Day in the Life

Feb 12, 1841

Journal Entry

February 12, 1841 ~ Friday

12th A hand pointing to the right I wrote a letter to Sister Eliza Bromley
one to Elder T. Kington & one to G A Smith

Elders Heber C. Kimball & Lorenzo Snow wen[t]
to woolwich. I received a letter from Br S^m^ith to Br
Snow. Their is great excitement at the present
time not ownly in the House of Parliament but throug-
out London in consequence of the Apprehension &

imprisionment of Mr MC Cleod a British officer
in Lockport Jail by the Inhabitants of the state of
New York who are trying him for Arson & Murder
& are determined to execute him if found guilty
this accusation is for the Burning of the Caroline
on lake Erie in 1837 during the troubles in Canida
England considers it a National & not an individ-
ual affair & that Mr MC Cleod acted in those
transactions by order of the British Government &
not upon his own responsibility, & under these consi-
derations Parliament is determined to demand his
release & defend his life even at the expens of an
immediat war with America; Parliament has
sent a special message & orders to the British Ambas
sador
at Washington what course to persue in the
case. what will be the end of this matter time must
determin. One thing is certain, if America
haszards a war with England, she will find it to be
more than a Joke to meet so strong a foe & one tha[t]
is armed to the teeth for war, should truth speak she
would represent England liturally at the present time
the strongest among the Nations, & chief in power
& the main spring of the Gentile world, & she will
remain a little season as an instrument in the hands
of God, of Bringing to pass great events, in the resto-
ration of the Jews, & will be a scourge to the surro
unding Nations America not excepted, Not because
she is more virtueous or wrighteous, than the Nations
that surround her for in the midst of all her prof
essed wrighteousness her sins have reached unto
heaven & God hath remembered her iniquities
& she will soon feel the chastning hand of the
Almighty, & will fall in her turn & great will be
the fall thereoff. therefore O England thou chief
of the Nations of Baybylon prepare for thy DOOM

But O!! America America!! whose land is choice
above that of all the footstool of God, whose constit-
ution
was framed by the spirit of inspiration
& whose Government was esstablished by the hand
hand of Omnipotent power, In the midst of thy
meekness, humility & virtue thou was oppressed in
thy weekness & unjustly grieved by thy mother

country, then that God who holds the destinies
of all nations, Deliverd thee from thine oppressers
& set thy nest on high & exhalted thee in the
eyes of the Nations, & poured upon thee without
measure the blessings of heaven & the bounty
of the earth, which thou hast for a long time enjoy
ed with none to molest or make afraid. O!!
America how is it with thee now!! How art thou
fallen, fallen, In the eyes of thy God, thy prot-
ector & deliverer who changes not, & who will
still avenge the Blood of the Innocent, Answer
the prayer of the widiow, regard the cry of the
orphan & take vengance on thee. Thy salt hast
lost its saviour, thy light hath gone out, Thine
Eagles crest is stained with innocent blood even
that of Saints. Thou hast made widows & orpheans
whose prayers & cries are assending into the ears of
the Lord of Sabaoth, who was once thy friend &
deliverer, But will now spedily pour out wrath
& indignation upon thee & teach thee their is still
a God in Israel. Americans A sound once delight
ful to my ear, dids thou not plough the ocean & seek
an Assylum in the western world, beyound the
reach of the Iron hand of oppression & tyranny to enjoy
an equal right in the worship of thy God, & the
Blessings of A republick, since thou has freely obtained
this Blessing, & drank abundantly of its sweet fount
ain which produced an inexhaustable fountain ^store^ for
the[e] & all thy citizens, why then hast thou
deprived a portion of thy countryman of those
glorious Blessings in which thou has so long shared
By Driving thousands of the Saints from place to
place, county to county, & state to state, spoil
ing their goods, burning their houses, robing the
fruits of their labours, & last of all spill their
Blood, & Marter them for the word of God & the
testimony of Jesus Christ, by so Doing thou
hast made hundreds of widows & orpheans whose
cry is assending into the ears of the Lord to
avenge the blood of their murdered Husbands &
Fathers & when they the persecuted have petitioned
to the rulers for redress of their rongs they have

