WILFORD WOODRUFF
FOURTH PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
* * * *
History of His Life and Labors
AS RECORDED IN HIS DAILY JOURNALS
* * * *
_"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his
throne."--Rev. 3:21._
* * * *
PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION BY
MATTHIAS F. COWLEY
* * * *
Salt Lake City, Utah 1909
TO HIS NUMEROUS AND EVER INCREASING FAMILY, AND TO ALL WHO LOVE THE
NAME AND MEMORY OF
PRES. WILFORD WOODRUFF
THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
PREFACE.
That which is perhaps best known about Wilford Woodruff is the fact
that he kept throughout his long and eventful life a careful record,
not only of his own life, but of the important affairs in the history
of the Church. In bringing that journal within the compass of one
volume, it has not always been easy to determine what was the most
important for the pages of this biography. All his journals, covering
thousands of pages, I have read with such discriminating judgment as I
could bring to the task. The reader, therefore, need not be reminded
that this biography contains only a small part, the most important part
it is hoped, of the things he wrote.
He was so careful and painstaking, and so completely devoted to the
task of keeping a journal, that his writings have been sought in
compiling much of the important data in Church history which has
already been given to the world. His work, therefore, is not unknown to
those familiar with Church history. Some of his life has been published
in the _Deseret News,_ and _"Leaves from My Journal"_ contains
important chapters. Magazines and Church publications have in them
reminiscences which he has given to the readers of those periodicals at
different times.
All missionaries will be interested in the marvelous experiences which
he had while working in the spread of the gospel message. Others will
read with peculiar interest the recital of events in the travels of
the pioneers from the Missouri River to Salt Lake Valley, and others
will read with satisfaction the words that fell from the lips of those
prophets with whom he was immediately associated--Joseph Smith, Brigham
Young, and John Taylor.
The life of Wilford Woodruff was full of marvels. It was a simple life
in which he revealed his heart and his purposes freely. The frankness
of his expressions, his care for details, and his conscientious regard
for the truth made him, perhaps, the best chronicler of events in all
the history of the Church. His journal reveals not so much what he
himself was thinking about the events concerning which he wrote as what
others thought about them. In that respect they reveal wonderfully the
spirit of the times in which he lived.
At the close of the year 1895 in writing of his life, he says: "For
twenty-one years I was a member of the legislative assembly of the
Territory of Utah.
"In 1875 I was appointed historian and general recorder of the Church
and held that position until 1889.
"On the completion of the Temple at St. George in 1877, I was appointed
its President by Brigham Young.
"Upon the accession of President Taylor, I became President of the
Twelve Apostles; and in April 1889, I was sustained at the general
conference as President of the Church.
"By my direction the General Church Board of Education was founded
in 1888 to direct the Church system of academies, high schools, and
colleges, which has resulted in a great perfection of the organization.
"From the beginning of my ministry in 1834 until the close of 1895
I have traveled in all 172,369 miles; held 7,655 meetings; preached
3,526 discourses; organized 51 branches of the Church and 77 preaching
places; my journeys cover England, Scotland, Wales, and 23 states and
5 territories of the Union. My life abounds in incidents which to me
surely indicate the direct interposition of God whom I firmly believe
has guided my every step. On 27 distinct occasions I have been saved
from dangers which threatened my life. I am the father of 17 sons and
16 daughters. I have a posterity of 100 grandchildren and 12 great
grandchildren." (At the present time, his grandchildren number at least
145, and his great grandchildren, about 60.)
The hand of God was so abundantly manifested in the life of Wilford
Woodruff, that those who read this book, it is sincerely believed, will
find it both faith-promoting and instructive. The book is given to the
world in the sincerest belief that its pages will greatly add a fresh
interest to the history of the Church, and reveal the subject of this
sketch in such a manner as to make his wonderful labors more highly
appreciated by those not intimately acquainted with him.
M. F. COWLEY.
September, 1909.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER 1.
BIRTH AND GENEALOGY, 1807.
Chosen Spirit.--Divine Guidance.--Genealogy.--A Miller by Trade.
CHAPTER 2.
A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.
Arms and Legs Broken.--Injury to Breast Bone and
Ribs.--Drowned.--Frozen.--Scalded.--Other Escapes.--Life Preserved by a
Merciful Providence.
CHAPTER 3.
A REMARKABLE PREPARATION.
"Coming Events."--Wilford Woodruff's Interest in Religion.--Existing
Religious Denominations.--Teachings of Scripture.--Father Mason, a
Prophet.--Peculiar Process of Preparation.
