ZION'S CAMP, 1834.
His First Call.--Leaves for Kirtland.--His Neighbors' Warning.--First
Meeting with Prophet.--A Remarkable Prophetic Gift.--Zion's
Camp.--Zelph.--Escape Mob at Fishing River.--Epidemic of Cholera.--His
Residence in Missouri.--Consecrations.
Perhaps no man in the Church ever felt more profoundly the truth of
the words, "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform,"
than Wilford Woodruff. He was so intensely spiritual, so completely
devoted to the service of God, that all through his life the miraculous
manifestations of God's purposes were abundantly given. He had never
based his faith upon miracles, they merely confirmed what he believed
with all his heart and supported his ideas of the teachings of Holy
Writ.
Confirming the divine power which attended his baptism, the words of
the Prophet Joseph contained in George Q. Cannon's history are here
given: "In view of all that has since occurred, it is a remarkable
fact that the Prophet recorded in his journal of the 31st of December,
1833, the fact that 'Wilford Woodruff was baptized at Richland, Oswego
County, New York, by Zera Pulsipher,' and this was before the Prophet
and the future apostle and president had ever met in the flesh. This
is not the only mention of Wilford Woodruff in Joseph's diary prior
to their meeting. In one place the Prophet notices that Wilford had
been ordained a teacher. It was the 25th day of April, 1834, when
Wilford Woodruff visited the Prophet at Kirtland, and from that time
on until Joseph's death they were intimately associated. It was clear
that Joseph felt the staunch worthiness of his young brother, and in
relying upon him, the Prophet was leaning upon no weak or broken reed;
for Wilford Woodruff had then and has ever since shown the fidelity
of a Saint, and the integrity and prophetic power of an apostle of
Jesus Christ. He was one of the most faithful of all the men who were
gathered near to the Prophet's person, to share his trials and his
confidences. Wilford Woodruff never made any attempt to cultivate
showy qualities, and yet he was always marked among his fellows; his
characteristic humility and unswerving honesty being sufficient to
attract {38} the attention of all who have known him. His is another of
the names to be recorded with that of Joseph, and it is worthy to stand
side by side with the names of Brigham Young and John Taylor, for he
was as loyal to them as he and they were to Joseph, the first prophet
of this dispensation."
From the outset, the subject of this biography became a most ardent
worker in the cause he had espoused. He was ordained a teacher and
found immediate opportunity to give expression to his intense desire
to declare his belief in the purposes of his Maker. He and the Brother
Holton herein mentioned, shortly after their baptism, walked sixty-five
miles to Fabius to hold a meeting.
Events of far-reaching importance were rapidly closing in upon him.
On the 1st of April, Elders Parley P. Pratt and Harry Brown arrived
at Richland. They were there on an important mission. They were in
search of young and able-bodied men in the eastern branches of the
Church--young men whose services were needed in Zion's Camp, and
organization which at that time was being effected for the purpose of
assisting in the redemption of Zion, and of carrying supplies to the
suffering Saints who had been expelled by mob violence from their homes
in Jackson County, Missouri.
This was the first time Wilford Woodruff had met Parley P. Pratt, to
whose instructions he listened with great interest and attention, and
says he was greatly edified by what he had to say. Elder Pratt informed
him that it was his duty to prepare himself to go up to the land of
Zion. He accordingly settled up his business affairs, and bade good-bye
to his brother and kinsfolk in Richland.
On April 11th Wilford took Harry Brown and Warren Ingles in his wagon
and started with them for Kirtland, Ohio. On the way he met for the
first time Elders Orson Pratt and John Murdock. They all arrived in
Kirtland April 25th, 1834. Before he left Richland, many of his friends
and neighbors warned him not to go, and declared that if he did go, he
would be killed. He replied that the Lord had commanded him, and that
he would go; that he had no fears of any evil consequences as long as
he obeyed the Lord.
