A REMARKABLE PREPARATION.
"Coming Events."--Wilford Woodruff's Interest in Religion.--Existing
Religious Denominations.--Teachings of Scripture.--Father Mason, a
Prophet.--Peculiar Process of Preparation.
Wilford Woodruff belonged to a group of men whose advent into the world
characterized the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Though
in their own day, humble and obscure and held in contempt by mankind
generally, their importance and the work accomplished by them grow in
significance to the Latter-day Saints who are and have been for the
past half century the greatest history makers in the world. Such men
as Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo
Snow, and Joseph F. Smith, whose administration of the affairs of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given them a prominent
place in the world as well as in the Church, grow in historical
magnitude as time goes on. Their respective administrations constitute
distinguished landmarks in the history of a great people.
There has been a mysterious something about North America, and indeed
of the whole American continent, that has made it not only inviting to
discoverers and adventurers, but an asylum to those who sought enlarged
religious freedom and the development of institutions in harmony
with the ideals of progressive religious thought. What has been more
remarkable to the welfare of this nation than the character of the men,
who, standing upon foreign shores looked forward to it as a land of
grand opportunities, were the men, the early patriots who gave to its
government the highest wisdom of the age, and to social institution
a broad foundation upon which all classes could securely rest their
hopes, their ambitions, and their religious convictions.
The institutions of our country have nevertheless grown as time went
on, and little by little conditions derogatory to the well-being and
happiness of the people have given way to higher and better standards
of life. The opposition to slavery and its downfall enlarged the
conceptions of individual liberty and of {14} human rights. The
traditions of ages have given way before the progress of modern
enlightenment, and the country has afforded better opportunities for
progressive and changing institutions than any other nation of the
civilized world. The whole drift of American history has been in the
direction of religious enlightenment and political freedom. True, such
enlightenment and freedom have met with stubborn resistance and have
cost the best blood of the nation. The United States has been a country
peculiarly marked for the greatest human endeavor. It has not, however,
reached the acme of its possibilities nor has its work, however
progressive, reached a finished state. If the lessons of the past in
American history are important in any one respect, more than another,
it is in the great truth that it is to be the standard bearer, and the
first in religion and government.
In religion the nation is brought face to face daily more and more with
the great religious problem known to the civilized world as Mormonism.
The men who were instrumentalities of that new religion grow in
importance as it makes its way in religious and theological history.
The lives therefore of such men as Wilford Woodruff not only have a
distinct place in the lives and thoughts of their religious associates,
but will also have an important position in the future history and
development of religious thought.
How such men as Wilford Woodruff came upon the stage at the particular
time in the history of the Church, and what external influences brought
them into its folds are matter of peculiar interest to every student
of Church history. What he himself thought of the new movement and how
he was prepared to receive it is given here and there throughout his
private journals in a manner to make the story of his life one of the
most interesting in all the annals of the Church.
He says: "At an early age my mind began to be exercised upon religious
subjects, but I never made a profession of religion until 1830 when
I was twenty-three years of age. I did not then join any church for
the reason that I could not find a body of people, denomination,
or church that had for its doctrine, faith, and practices those
principles, ordinances, and gifts which constituted the gospel of
Jesus Christ as taught by Him and His apostles. Neither did I find
anywhere the manifestations of the {15} Holy Ghost with its attendant
gifts and graces. When I conversed with the ministers of the various
denominations or sects, they would always tell me that prophets,
apostles, revelations, healing, etc., were given to establish Jesus
Christ and His doctrine, but that they have ever since been done away
with because no longer needed in the Church and Kingdom of God. Such
a declaration I never could and never would believe. I did believe,
however, that revelation, the gifts and graces, and the faith once
delivered to the Saints--a faith which they have enjoyed in all ages
when God has had an acknowledged people on the earth--could be done
away with only through the disobedience and unbelief of the children
of men. I believed every gift, office, and blessing to be just as
necessary now to constitute the true Church of Christ and Kingdom of
God as in any age of the world.
"This belief was firmly fixed upon my mind for two reasons: first,
from the study of the Bible I found that the principle of cause and
effect was the same in all ages, and that the divine promises made
were to all generations. At the same time, I found no changes in the
gospel in the days of Christ and the apostles, or that there would be
any change in the plan of salvation in the last days. I learned also
from the Scriptures that many of the ancient prophets, that Christ and
His apostles foresaw by inspiration and revelation that the Gentile
nations would apostatize and turn away from the true faith and from the
Church and Kingdom of God as the Jews had anciently done; that there
would be a falling away from the apostolic faith, from its doctrines
and ordinances; that other systems would arise; that when these false
systems should reach their fullness, the God of heaven would set up His
Kingdom; that an angel would restore the gospel; and that it should be
preached in all the world for a witness before the Savior should come
to reign. I further believed that the gospel had been taken from the
Jews and given to the Gentiles; that the Gentiles had, as foretold by
the prophets, fallen into apostasy; and that in the last days Israel
should be restored and the promises concerning that people should be
fulfilled. All these things I learned from the Scriptures and they made
a lasting impression upon my mind.
"The second reason for my peculiar belief in such principles, {16}
teachings, and doctrines was that in the days of my youth I was
taught by an aged man named Robert Mason, who lived in Sainsbury,
Connecticut. By many he was called a prophet; to my knowledge, many of
his prophecies have been fulfilled. The sick were healed by him through
the laying on of hands in the name of Jesus Christ, and devils were
cast out. His son was a raving maniac. After praying and fasting for
him nine days, he arose on the ninth day and commanded in the name of
Jesus Christ the devil to come out of him. The devil obeyed and the boy
was made whole from that very hour. This man instilled these principles
into my mind as well as into the mind of my oldest brother Azmon.