CHAPTER 4.
EARLY DAYS, 1816-1833.
A Fisherman.--Early Employment.--Noble Reflections.--Lessons
in Reading.--Interest in the Bible.--Philo Woodruff's Strange
Dream.--Mocking Deity.--Its Effects.--Peace of Mind.--Place of
Prayer.--Happy Experiences.--A Baptism.--Reads of Mormons.--Notable
Instance of Inspiration.--Removal to New York.--Azmon's Faith.
CHAPTER 5.
BAPTISM, 1833.
Elders Visit Richland, N. Y.--The New Message.--Wilford Woodruff's
Testimony.--The Book of Mormon,--Healing Power.--Baptism.--Ordained a
Teacher.
CHAPTER 6.
ZION'S CAMP, 1834.
His First Call.--Leaves for Kirtland.--His Neighbors' Warning.--First
Meeting with Prophet.--A Remarkable Prophetic Gift.--Zion's
Camp.--Zelph.--Escape Mob at Fishing River.--Epidemic of Cholera.--His
Residence in Missouri.--Consecrations.
CHAPTER 7.
MISSION TO SOUTHERN STATES, 1834-1836.
A Prayerful Ambition to Preach.--Departure on Mission to
Southern States.--Traveling without Purse or Scrip.--Treatment
Received from Minister.--Tribulations.--A Remarkable Dream.--Its
Fulfillment.--Preaching in Memphis.--Ordained an Elder.--Successful
Labors.--Ordained a Seventy.--A Mob Court.--Return to Kirtland.
CHAPTER 8.
IN KIRTLAND, 1836.
Wilford's First Attendance at Meeting in the Temple.--Called to
Speak.--Church's Attitude Toward the Use of Liquor.--Wilford in the
First Quorum of Seventy.--Receives Temple Endowments.--Troubles
in Kirtland.--Greatness of the Prophet Joseph.--Wilford's
Marriage.--Receives a Patriarchal Blessing.
CHAPTER 9.
FIRST MISSION TO FOX ISLANDS, 1837.
Troubles at Kirtland.--Mission to Fox Islands.--Evil Spirits Cast
Out.--Healing the Sick.--Visits His Home Enroute.--From Connecticut to
Maine.--Description of Fox Islands.--Begins Ministry in Vinal Haven.--A
Minister Comes to Grief.--Baptisms.--Excitement.--Return to Scarboro.
CHAPTER 10.
CALLED TO THE APOSTLESHIP, 1838.
Again on the Fox Islands.--Opposition Increases.--Manifestation of the
Gifts of the Holy Ghost.--Sign of the Prophet Jonas.--Wilford Visits A.
P. Rockwood in Prison.--Baptizes His Father and Other Relatives.--Birth
of His First Child.--Called To Be One of the Twelve Apostles, and To
Take a Foreign Mission.--Assists Fox Islands Saints in Migrating to the
West.--Mrs. Woodruff Miraculously Healed.--They Reach Quincy, Illinois.
CHAPTER 11.
CALL TO GREAT BRITAIN, 1838.
Mobocrats Seek To Prevent the Fulfillment of a Revelation Given Through
the Prophet Joseph Smith, but Are Disappointed.--Temple Corner-stone
at Far West Laid.--Wilford Returns to Illinois.--The Prophet Joseph
Liberated from Prison in Missouri.--A Survivor of Haun's Mill
Massacre.--Selection of Nauvoo as a Place for the Settlement of the
Saints.--A Day of Gods' Power.--Many Sick Are Healed, and a Dying Man
Raised to Life.--Incident of Wilford Receiving a Handkerchief from
the Prophet Joseph.--Instructed as to What He Shall Preach on His
Mission.--Lesson in Humility.--Warning against Treachery.--Wilford
Starts on His Mission, Sick and without Money.--Experiences of His
Journey to New York.--Sails for Liverpool, England.
CHAPTER 12.
MISSION IN GREAT BRITAIN, 1840.
Wilford's Arrival in England.--Missionary Work Begun.--Casting
Out a Devil.--Directed by the Spirit of the Lord to Another Field
of Labor.--Meets with the United Brethren.--Many Conversions to
the Gospel.--Ministers Hold a Convention To Ask Parliament for
Legislation against the Mormons.--First Publication of the Book of
Mormon and the Hymn Book in England.--The Millennial Star.--In the
British Metropolis.--Unable to Secure a Hall To Preach in, the Elders
Hold Street Meetings.--First Baptism in London.--Opposition from
Preachers.--Work of God Makes Marvelous Progress.
