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.
The first day in the new year, 1860, came on Sunday and found Elder
Woodruff feeble in body from the effects of the severe sickness which
he had just undergone. During the early months of that year, he was
occupied largely in the Historian's Office. He had, however, found
a new occupation that made demands upon his attention, since he had
purchased some sheep which he kept at Fort Herriman where one of his
families lived.
Early in January of that year there arrived in the midst of the Saints
a man by the name of Walter M. Gibson. He had traveled extensively
in the Indian Archipelago and on various islands of the sea. The
novelties of these lands, the peculiarities of their people, and the
products of the soil afforded interesting subject matter for a series
of lectures which Mr. Gibson delivered in different places. These talks
interested Elder Woodruff, and he gives a synopsis of several in his
journal. Gibson claimed to be originally from South Carolina, and was
accompanied by a young woman whom he introduced as his daughter. After
a short stay in the city, they both professed faith in the Gospel,
joined the Church, and received the ordinances of the House of God.
Subsequent events, however, proved the Captain to be an adventurer,
insincere and dishonest in his motives, ambitious for the honors of men.
Elder Woodruff records that on February 7th Justice Clinton called upon
him with a request that he come to the court room and talk to a number
of young men who were to be fined for rowdyism and for threatening to
take the life of others. He responded to the invitation. The young men
listened with marked attention, and what he said was received by them
with great respect {412} and earnest consideration. They felt that his
words were the fruit of an honest God-fearing life.
On the evening of that day, a party was given to which Governor
Cumming, General Stambough, his staff, and others were invited. The
Presidency, the Twelve, and many of the Saints were in attendance, and
everything was done to make the occasion one of social pleasure and
fraternal good will. It was not easy in those days to draw the line.
There were honorable men whose society was not offensive and whose
manly course entitled them to attention and to social considerations
and friendly intercourse. On the other hand, there were adventurers
whose motives were well known and whose conduct was offensive. They
would have broken in upon the integrity and purity of the Mormon homes
without any conscientious respect for the religious feelings of their
neighbors.
On March 1st he said: "I am fifty-three years old to-day. I feel
sensitive when I look upon these years and see how truly short life
is--like a weaver's shuttle, it soon passes. Man should strive
diligently to make his life useful. He should speak the truth, live
honestly, practice virtue, and set an example in all things worthy of
imitation. It will pay no man to defraud his neighbor or to break the
commandments of God."
The conference this year convened on the 6th of April and some
fifty-four elders were sent abroad on missions. Among them was Captain
Walter M. Gibson. President Young's instructions given to the elders
are recorded by Apostle Woodruff as follows: "I want you to go upon
your missions in the spirit of God. You will do more good by bearing
testimony of the work of God through the Holy Ghost than by all the
argument you can use. Take for example two men, one learned and able to
preach eloquently from the Bible; the other may be ignorant of science
and arts, but filled with the Holy Ghost. The man, however, who relies
upon that spirit will make ten converts to one made by the man who
relies upon his learning. I would not throw one straw in the way of the
elders obtaining knowledge of the arts and sciences and of being armed
with truthful arguments upon every subject; indeed, they should seek
diligently to acquire knowledge, but they should obtain the Holy Ghost
to assist them in their ministry. Some of you are going to visit your
relatives. When {413} you go where they are, don't sit down at your
ease and give up preaching, but remember that you are on a mission and
that you should improve your time.
"You will have all manner of evil spoken against you, and all I ask of
you and all that God or angels will ask of you is that not one word
spoken against you shall be true; and I want you for my sake and for
your own sake and for the sake of Christ and the Kingdom of God to live
so that the wicked shall have no cause to speak evil against you.
"Another subject I wish to speak about is that of begging while upon
your missions. I do not wish you to beg, but trust in God, and do not
rob any one or take anything unjustly, but go and preach the Gospel
faithfully. If you trust in the Lord, He will give you all you need.
"There is another subject of importance, and that is the temptation you
will meet from women. This has caused the downfall of more elders in
the Church than any other thing. Some elders go upon missions nearly
all their lives and keep themselves clean and pure, while others come
home and are shady, their countenances fall, they cannot look you
straight in the eye. They have fallen into a snare. Joseph said to the
first Twelve that they would have to guard against this evil, for they
would have more trouble from this source than from any other. While you
are gone, let women alone.
