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.
Elder Woodruff was a messenger of peace, a man by temperament and faith
pre-eminently fitted to be a missionary of the word of God to the
nations of the earth. As one studies his life and the life of the early
leaders of the Church, one is constantly reminded of their peculiar
fitness and qualifications for the work needed in the Church in its
early life.
New year of 1842 found him at home in Nauvoo enjoying with his family
and friends the festive season. He had been a member of the Church
eight years, but during that membership had been absent from home
perhaps four-fifths of the time. He records the fact that he with the
quorum of the Twelve passed the day at the home of Brother Stoddard.
Nauvoo was at this time taking on a new interest. The erection of the
Temple awakened within such men a heartfelt desire, not only to take
part in the work, but to enjoy its ordinances at the earliest possible
opportunity. They felt that these ordinances would give to them a new
spiritual life and that they would be better qualified in consequence
as messengers of the word of God to the nations of the earth. In his
journal he writes: "It is an interesting occasion for us to meet with
our families during the festive season in the City of the Saints in the
midst of peace and love. We prize more highly this privilege as we are
so often separated in the vineyard of the Lord. It is a privilege to be
at home for a season and provide for my family. This is the first time
since I have been in the Church that I have been thus privileged as I
have been on missions most of the time for eight years."
During the early part of January he paid a visit to his old time
friend, John Benbow, who lived on the prairie six miles from Nauvoo.
Elder Benbow had been a very liberal man in promoting the missionary
work of Apostle Woodruff abroad. He was just as liberal when he joined
the Saints near Nauvoo. Besides {159} his regular offerings, he loaned
money to the Prophet to meet pressing obligations of himself and the
Church. "This was the first time I had visited him since my return
home. I passed the time there very pleasantly. His farm looked almost
like a Garden of Eden. I have never seen more work done in one year on
a prairie farm than was done on his. He had surrounded and crossed it
with heavy ditches, and had planted thorn hedges. His dwelling, barns,
sheds, garden, yards, and orchards were all beautifully arranged. The
farm resembled very much the farms of old England. Elder Benbow had
been a well-to-do-farmer on about three hundred acres of land. This
place was a pleasant retreat for a summer's ride from Nauvoo. The
little neighborhood consisted of five families from England. All were
united except one family that had denied the faith. Before my return to
the city I paid John Benbow two hundred dollars for President Smith and
had it endorsed on his note."
The activity in and about Nauvoo directed toward the erection of the
Temple must have presented the appearance of men who worked with a will
to accomplish definite purposes. Elder Woodruff himself was engaged in
hauling large stones from the river to Temple Hill. Whatever he set
himself to do he did as though it were the occupation of his life and
never a makeshift. It was that whole-souled devotion that enabled him
to turn from one occupation to another without any disappointment or
distaste. It is only the half-hearted that complain at interruptions,
who are distracted when taken from one condition of life to another and
are subjected to radical as well as frequent changes.
From the occupation of a rock hauler he was called to the printing
press, and with John Taylor he took up the work of publishing the
"Times and Seasons," which thereafter was to be under the direction of
Joseph, the Seer. He began work in his new calling by taking charge of
the business department of the paper. Joseph was editor in chief and
John Taylor was his assistant.
About this time the Prophet was occupied in the translation of the Book
of Moses from an Egyptian papyrus. Parts of the book were published
in the "Times and Seasons," and its subject matter created a peculiar
satisfaction in the heart of Wilford Woodruff. Wilford Woodruff was
himself a student of Holy {160} Writ, a man of pronounced religious
convictions, untouched by the religious persuasions of his time. His
complete surrender, and his perfect devotion to his new-found calling
are sufficient in themselves to command attention and persuade others
that there must have been something remarkable in his new-found faith,
otherwise he would not have been one of its apostles. "I have been much
edified of late," he says, "in listening to the Prophet converse upon
the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Surely the Lord is with him and
is making him mighty in knowledge and wisdom. I am convinced that none
of the prophets or seers have ever accomplished a greater work than
the Lord will bring to pass through the instrumentality of the Prophet
Joseph Smith."