CHAPTER 13.
BRITISH MISSION, 1840-'41.
Rapid Increase of the Church in Great Britain.--Mysterious Spirit
Personage Attempts to Strangle Wilford Woodruff, and Wounds Him
Severely.--He Is Relieved and Healed by Three Heavenly Visitors.--First
Placard of the Church Posted in London.--Death of Wilford's
Daughter.--Difficult Missionary Work in and around London.--Arrival
of Lorenzo Snow To Take Charge of the British Mission.--All of the
Twelve Called Home.--Attending Various Conferences.--Springing of
the Spaulding Story.--Wilford Bids Farewell to the Saints in Fields
Where He Had Labored.--General Conference of the British Mission, and
Only Occasion of the Twelve Apostles Acting as a Quorum in a Foreign
Land.--Wilford's Departure for Home, and Arrival at Nauvoo.--Made a
Member of the Nauvoo City Council.
CHAPTER 14.
REVIEW OF HIS MISSION.
Wilford Renders Aid to the Persecuted Saints.--His Care in Recording
the Events, also Sermons and Sayings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith.--Elder Woodruff's Humility, and Appreciation of the Work of
Others.--At a Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Convention.--Letter
from His Wife Announcing the Death of Their Daughter.--Revelation
Foreshadowing the Troubles of the Saints in the Expulsion from Illinois.
CHAPTER 15.
IN NAUVOO, 1841.
Prophetic Insight.--Teachings of the Prophet.--Baptism for the
Dead.--Hyrum Kimball.
CHAPTER 16.
TROUBLES IN NAUVOO, 1842.
Building of the Temple.--Book of Moses.--Words of the Prophet.--Nauvoo
Legion.--Business Trip to St. Louis.--Return of Orson Hyde.
CHAPTER 17.
TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH, 1843.
Change in Governors of Missouri and Illinois.--Prophet's Release.
--Discourse on Authority.--Signs in the Heavens.--New Arrivals of
Saints.--Death of Lorenzo Barnes.--Discourse on Knowledge.--Great
Truths.--Prophet's Knowledge of Men.--Wilford Woodruff's Bond for
Temple Funds.--Opposition to Revealed Truth.--Hell Defined.--Prophet
Arrested.--His Release.
CHAPTER 18.
MISSION TO THE EAST, 1843.
Address of the Prophet on Constitutional Rights.--Orson Hyde's
Call to Russia.--Prophet Explains His Position with Respect to
Missouri.--Origin of Nauvoo Legion.--Political Explanation.--Departure
of the Twelve for the East.--Brigham Young's Fidelity.--Phrenological
Chart by O. S. Fowler.--Return of the Twelve to Nauvoo.--W. W. Sealed
to Wife.--Adultery.--Governor of Missouri Again Issues Requisition for
Prophet.--Endowments.
CHAPTER 19.
EARLY DAYS OF 1844.
Conduct of the Laws and Marks.--Discourse on Elijah by the
Prophet.--The Celestial Law.--Prophet's Candidacy for President of
U. S.--Exploring Expedition to California Planned.--Joseph, Mayor
of Nauvoo.--Hostility in Carthage.--Mischief-makers in Nauvoo.--The
Prophet Talks on Politics.
CHAPTER 20.
THE MARTYRDOM OF JOSEPH AND HYRUM, 1844.
Mission of the Apostles to the East.--A Warning to W. W.--A Sad
Parting.--Political News of the Prophet Published.--W. W. Arrives in
Boston, June 26.--The Martyrdom.--Its Announcement Reaches W. W. in
Portland, Maine.--His Return to Boston.--An Epistle to the Elders
and Saints in the World.--W. W. Visits His Old Home.--Return to
Nauvoo.--Conditions in That City.
CHAPTER 21.
THE SUCCESSION, 1844.
Sidney Rigdon's Claim to Guardianship.--Rigdon's Spiritual
Condition.--Comparison of Sidney Rigdon and Frederick
Williams.--Remarks of Brigham Young.--Meeting on Aug. 8, 1844.--Brigham
Young Follows Sidney Rigdon in Address to the People.--Members of the
Twelve Speak.--Vote on Question of Leadership.
CHAPTER 22.
SECOND CALL TO GREAT BRITAIN, 1844.
