REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1880.
In a Shepherd's Tent in Arizona.--A Revelation Given Jan. 26,
1880.--Organization of First Presidency.--Call to Apostleship of
Francis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith.
New Year's Day, 1880, found Apostle Woodruff at the home of a Brother
Greer at the Little Colorado meadows, Apache County, Arizona. He says
he passed much of the day in reading and in meditation upon the past.
His mind was also occupied with his present situation, and he was
led to contemplate the future. The day following he went to a small
uninteresting town about fifteen miles from St. Johns to a meeting.
Judge Stinison was present at the meeting to hear Elder Woodruff in his
discourse upon the divinity of the great latter-day work. On the 5th
he rode to what was known as Perkins' ranch, where he ordained John
H. Perkins to the office of a seventy and set him apart for a mission
to the Lamanites. At this time Elder Woodruff was strongly impressed
with the desirability of opening a mission among the Lamanites, and
therefore set apart Elder Greer and Henry W. Despain for that mission.
After his visit along the settlements up the Little Colorado Elder
Woodruff returned to Brigham City, and later took up his abode in a
shepherd's tent about twenty-five miles from Sunset. Here he wrote
letters to President Taylor and others, and was especially thoughtful
of Elder George Reynolds, then a prisoner in Lincoln, Nebraska, Elder
Reynolds having been convicted of polygamy. It was here in this
shepherd's tent that he felt the solemnities of eternity resting upon
him and desired to know the mind and will of the Lord concerning the
Apostles and the nation, and especially the purpose of the persecution
against the Saints of God. On the 26th of January in his journal he
says: "I went to bed filled with prayer and meditation. I fell asleep
and remained in slumber until about midnight, when I awoke. The Lord
then poured out His spirit upon me and opened the vision of my mind so
that I could comprehend in a great measure the mind and will of God
concerning the nation and concerning the inhabitants {531} of Zion. I
saw the wickedness of the nation, its abominations and corruptions and
the judgments of God and the destruction that awaited it. Then I also
comprehended the great responsibility which rested upon the Quorum of
the Apostles. My head became a fountain of tears, and my pillow was wet
with the dews of heaven. Sleep departed from me. The Lord revealed unto
me the duty of the Apostles and of all the faithful elders of Israel."
The revelation was submitted to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles just
prior to the April conference of that year. It was accepted by that
body as the word of the Lord, according to Elder Woodruff's journal,
under date of April 4th, 1880.
On the morning following the revelation, January 27th, he said: "I
arose in the morning after the vision of the night. My heart was filled
with joy and gratitude for a manifestation of the spirit of God to
me. It was given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I had read a
revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants and prayed earnestly to the
Lord to manifest to me His mind and will concerning myself and my
brethren, the Apostles, and the Lord gave me that revelation in answer
to my prayers.
"On January 28th I was again given a vision. It concerned the destiny
of our nation and of Zion. My pillow was again wet by a fountain of
tears as I beheld the judgments of God upon the wicked. I was strongly
impressed that the Apostles and elders should warn the inhabitants of
the earth."
On his return to the settlements from the mountains, February 1st, he
writes: "I have passed eleven days in the mountains in the midst of
driving snow, making my bed upon the ground in a shepherd's tent. I
ate my bread and meat twice a day with thanksgiving. I drank the cold
snow water and indeed have had the best of health, although when I left
Sunset I had a severe cold on my lungs. I also passed several days in
the saddle, from eight to ten hours a day, when the cold north wind was
blowing in my face. I shall soon be seventy-three years of age."
Between the 20th and 27th of February with John W. Young he visited
much of the mountain country where in places it was necessary to let
the wagons down over the rocks with ropes on account of the rugged
character of that region. On the 28th and 29th he attended the Stake
Conference.
March the 1st was Elder Woodruff's birthday. The Saints of {532}
Sunset and Brigham City honored him with their presence. About one
hundred guests sat down to his birthday dinner. The Saints of that
region were greatly devoted to Apostle Woodruff, and some named their
children after him. His sojourn in Arizona during those months of exile
disclosed more than anything else in later years of his life the spirit
that actuated the man. Far removed from the busy life which the leaders
of the Church were leading at the time, his mind was touched by the
visions of God, and it was a time of spiritual enjoyment.
On the 3rd of March, in company with Lot Smith, he left for St. George,
which he reached on the 18th. On his way, at Kanab, Elder Woodruff
mentions the fact that Elder David K. Udall of that place was wanted
to be bishop of St. Johns, Arizona, a position which Elder Udall
subsequently filled, and later he became the president of the stake, a
position he now holds. During his stay at St. George he refers to the
many happy hours he passed in connection with Erastus Snow, James G.
Bleak, Moses F. Farnsworth, John D. T. McAllister and others. On the
24th of March, in company with Erastus Snow, he left St. George and
reached Salt Lake City, after holding meetings en route, on the 2nd
of April. On the 4th and 5th of the month meetings were held by the
Council in the Assembly Hall preparatory to the conference which began
on the 6th of April.
The April conference of 1880 was one of the most important in the
history of the Church. Fifty years had passed since its organization.
President Taylor felt inspired to make it a year of jubilee to the
Latter-day Saints. The people were, therefore, forgiven their debts
to the Church to the extent of eight hundred thousand dollars, money
chiefly due to the emigration fund. Unpaid tithing was also forgiven
to the amount of seventy-six thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine
dollars. Hundreds of cows and thousands of sheep were given to the
widows and other worthy poor. The discourses at the conference were
especially effective in bringing comfort and consolation to the
Latter-day Saints who were in financial need. On the 27th of May
following, Elder Woodruff wrote his last will and testament, as he felt
that at any time he might be called to the great beyond; yet he lived
subsequently eighteen years.
On the 24th of July following he wrote: "We had the greatest {533}
celebration to-day in commemoration of the entrance of the pioneers
into this valley that we ever held in Utah. A procession two miles long
was arranged. It passed through the streets of the City as an object
lesson in Church history. It is recorded in full in the _Deseret News_
of July 26th."
On the 6th of October the fall conference was held. It was the third
time in the history of the Church that the Presidency had been
organized. President John Taylor, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith
were ordained to that position. The vacancies in the quorum thus
created were filled by the appointment of Francis M. Lyman, president
of the Tooele Stake, and John Henry Smith, bishop of the Seventeenth
Ward. On that occasion the voting was done by the different quorums
and the scene was most impressive upon all present. Elder Woodruff
was called at this time to be the President of the Twelve Apostles.
The ordination of the new Apostles, however, in consequence of Elder
Lyman's absence, was postponed until October 27th, that year. It had
been the practice theretofore for the President of the Church to ordain
when there was only one Apostle to be ordained. When two, the second
was ordained by the first counselor, and the third, where there were
three, by the second counselor. Apostle John Henry Smith, speaking of
the circumstance, said: "I had secretly asked the Lord that President
Woodruff might ordain me, and that if he did so I would accept it as a
special testimony that my call to the apostleship came from the Lord."
His prayer was answered. Elder Woodruff records the fact that at
the close of that year, December 28th, he was inspired to write a
prayer to be presented before the Lord in keeping with the revelation
given him in the wilderness of Arizona. The prayer was approved by
President Taylor and was recorded in the journal of Apostle Woodruff
and presented to the Lord in accordance with divine command. It was
answered by the blessing and protection of God's people. The close of
the year brought the Saints nearer to those eventful chapters that
began in the year 1882.
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