"Again, you will meet with many who want to debate with you. Don't
contend with any man. If they have one truth which you do not possess,
you may accept it. In crossing the plains, have your prayers in camp.
There must be no swearing or contention. If you think some one does
wrong, impute it to the head and not to the heart. There must be no
abuse of the cattle. I have never permitted the abuse of dumb animals
where I have had control."
Such instructions were so perfectly in harmony with the life and
character of Apostle Woodruff that it was quite natural that he should
make special note of them in his journal; for in the observance of such
counsel, he was, perhaps, as perfect a model as could be found in all
Israel.
The troubles of those days are frequently referred to in Elder
Woodruff's journal. The spring of 1860 was stormy. {414} There was much
snow and frost. Much of the fruit was killed. Then socially, the times
were stormy. The country was infested by thieves and outlaws. There
were frequent brawls in the streets and several bad characters were
killed.
From the first to the middle of June, Elder Woodruff in company with
President Young and party made a journey to the far north, to the land
of snow and frost. Cache Valley in those days was looked upon with
many misgivings as a suitable place for colonization. Lorenzo Snow
had been called to preside over Box Elder stake and Ezra T. Benson in
Cache Valley. Franklin seems to have been the extreme outpost in the
north in those days. On this visit, Preston Thomas was made its first
bishop. Still, those settlements had so prospered that Apostle Woodruff
expressed his great delight with the advancement which had been made.
After his return from this visit, Elder Woodruff devoted some time
to the investigation of the school system as it then existed. He
and Robert L. Campbell visited a Brother Mousley's school which was
pronounced the best they had seen. Elder Woodruff was a strong advocate
of education. He had been deprived of its advantages in his youth, but
the spirit and revelations of God had created within him a desire to
make good in learning as far as possible what had been denied him in
his youth.
The summer of 1860 brought some relaxation from the strain under
which the people had been placed by the approach of the army. They
now indulged in patriotic and social pastimes which characterize the
celebrations of the Fourth and the Twenty-fourth of July. On the
occasion of the Twenty-fourth, hundreds of people went to Cottonwood
Canyon where three large boweries were built, and where speeches,
songs, dancing, music, fishing, and other diversions were enjoyed by
the Saints who felt that peace had come to them. At this celebration,
Wilford Wodruff wrote, "There are 1,120 persons with 56 carriages, 163
wagons, 235 horses, 179 mules, and 168 oxen. The animals were in good
condition, were well treated, and the people were happy."
It was here that three years before the Saints received word that
Johnston's army was coming. They had reason to feel grateful over the
change that had taken place. They had been permitted to enjoy their
homes in peace.
{415} In the opening of the year 1861, Elder Woodruff referred to the
prophecy of Joseph Smith relating to the war and calamities which
should befall the nation. He said: "The United States, this year,
will be visited with much greater afflictions than they have ever
experienced since they became a free government. The Lord is about to
vex the nation as He has declared He would do twenty-eight years ago."
Speaking of the prophetic character of Joseph Smith in this connection,
he related the circumstance of a man who cursed Joseph Smith and
also the God who called him to be a prophet. The man was seized with
insanity on the spot and was taken home and died insane.
As time went on, in the memorable year of 1861, the news from the front
was looked for with intense interest by the Latter-day Saints. Those
were days of the pony express, and the events of the secession were
naturally greatly delayed. They looked upon the movements then taking
place in fulfillment of the prophecy uttered by Joseph Smith in 1832.
In the midst of the war news, Elder Woodruff recorded the current
events on all important subjects.
He was careful, however, to write down the teachings of President
Young. He recorded a sermon delivered by him at the funeral of Charles
Little, in which President Young is quoted as saying: "Some one asks,
Where is the spirit world? It is here on the earth where they lived and
where we live. I believe all spirits live here after death and nowhere
else. At least, those who have tabernacled in the flesh, whether they
be good or bad. Satan has no power in the spirit world over those who
have overcome him in the flesh, but he will have over those who have
served him all their lives in this world.
"When Joseph had a revelation, he had, as it were, the eyes of the
Lord. He saw as the Lord sees. How did I know what was going on in
Washington? I have known what was going on there all the time, and I
know what is going on in other places. I know it by the spirit of God.