The New Leadership.--Second Call to Great Britain.--Warning Against
Leading Companies from Nauvoo.--Instructions To Finish the Temple and
To Build up the City.--W. W. Visits Emma Smith and Others.--Parting
Address to the Saints.
CHAPTER 23.
IN THE BRITISH MISSION, 1844-45-46.
Departure.--Route.--Visits Home of Solomon Mack.--A Peculiar
Dream.--On the Ocean.--Copyright of Doctrine and Covenants.--Visit
to Scotland.--Lemington.--Troubles in Nauvoo.--Condition of the
Mission.--Preparation for His Return.
CHAPTER 24.
ON THE BANKS OF THE MISSOURI, 1846.
Dedication of the Temple in Nauvoo.--The Exodus to Council
Bluffs.--Accident to His father.--Reaches Mt. Pisgah.--Meets Brigham
Young.--Recruiting of the Mormon Battalion.--Colonel Kane.--Departure
of the Battalion.--Organizations at Winter Quarters.--A Conference with
the Chiefs of the Leading Indian Tribes.--Explorations.--Remarks by
President Young.
CHAPTER 25.
DEPARTURE OF THE PIONEERS.--APRIL 7, 1847.
Arrival of Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor at Winter
Quarters.--Organization of the Pioneers.--Manner of Forming
Camp.--Horse Feed Enroute.--Pawnee Indians.--A Practical
Joke.--Crossing Loup Fork.
CHAPTER 26.
PIONEER JOURNEY CONTINUED, 1847.
Elijah Newman Healed.--Indians Attempt Theft.--Antelopes
Killed.--Encounter with Indians.--A Buffalo Hunt.--Meet Traders from
Laramie.--A Decision To Keep the North Bank of the Platte.--Immense
Herds of Buffaloes.--William Clayton's Mile Gage.--Letter Left for Next
Company.--Description of the Rodometer.
CHAPTER 27.
PIONEERS REACH FORT LARAMIE--JUNE 2, 1847.
In the Red Man's Country.--Indian Customs.--Hunting Became
Excessive.--Description of the Bluffs.--Guide Board 409 Miles from
Winter Quarters.--Chimney Rock.--Brigham Young Rebukes Card Playing and
Frivolity.--Fasting and Prayer.--Arrive at Fort Laramie.--Ascending the
Plateaux.--Word from the Mormon Battalion.
CHAPTER 28.
PIONEERS ENTER SALT LAKE VALLEY.
Ferrying the Missourians over the River.--Construction of
Rafts.--Obtaining Provisions.--Ten Men Left at the Ferry.--Independence
Rock.--Devil's Gate.--175 Miles from Fort Laramie.--South Pass.--Meet
Major Harris, and Mr. Bridger.--Cross Green River.--Meet Samuel
Brannon.--Independence Day.--Meet a Detachment of the Battalion.--Fort
Bridger.--Report of the Missouri Company That Perished.--Reach Salt
Lake Valley, July 24, 1847.
CHAPTER 29.
RETURN OF THE PIONEERS TO WINTER QUARTERS, 1847.
In Retrospect.--First Crop of Potatoes Planted.--The Beginning of
Irrigation.--First Sunday.--Explorations South to Utah Lake.--Choice
of Temple Block.--Address by Brigham Young.--Return to Winter
Quarters.--Meet the Second Company of Pioneers.--Encounter with the
Indians.--Reach Winter Quarters, Oct. 31, 1847.--First Presidency
Organized, Dec. 27, 1847.
CHAPTER 30.
A MISSION TO THE EAST, 1848.
In Winter Quarters.--Battle of Nauvoo Commemorated.--Organization of
Pottowatamie County.--Bids President Young and Saints Good-by.--Journey
from Winter Quarters to Nauvoo.--From Nauvoo to Maine.--A Letter to His
Wife.--Healing the Sick.--Discovery of Gold in California.
CHAPTER 31.
ELDER WOODRUFF'S RETURN FROM THE EAST.
Letter to Orson Pratt.--Baptism of His Father-in-law, Ezra
Carter.--Labors in New England.--Meets Dr. John M. Bernhisel.--Healing
the Sick.--Interview with Col. Kane.--Hears Indian Chief.--Release
from His Mission.--Return to the Valleys.--Conditions at the
Frontier.--Stampede on the Plains.--Brigham Young Appointed
Governor.--Salt Lake Temple Planned.--Salt Lake City Given a
Charter.--Visit to the Southern Settlements.--Fourth Celebrated
at Black Rock.--Celebrating of Twenty-fourth.--Death of His
Step-Mother.--Judge Brocchus Speaks in Conference.--Beautiful Words of
Patriarch John Smith.--A Vote To Discontinue Use of Tea and Coffee.