Wilford Woodruff knew his Bible, he knew himself, and the simplicity
and purity of his own soul fitted him for the reception of a new
light. He was not a mere enthusiast, he was never fanatical, and was
not easily touched by the sophistries of men. Such a testimony of the
Prophet Joseph has therefore a peculiar significance to those who
honestly and without bias study the life of Joseph Smith.
March 1st of that year, Elder Woodruff's natal day, he observed by
making a feast for his friends. Sundry duties occupied his time. He was
chaplain of the Nauvoo Legion; he took part in the organization of the
Masonic Lodge of Nauvoo; and was present when it was addressed by the
Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge of Illinois. He, with the Prophet and
others, was a member of the Masonic fraternity. The fraternity sought
for in that organization was superseded by a more perfect fraternity
found in the vows and covenants which the endowment in the House of God
afforded members of the Church. Besides, the Saints learned that they
must surrender worldly affiliations, since the world was opposed to the
mission of Joseph Smith and his followers. Those who seek their highest
guidance in precedence quote the circumstance as an argument for the
return to the condition of those times. The Church, however, rests upon
the rock of revelation and must follow divine guidance rather than
precedence.
Passing on in the journal of Wilford Woodruff we find recorded the
synopsis of a discourse by the Prophet Joseph on death, {161} the
resurrection, and baptism. "We have," says the Prophet, "the warning
voice again sounded in our midst, a voice which heralds the uncertainty
of human life. In my leisure moments I have meditated and asked the
question: Why is it that innocent children are taken away from us,
especially those who seem to be the most intelligent? This world is
a very wicked world, and it is a proverb that it grows weaker and
wiser. If so it becomes more corrupt. In the early ages of the world
the righteous man, the man of God and of intelligence had a better
opportunity to do good, to be received and believed than at the present
day. In these days such a man is opposed and persecuted by most of the
inhabitants of the earth and has to pass through much sorrow, hence
the Lord takes away many in infancy that they may escape the envy of
man and escape the sorrows and evils of the world. They are too pure
and too lovely to live on the earth; therefore, if rightly considered,
we have reason to rejoice instead of mourning, as their death is their
deliverance from evil and we shall soon have them again.
"What chance is there for infidelity when we are parting daily with our
friends? There is none at all. The infidel will grasp at every straw
for help until death stares him in the face and then his infidelity
takes flight; for the realities of the eternal world are resting
in mighty power upon him. When every earthly support fails him, he
sensibly feels the eternal truths of the immortality of the soul.
"Respecting the doctrine of baptism, or sprinkling of children, in
order that they may not be consigned to hell I wish to say, it is not
true, nor is it supported by Holy Writ. It is not consistent with the
character of God. The moment children leave this world they are taken
into Abraham's bosom. The only difference between the old and young in
death is that one lives longer in heaven and in eternal light and glory
than the other and was freed a little earlier from this wicked world.
Notwithstanding all this glory we for a moment lose sight of it and
mourn our loss, but we mourn not as those without hope.
"We should take warning and not wait for deathbed repentance. Let it
be a warning not to procrastinate repentance, not wait for death. It
is the will of God that men should repent and serve him in health and
strength and in the power of their minds {162} in order to secure
divine blessings. God has made certain decrees which are fixed and
unalterable. He set the sun, the moon, and the stars and gave them
their laws, conditions, and bounds which they cannot pass except by
His command. They all move in perfect harmony in their spheres and are
as wondrous lights and signs to us. The sea also has its bounds which
it cannot pass without His command. God has set many signs in the
earth as well as in the heavens. The oaks of the forest, the herbs of
the field, the fruit of the tree all bear signs that seeds have been
planted. It is a decree of the Lord that every tree or herb bearing
seed shall bring forth after its own kind. Upon the same principle I
contend that baptism is a sign and ordinance of God for every believer
in Christ in order that he may enter into the Kingdom of God. The
Savior said: 'Except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he
cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.' It is a sign and a commandment
that God hath given whereby man may enter into His Kingdom. Those
who seek to enter in any other way will seek in vain. God will never
receive them nor will angels acknowledge their works if they have not
taken upon themselves those ordinances and signs which God ordained
in order that man might receive the celestial glory. God has decreed
that all who will not obey His voice shall not escape the damnation
of hell. And what is the damnation of hell? It is to be numbered with
the society of those who have not obeyed His commandments. Baptism
is a sign to God and to the angels and to heaven that we do the will
of the Father; and there is no other way ordained of God for man to
come unto Him. The laying on of hands is a sign given for the healing
of the sick and we do not obtain the blessing by pursuing any other
course. The same is true in reference to the gift of the Holy Ghost.
