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.
According to Elder Woodruff's journal, the year 1872 opened with a
heavy snow-storm. The year also found the Saints considerably agitated
over the indictments found against Brigham Young and leading men of the
Church, on the charge of murder. These indictments had been largely the
result of Judge McKean's well-known animosity toward the Mormons, and
especially toward the leaders of the Church. He was styled "a judge
with a mission." The conduct of Judge McKean was so full of bias, and
his rulings so unjust in all matters touching the Mormon people, that
he made himself, more or less, a terror to the Latter-day Saints.
In his journal at the opening of 1872, Elder Woodruff said: "Certain
men in the nation, high in authority, have set themselves up against
the work of God and are determined to destroy it if possible." Elder
Woodruff began to predict the failure of such men as McKean to
accomplish the ends they had in view. So far as McKean was concerned,
his predictions were fulfilled. On the 20th he gave the synopsis in his
journal that he made upon the subject of keeping a record of events in
the affairs of the Church by those who had responsibilities resting
upon them. "There is one subject I wish to speak upon and that is the
keeping of a journal with respect to the dealings of God with us. I
have many times thought the Quorum of the Twelve and others considered
me rather enthusiastic upon this subject; but when the Prophet Joseph
organized the Quorum of the Twelve, he counseled them to keep a history
of their lives, and gave his reasons why they should do so. I have had
this spirit and calling upon me since I first entered this Church. I
made a record from the first sermon I heard, and from that day until
now I have kept a daily journal. Whenever I heard Joseph Smith preach,
teach, or prophesy, I always {477} felt it my duty to write it; I felt
uneasy and could not eat, drink, or sleep until I did write; and my
mind has been so exercised upon this subject that when I heard Joseph
Smith teach and had no pencil or paper, I would go home and sit down
and write the whole sermon, almost word for word and sentence by
sentence as it was delivered, and when I had written it it was taken
from me, I remembered it no more. This was the gift of God to me.
"The devil has sought to take away my life from the day I was born
until now, more so even than the lives of other men. I seem to be a
marked victim of the adversary. I can find but one reason for this:
the devil knew if I got into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, I would write the history of that Church and leave on record
the works and teachings of the prophets, of the apostles and elders. I
have recorded nearly all the sermons and teachings that I ever heard
from the Prophet Joseph, I have in my journal many of the sermons of
President Brigham Young, and such men as Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt
and others. Another reason I was moved upon to write in the early days
was that nearly all the historians appointed in those times apostatized
and took the journals away with them."
"Another subject I wish to say a few words upon here is the spirit of
God to men, the Holy Ghost which is given the Saints, the inspiration
of the Almighty which giveth the spirit of men understanding. That
spirit is the greatest testimony man can possess. His eyes and ears may
be deceived in seeing the miracles such as the magicians wrought in the
days of Moses, and such as false prophets will work in the last days,
but when men receive the Holy Ghost they can not be deceived. It is not
in the thunder or in the whirl-wind that we should look for the spirit
of God, but in the still small voice.
"I give one instance in which I profited by the spirit. When I was
bringing the eastern Saints to this Valley, I arrived in Pittsburg,
and there I chartered a steamboat to take the Saints to St. Louis. As
soon as I had done it the spirit said to me, 'Don't go on board of that
boat.' The captain relieved me and I chartered another. The steamer
that I first chartered, after starting down the river, soon took fire,
burned the wheels and ropes in two, and {478} nearly all the passengers
either burned to death or were drowned. Such an experience is given to
many elders in this Church."
This year's journal also contains the accounts of the customary
journeys, north and south, to the various communities of the Saints. In
Payson, on the 20th day of July, he dedicated the new meeting-house. He
was also busy that year on his farm and in his efforts to build up a
home at Randolph, in Rich County.
On the 9th of September, in company with George A. Smith, George Q.
Cannon, and A. M. Musser, he paid a visit to the Pacific Coast. His
purpose was to attend the state fair of California, as he was President
of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society of Utah. His
journal contains a long account of the things he saw and the things
which greatly interested him.