CHAPTER 32.
THE YEARS, 1852, '53, '54.
Discourse of Brigham Young on Sin.--The Descendants of Cain.--Edward
Hunter Chosen Presiding Bishop.--Parowan Stake Organized.--David
Patten.--Talk on Dancing.--Death of Willard Richards.--Jedediah M.
Grant Chosen Counselor to Brigham Young.--Journey South.--Walker, the
Indian Chief.--John Smith, Son of Hyrum Smith, Called To Be the Head
Patriarch of the Church.--Visit North.--Legislature.--Philosophical
Society.
CHAPTER 33.
EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS.
Education Promoted.--Adventurers.--Endowment House.--President Young
Speaks of the Resurrection.--Death of Judge Schafer.--Provo.--Work
in Educational Societies.--In the Legislature at Fillmore.--Words of
Confidence from Kanosh, an Indian Chief.--Some Peculiarities of Wilford
Woodruff.--Poisoned.
CHAPTER 34.
THE REFORMATION, 1856.
Hard Times Were Difficult for Some To Endure.--Recording Church
History.--Dedication of Historian's Office.--First Hand-cart
Company.--The Reformation Inaugurated--Death of Jedediah M.
Grant.--Suffering of the Hand-cart Companies.--Heber C. Kimball's Dream.
CHAPTER 35.
CELEBRATION OF 24th, 1857.
Words of Brigham Young.--Talk by the Indian Chief,
Aropene.--Assassination of Parley P. Pratt--Return of Thomas B. Marsh
to the Church.--Celebration of the Twenty-fourth in Big Cottonwood
Canyon.--News of the Army's Approach.
CHAPTER 36.
WAR TIMES, 1857.
Deposit of Church Records in Temple Foundation.--Approach of
the Army.--Present of a Team.--John D. Lee.--Visit of Captain
Van Vliet.--Lot Smith.--Col. Alexander Writes President
Young.--Communication from Governor Cumming to Governor
Young.--Miraculous Escapes.--High Price of Salt at Army
Headquarters.--Prediction of Calamity to the Nation.--A Poetic Tribute
by Eliza R. Snow.
CHAPTER 37.
ARMY ENTERS SALT LAKE VALLEY, 1858.
President and Congress of the U. S. Memorialized.--Words of Brigham
Young.--Arrival of Col. Kane.--Governor Cumming Reaches Salt Lake
City.--Migration Southward.--Delegates from Nicaragua.--Want Mormons To
Move to Central America.--Proclamation from President Buchanan.--Peace
Commission.--President of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing
Society.--Indian War Threatened.--A Striking Dialogue.--The Mob
Element.--Mogo's Deception.--Attacks on President Young.--Greeley
Visits Utah.
CHAPTER 38.
BEGINNING OF THE REBELLION, 1861.
Embarks in Sheep Industry.--Adventures of One Gibson.--Lectures to
Young Men in Police Court.--Counsel to Missionaries.--Visit to Cache
Valley.--Schools Investigated.--Celebration of the 24th.--Prophecies
of Civil War.--Little Children in the Resurrection.--Brigham Young on
Secession.--Death of Aphek Woodruff.--Governor Dawson.
CHAPTER 39.
THE YEARS 1862-'63.
Killing of Thieves.--John Baptiste, the Grave Digger.--Value of
a Daily Journal.--Erection of the Salt Lake Theatre.--State of
Deseret.--Foundation Stones of Temple Raised.--Indian Troubles on
Bear River.--Visit of the Moquitches to Salt Lake City.--Their
Customs.--Attempt To Arrest President Young.--Settlement of Bear Lake
Valley.--Mining.
CHAPTER 40.
THE YEARS, 1864-65.
Some Enjoyments.--He Visits a Condemned Man in Prison.--Troubles Made
by Gibson on Hawaiian Islands.--Lorenzo Snow's Escape from Watery
Grave.--Visit to Bear Lake Valley.--Remark of President Young in
Logan.--Ordination to Apostleship of Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow,
Erastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards.--Hot Springs at Midway.--Second
Inauguration of President Lincoln.--Treaty with Indians.--Colfax Visits
Utah.--Jane Blackhurst.
CHAPTER 41.
THE YEARS 1866, '67, '68.