There is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy
Ghost. Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, but he
could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he had been
baptized. Had he not received the ordinance of baptism, the Holy Ghost,
which convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him until he
had obtained the ordinances of baptism and received the gift of the
Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.
"It mattereth not whether we live long or short after we come {163}
to a knowledge of the principles of the gospel and obey them. I know
that all men will be damned if they come not in the way which God has
ordained. Concerning the resurrection I will say merely that we will
come from the grave as we lie down, whether we die old or young. Not
one cubit will be added to or taken away from our stature. 'Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord, for they rest from their labors and
their works do follow them.'"
"The Prophet," says Elder Woodruff, "then called upon the people to
assemble themselves in prayer before God and call upon Him in mighty
faith, prayer, and fasting that the inhabitants of the city might
escape the power of the destroyer which rageth upon the face of the
earth, and that the earth might be sanctified under their feet." Here
the Prophet clearly sets forth the principle that the blessings of
our spiritual lives, the blessings of the world hereafter are the
result of obedience to spiritual laws, or divine command, just as
the consequences in the material world are based upon God's laws and
so-called laws of nature. "All," says the Doctrine and Covenants,
"who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was
appointed for that blessing and the conditions thereof as they were
instituted from before the foundation of the world."
After this discourse, we are told that the Prophet went into the river
and baptized about eighty persons for the remission of their sins.
Among them was L. D. Wasson, a nephew of the Prophet's wife. He was the
only one of her kindred thus far who had accepted the faith.
"At the close of this interesting scene the Prophet lifted up his hands
to heaven and implored the blessings of God upon the people, and verily
the spirit of God rested upon the multitude to the joy and consolation
of our hearts." At various times, at intervals between the meetings,
large numbers received at the hands of the Twelve in the Temple font
the ordinance of baptism for the dead.
During these times the emigration from England brought to Nauvoo a
great many people. Lyman Wight had just returned from the East with
one hundred and seventy Saints, and brought with him three thousand
dollars worth of property for the benefit {164} of the Temple and the
Nauvoo House. The annual conference of that year was full of interest
to the people, though the season was a rainy one. On the second day
of the conference when Elder John Taylor was addressing the assembled
multitude, other elders were baptizing in the font and elsewhere.
Elder Woodruff and six others of the Twelve were ordaining elders. "We
ordained 275 elders, the most that we ever ordained in one day before
in the Church."
The day following conference was the funeral of Ephraim Marks. In the
course of his remarks at the funeral, Elder Woodruff quotes the Prophet
as saying: "Some have supposed that the Prophet Joseph could not die.
This is a mistake. It is true there have been times when I have had the
promise of my life to accomplish certain ends. These ends have been
accomplished, and at present I have no lease upon my life. I am as
liable to die as other men."
Shortly after this we have the following quotation from a discourse
delivered by the Prophet who addressed the people at the grove after
William Law had spoken to them. "I wish to say a few words to suit the
condition of the general masses, and I shall speak with the authority
of the priesthood in the name of the Lord. Notwithstanding this
congregation profess to be Saints, I stand in the midst of all kinds
of characters and all classes of men. If you wish to go where God is,
you must be like Him or possess the principle which He possesses. If
we are not drawing toward God in principle, we are going from Him and
drawing toward the devil. Search your hearts and see if you are like
God. I have searched mine and I feel to repent of all my sins. We have
among us thieves, adulterers, liars, and hypocrites. If God should
speak from the heaven, He would command you not to steal, not to commit
adultery, not to covet, not to deceive, but to be faithful over a few
things. As far as we degenerate from God, we descend to the devil and
lose our knowledge, and without knowledge we cannot be saved. While our
hearts are filled with evil there is no room in them for good. Is God
good? Then be ye good. If He is faithful, then be ye faithful. Add to
your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and seek for every good
thing. The Church must be cleansed and I proclaim against all iniquity.