The following excerpts are taken from it:
"This morning found us at Truckee, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains. We had a view of the lake where the company of emigrants
perished in 1847.
"San Francisco is a very fine place. The city looks as though it were
a hundred years old instead of twenty. It contains 175,000 inhabitants
and a vast amount of wealth. We visited China's part of the city, saw
the Chinese god and the temples where fires were continually burning.
They are very numerous in that city. We visited Mr. Alston's princely
palace and were received with all the attention that princes could
expect. He had a telegraph line from his bank in San Francisco to his
dwelling, twenty miles distant. He had telegraphed to the family to
receive us kindly and make us happy, and they did so. His princely
mansion did not cost less than a million dollars, and his wife spent
a quarter of a million in furnishing it. The chairs were made of the
finest ebony in China. Even the spitoons were carved out of the finest
Parisian marble. The rooms were decorated with marble statuary and
bronze. The chandeliers cost many thousands of dollars, in fact, the
whole palace had more the appearance of a museum than of a private
dwelling. It had its Turkish and Russian baths. There were scores of
bath rooms, of baths connected with the bedrooms. He had a retort and
made his own gas for the purpose of lighting his dwelling and barns.
There were many mirrors, large and costly. The surrounding grounds
of 100 acres were cultivated at great expense. I almost felt like
spending the night in visiting the house and surroundings {479} instead
of going to sleep. I became so dazed and bewildered with the scenery
and attention of the last twenty-four hours, since our arrival in
California, that I felt like asking myself the question: 'Am I an elder
of the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints? If so, what is coming
over the world that such a great change is manifest towards us?'"
During this visit, Elder Woodruff and his companions received great
attention from the leading men of San Francisco, and were given every
opportunity of witnessing the growth of California as set forth in
the exhibits of the State Fair. Elder Woodruff took a great deal of
pleasure in the wonderful showing of fine animals, and witnessed the
races with great pleasure.
Continuing the description of his visit, he said: "The Governor showed
us on this visit to Sacramento every attention. We were escorted
through the State House that had cost $2,500,000. We went to the top
of it, 280 feet high. On the 22nd, a Sunday, we attended the Catholic
Church and heard Father Calcham preach. His discourse was a very
good, practical sermon. We attended the Methodist Sunday school in
the afternoon. We endeavored also to attend the Baptist Church in the
evening, but in consequence of the street cars, which delayed us, we
were disappointed in that part of our program."
Apostle Woodruff was painstaking in recording all that interested and
delighted him during this his first visit to the western coast. In
later life, he paid several visits to California, and something like
twenty-six years from that time laid down his life on the shore of the
Golden Gate. He returned in time to attend the semi-annual conference
of that year, and he recorded the fact that the mission of President
George A. Smith and others to the Holy Land was considered at this
time. The purpose of the mission was to dedicate the land of Palestine
again for the return of Judah and of the Twelve Tribes.
The close of the year 1872 and the first of the year 1873 again found
Elder Woodruff at his home in Randolph. He and his wife, Sarah, her
children, and his son, Wilford and family, were among the earliest
pioneers of Rich County. New Year's day 1873, found him busily engaged
in putting floors in his house. That part of the state is a higher
altitude, and being located well to the north, the climate there is
more severe than in Salt Lake {480} Valley. Notwithstanding he was
now sixty-five years of age, he faced the storms and severe winds and
flying snow with as much pluck as a man of twenty-five. At intervals
he enjoyed a hunt very much, from which he rarely ever returned
empty-handed.
He spoke in the journal at this time of the special interest he felt in
the Deseret News as a medium of instruction and of correct information
to the Latter-day Saints. He felt that it was a proper guide to the
people, if well edited, and would keep them in harmony with the
elders. At one time he was appointed editor of the News, but being
overburdened, he could not do justice to the call and was honorably
released.
After his return to Salt Lake City on the 3rd of February that year, he,
with others, started on a visit to Cache Valley by the Utah Central and
Utah Northern Railroads. Although two engines were used to draw the one
car in which the party rode, they were unable to plow their way through
the snow-drifts, through Box Elder and Cache.