New Year's Greetings.--Evil Spirits Rebuked.--Love for Little
Ones.--Drawings in His Journal.--Mrs. Godbe's Dream.--Brigham Young's
Remarks on the Atonement.--Sept. 5, 1867, Joseph F. Smith Selected
as One of the Twelve.--Amasa Lyman Dropped from Twelve.--School
of the Prophets.--Move to Provo.--Grasshopper War.--Advent of the
Railroad.--Remarkable Prophetic Utterances at Logan.--Visit to
Sanpete.--Call to First Presidency of Geo. A. Smith.--Accident to His
Son Ashael.--Summary of 1868.
CHAPTER 42.
THE YEARS, 1869, 70.
Co-operative Movement.--Cove Fort.--Pronouncement Against Use
of Wine.--Organization of Bear Lake Stake.--Visit of Schuyler
Colfax.--The Godbe Movement.--Descendants of Cain.--Utah Central
R. R. Completed.--Plural Marriage--Boston Board of Trade Visits
Utah.--Sayings of Brigham Young.--The Newman-Pratt Discussion.--Martin
Harris Re-baptized.
CHAPTER 43.
PIONEER LIFE IN RICH COUNTY, 1871.
Arrest of President Young and Others.--Experiences in Randolph.--Caught
in a Snow-storm.--Reaches Salt Lake City.
CHAPTER 44.
THE YEARS, 1872-74.
Judge McKean.--Journalizing.--Early Church Historians.--Holy
Ghost.--Visit to San Francisco.--Funerals of Pitt and Player.--Thomas
L. Kane.--Garden of Eden.--Paralysis.--Earl Rosebury.--Fall from a Tree.
CHAPTER 45.
ST. GEORGE TEMPLE DEDICATED.
Visit to Randolph.--Governor Axtell.--Visit of President Grant.--Visit
of Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil.--Dedication of St. George Temple.--A
Grand Birthday Celebration.
CHAPTER 46.
DEATH OF BRIGHAM YOUNG, AUG. 29, 1877.
Death of His Son, Brigham Young Woodruff.--Prophetic
Utterances.--Baptisms for the Signers of the Declaration
of Independence.--Death of Brigham Young Changes His
Plans.--Funeral.--Visit to Logan.--Visit to St. George.--A Vision.--Old
Folks' Excursion.--Zion's Board of Trade.
CHAPTER 47.
EXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1879.
In Arizona.--An Epistle to the World.--Birthday Celebrated in St.
George.--Travels in Arizona.--Hunt with Pelone, the Apache Chief.--A
Visit to the Zunies.--Travels with Lot Smith.--Dream.--Letters.
CHAPTER 48.
REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1880.
In a Shepherd's Tent in Arizona.--A Revelation Given Jan. 26,
1880.--Organization of First Presidency.--Call to Apostleship of
Francis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith.
CHAPTER 49.
YEARS OF GREAT AGITATION, 1881, 1882.
Leonard Hardy's Birthday Party.--Prophecy Concerning Joseph F.
Smith.--Death of Orson Pratt--Visit to St. George.--The Edmunds
Law.--Oscar Wilde.--Conditions at St. Johns, Arizona.--Call of
President George Teasdale, Heber J. Grant and Seymour B. Young.--Death
of Captain William H. Hooper.
CHAPTER 50.
THE CRUSADE OPENS, 1883-1885.
Exemplary Deacons.--Adam-ondi-Ahman.--Visit to Colorado.--The
Patriarchal Order of Marriage.--Andrew Burt.--Farm Life.--The Crusade
Opens.--The Family Celebration of His Birthday.--Call of John W.
Taylor.--Call of Wm. B. Preston.--Land Troubles in Arizona.--Dedication
of the Logan Temple.--A Visit to Snake River. Country, Idaho.--Growth
of Children After the Resurrection.--Call of John Morgan.--In
Exile.--Conference at Fish Lake.
CHAPTER 51.
ELEVATION TO PRESIDENCY OF THE CHURCH, 1889.
Arrest of George Q. Cannon.--Governor Murray's Dismissal.--Death
of President Taylor.--President Woodruff Appears in the
Tabernacle.--Change in Federal Officers.--April, 1889, Wilford Woodruff
Became President of the Church.--Visit to California.--M. W. Merrill,
A. H. Lund, and Abraham H. Cannon Called to Apostleship.--Senator
Morgan Visits President Woodruff.
CHAPTER 52.
THE MANIFESTO AND EVENTS OF 1890-'91.