A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get
{165} knowledge he will be brought into captivity by some evil power.
In the other world evil spirits have more knowledge and consequently
more power than many men on earth have. We, therefore, need revelation
to assist us and give us knowledge of the things of God. The priests of
the world cloak their iniquity by saying there is no more revelation.
When revelation comes from God they are universally opposed to it, if
it reveals their wickedness and abominations."
Turning from the work of teaching and instructing the Saints, we find
the Prophet and the people taking part in a grand military parade. On
the seventh of May the Nauvoo Legion of nearly two thousand men in
uniform marched through the streets of Nauvoo to the inspiring strains
of music by the militia band and under the leadership of Joseph Smith.
The Prophet and the people were fulfilling their obligations to the
state by the maintenance and discipline of a militia that did so much
to become an honor to the people of Illinois. What they did, they did
well, but even this citizens' duty of maintaining a splendid milita was
used for the purpose of creating prejudice in the eyes of the people
throughout the country. The enemies at home never lost any opportunity
to inflame the public mind, and to justify themselves therefore by the
consummation of a conspiracy to encompass the life of the Prophet. One
day some of the elders found themselves in martial array, the next day
in the font baptizing for their kindred dead. All things the faithful
sought to do for the honor and glory of God and for the salvation of
their souls.
On the 22nd of May that year, Elder Woodruff baptized George A. Smith
for the restoration of the latter's health. In those days in performing
the ordinances for the dead, men were baptized for women, and women
for men. Later on, however, the Prophet was shown that in the sacred
ordinances of baptism men and women should be baptized for their
ancestors, each for his own sex. It seems very remarkable that in view
of these temple ordinances men should seek to attribute the origin of
these ordinances to Brigham Young. Elder Woodruff, in his journal,
records the temple work, unconscious that its practice would ever be
questioned in generations to come.
On the 18th of June a large congregation of Saints assembled in the
grove near the Temple. "To these thousands there assembled," {166}
Elder Woodruff says, "Joseph, the prophet, arose and spoke in great
plainness upon the corruption and wickedness of John C. Bennett. He
also prophesied that if the merchants of the city and the rich did not
open their hearts and contribute to the poor they would be cursed by
the hand of God and cut off from the land of the living." The words of
the Prophet were fulfilled. There had been organized an agricultural
and manufacturing society in view of giving aid to the poor.
On the 24th of June that year there was a meeting of the Nauvoo Masonic
Lodge for the celebration of St. John. A number of the leading men
of the Church took part, and Sidney Rigdon delivered an appropriate
address. All efforts to stand upon a common ground with the citizens
generally of Nauvoo were, however, unavailing. John C. Bennett, who had
been cut off the Church, became vindictive and took advantage of the
political conditions to create an agitation abroad against the Saints.
About this time most of the Twelve were sent forth again into the
world to preach the gospel. As Apostles Taylor and Woodruff were
publishing the "Times and Seasons" they remained at home. In his work
as the business manager of that publication he labored with his usual
zeal. He speaks of a voyage he took down the Mississippi by steamer
to purchase material in St. Louis. He was sick on the way and after
reaching the city had only twenty-four hours in which to make his
purchases, load his material on board, and begin his homeward journey.
To accomplish this he says, "I walked till ten o'clock at night, and
I went to bed weary and sick and in severe pain and did not sleep
till two in the morning. I was awakened shortly after that hour with
the bleeding of the nose, through which I must have lost a pint of
blood. Notwithstanding my weakness from fatigue and loss of blood, I
began work before breakfast the following morning. In the afternoon my
supplies were all on board the boat. I ate dinner and went to bed tired
and sick. The boat left at six in the evening and arrived in due time
at Keokuk."
