President Young & Council
Dear Brethren
As near two months
have passed away since I wrote my other letters I thought I
would add a little more before they go. two companies of
Saints are preparing to leave the Eastern States for the west
& will start in few days. Those at Boston & East & North
of there rendezvous at Worcester &Mass & go with Br Haven via
of Abany, Buffalo, Chicago & St. Louis to the Bluffs, but I think
that company will be small, those at New Haven New York
& philadelphia &c Start from Phil & are led lead by Elder
Appleby will take the Southern route about 50 will go from
the philadelphia Brach. Since I last wrote I have observed
wherever I have traveld & preached, A revival of the Spirit of
Enquiry & investigation of the principles of the Latter Day Saints
& feeling after the Gospel of Jesus Christ by that portion of com-
munity who are honest in heart & are reflecting upon the signs
of the times which are now developing themselves before the Eyes of
this generation in fulfillment of ancient and modern prophecy
& the Revelations of Jesus Christ. It is true this class are like the
gleaning of grapes after the vintage is done, few when compared with
the mass, yet with them I find at the present time the strong
foundations of their prejudice against our cause is giving away
they are candidly enquiring after our principles religion & welfare
& in a good number of instances are Embracing the work, as
an Exh example I will say that before I came here I spent
several weeks with my family in Cambridgeport during which
time I held meetings on the Sabbath & weekday evenings in
my own hired house & those of my Brethern & we had full
houses, & many began to investigate & some strong minded men
& the result was we Baptized 8 in few days & as many more are
ready for the water, when I left, among those which I Baptized
was A Mr Snow & Lady that attended with Br Whipple Also
My wife' Father Aged 76 & 3 days when He was Baptized, Mrs
Woodruff rejoiced & praised the Lord that she had lived
to have the privilege to wait upon her aged Fathr
to the waters of Baptism. His doors were opened to the
Twelve in their first Mission to Main^e^ & have been open
evry since. He has always been friendly from the time He
herd the work the Old Gentleman is smart & walked to the
top of Bunker Hill Monument with me 222 feet high & down
as spry apparently as any of us, A Son of Sister Foss my
Nephew who was visiting with Father Carter was also baptized
one of that Number Baptized was a learned intelligent
Gentleman from Sweeden Sweeden since we baptized him
He has the spirit of God upon him, & feels the importance of
this work hand has a great desire to visit his Native
country & proclaim these glad tidings unto them
but He wishes to visit the valley first which I have
councilled him to do I think He will yet be a usful
man in his Nation but He is willing to wait untill
the Lord & his servants say go. Another Individual who
gave in his name for Baptism an ownly put it off
untill He could visit his family who were out of town
&as He wish to bring his wife with him Was a Philosipher on
what Christians would call an Infidel. He had never met
with any sect or religion, but what He could desect or
overthrow, as He thought & hearing of my meetings He came
to try his touch stone to Mormonism, expecting to be able
to manage it the same as He had done evry thing els
after spending a few evenings with me investigating our principles,
reading our works, hearing us preach, and closely scanning
Orson pratts work, Entitled was Joseph Smith sent of God.
He had to Exclaim I am used up, I have run against a stump,
I am in water I cannot fathom. I little thought when I began this job
of taking A peep into Mormonism that I so soon had got to bcome A Christain
And acknowledge Christ, but acknowled so it is. I am in the net & must
become a Latter Day Saint, or take a stand against reason, Judgment
good sense and my faith. He is now a firm Believer in the work.