The Political Situation.--Visit to California.--The Manifesto.--Its
Effects.--Sugar Industry.--Henry M. Stanley.--Deaths of Prominent
Men.--Earthquake in Southern Utah.--Address to Irrigation
Congress.--Interpretation of Manifesto.--Remarks at Brigham City on the
Manifesto.
CHAPTER 53.
DEDICATION OF THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE, 1892.
New Home.--Visit of President Eliot to Salt Lake City.--Completing
the Temple.--Amnesty.--Dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.--Visit
to the World's Fair, Chicago.--Liberal Party Disbands.
CHAPTER 54.
ADMINISTRATIVE WORK, 1894.
Electric Power Plant in Ogden Canyon.--Saltair,--Death of His Brother,
Thompson.--Temple Work for Benjamin Franklin.--An Optimist.--Death of
A. O. Smoot of Provo.--Utah Stake Organized.--Trip to Alaska.
CHAPTER 55.
THE YEARS 1896-'97-'98.--BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.--HIS DEATH.
Admission of Utah into the Union.--The Occasion Celebrated.--Political
Struggles.--Birthday of Geo. Q. Cannon Celebrated.--April Conference,
1896.--Pronunciamento Regarding Political Matters.--Death of Apostle
Abraham H. Cannon.--The Purity and Nobility of His Character Revealed
to Prest. Woodruff.--Change of the Fast Day.--Great Celebration
on His 90th Anniversary, 1897.--Visit from Judge Kinney.--Pioneer
Jubilee Celebration.--Letter to the King and Queen of Sweden.--Visits
the Coast.--His Son Owen Called to the Apostleship.--Attends April
Conference, 1898.--Goes to the Coast in August.--His Sickness.--Departs
this Life September 2, 1898. CHAPTER 56. Funeral Services.
CHAPTER 57.
Character Sketch.
Appendix A.
Sidney Rigdon.
Appendix B.
Address to the Saints of the British Isles.
Appendix C.
Storm on Lake Michigan.
Appendix D.
Rationality of the Atonement.
Wives of Wilford Woodruff.
Children of Wilford Woodruff.
Index.
{1}
CHAPTER 1.
BIRTH AND GENEALOGY, 1807.
A Chosen Spirit.--Divine Guidance.--Genealogy.--A Miller by Trade.
Wilford Woodruff was the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. He belonged to that class of men of whom the
Lord said to Abraham, "These will I make my rulers." Of our primeval
childhood that ancient Prophet informs us that the Lord stood among
those that were spirits and He saw that they were good. Of these
spirits the Lord said to Abraham, "Thou art one of them, thou wert
chosen before thou wast born." If the Lord knew Abraham and Jeremiah
before they were born in the flesh, He also must have known Wilford
Woodruff in the spirit world. The latter's integrity and unbounded
devotion to the worship and purposes of his God are not surpassed by
any prophet of either ancient or modern times. Like those of ancient
times, Wilford Woodruff was undoubtedly foreordained of God to a noble
mission in life, and to the great responsibilities which he filled
with honor and to the glory of God. To him there was a reality of the
spirit world rarely enjoyed by men, he constantly felt the influence of
spiritual associations which were above and beyond the ordinary affairs
of life. That he had an existence prior to this probation in life, he
never doubted. He felt that life was a mission to which he had been
called and which in the goodness of God he had been permitted to fill.
His own spiritual existence was never overshadowed by temporalities or
by constant misgivings that so frequently beset the lives of other men.
Wilford Woodruff looked upon the brotherhood of men as {2} a natural
sequence of his assurance that God was the Father of our spirits in
a former life. He understood that prayer of the Savior addressing
Himself to His Father in heaven. His own spirit was in harmony with the
revelations of Christ. In the light of scriptural declarations and of
his own spiritual nature, he was simply here in life in the performance
of great duties which had been assigned him before the world was. He
sincerely believed that in returning again to the God who had given him
life he would have to account for his talents and his time. Speaking
of the Athenians, Paul said: "God that made the world hath made of
one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth, and
hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their
habitation."
In the life of Wilford Woodruff there was unfolded day by day the
duties and obligations that linked him with the chain of eternal life.
When the new revelation of God to men in this dispensation broke in
upon him he was happily prepared to enjoy the new light. To be a
Latter-day Saint from the outset seemed as natural as to breathe the
air of heaven. He marvelled at the purposes of God but did not wonder,
and doubt did not obscure from his vision the divine truth of this
dispensation while he sojourned in the flesh. The love of God had
always abounded in his heart, and the divine message found him eager
and willing.