From there he went to Montrose by stage and crossed the river to
Nauvoo, where he found the printing press stopped for want of paper.
Notwithstanding his impoverished physical condition, Elder Woodruff
took a skiff and rowed down the river to the steamboat which had been
delayed for five days, unable to go {167} over the rapids. He obtained
there sufficient paper for immediate use.
Returning over the rapids he reached home about midnight, still in a
feverish condition and suffering from a severe cold. "Since the boat
had landed our freight and I had seen it distributed to the several
departments, I went home where I was confined to my bed and passed
through the severest siege of sickness I ever had in my life." He was
confined to his room and most of the time to his bed for forty days.
Upon his partial recovery he found himself again actively engaged in
his work. During his recovery he was once taken by Brigham Young in
his carriage to attend a meeting of the Council of the Twelve. He had
been in the house only a few minutes when his strength began to fail
him. He lay down upon a bench and became unconscious. His breath ceased
for a few moments, but he revived through the administration of his
brethren. Remarkable testimonies came to him respecting the healing
power which was then in the Church. Apostle Woodruff suffered much less
from sickness than he did from his inability to meet the Prophet and to
listen to the glorious truths which he had to impart to the brethren.
The Prophet was then much of his time in hiding, owing to the
accusation that he was accessory to the shooting of Governor Boggs and
therefore wanted in Missouri.
Those were trying times; many of the people questioned their leader
and the wisdom of his policy. They argued among themselves that the
Prophet Joseph had done nothing wrong, he had nothing to fear. They
wanted him to clear himself with the world and with his enemies; that
was the honorable thing, as they saw it, to do. Nothing less would
satisfy them. But the Prophet knew very well the sentiment behind those
who demanded his presence in Missouri. The fear of the enemy was less
trying to him than the folly of many of his brethren who were swayed
by the spirit of the age and the peculiar sophistries of those times.
They were sophistries as full of folly and recklessness as many that
have prevailed in the Church since then, and are now prevalent in many
places.
On the 30th of October, 1842, for the first time, the Saints held a
meeting in the Nauvoo Temple. A temporary floor was laid within the
unfinished walls; and about three thousand Saints, {168} full of
joyful anticipations, assembled to hear the Prophet of God. They were
disappointed, as sickness and other causes prevented his appearance on
that occasion.
Those who were faithful and true were sad over the enforced absence of
their leader. Steps were taken by the city council with the view of
passing a bill granting the right of the writ of habeas corpus within
the city. They thought such a law would be a protection to Joseph
and other leading men who were constantly harrassed by their enemies
without a cause. The writ of habeas corpus was a burning question in
those days, as the liberties of the elders were constantly menaced.
On the 7th of December that year, Elder Orson Hyde returned from
his mission to Jerusalem, where he had gone by appointment through
revelation to dedicate the Holy Land for the return of the Jews. After
performing the mission he returned home to give an account of his
experiences and of the country. The Holy Land came within the hopes,
promises, and blessings of the new dispensation. The promise of its
redemption had been made. Many of the elders rejoiced in what they
hoped would be its early fulfillment. As children in their new found
calling, they possessed the impatience of youth, and the fulfillment of
God's purposes they hoped speedily.
Most of the year 1842 found Elder Woodruff at home, with his family.
He was engaged in all sorts of occupations, and his journal records
a great variety of work. On the 19th of September he had cut an acre
of corn and stacked it. During the days immediately following he was
occupied in hauling wood to his door. He had traveled only 450 miles
that year, a modest journey for him. During those times he had learned
to know more of the Prophet, more of the doctrines which he taught, and
more of the spirit by which he was actuated. Joseph Smith, himself, was
a revelation to President Woodruff; he was a marvel and wonder to his
mind. He was no less than a prophet of God, equally important with the
prophets of old; aye! more so. The privilege of associating with the
Prophet of God was the most glorious opportunity of his life, and his
journal contains unnumbered manifestations of sublime satisfaction over
the dispensations of his Heavenly Father.
{169}