compare the Mormon people with the Pilgrim Fathers was a specie of\nprofanity that touched the righteous conscience of many New Englanders\nin and about Boston. Many of the newspapers of that city cried out in\nloud lamentation against such sacrilege. A few conservative papers,\nhowever, were not so sure about the great disparity between the Pilgrim\nFathers and the Mormons, even in the matter of morals. President Eliot,\nhowever, made no reply. He was accustomed frequently to arouse the ire\nof his New England brethren; and conscious that he was on the right\nside of a question, he was as loath to yield as he was free to tell\nthem the naked truth.\n\nAbout this time, on the 21st of March, President Woodruff expressed\na special interest he felt in the court proceedings that had been\ninaugurated in Missouri by the Reorganites for the purpose of ousting\nthe Hedrickites from their ownership and control of the Temple Block\nat Independence, Jackson County. On that day he gave evidence in court\nrelative to Church authority, and the interests of our people in the\ncontroversy. In the decision of the Supreme court of the State of\nMissouri the Hedrickites received a decision favorable to their claims\nand thus the Temple Block was left _in statu quo_.\n\nApril conference of that year was unusually well attended. It was,\nperhaps, the largest that had hitherto assembled in the Church. It was\nat that conference that Jonathan G. Kimball, son of President Heber C.\nKimball, was chosen to fill the vacancy created in the First Council\nof Seventies, made vacant by the death of Henry Herriman. During this\nconference, on April 6, the capstone of the Salt Lake Temple was laid\nby President Woodruff, in the presence of a large assembly gathered to\nwitness the ceremony.\n\nOn the 11th of the month President Woodruff, with a portion of his\nfamily, paid a visit to the Salt Lake Temple. They ascended to the\ntop of the Temple tower, where they deposited some coins in the upper\nstone, and then inspected every room in the building.\n\nAbout this time he made a purchase of the history of Hartford,\nConnecticut, the state in which he was born. During that summer Elder\nJunius F. Wells obtained for the President portraits {580} of his old\nhome and of his birthplace, also the homes of some of his kindred and\nancestors.\n\nIn May of that year, although now so well advanced in years, he paid a\nvisit to St. George, holding meetings in the various settlements on the\nway. One hundred and twenty miles had to be covered by means of private\nconveyances. The road through Washington County was, perhaps, one of\nthe most difficult to travel in the entire state, but Elder Woodruff\nalways had in his affections a special fondness for St. George, its\npeople, and its Temple. During his absence he suffered from a severe\nattack of sickness which created some misgivings as to his recovery,\nbut he was immediately healed by the power of God and returned home in\nsafety.\n\nOn the 4th day of January, 1893, President Harrison granted amnesty to\nthe Latter-day Saints who were under certain political disabilities\nin consequence of the Federal statutes prescribing punishment for\npolygamy. About that time the President's wife lay at the point of\ndeath. President Woodruff recorded in his journal the following\ntelegram, received from Bishop H. B. Clawson: \"General amnesty will\npositively be announced this week.\" President Harrison asked for the\nforebearance and prayers of the Presidency of the Church in his behalf\nfor himself and wife in their troubles. President Woodruff thought\nit not a little remarkable that the President of the nation should\ndesire the prayers of the Presidency of the Church. Such a friendly\nmanifestation was indeed to them a touching circumstance, especially\nin view of the afflictions that they had undergone. The response was\nheartfelt and devout, but in the providence of God it was not ordained\nthat Mrs. Harrison should recover. When she passed away President\nWoodruff sent to President Harrison the following telegram of sympathy:\n\"President Benjamin Harrison, Washington, D. C.:--The death of your\nbeloved companion came home to us individually as if it were our own\npersonal loss. We sincerely and deeply sympathize with you, and appeal\nto the Supreme Being, who holds the destiny of us all in His hands, to\nbless, comfort, and sustain you in this your hour of great trial and\nsorrow.\"\n\nIt was during the year 1892 that political excitement throughout the\nChurch ran high and gave rise to many animosities which time had great\ndifficulty in mitigating. There had been a more or less {581} wide\nspread opinion that the Latter-day Saints were democratic in their\nparty sympathies. Such an idea had naturally been the outgrowth of the\nfavorable consideration given to the Mormon people in the halls of\nCongress by democratic leaders. That political preferences should be\nbased upon religious sympathies was foreign to the minds of most of the\nleaders in those days. The Presidency of the Church was, therefore,\nbeset by partisans of both classes in the contentions of those times.\nThe Church Authorities had stated in the most unequivocal manner that\nmen must cast their political lot in response to the dictates of their\nown conscience. It was not an easy matter, however, to move politically\nin a fixed direction. Church interests and political interests often\nran along cross roads.\n\nIn his journal of November 3, 1892, President Woodruff wrote: \"I had a\nvisit today from certain prominent politicians who were not members of\nthe Church. They seemed anxious to sew up the mouth of the Presidency\nso that the latter should have nothing to say in political matters.\nPresidents Cannon, Smith, and I answered them.\" President Woodruff\nfurther expressed his right as an American citizen to exercise his\nfranchise in the interest of any political party with which he saw\nfit to ally himself. He was unwilling to concede that there could be\nany circumstance whatever, politically, in which he might not raise\nhis voice for the protection of the people. He claimed also the right\nto warn the people against the rule of the unrighteous. The political\ndestinies, however, of the state, he did not regard as bound up in\nthe religious destiny of the Church. He recognized the distinction\nbetween the two; nor did he assume an unfriendly attitude toward those\nwho did not see as he saw, politically. However, he thought it both\nthe privilege and the duty of Church men to exercise their political\njudgment. He never yielded to the argument that because the political\ninfluence of a Church leader was likely to be too great he should\ntherefore not be permitted to exercise any political influence whatever.\n\nThe year 1893 was specially noted for the dedication of the Salt\nLake Temple on the 6th of April, the sixty-third anniversary of the\norganization of the Church. The early part of the year had been\noccupied by the Church leaders in the preparations made for that grand\nevent.\n\n{582} The conference opened on the 4th. It was largely attended, and\nthere was an inspired joy in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints\nwho had gathered from all parts of the Church to take part in the\ndedicatory services. In his journal President Woodruff wrote: \"I\nattended the dedication of the Temple. The spirit and power of God\nrested upon us. The spirit of prophecy and revelation was upon us, and\nthe hearts of the people were melted and many things were unfolded to\nour understanding.\" President Woodruff offered the dedicatory prayer at\nthe first meeting.\n\nOn the 7th of the month three meetings were held in the Temple, and\nthe services were continued from that time until the 24th of April,\nin order that the people from every stake in Zion could attend and\nparticipate in the blessings of that occasion President Woodruff\nattended twenty-one of those meetings, but before the end of these\ndaily services had been reached he was obliged to retire, and was\nconfined to his bed for a number of days, indeed his sickness brought\nhim to the point of death.\n\nIn the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple he witnessed the fulfillment\nof a dream recorded in his journal many years before. In his dream\nhe had received from President Young the keys of the Temple and was\ntold by him to go in and dedicate it to the Lord and to admit all who\nwere seeking salvation. The opportunity, therefore, was given to all\nwho were in the least worthy to attend these services. It is not too\nmuch to say that the dedication of that Temple had an important effect\non the faith and conduct of a great many Latter-day Saints who had\nheretofore been indifferent.\n\nThere had been a general interest among all classes throughout the City\nin the completion of the Temple. It had been in process of construction\nfor more than a generation. The day of its completion was, therefore,\na land mark in the history of the state. Its architecture was striking\nand to the non-Mormons the ceremonies and religious devotions of the\npeople, who would go there to worship, were peculiar. Thousands of\nstrangers within the city of the Saints would desire to see the great\nMormon Temple. It would thereafter become one of the wonders of the\nworld, an object of curiosity and wonderment to thousands of people\nwho in years to come would gaze upon it. There had been in the early\nnineties a fraternal interest among all classes. The {583} Gentiles\nof Salt Lake City were therefore invited to inspect the Temple just\nprior to its dedication. Many prominent men were conducted through its\nvarious rooms and permitted to inspect its internal adornments and\nadmire its rich architectural designs.\n\nAmong the remarks made by President Woodruff at that time was that\nthe power of the adversary should be broken, and from that time on,\nthe enemy would have less power over the Saints and meet with greater\nfailures in oppressing them. He also said that from that time a renewed\ninterest in the gospel message would be awakened throughout the world.\n\nLorenzo Snow was appointed as first President of the new Temple. He\nselected as his counselors Bishop John R. Winder, and Adolph Madsen.\n\nThe Salt Lake Temple now became the most striking and interesting\nbuilding in the Church. Its spirit, like that of other Temples, has\nhad a far reaching influence upon the lives of those who accepted its\nsacred teachings. That influence is, of course, incomprehensible to\nthose not of the Mormon faith.\n\nThe 28th of August that year was one of peculiar interest to President\nWoodruff and the people generally. On that day he left with the\nTabernacle Choir, which was to take part in a great musical contest in\nthe World's Fair at Chicago. President Woodruff and his counselors were\nprovided with a Pullman car and everything was done to make the journey\nfor him comfortable, as he was in a poor state of health at the time\nand hardly fitted for such a journey. En route they visited Denver and\nKansas City. At the former place the Choir sang in one of the churches.\n\nAt Independence, Missouri, they were received by the mayor and other\nprominent men. On the Temple block the Choir rendered sweet music.\nPresident Woodruff wrote in his journal, as follows: \"The mayor of\nIndependence had lost one arm in the war, but the one he had left was\nkindly given to me while I was with him. One striking incident worthy\nof record is this: I went through Jackson County with Harry Brown in\n1834 on a mission to the Southern States. At that time we traveled\nsecretly lest our lives should be taken by mobocrats; now in 1893, the\nmayor of Independence and hosts of others bid us welcome to the city.\nHow great the contrast, and we ascribe the honor and praise to God, our\nHeavenly Father.\"\n\n{584} During their stay, and on September 9th, President Woodruff, as\na western pioneer addressed in the festive hall a large assembly. He\nspoke with vigor and with a clear, strong voice, and was listened to\nwith rapt attention. President Cannon also spoke, and the Salt Lake\nChoir rendered music for the occasion. President Woodruff reached home\non the 17th of September.\n\nIn October of that year, Congress passed a bill restoring the property\nof the Church. This act brought some financial relief and was a source\nof satisfaction to the Saints generally. Litigation, however, over\nChurch property had been a source of great waste to it. Many who had\nurged the confiscation of Church property had realized some of their\nhopes in the dispossession of it as the litigation over the property\nhad been a source of wealth to them, and although their hopes had been\nrealized, their motives had been revealed.\n\nThe situation, at this time, was further relieved at the November\nelection by the triumph of a citizen's ticket. The loss of the City\nto the anti-Mormon element was a source of great disappointment. It\ndid much, however, to check the opposition and bring about a greater\nmeasure of peace.\n\nOn the 7th of December President Woodruff recorded the visit of\nAlexander Nickelsen, a dignitary of the Russian government. President\nWoodruff gave him a photo of himself and two volumes of the history of\nUtah. On this occasion he wrote: \"We are being visited by the great men\nof the earth. The revelations of God are being fulfilled concerning\nZion.\"\n\nOn the 19th of December the Liberal party of Utah dissolved, a\ncircumstance which gave further assurances of peace and good will in\nthe Territory. This action, no doubt, was brought about by the recent\naction of the House of Representatives in passing a bill for the\nadmission of Utah as a state. The Ministers of Utah, by a decision of\nthe majority, discontinued their opposition to Utah's statehood. In\nsumming up the events of the year 1893, he wrote in his journal: \"The\ngreatest event of the year is the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.\nGreat power was manifest on that occasion. Nearly fifty years ago while\nin the City of Boston I had a vision of going to the Rocky Mountains to\nbuild a Temple there and to dedicate it to the Lord.\"\n\n{585}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 54.\n\nADMINISTRATIVE WORK, 1894.\n\nElectric Power Plant in Ogden Canyon.--Saltair.--Death of His Brother,\nThompson.--Temple Work for Benjamin Franklin.--An Optimist.--Death of\nA. O. Smoot of Provo.--Utah Stake Organized.--Trip to Alaska.\n\nDuring the early years of President Woodruff's administration\nfinancial pressure rested heavily upon the Church. Something like\nfour hundred thousand dollars, however, of personal property, which\nhad been confiscated, was by the order of the supreme court turned\nover to the President of the Church. The Church had given its support\nto certain enterprises and was, about the year 1904, under financial\nresponsibilities for the electric power plant in Ogden Canyon and\nthe Saltair pavilion. The power plant was planned to command in part\nthe great and growing resources in this inter-mountain region. The\ncapitalization necessary to launch it was beyond private capital which\nat this time could be obtained for such a purpose. As time went on the\nscheme proved both feasible and profitable.\n\nThe Saltair Beach, President Woodruff was persuaded, would afford the\npeople a resort which might be kept under some measure of control\nand be run in the interests of good morals. He looked upon innocent\nrecreation as a part of the daily life of men, and that amusement was\nharmful only when it became excessive and associated with undesirable\ncompanionship. President Woodruff in his own life never made any\ngreat distinction between things spiritual and things temporal. His\nspirituality was so characteristic a feature of his own life that it\nwas associated with all that he did and said. With him, God was so\nassociated in the affairs of men that their daily conduct was under His\nconstant supervision.\n\nIn January of '94, he recorded the death of his brother, Thompson\nWoodruff, who had lived to the ripe old age of eighty-nine years.\nWilford was younger than his two brothers, but lived to a greater age\nthan either of them. His eighty-seventh {586} birthday this year was\ncelebrated in the Salt Lake Temple where he was surrounded by his\nfaithful associates, by the general authorities of the Church, and such\nmembers of his numerous family as could come together. There were about\ntwo hundred and thirty present.\n\nAt his advanced age of life he took great interest in the journey of\nhis friends to the other side. They were going to the spiritual world,\nan abode to which he looked forward, himself, with great expectations\nand some measure of satisfaction. He bids his old-time and departed\nfriends, in his journal, a heartfelt and loving good-by. He expected to\nsee them before very long. During that year his sister-in-law, Sarah B.\nFoss, about ninety-three years of age, died; likewise Jessie W. Fox,\nthe pioneer surveyor; likewise President John Morgan, a federal soldier\nof the Civil War, and one of the seven presidents of Seventy.\n\nMuch of President Woodruff's meditations, as well as his hopes and\nambitions, were associated with the world beyond the veil, and yet he\nwas not in the least sense a fanatically visionary man. When he had\nimportant dreams they were in harmony with his religious conceptions\nand a part of his duty, both to man and God. On the night of March\n19th, 1894, he had a dream which followed his meditations upon the\nfuture life and the work that he had done for the dead. In his dream\nthere appeared to him Benjamin Franklin for whom he had performed\nimportant ceremonies in the House of God. This distinguished patriot,\naccording to his dream, sought further blessings in the Temple of God\nat the hands of his benefactor. President Woodruff wrote: \"I spent some\ntime with him and we talked over our Temple ordinances which had been\nadministered for Franklin and others. He wanted more work done for him\nthan had already been done. I promised him it should be done. I awoke\nand then made up my mind to receive further blessings for Benjamin\nFranklin and George Washington.\"\n\nIt may be well here to record the fact that President Woodruff and\nJohn D. T. McAllister, at the early opening of the St. George Temple\nwere baptized for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and\nfor nearly all the Presidents of the United States. The appearance,\ntherefore, in his dream, of Franklin, was to him a satisfying\nconclusion that he had at least received {587} joyfully the blessings\nthat came to him from the ordinances of the Lord's House.\n\nThere is noticeable in the journal of President Woodruff a singular\nsatisfaction which he always took in the missionary labors of his\nsons. He had been a missionary himself--a zealous, indeed an ideal\nmissionary, like Paul of old. The missionary spirit never left him,\nhe was always zealous for the spread of his faith and rejoiced in\nthe zeal of his sons, when like him they were laboring to spread the\ntruth. He refers with special pleasure to the zeal of his son Owen\nwho was then on a mission in Germany. He liked the spirit of the boy\nas it manifested itself in letters to his mother. His writings had a\nwholesome, spiritual ring to them that characterized his own missionary\nlife. Indeed, the young missionary who was devoting himself faithfully\nto the service of the Master, whether he was of his own household or\nfrom some other home, was always a source of pleasure to him and in his\njournal he pays his compliments to these young ambassadors of the truth.\n\nThere is one peculiar characteristic noticeable in the journal of\nWilford Woodruff, it is that hopeful, joyful spirit that dwells\nwith ever increasing satisfaction upon the things that are good and\nuplifting. He had a spirit of appreciation for the good things of\nlife, he loved to dwell upon the good deeds of others, and though now\nand then he spoke out in prophetic utterance against the evils of the\nworld, he was nevertheless prone to see the good quicker than the evil.\nHe said in his journal of October, that year, that \"Aunt Jane,\" the\ncolored sister, had been to see him. She was anxious to go through\nthe Temple and receive the higher ordinances of the gospel. President\nWoodruff blessed her for her constant, never changing devotion to\nthe gospel, but explained to her her disadvantages as one of the\ndescendants of Cain.\n\nIn after years when President Joseph F. Smith preached the funeral\nsermon of this same faithful woman he declared that she would in the\nresurrection attain the longings of her soul and become a white and\nbeautiful person.\n\nPresident Woodruff's writings generally reflect the spirit of the\ntimes. He was always in sympathetic touch with the interests of\nhumanity. In large measure the sorrows of his fellow {588} men were his\nsorrows, and their joys his joys. It was not in him to live separate\nand apart in the world and indulge in a selfish life. We may naturally\nexpect him, therefore, in 1894 to feel and sense the troubles that were\nbrooding over the country. There were railroad strikes and there were\nCoxey's armies; men were suffering for the necessities of life and\nundergoing great hardship in consequence of the panic of 1893.\n\nOne of the events of this year, which was perhaps the most pleasing\nof anything he enjoyed in those days was the admission of Utah to\nstatehood. The enabling act was signed by President Cleveland on the\n17th of July, 1894. Of this event he wrote: \"The struggle has been a\nhard one. It has seemed as though all earth and hell were combined\nagainst the Saints having a state government. Now we must give God the\nglory.\"\n\nHe joined in the general celebrations of that year. Pioneer day brought\nwith it additional joy as it did fuller appreciation. In connection\nwith Utah's prospective admission to statehood he received a lengthy\nletter from General Clarkson who gave at considerable length the story\nof Utah's recent admission into the Union. The General gives the names\nand attitude of those who used their influence against, as well as\nthose who used theirs for Utah's admission into the Union. There were\nthose who labored, no doubt, with sinister motives for statehood. They\npressed their claims upon Church authority for recognition, they sought\npolitical preferment and some, no doubt, were deeply disappointed.\n\nIn October of that year a circumstance took place which revealed the\ngenerous and forgiving nature of the subject of this biography. On the\n25th of October, Mary Jackson Ross died. She had been the first plural\nwife of President Woodruff. By him she had one son named James. Through\ndisappointment and dissatisfaction she left her husband and married\nanother man. In her later and declining years she realized the mistake\nof a hasty and unwise decision. She came to President Woodruff with a\ndesire that he take her back again into his family for eternity. He\nattended her funeral, laid her away in his own burial lot, and was in\nevery way thoughtful and magnanimous to her and to the children she had\nborne by her second husband.\n\nSumming up the labors of that year he said that he attended ten\nconferences, preached twenty-three discourses, wrote nearly {589} one\nhundred important letters, and traveled twenty-six hundred miles. All\nthis he did in the 87th year of his life.\n\nThe beginning of the year 1895 witnessed the continuation of the\ndistressing financial situation throughout the nation. The effects of\nthe panic were not easily overcome and there was considerable suffering\nthroughout the country. To meet the special needs of the suffering poor\nin Nebraska, President Woodruff in January contributed in behalf of\nthe Church two thousand five hundred pounds of flour. The Church had\nso grown in its interests and wealth that it was then in a position to\ntake cognizance to some extent of the poverty and depressing conditions\nthroughout the country.\n\nHis birthday of that year was again celebrated in the Temple. Including\nthe Presidency, Twelve, and leading men, and his family, with special\nfriends, there were about two hundred and fifty present. Among those\nwho had come to pay him honor on this occasion was his old life-long\nfriend, President A. O. Smoot, of Provo. This was the last gathering\nthe latter ever attended as he died in less than a week at the ripe old\nage of eighty years. Speaking of President Smoot's funeral procession\nhe said: \"It is the longest I have ever seen in Utah.\"\n\nOn the 20th of the April following he was again in Provo for the\npurpose of reorganizing the Utah Stake. Of that circumstance he wrote:\n\"We met in council for the purpose of taking into consideration the\nappointment of a Stake President. We had no one in our minds when we\ncame together. While discussing the subject the spirit of the Lord\nrested upon us and designated Edward Partridge as president, with David\nJohn and Reed Smoot as his counselors. In this we were all united.\"\n\nOn the 20th of March the mine explosion at Alma, Wyoming brought the\ndistressing news that sixty-one men had been killed. Thirty-two of\nthese were members of the Church. The circumstance was most distressing\nto the authorities and of course brought forth expressions of heartfelt\nsympathy for those bereaved.\n\nThe summer of 1895 was excessively hot, and President Woodruff at his\nadvanced age felt the effects of the heat more severely than ever. It\nwas finally decided that he pay a visit to the western coast, and on\nthe 25th of June, in company with his {590} counselors he left for\nPortland, where he embarked on a visit to Alaska.\n\nOn his return to Utah he paid a visit to the Lake, in August, in\ncompany with Joseph Bannigan. After taking a bath in the water he said\nit was the first time he had bathed there since 1847. It was from\nBannigan that the Church borrowed a large sum of money.\n\nDuring the year, political excitement ran high and considerable\nsensitiveness was manifested about Church influence. Rumors and alleged\ninfluences by leading men were constantly brought to the attention of\nthe President. These reports were a source of considerable annoyance.\nPresident Woodruff said in his journal: \"Papers are publishing lies\nagainst the Presidency of the Church. Presidents of stakes and bishops\nare made to say things which are false. This is done for political\neffect.\" Any attempts to correct false political statements current\nat the time only added fuel to the fire. Utah was on the eve of the\nenjoyment of statehood; both parties were clamoring for supremacy.\nPresident Woodruff frequently manifested the irritation which he felt\nby the constant annoyance to which he was subjected through politicians\nwho were frequently appealing to him.\n\nNovember 21st, 1894, he recorded the death of Lorenzo Dow Young who\nhad come to Utah with the pioneers. He was the last of the brothers of\nPresident Young, and died in his eighty-eighth year. During that year\nElder Woodruff traveled five thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven\nmiles. His time, however, was greatly occupied by the business\ninterests of the Church. Its financial obligations were constantly\ngrowing and the Church had not yet overcome the financial distress\ncreated by the confiscation of its property and the great loss that\ncame to it from litigations in the courts.\n\n{591}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 55.\n\nA GREAT BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, 1897.\n\nAdmission of Utah into the Union.--Political Struggles.--Birthday\nCelebrated.\n\nThe year 1896 brought Statehood to Utah. \"I feel to thank God,\" wrote\nElder Woodruff \"that I have lived to see Utah admitted into the family\nof states. It is an event that we looked forward to for a generation.\"\n\nOn the 4th of January President Cleveland signed the proclamation,\nadmitting the people to statehood. The Enabling Act had been signed on\nthe 7th of July, 1894. Thus a period of a year and a half had elapsed\nduring which the constitution for the new state had been made and the\npolitical preparations looking to statehood had all been consummated.\nIt was ushered in by ringing of bells and firing of guns. Shouts of joy\nproclaimed the glad tidings throughout almost every town and hamlet in\nthe state.\n\n\"Ovando Beebe and Joseph Daynes,\" he continued, \"decorated the front\nof our house with flags and bunting. This day, January 6th, 1896,\ncelebrates our admission into the union. It is quite universal. There\nmay be a few who dislike to see the Saints enjoy a full measure of\nhuman rights. The First Presidency occupied a front place in the\nprocession which marched through the public thoroughfares to the\nTabernacle. We reached that building about noon and found it crowded to\nits utmost capacity.\n\n\"The great American flag, which we all revere, was spread overhead and\nmeasured in length 150 feet, and in width 75 feet. Acting Governor\nRichards called the great assembly to order. The opening prayer, by\nmyself, which was written, was read by George Q. Cannon. A thousand\nvoices sang the 'Star Spangled Banner.' The acting Governor then read\nthe proclamation of President Grover Cleveland; declared the end of the\nterritorial government, and introduced Heber M. Wells, the first state\ngovernor, and other state officials, who upon taking oath of office,\nassumed the positions to which they had been elected.\n\n{592} \"Our enemies have declared that we should never enjoy the\nblessings of statehood. Their words have fallen to the ground and we\nare now in possession of that God-given boon. I am thankful that I live\nto behold this day.\"\n\nHe was naturally reminiscent, he looked back upon a long and arduous\nstruggle of the Saints for those political rights to which they felt\nthemselves entitled. The past was full of acrimony, misgivings, and\nbitter contentions. At last it was decided to cease contention, drop\nthe political struggles in which the People's Party had engaged, and\nplace themselves in harmony with one or another of the great political\nparties of the nation. This seemed the only manner in which what was\nnow becoming a useless controversy could be ended.\n\nAfter all, a division upon political lines brought with it anxieties,\nmisgivings, and dangers. There would be in the Church Mormon Democrats\nand Mormon Republicans. How they would conduct themselves toward one\nanother in the stress and heat of political controversy was a matter\nof no small concern. They would be struggling one against another for\nsupremacy. In an age when the political achievements of men carry with\nthem the highest honors and when almost every other relation of life\nis subordinated to political aggrandizements, there would naturally be\nsome fear lest the Saints, too, should look upon politics, like many\nothers, as the greatest source of honor and power.\n\nIt was soon learned that instead of sitting down side by side in the\ndiscussion of political questions as matters of business importance\nand good government, and of discussing relations thereof in a friendly\nspirit, there grew up animosities, jealousies, and bitterness which\nstill torment the people.\n\nThese political dissentions had their temptations and the gravest\ndangers attended them. Men were thrown indiscriminately into the\nsociety of their follow men, some of whom had no respect for those\nmoral principles which underlie the perpetuity of religion. The spirit\nof politics was one of intoxication. Here and there, young men and\nold staggered and swaggered under its influence. They were without\nrestraint, without reassurance, and were drifting hopelessly. Some\nwere now piled up like driftwood after the subsidence of a flood. A\nfew became so saturated with politics and its attending evils that\nthe light and {593} flame of the spirit have never since awakened and\nenkindled their soggy souls.\n\nSome grew unduly suspicious. Circumstances engendered animosities.\nPassing events tried many to the limit of their endurance. Some soured\nand fell by the wayside. During the early years of statehood the\ninfluence of some of the Church leaders became involved in political\nstruggles.\n\nElder Woodruff's journal discloses the regrets which he experienced\nover such conditions. He lamented the political folly of many, and\nabove all deplored the loss of brotherly love which the political\nexcitement of the times brought about. He felt that trials of one\ncharacter or another were naturally the lot of the Latter-day Saints.\nHe knew that as time went on men would be tempted and tried in\nproportion to their worth and consequence in the world. He was grieved,\nhowever, when he saw men who had apparently been loyal to their duty\nand other obligations in life become the victims of a political mania.\n\nPolitical questions gave rise to long drawn controversies. Some of\nthese controversies involved the faith and even the standing of Church\nmembers. Men sought to argue themselves through the mists and fogs of\npolitical darkness. Many were groping about as if blindfolded. In time\nmost of them emerged from darkness into light. A few lay down by the\nwayside and would not believe what they could not see, and they could\nnot see because of darkness about them. They therefore justified their\nobstinacy which they vainly imagined was courage. During those trying\ntimes men of long standing in the Church and of unsuspected integrity\ncame to President Woodruff in a spirit of anger and babbled like\nthoughtless children. Happily many of them have seen their folly and\nhave learned that the Church guided and controlled by the hand of God,\nrolls on constantly and persistently like the earth in the midst of\nthe heavens. They have learned, too, that though the Church, like the\nearth moving through the mists and fogs, when its course is obscured,\nis nevertheless moving steadfastly and accurately forward according to\nthe laws of its creation. Many have learned, too, that the destines\nof the Church are after all not in the hands of men; for men are the\nmere instrumentalities of a divine purpose; and if those men, having\nwalked according to their light and understanding, pass {594} on into\nthe Great Beyond without moving the Church in the least from the great\norbit prescribed for it by Divine wisdom, what effect can jealousy and\ncriticism have upon it.