turned a Deaf ear to their cries. O America it
is because of these things that thou art weighed in
the balance & found wanting. from this time forth
perplexity shall rest upon the nation, confusion
reign in thy government, wisdom righteousness & truth
will depart from thy senators & rulers, Discord
& folly shall shall sit in thy congress & senate, thy
shame shall be known among the nations of the
Earth thy pride shall be humbled in the dust & thy
haughtiness laid low, the heads of thy rulers shall
be cut off & lade in the Dust, it shall be a vexation to
understand the report of the sorrow pain & wo that
shall come upon thee by sword, fire, tempest, Earthqu
akes
, & pestilence, from the hand of God even these
things shall come upon thee untill thy government is
broken up & thou art destroyed as a nation from
under Heaven: for thou hast not kept the command-
ments of the Lord but hast Broken them, Betrayed
the Constitution of the Land, Polluted thine inheritan
ts, robed the innocent, shed the Blood of Saints
& made many widows & orphans. Therefore from this
hour these things shall come upon thee & shall not
scease untill the whole is accomplished & fulfilled upon
thine HEAD

Omens In the fall of 1840 the great chandelier in the represe
ntatives Hall in Washington weighing about 6000 lbs, fell with
a tremendious crash & broke into a thousand atoms. About the
same time the female figure godess of liberty on the east side of
the capitol lost her hand that held the balances it broke of[f] itself
just below the elbow & it fell. April 4th 1841 President
Harrison Died in one month after taking the chair.

People

Browse people Wilford Woodruff mentioned on this day in his journal. Click on the person's name to view a short bio and other pages they are mentioned on or click on "View in Family Search" to view their FamilySearch profile.

McLeod, Alexander
abt. 1796-1871
7 mentions
Historical Figure
Smith, George Albert
26 Jun 1817 - 1 Sep 1875
1433 mentions
Apostle, Missionary
Kimball, Heber Chase
14 Jun 1801 - 22 Jun 1868
1456 mentions
Apostle
Snow, Lorenzo
3 Apr 1814 - 10 Oct 1901
699 mentions
Apostle, Family
Kington, Thomas
18 May 1794 - 1 Jul 1874
182 mentions
1840 British Convert, United Brethren
Harrison, William Henry
9 Feb 1773 - 4 Apr 1841
8 mentions
Historical Figure, Eminent Men and Woman

Quotes

View selected quotes from this page in Wilford Woodruff's journal.

O America it is because of these things that thou art weighed in the balance & found wanting. from this time forth perplexity shall rest upon the nation, confusion reign in thy government, wisdom righteousness & truth will depart from thy senators & rulers, Discord & folly shall shall sit in thy congress & senate, thy shame shall be known among the nations of the Earth thy pride shall be humbled in the dust & thy haughtiness laid low, the heads of thy rulers shall be cut off & lade in the Dust, it shall be a vexation to understand the report of the sorrow pain & wo that shall come upon thee by sword, fire, tempest, Earthqu akes, & pestilence, from the hand of God even these things shall come upon thee untill thy government is broken up & thou art destroyed as a nation from under Heaven: for thou hast not kept the command- ments of the Lord but hast Broken them, Betrayed the Constitution of the Land, Polluted thine inheritan ts, robed the innocent, shed the Blood of Saints & made many widows & orphans. Therefore from this hour these things shall come upon thee & shall not scease untill the whole is accomplished & fulfilled upon thine
~ Wilford Woodruff

Related Documents

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Letter to George Albert Smith, 12 February 1841
40 Ironmonger Row St Lukes London Elder G. A. Smith Beloved Brother The last letter you wrote me you wished me contained a request for Elder Kimball to Write you a letter, & send you the news from his Wife. Elder Kimball has also Recieved your letter directed to us under Date of Feb 4th He intended to have answered your request before this time but, having been vary busy, he said to me this morning (as he was going to Woolwich with Elder Snow) I wish you would write to Brother Smith so according to his request I feel disposed to drop you a few lines. I received a letter to day from you to Elder Snow, in which you also speak of some of the unpleasant difficulties which you have to settle in the Churches truly such things are disagreeable & my prayer is that the Lord will give you Wisdom & council in evry time of need & grace according to your day in all things. As to news from America I dont know that we have any thing exept what you have heard. A letter came here for Elder Young from his wife which we sent to him. She heard that Joseph was about to write to Br Young for the Twelve to come home in the Spring, &c. Elder Snow arived here last evening from Birmingham

Events

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Feb 12, 1841