He was not among those who sought divine assurance and spiritual
satisfaction in some one creed of the day. The Bible was his highest
authority and he believed implicitly in the divinity of its teachings.
He was a devoted student of Holy Writ and prayerfully sought the gifts
and blessings bestowed upon the Saints of old. He was waiting for
precisely that which came to him and he took up the new mission of life
with a strenuous desire to serve God and to be a witness that he was
the same God yesterday, to-day, and forever.
The story of Wilford Woodruff's life was consistent, faithful and in
harmony with scriptural examples. The dealings of God with His children
in other dispensations were always before his mind as illustrations
and evidences. If the Bible had been the chief consolation of his
youth and the best evidence of divine purposes, it became doubly so
when he became a Latter-day Saint. Nothing that God had done in former
dispensations {3} was too insignificant for his earnest consideration.
Henceforth he was to speak in the name of the Lord, and act by the
authority of divine command. He loved the memory of the ancient
Prophets and strove earnestly to emulate their example. His life,
therefore, is marked by spiritual growth and a devotion to God's will
that makes it an inspiration to all who knew him or who read the story
of his life and teachings. He honored and magnified every office and
calling conferred upon him from that of a teacher to the president of
the Church. In this high station he laid down his life at the ripe age
of ninety-one years.
Wilford Woodruff was born March 1st, 1807 in the town of Farmington,
Hartford County, Connecticut. He was the son of Aphek Woodruff. His
grandfather was Captain Eldad Woodruff who was the son of Josiah
Woodruff. Josiah was the son of Joseph whose father's name was John,
the son of Mathew Woodruff. This is as far back as Wilford Woodruff's
genealogy has been traced in America. It is claimed that John Woodruff
of South Hampton, Long Island, is the first person in American history
bearing the name of Woodruff. Whether he is related to Matthew
Woodruff, the earliest known ancestor of Wilford in this country, has
not been determined. President Woodruff says, that according to the
ancient Book of Heraldry, one of his ancestors was Lord Mayor of London
in 1579.
His mother's name was Beulah Thompson. The family on his mother's
side, for generations lived at Farmington, Connecticut. The Woodruff
family name is English and is derived from the occupation of its
bearers who in the days of William the Conqueror guarded the woods and
forests for the use of noblemen and who were considered among the most
honored officers in the land. From Wilford Woodruff's account of his
forefathers it appears that they were hardy and long-lived people. He
says: "My grandfather, Josiah Woodruff, lived nearly one hundred years.
He possessed an iron constitution and performed a great deal of manual
work up to the time of his death. His wife's name was Sarah. She bore
him nine children: Josiah, Appleton, Eldad, Elisha, Joseph, Rhoda,
and Phoebe. There were two of this family whose names are not given.
My grandfather, Eldad Woodruff, was the third son of Josiah. He was
born in Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut in 1751. He likewise
possessed {4} a strong constitution and it was said of him that for
several years he performed more labor than any man in Hartford County.
From over exertion and hewing timber he was attacked with rheumatism in
his right hip which caused a severe lameness for several years before
his death. He married Dinah Woodford by whom he had seven children:
Eldad, Elizabeth, Samuel, Titus, Helen, Aphek, and Ozem. My grandfather
died in Farmington from spotted fever in 1806 at the age of fifty-five
years. My grandmother, Dinah, died in the same place in 1824 from the
effects of a cancer in her breast; her sufferings were very great.
"My father, Aphek Woodruff, was born in Farmington, November 11, 1778.
He married Beulah Thompson who bore him three sons: Azmon, born Nov.
29th, 1802; Thompson, born December 22nd, 1804; and myself, born March
1st, 1807. My mother died from spotted fever January 11th, 1808 at the
age of twenty-eight years, leaving me a babe of fifteen months. My
father married a second wife, Azubah Hart. She bore him six children.
He was a man of a strong constitution and did a great amount of labor.
At eighteen years of age he began work in a flour mill and saw mill and
continued at his occupation there for about fifty years. Most of that
time he labored eighteen hours a day. He never made any profession of
religion until I baptized him into the Church of Jesus Christ on the
first day of July, 1838. He was a man of great charity, honesty, and
integrity and made himself poor by giving to the poor. He was liberal
in accommodating his fellow men by lending money and by becoming surety
for his neighbors. He generally said yes to every man who asked a favor
at his hands."
"I assisted my father in the Farmington mills until I was twenty
years of age and continued in the occupation of a miller until I was
thirty-one."
{5}