\n\nWhen brethren came to President Woodruff and declared that all the the\ntroubles of the Church were political troubles he lamented their folly,\ntheir misunderstanding, and the want in them of that divine spirit\nwhich should guide men in every exigency of life.\n\n\"Some men,\" he was wont to exclaim, \"really act as though they were\npossessed by the devil. The Church is not going to pieces. The\nprinciples of God are not falling to the ground. Such men will be\nashamed of themselves some day.\"\n\nHe did not pretend to know why some things happened, but he knew how\nmen ought to behave themselves after they had learned the great lesson\nwhich taught them the destinies of the Church and the duties of a\nLatter-day Saint. Those were remarkable times; their spirit, as far, as\nit can be reflected upon the pages of history, will remain to warn and\ninstruct future generations.\n\nPresident Woodruff's journal of those times discloses a prophetic\ninsight which he had neither the wisdom to explain nor political\nknowledge to appreciate. Questions that were then great issues, and\nabout which grave apprehensions were felt concerning the welfare\nof the Church, are now of no consequence when looked back upon.\nThere were dire predictions which time failed to verify and which\nrecede from every possibility as time goes on. In the Church men are\naffected by the spirit and contentions of the times, but the fate of\nmen and the destiny of the Church are two quite separate matters.\nIn no organizations of the world, and in no institutions of men is\nthe separation between the men who conduct them and the welfare and\nperpetuity of the organizations so great as between the Church of Jesus\nChrist of Latter-day Saints and the men to whose care its interests are\nentrusted.\n\nPolitical forecasts of those days do not tally with current events.\nPresident Woodruff no where in his journal gives any evidence of a\nspirit of despair. He positively refuses to take things so seriously\nas politicians would have him do. Harm to the Church was something he\ndid not comprehend any more than he could comprehend how men could harm\nGod. He manifested {595} sorrow for those whose standard of measurement\nreligiously was a political standard. He was not moved by those grave\nfears which many entertained for the Church. He took as little thought\nof the morrow in his contemplation of God's purposes as any man that\never lived since the days of the Master.\n\nMen crowded about him with their tables of calculations, by which they\nfixed the future welfare of the Church and its threatened destruction.\nHis journal is an interesting revelation of some men's peculiar\nconceptions of the destiny of the Church under the strain and stress\nof those times. He never pretended to follow the intricacies of men's\nreasoning about the future. He recorded their sayings and set over\nagainst them the more sure word of prophecy upon which he rested his\nfaith.\n\nHe might be confused in the labyrinth of details; sophistries might\nawaken in him a spirit of wonderment; arguments might create doubt as\nto the location upon one side or the other of some fact or minor truth,\nbut he was never in any measure of doubt upon the fundamental truth of\nMormonism and its triumphs through divine guidance.\n\nIt was perhaps a most fortunate circumstance that during the troublous\ntimes following statehood, President Woodruff never took seriously to\nheart those events which so greatly stirred the souls of many other\nmen. His native honesty kept him from political speculations which\nwere to him at most, mere guess work. He always felt some confusion\nwhenever he troubled himself about political speculations. He might be\npersuaded how some things would be for the good of the Church, but he\nknew that all things God could turn to good account in its mission to\nthe children of men.\n\nTurning from the considerations of Church and State, he recorded\nthose social pastimes which gave him pleasure. It is remarkable how\ncompletely the different topics about which he writes in his journal\nare separated. However much the intensity of his feelings may be\nmanifested when writing upon some subject, those feelings are not\ncarried into the expression which he uses in describing something else\nthat comes along. In each subject he manifests the peculiar spirit\nwhich belongs to it.\n\nOn the 11th of January that year, he attended a birthday {596} party of\nhis first counselor, George Q. Cannon, who was then sixty-nine years of\nage. \"The family,\" he wrote, \"consisted of twenty-three sons, and ten\ndaughters.\" Family gatherings of that kind were of special interest to\nhim. Patriarchal relations of that character had in them something of\nthe spirit and promise of Holy Writ.\n\nOn March 1st he celebrated his own anniversary. He was then eight-nine.\nAs many of his family as could be convened on that occasion joined in\nthe celebration of their father and grand-father's natal day. All told\nthere were about fifty present. The annual conference of that year\nconvened April 4th. It was largely attended and of special interest\nto the people. A general pronunciamento was issued, in which leading\nChurch men were required to obtain the permission of their superiors\nbefore accepting political obligations that might interfere with the\nexercise of their Church duties. The document set forth at some length\nthe relations of Church and state from a Church point of view. Its\ngeneral acceptance throughout the stakes of Zion was voted upon at both\nstake and ward conferences. As a rule the policy therein set forth was\nreceived as a matter of course by the people generally. In some places\nthere was opposition, and as a consequence some resigned their offices\nin the Church.\n\nTurning from subjects of religious, social, and political importance,\nhe recorded his views at that time upon the question of mining and the\nthought that he had that it might be made profitable to the Church in\nthe liquidation of some of its debts. Such a means, however, of meeting\nthe obligations of the Church did not receive permanent consideration.\nThe general principle prevailed that the methods which the Lord had\ninstituted were really the safest means by which the revenues of the\nChurch might be raised. Besides tithing was a law of God and contained\na blessing for those who observed it. To be sure, there were legitimate\nmeans by which moneys of the Church might be invested, but reliance\nupon speculations in mines came to be regarded as both unsafe and\nunsatisfactory.\n\nHis journal contained a record of important appointments during his\nadministration. He mentioned with special satisfaction the appointment\nof A. W. Ivins to the Presidency of the Juarez Stake of Zion in Old\nMexico. He spoke in words of {597} praise of Rulon S. Wells, and Joseph\nW. McMurrin, who succeeded President A. H. Lund in the European mission.\n\nA matter that affected him greatly was the death of Apostle A. H.\nCannon, who died on the 19th of July, 1896, at the age of thirty-seven.\nThis young Apostle had evidently gained the love and confidence of\nPresident Woodruff, who mourned intensely his death. The funeral of A.\nH. Cannon was deeply impressive and the funeral procession was one of\nthe longest ever witnessed in Salt Lake City. Sometime afterward, and\nwhile on a visit to the coast, he referred to special manifestations\nwhich he had, respecting the young apostle's character and his mission\nin the spirit world. He spoke of his purity, his integrity, and\nhis important mission to the spirit world as the testimony of the\nspirit to him. \"The spirit of God rested upon me at the close of this\nmanifestation in a powerful manner and bore testimony to me of the\ntruth of the revelation to me concerning Abraham H. Cannon.\"\n\nAt the April conference following, he spoke of that, and similar\nmanifestations, and in the course of his testimony, declared that the\nLord does not send angels to the earth except to accomplish a work that\nmen cannot do. The Holy Ghost should be with the Saints at all times to\nreveal to them their duties.\n\nIn his journal of that year, he spoke of the intense suffering which he\nat one time experienced, and said that he was healed instantly by the\nadministration of the Apostles.\n\nThat year, November 5th, witnessed a change in the observance of the\nfast day from the first Thursday to the first Sunday in the month.\n\nThe first day of the new year, 1897, found President Woodruff at\nhome with his family. At his advanced age in life, time was making\ninroad upon his health. He rallied, however, from periods of bodily\ninfirmity, and manifested remarkable renewals of strength. Through it\nall, he was faithful in keeping his journal, which was to him a matter\nof first importance. Other offices and callings might be temporary,\nbut his journal was a life's mission to which he had been called. He\ncould not say what that journal might accomplish in days to come,\nbut he gave to it the fidelity and a devotion that are as inspiring\nas they are characteristic. It is that journal that enables the\nhistorian today {598} to give to the world one of the most remarkable\nand faith-promoting biographies in all the history of the Church. He\nrises from the faithful records of his journal to engage his mind in\nbusiness enterprises. On the 19th of January, 1897, he paid a visit\nto Ogden Canyon, where he viewed with admiration the electric power\nplant and its marvelous machinery. \"I visited all the electric works\nand was overwhelmed with amazement at the ponderous machinery used\nfor the production of electricity. There is a spirit in man, but the\ninspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding.\"\n\nThe celebration of his birthday, February 28th, and March 1st, is a\ndistinct event in his life. The following is a published account of the\noccasion, contained in the _Deseret News_:\n\n\"On Sunday, February 28th, 1897, at 2 p. m., and on the following\nday, Monday, March 1st, at 10 a. m., were exercises in the Tabernacle\nin honor of the ninetieth anniversary of the birth of Elder Wilford\nWoodruff, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,\nand one of the first company of Utah Pioneers that entered the Valley\nof the Great Salt Lake.\n\nFor this occasion the Tabernacle has been beautifully decorated. The\nspeakers' stands are ornamented in white and old gold, with numerous\nflowers and potted ferns and other plants around the organ. The table\nat the foot of the stands is covered with flowers, and in front of\nthis, seats are raised above the floor for President Woodruff and wife\nto occupy during the reception on Monday. Over this is a canopy draped\nwith the Stars and Stripes, with electric lights in the top to throw\nlight upon the couple. This canopy will remain thrown back upon the\ntable until the time of the reception. The upper stand, which will be\noccupied by the President and his wife during the rendering of the\nprogram, has been raised about sixteen inches higher than its usual\nposition, so that a full view can be had of them from every part of\nthe building. In front of and near the top of the organ is a beautiful\nstar composed of sixty-one electric lights; over this, and extending\nfrom south to north across the building is a white streamer bearing the\ninscriptions, \"Glory be to God,\" \"Honor to His Prophet,\" and the three\ndates, 1807, 1847, and 1897. Around the gallery bunting is stretched,\nwith a star over each post, and at the rear of the building is the\ninscription, {599} \"We honor the man so honored of God.\" Above the rear\nof the gallery is a banner on which is painted 1847-1897. Below this is\na Union flag which passed through the war.\n\nA brief sketch of President Woodruff's life was read.\n\nSUNDAY SCHOOL AFTERNOON'S CELEBRATION.\n\nPerhaps the largest number of people that ever assembled in the\nlarge Tabernacle was present Sunday afternoon on the occasion of the\ncelebration by the Sunday schools of President Woodruff's ninetieth\nbirthday. Not only were the seats all occupied, but the aisles were\npacked in every part of the immense building.\n\nFrom the time of the opening of the doors at 1 o'clock, until after 2,\nthe Sunday schools and others continued to pour into the Tabernacle en\nmasse, and when the time arrived to commence the services, all seats\nwere taken, and many people were still outside of the building, while\nseveral entire schools were turned away, the general public, having\ncrowded into the reservation, intended for the children. While there\nwas some confusion, caused by the gathering of such a large number\nof children and getting them seated properly, it must be said that\naltogether they did well and filed in in as orderly a manner as could\nreasonably be expected.\n\nA brilliant effect was produced when the electric current was turned\ninto the globes forming the beautiful double star, and into the word\n\"Utah\" in front of the organ. The latter and the large star were\ncomposed of clear lights, while the small star within was made up of\nred lights. The decorations were very tastily arranged throughout and\nadded greatly to the imposing scene.\n\nThe services commenced at five minutes after two by President George\nQ. Cannon calling the vast assemblage to order and announcing the\nopening hymn, \"We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet,\" which was rendered\nby the entire congregation, under the leadership of Professor Evan\nStephens. Its rendition visibly affected President Woodruff, and made\nit necessary for the honored veteran to wipe the tear-drops from his\neyelids.\n\nAn appropriate and feeling prayer was offered by Elder George Teasdale,\nafter which the Sunday schools rendered the {600} hymn, \"God Speed the\nRight,\" under the leadership of Professor E. K. Bassett.\n\nElder George Goddard, of the general superintendency of Sunday\nschools, addressed the congregation. He stated that it was the largest\nassemblage that had ever been within the walls of the Tabernacle.\nNotwithstanding this, however, he felt that if desired, he could\nsucceed in restoring order such as to hear the dropping of a pin. He\nrequested the children present to note in a book after going home the\nexercises which they had taken part in today. Children should learn\nto keep a history of their lives and incidents connected with the\nexperiences which they had passed through, that in after years they\nmight recall those pleasant days which they had seen while here upon\nthe earth. The speaker then sang the Sunday school hymn \"In Our Lovely\nDeseret,\" the children present joining in the chorus. At the conclusion\nof the song the speaker called upon all those assembled to pray for\nPresident Woodruff and prophesied that if they paid attention to the\nwords of the song just sang, many would live eighty years hence and be\nable to testify to taking part in the exercises of today.\n\nUnder the direction of Elder George Teasdale all the Sunday school\nchildren present recited in concert the Articles of Faith.\n\nProfessor Joseph J. Daynes rendered in pleasing style an organ solo,\nentitled \"My Father's Growing Old.\"\n\nElder George A. Smith gave a short epitome of the life and labors of\nPresident Wilford Woodruff. Closing he said in his lifetime he had\ntraveled 175,00 miles to preach the gospel. He had baptized 2,000 souls\ninto the Church, and had written a journal of 7,000 pages, covering his\nwork for a period of sixty-two years.\n\nTwo verses of the song, \"Is There Anything That We Can Do?\" were sung\nby the congregation, after which Sister Rose Wallace in a felicitous\nspeech presented President Woodruff in behalf of the Desert Sunday\nSchool Union, with a beautiful basket of ninety roses. Sister Wallace\nused these words:\n\n\"President Woodruff, our beloved Prophet and leader: In behalf of\nthe Deseret Sunday School Union, I greet you on this the ninetieth\nanniversary of your natal day, and congratulate you {601} that you have\nreached this advanced age, and rejoice that you are preserved unto us\nin all the power of your glorious manhood and of your high and holy\ncalling.\n\n\"We hope and pray that your life will still be precious in the eyes\nof our Father for years to come; that you may be a blessing and a\ncomfort unto His Saints; and that they shall fill your soul with joy\nunspeakable by their faithful, earnest efforts to do God's will; and\nthat you shall live until every holy desire in your heart is satisfied.\n\n\"We love you, we bless you, Brother Woodruff, with all our soul,\nand thank you for your gentle guidance; for you have been to us 'as\na gentle shepherd leading us through the gloom into the bright and\nglorious day.'\n\n\"And since our feeble words cannot express the love we bear you nor\nthe joy we feel in your presence, we have brought these beauteous\nmessengers of love, ninety roses, whose hearts are laden with the\nexquisite fragrance from our heavenly home where all is love.\n\n  \"They are the roses Reverence and Regard,\n     That know no change,\n  But bloom forever, though the storm be hard\n     And ways grow strange.\n\n  \"They are the roses that I bring to you,\n     Your gaze to greet;\n  To scent the way you take with fragrance true.\n     And make life sweet.\"\n\n  Roses to greet you, with a wish from me,\n     Though skies are drear,\n  Still may the path you take all fragrant be\n     Through all the year.\n\n  \"Though roses born of sunlight and June showers\n     Fade fast away,\n  There are sweet roses grown in wintrier hours,\n     That ne'er decay!\"\n\n{602} President Woodruff then addressed the congregation. He said: \"I\nwant to say to my young brethren and sisters and friends in the Sabbath\nschools established here in the Rocky Mountains, God bless you, and I\nfeel to bless you, as far as I have the power. I want to say that this\nis a scene before me today that has overpowered me--it has overpowered\nmy speech. I would rather not say anything, still I feel I want to make\na few remarks to my friends.\n\n\"I never in my life have been in a similar position to that of today.\nThe scene before me has been a fulfillment of all my prayers from my\nboyhood up to early manhood. Eighty years ago I was a little boy ten\nyears of age attending school the same as you are here in the mountains\nof Israel. I read the New Testament. I read of Jacob; I read of the\nApostles and the Prophets. I could not find a man on the face of the\nearth who taught these principles or believed in them. I prayed to the\nGod of heaven that I might live to see a prophet; that I might live to\nsee an apostle who would say something that would satisfy me like the\nprinciples I read of in the New Testament.\n\n\"Today I stand in the midst of ten thousand young men and women\nof Israel--sons and daughters of prophets, patriarchs and men of\nIsrael. Men who hold the holy priesthood appointed by the God of\nIsrael; appointed in the last days to set up and carry these laws\nand principles of God into effect. It is these principles that we\nwere to look at in the last days. Now I want to say to you as the\nrising generation, I never expected to see a day of this kind in my\nlife, in my early days. I did expect, as it was promised to me, to\nsee a prophet. I have lived to see him. I have traveled with prophets\nand patriarchs and sons of God. I have lived to see this body of\nintelligence of the sons of the living God, who come here to the\nmeetings of Israel.\n\n\"I rejoice in this, for I see before me the nature of the Latter-day\nSaints. We cannot say the Bible is a novel--the Bible that contains\nrevelation. I have passed through the periods of boyhood, early manhood\nand old age. I cannot expect to tarry a great while longer with you,\nbut I want to give to you a few words of counsel. You occupy a position\nin the Church and Kingdom of God and have received the power of the\nholy priesthood. The {603} God of heaven has appointed you and called\nyou forth in this day and generation. I want you to look at this. Young\nmen listen to the counsel of your brethren. Live near to God; pray\nwhile young; learn to pray; learn to cultivate the Holy Spirit of God;\nlink it to you and it will become a spirit of revelation unto you,\ninasmuch as you nourish it. I feel thankful myself that I have lived to\nsee this day. I declare unto you that there are many in the flesh who\nwill remain so until the coming of the Son of Man.\n\n\"This is about all I have to say. I feel thankful to my heavenly Father\nthat I see this scene before us this afternoon; that I see the gospel\nmanifestations on the earth. There has been, as it was stated by our\nbrother, two powers, one to destroy me and the other to save me And God\nin heaven has willed to spare me to see this day. He has given me power\nto reject every testimony and reject every example that leads to evil.\nI say to you children, do not use tobacco, liquor, or any of these\nthings that destroy the body and mind, but honor Him and you will have\na mission upon your heads that the world know not of. May God bless\nyou. Amen.\"\n\nQuartette, \"We Ever Pray for Thee,\" specially written for the occasion\nby Professor Evan Stephens, was nicely rendered by the little Misses\nOlga Peterson, Mamie Mills, Annie Peterson, and Gertrude Kelly, with a\nrefrain by Brother E. K. Bassett's choir.\n\nPresident George Q. Cannon was the next speaker. He said that this was\na most memorable occasion and one that would live long in the hearts\nof those assembled. Ninety years, said the speaker, was a long space\nof time for mankind to live upon the earth. It was gratifying to know\nthat President Woodruff had held the Apostleship in this Church longer\nthan any man that had lived in this dispensation. The Lord had blessed\nPresident Woodruff and had spared him to do a mighty work in helping to\nroll forth the Church and Kingdom of God.\n\nPresident Cannon called the attention of the children to the good work\nwhich had been done by President Woodruff. He had lived a righteous\nlife upon the earth and had been miraculously spared to see the desires\nof his heart made manifest. The speaker exhorted the young to emulate\nthe example set them by {604} President Woodruff, as in their declining\nyears they would rejoice in keeping themselves pure and unspotted from\nthe sins of the world. They should keep the Word of Wisdom and God\nwould add His blessings.\n\nThe hymn, \"Song of Praise,\" was rendered by the Sunday schools.\n\nThe Lord's prayer was recited in concert under the leadership of Elder\nRichard S. Horne of the Sunday School Union Board.\n\nMadame von Finkelstein Mountford was the next speaker. She said: \"We\nare gathered here in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is one of\nthe greatest scenes that I have ever witnessed in my life. To see so\nmany children; it is like coming into the Kingdom of Heaven; and before\nthe honorable President here. He must feel today that he is in the\nKingdom of Heaven; for Christ said: 'Suffer the little children to come\nunto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.' And as these little\nones are singing here, they seem to have come from the heavenly host\nabove singing, 'Glory to God and peace on earth.' Long life and good\nwishes to our noble President, I want to call him my own President. I\nam one of the children of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is one of the\nmemorable days of my life. I am the daughter of Zion--that ancient\ncity Zion--and have the privilege and honor to be in this Zion of the\nwestern hemisphere. All that I can compare this gathering to is the one\nthat was held by those who were led by Moses through the desert--the\nchildren of Israel. While crying for bread Moses said to them, I shall\npray to God to send you bread. The next morning when the children of\nIsrael rose up, they expected to see great loaves of bread lying ready\nto be eaten. They cried, 'Where, oh where is the bread?' Moses said,\n'There is the bread.' That was it, around like little seeds. They said,\n'Manora,' the meaning of which is, 'Do you want to starve us with\nthis bread?' Moses said, 'Go, gather the bread and eat. And they went\nand gathered and ate, and they were filled. That bread from heaven\nwas called in the world, manna. There is where the word originated--a\nsymbol of praise to the Maker. What is this, that God has sent us in\nthe wilderness? By His mighty power He has led us forth by His servant\ninto {605} the desert, into the wilderness, and planted us to dwell\nin this wilderness--brought the children of Israel like mighty Moses\nthrough the wilderness. All that I feel to say is that I truly wish\nlong peace to this State, and I give the glory to the God of Israel. It\nis with you and the children that are here to remember every one of you\nthat you are the temples of the living God. He is living in you, every\none. May you live true to Him as our honorable President has done. He\nis ninety years old, and it is because he has kept himself pure and\nunspotted from the world, that he has lived in the world and yet not of\nthe world, in himself and with God, as His Prophet, that he is honored\nnow. May God preserve his life to these children here, and may they\nfrom generation to generation observe his counsel. May every blessing\nbe with the honorable President of this great movement; and I hope that\nour President will live long, and that God's love will rest upon him.\"\n\nThe closing hymn, \"What Prize Shall Be Your Reward,\" was sung by the\nSunday schools and benediction was pronounced by Elder George Reynolds.\n\nAt the close of the exercises many availed themselves of the\nopportunity to shake hands with President Woodruff, and it was\ntherefore some time before the entire audience was out of the building.\n\nMONDAY MORNING'S CELEBRATION.\n\nAccording to the arranged program President Woodruff's ninetieth\nbirthday was celebrated in the large Tabernacle today, commencing\nat the hour of 10 a. m. Before that time arrived, the body of the\nTabernacle was filled with people and nearly all the seats in the\ngallery were occupied.\n\nThe two center rows of seats for some distance back were reserved\nfor the family and friends of President Woodruff, the members of the\nLegislature and others, until 10:23, at which time the public were\nallowed to fill up the remaining unoccupied seats.\n\nThe Tabernacle choir occupied its usual position, while Held's band was\nstationed in the east end of the gallery and discoursed sweet music at\nintervals during the proceedings.\n\n{606} When President Woodruff appeared on the stand at 10:07 o'clock he\nreceived a perfect ovation. The entire congregation arose in a body,\nand waving their handkerchiefs joined with the choir in singing \"Our\nGod we raise to Thee, Thanks for Thy blessings free, We here enjoy.\"\nThe scene presented during the singing was very beautiful, indeed.\nWhile the crowd was not so large as at yesterday's session, yet all the\nseats were taken and many people were standing in the aisles and on the\nstairways leading to the gallery.\n\nThe proceedings were opened by the Tabernacle choir singing \"Noble\nChief,\" after which prayer was offered by President Joseph F. Smith.\nChoir then sang, \"Hail, Prophet, Brother, Friend.\"\n\nAn address of welcome was then made by President Woodruff. He spoke as\nfollows:\n\n\"I feel highly honored this morning in meeting with so many of my\nfriends upon this important occasion. Yesterday those who were\npresent might have observed my condition. I was perfectly overwhelmed\nin consequence of the scene before me. It was not what was said\nparticularly, but it brought to my mind in overwhelming power my\nboyhood and early manhood and my desires that I might live upon the\nearth to find a people who would receive the gospel of Jesus Christ as\ntaught by Christ and the Apostles. In meeting with thousands of the\nchildren of the Latter-day Saints, it brought to my mind those scenes\nand the fulfillment of my prayers and desires before the Lord.\n\n\"I hope this morning I may be able to make a few remarks. I will say\nthis, it has been a desire of my life from my boyhood up, never to\naddress any assembly of people whom I could not make hear what I had\nto say. I feel the same this morning; I do not know whether I can make\nthis assembly hear me or not; but I will do the best I can.\n\n\"As I can hardly expect ever to have the opportunity of addressing\nthe people of this State and my friends in days to come, I have a few\nreflections upon my mind that I wish to lay before you. And I will say\nthey are different from any of my public speeches that I have been in\nthe habit of presenting to the people. I have consulted no man with\nregard to the course I should pursue {607} in my remarks here this\nmorning, and I do not know that I shall satisfy my friends in the\nremarks that I may make.\n\n\"First, I want to say a few words upon politics. I hope that will not\nastonish you. I have not been in the habit of this heretofore. But I\nfeel desirous to say a few things that are upon my mind. In the first\nplace, there is not one item, not one sentence in the Constitution\nof the United States, nor in the laws of the United States, nor of\nthe State of Utah, that deprives any citizen, of any name, nature,\nreligion, or politics in the land, from joining any political party he\nwishes, or voting for whomsoever he wishes. This is the right of every\nman without hindrance. We have been accused at times of using Church\ninfluence to guide and direct the State. This is occasionally presented\nto the public as our action. I feel it my right and duty to say here\ntoday that I was acquainted with Joseph Smith and associated with him\nfrom 1833 until his martyrdom. I have been acquainted with Brigham\nYoung and associated with him for forty years of my life, at home and\nabroad, under many circumstances. I have also been acquainted with John\nTaylor and labored with him in every capacity in which he was called\nto act. I have also been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles\nfor upwards of fifty-six years of my life. And I have been presiding\nover the Church itself for a few years. I have been associated with my\ncounselors and with the present Twelve Apostles. And I want to say upon\nthis occasion, before God, angels, and all men that are before me, that\nI never in one instance knew any leader of this Church to attempt to\ndictate and direct the affairs of the State as member of the Church.\nAt the same time, when any man, no matter who he is--Mormon, Jew, or\nGentile--uses money or any means to hire men to vote for him, I think\nhe steps outside of his right, and stands in a measure condemned.\n\n\"I want to say so much to my friends this morning. I have officiated\nfor twenty sessions in the Legislative Council of the Territory of\nUtah, and one session as a member of the House, and it did not cost me\none farthing for any office I ever held in the Church, or in the State,\nor in the Territory. And I never asked any mortal man on the face of\nthe earth to cast a vote for me that I have any recollection of. As an\nexample, perhaps, I may be permitted {608} to say, I am the father of\nfourteen sons, and have a number of sons-in-law, and I believe they are\npretty nearly evenly divided on political party lines--Democrats and\nRepublicans. I will give any man five dollars if, in conversing with\nthem, he can get any one of them to say that his father ever told him\nwhom to vote for. Some of you may try to make a little money perhaps at\nthat. (Laughter.) I consider everybody is responsible for himself, and\nhe has a right to vote for whom he pleases.\n\n\"Again, I never asked any office at the hands of any being in heaven\nor on earth, not even of my heavenly Father, except in one instance,\nwhich I will relate here. In my boyhood, as you have heard me testify,\nI went to the Sabbath schools. I read the New Testament. I saw the\ndoctrine there portrayed in plainness, as taught by Jesus Christ and\nHis Apostles, and it was a glorious doctrine. I had a great desire\nto live on the earth until I could see inspired men who could teach\nme those principles that I read of in the New Testament. I prayed a\ngreat deal in my boyhood and my early manhood that I might live on\nthe earth to receive those principles that I there read of. In 1833,\nfor the first time in my life, I saw an elder of the Church of Jesus\nChrist of Latter-day Saints. That was Zera Pulsipher. He told me that\nhe was inspired of the Lord. He was threshing grain in his barn when\nthe voice of the Lord came to him and told him to arise and go to the\nnorth, the Lord had business for him there. He called upon Brother\nCheney, his neighbor, and a member of the Church. They traveled sixty\nmiles on foot, in December, in deep snow, and the first place they\nfelt impressed to call was at the house of my brother and myself. They\nwent into the house and talked with my brother's wife, and they told\nher who they were and what their business was. They told her that they\nwere moved upon to go to the north, and they never felt impressed to\nstop anywhere until they came to that house. When they told her their\nprinciples, she said her husband and her brother-in-law both were men\nwho believed those principles, and they had prayed for them for years.