He gives an account of his first meeting with the Prophet {39} as
follows: "Here for the first time in my life I met and had an interview
with our beloved Prophet Joseph Smith, the man whom God had chosen to
bring forth His revelations in these last days. My first introduction
was not of a kind to satisfy the preconceived notions of the sectarian
mind as to what a prophet ought to be, and how he should appear. It
might have shocked the faith of some men. I found him and his brother
Hyrum out shooting at a mark with a brace of pistols. When they stopped
shooting, I was introduced to Brother Joseph, and he shook hands with
me most heartily. He invited me to make his habitation my home while I
tarried in Kirtland. This invitation I most eagerly accepted, and was
greatly edified and blest during my stay with him. He asked me to help
him tan a wolfskin which he said he wished to use upon the seat of his
wagon on the way to Missouri. I pulled off my coat, stretched the skin
across the back of a chair, and soon had it tanned--although I had to
smile at my first experience with the Prophet.
"That night we had a most enjoyable and profitable time in his home. In
conversation, he smote his hand upon his breast and said, 'I would to
God I could unbosom my feelings in the house of my friends.' He said
in relation to Zion's Camp, 'Brethren, don't be discouraged about our
not having means. The Lord will provide, and He will put it into the
heart of somebody to send me some money.' The very next day he received
a letter from Sister Vose, containing one hundred and fifty dollars.
When he opened the letter and took out the money, he held it up and
exclaimed: 'See here, did I not tell you the Lord would send me some
money to help us on our journey? Here it is.' I felt satisfied that
Joseph was a Prophet of God in very deed."
Prior to his departure with Zion's Camp, Wilford Woodruff became
acquainted with many leading men and private members of the Church,
some of whom were destined to be his co-laborers throughout subsequent
years of his life. Besides the Prophet, the patriarch and their
families, he became acquainted with Brigham Young, Orson Hyde, Milton
Holmes, Sidney Rigdon, and many others whose names occur in the early
history of the Church.
"I passed one Sabbath in Kirtland," he writes, "and heard many of the
elders speak. I rejoiced before God because of the light and knowledge
which were manifested to me during that {40} day. The first day of May,
1834, was appointed for the Camp of Zion to start from Kirtland. Only a
few of those composing the Camp were ready.
"The Prophet asked those who were ready, to go as far as New Portage
and there await the arrival of those who would follow later. I left in
company with about twenty men with baggage wagons. At night we pitched
our tents. Climbing to the top of the hill, I looked down upon the Camp
of Israel. There I knelt upon the ground and prayed. I rejoiced and
praised the Lord that I had lived to see some of the tents of Israel
pitched, and a company gathered by the commandment of God to go up and
help to redeem Zion.
"We remained at New Portage until the 6th when we were joined by the
Prophet and eighty-five more men. The day before their arrival, while
passing through the village of Middlebury, the people tried to count
them, but the Lord multiplied them in the eyes of those people so that
those who counted them said there were four hundred.
"On the 7th, the Prophet Joseph organized the Camp which consisted
of about one hundred and thirty men. The day following we continued
our journey. We pitched our tents at night and had prayers night and
morning. The Prophet gave us our instructions every day. We were nearly
all young men brought together from all parts of the country, and were
therefore strangers to each other. We soon became acquainted and had
a happy time in each others association. It was a great school for us
to be led by a Prophet of God a thousand miles through cities, towns,
villages, and through the wilderness. When persons stood up to count
us, they could not tell how many we numbered. Some said five hundred,
others, a thousand. Many were astonished as we passed through their
towns. One lady ran to the door, pushed her spectacles to the top of
her head, raised her hands and exclaimed: 'What under heavens has
broken loose.' She stood in that position the last I saw of her.
"During our travels we visited many mounds thrown up by the ancient
inhabitants, the Nephites and Lamanites. This morning, June 3rd, we
went on to a high mound near the river. From the summit we could
overlook the tops of the trees as far as we could see. The scenery was
truly beautiful. On the summit of {41} the mound were stones which
presented the appearance of three altars, they having been erected, one
above the other, according to the ancient order of things. Human bones
were seen upon the ground. Brother Joseph requested us to dig into the
mound; we did so; and in about one foot we came to the skeleton of
a man, almost entire, with an arrow sticking in his backbone. Elder
Milton Holmes picked it out, and brought it into the Camp, with one
of the leg bones, which had been broken. I brought the thigh bone to
Missouri. I desired to bury it in the Temple Block in Jackson County;
but not having this privilege, I buried it in Clay County, Missouri,
near the house owned by Col. Arthur and occupied by Lyman Wight."
The arrowhead referred to is now in the possession of President Joseph
F. Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah.