It is revealed to me. Spirits administer to us but we do not know it.
Charles Little here, will administer to his mother, but she will not
know it. She will see in the spirit world the wisdom of the Lord in
placing a veil between the living and the dead, that the living may
be tried and have a greater glory than they otherwise would have. The
living {416} cannot see the departed spirits, but the latter can see
and administer to those in the flesh, even though the latter know it
not. My wife awakened the morning that Charles Little died and said to
me: 'I think Charles Little is dead, for I have seen him with Joseph,
in a dream; and if Brother and Sister Little could see what I have
seen, they would not wish him back. He was very happy with Joseph, and
Joseph said he wanted him; that he had a particular place for him. He
looked glorious.' We should be satisfied with the principle that our
children will be restored to us in their glorified bodies."
Elder Woodruff recorded that on the 8th of February, Elder Taylor and
he went on a mission to the northern settlements. At South Weber they
found a number of the Saints in a condition of apostasy. Richard Cook,
the bishop, and fourteen others were cut off the Church for rejecting
the Prophet Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and for upholding Joseph
Morris as the man holding the keys of the Kingdom.
Elders Woodruff and Taylor went on to Brigham City, where they met the
Saints, and where Elder Woodruff recorded the following dream related
by Isaac Laney, who received seventeen bullet wounds at the time of the
massacre at Haun's Mill. Elder Laney said, speaking of that time: "I
dreamed that a shower of serpents were all around me in the air. They
were rattle-snakes and many of them bit me all over my body. I was told
that if I would not fall down, but keep on running, they would not hurt
me. When the shower of bullets came and they pierced my body, they did
not hurt me any more than a scratch of a pin, although I looked at the
mouth like an ox with its throat cut. I kept on my feet and continued
to run until beyond the reach of the mob. A man came to me and said:
'Brother Laney, do not deceive yourself by expecting to live, for no
man ever lived after being shot as you have been.' But I said: 'I shall
live.' And so I am yet alive to the honor and glory of God, for it was
by His power that my life was preserved."
In Brigham City they also found a number of Welsh Saints who had become
disaffected. They were labored with, and many of them repented and
renewed their covenants with God.
On March 4th of this year President Lincoln was inaugurated. {417}
Elder Woodruff's journal contained an account of that exciting period.
"President Lincoln's enemies declared that he would never sleep in the
White House." During these trying days of the nation, the Saints were
loyal to the Union. In reference to the war, President Young said:
"Many of the people of the nation have persecuted the Saints of God,
and they now have trouble of their own. The rulers in the nation and
the states did nothing for us. Governor Cumming, however, has done us
good. He stood between us and the army, although at first he also was
opposed to the people and wrote threatening letters. However, Col. Kane
visited him and greatly changed his attitude towards us. He and Col.
Johnston were at swords points."
President Young was asked if the President of the United States should
send Secretary Harris, their bitter enemy, here as governor if we would
not also secede. He answered emphatically, "No. We will sustain the
government and keep our record clean. We shall want to compare records
by and by and show that we have been right all the time. The banks and
rich men North and South are consecrating their wealth to prosecute the
war. Several times we have been called to consecrate our homes at the
point of the bayonet. It is now the nation's turn to consecrate, and it
will be vexed as the Prophet foretold some twenty-eight years ago."
In the midst of the excitement of the war, the April conference was
held, and missionaries, as usual, sent to the nations of the earth.
On the 15th of May that year Elder Woodruff was a member of the company
of President Young, who took one of his tours through the southern
settlements. Elder Woodruff at the time traveled in company with Ezra
Clark of Farmington. The company consisted of forty-eight men, fourteen
women, and two children. There were twenty-three carriages, twenty-one
horses, and forty mules. During those tours to the settlements the
company was frequently met by the mounted militia, and escorted from
town to town. It was an occasion of general interest to the people
and they were always enthusiastic over the presence of their leaders.
During this visit they went as far south as Santa Clara. While on this
journey Elder Woodruff's father, Aphek Woodruff, died. The father was
eighty-two years, six months and {418} seventeen days old. He was
baptized by his son into the Church in 1839.