\nThey appointed a meeting in the school-house upon our farm. I came\nhome in the evening and my sister-in-law told me of this meeting. I\nhad been drawing logs from the shores of Lake Ontario (I was in the\nlumber business), and I turned out {609} my horses, did not stop to\neat anything, and went to the meeting. I found the house and the door\nyard filled with people. I listened for the first time in my life to\na gospel sermon as taught by the elders of this Church. It was what\nI had sought for from my boyhood up. I invited the men home with me.\nI borrowed the Book of Mormon, and sat up all that night and read.\nIn the morning I told Brother Pulsipher I wanted to be baptized. I\nhad a testimony for myself that those principles were true. Myself\nand my brother, as was stated here yesterday, went forth and were\nbaptized--the first two in that county. That was the beginning of my\nconnection with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\n\n\"At this point I will ask upon the subject of religion, what are the\nrights of men upon religious subjects? I do not know that I can do\nbetter than to quote Brother Joseph Smith's remarks before thousands\nof people at a conference in Nauvoo, when there were many non-Mormons\npresent. He said, 'If I were the emperor of the world and I had power\nto control the whole human family, I would sustain every man, woman,\nand child in the enjoyment of their religion.' Those are my sentiments\ntoday. I believe every man--Jew, Catholic, Protestant, or anything--has\na right to enjoy his religion unmolested. I believe the Constitution\nof the United States and the laws of the United States guarantee this\nblessing and privilege to everybody. In fact, I believe that even\nRobert Ingersoll and his followers have a right to their opinions and\nto enjoy the same; they have a right to their views with regard to God,\nthe Christ, to the heavens and earth, to the present and the future.\nStill I will say, I believe that when Robert Ingersoll goes into the\nspirit world he will find the Bible is not a novel. He will learn that\nthere if never before. He will learn that the crucifixion of the Lord\nJesus Christ and the sacrifice He made is not a burlesque, but that\nthat was done for the salvation of the world. And he will find that\nthere will be a God there, there will be a heaven there, there will be\na hell there, there will be everything there of which the Bible has\nspoken.\n\n\"In the spring after I was baptized, I went to Kirtland. There I met\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum. I met those men that\nafterwards formed the Quorum of the {610} Twelve Apostles. I traveled\nwith Joseph Smith and with that company of men, two hundred and five\nof them, one thousand miles to the Missouri to assist our brethren in\ntheir difficulties. They had been driven from their homes and their\nlands, from Jackson County into Clay County. We traveled a thousand\nmiles together. There I had my first experience in the dealings of God\nwith His Prophet. I understood perfectly well that he was a prophet.\nI read the vision, I read his revelations, and I knew they could not\ncome from any man on the face of the earth but by the inspiration\nof Almighty God. From Missouri I commenced my mission under Bishop\nPartridge. I will say that while there I had a great desire to preach\nthe gospel. I had that desire from my boyhood up. I had been a miller,\nand I had walked my mill hours and hours in the night, with my soul\nfilled with these desires to preach the gospel to the children of men.\nAt the time I speak of I was a teacher, and had no power and authority\nto go forth and preach. I went one Sunday into the forest in Clay\nCounty. I was living with Lyman Wight, with half a dozen of the signers\nof the Book of Mormon--the Cowderys, the Whitmers, Judge Higbee and\nothers. I went off by myself and prayed to the Lord that I might have\nthe privilege of preaching the gospel to my fellow-men. That is all the\noffice that I ever asked of the Lord or anybody else, as far as that is\nconcerned. While praying, the Lord gave me His spirit and answered me\nthat my prayers were heard and would be answered upon my head, and that\nwhat I had asked for should be given me. I walked two or three hundred\nyards out of the forest into an open--a broad highway--in the midst of\nthe forest, and there I saw Judge Higbee standing in the middle of the\nroad with his arms folded. I walked up to him, and when I got to him he\nsaid: 'Wilford, the Lord has revealed to me that it is your duty to be\nordained to go and preach the gospel.' I said: 'Is that so?' He said:\n'Yes.' 'Well,' said I, 'if the Lord wants me to preach the gospel I am\nready to go and do it to the best of my ability.' I did not tell him\nthat I had been praying for it. My mission commenced there and it has\nnot ended to the present hour. I have had a responsibility resting upon\nme in connection with my brethren.\n\n{611} \"Now, before I close, I will again bear my testimony that this\nwork is of God. This Tabernacle that you are in today was seen by the\nProphet Isaiah and other prophets, and they spoke of it, as well as the\ntemples that are built in the Valleys of the Mountains. All have been\npointed out by the prophets of God, and the Lord revealed to Isaiah,\nJeremiah, and many other prophets, our day, our history, our lives, our\nposition in this immense barren desert which has been occupied by the\nLatter-day Saints, and is as we see it today through the blessings of\nGod. I will bear my testimony to the world, to my friends of the Church\nand the State, and to all men under heaven, that this is the truth of\nGod. The Lord Almighty has set His hand to accomplish this work. Joseph\nSmith was raised up by the power of God and the revelations of Jesus\nChrist to organize this Church and kingdom in the dispensation of the\nfulness of times. His life was short, as was the Savior's. But it was a\ngreat work that he performed in the flesh. The Savior lived about three\nand a half years after He entered the ministry. Joseph Smith lived some\nfourteen years from the time he received the plates and translated them\ninto the English language. He laid down his life, as did Christ and His\nApostles, for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ. He will\nrise in his glorified celestial body and meet again with his brethren\nthe apostles and elders of Israel, and will stand in days to come as\nthe leader among us in celestial glory. I feel to bear my testimony to\nthis. It matters not about the unbelief of men. They cannot turn away\nthe work of Almighty God. The Lord has set His hand to carry out these\ngreat principles which He has revealed, the establishing of the Zion\nof God and the preparation for the coming of the Son of Man. What has\nbeen said about the mountains of Israel will have its fulfillment. The\njudgments of God will follow in the earth in fulfillment of what has\nbeen said, and no power on earth can stay them. I am anxious, although\nmy life has been preserved to this great age, I still am anxious that\nwe as a people may do our duty, may live our religion, may keep the\nfaith, may so walk before the Lord that the Holy Ghost will be our\nconstant companion to lead us in the days that lie before us. This is\nmy prayer and my desire, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.\"\n\n{612} The choir and congregation sang, \"God Moves in a Mysterious Way,\"\nwhich was followed by a short address by President Lorenzo Snow.\n\nPresident Snow bore testimony to the truthfulness of the remarks of\nPresident Woodruff. He had been acquainted with him sixty years,\ncommencing in Kirtland. President Woodruff was a man who had always\nacted in harmony with the leaders of the Church, never taking\nexceptions to the instructions promulgated by those who were in\nauthority. The Church had never acted in hostility to people of outside\ndenominations. It had always encouraged settlement in our midst and had\nattempted to treat all with fairness and respect. The audience to which\nhe spoke was one made up of nearly all classes of people. They had\ngathered on invitation in order to participate in honoring President\nWoodruff on the ninetieth anniversary of his birth.\n\nAll people had a perfect right to worship whom they pleased, but\nthey should do so conscientiously. They could take a lesson from the\nexample set by President Woodruff, as he had lived a life of purity and\nholiness, always trying to make the world better for his having lived.\n\nHeld's band, under the direction of Professor John Held, rendered in\nfine style a medley of beautiful airs.\n\nPresident George Q. Cannon addressed the assemblage. He said that in\nstanding before such a vast audience one was led to feel keenly the\ninsignificance of man. The assemblage recalled to his mind an occasion\nof great joy which took place here in 1849, the purpose being to\ncelebrate the advent of the Pioneers into this Valley. At that time\nfeasting, dancing, etc., was indulged in, and thanks was given to God\nfor the bounteous blessings He had bestowed upon His people.\n\nA great change had taken place since then. The inter-mountain country,\nthen a barren desert, had been quite thickly populated and now\nblossomed as the rose through the efforts of the sturdy, God-fearing\nmen and women who first settled this Valley, coupled with the blessings\nof the Father. President Woodruff had been a husbandman in his day,\nand to him belonged the credit of planting the first potato in the\nValley. This was a most momentous period, and through the ninety years\nof President {613} Woodruff's life, he had witnessed many scenes and\nhad seen a great many changes take place. The gospel of the Lord,\nJesus Christ, had made great strides in the years of its organization,\nand it would continue to grow and flourish in the earth until God's\npurposes had been accomplished. It was destined to revolutionize the\nwhole world, and, if lived up to by the people of the earth, would make\nmankind happier, and give them a hope and a knowledge of that which\nwould greet them in the life to come.\n\nThe entrance of the Pioneers into this Valley would be dwelt upon more\nand more as the years rolled on. The day would come when it would mark\nan epoch in the world's history, and one of the central figures thereof\nwould be President Woodruff, who was being honored to-day. A more\nhonest man it would be hard to find. Always quiet and unassuming, he\nheld a love in his heart for all his fellowmen, and his love had been\nreciprocated by the many friends which he had made while on this mortal\nsphere.\n\nThe speaker felt that the sound of President Woodruff's voice should\nbe engraved upon the cylinders of a phonograph, that in after years\nthe young and rising generation might enjoy its sweet and loving\nvibrations. He was a man of the utmost integrity, and as such he would\nforever be held in loving remembrance.\n\nPresident Cannon, in conclusion, felt not to praise too highly mankind,\nfor he feared that the Saints by so doing would almost become man\nworshipers. But the words which had been spoken concerning President\nWoodruff were true, and his devotion and fealty to the work of God\nbrought out a desire among the Saints to do him honor. He was the only\nliving apostle that had acted in such capacity with the Prophet Joseph\nSmith, and as such he was looked upon as a rare treasure. The speaker's\ndesire was that God would spare President Woodruff's life among us,\nthat he might live many years more to be a comfort and a consolation\nunto the Latter-day Saints. This, said he, would undoubtedly be the\nprayer of all the Latter-day Saints upon the earth.\n\nThe choir sang the anthem, \"Let the Mountains Shout for Joy,\" directly\nfollowed by the congregation arising and joining {614} in singing the\nDoxology. Benediction was pronounced by Elder Brigham Young.\n\nAt the conclusion of the exercises the reception was begun, President\nand Mrs. Woodruff being seated on arm chairs beneath a canopy of\nbunting and surrounded by masses of beautiful flowers. The first to\nshake hands with the venerable President and his wife was Governor\nHeber M. Wells. Then followed members of the Legislature, the lady\nmembers first, and the gentlemen afterwards. Then came the general\npublic, the reception lasting upward of an hour.\n\nAn elegant bed spread was presented to President Woodruff from the\nladies of Millville, Cache County. The material of which it was made is\nmostly Utah silk, and the spread was made by the ladies of Millville,\nthe design being artistically executed with crochet work. The spread\nwas accompanied by a note of presentation, which read as follows:\n\n_\"To Wilford Woodruff, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints:_\n\n\"DEAR BROTHER:--We, the sisters of Millville ward, Cache Valley Stake\nof Zion, in token of the high esteem, honor and respect in which you\nare held by us, embrace this opportunity, on the 90th anniversary\nof your birth, to present to you a spread, the workmanship of which\nis that of our own hands. It was made for the World's Fair, sent to\nChicago, received first prize, and returned to us. We now present it to\nyou. We also congratulate you on your reaching the ninetieth milestone,\non the road of experiences and usefulness, in leading the Saints along\nthe lines of faithfulness and truth, in the worship of our Heavenly\nFather. We extend to you our faith and prayers, that you may continue\nto live, to be our leader in the cause of Christ, and to this end we\nwill ever pray. Yours truly, Rose Woolf, chairman, Esther Hammond,\nSarah H. Hammond, Ida Hammond, S. M. Yates, Rhoda Holt, Hennett Olson,\nMiranda Biglow, committee.\"\n\nWith the presentation of a beautiful bouquet, the Latter-day Saints'\nCollege, by Miss Bertha Wilcken, submitted the following:\n\n{615} March 1st, 1897.\n\n\"_To President Woodruff and Wife_:\n\n\"All Israel sends greetings to their leader and companion. As one branch\nof the great cause in which you have labored so long and so well, we\njoin in the general acclamation. \"As cold water to a thirsty soul,\" so\nhave been your faithful ministrations to the people of God. May the\nsands of your life run slowly and calmly to the end, the snows of age's\nwinter following safely and protectingly upon you. May He who is the\nFather of all be a Parent and Protector in your declining years.\n\n\"With deepest affection,\n\n\"Your Brethren and Sisters,\n\n\"The Teachers and Students of the Latter-day Saints College.\"\n\nA beautiful silver mounted cane was presented by the Temple workers.\n\nThe anniversary exercises were attended by several persons who were\nbaptized by President Woodruff in Great Britain nearly sixty years\nago, while he was filling a mission there which lasted from 1837 to\n1841. There were also some present who accompanied President Woodruff\nhome from Great Britain in the year 1841, crossing the sea in the ship\nRochester.\n\nWriting afterwards of that great day in his life, in his journal, he\nsaid: \"The scene completely overpowered me. The events of my childhood\nand early manhood came to my mind. I remembered vividly how I prayed\nto the Lord that I might live to see a prophet or an apostle who would\nteach me the gospel of Christ. Here I stood in the great Tabernacle\nfilled with ten thousand children, with Prophets, Apostles, and\nSaints. My head was a fountain of tears; still I addressed the mighty\ncongregation of pure, innocent children.\"\n\nSuch a celebration naturally made its demands upon his health and it\nwas generally noticed that he was growing weaker and that he could\nnot much longer tabernacle in the flesh. On the 6th of April, he\nentered the Tabernacle and spoke to the congregation for about ten\nminutes. Upon entering the building {616} the vast congregation waved\ntheir handkerchiefs as an expression of their joy in beholding their\nenfeebled, but venerable President. He struggled on in his efforts to\nperform as far as possible the duties of his office.\n\nJuly 19th, 1907, President Woodruff received a visit from Judge J. F.\nKinney, a former United States justice of the Territory, and a friend\nto the people. Of this meeting the President says:\n\n\"Our greeting was mutual. We both wept. As soon as I could speak, I\nsaid, 'Judge Kinney, you have done more for the 'Mormon' people in your\nofficial capacity than all the other federal officials sent here by the\ngovernment.' He thanked me and said he had always endeavored to do his\nduty as he understood it. We had a pleasant conversation for an hour,\nwhen we parted, expecting to meet again.\"\n\nOf July 20th, 1897, President Woodruff remarks:\n\n\"This is the first day of the proceedings in celebrating the fiftieth\nanniversary of the entrance of the Pioneers into the valley of the\nGreat Salt Lake--the year of jubilee. Great preparations have been\nmade. This morning I drove to the stand erected near the Brigham Young\nMonument, where most of the ceremonies of the day are to be held. After\nthe firing of cannon and so forth, the ceremonies commenced. I had\nprepared a prayer, but not being able to deliver it, Bishop Orson F.\nWhitney did so for me. During the proceedings I unveiled the monument\namid acclamations of the people. I also attended the proceedings at the\nTabernacle in the afternoon and received a beautiful gold badge, as did\nalso all the surviving Pioneers of 1847. There was also a grand concert\nat the Tabernacle in the evening. Being too weary, I did not attend.\"\n\nHe continued to attend each day of the celebration and on the\ntwenty-fourth, seated in a carriage with President Joseph F. Smith and\nApostle F. D. Richards, he headed the great Pioneer parade.\n\nOf July 22, 1897, he writes, \"I attended a part of the services of the\nJubilee on children's day in the Tabernacle. At twelve-thirty, after\nbeing seated on a chair provided for me, I had a laurel wreath placed\nupon my head by a beautiful little girl, daughter of {617} John and Ida\nTaylor Whittaker, and granddaughter of President John Taylor. I kissed\nher, saying, 'God bless you.' This was in the presence of some twelve\nthousand children, seated in the Tabernacle, a most beautiful sight.\"\n\nAugust 14, 1897, President Woodruff signed a letter, prepared by\nBrother David McKenzie, and addressed to the King and Queen of Sweden.\nIt was to be accompanied by a beautiful Utah onyx box, containing\nan artistically bound Book of Mormon, to be presented by the Swedes\nand Norwegians of Utah to the King and Queen on the twenty-fifth\nanniversary of their coronation. Elder J. M. Sjodahl was to make the\npresentation. The King and Queen accepted the present with gratitude\nand respect. Following is the text of the letter:\n\nLETTER FROM THE FIRST PRESIDENCY.\n\n\"_To Whom These Presents May Come_,\n\n\"GREETING:\n\n\"Elder Janne Matson Sjodahl, the bearer of this letter, is a gentleman\nof education and distinction, a Swede by birth, who has traveled\nextensively in the Orient as well as in Europe and America. His present\nresidence is Salt Lake City, Utah, where he is well and favorably known\nand highly esteemed by all who know him.\n\n\"Elder Sjodahl has been selected by his fellow-countrymen--natives of\nSweden and Norway, a large body of whom reside in and are citizens of\nthe State of Utah--to proceed to the court of their {618} Majesties,\nKing Oscar II and Queen Sophia, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary\nof their ascension to the throne, for the purpose of presenting in\ntheir name and behalf, to their Majesties, a casket, made of Utah\nonyx, containing a copy of the Book of Mormon, as an expression of\nthe high esteem, affection, and love which the Scandinavians of this\ninter-mountain region entertain for their Majesties, with the hope and\nearnest desire that their Majesties will live to witness many happy\nreturns of this most auspicious event.\n\n\"And we ourselves, though not of the Scandinavian race, do most\nheartily join with our Scandinavian friends and fellow citizens\nin desiring long life, peace, prosperity, and happiness for their\nMajesties, King Oscar II and Queen Sophia of Sweden and Norway.\n\n\"WILFORD WOODRUFF,\n\n\"GEO. Q. CANNON,\n\n\"JOSEPH F. SMITH,\n\n\"First Presidency of the Church of\n\n\"Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\n\n\"SALT LAKE CITY, U. S. A., August 20th, 1897.\"\n\nThat the king was very much pleased with the congratulations and gifts\nof the Scandinavians in Utah and the address from the First Presidency\nmay be inferred from the fact that the bearer received a cordial\ninvitation to the grand banquet in the palace, and later a copy de luxe\nof the proceedings of the jubilee.\n\nOn the 9th of the following September, he again started for the Pacific\ncoast where he had formerly found relief as well as recuperation. He\nfirst went to Portland and then to San Francisco, and reached home on\nthe 25th of the same month.\n\nThe following October conference brought to his life an event which\ngave him the deepest satisfaction. His joy is abundantly expressed in\nthe call which his son Owen received to be one of the Twelve Apostles.\nAt this conference, Matthias F. Cowley, as well as Owen Woodruff, was\ncalled to be an apostle, and Joseph W. McMurrin to fill the vacancy\noccasioned by the death of President Edward Stevenson of the First\nCouncil of Seventy.\n\nNovember 16th, 1897, President Woodruff performed the marriage ceremony\nwhich united his daughter Alice to William McEwan. After bestowing upon\nthem his benediction, he spoke to them as follows: \"You are now husband\nand wife, having entered into a mutual covenant. Promises for time and\neternity have been made to you. If you, yourselves, honor God and your\nparents, and keep His commandments and the covenants you have entered\ninto, you will be true and faithful throughout all eternity; and I\nwill tell you why. While we are here we are surrounded by temptations\nbecause we are where devils dwell. They are around us and have power\nto tempt us; and here is the place they work. But there is no man or\nwoman who has been true and faithful here until death that will ever\nbe disturbed or annoyed by {619} them after death, for the reason that\nwhen faithful Saints receive their resurrected bodies they will occupy\na place in the celestial kingdom, and there devils do not dwell. In\nthat kingdom there will be no one to tempt you or lead you astray. If\nyou are true and faithful here you will be true and faithful there, and\nbe so throughout all eternity.\n\n\"When those who are guided by these evil spirits die they go where the\nevil spirits are, and they will continue to have power over them. Those\nwho resist such spirits in the flesh will be free from their power\nhereafter.\"\n\nAt April conference in 1898, he was present and spoke for a few\nmoments, but this was the last conference he ever attended. He\ncontinued feeble throughout the spring and summer of that year, but\nstruggled to attend the duties of his office.\n\nThe last appearance of President Woodruff in a public capacity in\nSalt Lake City was at the ceremonies connected with the dedication of\nhistoric Pioneer square for a public park. This was on July 24th, the\nfifty-first anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers in the Valley.\nBut of the one hundred and forty-eight who entered the Valley on that\nhot summer day in 1847, only two, President Woodruff, and W. C. A.\nSmoot, were present to see their former camping ground dedicated to the\npublic use. Upon this occasion the venerable Church president delivered\nan interesting address. He indulged in a number of reminiscences of the\nentrance of the pioneers on July 24th, 1847. The pioneers, of which he\nwas one, President Woodruff said, emerged from Emigration canyon at\n11 o'clock in the forenoon, and driving down into the Valley, camped\nnear where the Knutsford hotel now stands. He was driving in President\nBrigham Young's carriage, at the time, and several members of the party\npreceded them. The forerunners had already broken ground in which to\nplant potatoes, \"and,\" the speaker added, \"we planted them before we\neither ate or drank. We planted them in the earth, too, because Orson\nPratt objected to planting them in the moon.\" (Laughter.) The carriage\nin which President Young entered the Valley, President Woodruff said,\nwas built by a man in Nauvoo. The box was twelve feet long and was\nentered from the side by a door.\n\nPresident Woodruff then told of the walk which President {620} Young\ntook over the present site of the city the day after his arrival, and\nof how he stuck his cane in the ground where the Temple now stands, and\nmade the historic declaration: \"Here will be the Temple of our God.\" \"I\ndidn't ask him,\" continued President Woodruff, \"who told him the Temple\nwould be there. I didn't care. I put a stake there and the Temple\nis there, a monument to President Young's foresight and prophetic\naccuracy.\"\n\nPresident Woodruff also told of the first trip to the Lake, and of\nthe bath which he and the other members of the party took at that\ntime. \"One of our number,\" he said, \"was a negro, and when he came\nout and the salt water had dried upon him he was almost white. Porter\nRockwell declared that the sudden change in the negro's color was the\nfirst miracle that had been performed in this part of the country.\n(Laughter). But as soon as the salt came off he was as black as ever.\n(Laughter).\"\n\nReference was then made to the efforts of a Californian to induce\nPresident Young to journey on to California, and his refusal to\nconsider such a proposition. He declared his intention at that time of\nremaining here and building a temple, a city and a country, \"and you\ncan judge for yourselves,\" President Woodruff added, \"whether he did it\nor not.\"\n\nPresident Woodruff predicted that the population of the State would\nincrease as rapidly during the coming fifty years as it had in the\npast fifty; and in connection with the past progress, he declared that\nhe was in duty bound to give President Young full credit for what he\nhad done. President Young, he said, had been inspired by God to do all\nthese things, and had done them well. In closing he admonished the\npeople to live their religion and do honor to God in order that they\nmight join President Young and the other pioneers in the world above.\n\nHe again sought relief in a change of atmosphere and surroundings. On\nthe 13th of August, he left for the Pacific coast. He was accompanied\nby his wife, Emma, by George Q. Cannon, and Bishop Clawson. Upon their\narrival in San Francisco, they were welcomed at the home of Col. Isaac\nTrumbo. As late as August 27 he addressed the Bohemian Club, and the\nnext day spoke in the meeting of the Saints in San Francisco. This was\nhis last public address. His life was gradually ebbing away, and within\na couple of weeks after reaching the coast he began {621} to fail\nrapidly, and passed from this life at 6:40 Friday morning, September\n2nd, 1898.\n\nOf his last moments, George Q. Cannon, who was at his bedside, wrote in\nhis journal: \"I arose about 6 o'clock. The nurse told me he had been\nsleeping in the same position all the time. I took hold of his wrist,\nfelt his pulse and I could feel that it was very faint. While I stood\nthere it grew fainter and fainter until it faded entirely. His head,\nhis hands, and his feet were warm and his appearance was that of a\nperson sleeping sweetly and quietly. There was not a quiver of a muscle\nnor a movement of his limbs or face; thus he passed away.\n\n\"I cannot describe the feelings I had. The event was so unexpected, so\nterrible--and away from home. I could not understand it. I felt that I\nhad lost the best friend I had on earth. The suddenness of his sickness\nand death was a blow to all of us. I have known President Woodruff\nsince I was a boy twelve years of age, when he came to my father's\nhouse. I have loved him with great affection. During my association\nwith him as a counselor, our relations have been of the most pleasant\ncharacter. He has treated me with the greatest consideration and\nkindness and has honored me beyond my deserts. He has deferred to me\nmany times when I felt that he was paying me too much respect. He has\nsought to know my mind upon every question of any importance that has\nbeen submitted to us. Very frequently when I have been absent, he has\ndeferred action until I could be present. No man that ever lived could\nhave honored a counselor more than President Woodruff has honored me.\nHe was a man entirely free from jealousy and from every feeling that\nwould make it unpleasant for his associates. He has been angelic in his\nnature. A pure woman could not have been more lovely and interesting to\nassociate with than he has been.\"\n\nThe remains of the deceased leader were conveyed from San Francisco\nto Salt Lake City in a special car. As many of the members of the\nTwelve as were in the city, together with a number of the President's\nfamily, met the party accompanying the body, at Ogden on the morning\nof September 4, and joined them for the remainder of the journey to\nthe capital. From the railway station the casket and its contents were\ncarried to the Woodruff {622} residence, where they remained until the\n8th inst.--the day of the funeral.\n\nOn May 18, 1882, President Woodruff wrote the following directions\nas to his burial, which he wished carried out by his friends when he\nshould pass away:\n\n\"CONCERNING MY DEATH AND BURIAL.\n\n\"I wish to say that at my death I wish the historian of the Church to\npublish a brief account of my life, labors, and travels as an Elder and\nan Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wish\nmy body washed clean and clothed in clean white linen, according to the\norder of the Holy Priesthood, and put into a plain, decent coffin, made\nof native wood, with plenty of room. I do not wish any black made use\nof about my coffin, or about the vehicle that conveys my body to the\ngrave. I do not wish my family or friends to wear any badge of mourning\nfor me at my funeral or afterwards, for, if I am true and faithful\nunto death, there will be no necessity for any one to mourn for me. I\nhave no directions to give concerning the services of my funeral, any\nfurther than it would be pleasing to me for as many of the Presidency\nand Twelve Apostles who may be present to speak as may be thought\nwisdom. Their speech will be to the living.\n\n\"If the laws and customs of the spirit world will permit, I should wish\nto attend my funeral myself, but I shall be governed by the counsel I\nreceive in the spirit world.\n\n\"I wish a plain marble slab put at the head of my grave, stating my\nname and age, and that I died in the faith of the Gospel of Christ and\nin the fellowship of the Saints.\n\n\"WILFORD WOODRUFF.\n\n\"President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles.\"\n\n{623}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 56.\n\nFUNERAL SERVICES.\n\n(From the Deseret News.)\n\nAfter more than ninety-one years of incessant activity and immeasurable\nusefulness upon the earth, the mortal tabernacle of President Wilford\nWoodruff was to-day laid to rest in the silent city above the\nmetropolis that he helped to found and to build. The final offices\nassociated with the consignment of his remains to the plain and\nsubstantial tomb in which they were deposited were most kindly and\nreverently administered. Never was a great and good man more loved by\nhis people than he, and perhaps a people never exhibited the love and\nrespect they held for a leader to a greater extent than did the tens of\nthousands who attended his obsequies and witnessed the funeral cortege\nas it passed through the streets to the cemetery. Bared and bowed heads\nwere everywhere in the multitude upon the streets. When words were\nspoken it was with subdued voices, and all that was said was said with\nrespect and honor for the departed pioneer, builder, and statesman.\n\nProbably not for years to come will such a spectacle as that which\nwas presented this morning be again witnessed. Long before 8 o'clock\nanxious throngs had congregated in groups around the Temple square,\nawaiting the opening of the outer gates that seats might be obtained;\nfor well was it anticipated that mighty hosts would throng the sacred\nprecincts of the Tabernacle to pay by their presence the last sad\ntoken of respect to the dead leader in Israel. Therefore the scene was\na remarkable one. Nothing, however, occurred to mar the solemnity of\nthe great occasion. The hush of expectation was felt by all as they\nstood in the shade of the Temple block walls, and all around under\nthe sheltering trees, and one could not but feel that, with the deep\nsolemnity prevailing and the tremor of sunshine that some sweetly\nsolemn thought brought to mind as the moments passed, he was standing\non the verge of the valley of Death. {624} Not, however, with any\nfeeling of gloom, because of the great bereavement the people felt that\nthey sustained in the demise of their beloved President, but because of\nthe joy that emanated from their hearts and beamed from their eyes.\n\nIt was more than an hour and a half before the services in the\nTabernacle began. When the doors were opened the great auditorium was\nalmost filled. The people continued to pour in by every door; nearly\nevery seat was taken before ten o'clock, except those reserved for the\nfamily of the deceased and the families and friends of the highest\nofficials of the Church. These, however, were all occupied before the\nappointed time for the services to begin.