"Brother Joseph," continues Wilford, "feeling anxious to learn
something of this man, asked the Lord, and received an open vision.
The man's name was Zelph. He was a white Lamanite, the curse having
been removed because of his righteousness. He was a great warrior, and
fought for the Nephites under the direction of the Prophet Onandagus.
The latter had charge of the Nephite armies from the Eastern sea to
the Rocky Mountains. Although the Book of Mormon does not mention
Onandagus, he was a great warrior, leader, general, and prophet. Zelph
had his thigh bone broken by a stone thrown from a sling, but was
killed by the arrow found sticking in his backbone. There was a great
slaughter at that time. The bodies were heaped upon the earth, and
buried in the mound, which is nearly three hundred feet in height.
"The Lord delivered Israel in the days of Moses by dividing the Red
Sea, so they went over dry shod. When their enemies tried to do the
same, the water closed upon the latter and they were drowned. The Lord
delivered Zion's Camp from their enemies on the 19th of June, 1834, by
piling up the waters in Fishing River forty feet in one night, so our
enemies could not cross. He also sent a great hailstorm, which broke
them up and sent them seeking for shelter. James Campbell, who had
threatened the life of the Prophet and his brethren, was drowned, with
six others, the same night, after his threat. His body was washed down
the stream, and was eaten by eagles and turkey-buzzards."
{42} The people of Richmond, Missouri, declared the Camp should not
pass through that city; but on the morning of the 19th, before the
people were up, the brethren passed through unmolested. "We intended
to enter Clay County that day, but the Lord knew best what was for our
good," says Wilford, "and so began to hinder our progress. One wheel
broke down, another ran off, and one thing after another hindered us so
that we had to camp between two forks of Fishing River. Five armed men
soon rode up, and told us that large companies of men from Jackson and
Clay Counties, and other parts, would be upon us before morning, and
were sworn to encompass our destruction.
"Shortly after these five men left us, a small cloud arose, and spread
with great rapidity, until the whole heavens gathered blackness, and
a mighty storm burst forth with fury upon our enemies. If the Camp
had not been hindered, they would have crossed into Clay County, and
would have been at the mercy of the mob. Thus the Lord, in a marvelous
manner, preserved the lives of His servants. Colonel Sconce, who came
into the Camp the next day, with several leading men, said that surely
Jehovah fought the battles of Joseph and his followers."
The Prophet addressed the visitors at some length, and recounted the
wrongs heaped upon the Saints in Missouri. His address touched the
hearts of the visitors, bringing tears to their eyes. They promised to
do all they could to allay the prejudice of the people. It appears from
Wilford Woodruff's journal that they kept their word, and rode through
the country endeavoring to allay the excitement.
"Previous to this event," says Wilford, "Elders Hyrum Smith and Lyman
Wight had joined the Camp with a company of volunteers from Michigan.
The Camp now consisted of two hundred and five men and twenty-five
baggage wagons. Lyman Wight was made commander-in-chief. Joseph
appointed twenty men to be his body-guard; Hyrum Smith was captain, and
George A. Smith armor-bearer.
"The Camp of Zion arrived at Brother Burk's, in Clay County, Missouri
on the 24th of June, 1834. We pitched our tents on his premises. He
told some of the brethren of my company that he had a spare room which
some of us might occupy if we would clean it. Our company accepted the
offer; and, fearing {43} that some other company would get it first,
we left all other business and went to work, cleaned out the room, and
immediately spread down our blankets, so as to hold a right to the
room. It was but a short time afterwards that our brethren who were
attacked by cholera were brought in and laid upon our beds. None of us
ever used those blankets again, for they were buried with the dead; so
we gained nothing but experience by our selfishness, and we lost our
bedding.
"When the cholera broke out in Camp, Joseph attempted to rebuke it,
but was shown by the Lord that when He sends a judgment man must not
attempt to stay it. (Joseph returned to me the sword which I had given
him, and it still remains in my family as a relic of that expedition.)
Those who died in Zion's Camp were A. S. Gilbert, John S. Carter, Eber
Wilcox, Seth Hitchcock, Erastus Rudd, Alfred Frisk, Edward Jones, Noah
Johnson, Jesse B. Lawson, Robert McCord, Eliel Strong, Jesse Smith,
Betsey Parrish, and Warren Ingles.
