Transcription Team

I recently transcribed a discourse from 1897, in which Wilford Woodruff was preaching to the Saints about temple work. He spoke on the powerful experience he had when Joseph Smith revealed that the Lord gave them a way to redeem the dead. When he heard this revelation, Wilford immediately thought of his own mother, who had died before he was two years old. He was able to do temple work for his mother and thousands of his relatives. While reading this, I was reminded of a woman that I was blessed to know on my mission. Cancer took her life a few months after I met her, and she did not have the opportunity to make temple covenants. I felt deeply impressed to ensure her temple work is done, so that when we meet again in the spirit world, I will know she will have that opportunity.

I was preparing a Relief Society discussion on family history at that time. I was blessed to be able to share Wilford’s discourse and my own experience with the sisters in my ward. The Spirit was palpable. There are so many waiting on the other side of the veil for us to complete their temple work, and I know that I do not wish to meet them and have them say to me, “You held in your hand the power to go forth and redeem me, and you have not done it.” Wilford Woodruff’s words make it clear that he deeply understood the importance of doing temple work, and he helped me and the ladies in my ward understand it a little better too. 

— Miriam Foulke, Editorial Assistant

Stylization Team

On April 25, 1860, Wilford Woodruff and other leaders of the Church met with and blessed fifty-four men who were about to leave on their missions. Wilford recorded President Brigham Young’s message to these missionaries: “I want you to go upon your mission in the spirit of God. You will do more good by bearing testimony of the work of God through the Holy Ghost than all the argument you can use. You may take two men, one may be vary learned in all the arts & sciences of the day and be able to preach a Bible & a half in one sermon, and the other man may be ignorant of these things but be filled with the Holy Ghost. Let one preach by his learning & argument, the other by the Holy Ghost, & the man that preaches by the Holy Ghost will make ten saints where the other will one.”

Wilford’s life was a reflection of this message from Brigham Young. He spent his lifetime learning to focus on following the Spirit rather than relying on his own knowledge and skill. With all he accomplished in building up the Lord’s kingdom, his focus was on testifying with the Spirit and as a result did indeed make “ten saints” instead of just one.

— Ashlyn Pells, Stylization Team Lead

Document Team

One of the documents we are working on right now is an 1850 account book that Wilford used to track his purchases while in the Eastern States gathering the Saints before returning to the Salt Lake Valley. There are a variety of items in this account book, but the vast majority of the purchases made by Wilford Woodruff to take with them were educational books. In the first ten pages alone there are encyclopedias and dictionaries, plus books on Puritans, local geography, Mexican law, grammar principles, astronomy, philosophy, chemistry, Shakespeare, Native Americans, Napoleon, engineering, poetry, animal diseases, and the works of Josephus, to name a few. 

Wilford Woodruff was a man who understood that “the glory of God is intelligence.”1 Education in the Kingdom of God was not a luxury, but a commandment for him. As the Saints continued to send out missionaries, Wilford was mindful of the instruction given by the Lord in section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants: to learn “of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land.”2 Wilford accepted this commandment from the Lord and made education and the refinement of his soul one of his top priorities. His testimony to the youth of his time echoed Doctrine and Covenants section 130, verses 18 and 19: “we should all strive to be diligent in obtaining intelligence, and bringing to pass righteousness.” 

— Christian Decker, Archivist

Content Team

The volunteers working on the Content Team have the privilege of reading Wilford Woodruff’s discourses and other records to identify gems we can share. One of the great messages I found recently helped prepare me for General Conference. Wilford was sharing his testimony of revelation and taught, “When we have the principles of the gospel revealed to us through the mouth of the Savior, or by inspired prophets or apostles, we have no need to ask the Lord to reveal that unto us again.While the priesthood is restored to the earth, and the revelations of God are revealed to us through the mouths of prophets and apostles concerning the fulness of the gospel —doctrine, ordinances and principles, we should study them, and treasure up knowledge by faith.” (Leaves from My Journal, p. 87, 1882.)

—Shauna Horne, Content Team Lead 

Research Team

In 1837 and 1838, Wilford Woodruff served as a missionary on the Fox Islands in Maine. You can read about his experiences on the Fox Islands beginning on August 19, 1837. While there, he and his companion Elder Jonathan Hale established friendships with several families, including the Ames, Arey, Burgess, Carver, Coombs, Crockett, Luce, and Starrett families. The Research Team has written biographical sketches for many of these individuals, so make sure to click on their names to learn more about them. Within days of his arrival, Justus Ames and his wife [Betsy] were the first to be baptized and “rejoic[ed] in the Lord” (September 3, 1837). The day after the Ames were baptized Wilford wrote, “The spirit of God is like leaven through the Island.” Following their baptisms, the Ames allowed Wilford to preach at their home and hundreds were drawn to the message of the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel. 

— Hannah Taylor, Research Team Lead