\n\nOutside the building, while the crowds were pressing forward, Marshal\nBurton and his aids, mounted on magnificent horses, were busy directing\nthe movements of the attendant hosts. Without and within, the scene was\nthe same, and when all who could obtain sitting or standing room in\nthe great building were at length in position, one could not help but\nrevert in his mind to similar occasions in the past. Perhaps no similar\nscene ever surpassed this of to-day even in the camps of ancient\nIsrael, or in the gatherings that have been depicted by historic pen\nfrom the days when Greece and Rome paid tribute to their dead. There\nwas no pageantry or panoply of strange device; no pomp of show or\nbombastic sorrow; nothing but united homage and love.\n\nIt was just 10 o'clock when the body of President Woodruff was borne\ninto the confines of the square and thence carried down the north aisle\nof the Tabernacle to its central position on the dais before the stand.\nAs the procession entered, fully ten thousand people with uncovered\nheads, rose in respect, as the casket passed along its way, and so\nquiet was the rising that it seemed like the gentle rustling of autumn\nleaves.\n\nThousands unable to gain admittance to the Tabernacle thronged and\npressed around the entrances and walls in hope of hearing a word\nof sound from the hallowed precincts within, that would touch a\nsympathetic chord in their responsive hearts, while thousands more\nlingered for hours under the kindly shelter of the numerous trees that\nornament the spacious grounds within the square, that they might, when\nopportunity arrived, join in the procession to the grave. {625}\n\nFROM THE HOME.\n\nThe scenes around the late home of the venerable President were such\nas are usual in the presence of death. The family of the deceased\nand the general authorities of the Church were gathered around the\nbier, and gentle, loving hands bore the casket to the waiting hearse.\nWoodruff Villa was left by the cortege at twenty minutes past nine, and\nthe procession wended its way from Fifth East to Sixth South, thence\nto State Street, thence north to South Temple, thence west to East\nTemple, and proceeding round the Temple block reached the north gate\nof the square at five minutes past ten. The casket was then borne into\nthe Tabernacle by six bearers, whose names are as follows: Dr. L. W.\nSnow, Dr. M. W. Snow, Wilford S. Woodruff, James Woodruff, Jr., Georges\nScholes, and Wilford Woodruff Beatie. The family of the President\nfollowed immediately behind and then came the general authorities of\nthe Church, the Twelve Apostles, and others, and the casket was placed\nupon the dias in front of the stand where it could be seen by the\nassembled thousands, who rose en masse during the proceeding.\n\nCEREMONIES AT THE TABERNACLE.\n\nAt 10:35, the Tabernacle being then crowded to its utmost capacity,\nProfessor Joseph J. Daynes rendered on the organ a march composed\nespecially for the occasion. Its rendition was the signal for\nreverential attention, all seeming to feel to the greatest extent the\nutter solemnity of the occasion.\n\nOf the general authorities, there were present on the stand:\n\nCounselors to the late President Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon,\nand Joseph F. Smith.\n\nOf the Twelve Apostles: Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham\nYoung, Francis M. Lyman, John Henry Smith, George Teasdale, Heber J.\nGrant, John W. Taylor, Mariner W. Merrill, Anthon H. Lund, Matthias F.\nCowley, and Abraham O. Woodruff.\n\nPresiding Patriarch, John Smith.\n\nOf the First Seven Presidents of Seventies: Seymour B. {626} Young,\nChristian D. Fjeldsted, B. H. Roberts, George Reynolds, and J. Golden\nKimball.\n\nThe Presiding Bishopric: Wm. B. Preston, Robert T. Burton, and John R.\nWinder.\n\nThe Presidency of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion.\n\nPresident George Q. Cannon announced the opening hymn, on page 357 of\nthe L. D. S. Hymn book, commencing as follows:\n\n  \"Thou dost not weep, to weep alone;\n     The broad bereavement seems to fall\n  Unheeded and unfelt by none;\n     He was beloved, beloved by all.\"\n\nThe hymn was sung with much pathos and feeling by the Tabernacle choir,\nafter which Elder F. D. Richards, of the Quorum of the Apostles,\noffered prayer. It was a fervent offering, replete with thankfulness to\nGod the Father for His many blessings unto the Latter-day Saints; for\nHis having raised up such a faithful and devoted servant as President\nWilford Woodruff, and for the great good that he was enabled to do\nwhile sojourning here upon the earth. Elder Richards invoked the\nblessings of God upon the bereaved family and especially upon President\nWoodruff's son Owen, who had been called to the holy Apostleship, and\nasked that he might be a man of God, like his father, unto the family.\n\nElder George D. Pyper and the choir sang the hymn:\n\n  \"O my Father, Thou that dwellest\n     In the high and glorious place,\n  When shall I regain Thy presence,\n     And again behold Thy face?\n  In Thy holy habitation\n     Did my spirit once reside,\n  In my first primeval childhood\n     Was I nurtured near Thy side.\"\n\nDuring the musical exercises, the inscription, \"Being Dead Yet\nSpeaketh,\" was displayed by means of electric lights, the same {627}\nappearing just over a life-size likeness of President Woodruff, and\nhaving an excellent effect.\n\nPRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH\n\nwas the first speaker. He said in substance: It would be superfluous\nfor me to attempt to enter into an historical relation of the great\nevents of the life of our own great President, Wilford Woodruff.\nIt would also seem unnecessary for me to attempt to eulogize his\ncharacter, and labors as a husband, a father, and a servant of God,\nbecause his life was so well known to the people. President Woodruff\nwas the fourth in succession who has occupied the exalted position\nof President, Seer, and Revelator to the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints upon the earth. It was my privilege, when a child, to\nwitness the funeral services over the remains of the first President,\nJoseph Smith, and to know him as a child may know a man. He was absent\nin England on a mission at the death of President Young, and was unable\nto attend the services of John Taylor. But he was glad to be present\non this occasion, and to have the privilege of mingling his words and\ntears with those of his brethren over one of the late Presidents,\nwhose labors had been so blessed to the people of God. He was thankful\nfor the privilege of associating from his youth to his manhood with\nthe four Presidents of the Church. He was intimately associated with\nBrigham Young, and had the benefit of his wise counsel; and in his\nintimate associations with Presidents Taylor and Woodruff, he had\nexperienced great joy, and had found them to be all that the people of\nGod held them up to be before the world. Those who thought that these\nmen had sinister motives and were not actuated by the purest desires,\nhad been greatly deceived, or exceedingly ignorant. No men with whom he\nhad been associated had lived purer lives. They had not sought to build\nthemselves up, but to save souls and to establish truth in the earth.\nThey had been sincere in their convictions, and in the inspiration they\nhad received from God. He was a living witness that Joseph Smith had\nbeen raised up to usher in the dispensation of the fulness of times.\nPresident Woodruff had shown his greatness in giving out {628} his\nlife's labor for the establishment of this testimony in the earth. The\nday would soon be passed when infidel tongues would ridicule the claims\nof the Church of Christ, and the work of such men as President Woodruff\nwould soon be established and acknowledged in the world; for he had\nexemplified all its truths and principles in his life, manifesting his\nfaith and knowledge by his works. He had recognized the fact that in\nthe light of this knowledge his whole trust and duty was to show his\nfaithfulness to it.\n\nJoseph Smith, the Prophet, was misunderstood by the world, and was not\npermitted to live beyond his young manhood, but his name was worthy\nof all honor; for he was raised up of God, and was not an imposter, a\ndeceiver, or deceived. Men might imagine what they would, but there\nwere many thousands of people who could testify of their own knowledge,\nthrough the testimony of the Holy Ghost, that he was raised up by the\nLord to usher in the glorious coming of the Kingdom of God. This he\ndid in order that men might be enlightened; for the glory of God is\nintelligence, that men and women might be brought to a knowledge of the\ntruth. This perfect knowledge was to be brought to their souls through\nthe ministration of the Holy Spirit, which bears record of the things\nof God; by which even the ignorant fishermen who followed our Lord,\nmight know that Jesus is the Christ. Only by this means could such a\nknowledge be obtained.\n\nThe speaker paid a strong tribute to President George Q. Cannon,\nLorenzo Snow, and Franklin D. Richards, and their faithfulness to the\nPresidents who had passed away. Of President Woodruff, he said he did\nnot think he had any feeling in his heart to injure any man, but he\nhad labored to do good in the world. No greater work had he done than\nin the exemplification, in his life, of all the principles he had\nespoused, and in his integrity to his brethren in all conditions. He\nwas made of the material of which martyrs are made; for he faced death\nmany times for the sake of his brethren and the cause of Zion, and\nnever quailed in the face of danger, no matter who of his associates\nmay have proved themselves traitors.\n\nPresident Smith hoped that he and all others might follow in all their\nlives the path marked out by the deceased President. {629} He prayed\nfor the blessings of God on the bereaved family, that they might follow\nthe life work of their great leader, in which case their salvation\nwould be sure.\n\nA solo and chorus entitled, Beautiful City, was then sung by Sister\nMaggie C. Hull and the Temple choir, under the leadership of Professor\nC. J. Thomas.\n\nPRESIDENT SNOW SPEAKS.\n\nPresident Lorenzo Snow then spoke. He said he was very much pleased\nand delighted to see such a vast multitude assembled for the purpose\nof honoring President Woodruff. He had been acquainted with President\nWoodruff sixty-two years, a good portion of the time quite intimately.\nAll that has been said of him was fully worthy of the life which he had\nled. President Snow did not feel as some perhaps felt, that the passing\nof one into another sphere of action was a disaster. Such a change\nhad been decreed from the beginning. There were periods in the lives\nof people that were highly important and one was the preparation for\nentrance upon this sphere of action. President Woodruff had fulfilled\nhis calling. His sojourn here upon earth had been as near perfection\nas it was possible for mankind to make it so. It was the duty of\nevery individual to do all he could to rectify the mistakes common\nto humanity. All were born subject to error and therefore perfection\ncould not be expected of the human family. It was possible for mankind\nso to order their lives as to gain for themselves an exaltation in\nthe Kingdom of God, and to be proud of the record made when they were\ncalled into another world. President Woodruff had had such an object in\nview from his early manhood. He had become acquainted with the gospel\nof Jesus Christ, and sought to live a life such as would entitle him to\nall the blessings in store for the faithful. This was a satisfaction\nto his family, as he had left behind him an example that would make\nof them honored and useful instruments in the hands of God, if they\nfollowed it.\n\nPresident Snow spoke of the vacancy in the Presidency caused by the\ndeath of President Woodruff. Many people, said he, had been led to\nwonder and imagine how the affairs of the Church were to be carried on.\nThe gospel in its completeness, {630} said the speaker, made provision\nfor these changes. The work would roll on uninterruptedly as it had\ndone, succeeding the death of the Prophet Joseph and the death of\nPresident Brigham Young and John Taylor. On the death of the President\nof the Church, the responsibility fell upon the Quorum of the Twelve\nApostles, and so it would, on this occasion. The Quorum of Apostles,\nsaid President Snow, was never as able to handle such a responsibility\nas it was at the present time. It was fully organized, and the brethren\nwere in perfect union and accord with one another, and faithful and\ndevoted to the trust reposed in them. Presidents Cannon and Smith\nwere men of God, full of faith and devotion to the cause, and their\nwork in rolling on the kingdom would be greatly appreciated and felt.\nThere was no danger as to the outcome of the work of God. It had been\nestablished for a purpose, and that purpose would be accomplished, and\nthe Church progress and increase in the earth, no matter how many of\nthe authorities were called to another sphere.\n\nELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS\n\nof the Council of the Apostles, followed. So far as one man could\nenter into the feelings of another, he felt to adopt as his own the\nwords of his brethren regarding the greatness and goodness of his late\nPresident. He spoke of the first time he met Wilford Woodruff, and\nstated that he was impressed very strongly with the directness and\nsimplicity of his character, and his prefect guilelessness. He had\nbeen a great exemplar of the work in which he had been engaged, by his\nimplicit obedience to the dictates of the spirit. This had been one of\nthe great features of his life. Another had been the keeping of a diary\nof his actions and the history of the Church, from his first connection\nwith it to the day before his death, which would be most valuable as a\ncompendium of the progress of the work. Elder Richards urged the elders\nto follow the example of President Woodruff in this regard. His healing\npower had been strongly manifested on many occasions, one striking\ninstance being related by the speaker.\n\nAlthough at the death of the three former Presidents not all the\nApostles had been permitted to be present, yet on this occasion, {631}\nthe speaker was pleased to announce, all the members of the Quorum were\npresent.\n\nPresident Woodruff's enemies had been led to become his friends. He had\nassisted in the building and dedication of the temples, had established\nan honorable family in the earth and had performed great missionary\nlabors in different parts of the world. He had been a mighty fisher of\nmen bringing into the Church almost two thousand persons. He and Heber\nC. Kimball had established the greatest records, in this respect, in\nthe Church. The speaker closed expressing the hope that the Saints\nwould emulate the worthy example of the departed, and that their works\nmight be as honorable and their end as blessed as his.\n\nPRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON.\n\nPresident George Q. Cannon began his remarks by reading a portion\nof the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants concerning the\nresurrection of the just. In standing up to address the Saints, said\nhe, it was only because he knew he would have the faith and prayers of\nthose assembled. In the passing away of President Woodruff, a man had\ngone from our midst whose character was probably as angelical as that\nof any person who had ever lived upon the earth. We shall ever miss\nhim, said President Cannon. His family will ever miss him, as to them\nhe was the all in all, an honored and respected husband and father.\n\nIn the death of such men, said President Cannon, it was a consolation\nto know that they left behind them the keys of the priesthood which\nthey held, thus permitting the rolling on of the work of God. President\nWoodruff was an unassuming man, very unaffected and childlike in his\ndemeanor. He did no man an injury, nor was he too proud, even in\nhis Apostolic calling, to toil as other men toiled. His traits and\ncharacteristics were ennobling, and so energetic was he that nothing\nwas too burdensome for him even in his advanced years.\n\nPresident Cannon felt that too much could not be said in praise of\nPresident Woodruff. He was of a sweet disposition and possessed a\ncharacter so lovely as to draw unto him friends in every walk of life.\nHe would no more do a wrong than he {632} commit suicide. He was\nstraightforward in all his dealings with his fellow man, and never\nshirked an obligation. He was free, sociable, and amiable in every\nrespect. No jealousy lurked in his bosom. He looked upon all mankind\nas his equals and was one who cherished the most profound respect for\nall with whom he associated. He was gentle as a woman and his purity\nwas like unto that of the angels themselves. In spite of his high and\nholy calling, he displayed no dignity, was unpretentious, unassuming,\nand his character and life were as transparent as glass. He hid nothing\nfrom his brethren, but was candid, outspoken, and free to all.\n\nPresident Cannon spoke of a remark made by President Woodruff some\ntime ago. In his office one morning he remarked. \"I'm growing old,\"\nthe statement being occasioned through the greater ability of a\nstrong, wiry grandson in hoeing potatoes. So industrious was President\nWoodruff, that he felt he was growing old because those stronger and\nyounger could outdo him in cultivating the garden. President Woodruff\nlabored freely and gratuitously in the ministry. With him it was a\nlabor of love, his only hope of reward being in the hereafter when he\nwould be called upon to give an account of his stewardship. For years\nhe lived on his 20-acre farm and took pleasure in beautifying his\nsurroundings and wresting from the earth, the elements to sustain life.\nHe was a great correspondent, and his children and grandchildren loved\nto write to him. He kept a complete account of his life's doings, and\neven up to the day he was stricken down, his journal told of his work\nof the day before.\n\nIn the ministry, said President Cannon, President Woodruff had\naccomplished a great deal. He had traveled thousands of miles, preached\nthe gospel to thousands of people, and succeeded in bringing a great\nmany into the Church. He had left behind him a monument of good that\ntime could not efface or obliterate. His was a life well spent, fraught\nwith good deeds, actuated by a noble purpose.\n\nPresident Cannon referred to the last days of President Woodruff on\nthe earth. He was pleasant and cheerful to the end. With the speaker\nhe attended a banquet given by the Bohemian club of San Francisco to\none of its members. At it he was asked {633} to speak and did so. This\nwas on Saturday, the 27th inst. On Sunday he attended meeting in San\nFrancisco, and Monday went out riding. Tuesday and Wednesday he spent\nwriting, and on Thursday the fatal attack came on, which ended in his\ndeath on Friday morning. His end was calm and peaceful. He passed away\nas one sleeping.\n\nReferring to the death of President Woodruff away from home, President\nCannon stated that it was his desire to go away. He was so concerned in\nthe speaker's health that he thought such an outing was necessary. He\nhimself had been benefitted previously in going to the seacoast, and\nit was his desire to accompany President Cannon on this occasion. His\npassing away, though quite unexpected, was a gradual sinking into an\neternal sleep.\n\nPresident Woodruff was a man of God. He had finished the fight and\nhad been called hence to mingle with his brethren, and to receive his\nwell-earned reward. He was a heavenly being. It was heaven to be in\nhis company, and his departure from this sphere of action, robs the\ncommunity of a great and good man, and one who fully merited all the\nblessings promised to those who remain true and steadfast unto the end.\nThe speaker had been privileged to witness the departure from earth of\nPresidents Young and Taylor. They, too, were righteous men, entitled to\na full bestowal of heavenly blessings.\n\nConcluding, President Cannon invoked the blessings of God upon the\nTwelve Apostles and upon all who held responsible positions in the\nChurch, that their lives might be fraught with good deeds and noble\nexamples, such as those characterizing the life and labors of President\nWilford Woodruff.\n\nThe choir sang President Woodruff's favorite hymn:\n\n  \"God moves in a mysterious way.\"\n\nThe closing prayer was offered by Elder Brigham Young of the Quorum\nof the Twelve Apostles, and the immense audience dispersed to take up\ntheir places in the order of procession, the congregation marching out\nin order to a selection on the organ by Professor J. J. Daynes. {634}\n\nTHE FUNERAL CORTEGE STARTS.\n\nThe ceremonies in the Tabernacle ended, the great audience filed out\ninto the street and, diverging in all directions, a vast host, mingling\nwith those who had lingered outside, sought their carriages and other\nconveyances ready to fall into line when the procession to the grave\nshould be formed. Thousands thronged the streets in anticipation of\nwitnessing the departure, and yet everything was orderly and all\narrangements skilfully carried out. The marshal of the day, with his\nnumerous efficient aids, and the detachment of police, rendered signal\nservice in executing the plans so carefully arranged. Hundreds of\nconveyances lined the adjacent streets and were brought up in line in\nseemly order, and, in fact, everything attested the prevalent reverence\nin which the occasion was held, so that nothing might occur to mar or\ndelay the marshaling of order out of seeming chaos. The services in the\nTabernacle being finished at 1:30, the formation of the procession was\nbegun on the west and north sides of Temple square, and at 1:45 p. m.\nthe order was given to advance on the way to the beloved President's\nlast resting place. Slowly and impressively the journey to the grave\nwas begun.\n\nAs the procession passed into public view, many an eye became dim with\ntears, and a last farewell was breathed from many a life-time friend\nand brother pioneer. Thousands stood with uncovered heads as all that\nremained of him whose life and work had crystallized into the brightest\ngem of immortal setting passed them by, and yet thousands more made up\nthe cavalcade and retinue which followed at the shrine of death. This\nwas the order formed and maintained on the way to the grave:\n\nORDER OF PROCESSION.\n\n1. Marshal of day and aides.\n\n2. Held's band.\n\n3. Harmony glee club.\n\n4. Pall-bearers.\n\n5. Hearse.\n\n6. Flowers.\n\n7. Carriages one to twelve inclusive--family.\n\n{635} 8. Carriages thirteen to eighteen inclusive, General Church\nAuthorities.\n\n9. Ogden band.\n\n10. Presidents of Stakes and counselors.\n\n11. General organization Relief Societies.\n\n12. Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement associations.\n\n13. Young Men's Mutual Improvement associations.\n\n14. Deseret Sunday School Union.\n\n15. Primary associations.\n\n16. Church Board of Education.\n\n17. Faculty and students of Brigham Young academy and representatives\nof different Church colleges and academies.\n\n18. First Regimental band and Utah National Guard.\n\n19. State and city officials.\n\n20. General public.\n\nTHE LINE OF MARCH.\n\nThe line of march all along South Temple Street was densely packed\nwith a mass of humanity, as far as M Street, and from there to the\ncemetery people were out in hundreds awaiting the approach of the\nprocession. Thousands of people also accompanied the remains of the\ndead Prophet to the place of interment, and it was a spectacle long\nto be remembered. \"The Dead March in Saul,\" by Held's band, and other\nfuneral dirges, were played, while the Ogden and First Regimental bands\ndiscoursed their sweet, sad music all the way. A wave of harmony rolled\ndown the line from beginning to end, and surely it must have arisen as\nsweet incense to the spheres above. Slowly and stately the procession\nmoved on its solemn way, and when the cemetery was reached a great\nconcourse of people was already there. The various organizations and\nrepresentative bodies disbanded at the gates of the cemetery and the\nsimple white hearse bearing the remains of the departed leader was\ndriven to the side of the grave, where it was followed by the private\ncarriages of the members of the deceased's family and the general\nauthorities of the Church. At 2:45 p. m. the casket was taken from\nthe hearse and carried by the pall-bearers to the grave into which it\nwas consigned while {636} all the people stood with uncovered heads.\nCountless flowers in bouquets and designs of exquisite beauty were laid\nupon the sward by sorrowing friends, and when all was ready the members\nof the President's family and other friends gently laid some floral\ntokens upon the departed's bier in last farewell. Then the authorities\nof the Church, who had gathered on the northwest corner of the plot of\nground signified that the final ceremonies begin, and the Harmony glee\nclub sang with exquisite pathos and tenderness, the selection: \"Not\nDead but Sleepeth.\" President Cannon then called upon Apostle F. M.\nLyman to offer the dedicatory prayer.\n\nIn opening his invocation Apostle Lyman asked that grace and strength\nbe vouchsafed to those who were bereaved, to bear up under the burden\nof grief their loss had entailed, and asked the blessings of the\nAlmighty in the duty which had devolved upon him in dedicating the last\nresting place of him, who for so many years had been identified with\nthe work of the Lord in the earth. He prayed that President Woodruff's\nlife and record might stand as an example to the hosts of Israel\nthroughout the world, one which they would emulate if possible; and\nfurther asked that the widows and children might be comforted in the\nknowledge that their beloved father had gone to a glorious reward. It\nwas his desire that the Almighty bless the ground where so many had\ntender hopes and affection laid away, that it would ever be sacred\nand holy to the people. He prayed for the prosperity of the work of\nbuilding up Zion in the earth; for the blessings of the Lord to rest\nupon the Church and the authorities upon whom its guidance would now\ndevolve, and in conclusion asked that the dedication might be accepted\nof the Almighty in the name of Jesus Christ.\n\nAt the close of the prayer, flowers were laid upon the grave by loving\nhands, and the vast concourse of people dispersed to their homes and\nvarious pursuits, feeling that this day would be accounted, while time\nand memory should last, as one of the most notable in the present\ndispensation, and would be hallowed forever.\n\nWHERE THE GRAVE IS.\n\nThe place where the body of President Woodruff will rest until the\nday the grave shall give up its dead, is situated near the original\nentrance at the old stone gate through the antiquated {637} wall that\nformed the western boundary of the city cemetery, and is about half way\nup on the western side. The seventh cemetery avenue forms the northern\nboundary of the plat, which lies about seventy-five yards from the\nold stone wall. On the south, is the plat of the late Apostle Erastus\nSnow, whose monument, entwined with honeysuckle, towers over the\nnew-made grave. Over on the hill a stone's throw distant, the granite\nshaft that marks the resting place of the late President John Taylor,\npoints silently toward heaven. Just to the west, across the drive, is\nthe Noble plat, where rests Lucien Noble, who was born the same year\nas President Woodruff, who, too, lived to a great age, dying in 1891.\nPresident Woodruff's grave is in the extreme south-eastern corner of\nthe plat, and is made alongside of his wife, the late Phoebe Carter\nWoodruff. Just across, in the Snow plat on the south, rest the bodies\nof two children. The Woodruff plat is simple and plain; a substantial\nstone wall raises it above the drive and the closely cut green grass\ncovers it over. The open grave this morning was dug into the hard soil\nof the mountain which was as solid in its formation as the character\nof the man whose body it was to contain, only a few planks were placed\nto keep the loose earth from falling in, and a plain box of white\nwood at the bottom to contain the casket. Nothing about the grave was\nintended for ornament or show; all was plain and substantial as the\ndead President wished it to be. From the grave where he rests there is\na fine view of the city he helped to found, and the valley stretched\naway to the south in its beauty until shut in from the sight by the\nSeptember haze. Around him rest those who fought the battle of life\nwith him, but who laid the burden down, wearied before the load fell\nfrom his own shoulders, and who will welcome him in death as they\nhonored him in life.\n\nTABERNACLE DECORATIONS.\n\nPromptly at 7:30 a. m., by a prearranged signal with the janitors, a\n_News_ reporter was admitted to the Tabernacle to view the work of the\ncommittee on decoration. Silence brooded over the vast auditorium, and\nalso a spirit of awe, which is the invariable accompaniment of solitude\nin the midst of vastness.\n\n\"The primeval desert is slumbering. Only on the eastern {638} and\nwestern peaks are seen the signs of awakening day. In the Valley the\nshadows are beginning to lift and dissolve. What is it that the eye\nbeholds? A vast expanse of sun-browned sage and yellow bunch grass. For\na moment, we listen and catch the musical ripples of a stream hidden\nbeneath an irregular line of willow and squaw bush, extending from the\nnorth of the canyon to the Lake. The sun now breaks over the eastern\nrange. A breeze is stirring down the canyon. Ah, there is that same,\nnever-to-be-forgotten perfume of the desert--so full of freshness, so\nsuggestive of freedom!\n\n\"What! the bark of a dog? Surely it is. And now a half-mile distant,\nin the shadow of a gnarled and crooked grove of cottonwoods, the eye\ncatches sight of a dozen campfires, which send curling wreaths into the\nmorning sky. The sunlight is playing fantastic games with the strands\nof smoke as they weave themselves into finer fabrics, and finally\ndisappear as gauze. Beneath this spreading halo, we get glimpses of\nan irregular village of wick-i-ups, smoke-begrimed and tattered, but\notherwise quite in harmony with the scene; as if they were in fact so\nmany grotesque plants that had sprung out of the native soil.\n\n\"Now, from out these rude habitations, through many a rent and\nflapping door, the children of the desert are pouring--a curious lot\nof black-headed, squatty-figured little women and children. Sublime\npicture of blissful indifference! You do not know that this is your\nlast day of undisputed reign--if your sleepy existence can be called\na reign. Before the sun shall have reached the zenith, he, the great\nwhite Chief, accompanied by that other great man, young and vigorous\nthen; but since grown old by toil and works of righteousness and today\nrenewed in youth forever--he the leader whose life among us we shall\nsoon meet to commemorate.\"\n\nBut the vision fades. The present has come back. There is still the\nfaint odor of sage-brush and desert flower in the room. The sun has\nlost none of his old-time splendor, but his rays pour down, not upon\nthe primitive herbage of a desert, but through the dome of a building\nwhich might well be taken to epitomize the progress of a jubilee. The\neastern half of the auditorium is sombre and unrelieved by a single\ntouch of the artist; but the {639} western half is all aglow in\nhangings of white and fills the soul with a glory as of a better world.\n\nIf the departed leader should be present in spirit at his own funeral,\naccording to his own wish, these are some things he would see.\n\nThe most prominent object is his own portrait, life-size, as painted by\nthe well known home artist, Mr. Will Clawson. It is a striking likeness\nof President Woodruff at the full vigor of his manhood. It is placed in\nfront of the great organ against a background of the Stars and Stripes.\nAbove the picture, in brilliant electric light, is the legend:\n\n\"BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH.\"\n\nThe front of the organ is so draped as to represent two golden columns,\none on each side, surmounted by domes, and joined by a festoon of white\ncashmere, the folds of which fall down on each side of the organ in\ngraceful curves. Below the portrait is a semicircle of white drapery,\nforming a frame for the centre piece, which is no less symbolic than\nbeautiful.\n\n\"We desired,\" said Bishop Winder, chairman of the decoration committee,\n\"to get up something unique to distinguish President Woodruff's\nlife--something not used before.\"\n\nThe committee has certainly succeeded. On each corner of the organ\nstand out in bold figures the date, 1847.\n\nImmediately above are large bunches of sage-brush intermingled with\nsun-flowers. Further up are the tops of the rugged pine, while below,\nbetween the dates, and representing the expanse of valley, are the\nyellow tops of furze and rabbit-brush. Nothing could give a more\nrealistic idea of Utah as the dead Pioneer found it.\n\nOn the right and left of the picture are sheaves of wheat and oats,\nsymbolic both of what Utah is to-day, and of the ripe age of our\ndeparted President. But that which is most touching is a bank of\nflowers all around President Woodruff's feet, which, whether it be\ntaken to symbolize the love of his people, or the new home to which\nhe has gone, is equally effective. When the electric display shall\nenhance the beauty and harmony of this centerpiece {640} it will make\nan impression on the audience never to be forgotten.