"Father Mason did not claim that he had any authority to officiate in
the ordinances of the gospel, nor did he believe that such authority
existed on the earth. He did believe, however, that it was the
privilege of any man who had faith in God to fast and pray for the
healing of the sick by the laying on of hands. He believed it his right
and the right of every honest-hearted man or woman to receive light and
knowledge, visions, and revelations by the prayer of faith. He told
me that the day was near when the Lord would establish His Church and
Kingdom upon the earth with all its ancient gifts and blessings. He
said that such a work would commence upon the earth before he died,
but that he would not live to partake of its blessings. He said that I
should live to do so, and that I should become a conspicuous actor in
that kingdom.
"The last time I ever saw him he related to me the following vision
which he had in his field in open day: 'I was carried away in a vision
and found myself in the midst of a vast orchard of fruit trees. I
became hungry and wandered through this vast orchard searching for
fruit to eat, but I found none. While I stood in amazement finding no
fruit in the midst of so many trees, they began to fall to the ground
as if torn up by a whirlwind. They continued to fall until there was
not a tree standing in the whole orchard. I immediately saw thereafter
shoots springing up from the roots and forming themselves into young
and beautiful trees. These budded, blossomed, and brought forth fruit
which ripened and was the most beautiful to look upon of anything my
eyes had ever beheld. I stretched forth {17} my hand and plucked some
of the fruit. I gazed upon it with delight; but when I was about to eat
of it, the vision closed and I did not taste the fruit.'
"'At the close of the vision I bowed down in humble prayer and asked
the Lord to show me the meaning of the vision. Then the voice of the
Lord came to me saying: "Son of man, thou hast sought me diligently to
know the truth concerning my Church and Kingdom among men. This is to
show you that my Church is not organized among men in the generation
to which you belong; but in the days of your children the Church and
Kingdom of God shall be made manifest with all the gifts and the
blessings enjoyed by the Saints in past ages. You shall live to be made
acquainted with it, but shall not partake of its blessings before you
depart this life. You will be blest of the Lord after death because you
have followed the dictation of my Spirit in this life."'
"When Father Mason had finished relating the vision and its
interpretation, he said, calling me by my Christian name: 'Wilford, I
shall never partake of this fruit in the flesh, but you will and you
will become a conspicuous actor in the new kingdom.' He then turned
and left me. These were the last words he ever spoke to me upon the
earth. To me this was a very striking circumstance. I had passed many
days during a period of twenty years with this old Father Mason. He had
never mentioned this vision to me before. On this occasion he said he
felt impelled by the Spirit of the Lord to relate it to me.
"The vision was given to him about the year 1800. He related it to me
in 1830, the spring in which the Church was organized. Three years
later when I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, almost the first person I thought of was this prophet, Robert
Mason. Upon my arrival in Missouri with Zion's Camp, I wrote him a
long letter in which I informed him that I had found the true gospel
with all its blessings; that the authority of the Church of Christ had
been restored to the earth as he had told me it would be; that I had
received the ordinances of baptism and the laying on of hands; that
I knew for myself that God had established through Joseph Smith, the
Prophet, the Church of Christ upon the earth.
"He received my letter with great joy and had it read over {18} to him
many times. He handled it as he had handled the fruit in the vision. He
was very aged and soon died without having the privilege of receiving
the ordinances of the gospel at the hands of an elder of the Church.
"The first opportunity I had after the truth of baptism for the dead
was revealed, I went forth and was baptized for him in the temple font
at Nauvoo. He was a good man, a true prophet; for his prophecies have
been fulfilled. There was so much reason in the teachings of this man,
and such harmony between them and the prophecies and teachings of
Christ and of the apostles and prophets of old, that I believed in them
with all my heart.
"I had given myself up to the reading of the Scriptures and to earnest
prayer before God day and night as far as I could years before I heard
the fullness of the gospel preached by a Latter-day Saint. I had
pleaded with the Lord many hours in the forest, among the rocks, and
in the fields, and in the mill--often at midnight for light and truth
and for His Spirit to guide me in the way of salvation. My prayers
were answered and many things were revealed to me. My mind was open to
the truth so much so that I was fully satisfied that I should live to
see the true Church of Christ established upon the earth and to see a
people raised up who would keep the commandments of the Lord."
This beautiful and inspiring story of Robert Mason reads very much
like that of Simeon of old, who, having received a divine response to
his steadfast supplications, exclaimed: "Lord, now lettest thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy
salvation."
In reading the history of the Church, one is constantly impressed by
the striking comparisons between the events recorded in Holy Writ and
those which have been forerunners as well as accompaniments of the
Church of Christ in this dispensation. The Spirit of God makes these
analogies impressive, and they in turn confirm the faith of those who
have received a testimony of the divine mission of Joseph Smith and of
the purposes of God to be fulfilled by the Church in these last days.
No wonder Wilford Woodruff's mind was open to the truth. No wonder
that doubt or misgiving never beclouded his mind {19} from the day
that the new light broke in upon his understanding to the day of his
death. His life is one of the most beautiful examples of a childlike
faith that has ever been given to the world. The story of it is both
faith-promoting and instructive. It reads like the stories of Holy Writ.
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