"The Prophet called the brethren together at Lyman Wight's and told
them the cholera had been sent in fulfillment of his prediction. Nearly
all had suffered from it, and fourteen had died. Joseph said that if we
would now humble ourselves, the cholera would be stayed. We covenanted
with uplifted hands to keep the commandments of God, and the cholera
was stayed from that hour; not another case appeared among the Saints.
"The journey of Zion's Camp to Missouri was necessarily one of trial
and hardship. Several of the brethren murmured, and found fault. Joseph
prophesied that a scourge would come upon the Camp, and it came in the
form of cholera, thirteen of the brethren being stricken in death.
During the journey, when brethren would have killed the serpents which
at times came into the tents and coiled up near the beds, the Prophet
taught his brethren the beautiful principle that men themselves must
become harmless before they can expect the brute creation to be so.
When man shall lose his own vicious disposition and cease to destroy
the inferior animals, the lion and the lamb may dwell together, and the
suckling child play with the serpent in safety."
In all the trials incident to the journey, Wilford Woodruff never
murmured. He was a staunch supporter of the Prophet Joseph in all the
latter's counsels and desires, and was so wrapt {44} in the spirit of
his calling and labor that it is doubtful if a thought of trial or
hardship ever entered his mind. This was characteristic of his entire
life. He never undertook a labor assigned him by the Lord and wished
he had not undertaken it. When he put his hand to the plough, he never
turned back.
After the disbanding of Zion's Camp a great trial came to him. He was
a devoted lover of his parents, brothers, and sisters, and had a deep
interest in their salvation. Since he left New York, his brother Azmon
had become disaffected, and wrote a long letter finding fault with
the proceedings of the Church, endeavoring to turn Wilford from his
course. The effect upon Wilford, however, was a deep sorrow for his
brother, and a stronger determination on his own part to live the life
of a Latter-day Saint. He answered his brother's letter, explained the
fallacy of the latter's arguments and complaints, warned him against
opposing the Church, exhorted him to repent, and bore a solemn and
unswerving testimony to the divinity of the calling and the upright,
honorable course of life of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Prophet advised all the young men with Zion's Camp who had no
families to stay in Missouri, and not return to Kirtland. "Not having
any family," says Wilford, "I stopped with Lyman Wight, as did also
Milton Holmes and Heman Hyde. We spent the summer together, laboring
hard, cutting wheat, quarrying rock, making brick, or at anything else
we could find to do. The Prophet organized the Saints in Zion, with a
presidency of three, and a high council. On the 17th of July, 1834, he
met the authorities of the Church at Lyman Wight's, where he gave us
many glorious instructions, he being clothed with the power of God. He
ordained the presidency and the twelve high councilors. All present
voted, with uplifted hands, to sustain the Prophet and the authorities
of Zion. We had a glorious time. This was the last meeting I ever
attended with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the State of Missouri."
Wilford Woodruff continued to attend faithfully to all of his religious
duties. Illustrative of his zeal and earnestness is his action relative
to what property he possessed. Notwithstanding the Saints had been
dispossessed of their homes in their central city of Zion, where they
had endeavored to carry out the principle of consecration, and were now
in a broken and scattered {45} condition, Wilford desired to comply
with every law relative to Zion. On December 31, 1834, he consecrated
to the Lord all his earthly possessions. "Believing it to be the duty
of the Latter-day Saints," he writes, "to consecrate and dedicate all
their property, with themselves, unto God in order to become lawful
heirs to the celestial Kingdom of God, I therefore, with this view,
consecrated all I had (though but little) before Edward Partridge, the
Presiding Bishop of the Church, in Clay County, Missouri, in this form:
'Be it known that I, Wilford Woodruff, do freely covenant with my God,
that I freely consecrate and dedicate myself, together with all my
properties and effects, unto the Lord, for the purpose of assisting in
the building up of His Kingdom and His Zion upon the earth, that I may
keep His law. I lay all before the Bishop of His Church, that I may be
a lawful heir to the celestial Kingdom of God.'"
The whole life of Wilford Woodruff shows that he would have been
willing to do the same thing at any time, for the same purpose, even
though his possessions could have been counted by the millions. He was
whole-souled, and wholly given up to the service of his God and the
welfare of His people.
{46}