\n\nThe stand next attracts attention. All the seats are draped in\nwhite; the pulpits, one above another, are gracefully festooned in\ncream cashmere and white ribbon. The posts at each end, also in\nwhite drapery, are each surmounted by a magnificent bouquet. The\nsemi-circular railing on each side the stand has a background of white\ncrape against which, at regular intervals, are folds of cream cashmere,\ntied by silk cord and tassels below, and fastened above with sprays of\noak containing acorns, and with evergreens and sunflowers. A similar\nmethod of decoration is followed with the balustrade which crosses the\nauditorium. The impression of the whole is that of a mighty pair of\nwhite wings about to hover over the audience.\n\nThe casket and floral decorations come last, but by no means least into\nconsideration. Below the stand on a table slanting east and west, are\nthe last remains of the late beloved leader. The coffin in literally\nembossed in a tapestry of flowers bearing these words:\n\n       \"IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE\n  BY THE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN OF\n     PHOEBE CARTER WOODRUFF AND\n       MARY JACKSON WOODRUFF.\"\n\nOn the top of the casket is a bank of carnations, roses and lilies, on\nwhich the single word \"Father\" appears, while at the head is a crown of\nflowers, the gift of the Relief societies, and at the foot a gigantic\nfern palm leaf covered with magnificent cut roses, the gift of F.\nAuerbach and Co. A sheaf of ripened barley is also on the casket, and\nfestoons of smilax unite the whole.\n\nOn each side of the casket is a floral column inscribed, \"In loving\nremembrance of the President of Z. C. M. I.\" Near by is a large circle\nof cut roses and others flowers, bearing the motto on its face, \"The\nglory of God is intelligence.\" The circle symbolizes eternity, and\na band or bridge crossing it and evidently intended to symbolize\ntime, bear the inscription \"Y. M. M. I. A.\" A large harp of flowers,\nsignificant of the divine harmony of President Woodruff's life, is the\ngift of the Tabernacle choir.\n\n{641} Other gifts of flowers are a basket of asters and cut roses by\nthe Primary association, a basket of flowers by the City Council, a\nharp by A. C. Brixen, a wreath by Annie Hoglund, an anchor by Mr. and\nMrs. John Beck, beautiful floral designs by Mrs. M. M. Barratt, and\nalso by Mr. and Mrs. James C. McDonald, an unusually beautiful bouquet\nof golden-banded lilies of Japan and cut roses by R. C. Evans, besides\nmany offerings without names.\n\nThe effect of the whole is that of simplicity and purity, the\ndistinguished traits of the departed President. While the committee on\ndecoration deserve great praise for the planning of the whole, F. G. F.\nHuefner and his assistants, Sisters Sarah A. Gill, and Lizzie Ashton,\nwho executed the plans, are not to be forgotten.\n\n{642}\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 57.\n\nCHARACTER SKETCH.\n\nBy Dr. J. M. Tanner.\n\n\"To the law and to the testimony; and if they speak not according to\nthis word, it is because there is no light in them.\" If the whole\nreligious life of Wilford Woodruff could be summed up in a single\nsentence, it would be in that Scriptural statement by which the truth\nof God's purposes was made evident. The Scripture was his safe guide\nin every walk of life. To him it was a living fountain. Its promises\ngave him assurance, its warnings restrained him, its proverbs gave him\nwisdom, its psalms attuned his soul, its more sure word of life was to\nhim conclusive of all that God had done and that He would yet do many\ngreat and marvelous things among the children of men.\n\nHe was a devout student of the Bible, and that book accounts not alone\nfor the spiritual quality of his life, but for the peculiar workings\nof {643} his mind. There was nothing in life that he could not measure\nin terms of Holy Writ. It is doubtful whether the Bible ever brought a\nhuman soul more perfectly within the circumference of its teachings,\npromises, rewards, and inspiration than it brought Wilford Woodruff.\nHe was what is sometimes called a man of one book; that is, a man\nwhose predominant characteristics are marked by a single book. He knew\nhis Bible. It was the companion of his youth, the joy of his early\nmanhood, and the solace of his old age. Whatever did not square with\nits teachings was to him insufficient. It brought him discernment and\nmade him wakeful and watchful for the new light its promises contained.\nIt was a watch-tower on which he stood looking for new evidences of\na new dispensation and of glorious promises of a day to come. In\nhis youth, his contact with religious denominations brought him no\nspiritual satisfaction, because the sects of that day did not conform\nto that standard of truth, the Holy Writ, to which he had pledged his\nallegiance.\n\nA man whose life the Bible so completely permeated could be naught\nelse than a spiritual-minded man. To no man's mind was God ever a more\npotent reality in the affairs of men than to his mind. To him He was\nnot a distant being whose mysteries obscure and overawe. To Wilford\nWoodruff God was a companion, a kind and loving father, a protector,\na guide. That God spoke with men face to face was no metaphor to him,\nwas no spiritualized conclusion, it was a commonplace, though profound,\ntruth. He regarded himself as a child of God to whom and with whom he\nhad a right to speak. There was nothing in life which a man might not\ndisclose to his Maker, and he aspired to commune with God as one man\nspeaketh to another.\n\nHis conceptions of God made religion a simple thing, as simple as it\nwas wonderful. He seldom argued religion, he never proved the existence\nof God, he rarely explained obscure meanings of Holy Writ. To him God\nwas the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. The relationship of man\nto his Maker was set forth on the first pages of the Bible. God made\nman in his own image; male and female created He them. That God had\ntalked to Adam in the garden of Eden was no myth, was no mystery. He\nhad talked to others. He would talk to men again. Nothing satisfied his\nspiritual cravings short of an actual communication between heaven and\nearth. For such a communication he was looking, hoping, praying. When\nit came, it was as clear to his understanding as the rays of light at\nnoonday sun. His whole being was illuminated by the new revelation.\nHowever, he put it to the test; he measured it in the light of\nScripture; tested it by individual experiences, and it was in perfect\nharmony with his spiritual and intellectual being; and when once he put\nhis hand to the plow, he never looked back. No doubt ever troubled him;\nno misgivings ever dampened his ardor. Thenceforth he never questioned\nthe truth of a divine call to the children of this age any more than he\nquestioned his own existence.\n\nIt is difficult in such a man to draw a line between his spiritual and\nhis physical life. Certain it is, he made no distinction. Everything\nthat touched divine purpose was to him a part of his religion. If he\npreached, he preached in the name of God; if he dug ditches and tilled\nthe earth, it was equally in obedience to a divine command. He was\njust as devout with the scythe or the sickle as he was with the hymn\nbook or in the pulpit. When one therefore speaks of the spiritual\ncharacteristics of such a man, {644} he speaks of the whole man; and\nif Wilford Woodruff's spiritual nature were merely a characteristic,\nreligion might have been thought of in him as an incident, a part of\nhis life. It was his whole life; for it was measured in terms of his\nrelationship with his God--that relationship he recognized everywhere\nthroughout a remarkable and unique life.\n\nThose best acquainted with the life and habits of Wilford Woodruff\nwill find it difficult, if not wholly impossible, to call to mind any\ncircumstance of unoccupied moments in all their acquaintanceship with\nhim. He was a man of medium height, of a robust nature, heavy set,\nand of unbounded nervous energy. Those who glorify work and exalt its\nimportance in the divine economy of man find in him an example of the\nhighest type.\n\nHe loved work, not alone for its own sake, but because it was\nassociated with divine command. Nor was it to him merely a means of\ngetting on in the world, of adding conveniences and comfort to his own\nlife as well as to those dependent upon him; to him it was a blessing,\na privilege, an opportunity which he always availed himself of whenever\nhis calling would permit. Nor was he discriminating in the kind of work\nhe did. He took up whatever was at hand to be done. His toil in the\ncanyons, his sweat in the harvest field, his travels upon the plains\nwere all important parts in divine economy and he performed every labor\nof life with as much zeal as he was wont to exercise in promulgating\nthe word of God. He was not a worker in the ordinary sense of the word;\nfor in work he always set himself about to accomplish extraordinary\ntasks.\n\nThose who remember him in the pioneer days of Utah call to mind his\nunusual physical powers when compared with other men. \"I have seen\nhim,\" said John A. Woolf of Cardston, Canada, \"feed a threshing machine\nwith bundles from a stack, when three ordinary men complained of the\ntask. He was never particular where he worked, usually he got in the\nmost disagreeable place about a thresher in order to favor those with\nwhom he worked. When he might have chosen his place, he went to the\nchaff-pen where the smut and dirt were almost unbearable. I never knew\na harder worker than Wilford Woodruff.\"\n\nHe could turn from one occupation to another without the {645} least\napparent effort. He would toil assiduously in the harvest field, and\nwith scarcely a moment's notice be ready to receive the dignitaries of\nthe nation that might happen to visit Salt Lake City while he was thus\nengaged. To sweat, was a divine command as much so as to pray; and in\nhis life he exemplified in the highest degree that simple Christian\nlife that makes for the physical, mental, and moral well-being of man.\nHe believed sincerely in the moral supremacy of manual toil. He loved\nit and enjoyed it.\n\nWhenever in the midst of his public ministries there came to him an\nopportunity to retire to his farm, he went to it with all the energy of\nhis marvelous physical endurance. His love of toil produced in his life\nwhat it does in the lives of most men of similar habits, a simplicity,\na democracy, and the spirit of universal brotherhood. To him there\nwere no commonplace tasks. All that he did was important to his own\nexaltation in this life and in the world to come. His love of labor\npenetrated the veil and admitted him to the world beyond wherein he saw\nGod-given opportunities to work. An idle, self-sufficient life in the\nnext world was as abhorrent to his nature as the ordinary conceptions\nof purgatory. The thought that in the great beyond men should have an\nunwaning and an undiminished endurance in the industry of an eternity\nwas glorious to his mind.\n\nIn this age when men are shirking physical tasks in the industrial\nworld in pursuit of occupations that are as free as possible from\nbodily exertions, his life stands out as a beautiful example of\nsimplicity and vigor. No man ever did more in the Church to exalt work\nand put upon it the impress of divine command than Wilford Woodruff;\nand he was as unostentatious in physical toil as he was in every other\noccupation which he honestly and faithfully pursued.\n\nIn the broadest and highest sense of the term, Wilford Woodruff may\nbe designated as truly the friend of mankind; but within that broader\nfriendship there were intimacies and confidences which he carried with\nhim from his earlier days through the remainder of life. He, like most\nmen of a strong character and loving disposition, had his special\nfriends--friends whose spirit and {646} manner of life were congenial\nto him--friends whose religious practices and thoughts were in harmony\nwith his own aspirations.\n\nWith him, however, friends were not selected because of their\nstation in life; they were among all classes, the humblest as well\nas the highest; indeed, it is doubtful whether Wilford Woodruff\never recognized any class distinction whatever. If he ever made a\ndistinction, it was a distinction between the good and the bad. He was\nnever governed by considerations of wealth, rank, or public honors.\nHis friendships belonged to that old-fashioned type wherein men were\nactuated by a spirit of brotherhood and unaffected love for one another.\n\nNor was he one of those who boasted of friendships with the selected\nfew. Every stake of Zion, if not almost every community, contained some\nspecial friend or friends, time-honored and true. He loved to throw\noff the formalities of social restraint and indulge in those heart to\nheart talks that brought up reminiscences of earlier days. Like others,\nhe was especially attracted by those whose view-points of life were\nsimilar to his own, whose spiritual natures reveled in the things of\nGod and ascribed to Him both the honors and the glories of this world.\n\nHis friendships were both sincere and lasting; even when friends\ndeviated from the paths of the highest rectitude, he preferred to think\nof them as they once were, in the enjoyment of divine favor. The good\nin others was uppermost in his judgment of men, and his friendship was\nall the more lasting because it was accompanied by a spirit of charity\nand good-will to all.\n\nIt would perhaps be here a little discriminating to speak of any\nindividual friendships of his life. There is one, however, that was\nso strong and lasting that it illustrates with great clearness the\ncharacter of the man. Ezra T. Clark of Farmington was a man of simple\nhabits and devoted to industrial life. He loved the soil whose very\nparticles awakened within him a satisfaction and an enthusiasm. These\ntwo men developed throughout many years of intimate association a\nloving regard for each other that was as striking as it was beautiful.\nWhenever Elder Woodruff could steal away from the duties and\nresponsibilities of life some leisure hours, he sought an evening's\npastime in the home of his {647} friend. Their devotion to each other\ngrew with years; and it may be truthfully said that nothing ever came\nup in life to disturb their confidence and love.\n\nElder Woodruff was throughout all his life an ideal neighbor. His\ninterest in those about him was one of helpfulness. He was quick to\nsee the needs of a neighbor and generous in his impulse to give and\nto help. His high regard for the privileges of others never permitted\nhim to trespass on the rights or the property of those about him. The\nproperty of others was as sacred to him as his own and its safety\nelicited his careful attention. He was generous in the contribution of\nhis time and knowledge.\n\nHis selection in the early days of Utah as the head of organizations\nintended to place within the reach of all the best methods of farming\nand manufacture illustrates the esteem in which he was held by those\nwho intrusted to him matters of such welfare to the people. He was\ntherefore the highest type of a missionary of good deeds as well as of\ngood counsel.\n\nThere was never in him a spirit of condescension. He never thought of\nobligations under which he was placing his fellowmen while doing them a\nservice. He served others because he enjoyed the spirit of helpfulness\nand found it a part of his God-given nature to be of use in every\npossible manner to those it was his joy to help on in the world.\n\nThe missionary spirit of Elder Woodruff which manifested itself so\nzealously in the welfare and happiness of others did not permit him\nto pursue life in the interest of any selfish ambitions or personal\naggrandizement. His journal reveals the pride he felt in bringing home\nto the lives of men the great truths of Mormonism. He was always more\ninterested in what others derived from his services than what came to\nhim. In counsel, therefore, he was never actuated by selfish aims, and\nhe was free from suspicion that the things which others advocated could\nhave any ulterior purpose than that which appeared upon the surface.\n\nBy nature he was an unsuspicious man and that made his life free\nfrom the jealousies, envies, and misgivings so destructive of human\nhappiness. That nature made him an optimist. {648} He went about life\nnot only looking for the good, but with ability to see it. He had\nnothing to conceal, nothing to disfigure, therefore the shades and\ncolorings of life with him were true to nature.\n\nWhenever in his judgment it became necessary to offer any criticism\nupon the lives or conduct of others, it was for the purpose of warning\nthose whom he criticized against the dangers that would befall them, if\nthey pursued such a course. Often throughout his journal he speaks of\nthe apostasy of prominent men and old-time friends. What he wrote is in\na spirit of charity; his words are words of regret, and his sentiments\nare full of brotherly consideration, even toward those who ceased to\nentertain convictions in harmony with his own.\n\nThough he was a man of a gentle spirit, it must not be supposed that\nhe was wholly incapable of pronouncing judgment upon the wicked or\nthe ungodly. But even his judgments were not accompanied by personal\nantagonisms. He was both forgetful and forgiving. He was not a man of\nmarked prejudices, and there is no evidence that he ever pursued with\nmalice those in whom he had lost confidence. He was, perhaps, as free\nfrom prejudices as any prominent man in his day. This beautiful quality\nof life made him tractable, easily persuaded, especially when the\ninfluence about him was one of brotherly love or kind consideration.\n\nIn the minor affairs of life, and in the details of administration, he\nwas not very particular how things were done, provided they could be\naccomplished without friction and in a spirit which conformed to the\nprinciples of the gospel. He was never insistent, nor was he persistent\nin having his own way in his association with his fellowmen. He had so\ncompletely surrendered himself to the will of God and to the leadership\nof his brethren that nothing ever menaced his ambition or aroused\na spirit of resentment within him, provided he was not required to\nsacrifice principle or subordinate his manhood. Instances are revealed\nin his journal where he took a strong stand when questions of right\nand wrong were at stake; and he manifested the fire of righteous\nzeal whenever any question arose not in harmony with his conceptions\nof God's message to the children of men. Dislike, envy, or jealousy\n{649} had so little effect upon his hopeful nature that those ordinary\nprejudices common to mankind rarely troubled him. He rejoiced in the\ngood fortune of others, and praised God.\n\nThe study of the life of Wilford Woodruff constantly reminds one of\nNathaniel of whom Jesus said: \"He is an Israelite without guile.\" The\nevil conditions of mankind, people's shortcomings, and even their vices\nwere not matters which rested upon his conscience or aroused a spirit\nof denunciation or judgment within him. It was not easy for him to\nthink of evils or to associate them with his fellowman. He looked upon\nthe bright side of life and had a keen appreciation of the good there\nwas in others.\n\nWhenever he uttered words of condemnation or prophesied the judgments\nof God, it was in pursuance of divine manifestations to his heart and\nmind. Whenever he spoke words of reproof, it was because he conceived\nit his duty to do so, not because it was his nature to criticise\nor to find fault. When he spoke of the wickedness of the world, or\nthe wrong-doings of his fellowmen, it was as a rule in a spirit of\ntestimony, and not because of the things which he saw or heard. No man\nwas ever more willing than Wilford Woodruff that the sentiments of his\nheart and the thoughts of his mind should be read as if in an open\nbook. The dividing line of his inner life and the expression of his\nwords and conduct was never marked. He was therefore free from that\nsecret life which is constantly struggling against the revelations\nof its real truth. The Saints will always think of him as a man like\nNathaniel--without guile.\n\nOne of the highest evidences of a truly religious nature is the\nsincerity of life that characterizes it. It is also that quality of the\nhuman soul which gives zeal to missionary life and makes the testimony\nborne carry conviction to the hearts of others. The sincerity of\nWilford Woodruff never left any room for doubt as to his convictions\nupon everything which he advocated. His earnestness commanded the\nrespectful attention of all who heard him, even though they were not\nconvinced by the evidences of his word or the force of his arguments.\n\nIn all matters of religion, an earnest demeanor is necessary for the\nassurance of others as well as one's own self-satisfaction. It was easy\nfor every man--Mormon, Jew, or Gentile--to believe {650} that Wilford\nWoodruff believed himself, and sincerely to believe oneself is the\nhighest evidence of that inner conviction which removes misgivings and\ndoubts from the human soul. It was this peculiar quality of life that\nmade him a model missionary.\n\nPossessing the highest qualities of sincerity, he naturally became\nan earnest advocate in his teachings and an indefatigable worker in\neverything he set his hands to do. There was never anything about his\nlife, never any diversions from the path of duty or surrender to the\nspirit of a pleasure-loving age to disturb the zeal that came from the\nsincerity and earnestness of his soul. In many there is often a strong\ndesire to surrender themselves to that spirit of pleasure that deadens\nthe conscience and gives self-justification after wrong doing. With\nhim, as with others, a consistent earnestness and a heartfelt sincerity\nwere a safeguard against a spirit of disbelief. Those qualities of life\nnever permitted him to shirk responsibility or be indifferent to the\nobligations every man should feel with respect to his Maker. He was,\ntherefore, like the prophets of old--zealous for the things of God.\n\nThere was a steadfastness of purpose in all that Wilford Woodruff set\nhis hand to do. He was as devoted in action as he was in thought and\nfeeling. His standard of life was a religious standard, and it was\nsupported by a constancy that was peculiar to his nature. From the\nbeginning to the end of life, his religious convictions were strictly\nadhered to. He was never drawn into subordinate considerations. He\nnever ran off at a tangent, never allowed minor matters to absorb him.\nHis loves, his hopes, his aims in life were all subordinate to the\ngreat central truth of God's revelation. He might be misinformed about\ndetails; facts might be distorted; events might be wrongly stated; but\nhe had a guiding star from which his eyes were never taken; and sooner\nor later, he set himself in harmony with the true spirit of the age in\nwhich he moved.\n\nHis devotion always made him reliable and true. Friends never doubted\nhis friendship, nor troubled themselves about its continuance. He had\nthat perfect regard for the friendships of life which bound him to men.\nThe qualities that made him devoted to men and to duty came from the\nlarger devotion which he always felt for the things of God. He truly\nloved his God. Whatever {651} that love might mean to others, to him\nit meant a willing service, a confiding heart, a life of steadfast\ndevotion to the obligations which he felt the Lord had laid upon him.\nHis devotion made him intensely earnest, sincere, and guileless. It\nhelped him to see the best there was in life. The true and beautiful\nfilled his heart with admiration. Devotion gave to him a simplicity\nthat left no place for pride and vain ambitions. There came to him out\nof a devout life the enjoyment of all God's revelations in nature and\nin word.\n\nHis family life was devoid of every show of ostentation. He enjoyed\nthe companionship of the youngest child, and kept in touch with the\nsorrows and joys of family life. He could not stand aloof from the\nfamily life which he had done so much to create. The responsibilities\nof his home he shared with every member of his household. He loved\nhis wives and children, and in their midst was free, easy, and\napproachable. His discipline never carried with it any severity. In his\nhome he found relaxation and rest from the strenuous life he led. His\nchildren loved him. They were free to reason or persuade. They felt no\nbarriers between him and them. Their conscience might be troublesome\nto them, but his sternness never was. He belonged to that class of\nfathers styled indulgent. His own example called for an industrious and\nobedient life in his home. It was easy for his children to understand\nwhat they should do by what they saw him do. Goodness was the quality\nhe most extolled; and if his family would only be good, they were to\nhis mind best prepared to fulfill any responsibility God might place\nupon them. They would learn their duties by doing them. He considered\none duty well done the best means of learning and doing new ones.\nThe family life it was his earnest endeavor to create and beautify\nis reflected in the joyful spirit that comes to descendants who meet\nannually on his birthday, March first, to do honor to his name.\n\n{652}\n\n\n\nAppendix A.\n\nSIDNEY RIGDON.\n\n(Millennial Star, Vol. 5, p. 109).\n\n_To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:_\n\nI deem it to be a duty which I owe to God and His Church, to express\nmy feelings and bear my testimony unto you, concerning certain things\nthat are presented to you for your consideration, especially the claims\nof Elder Sidney Rigdon to the exclusive right to lead and govern the\nChurch of Latter-day Saints. I have carefully examined the trial which\nElder Rigdon has had before the authorities of the Church in Nauvoo, as\ngiven in the _Times and Seasons,_ Vol. V, No. 17, and I am satisfied\nthat a righteous decision has been given in his case. I do not make\nthese remarks without my reasons, and I will here give those reasons.\n\nI will commence by asking where has Elder Rigdon been since the days\nof Far West? Has he stood by the side of the Prophet and Patriarch\nas a true friend, to assist in carrying them through their trials,\ntribulations, and persecutions? Has he walked up into his place as a\nman of God, and stood beside the Prophet as his counselor? Has he in\nany way been a pillar or support to the Church from that day until\nthis? Has he sustained the cause, and used an influence to spread\nthe work abroad since the persecution in Far West? Has he in any way\nsustained the priesthood with dignity and honor for the last five years\nof his life? Or, has the Prophet, in any point of view, leaned upon\nhim as a counselor, a staff, or support, for the last five years? Or\nhas the Prophet Joseph found Elder Rigdon in his councils, when he\norganized the Quorum of the Twelve a few months before his death to\nprepare them for the endowment? And when they received their endowment,\nand actually received the keys of the Kingdom of God, and oracles of\nGod--keys to revelation--and the pattern of heavenly things; and when\nhe declared to the Twelve, \"Upon your shoulders the Kingdom rests, and\nyou must round up your shoulders {653} and bear it, for I have had to\ndo it until now,\" where was Sidney Rigdon? Has Elder Rigdon shared this\nresponsibility in any way? No, no, verily no; but the reverse, until he\nhad become like a millstone upon the neck of Joseph Smith, the Prophet,\nSeer, and Revelator. And I hereby bear my testimony that I heard\nJoseph Smith declare that Elder Rigdon had become like a millstone\nupon his back--a dead weight--and he had carried him long enough, and\nmust throw him off; and in my hearing requested one of the Quorum of\nthe Twelve to bring him up before the Church, that he might be dealt\nwith according to the law of the Church, that he might be cut off as a\ndead branch, and no longer encumber the tree, as there was sufficient\ntestimony against him. But through the pleadings of Brother Hyrum Smith\nand others he was spared. Elder Brigham Young has been his friend,\nspoke in his favor, in consequence of his age and former standing,\nhoping that he might reform, get the spirit of the work, and magnify\nhis calling. He has been patiently sustained until the branch became\ntwice dead, and necessary to be severed from the tree. Elder Rigdon,\nfor the last five years of his life, has been mostly shut up in the\npost-office; has confined himself mostly to his own temporal affairs,\nmanifesting but little interest in the affairs of the Church; and when\nany alarm or report was in circulation unfavorable to the cause, if we\ncould judge at all from the course he pursued, it had a tendency to\nincrease trouble and disturbance, instead of decreasing it. It is true,\nthat Elder Rigdon attended some of the councils that President Smith\nheld with the Twelve and others, before his death, while giving them\ninstructions; but I heard President Smith say that he came in without\nhis wish or invitation, as he had no confidence in him. Elder Rigdon\nand his friends would now claim, before the Church and the world, that\nhe holds the keys of the Kingdom of God of the last dispensation, above\nthe Twelve, the Church, etc. I am ready to admit before the whole\nChurch and the world, that he does hold one key different from that\nheld by the Twelve; one that they do not hold--one that God never held,\nnor Jesus Christ, nor any true prophet, patriarch, or apostle; Joseph\nand Hyrum Smith were utter strangers to it.\n\nWe are judging according to the words of his own mouth according to\nthe testimony given on his trial. We suppose that Lucifer, who made\nwar in heaven, was the author of that key; and {654} that it had been\nhanded down unto the present day, and with it Elder Rigdon has unlocked\nhis heart, and portrayed before our eyes what it was. What is it? Hear\nit, all ye Latter-day Saints! Listen, O earth, and judge the fruits\nof this key. He threatens to turn traitor, publish against the Church\nin public journals. He intimates that he would bring a mob upon the\nChurch, stir up the world against the Saints, and bring distress upon\nthem, etc. (_Times and Seasons,_ Vol. V, pp. 650-653.) This ought to\nbe a sufficient reason for any true-hearted Latter-day Saint to turn\naway from him with disgust, and treat men like him according to their\ndesert, which is, to let them entirely alone; for a more despicable\nprinciple never existed in heaven, earth nor hell, than to prove a\ntraitor to our God, our cause, and our friends, and bring distress\nupon the innocent, and that, too, by turning against the very cause\nthat he spent a portion of his life to build up, and declared, while\nin the faith, that it was true and righteous. This same principle was\nmanifest in the case of Lucifer, Judas, Arnold, and many apostates in\nthis Church, who, when they could not get their own ends accomplished,\nthreatened to bring mobs upon the Church, and in some instances they\nhave done so. I would ask, has Joseph or Hyrum Smith ever held such a\nkey as this, or manifested such a spirit as this? No, never; they have\ndespised it in their hearts. President Smith seemed to be sensible\nthat such a feeling was growing in the breast of Elder Rigdon; and if\nhe had accomplished what duty appeared to present to his mind upon\nthat subject, Elder Rigdon would have been severed from the Church\nbefore the Prophet's death; but through mercy he was spared until he\nmanifested the evil that is in him, and he has become dangerous to the\nwelfare of the Church and Kingdom of God.\n\nI would again ask, has Elder Brigham Young ever manifested any\nknowledge of the key above spoken of, or any spirit or disposition to\nturn against the Church in any time of trial or persecution from its\ncommencement? Has he ever deserted Joseph, Hyrum, his brethren, or\nthe cause, in one instance, since the foundation of this Church? No,\nnever, not in one instance. He has always been ready to go and come at\nthe bidding of the Lord. He has not said go; but he has always said\ncome. He has set the example and led the way, until he has traversed\nsea and land, at home and abroad, native and foreign countries, until\nhe has borne off the keys of the {655} Kingdom of God, in connection\nwith the Twelve, with honor and dignity, since they were committed\nto his charge. He has followed President Smith's footsteps closely\nfor the last twelve years of his life, and especially the last five\nyears; while Elder Rigdon has, at the same time, been confined to the\npost-office, apparently manifesting no interest in the welfare of the\nChurch and building up of the cause. The spirit of wisdom and counsel\nhas manifested itself in the course and deliberations of Elder Young.\nHe has not only had much experience with President Smith, but he\nhas proved himself true and faithful in all things committed to his\ncharge, until he was called to hold the keys of the Kingdom of God in\nall the world, in connection with the Twelve. He, in connection with\nthe Twelve, was the first to receive his endowment from the hands of\nthe Prophet and Patriarch, who have leaned upon him for years. The\nTwelve have acted with honor, laboring both day and night, making\nevery sacrifice required of them; leaving their homes, families, and\ncountry, to establish the work of God, and lay the foundation for\nthe deliverance and redemption of Israel. And I can say with every\nsentiment of my heart, and feeling of my soul, as President Young has\nsaid, \"that if there be but ten men left, who hang on to the truth, to\nJoseph and the Temple, and are willing to do right in all things, let\nme be one of that number.