The 4th of July, 1861, brought with it again one of those enthusiastic
celebrations in which the Saints always took delight. President
Woodruff declared it was the greatest celebration he ever witnessed. He
was a typical American of the old New England time, and no one was more
ready than he to honor the day.
Under date of Sunday, July 21st, Elder Woodruff recorded one of
those characteristic remarks of President Young, in which the latter
declared: "The Lord will not permit me or any other man to lead this
people astray. If the leaders do wrong, the Lord will take them away.
If an Apostle does not magnify his calling, the Lord will remove
him and not permit him to lead away the people." This has been to
the Latter-day Saints a prophetic assurance, and that idea has been
fostered in their hearts to the present time.
President Young was severe in his denunciation of the liquor traffic.
"Any man," he said, "who will make whiskey to sell would sell the
Kingdom of God for a picayune. I despise the whisky maker more than I
do the thieves, and I have no use for either. Harlots and publicans
will enter the Kingdom of God before the whisky dealer. 'Cursed is
he that putteth the cup to his brother's lips.'" In later years the
Council of the Presidency and Twelve resolved that the liquor dealers
must repent and forsake their business or lose their standing in the
Church.
The conference of October 6th was characterized by the plans then
discussed for the development of the cotton industry in southern
Utah. Soon after it closed, quite a number were called South to make
preparations whereby the cotton industry should be self-sustaining.
On the 8th of the following November, Elder Woodruff gave in his
journal some statements from President Young relative to the order
of the Church and family government. "If Brothers Kimball and Wells
wish to be united with me, they should go with me and follow me. It
is not my place to follow them. So with the Twelve, they must follow
the Presidency. The seventies and high priests must follow the Twelve
and so on throughout the Church. If this is not done, there will be
separation and confusion. {419} The same principle should be observed
by a man whose duty it is to stand at the head of his family. If the
wife and children do not follow the husband and father, there will be
an eternal separation. If the man follows his wife or children instead
of leading them himself, there will be confusion and the family life
will be destroyed. Men should not interfere with and undertake to
direct their file leaders. I never found a word of fault with Joseph in
my life."
Under date of December 3rd Elder Woodruff recorded the arrival of
Governor Dawson, who succeeded Covernor Cumming in office. On the 8th
of the month he made note of an accident which befell his son, David
Patten Woodruff, who was kicked in the head by a mule, and carried
into the house apparently dead. The child, however, was restored in a
marvelous manner through the blessings of the Lord.
When the end of that year approached, Elder Woodruff made the following
review: "It is past. It has borne to heaven a report of the deeds
of all men. This year has brought to pass the fulfillment of many
prophecies uttered in olden and in modern times. On January 1st of
this year I declared, as a prophetic historian, that this would be the
most distressing year the government had ever seen since it became an
independent nation. Time has verified the statement. Eleven of the
states have seceded. This has brought a terrible war upon the country,
bringing as it does upon the battle field more than a million of
men and a debt of five hundred million of dollars, and this is only
the beginning of the trouble. The state of Missouri, from which the
Saints were driven, and where the blood of many was shed, is now the
great battle field of the West. In it there is pitted man against
man, neighbor against neighbor. Those who brought trouble upon the
Saints are themselves in distress. Jackson County is nearly destroyed.
The President and Senate are sending rulers to Utah as governors and
judges. Many of them are so corrupt that they are a hiss and a byword
to all who know them."
John W. Dawson arrived early in December and delivered his message to
the Legislature. He began a course of shameful debauchery. He insulted
women until the widow of Thomas Williams drove him from her house with
a fire shovel because of {420} his vulgar abuse of her. On the last day
of the year he left in the stage coach for the East, a known libertine
and debauchee. "This is the kind of rulers the nation sent to rule the
Latter-day Saints. The Lord has declared that the measure this nation
metes out to others shall be measured unto it."
It was a year of deep anxiety, and the Saints felt the spirit of
oppression which their political rulers manifested. Elder Woodruff
exclaimed in a prayerful appeal: "Take away the sceptre, rule, and
government from the wicked and give it into the hands of just and
upright men, that they may rule in righteousness before Thee. Give
Thy oppressed people, O Lord, the privilege of appointing their own
governors, judges, and rulers, that the poor and oppressed may rejoice
in the Holy One of Israel!" That prayer told the story of an oppression
under which the Saints suffered.
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