I think there will be a number ofyet added to that branch of the
Church. I feel thankful that I have the privilege of
gathering a few grapes after the vintage has done, while
in New York on Sunday & Monday last I had an interview
with a gentleman by the Name of Joseph Smith was intro-
duced to him by Br Holister. He is a smart intelligent
business man, is believing our doctrine & wishes to go
to the valley & spend his days with the Saints, for He sees a
storm coming, & knows of no other place of reffuge that
He can get to but Zion, And this feeling is stealing owr
some, & suddenly siezeing others of that part of mankind who reflect
& begin to deeply feel this Eternal truth which is now revealing
it self before their Eyes that their is sumthing awful about
to burst upon the world which the Nations cannot Esscape &
they feel they need some place in the Chambers of the rokcks to
hide up in order to escape some terrible blow, & they can find
No place suitable for the occasions ownly with the Mormons
in the valley of the Mountains. My whole soul is on fire often
when I reflect upon the state of Great Babylonn, & behold the saints which
are appraching the Earth, & view the contrast of the scenes to be
Enacted in Zion & Gog, Jerrusalem & Egypt. The world is like
a drunken man staggering reeling & falling into an abiss while the
Saints ^Elders^ who isare faithful before God, begin to feel ligke the
Angels who siezd Lot by his garment to hasten him out
of Sodom; I want the prayers of my brethren that I may
be sustained & have the power of God rest upon me daily
that I may be enabled to cry aloud & spare not while I
am in the midst of Babylon. I do not want the Blood
of any man to be found in my skirts, Notwithstanding
I am in a portion of the vineyard whare I am surrouded with but few
Saints & travelling almost daily in the midst of masses of men
whose bands of wickedness are so strong that no man can break
them & are ripe for the damnation of Hell, yet I have never
felt on any mission before such a wait of Responsibility resting
upon me as of late. when I reflect upon my calling as an Apostle
of Jesus Christ, A shepherd to the flock, A minister of the Gospel
of Salvation to a Nation & Generations over whose head I behold
the drawn sword of an angry God suspended, which is about
to fall And fill all Idomie with death, I feel to cry out
Lord who is sufficient for these things, yet I feel thankful
to my Heavenly Father that He has granted unto me a
portion of his Holy spirit & Enabled me thus far on
this jouney & Mission to bear a true & faithful
testimony to the rightous & wicked as far as I
have had an opprtunity, and to keep myseflf unspotted
from the world. I had rather have favor with God
Angels & the martered Saints, & my Brethern in the valley
than to have all the Thrones and glories of the world combined
in my possession, for they look to me at the present time
like poor worthless rotten things ready to fall down
There is nothing appears valuable to me but Mormonism
for that Embraces all the substance & truth of Heaven &
Earth, and I hate to leave off thinking, talking or writing about
it, Still the things which move around us will attract our
Notice for a moment, some have mattracted my attention for
a few days past a little as I have been travelling, one or two of
which I will mention. Wm Smith is figuring in these Eastern
States of late to try to do sumthing but He cannnot acomplish
it. G. J. Adams has again turned to what He calls righteousness
joined the Temperanc Society & trying to raise up a Kingdom
in Baltimore, & while on his way to [Vorel] to attend a conference
called into my meeting on Sunday at New York the first
time I have seen him since I came East. I paid no
attention to him No more than if He had not been there
He sat untill meeting was about closed & went quietly away
without saying a word to anyone. I McGee Van Dusen has
stood in the streets of New York for nearly the whole past
past year crying aloud & selling his Pamphlets containing
his startling Disclosures of the Great Mormonc Conspiracy against
the liberties of the country Being their celebrated Endowments &c
(A copy of which I will forward to Brother Brigham with this, so you
can see how the Devil progresses in the East)
But these things have no Effect or influence against us in the
minds of any whose respect is worth having, but the public
look upon them generally as a tissue of lies as they are, get
up to suit the specutlating times to gull the public & get money
Notwithstanding this & Miss Lewis Book are circulated
through the country. I can travel from Philadelphia
to Halafax through every town & city preach & visit whae
I please unmolested, unbisturbed ^& undisturbed^, & are becoming quite respet ^respect-^
able, (Perhaps you will say it is no credit to me, And I do not think much of the credit of
the world myself) However Mormonism is beginning to be somewhat resptabe
respectable since it is reported they have found gold, Another
thing is beginning to have a far more waity influence &
feeling of respet & Even fear in the minds of thousands
ie Thousands of the world are beginning to believe, & our Enemies
fear that although Earth & Hell combine to pour out
all their strength of unhallowed persecution upon the
Latter Day Saints, that Mormonism will not die, but
will live & breath & grow the more oppresssed ^oppressed^ untill ist
is destined to performed some mighty deeds, & that
the Mormon Zion will yet stand & flourish while those
who have sought its death, will be deprived of their own
power strength & greatness. bBut this being the case it
does not excuse the conduct of that class of men I have
been nameing & those associated with them who are seeking
our destruction. They were once with us, professing to build
up the Kingdom, of God. What are they now a set of poor
mean miserable Devils As mean & miserable as the Devil can make then
them, And If Brother Brigham & the rest of my Brethren will bear
with me a moment & let me esxpress my feelings to you upon that
subject a moment I will lay it before you in writing for I
may as well write it as think it. it is this, I say in the
Name of the Lord God of Israel that they shall be cursed from
this time forth & shall not prosper, & to the full force of the
of the power of the Holy priesthood & the virtue of the prayers of the
Lords anonted. shall they feel the rebuke of that God whose covenants
they have broaken, & shall waste away under the Buffeting of Satan
unto whom they are subject, & sorrow trouble & pain shall rest upon them
day & night when they lie down & when they rise up, when they go out
& when they come in, untill they shall not have power to lift
up their voices in the streets & the Highways, & in the temples, Homes,
sinagogues of the Gentils & peddle their lies unto them to get gain
& this course curse shall rest upon them from this time forth
untill they repent & Humble themselves before God & & cease
to strive to stir up the wicked to shed the Blood of the Sants
And may the Lord deal thus with evry weapon that is formed
against Zion, to shed the Blood of her children whether it be
formed in secret places or openly, which may God grant
for Christ sake Amen.