\" If it cost me my life to defend the truth of\nthe everlasting gospel of the Son of God, and to build upon the great\nand mighty foundation which God has laid in this last dispensation and\nfulness of times, through the instrumentality of His servant Joseph,\nthe Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, I am willing to make the sacrifice. I\nam ready to follow the example of those who have gone before me. When\nmy work is done, I am ready to be offered, if necessary.\n\nI would rather see ten men seal a righteous testimony with their blood\nthan to see one man turn traitor, shed innocent blood and damn his\nown soul. The object in living and laboring in the cause of God is to\nsecure a part in the first resurrection, eternal life, and immortal\nglory. A religion that is not worth maintaining at the expense of life\nis not worth having, \"for he that will seek to save his life shall lose\nit, and he that will lay down his life for My sake, the same shall find\nit.\" And again, \"I will prove you, whether you {656} will abide in My\ncovenant, even unto death, saith the Lord.\" Many of the patriarchs,\nprophets, Jesus, the apostles, David, Joseph, and Hyrum, and many\nothers, have sealed their testimony with their blood.\n\nShall we, then, as elders of Israel, or Latter-day Saints, back down,\nfear, tremble, or give up the work, because Elder Rigdon threatens to\nturn traitor or bring mobs upon us, because he cannot made the Church\nbow to his notion of things? No, God forbid! It shows very clearly that\nhe has not the spirit of Christ; for neither the Lord nor one of His\nfollowers ever did such a thing; and it is sufficient to open the mind\nof every Saint to see where he stands. As far as my faith, prayers,\ninfluence, and labor will effect anything, they will go to sustain\nPresident Young, and in connection with him the Quorum of the Twelve,\nin holding the keys of the Kingdom of God, as they have been delivered\nunto them by revelation of Jesus Christ.\n\nAnd I wish to say to all the elders of Israel, and to the Saints of\nGod, that the time has come, when we need a double portion of the\nspirit of Joseph's God to rest upon us. We should gird up our loins,\nwatch and be sober, maintain the priesthood with dignity, have the\ncause of God fully at heart, labor faithfully for its promotion while\nthe day lasts; for night will soon come when no man can work. We\nshould practice virtue and holiness before the Lord and shun the very\nappearance of evil. We should enter our closets, and call upon God for\nwisdom to direct us in every duty in life. Our object should be to\npreach the gospel of Jesus Christ to this generation, and present those\nprinciples that will save the souls of men.\n\nIf there is any man in this Church that does wrong, that breaks the\nlaw of God, it mattereth not what his standing may be, whether among\nthe Twelve, the high priests, seventies, or elders, or in any other\nstanding, there is a tribunal that will reach his case in process of\ntime. There is authority before whom he can be tried. Therefore, let no\none turn against the cause of God, and take the road to destruction, on\nthe plea that somebody has done wrong. It is no excuse for you or me\nto do wrong because another does. The soul that sins, alone must bear\nthe consequence. Should I step aside from the path of duty it would\nnot destroy the {657} gospel of Jesus Christ, or even one principle of\neternal truth; it would remain the same. Neither would it be any excuse\nfor you to commit sin.\n\nTherefore, let me exhort all elders of Israel and Saints of God to rise\nup in the majesty and dignity of their calling, and make full proof of\ntheir ministry and covenant. Sustain by your works the authorities,\nkeys, and priesthood; the eyes of God, angels and men are over you, and\nwhen the work is finished, you will receive your just recompense.\n\nW. WOODRUFF.\n\n{658}\n\n\n\nAppendix B.\n\n(Millennial Star, Vol. 6, p. 113.)\n\n_To the Officers and Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints in the British Islands, Greeting:_\n\nBeloved Brethren, whom I love, for the truth's sake that dwelleth\nin you. It is with no ordinary feelings that I reflect upon the\nresponsibility that is resting upon me, as I enter upon my duties as a\nservant of Jesus Christ, and a counselor to His Saints, in endeavoring\nto fill so important a station as is required at my hands. Trusting\nin that God who has sustained His servants in every age of the world,\nfrom the death of righteous Abel to Joseph, and has enabled them to\naccomplish every work which He has required of them, I feel moved\nupon by the spirit of God to join again my brethren in this land, for\nthe purpose of assisting them in their labors in every good word and\nwork. I hope I shall share in their fellowship and confidence, and\nbe sustained by the prayer of faith, that when called upon I may be\nenabled to render a satisfactory account of my stewardship, both unto\nmy brethren, and to God to whom I am accountable for all my actions.\n\nImpressed with a realizing sense that you desire a true statement of\nfacts concerning the present position, prospects, and intentions of the\nChurch in America, I will endeavor to make one in this epistle.\n\nMany important events have transpired in America since I took the\nparting hand of the Saints in this land, and, in company with six of\nthe Quorum of the Twelve, and Elders Hedlock and Burnham, set sail in\n1841 for our native country. Recent events have brought both joy and\nsorrow to our hearts. They have brought joy unspeakable because of that\nlight, intelligence, and glory which have been made manifest in the\nrevelation of Jesus Christ, through the mouth of His {659} prophet,\nfor the salvation and exaltation of the sons of men. They have brought\nsorrow in the loss of our beloved Prophet and Patriarch, who have\nsealed their testimony with their blood, under the threat that though\nthe laws of the land could not reach them, powder and ball should.\n\nBeloved brethren, think not that any new or strange thing has happened\nin this nineteenth century; because saints, apostles, patriarchs, or\nprophets are slain for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ.\nThe same thing has happened to the ancient patriarchs, prophets, and\napostles of God. The Lamb of God Himself was no exception. Whenever\nsuch men have been inspired by the Almighty to lay the foundation\nof any dispensation for the salvation of men, or for the benefit of\nthe generation in which they lived, or have come in contact with the\nnotions, traditions, and superstitions of the inhabitants of the earth,\nthe people have driven them into the wilderness, or into caves of\nthe earth, and persecuted them even unto death, however careful the\nprophets may have been to keep the laws both of God and man. This was\nthe case with Jesus Christ who held the keys of salvation, not only of\nthe Jews but of the whole world. He was persecuted from His baptism\nto the cross. All manner of evil was spoken against Him falsely, and\nin His last hour, when no testimony could be brought against Him,\nPilate was convinced of His innocence, and found no fault in Him. As\na testimony he washed his hands in their sight, declaring himself to\nbe innocent of His blood. Yet the multitude cried out, \"Crucify Him,\ncrucify Him; His blood be upon us, and upon our children.\" Accordingly\nHis blood has been upon that nation from generation to generation. His\nblood brought upon them condemnation for eighteen hundred years, during\nwhich time they have had to suffer for shedding the blood of the Lord's\nAnointed.\n\nIn like manner it may be said of the Prophet of God in this\ndispensation. He has had to flee into the wilderness, to the mountains\nand caves of the rocks from time to time, to evade the pursuit of his\npersecutors, that he might finish the work committed to his charge. He\nsuffered many trials and hardships, was stoned and mobbed, was often\nput in chains and {660} prison. He was tormented by upwards of forty\nvexatious lawsuits and trials; yet he was not in one instance condemned\nby the laws of the land. Under the pledged protection of the Governor\nand State of Illinois, Joseph, the Prophet, and his brother, Hyrum, the\npatriarch, were basely murdered by something like two hundred American\ncitizens, painted like Indians.\n\nI acknowledge, my beloved brethren, that I blush for my native land,\nand for the name of freemen. I blush for the name of Christianity and\ncivilization. Such deeds the wild savage of the woods would despise\nin his heart. I have the consolation of believing that the innocent\nblood of the Saints, which has dyed the American soil for truth's sake,\nwill cry in the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, until the abettors and\nperpetrators of such horrid tragedies will have to pay the price of the\nblood of those righteous men whom they have martyred.\n\nShould any of the Saints have formed an opinion that the apostles,\nprophets, or saints of God in the last days would not seal their\ntestimony with their blood, I wish to mark it as an error by citing\ntestimony upon the subject. John the Revelator, while wrapped in the\nvisions of the Almighty, saw events that were to transpire in the last\ndays, before the second advent of the Messiah; and in the opening of\nthe fifth seal, he \"saw under the altar the souls of them that had\nbeen slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held;\nand when they asked how long before the Lord would judge and avenge\ntheir blood on those that dwelt on the earth, they were informed they\nmust rest for a little season until their fellow-servants and brethren\nshould be killed as they were.\" Rev. vi. 9, 10, 11. Again, John said,\nin pouring out the plagues upon the earth, xvi. 3, that \"he poured out\nhis phial upon the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man, and\nevery living soul died in the sea; and the third angel poured out his\nphial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood;\nand the angel said the Lord was righteous in so doing, for they have\nshed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood\nto drink, for they are worthy.\"\n\nSome may say, it was in the days of Jesus Christ that this was\nfulfilled, but it was not so; for John lived after, and saw {661}\nthings that should come to pass in the future; and that in the last\ndays the waters were to be turned into blood, because they had shed\nthe blood of prophets and of saints. John also speaks of two other\nwitnesses in Judea that were to be slain; and how many others of the\nservants of God may be called to seal their testimony with their blood\nbefore the coming of Christ, it is not for me to say.\n\nThe Book of Doctrine and Covenants conveys the idea that the Prophet,\nJoseph Smith, might be called to lay down his life. See page 126, last\nof the first paragraph; also page 159, fourth paragraph, \"Behold, I\nwill give you eternal life, even if you should be slain.\" Page 237,\nthird paragraph, \"I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I\nwill prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant\neven unto death, that you may be found worthy.\" Hence, instead of the\ndeath of the Prophet being contrary to the word of God, it is evidently\nin fulfillment of prophecy and the revelations of Jesus Christ.\n\nThe Prophet Joseph was fully aware, for months before his death, that\nhis work was about finished on the earth. I draw this conclusion from\nthe testimony of his own mouth, in his addresses both public and\nprivate. On the 16th of April, 1844, while delivering an address in the\nTemple in Nauvoo, upon the death of Elder Lorenzo Barnes, whose body\nlies interred at Idle, near Bradford, Yorkshire, he remarked that when\nhe died he wished to have an honorable burial with his father and the\nSaints in Nauvoo. He plainly declared that he wished his body to lie\nbeside his father in Nauvoo; for he considered Nauvoo would be a burial\nplace for the Saints.\n\nAgain, months before he made the above request, while delivering an\ninteresting address before the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, he\nsaid, as he had this opportunity, he was going to instruct the Society,\nand point out the way for them to conduct themselves, that they might\nact according to the will of God. He said that he did not know that he\nshould have many opportunities of teaching them, as they were going to\nbe left to themselves; that they would not have him to instruct them;\nthat the Church would not have his instructions long; that the world\nwould not be troubled with him a great while, nor have his teachings;\n{662} that he would deliver the keys to others; and that, according to\nhis prayers, God had appointed him elsewhere.\n\nThe Prophet called the Quorum of the Twelve together several months\nbefore his death, and informed them that the Lord had commanded him\nto hasten their endowments; that he did not expect to remain himself\nto see the Temple completed; that he wished to confer the keys of the\nKingdom of God upon other men, that they might build up the Church\nand Kingdom according to the pattern given. The Prophet stood before\nthe Twelve from day to day, clothed with the spirit and power of God,\nand instructed them in the oracles of God, in the pattern of heavenly\nthings, in the keys of the Kingdom, in the power of the priesthood, and\nin the knowledge of the last dispensation of the fulness of times.\n\nIn his last charge to the Quorum of the Twelve, he rose up in all the\nmajesty, strength, and dignity of his calling, as a prophet, seer,\nand revelator, out of the loins of ancient Joseph, and exhorted and\ncommanded the brethren of the Twelve to rise up, and go forth in the\nname of Israel's God, and bear off the keys of the Kingdom of God in\nrighteousness and in honor in all the world. They were instructed to\nwalk in all holiness, godliness, faith, virtue, temperance, patience,\nand charity; to do honor to the cause of God in this last dispensation\nand fulness of times; and when their work was finished, to follow his\nexample by boldly sealing their testimony with their blood, for the\nword of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, if necessity required\nit, that they might be prepared for the reward, which is beyond the\nveil.\n\nThose who were present on those occasions cannot forget the teachings\nthat fell from the lips of that noble, but now martyred Prophet of\nGod. Though his body sleeps in the tomb, his testimony lives, not\nonly in the hearts of men, but is on record and will remain in force,\nwhile his persecutors will reap a just reward for all their works.\nAnd I hereby bear my testimony unto all men into whose hands these\nlines may fall, that I have been acquainted with Joseph, and Hyrum\nSmith, the Prophet and the Patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints; have attended their private and public counsels\nfrom time {663} to time, during the last ten years of my life; and\nnotwithstanding their enemies have caused the earth to be deluged, as\nit were, with lies, slanders, and fabrications, with the intent to\ninjure their character and destroy their influence among men; that I\nhave never heard either of those men teach, counsel, or advocate, or\npractice any principle that was contrary to the word of God, virtue,\nor temperance, or unbecoming men standing in their high and holy\ncalling. On the contrary, I have been astonished at the patience,\nforbearance, long-suffering, philanthropy, and charity manifested in\nthe lives of those men. I have been filled with joy by the beauty,\norder, knowledge, principles, intelligence, and glory manifest in the\nteachings, counsels, and revelations of Jesus Christ given through\nthose servants of God, for the benefit of the children of men in this\nlast dispensation.\n\nSoon after the Quorum of the Twelve received their endowment, according\nto the counsel of the Prophet, they left Nauvoo (except two) on a\nmission to the Eastern States. They had not been long gone ere the\npersecutors of the Saints were exceedingly mad against them, and sought\nto find accusation against the Prophet, that they might put him to\ndeath.\n\nAt length the Governor and officers of the State of Illinois having\npledged themselves to protect from violence the Prophet and his\nbrother, Hyrum, the latter gave themselves up in answer to the charges\nof their enemies.\n\nThey took the parting hand of their aged mother, bid adieu to wife\nand children, and left in the lovely city of Nauvoo a circle of many\nthousands of friends who were ready to lay down their lives in the\ndefense of their leaders. They went without either warrant or officer,\naccompanied by two of the Twelve, and a few other friends. They rode\nnearly twenty miles into the camp of their enemies, to the town of\nCarthage.\n\nBefore entering the town, the Prophet exclaimed: \"I go as a lamb to the\nslaughter, I am innocent of the crimes whereof I am accused, I die with\na conscience void of offense towards God and towards men.\"\n\nI need not enter upon the details of the horrible tragedy committed\nagainst our lamented brethren, as you have had all {664} the\nparticulars laid before you; suffice it to say that then fell two as\nnoble men as ever dwelt in flesh in this generation; thus were broken\nthe pledged faith and the honor of the Governor and of the State of\nIllinois; thus were the laws and institutions of America disgraced\nin the eyes of the nations of the earth; and the cup of her iniquity\nfilled that she might be prepared for judgment.\n\nWhen the report of these things reached the Quorum of Twelve, most\nof whom were in the Eastern States, some fifteen hundred miles from\nthe city of Nauvoo, we came together in the city of Boston, and made\npreparations for an immediate return to our homes in Nauvoo. Any\nportion of a veil that remained over our eyes concerning any sayings\nof the Prophet about his being taken away from us, etc., was now taken\noff, and we not only saw clearly, but felt deeply in our hearts,\nthe meaning of many of his sayings, while in our midst. We started\ntogether, and in about twelve days, we were again on the soil of\nNauvoo. But how great the change, now many thousands of the Saints were\nin mourning for their lost friends, who had as it were, laid down their\nlives for them; and even the heavens over our heads seemed brooding\nwith gloom over the spilt blood of the Prophets. We ourselves would\nhave been glad of the opportunity to set our houses in order, to mourn\nfor the martyred Prophets for thirty days, as Israel did for Moses,\nand then to rise up, wash our faces, anoint our heads, and go about\nour Master's business. We were even deprived of that privilege; for\naspiring spirits, who are ever ready to rise up on such occasions, were\nalready active. The most conspicuous was Sidney Rigdon. The history\nof his claim you have already had laid before you in the _Times and\nSeasons,_ and in the _Star._ His course was such that of necessity we\nhad to commence Church business the day following our arrival in the\nCity.\n\nMany spirits have gone out into the world of late. One of them was\nplainly manifested in the editors who predicted that as the Prophet\nwas dead, the work of the Latter-day Saints was ended. They thought\nthe Saints would disperse, and the cause fall away and die. They might\nas well have said the same thing after the crucifixion of Christ, have\ndeclared that because He was dead, His testimony would die, and His\napostles desert the {665} cause, and the work fall to the ground to\nrise no more. His testimony just began to be in force. His apostles,\nhaving the keys of the kingdom, walked up into their calling, and\nmagnified the work, three thousand souls uniting with them in one day,\nwhile the work spread far and wide.\n\nSo will it be in this case; the testimony of the late martyred Prophets\nwill now be in force; the principles of light, knowledge, and glory\nthat have flowed from their lips, are too firmly established in the\nhearts of thousands of the Saints to die, but on the contrary must live\nand bring forth fruit to the honor and glory of God.\n\nThe fires of eternal truth have burned too long and too deep into\nthe flesh and bones of the Twelve Apostles of this dispensation to\nbe quenched by anything but death, neither will they permit them\nto turn from their course, to spend their time in the vocations of\nmerchandising, farming, or fishing. A double portion of the spirit\nof God, and the power of the priesthood will rest upon the elders of\nIsrael as they go forth into the vineyard, until tens of thousands will\nrejoice in the fulness of the gospel of the Son of God.\n\nWe found this kind of spirit and feeling resting upon the Saints upon\nour return to Nauvoo. Truly they were called to mourn, but they had\nby no means lost their faith. On the contrary, they were united, if\npossible, with a stronger tie. As with the heart of one man, they were\nready to carry out every measure of the work of God, according to the\npattern and foundation laid by the Prophet who had sealed the work with\nhis life. On the second day after our arrival, August 8th, 1844, we met\nin a special conference all the quorums, authorities, and members of\nthe Church, that could assemble in Nauvoo. They were addressed by Elder\nBrigham Young, the President of the Quorum of Twelve. It was evident to\nthe Saints that the mantle of Joseph had fallen upon him, the road that\nhe pointed out could be seen so plainly, that none need err therein.\nThe spirit of wisdom and counsel attended all his teachings, he struck\nupon a chord, with which all hearts beat in unison.\n\nHe was followed by a number of the Twelve and others, who spoke to the\npoint in an edifying manner, and at the close of {666} the conference,\na number of resolutions were adopted. The following proposition was\nthen submitted: \"Do the Saints want the Twelve to stand at the head,\nas the First Presidency of the Church, and at the head of this kingdom\nin all the world, and next to Joseph, walk up into their calling,\nhold the keys of this kingdom, and preside over all the affairs of\nthe Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-day Saints in all the world?\"\nAll that are in favor of this in all the congregations of the Saints\nmake it manifest by holding up the right hand. At once there was a\nsea of hands, a unanimous vote. A contrary vote was called, and not a\nhand was raised in a congregation of about fifteen thousand Saints.\nSidney Rigdon, himself, who was present, did not vote against it, but,\nI think, in favor of it. Confidence and order were firmly established\nfrom that hour. The two oldest bishops were appointed by the Twelve as\ntrustees-in-trust for the Temple.\n\nThe walls of the Temple arose much faster than ever before. The\nlaborers upon that house manifested a determination not to leave it\nuntil it was finished, even if they obtained nothing but their daily\nbread for their reward. The Quorum of the Twelve immediately entered\nupon their duties by organizing all the quorums of the Church according\nto the order of God, and carrying out all the views and principles\nof the Prophet and Patriarch, according to the pattern given them\nin laying the foundation of this great and mighty work. They have\norganized the churches in North America into districts and conferences\nsimilar to the organization which they formed with the Saints in Great\nBritain. They have organized twelve quorums of the seventies, seven\npresidents to each quorum, who will be prepared after the endowment to\ngo forth unto all nations, bearing glad tidings unto the children of\nmen.\n\nWhen the Quorum of the Twelve met in council, it seemed wisdom in God,\nthat some one of them should visit the churches in Britain; the lot\nfell upon me, as you will see from the recommendations of President\nBrigham Young to visit the churches of Europe. And according to\nappointment, after passing with my family through all the fatigues and\ndangers of a journey and voyage of six thousand miles, I am again in\nyour midst; and I am happy to be able to inform you that the progress\nof the work of the {667} Lord, and the welfare of the Saints, have\nnever been in as prosperous a condition as at the present time, in\nthe United States generally. All letters and papers up to the latest\ndate from Nauvoo confirm this statement; peace, union, order, and\nindustry prevail. Great exertions are made by the Saints to establish\nmanufactures in various branches, that all may be employed, and have\ntheir wants supplied. The Temple is being rapidly completed.\n\nPerhaps some may think that I ought to embody in this address a minute\naccount of the thousand stories and rumors that have been put in\ncirculation by our enemies against the Prophet, Patriarch, the Twelve,\nand the Saints at large. In answer, I say, that if it were the first\ntime that the followers of God were spoken evil of, and every wicked\nslander that could be devised put forth against them, I should consider\nit to be a new thing under the sun. I would spend more time in writing\nabout it; but as every man (according to the Scriptures) that will\nfollow Christ will be hated by the world, and have all manner of evil\nspoken against him, and as the Saints may look for it, I will give it a\npassing notice. John C. Bennett, and many other enemies and apostates\nhave counseled together in order to get up those stories and falsehoods\nthat would have a tendency to injure the Saints, and to prejudice the\nminds of the community against them, without any regard to truth. In\nthis way thousands of reports and stories have been set afloat, many of\nthem so ridiculous and foreign to reason or to common sense, that none\ncould believe them; and one would think that the devil himself would be\nashamed of such agents.\n\nAs to the career of Mr. Sidney Rigdon, I would say, that his late\nviews, opinions, and course, have been so foreign and diverse from that\nof the late Prophet, and from the faith of the Saints, that he has had\nbut very little influence, except with a few uneasy spirits who were\naspiring after something else than doing the will of God. If we have\nbeen rightly informed, even that influence is dying away; and I have\nno doubt that when Mr. Rigdon comes to reflect upon the course he has\ntaken, he will deeply regret having entertained those measures which\nwill end like air castles, in disappointment.\n\nBut, beloved brethren, you may rest assured that the Quorum of the\nTwelve is determined to carry out the order and {668} principles of the\nChurch, according to the law of God. They will take a decided stand\nagainst every principle or practice manifest in the Church contrary to\nthe law of God, of reason, revelation, virtue, or holiness. They are\nmen who have taken upon them the name of Christ with full purpose of\nheart. They have labored diligently and faithfully all the day long,\nfrom the beginning, to establish the foundation of the fulness of the\ngospel, and plant the principles of eternal truth among the nations.\nMany of them have been in your midst, their labors and their diligence\nyou have witnessed. They have spared no pains or sacrifice in planting\nthe work throughout this realm. They are still willing to labor and\nspend their lives in the cause. They desire greatly that the Temple\nshall be finished, that the Saints may receive their endowments, and\nsave themselves and their friends; and that the elders of Israel may go\nforth clothed with the power of God.\n\nThe Twelve are not alone in their feelings in this important work. The\nhigh priests, seventies, elders, and Saints, as one body, throughout\nAmerica, are inspired by the same spirit, and are ready as one man to\nsustain the Quorum of the Twelve by their faith, prayers, confidence,\nand works, and carry out those glorious principles and measures, the\nfoundation of which was laid by the martyred Prophets of God.\n\nWhile union is strength, knowledge is power; and while the work is in\nthe hands of such men, whose motive is to build up the Kingdom of God,\npromote the gospel of Jesus Christ in its purity, and save the souls\nof men, we have no fear that the work will not prosper; that light and\ntruth will not prevail; the name of God will not be glorified; and that\nthe Saints will not be prepared for exaltation beyond the veil.\n\nHaving thus far dwelt upon the cause in America, I will now turn my\nattention to the officers and Saints in this land. It has been a source\nof much consolation to me since my arrival, to hear the report of\nthe union, faith, and determination of the Saints in general, in the\nvarious conferences, scattered abroad through the British Islands. I\nrejoice, beloved brethren, to learn that the same spirit is animating\nyour bosoms, that manifests itself amongst the Saints in Nauvoo. I\nam fully persuaded that those who were appointed as your presidency\nin this land; viz, Elders {669} Hedlock, and Ward, have had much of\nthe spirit of wisdom, prudence, and counsel in all their measures in\nyour midst; they have had grace and strength according to their day,\nand have been faithful over those things committed to their charge.\nI am also happy to learn that the work is in a prosperous condition\nin London, under the wise and faithful teachings of Elder Davis; also\nof its prosperity in Scotland, under the superintendence of Elder\nJohn Cairns, who is now gone to America. I also find Elders Stratton,\nSheets, Meynell, and a number of other elders well employed. Elders\nClark, Jones, Holmes, and Hardy, who accompanied me from America, are\nnow in the field. Elder Jones has gone to Wales both to preach and\nto print in the Welsh language, and with the grace of God and united\nexertion of all the laboring elders throughout the land, I expect ere\nlong we shall reap a rich harvest of souls.\n\nIt is my intention to visit the various conferences throughout the\nkingdom as soon as circumstances will permit.\n\nBeloved brethren, there are several subjects which weigh upon my mind,\nand I beg your attention while I present them before you.\n\nThe first that presents itself is the Temple of God, which He has\ncommanded His Saints in all the world to build unto His holy name.\nI believe all that it is necessary for the Saints in Europe is to\nunderstand this subject in its true light, in order to bring forth\ntheir tithes and offerings unto the storehouse of God, in such a manner\nthat He will open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing\nthat there will not be room enough to contain it. I am not zealous in\nurging this matter upon our friends in this country, because I have\nany fears that the Temple of God cannot be built; for I verily believe\nthat if there should not a farthing be sent from this land, or even the\nUnited States, that the Saints in Nauvoo would never cease their work,\ndiligence, and labors, until they saw the finishing stroke adorn that\nTemple; but, why, O ye Saints of God in Europe, should we stand still,\nwithhold out tithes and offerings, and see our brethren in Nauvoo build\nthat Temple, and then like Jacob, of old, secure alone unto themselves\nthe promised blessings! May God forbid, rather let all the Saints\nthroughout the {670} world send up their tithes, with their names to\nbe recorded in the Book of the Law of the Lord. By so doing they will\nnot only keep the commandments of the Lord, but will own their share in\nthe House, and have a right to all the promised blessings, ordinances,\noracles, and endowments which will not only benefit them, but their\nposterity to the latest generation.\n\nI trust, therefore, that all the presiding elders will make an exertion\nto have all the churches continue their tithes. Send the name of each\nindividual with the money to us in Liverpoool, that we may record the\nsame in a book, and keep a copy with us, and also send a copy of the\nsame with the money to Nauvoo, that it may be recorded in the book of\nthe Law of the Lord.\n\nI wish the Female Society, in all the branches, to continue their\nsubscriptions for the Temple until it is finished. Let their money and\nnames be brought together the same as all other tithes and offerings,\nthat, when the Temple is finished, the whole amount they have paid may\nstand opposite their names in the Book of the Law of the Lord, that it\nmay be known who are the owners of the House.\n\nI wish it to be distinctly understood, that collections of every\ndescription for the Temple, in this land, whether from Church,\nindividuals, or from the Female Society, should be brought with their\nnames to us here in Liverpool, that it may go through the proper\nchannel, that our records may show that all things are done according\nto the order of God.\n\nThe circulation of the works published by the Latter-day Saints is also\na subject I deem of importance. I hope the officers and members will\nuse their influence in circulating the _Star,_ and all other works, as\nwidely as possible. It is wisdom for all the Saints that can, to secure\ncarefully all the numbers of the _Star,_ and at the end of the volume\nget them bound. I here wish to remark that we have on hand at 36 Chapel\nStreet, Liverpool, several hundred copies of the fourth and fifth\nvolumes of _The Times and Seasons,_ sent here by Elder John Taylor.