February 23rd found him again in Salt Lake City, where he attended
the funeral of William Pitt, a man who had received the gospel from
his teachings in Herefordshire, in the year 1840. His funeral was
attended by hundreds of people and there were several bands of music in
attendance. Elder Woodruff was one of the speakers on that occasion. He
mentions a peculiar circumstance which took place at that time. Brother
William Player, then eighty years old, was one of the pall-bearers.
The handle broke in his hand, and turning aside he leaned up against
a post. His son, who was anxious about his father's condition, went
immediately to his assistance, and when asked what the trouble was,
said: "My breath has given out, but I would like to follow my old
friend to the grave, for I shall soon be in a similar condition myself.
I wonder if as many will attend my funeral when I die?" The father was
taken home in a wagon, and in about four hours was dead. Elder Woodruff
also preached at his funeral.
On the 4th of March he gave an account of a visit of Thomas L. Kane
and wife to Utah; and on that day, with President Young and party, he
accompanied this old-time friend and wife as far as Ogden on their
return home to the East. Colonel Kane had done much to defend the
Latter-day Saints against their foes and to alleviate their sufferings
in times of trial. Colonel Kane was also {481} pleased at that time at
the failure of Congress to pass bills affecting the Latter-day Saints.
At a conference of the Sunday school children in the old Tabernacle,
on the 30th of March, Elder Woodruff reported President Young as
saying, "I thought while I was looking at the school children to-day
that I should see a larger assembly of them in the spirit world, and I
wondered if there I should see as large a percentage of grown people
with them, that is, of teachers to direct their minds there as they are
doing here. Joseph, the Prophet, told me that the Garden of Eden was in
Jackson County, Missouri. When Adam was driven out he went to the place
we now call Adam-ondi-Ahman, Daviess County, Missouri. There he built
an altar and offered sacrifices."
At the April conference President Young chose five additional
counselors because of the heavy labors devolving upon him. These were
Lorenzo Snow, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., Albert Carrington,
and John W. Young. President George A. Smith at that time was made
trustee-in-trust with twelve other brethren as his assistants.
On the 12th of May twelve high counselors were selected for the Salt
Lake Stake of Zion, and about that time William Hyde, William Budge,
Elias Smith, and fifty others were selected to receive ordination to
the office of patriarch.
June 1st he visited Provo in company with President Young. The latter,
in speaking there of another temple, said that he had once asked the
Lord what kind of temple we should build. The answer was that He did
not make any two things alike, and we need not build two temples alike.
On the 18th of the same month he went as far east as Evanston to meet
George A. Smith and his party on their return from Palestine. The
description of that country greatly interested Apostle Woodruff, whose
familiarity with the Scriptures made those ancient scenes of prophets
and apostles very sacred to him.
On the 9th and 10th of August meetings were held in the new Tabernacle,
where President Young, Elder Woodruff said, chided the Saints for the
too frequent claim on their part for the sacrifices which they made
for the gospel's sake. Instead of making sacrifices, he said, they
were only exchanging dross for gold. Apostle Joseph F. Smith at the
time further remarked on the same {482} subject that it was almost a
libel on the Lord the way some people talked about making sacrifices
for the gospel's sake. He then pointed out to them the blessings they
had received temporally, spiritually, and socially. Their circumstances
were in every way more favorable than those which surrounded them in
the land they had left.
About this time a party of editors from the East came to Salt Lake
City, and in August Elder Woodruff escorted them to places of interest,
including the Temple Quarry, at Granite, and Provo. The party also
visited Lehi, American Fork Canyon, and on their return to Salt Lake
City a feast was given them and they were treated in a most hospitable
manner.
Elder Woodruff recorded in his journal that on the 25th of September,
1873, he was stricken apparently with paralysis; his condition was
alarming to both himself and members of his family. To him it seemed
that he could live but a short time. "A strange feeling came over me, I
turned out my horses and went to bed. I felt as though I was stricken
with death and should live but a short time. My blood, spirit, and life
all seemed to be leaving my limbs, and death to be closing around my
heart and vitals. I sent for my wife, Phoebe, and Brother George Q.