You will see from the Herald that the public mind sis strongly
called to the subject of annexing Cuba & Canidas to the
Unted States Canidas are about dissolving their alliance
with England. Spain is in debt & may sell Cuba to
the United States. Much is said in the papers now
about Freemonts party being destroyed by snow in the
Mountains & eating each other up.
There has never been so Hard a winter known in our day
so much snow & cold throughout North America as
during the past winter I feel anxious to know what
for a winter you had in the valley.
I have kept up a correspondance with Capt Joseph
Russell, upon the subject of assisting to pay the debts
contracted by the presidency for goods to help the camp
off, &c, & the Last Letter I got from Him, says He will
give me a draft for £300 $1452.00 to be drawn on
a House in Liverpool & should wait my orders to know
who to draw it is favor of. I made inquiry with Br.
Barnesto see if we could not cash it in Boston & send
it immediately to Elder Hyde thinking, it might be
a help in liberating his hands & G. A. Smith & E T Benson
about getting all this Spring. But as the draft could not
be accepted without going to Liverpool I could do
nothing with it in Boston, & the order would not
be paid untill 60 days after sight & accepted, & this
could not be collected at Liverpool inand forwarded
to the Bluffs in time to pay debts in order to
liberate them in time to go this Spring but as
it was the Best I could do with it, I wrote him
an immediate answer saying that if He could not
manage it so as to raise the money on it in this
country so as to forward it to Elder Hyde this
Spring to make out the draft in Orson Pratts
Name, as He was in Liverpool let him collect it &
forward it to Elder Hyde the earliest safe opportunity.
Elder Jacob Gibson is presiding Elder of Philadelphia is
doing well As He cannot get off this season will cont-
inue with them untill another Spring
I Recieved a Letter from A Badlam a few
days since from Chagres. He was 22 days from Boston
to that plaice. Had a good quick trip & all was well
New York abounds with many Charactertures intending to
represent the scenes in the gold digings one of which I
forward to president Young, with the bundle of paper
which I forward to you with Elder Appleby who
will also take my package of Letters to you.
Every letter coming from the valley that the public can
get hold of is publish far & wide. A Letter
from Sister Kimball to her Friends in Mendon
was published in the western and Eastern papers. you
will see it in the Herald, it is very good.
The most Terrible floods ^in^ all the western rivers have deluged
the land wors than ever before known in our day & some
terrible whirlwinds & tornadoes caused great damage fires &
crime are still on the increase.
Wilford Woodruff
(Please excuse the scribling of this letter it was
written in great Haste)
April 10th Elder Appleby is about leaving with his company for
far the west I must close my package. weI shall
send you the latest papers. the News grows more &
more interesting all Europe looks like rushing to war
war is about to be poured out upon the Mother
of Harlotts in vary deed according to the Book
of Mormon & all other Books of Revelations from God
And the Daughter of the Harlot will not escape
Good By May God Bless you & favor Zion
W. W
[sideways text] To the Presidency of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
W Woodruff to
B Young & Council
April 5, 1849 [end of sideways text]