\nThese volumes contain many precious and important documents--the\nhistory of the persecution, the trials and acquittals of the Prophet\nbefore the courts of Illinois; many letters and teachings of the\nProphet; also, a full account of the late murder of our brethren. In\nthem will be found {671} also much of the history connected with the\nrise and progress of the Church. It is not expected that they will ever\nbe reprinted, and when these copies are disposed of they cannot be\nobtained. I hope the Saints, as far as they can, will secure a copy of\nthis work, that they may leave with their posterity an account of the\nrise and progress of the Church, which has been attended with so many\nscenes of vast interest.\n\nWe shall probably publish the \"Book of Doctrine and Covenants\" in\nEngland, as soon as circumstances will permit.\n\nEmigration will continue to Nauvoo, or other parts of America,\naccording to the circumstances and desires of the Saints. We shall\nendeavor to establish an agency in New Orleans, and also in New York,\nand no pains will be spared to make the Saints that wish to emigrate as\ncomfortable as possible.\n\nThat all may understand alike and act in unison in Church matters,\namong all the conferences throughout this country, I would say, that\nwhenever any member of the Church is to be tried for any transgression\nor difficulty, after he has been dealt with according to the laws\nof the Church, that the accuser present his charge in writing in a\ncomprehensible manner, before the council of the officers of the\nbranch to which the accused belongs. The presiding elder of the branch\nwill sit as president, and decide the case according to the testimony\ngiven and according to justice and righteousness before the Lord. The\ndecision should afterwards be presented before the members of that\nbranch, and they be called upon to sanction the decision. Should there\nbe any dissatisfaction with the decision given, an appeal can be made\nto the quarterly conference, by presenting an account of the testimony\nand decision accompanying the appeal. The presiding elder of the\nquarterly conference will preside, and decide the case according to the\ntestimony given.\n\nIf an elder, presiding over any branch of the Church should transgress,\ncharges can be brought against him before the quarterly conference,\nand he can there be tried. If either party be dissatisfied there can\nbe an appeal made to the general or yearly conference, by presenting\nthe testimony, and the decision given, and the president of all the\nconferences in the realm will sit in judgment on the case, and decide\naccording to testimony, which {672} will be an end of controversy\nconcerning the matter. If a presiding elder over a quarterly conference\nshall transgress, charges can be preferred against him before the\ngeneral conference, and he can be tried. If the president over the\nwhole Church in any realm shall transgress, he can be tried before the\ngeneral authorities of the Church assembled in Nauvoo, or wherever they\nbe assembled; so that there is no member exempt in all the Kingdom of\nGod. All these decisions must be made in all lowliness of heart, in\nrighteousness and truth before God.\n\nI would earnestly exhort all the elders or other officers of the Church\nthat stand up to teach the people, not to forget the first principles\nof the gospel; and to seek by faith, prayer and humility, to obtain\nwisdom, and the spirit of God to dictate in all your labors. Wisdom is\none of the greatest gifts of God, and the voice of wisdom will not tell\nus to spend our time in warring against the sects of the day. Opposing\nthe opinions of men; ridiculing the religions that surround us, thereby\nclosing the ears of the hearers; and closing up the understanding of\nmen against light and truth, are not wisdom. The opinions and religions\nof other men are as dear unto them as ours are unto us. Oh ye elders of\nIsrael! let salvation be your text in meekness and humility. Let the\npower of eternal truth, wisdom, light, and knowledge that are hidden\nin the first principles of the gospel of the Son of God be brought\nforth. You can be instrumental in saving the souls of men, and they\nwill rejoice with yourselves that they have beheld the light. We should\nnever get away from the gospel, or leave it to preach something that is\nforeign to our calling, or be contentious about words to no purpose.\nEvery tree is known by its fruit. If we are faithful before the Lord,\npursue a wise and prudent course, good fruit will be sure to follow our\nlabors.\n\nAnd lastly, I wish most strongly to urge upon all officers and\nmembers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout\nthis realm, that they strictly observe and abide by the laws of the\nland. So long as the government protects our lives, persons, and\nproperty--guarantees unto us the rights of conscience in common with\nits subjects, it is perfectly right that we should be submissive to\nthe laws of the same. We should {673} honor and respect the Queen of\nthe Realm, with all the officers of government in their respective\nstations. We shall then be following the example of our Lord and\nMaster, who was ready to render unto Caesar the things that were\nCaesar's, and unto God things that were God's; and any course of\nconduct contrary to this cannot be sustained by the authorities of this\nChurch.\n\nI wish the Saints generally to understand that I have made choice of\nElders Hedlock and Ward as counselors in presiding over and conducting\nthe affairs of the Kingdom of God in this portion of the vineyard;\nand I hope, in conjunction with them, to be able to visit most of the\nconferences as early as possible.\n\nBy way of conclusion I would exhort all the Saints that they unitedly\nobserve the sayings of the Lord, as recorded in the twelfth,\nthirteenth, and fourteenth verses of the fifteenth chapter of John.\nIf we love one another as Christ loves us, we can easily settle all\ndifficulties that may arise in our midst, forgive one another, and be\nfilled with mercy, and light, love, joy, union, peace, and fellowship.\nThere will then be the stability among us, and we shall be much better\nin the sight of God, angels, and men, than when pettyfogging over the\nfaults of our brethren. I especially desire that all the officers of\nthe Church may rightly consider their calling, and make full proof of\ntheir ministry; bear off the priesthood with dignity and honor; be wise\nshepherds that will feed the flocks; prove a blessing to thousands of\nthe human family; and clear their garments of the blood of all men. I\ndesire that they prove themselves true and faithful; and be approved in\nthe sight of heaven; be acknowledged the sons of God; and be prepared\nfor all those blessings that await the friends of God both in time and\neternity. This is the sincere prayer, before God, of your servant and\nfellow laborer in the new and everlasting covenant.\n\nWILFORD WOODRUFF.\n\n{674}\n\n\n\nAppendix C.\n\nSTORM ON LAKE MICHIGAN.\n\n\"We left Manitou Island, Lake Michigan, at 4 o'clock p. m. September\n25, 1841, on the steamer Chesapeake, which contained three hundred\npassengers, six of whom were members of the Church, a large quantity\nof freight and coal, eighty cords of wood, eighty mules, besides pigs,\nchickens, geese, ducks, etc.\n\n\"We continued our journey towards Chicago without any interruption,\nuntil half-past eleven p. m., when we were overtaken by a tremendous\nstorm of wind and rain; it blew a hurricane, and the lake became as\nrough as it could be by the force of wind, and such a scene as quickly\nfollowed I never before witnessed in my travels, either by land or sea.\nThe captain, officers, hands, and most of the passengers expected to\ngo to the bottom of the lake. To have judged from outward appearances\nI should think there were twenty chances of being lost to one of being\nsaved, yet I did not once expect to be lost, for I believed the Lord\nwould by some means save me and my wife and child, who were with me,\nfrom a watery grave.\n\n\"We were some forty miles from land when the gale struck us, and I was\nawakened from a sound sleep by the cry, 'We are all lost.' The first\nthought that entered my mind was, 'No, we shall not be lost.'\n\n\"I immediately leaped out of my berth and went to the upper deck. I saw\nwe were in imminent danger of being wrecked; the bow of the boat was\nheavily laden, and frequently engulfed by the heavy waves that washed\nover her; there were judged to be fifty tons of water at a time on her\nbow; at one time her bow ran under water, and some thought she would\nnever rise; the water set the mules and all the live stock afloat;\nwashed away the partition; and the mules, pigs, chickens, ducks, and\ngeese, were all hurled in one mass down into the steerage cabin, mixed\npell mell with sixty Irish passengers, men, women, and children; at\nthat moment the roaring of the wind, the rush of the waters the peals\nof thunder, {675} the flashes of lightning, the braying of asses, the\nsquealing of pigs, the quacking of ducks, geese and chickens, the\npraying, screaming, and swearing of men, women and children, created\na confusion of sounds which rent the air, and sent a gloomy thrill\nthrough the heart.\n\n\"We immediately went to work, and helped all the passengers out of\nthe water, and from among the beasts, upon the deck, so their lives\nwere preserved, while all the fowls, pigs, and part of the mules were\ndrowned or killed; many tons of water rushed through the boat, until\nthe water stood nearly to the boilers; it drove the firemen from their\nplaces.\n\n\"About this time, when the boat was laboring against the wind and tide\none of the wheel chains broke, and the boat rolled over to one side. I\nagain heard the cry that 'all was lost,' but about thirty of us caught\nhold of the two detached pieces of chain and held them together until\nthe engineer mended them with wire.\n\n\"It took three strong men to manage the wheel; while the boat lay upon\nher side, it washed away a part of the state rooms; orders were given\nto clear the boat of everything that was movable; all the wood was\nfastened with stanchions; on the side that was down, the stanchions\nwere knocked out by the passengers, and forty cords of wood tumbled\ninto the sea at one surge; this caused the boat to right up, and we\nexpected every moment our state room would be washed away. I left it\nthree times with my wife and child, and stepped upon the main deck,\nexpecting to see it washed away; and to add to the horror of the\nsituation we were wrapped in darkness, as all the lanterns were dashed\nto pieces.\n\n\"The men at the wheel labored hard for five hours to turn the boat\nround before they accomplished it, so that they could run before the\nstorm. At length daylight appeared, and with it a cessation of the\nstorm in a measure. We returned to Manitou Island at four o'clock,\nbeing twenty-four hours out, mostly in the storm.\"\n\n{676}\n\n\n\nAppendix D.\n\nRATIONALITY OF THE ATONEMENT.\n\n(Millennial Star, Vol. 6, p. 134.)\n\nA pamphlet has lately made its appearance in Glasgow, published by a\nmember of our Church holding the office of priest, containing 28 pages,\nheaded \"A Treatise on the Atonement, Proving the Necessity of Christ's\nDeath for Man's Redemption Neither Scriptural nor Reasonable. By T. S.\nBarr.\"\n\nWe are sorry to be under the necessity of occupying our time and pages\nin noticing a pamphlet bearing such an introduction, as the production\nof a member of the Church of Christ. We are sorry that any man, bearing\nany portion of the authority of the holy priesthood, should have his\nmind so much overcome by the powers of darkness, as to stray so widely\nfrom the order and counsel of the Kingdom of God. It is not pleasing to\npresent, for the investigation of the public, a heresy so much opposed\nto the revelations of God and to every principle of holiness.\n\nOur object in the present article will not be so much to refute the\nheretical doctrine advanced, as to introduce a portion of the testimony\nin favor of the principle of redemption through the blood of Christ,\nwith which the revelations of God so much abound, in order that our\nviews on the subject may be rightly understood by all, and that the\nSaints of God may be prepared to withstand the assaults of the grand\nenemy of man's salvation, and to set the matter forever at rest in the\nminds of those who believe in the revelations of God.\n\nWe had fully expected that our repeated cautions against individuals\npublishing things without our sanction would be sufficient and save\nus the trouble of repeating the warning. The neglect of the author to\nobserve this counsel causes him to forfeit his authority and standing\nin the Church of God, until, at least, he has repented of his error.\n\nIn our perusal of the pamphlet, we endeavored to find out the object of\nthe author, and the only reasonable conclusion we could {677} arrive at\nwas, that it was a strained attempt on his part to display some talent\nand learning. He is ambitious to make quotations from history, heathen\nmythology, and from the Hebrew language. But it would be far better\nfor a man to be entirely divested of talents, than to use them in\nendeavoring to prove the inefficiency of the atonement of Christ, and\nstriking at the fundamental principle of salvation, as he has done.\n\nThe author introduces himself to his readers by lamenting because of\nhaving \"to labor under great disadvantages while propounding what\nhe conscientiously believes to be a correct solution of this very\nimportant subject, as the views which he holds are diametrically\nopposed to those entertained by Christians of almost all denominations;\nat least (he says) since the foundation of the Romish Church until\nnow, the belief has been tenaciously adhered to amongst professors\nof religion, that Jesus Christ came into the world to suffer an\nignominious death for, or instead of, Adam and his posterity.\"\n\nWe would remark that he would have labored under equal disadvantages,\nas far as professors of the religion of heaven were concerned, had he\nlived contemporary with the Messiah Himself and His apostles, or at\nany period, however remote, subsequent to that time; and that this\ndoctrine was not one of the many false fabrications or dogmas of men\nintroduced to make void the designs of God, or lead the minds of the\npeople away \"after seducing fables and doctrines of devils;\" but that\nit was not only a theme on which the ancient prophets and servants of\nGod delighted to dwell, but the mainspring of all their hopes, and the\nsource from which they drew strength and support, when called to pass\nthrough trials of an overwhelming nature; to substantiate which we will\nmake a few quotations from Scripture.\n\nThe Apostle Paul, after treating at some length on the faith with which\nthe ancient worthies were endowed, speaks of Moses refusing the honors\nwhich Pharaoh's daughter sought to confer upon him, and \"esteeming the\nreproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he\nhad respect unto the recompense of the reward\"--Hebrews xi: 26. And\nafter enumerating the sufferings of others, he informs us that their\nreason for not accepting deliverance was, \"that they might obtain a\nbetter resurrection\" (Hebrews xi: 35), which could only be brought to\npass {678} through the redemption wrought out by the Son of God, as we\nshall be able fully to prove.\n\nThe same apostle, in writing to the Galatians, endeavors to impress\nthis doctrine upon their minds, by proving that the law given through\nMoses was introduced because of transgressions, and was inadequate\nto accomplish their salvation, but merely served as a schoolmaster\nto bring them to Christ, and that it could not disannul the covenant\nthat was made before of God in Christ (Galatians iii: 17); thereby\nproving that Abraham and his successors were conversant with the gospel\nof Christ and the doctrine of redemption through Him. And Job, while\nsuffering under extreme agony, seems to have been supported by this\nhope, when he exclaims, \"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that\nHe shall stand in the latter day upon the earth\" (Job. xix: 25). It\nis also evident that the faith of which they were in possession was\nefficacious, for we are informed by Matthew xxvii: 52, that many of\nthe Saints which slept arose with Christ at His resurrection, who\nmust of a necessity have been some of the prophets and saints who had\nlived prior to His coming. Moreover, we would remark that unless this\ndoctrine had been believed in by the ancients, they were without the\nmeans of obtaining salvation; for Peter says (Acts iv: 12), \"there is\nnone other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved.\"\nIn fine, the continuation of sacrifices from the days of Abel to John\nwas typical of the great and last sacrifice offered up in the person of\nJesus Christ.\n\nAfter this introduction, the author labors to show the absurdity and\nunrighteousness of the doctrine that the Almighty should require\n\"the very heart's blood of His own well-beloved Son Christ Jesus, to\nsatiate His thirst for vengeance.\" As far as we or our principles are\nconcerned, he might have saved himself this trouble, as we do not\nbelieve that such was the object of God in the sacrifice of His Son.\nThe Scriptures are too explicit on this point to be misunderstood. We\nare informed by the Savior Himself, what object His Father had in view\nin His coming into the world. \"For God so loved the world, that He\ngave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not\nperish, but have everlasting life; for God sent not His Son into the\nworld to condemn the world: but that the world through Him might be\nsaved.\" (John iii: 16-17.)\n\n{679} The revelations that God has given to man abundantly prove\nthat God and the eternal worlds are governed by a celestial law; and\nin order that man might enjoy the same glory with Himself, it was\nrequisite that he should keep the same law, \"that which is governed\nby law is also preserved by law, and perfected and sanctified by the\nsame,\" etc., etc. (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 7, Par. 8); but man,\nhaving transgressed the law of God, justly entailed upon himself the\ncurse of this disobedience, from which he was incapable of redeeming\nhimself, neither could any less than infinite sacrifice atone for his\nfall. The effect of his disobedience, it is well known, was death, and\nthis curse has been hereditary to all the posterity of Adam. Let it be\nborne in mind that man, while submitting to this punishment, does so\nwithout any inherent power, independently in himself to accomplish his\nresurrection and restoration to the presence of God and His glory. He\nis now under the jurisdiction and within the dominion of death, and to\nachieve a victory over death it was necessary that some one more holy\nand pure than the being who had become the transgressor should enter\ninto his dominion, in order that he might thereby have that dominion\ndestroyed; and unless this be done, the control which death will hold\nover mankind must be eternal. It will require little argument to prove\nthat the Son of God was, in every way, competent to perform this\ntask, being pure, holy, and unspotted; and that he was the individual\nappointed to accomplish this, is fully substantiated by the testimony\nof John concerning him, \"Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the\nsin of the world\" (John i: 29), that \"as in Adam all die, even so in\nChrist shall all be made alive.\" (I Corinthians xv: 22.)\n\nThe next step taken by the author is to prove that it was unnecessary\nfor Jesus Christ to shed His blood, or that He came into the world\nat all to atone for the transgression of Adam. To use his own\nlanguage--\"Now, seeing that death, misery, pain, and privations have\nbeen the legacy handed down in the human family from generation to\ngeneration, I for my own part, could not see any justice on the part of\nDeity did He demand a victim in our stead. Can any person, possessed of\nhis reason, after recounting the sufferings that Adam and his children\nhave undergone because of his and their own sin, avoid coming to the\nconclusion that man has indeed suffered for himself.\" And then, after\nendeavoring to {680} prove that because death has followed all men,\nthe atonement of Christ was incompetent, and did not accomplish the\nend for which it was intended, he sums up by stating that the mission\nof Messiah was, merely to be a Savior of men by becoming a preacher\nof righteousness, and that He fell a martyr to the truth only, as\ndid the prophets who were slain previous to His coming. With all his\nlearning and self-sufficiency to attain to what he calls \"correct views\nof real heavenly theology,\" he has proven himself, through taking\nthe foregoing stand, either entirely ignorant of the Scriptures, or\nwilfully unacquainted with them, as the following quotations will fully\nprove. \"For this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for\nmany for the remission of sins\" (Mat. xxvi: 28). \"Him, being delivered\nby the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and\nby wicked hands have crucified and slain\" (Acts ii: 23). \"Take heed\ntherefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy\nGhost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which He has\npurchased with His own blood\" (Acts xx: 28). \"Being justified freely by\nHis grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath\nset forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare\nHis righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the\nforebearance of God\" (Romans iii: 24-5). \"In whom we have redemption\nthrough His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches\nof His grace\" (Ephesians i: 7). \"For it pleased the Father that in Him\nshould all fulness dwell: and having made peace through the blood of\nHis cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself: by Him, I say,\nwhether they be things in earth, or things in heaven\" (Colossians i:\n19, 20). \"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto\nthem that look for Him shall He appear without sin unto salvation\"\n(Hebrews ix: 28). \"Then, said I, lo, I come (in the volume of the book\nit is written of me) to do thy will, O God; by the which will we are\nsanctified to the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all\"\n(Hebrews x: 7-10). \"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with\ncorruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation\nreceived by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of\nChrist, as of a lamb without a blemish and without a spot. Who verily\nwas foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest\nin these last times for you; {681} who by him do believe in God that\nraised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory; that your faith and\nhope might be in God\" (I Peter i: 18-21). \"And he is the propitiation\nfor our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the\nwhole world\" (I John ii). \"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful\nwitness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the\nkings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins\nin His own blood\" (Rev. i: 5).\n\nHaving made the foregoing quotations from the New Testament, we shall\nnext introduce a few, on the same subject from the Book of Mormon\n(first European edition).\n\n\"And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had\ntestified of these things, concerning this Messiah of whom he had\nspoken, or this Redeemer of the world. Wherefore, all mankind were in a\nlost and fallen state, and ever would be, save they should rely on the\nRedeemer\" (Page 19).\n\n\"And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that He was taken by the\npeople; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world;\nand I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that He was lifted up upon\nthe cross, and slain for the sins of the world\" (Page 23).\n\n\"And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time that He may redeem the\nchildren of men from the fall. And, because that they are redeemed from\nthe fall, they have become free forever\" (Page 66).\n\n\"Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things, that ye\nmay rejoice and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings\nwhich the Lord God shall bestow upon your children. For I know that\nye have searched much, many of you, to know of things to come;\nwherefore, I know that ye know that our flesh must waste away and die:\nnevertheless, in our bodies, we shall see God. Yea, I know that ye\nknow, that in the body He shall show Himself unto those at Jerusalem,\nfrom whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them;\nfor it behooveth the great Creator that He suffered Himself to become\nsubject unto men, in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men\nmight become subject unto Him. For as death has passed upon all men,\nto fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs\nbe a {682} power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs\ncome unto men, by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of\ntransgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from\nthe presence of the Lord; wherefore, it must needs be an infinite\natonement; save, it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption\ncould not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came\nupon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And, if so,\nthis flesh must have laid down to rot, and to crumble to its mother\nearth, to rise no more. O, the wisdom of God! His mercy and grace!\nFor, behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become\nsubject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal\nGod, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have\nbecome like unto him, and we become devil's angels to a devil, to be\nshut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of\nlies, in misery, like unto himself: yea, to that being who beguiled our\nfirst parents; who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light,\nand stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder,\nand all manner of secret works of darkness. O, how great the goodness\nof our God, who prepareth the way for our escape from the grasp of\nthis awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call\nthe death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. And because\nof the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this\ndeath, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up\nits death: which death is the grave. And this death, of which I have\nspoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which\nspiritual death is hell: wherefore, death and hell must deliver up\ntheir dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave\nmust deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of\nmen shall be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the\nresurrection of the Holy One of Israel. O, how great the plan of our\nGod! For, on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the\nspirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the bodies of the\nrighteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again,\nand all men become incorruptible and immortal, and they are living\nsouls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us, in the flesh; save,\nit be that our knowledge shall be perfect; wherefore, we shall have a\nperfect knowledge of all our gilt, and our uncleanness, {683} and our\nnakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their\nenjoyment, and their righteousness being clothed with purity, yea, even\nwith a robe of righteousness\" (Pages 80-81).\n\n\"For, behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Lord God\nworketh not in darkness. He doeth not anything, save it be for the\nbenefit of the world; for He loveth the world, even that He layeth down\nHis own life, that He may draw all men unto Him\" (Page 112).\n\n\"For, behold, and also His blood atoneth for the sins of those who have\nfallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died, not knowing the\nwill of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned\" (Page 169).\n\n\"For, behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood\nof Christ atoneth for their sins, and, moreover, I say unto you,\nthat there shall be no other name given, nor any other way, nor\nmeans, whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in\nand through the name of Christ the Lord Omnipotent. For, behold, He\njudgeth, and His judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that\ndieth in His infancy; but now men drink damnation to their own souls\nexcept they humble themselves and become as little children and believe\nthat salvation was, and is, and is to come in and through the atoning\nblood of Christ the Lord Omnipotent\" (Page 170).\n\n\"For, were it not for the redemption which He hath made for His people,\nwhich was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you,\nwere it not for this, all mankind must have perished. But, behold, the\nbands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth and hath power\nover the death; therefore, He bringeth to pass the resurrection of the\ndead\" (Page 198).\n\n\"Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the\nresurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was\nto be brought to pass through the power and the sufferings and the\ndeath of Christ, and His resurrection and ascension into heaven\" (Page\n202). \"And He will take upon Him death, that He may loose the bands of\ndeath which bind His people\" (Page 256).\n\n\"Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death, and the death\nof Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall\nbe raised from this temporal death\" (Page 270).\n\n{684} \"Now, Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the\ncoming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and\nthat there could be no redemption for mankind, save it were through the\ndeath and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of His blood\" (Page\n303).\n\n\"Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among\nthe children of men, to take upon Him the transgressions of His people,\nand that He shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God\nhas spoken it; for it is expedient that an atonement should be made;\nfor according to the great plan of the eternal God, there must be an\natonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all\nare hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except\nit be though the atonement which it is expedient should be made; for\nit is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea,\nnot a sacrifice of man, neither of beasts, neither of any manner of\nfowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be infinite\nand eternal sacrifice. Now, there is not any man that can sacrifice\nHis own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now, if a man\nmurdereth, behold, will our law, which is just, take the life of his\nbrother? I say unto you, nay. But the law requires the life of him\nwho hath murdered; therefore, there can be nothing which is short of\nan infinite atonement, which will suffice for the sins of the world;\ntherefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last\nsacrifice, and then, shall there be, or it is expedient there should\nbe, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of Moses be\nfulfilled; yea, it shall be fulfilled every jot and title, and none\nshall have passed away. And behold, this is the whole meaning of the\nlaw; every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that\ngreat and last sacrifice shall be the Son of God; yea, infinite and\neternal; and thus He shall bring salvation to all those who shall\nbelieve on His name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice,\nto bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and\nbringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance\"\n(Pages 341-2).\n\n\"Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease\nto be God, and thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were\nin the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigns them\nforever to be cut off from His presence. {685} And now, the plan of\nmercy cannot be brought about, except an atonement should be made,\ntherefore, God Himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring\nabout the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God\nmight be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. Now, repentance\ncould not come unto men except there were a punishment which also was\neternal, as the life of the soul should be affixed opposite to the plan\nof happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul. Now,\nhow could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there\nwas no law, how could there be a law except there were punishment?\"\n(Pages 362-3).\n\n\"And it came to pass that He stretched forth His hand and spake unto\nthe people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, of whom the prophets\ntestified shall come into the world, and behold I am the light and the\nlife of the world, and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the\nFather hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me\nthe sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the\nFather in all things from the beginning\" (Page 513). \"And my Father\nsent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross, and after that I had\nbeen lifted up upon the cross I might draw all men unto me\" (Page 547).