Cannon. I also sent for my neighbor, Brother William Wagstaff, who came
and administered to me. I suppose he came quickly, but it seemed to
me it was an hour before he reached the bedside. When he came I felt
as though I was about to give up the ghost. He laid his hands upon me
and rebuked the affliction and I was instantly liberated. Soon, Mrs.
Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Brigham Young, Jr., arrived. These
brethren also blessed me, and returned home." For a time his limbs were
affected with numbness and he was generally feeble; however, he lived,
subsequent to this, twenty-five years and three days. Speaking of his
condition at the time he wrote: "I feel the effects of the paralytic
stroke, and unless there is a change in me, my journal writing in this
life is about done; but should I not live to finish my biography, it is
my desire that the historians of the Church or some friends do it for
me."
It was only a short time after this that he found himself again active
in his ministerial duties. On the 14th of October he visited Provo,
where he took part in the dedication of the Utah County {483} Court
House. It was an occasion of special public interest and attended by
prominent men in the County as well as in the Territory. Elder Woodruff
mentioned the visit of a distinguished Scotch earl who subsequently
became Lord Rosebery, at one time Prime Minister of England. "He was a
young man then, quite unassuming, free, easy and sociable," said Elder
Woodruff. He had come from England to Salt Lake City to see President
Young and the Latter-day Saints. The young earl conversed about an hour
with the Church leaders and after taking supper with them went to the
ball in President Young's party. The next day the party visited the
seminary, factory, Z. C. M. I., and other places of interest about the
town.
President Woodruff was again taken to Provo on the 25th of November to
celebrate with the citizens there the beginning of the Utah Southern
Railroad. It was perhaps the greatest assemblage of people the town had
ever known. The progress of the railroad was always a source of special
pride to Elder Woodruff, who realized how much the development of the
Territory depended upon improved means of transportation.
It was a practice of Elder Woodruff to record the death of his friends,
especially those who had been devoted to the cause which he represented
and who were faithful to the end. He gives in a general way the
characters of the men and the work they performed, when he pays tribute
to them at the time of their death. On the 2nd of March he made special
record of the death of Bishop William Hyde of Hyde Park, Cache County.
Bishop Hyde was a brother of his old missionary friend, Heman Hyde.
William, he speaks of as a member of the Mormon Battalion and refers to
him as a leading spirit in building up Cache Valley; mentions the fact
that he was probate judge and prominent in the Territorial militia.
He also mentions on the 11th of April, 1874, the death of an old
associate, Robert L. Campbell, a man, in his estimation, who was tried
and true. A summary from his journal of many of the grand characters
in Church history, who bore the burden in the heat of the day, would
be interesting were it not beyond the scope of this biography. Elder
Woodruff had a high sense of appreciation for those honored Saints of
God, who were true to themselves and true to the Church.
Conference of that year was postponed until May 7th, in consequence
{484} of the prolonged stay of President Young that winter in St.
George. On his return, President Young gave out as a key-note of
the conference, the subject of the United Order, a subject that had
evidently weighed upon his mind during that winter. When free from all
strife, from his struggles and contentions, he enjoyed the communion
of the spirit, which opened to him the great duty that rested upon the
Saints to put in operation God's purposes with regard to the United
Order, by the consecration of the private wealth to the common good of
the people. The underlying principle of the United Order was that there
should be no rich and no poor, that men's talents should be used for
the common good, and that selfish interests should make way for a more
benevolent and generous spirit among the Saints.
Wilford Woodruff, before closing his biography for the year 1874,
recorded one of those accidents with which his life was peculiarly
beset. He fell from a tree, a distance of about ten feet, and was
quite seriously hurt, especially in his side and hip. One naturally
wonders what a man at his time of life was doing up a tree. In the
first place, with Elder Woodruff it was never a question of age when
he saw something he thought ought to be done, provided it was possible
for him to do it. He was everywhere. It never required any length of
time for him to change his surroundings or labors, he was ready for any
emergency at any time. If he saw a limb in the top of an apple tree
that should be sawed off, the thought barely took possession of him
before he was in the top of the tree, and it was always hard for him to
ask anybody else to do a thing that he could do himself.
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