\n\"And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they\nare brought back into the presence of the Lord, yea, this is wherein\nall men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass\nthe resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless\nsleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God\nwhen the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and\ngreat, and all shall stand before His bar, being redeemed and loosed\nfrom this eternal band of death\" (Page 578). \"Behold, I am He who was\nprepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people\" (Page\n587). \"And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and\ndeny not His power, then ye are sanctified in Christ, by the grace\nof God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the\ncovenant of the Father, unto the remission of your sins, that ye become\nholy without spot\" (Page 634).\n\nTo conclude our evidence on this subject, we shall make a few\nquotations from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.\n\n\"I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the {686}\nsins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they\nmay become the sons of God, even one in me, as I am in the Father, and\nthe Father is one in me, that we may be one\" (Sec. xi: Par. 1).\n\n\"And verily, I say even as many as have believed on my name, for I am\nChrist, and in my own name by the virtue of the blood which I have\nspilt have I pleaded before the Father for them\" (Sec. xii, Par. 1).\n\n\"Listen to Him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading\nyour cause before Him, saying, Father, behold the sufferings and death\nof Him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood\nof thy Son which was shed--the blood of Him whom Thou gavest that\nThyself might be glorified\" (Sec. xi, Par. 1).\n\n\"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; for\nbehold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh wherefore\nHe suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come\nunto him.\" (Sec. xliii, Par. 3), \"For, behold, I God, have suffered\nthese things for all that they might not suffer if they would repent,\nbut if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which\nsuffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble\nbecause of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both\nbody and spirit, and would that I might not drink the bitter cup\nand shrink--nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and\nfinished my preparations unto the children of men.\" (Sec. xliii; Par.\n2).\n\nIt is written, \"that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word\nmay be established.\" As we have quoted from many witnesses out of\nthree records, we trust it will have a tendency to enlighten, not only\nthe mind of the author of the pamphlet, but all those who doubt the\ndoctrine of atonement through the blood of Christ. It will have been\nfully established beyond all controversy, from the flood of testimony,\nwhich we have brought from the revelations of God, given in various\ndispensations and ages of the world, and in different parts of the\nglobe, that the object of Christ's mission to the earth was to offer\nHimself as a sacrifice to redeem mankind from eternal death, and that\nit was perfectly in accordance with the will of the Father that such\na sacrifice should be made. He acted strictly in obedience to His\nFather's will in all {687} things from the beginning, and drank of\nthe bitter cup given Him. Herein is brought to light, glory, honor,\nimmortality, and eternal life, with that charity which is greater than\nfaith or hope, for the Lamb of God, has thereby performed that for man\nwhich he could not accomplish for Himself. As justice in the first\nplace has had its claim, and the words of God have been verified--\"In\nthe day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die\"--so, on the other\nhand mercy has been extended, and the love of God manifested in\nbreaking the bands of death, whereby the spirits and bodies of men\nare re-united, the spirits of the just received in exaltation in the\npresence of God and the Lamb--in the same tabernacles in which they\ntoiled, labored, and suffered while on earth, without which union it is\nimpossible for the souls of men to receive the fulness of glory. There\nis a glory connected with this that will be an eternal source of joy\nto every citizen of the celestial kingdom. The spirits, on the other\nhand, of those who reject the gospel of Christ and slight His proffered\nmercies, must return to their bodies in the last resurrection to\nreceive a fulness of their punishment in the same tabernacles in which\nthey dwelt while warring against God. We would hereby warn all men who\nmay hear the sound of the words to repent of their sins and obey the\ngospel of the Son of God, that they may escape the punishment of those\n\"who have trodden under foot the Son of God, and have counted the blood\nof the covenant, wherewith they were sanctified, an unholy thing, and\nhave done despite unto the spirit of grace\" (Heb. x: 29), and that\nthey may have a part in the first resurrection, and have their names\n\"written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of\nthe world\" (Rev. xiii: 8), and be prepared to join in chanting the new\nsong, saying, \"Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals\nthereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood,\nout of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made\nus unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth\"\n(Rev. v:9, 10).\n\nWe will now close with the words of Jacob, from the Book of Mormon,\npage 147: \"Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words\nof the prophets? and will ye reject all the words which have been\nspoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning Him; and\ndeny the good word of Christ and the Power of God, and the gift of the\nHoly Ghost, and quench the {688} Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the\ngreat plan of redemption which has been laid for you? Know ye not that\nif ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the\nresurrection which is in Christ will bring you to stand with shame and\nawful guilt before the bar of God.\"\n\nWILFORD WOODRUFF,\n\nPresident of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the\nBritish Isles.\n\n\n\nWIVES OF WILFORD WOODRUFF.\n\n +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n |NAME                             |WHEN BORN    |WHERE BORN                        |WHEN DIED    |WHERE DIED            |FATHER'S NAME    |MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME   |WHEN MARRIED  |\n +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n |Phoebe Whittemore Carter Woodruff|March 8, 1807|At Scarboro, Maine                |Nov. 10, 1885|Salt Lake City, Utah  |Ezra Carter      |Sarah Fabyan           |April 13, 1837|\n |Mary Ann Jackson Woodruff        |Feb. 18, 1818|Liverpool, England                |Oct. 25, 1894|do                    |William Jackson  |Elizabeth Lloyd April  |April 15, 1846|\n |Emma Smith Woodruff              |March 1, 1838|Adam-Ondi-Ahman. Daviess Co., Mo. |             |                      |Samuel Smith     |Martisha Smoot         |March 13, 1853|\n |Sarah Brown Woodruff             |Jan. 1, 1834 |Henderson, Jefferson Co., New York|May 9, 1909  |Smithfield, Utah      |Henry Brown      |Rhoda North            |March 13, 1853|\n |Sarah Delight Stocking Woodruff  |July 26, 1838|Canton, Hartford Co., Conn.       |May 28, 1907 |South Cottonwood, Utah|John Jay Stocking|Catharine Emilie Ensign|July 31, 1857 |\n +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n\n\n\nCHILDREN OF WILFORD WOODRUFF.\n\n +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n |NAME                           |WHEN BORN     |WHERE BORN               |WHEN DIED     |WHERE DIED               |FATHER'S NAME   |MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME    |\n +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n |Sarah Emma Woodruff            |July 14, 1838 |Scarboro, Maine          |July 17, 1840 |Nauvoo, Illinois         |Wilford Woodruff|Phoebe Whittemore Carter|\n |Wilford Woodruff, Jr.          |March 22, 1840|Montrose, Lee Co., Iowa  |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Phoebe Amelia Woodruff         |March 4, 1842 |Nauvoo, Illinois         |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Susan Cornelia Woodruff        |July 25, 1843 |do                       |Oct. 6, 1897  |Sioux City, Iowa         |do              |do                      |\n |Joseph Woodruff                |July 18, 1845 |Liverpool, England       |Nov. 12, 1846 |Winter Quarters, Nebraska|do              |do                      |\n |Ezra Woodruff                  |Dec. 8, 1846  |Winter Quarters, Nebraska|Dec. 10, 1846 |do                       |do              |do                      |\n |Sarah Carter Woodruff          |Oct. 28, 1847 |Council Bluffs, Iowa     |July 22, 1848 |Illinois                 |do              |do                      |\n |Beulah Augusta Woodruff        |July 19, 1851 |Salt Lake City, Utah     |Jan. 13, 1905 |Salt Lake City, Utah     |do              |do                      |\n |Aphek Woodruff                 |Jan. 25, 1853 |do                       |Jan. 25, 1853 |do                       |do              |do                      |\n |James Jackson Woodruff         |March 25, 1847|Florence, Nebraska       |              |                         |do              |Mary Ann Jackson        |\n |Hyrum Smith Woodruff           |Oct. 4, 1857  |Salt Lake City, Utah     |Nov. 24, 1858 |do                       |do              |Emma Smith              |\n |Emma Manella Woodruff          |July 4, 1860  |do                       |Nov. 30, 1905 |Vernal, Utah             |do              |do                      |\n |Asahel Hart Woodruff           |Feb. 3, 1863  |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Ann Thompson Woodruff          |April 10, 1867|do                       |April 11, 1867|Salt Lake City, Utah     |do              |do                      |\n |Clara Martisha Woodruff        |July 23, 1868 |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Abraham Owen Woodruff          |Nov. 23, 1872 |do                       |June 21, 1904 |El Paso, Texas           |do              |do                      |\n |Winnifred Blanch Woodruff      |April 9, 1876 |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Mary Alice Woodruff            |June 2, 1879  |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |David Patten Woodruff          |April 4, 1854 |do                       |              |                         |do              |Sarah Brown             |\n |Brigham Young Woodruff         |Jan. 18, 1857 |do                       |June 16, 1877 |Smithfield, Utah         |do              |do                      |\n |Phoebe Arabella Woodruff       |May 30, 1859  |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Sylvia Melvina Woodruff        |Jan. 14, 1862 |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Newton Woodruff                |Nov. 3, 1863  |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Mary Woodruff                  |Oct. 26, 1867 |do                       |Feb. 15, 1903 |Provo City, Utah         |do              |do                      |\n |Charles Henry Woodruff         |Dec. 5, 1870  |do                       |Feb. 2, 1871  |Salt Lake City, Utah     |do              |do                      |\n |Edward Randolph Woodruff       |Feb. 2, 1873  |Randolph, Rich Co., Utah |Feb. 8, 1873  |Randolph, Rich Co., Utah |do              |do                      |\n |Marion Woodruff                |June 1, 1861  |Salt Lake City, Utah     |              |                         |do              |Sarah Delight Stocking  |\n |Emeline Woodruff               |July 25, 1863 |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Ensign Woodruff                |Dec. 23, 1865 |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Jeremiah Woodruff              |Aug. 29, 1868 |Fort Herriman, Utah      |Dec. 16, 1869 |Salt Lake City, Utah     |do              |do                      |\n |Rosanna Woodruff               |April 17, 1871|Salt Lake City, Utah     |Oct. 22, 1872 |do                       |do              |do                      |\n |John Jay Woodruff              |Aug. 14, 1873 |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n |Julia Delight Stocking Woodruff|June 28, 1878 |do                       |              |                         |do              |do                      |\n +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+\n\n\"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord. * * * Happy is the man that\nhath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but shall\nspeak with the enemies in the gate.\"--Psalm 127.\n\n\"He poureth contempt upon princes, * * * yet setteth he the poor on\nhigh from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.\"--Psalm 107.\n\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n  Aaronic Priesthood, 171.\n  Accidents, 5\n  Adultery, 195.\n  Adams, George, 235.\n  Adam, 450.\n  Adam-ondi-Ahman, 481, 545.\n  Adams, Elias, 504.\n  Address, Last Public, 620.\n  Agitation in U. S. against Mormons, 538.\n  Aitken, Robert, 125.\n  Akeman, 50.\n  Akeman, fell dead, 53.\n  Alaska, Trip to, 590.\n  Albion, James, 135.\n  Albinos, 523.\n  Albuquerque, 524.\n  Allen, Captain, 250.\n  Allen, Colonel, 392.\n  Alexander, Randolph, 60.\n  Alexander, Colonel, 390, 402.\n  Alleghanies, crossed by railroad, 194.\n  Anointing, Second, 198.\n  Apaches, 522.\n  Apostleship, Called to, 83.\n  Archbishop of Canterbury, 118.\n  Arkansas River, Down the, 54.\n  Aropene, 378, 403.\n  Arizona, Attempt to rob Saints of land in, 550.\n  Arizona, Tour of, 568.\n  Arthur's Seat, 239.\n  Arm Broken, 6.\n  Arrest of Joseph, 181.\n  Arrow-head in Zelph, 41.\n  Ash Creek, 286.\n  Ashley Valley, In, 557.\n  Atonement, 447.\n  Authority, 171, 378.\n  Avieta, Mrs. Pascual, 527.\n  Axtell, Samuel W., 485.\n\n  Ballou's Hall, 396.\n  Baltimore National Convention, 207.\n  Bannigan, 590.\n  Baptism, 171.\n  Baptism for the Dead, 18, 155, 163, 165, 180, 229.\n  Baptism, First, 29.\n  Baptismal Font, 380.\n  Baptiste, John, 416.\n  Barnes, Lorenzo, 173, 236, 240.\n  Barnes, William, 504.\n  Bautista, Juan, 523.\n  Bear, Meets, 49.\n  Bears, 297.\n  Bear River, 309.\n  Bear Lake, 436.\n  Beck, Charles, 190.\n  Bed spread presented to Wilford Woodruff, 614.\n  Beman, a mobocrat, 50.\n  Beman, Eliza, 456.\n  Benbow, John, 116, 158, 260.\n  Bennett, John C, 166.\n  Benson, Ezra T., 251, 414, 461.\n  Bernheisel, 387, 398.\n  Berry, Elder, Death of, 552.\n  Big Pigeon River, 254.\n  Big Elk, 257.\n  Birthday, 495, 532, 549, 564, 586, 598.\n  Birthday greeting, 512.\n  Blakesly, James, 71.\n  Black Hills, 292, 299.\n  Black's Fork, 308.\n  Black Rock, 347.\n  Blackhurst, Jane, 443.\n  Blessing, Patriarchal, 69.\n  Boards of Trade, local, 506.\n  Body-guard of Joseph, 42.\n  Bond, 178.\n  Boggs, Gov., 99, 167.\n  Book of Mormon, first edition published in England, 119.\n  Book of Moses, 159.\n  Boggs, L. W. 254, 294.\n  Bordoe, 293.\n  Brannan, S., 306.\n  Breast-bone broken, 10.\n  British Mission, 244.\n  Bridger, Col., 306.\n  Brigham City, Ariz., 517.\n  Brigham Young College, Dedication of, 553.\n  Broadsword in heavens, 172.\n  Brocchus, Judge, 348.\n  Brown, Captain, 307.\n  Buchanan, President, 401.\n  Buffaloes, 265, 273, 274.\n  Bull, Infuriated, 6.\n  Bunker Hill, 89.\n  Burial places, 173.\n  Burton, Captain, 426.\n  Burt, Bishop, Death of, 547.\n\n  Cadron, 54.\n  Cain, 351.\n  Cairus, Sister, 72.\n  Carlin, Gov., 169.\n  Call, Josiah, 403.\n  California, Trip to, 565, 568.\n  California, 199.\n  Campbell, James, 41.\n  Camp Floyd, 408.\n  Cannon, George Q., 114.\n  Cannon, George Q., Arrest of, 557.\n  Cannon, George Q., Imprisonment of, 563.\n  Cannon, Abram H., Call to Quorum of Twelve, 565.\n  Cannon, Abram H., Death of, 597.\n  Candidacy for President of U.S., 199.\n  Canyon Creek, 321.\n  Capstone, 579.\n  Card playing, 24, 289.\n  Carter, Phoebe, his wife, 69.\n  Carter, Ezra, 74, 337.\n  Carrington, Albert, 462.\n  Carver, Ebenezer, 187.\n  Cedar City, 345, 363.\n  Celestial Law, 198.\n  Chartered rights of Nauvoo, 184.\n  Chase, Darwin, 101.\n  Chase, Father, 268.\n  Cheney, Elijah, 32.\n  Chills and fever, 109.\n  Chimney Rock, 287, 288.\n  Children, Growth of after resurrection, 553.\n  Cholera, Zion's Camp, 43.\n  Church and State, 344, 350, 598.\n  Church records, 384.\n  Civil War, 173, 427.\n  Cincinnati, 189.\n  City Creek, 272.\n  Civilization, Modern, 402.\n  Clark, Hyrum, 233.\n  Clark, Ezra, 440.\n  Clayton, William, 114, 280, 281.\n  Clear Creek, 272.\n  Clithero Conference, 241.\n  Coal, 297.\n  Cockpit, 238.\n  Colfax, Schuyler, 442, 462.\n  Collins, Samuel, 27.\n  Colorado River, 513.\n  Coombs, Benjamin, 80, 82.\n  Companionship, Dangerous, 24.\n  Conference at Fish Lake, 552, 554.\n  Consecration, 415.\n  Constable Baptized, 118.\n  Convention, Wesleyan, 150.\n  Connor, Col., 421, 422.\n  Co-operation, 457.\n  Copeland, Dr. Wm, 135.\n  Copyright Doctrine & Covenants, 238.\n  Cordon, Alfred, 115.\n  Corner, 123.\n  Cottonwood, 273.\n  Court mob, 59.\n  Counsel, 176.\n  Council Point, 256.\n  Council Bluffs, 257.\n  Cove Fort, 459.\n  Cowles, 21.\n  Cowley, Matthias, 436, 618.\n  Crow, Robt., 293.\n  Cradlebaugh, Judge, 405.\n  Crow Indians, 323.\n  Crusade, Beginning of, 548.\n  Cumming, Alfred, 391-400.\n\n  Dalton, Edward M., Death of, 558.\n  Damnation of hell, defined, 162.\n  Dancing, 354.\n  Davis, George, 446.\n  Dawson, John W., 415, 432.\n  Death, 161.\n  Deer, 273.\n  Deer Creek, 296.\n  Deseret Theological Society, 362.\n  Deseret Alphabet, 367.\n  Deseret A. & M. Society, 403.\n  Deseret News, 480.\n  Devil's Gate, 304.\n  Dibble, Philo, 329.\n  Directions as to his burial, 622.\n  Discipline, 196.\n  Doctrine & Covenants, 238, 242.\n  Doty, Governor, 442.\n  Dom Pedro, Emperor, 490.\n  Douglass, Minister, 78, 84.\n  Douglas, Stephen A., 385, 409.\n  Dream, Serpents, 51.\n  Dream, Warned in, 60.\n  Dreams, 189, 199, 227, 234, 376, 446, 505, 529, 562.\n  Drowned, 7.\n  Duncan, Joseph, 188.\n\n  Eames, Captain, 78.\n  Earthquake, 574.\n  Echo Canyon, 389.\n  Education, 20, 351, 364.\n  Edmunds, Thomas, 504.\n  Edmunds Bill, 539.\n  Electric power plant, 585.\n  Elder, Ordained an, 56.\n  Eldredge, Horace, 111.\n  Eliot, President, 578.\n  Elijah, 198.\n  Elkhorn River, 263.\n  Elk, 278.\n  Emery, Gov., 489, 574.\n  Endowments, 66, 195, 226.\n  Endowment House, 362, 372.\n  Ensign Peak, 316.\n  Epistle to the World, 506.\n  Epitaph, L. Barnes', 240.\n  Escaped arrest, 559.\n  European Mission, 225.\n  Exemplary Deacons, 544.\n  Excitement, 176.\n  Exile in Arizona, 506, 513.\n  Exodus, 247, 248, 262.\n  Exploring Expedition to California, 199.\n  Extradition, 181.\n\n  Fabyan, Chas., 145.\n  Far West, 101.\n  Federal Officers, Change in, 563.\n  Ferry, Platte, 300, 301.\n  Field-glass, 279.\n  Fillmore, 365.\n  Fisher, A, 20.\n  Fishing River, 41.\n  Fish at Fox Islands, 76.\n  First Presidency, 325.\n  Flagstaff Springs, 515.\n  Flag at half-mast, 554.\n  Fordham, Elijah, 89, 104.\n  Ford, Gov., 188.\n  Fort Laramie, 293.\n  Fort St. John, 293.\n  Forgiveness, 365.\n  Forway, Dr.,403.\n  Fourth of July, 1843, 187.\n  Fourteenth Ward, 343.\n  Fowler, O. S. 193.\n  Fox Islands, Mission to, 70, 337.\n  Fox, Jesse, 317.\n  Franklin, Benjamin, 586.\n  Fremont, 306.\n  Frome Hill, 117.\n  Frozen, 8.\n  Funeral of Wilford Woodruff, Day of, 622.\n\n  Gardo House, Reception at, 538.\n  Gardo House, Dedication of, 545.\n  Gathering, 192.\n  Gates, Susa Y., 492.\n  Genealogy, 3.\n  Gibbs, Elder, Death of, 552.\n  Gibson, Walter M., 411, 435.\n  Greeley, Horace, 409.\n  Glories, 180.\n  Godbe, Mrs. Wm.,446.\n  Godbe Movement, 463.\n  Godhead, 180.\n  Gold, 407, 424.\n  Goodson, John, 72.\n  Goodyear, 309.\n  Gordon, John, 72.\n  Grant, J. M., 234, 374.\n  Grant, U. S., 489.\n  Grant, Heber J., Call to Quorum of Twelve, 542.\n  Grasshoppers, 451.\n  Great Basin, 254, 306, 313.\n  Green River, 305, 307.\n  Guardian, 218.\n\n  Habeas Corpus, 168, 180.\n  Hades, 180.\n  Hailstorm, Miraculous, 41.\n  Hale, Jonathan, 71.\n  Ham's Fork, 392.\n  Hammond, Francis A., 440.\n  Handsome men, 176.\n  Hancock, Solomon, 275.\n  Hand-carts, 371, 380.'\n  Hardman, Squire, 56.\n  Hart, Adna, 73, 112.\n  Harvey, Major, 268.\n  Harris, Major, 306.\n  Harris, Martin, 468.\n  Harrison, President, 580, 574.\n  Hardy, Leonard,Birthday party, 534.\n  Haun's Mill, 103.\n  Hawaiian reunion, 564.\n  Healing power, 16, 104, 119, 333, 445.\n  Hell Gate, 301.\n  Hickman, Wm., 434, 470.\n  Higbee, Elias, 46.\n  Higbee, John, 296.\n  History, Reading, 25.\n  Historian's Office, 371.\n  Holmes, Nathaniel, 74.\n  Holmes, Milton, 71, 95, 236.\n  Holy Ghost, 107, 162, 224.\n  Holy Land, 168.\n  Hooper, Captain Wm. H., Death of 543.\n  Hot Springs, Midway, 438.\n  Horse poisoned, 61.\n  Houston, General, 401.\n  Hubbel, 52.\n  Hulme, Captain, 132.\n  Humor, 367.\n  Hunt, Buffalo, 274, 275.\n  Hunting grounds, 283.\n  Hunter, 352.\n  Hunter, Bp., Prophecy by, 560.\n  Hunter, Bp., Death of, 548\n  Hyde, Orson, 114, 168, 187, 247, 252, 505.\n\n  In Exile, 553.\n  Independence Hall, 191.\n  Independence Rock, 304.\n  Indians, 271, 272, 273, 283, 321, 357, 420, 421, 441, 467.\n  Infant Baptism, 161.\n  Infidelity, 161.\n  Irish, Colonel, 441.\n  Iron Company, 352.\n  Irrigation Congress, 575\n  Isletas, 522, 524.\n  Ivins, A. W., 596.\n\n  Jackson Co., 432.\n  Jeremiah, 1.\n  Jereu, A Frenchman, 48.\n  John, the Baptist, 171.\n  Jones, Dan, 233, 328.\n  Jones, N. V., 410, 422, 464.\n  Jordan, 320.\n  Joseppa, Visit to, 568.\n  Journalizing, 210, 476.\n  Jubilee Celebration, 616.\n  July 24, 1847, 313.\n\n  Kane, Thomas L., 251, 252, 254, 263, 333, 339, 397, 480.\n  Kanosh, 366.\n  Kearney, Colonel, 250.\n  Kidnapping, 195.\n  Kinney, Judge, J. F., A Visit from, 616.\n  Kinnikinic, 324.\n  Kimball, David P., 461.\n  Kimball, Hyrum, 157.\n  Kimball, Heber C.,101, 124, 238.\n  Kington, Thomas, 119.\n  Kingdom of God, 170.\n  Kirtland, Wilford Woodruff moves to, 37.\n  Kirtland, Plan of City, 67.\n  Kirtland, Conditions in, 70.\n  Knowledge, 164, 174, 175.\n\n  Labent Creek, 295.\n  Lagumas, 522.\n  Lamanites, 522.\n  Laney, Isaac, 103, 429.\n  Laurel wreath, 616.\n  Law, Wm., 164, 197.\n  Lawyers, 186.\n  Lee, John D., 388.\n  Legislation, 360.\n  Letter to King and Queen of Sweden, 617.\n  Letter to News from Sunset, Arizona, 513.\n  Letter to Prest. Taylor and Council, 521.\n  Liberty, 13, 14.\n  Liberal Party, 584.\n  Lieutenant General, 188.\n  Lincoln, Abraham, 441.\n  Little, Jesse C, 263.\n  Little, Charles, 428.\n  Liverpool, 114.\n  Liquor, 65, 430.\n  Looking-glass Creek, 267.\n  London, 121.\n  Lord Mayor of London, 130, 151.\n  Losses, Financial, 26.\n  Loup Fork, 266, 268.\n  Luce, Jason, 434.\n  Lund, A. H., Call to Quorum of Twelve, 565.\n  Lyman, Amasa, 220, 307, 447, 449.\n  Lyman, Francis M., Call to Apostleship, 533.\n\n  Mack, Solomon, 233.\n  Mad dog, Bitten by, 8.\n  Maid of Iowa, 182.\n  Malvern Hill, 119.\n  Manifesto, 569.\n  Marsh, Thomas B., 61, 100, 381.\n  Marks, Ephraim, 164.\n  Martyrdom, The, 172, 207, 208, 210.\n  Markham, Stephen, 182, 264.\n  Marks, Wm., 216.\n  Marriage Ceremony by Wilford Woodruff, 618.\n  Mason, a Prophet, 16.\n  Masonic Lodge, 160, 166, 181.\n  Maxwell, Elder, 392.\n  Memorial to Congress, 396.\n  Memphis, Preaching in, 55.\n  Merrill, M. W., Call to Quorum of Twelve, 565.\n  Mexican War, 250.\n  Michael, the Archangel, 450.\n  Migration to N. Y., 30.\n  Miller, 4, 23.\n  Mills, Andrew, 22.\n  Miller, Henry, 26, 327.\n  Miller, George, 110, 225.\n  Millennial Star named, 119.\n  Milliken, Lucy, 193.\n  Military Tactics, 279.\n  Mile-gage, 280, 281.\n  Militia, 463.\n  Mind, The, 176.\n  Mining, 442.\n  Mission, Southern States, 46.\n  Mission to England, 109.\n  Missionaries, Instructions to, 412, 426.\n  Missouri, 187.\n  Missouri River, 253.\n  Missouri Companies, 295.\n  Moan Copy, 513.\n  Moderation, 176.\n  Mogo, 407.\n  Monument, Brigham Young, 616.\n  Moquis, 522.\n  Mormon Battalion, 252, 255, 296, 317.\n  Mormon Trail, 277.\n  Morgan, John, 553.\n  Morgan, Senator, 565.\n  Morley, Isaac, 254.\n  Moses, Mrs. Ann, 504.\n  Mosita, Negra, 523.\n  Mountain Meadows, 388.\n  Move, The, 399.\n  Murphy, 310.\n  Murray, Gov., 558.\n  Mysteries, 180.\n  McKean, Judge, 476, 486.\n  McNeil Springs, Arizona, 519.\n\n  Napela, 461.\n  Nauvoo, 146.\n  Nauvoo House, 155.\n  Nauvoo Legion, 160, 165, 188, 347.\n  Nauvoo Home, 177.\n  Nauvoo Temple, Dedication of, 247.\n  Navajoes, 522.\n  Nebraska, 254.\n  Nephites, 522.\n  Newman, Elijah, 271.\n  Newton, Minister, 76, 77.\n  New York, Migration to, 31.\n  Nicaragua, Delegates from, 401.\n  Noble, Joseph, 106, 456.\n\n  Oahu, 440.\n  Obedience, 377.\n  Observations, 265, 267, 270, 281.\n  Ockey, Edward, 142, 143.\n  Old Folks' Excursion, 503.\n  Omaha, 331.\n  Onandagus, Prophet, 41.\n  Omahas, Indians, 256.\n  Opposition, Nauvoo, 230.\n  Oracles, 170.\n  Oregon Road, 286, 293.\n  Osage River, 48.\n  Ottos, Indians, 256.\n\n  Pacific Coast, Tour of, 565.\n  Page, John E., 67, 93, 189.\n  Palestine, 481.\n  Panic, Financial, 67.\n  Papyrus, Egyptian, 159.\n  Parish, Warren, 58, 88.\n  Partridge, Edw., 589, 150.\n  Paradise, 180.\n  Paralysis, 482.\n  Patriarch, 219, 222.\n  Patten, David, 58, 352.\n  Patriarchal Order of Marriage, 542, 546.\n  Patti, Adelina, 549.\n  Paul, 2.\n  Pawnee Indians, 265, 268.\n  Peace Commission, 401.\n  Pelone, 520.\n  Pentecost, 171.\n  People's Party, Disbanding of, 575.\n  Persecution, Storm of, 553.\n  Peterson, Canute, 453.\n  Phelps, W.W., 221.\n  Philosophical Society, 360.\n  Phrenological Chart, 193.\n  Phillips, Mary, 439.\n  Pig in Stone, 241.\n  Pine Company, 225.\n  Pisgah, Mt., 249, 331.\n  Pitt, Mary, 120.\n  Pioneers, 262.\n  Pioneer Square, Dedication of, 619.\n  Platte River, 263, 284.\n  Pleasant Valley, Ariz., 519.\n  Plural Marriage, 258, 259, 456, 462, 468, 490.\n  Pine Valley, In, 556.\n  Poem, Robert Polleck, 28.\n  Poisoned, 368.\n  Politics, 188, 202, 567.\n  Polygamy, 403.\n  Polk, James K., 250, 252, 254.\n  Polakkah, 514.\n  Potatoes, 315.\n  Prayer, Place of, 28.\n  Pratt, Parley P., First meeting with, 38.\n  Pratt, Parley P., 236, 251, 263.\n  Pratt, Orson, First meeting with, 38.\n  Pratt, Orson, 314.\n  Pratt, Orson, Death of, 537.\n  Precedents, 160.\n  Priest, Ordained a, 47.\n  Priesthood and Church standing, 191.\n  Priesthood, Melchizedek, 319.\n  Presidency and Twelve, Meeting of, 548.\n  Primeval Childhood, 1.\n  Prophet, 209.\n  Provo, 364, 451.\n  Provo Meeting-house, 418.\n  Prophecy, 453.\n  Prosperity a test, 191.\n  Pueblo, 280.\n  Pulsipher, Zera, 32.\n  Purse or Scrip, 47.\n\n  Quicksand,. 268.\n\n  Railroads, 452.\n  Reading, 25.\n  Rebuke to Pioneers, 289\n  Rebaptism, 319, 372.\n  Redemption Hill, 252.\n  Redding's Coal, 310.\n  Reflections of youth, 23, 27.\n  Reformation, 372.\n  Relaxation, 176.\n  Repentance, 161, 164.\n  Requisition, 195.\n  Resignation offered, 375.\n  Resurrection, 161, 163, 173 263.\n  Return to Winter Quarters, 321.\n  Revelation, 156.\n  Revivals, 21, 27.\n  Reynolds, Gov., 169.\n  Reynolds, Wood, 415.\n  Reynolds, George, 530.\n  \"Rhode Island, Go to,\" 30.\n  Richland, N.Y., 31, 32.\n  Rich, Chas. C, 249, 435, 548.\n  Richards, Willard, 99, 119, 355.\n  Richards, Levi, 139.\n  Rigdon, Sidney, 103, 212, 213, 214, 222.\n  Roberts, Lady, 126.\n  Rockwood, A. P., 89, 264, 311.\n  Rockwood, 297.\n  Rockwell, O. P., 255, 272.\n  Rocky Mountains, 251, 262.\n  Rodometer, 280, 281.\n  Rogers, Noah, 250.\n  Russell, Isaac, 72.\n  Russell, Joseph, 338.\n\n  Salt Lake Valley, 314.\n  Salt for Army, 393.\n  Saltair, 585.\n  San Francisco, 478.\n  San Francisco Springs, 516.\n  Sanpitch, 442.\n  Santa Fe, 299.\n  Sarpee, 276.\n  Satan, 175.\n  Scalded, 5.\n  Schafer, Judge, 363.\n  School of Prophets, 449.\n  Sconce, Col., 42.\n  Scorpion Bite, 438.\n  Secession, 429.\n  Secrets, 156.\n  Self-control, 397.\n  Serpents in Zion's Camp, 43.\n  Seventy, Ordained, 59, 66.\n  Shearer, Norman, 101.\n  Sheets, Elijah F., 237.\n  Shehadri, Rev. Dr., 574.\n  Shell Creek, 266.\n  Sheol, 180.\n  Shepherd's tent, In a, 530.\n  Sickness, 167.\n  Sidwell, 248.\n  Sightseeing, London, 121.\n  Simeon, 18.\n  Sin, 155.\n  Sinclair, Judge, 405.\n  Sioux, 265, 288, 323.\n  Sjodahl, J. M., 617.\n  Slavery, 351.\n  Smith, Joseph, 39, 102, 107, 148.\n  Smith, George A., 101, 267, 426, 436, 454, 481, 488.\n  Smith, John, Patriarch, 222.\n  Smith, Emma, 227.\n  Smith, Mary, 228.\n  Smith, Lucy, 228.\n  Smith, Win, 235.\n  Smith, Captain, 302.\n  Smith, John, 349.\n  Smith, Jos. F., 356, 446, 448.\n  Smith, John, Patriarch, 362.\n  Smith, Lot, 390, 404, 517.\n  Smith, Albert, 423.\n  Smith, John Henry, 533.\n  Smith, Jos. F., Prophecy concerning, 535.\n  Smoot, A. O., 57, 58, 66, 589.\n  Smoot, Mrs. A. O., Speech restored, 545.\n  Snakes, Indians, 323.\n  Snake River country, Visit to, 551.\n  Snider, John, 72.\n  Snow, Lorenzo, 136, 250, 414, 437, 467, 583.\n  Snow, Erastus, 314, 437, 460, 563.\n  Snow, E. R., poem, 393.\n  Snowflake, 520.\n  Snow-storm, 472.\n  Soldiers, Conduct of, 406.\n  South Pass, 305.\n  Spies, Baptized, 118.\n  Spirit, The, 177.\n  Spirit World, 428.\n  Spirits in Prison, 180.\n  Spirit of Prophecy, 180.\n  Staff from Joseph's Coffin, 227.\n  Stampede, 342.\n  Standley Hill, 117.\n  Stanley, Henry M., 573.\n  Stanford, Gov., 456.\n  Statehood, 415, 418, 588, 591.\n  Statistics, British Mission, 144.\n  St. George, Visit to, 536.\n  St. George, In, 559.\n  Storm, Miraculous, 42.\n  Storm, Escape in, 57.\n  Stone Quarry, 297.\n  Strength, 176.\n  Successorship, 212.\n  Sugar Industry, 572.\n  Sunset, Arizona, 517.\n  Sweet Water, 302.\n  Sword, Return of, 43.\n\n  Table Rock, 305.\n  Tabernacle, Logan, 326.\n  Tanner, Nathan, 439.\n  Taylor, John, 93, 159, 212, 252, 263, 359, 502.\n  Taylor, John, Death of, 560.\n  Taylor, John, Funeral of, 562.\n  Taylor, Mrs. Elizabeth, 504.\n  Taylor, P. Green, 504.\n  Taylor, John W., Call to Quorum of the Twelve, 549.\n  Teacher, Wilford Woodruff ordained, 36.\n  Teasdale, George, Call to Quorum of the Twelve, 542.\n  Telegram from Temple workers in St. George, 538.\n  Telegram from George Q. Cannon, 541.\n  Temple, Kirtland, First view of, 62.\n  Temple funds, 177.\n  Temple ordinances, 198.\n  Temple Block, 316.\n  Temple, Nauvoo, 327, 334.\n  Temple, Salt Lake, 353, 384, 419, 581.\n  Temple, St. George, 491, 554.\n  Temple, Manti, 497.\n  Temple, Logan, 550.\n  Temple Block, Independence, 579.\n  Tenney, Ammon M., 522.\n  Tenney, Nathan C, Death of, 542.\n  Teppley, Thomas, 85.\n  Theatre, Salt Lake, 417.\n  Thomas, Daniel, 58.\n  Thomas, Nathaniel, 94.\n  Times & Seasons, 159, 166.\n  Todd, Horace, 22.\n  Tongues, 355.\n  Train wreck, 193.\n  Trouble with cowboys, 541.\n  Trumbo, Col. Isaac, 620.\n  Turkey Tanks, 515.\n  Twelve, Authority of, 204.\n  Twelve, The, 454.\n  Twenty-fourth, Celebration of, 547.\n\n  Udall, David K., 532.\n  United Brethren, 117, 119.\n  United Order, 484, 517.\n  Urim and Thummim, 157.\n  Utah Central Ry., 464.\n\n  Van Vliet, 385, 387, 389.\n  Victoria, Queen, 148.\n  Vinal Haven, 75.\n  Vision, Mason's, 16.\n  Visions, 152, 174, 531.\n  Visit to Colorado, 546.\n  Vose, sends money, 39, 380.\n\n  Walker, Cyrus, 186.\n  Warwick Castle, 242.\n  Wasatch station, 473.\n  Wasson, L. D., 163.\n  Water-wheel accident, 9.\n  Weber, 354.\n  Weber Fork, 311.\n  Webster, Dwight, 145.\n  Wells, D. H, 259, 391, 471, 573.\n  Wells, Heber M., 591.\n  West, Bp., Alleged address of, 552.\n  Whitmer families, Visit to, 504.\n  Whitmer, David, Letter to. 559.\n  Wight, Lyman, 100, 225.\n  Wilde, William, 504.\n  Wilde, Oscar, 540.\n  Williams, a mobocrat, 50.\n  Williams, Col., 195.\n  Willow Spring, 302.\n  Will and testament, 532.\n  Wilson, Mrs. Catherine, 504.\n  Wilson and Reynolds, 182.\n  Winchester, Benj., 177.\n  Winter Quarters, 254, 255, 325.\n  Wind River, 305.\n  Winder, John R., 583.\n  Wolson, 280.\n  Woodruff, Defined, 3.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, Birth of, 3.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, Baptism of, 35.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, Baptism of known by Prophet, 37.\n  Woodruff, Philo, His dream, 25.\n  Woodruff, Azmon, 44, 451, 487.\n  Woodruff, Eunice, 72.\n  Woodruff, Sarah Emma, Birth of, 93.\n  Woodruff, Phoebe, 96.\n  Woodruff, Asahel, 98.\n  Woodruff, Sarah Emma, Death of, 131.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, Jr., Born, 149.\n  Woodruff, Phoebe, Her letter, 152.\n  Woodruff Villa, 578.\n  Woodruff, Ariz.,520.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, Called to be President of Twelve, 533.\n  Woodruff, Phoebe, Death of, 556.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, Enters upon duties of Presidency, 562.\n  Woodruff, Azmon, Death of, 564.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, Sustained as President of Church, 564.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, President of Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Co, 575.\n  Woodruff, Thompson, Death of, 585.\n  Woodruff, Owen, 587, 618.\n  Woodruff, Wilford, Death of, 621.\n  Woolf, Capt, 403.\n  Woolley, Mary, 408.\n  Woolley, Franklin B., 458.\n  Word of Wisdom, 453.\n  World's Fair, 583.\n  Wreck, 233.\n  Wren, Christopher, 121.\n\n  Year of Jubilee, 532.\n  Young, Brigham, 100, 101, 149, 215, 218, 251, 289, 311, 314, 325, 344,\n    397, 453, 494, 501.\n  Young, Joseph, 103.\n  Young, Brigham Jr., 454.\n  Young, Lorenzo Dow, 590.\n  Young, John W., 514, 515.\n  Young, Joseph, Death of, 537.\n\n  Z. C. M. I. 487.\n  Zelph, White Lamanite, 41.\n  Zion's Camp, 38, 40, 203, 439.\n  Zion's Board of Trade, 504.\n  Zunis, 522.\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note\n\nVarious apparent printer's errors, including spelling errors, unmatched\nquotation marks, and missing or extra punctuation have been corrected\nas seemed appropriate.","title":"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","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":277892}