To the Young Men`s Mutual Improvement
Associations:

BELOVED BRETHREN: I have been
requested to give a brief outline of my
life and association with the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In
order for me to comply with such a re-
quest my communication must of neces-
sity be exceedingly brief, to be suit-
able for an article in a magazine like
the CONTRIBUTOR.

I was born March 1st, 1807. My
father's name was Aphek Woodruff. My
mother's name was Beulah Thompson.
She had three sons; Azmon, born
November 29th, 1802; Ozem Thompson,
born December 22nd, 1804; Wilford, born
March 1st, 1807. All three are living at
this date;* Azmon, at my farm house in
Farmer's Ward; Ozem Thompson, at
Daysville, Oswego County, New York;
but he is nearly blind. I am still living
in Salt Lake City. My mother died June
11th, 1808, at Avon, Connecticut, aged
twenty-six years, leaving me fifteen
months old. My father was a miller, as
was also his father before him, which
occupation I followed until 1832.

At an early age my mind was exercised
upon religion, although I did not make
any profession thereof until 1830. I did
not then join any church, for the reason
that I could not find any denomination
whose teachings, faith and practice
agreed with the ordinances and gifts of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by
Him in His day and time. Although the
ministers of the day taught that the
faith, gifts, graces, miracles and ordi-
nances which the ancient Saints enjoyed
were done away and were no longer
needed, I did not believe it to be true,
only as they were done away through
the unbelief of the children of men. I
believed the same gifts, graces, miracles
and power would be manifest in one age
of the world as in another, when God
had a Church upon the earth, and a
people who would obey His ordinances
as in ancient days. I believed the
Church of God would be re-established
upon the earth, and that I should live to
see it. These principles were riveted
upon my mind, from the perusal of the
Old and New Testament, and with fer-
vent prayer that the Lord would show
me what was right and what was wrong,
and lead me in the path of salvation
without any regard to the opinions of
men.

The whisperings of the Spirit of
the Lord for a space of three years
taught me that the Lord was about to
set up His Church and Kingdom in the
earth, in the last days, in fulfilment of
promises made by ancient prophets and
apostles who spoke as they were moved
upon by the inspiration of Almighty
God. While in this state of mind I went
with my brother Azmon to Richland,
Oswego County, New York. We bought
a farm and commenced business. In
December, 1833, two Mormon Elders,
viz. Zera Pulsipher and Elijah Cheney,
came into our town and stopped at our
house. Elder Pulsipher said he was
commanded by the Spirit of the Lord to
go into the north country, and he and
Elder Cheney had walked from Fabins
via Syracuse, near sixty miles through
deep snows, and our house was the first
place he felt impelled to stop at. He
appointed a meeting at the schoolhouse
which I attended, and on hearing him
preach I felt that his sermon was the first
gospel sermon I had ever heard in my
life. I invited these Elders home and
spent the night in conversation and in
reading the Book of Mormon. I was
thoroughly convinced it was a true rec-
ord of the word of God. My brother
Azmon and myself offered ourselves for
baptism, and on the thirty-first day of
December, 1833, Elder Pulsipher went
with us to the creek and baptized us,
with two other persons, we being the
first baptized in Oswego County; eight

*Since this paper was written, my brother
Azmon, departed this life, at my farm house, on
Monday, the fourteenth of January, 1889, at
10:26 o'clock p.m., aged eighty-six years, one
month and fifteen days. The funeral services
were held at the Farmer's Ward Meeting House,
at 11 o'clock a.m., Wednesday, January 16th,
after which, his mortal remains were consigned
to the tomb.—W. W.

To the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations:

BELOVED BRETHREN: I have been requested to give a brief outline of my life and association with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In order for me to comply with such a request my communication must of necessity be exceedingly brief, to be suitable for an article in a magazine like the CONTRIBUTOR.

I was born March 1st, 1807. My father's name was Aphek Woodruff. My mother's name was Beulah Thompson. She had three sons; Azmon, born November 29th, 1802; Ozem Thompson, born December 22nd, 1804; Wilford, born March 1st, 1807. All three are living at this date;* Azmon, at my farm house in Farmer's Ward; Ozem Thompson, at Daysville, Oswego County, New York; but he is nearly blind. I am still living in Salt Lake City. My mother died June 11th, 1808, at Avon, Connecticut, aged twenty-six years, leaving me fifteen months old. My father was a miller, as was also his father before him, which occupation I followed until 1832.

At an early age my mind was exercised upon religion, although I did not make any profession thereof until 1830. I did not then join any church, for the reason that I could not find any denomination whose teachings, faith and practice agreed with the ordinances and gifts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by Him in His day and time. Although the ministers of the day taught that the faith, gifts, graces, miracles and ordinances which the ancient Saints enjoyed were done away and were no longer needed, I did not believe it to be true, only as they were done away through the unbelief of the children of men. I believed the same gifts, graces, miracles and power would be manifest in one age of the world as in another, when God had a Church upon the earth, and a people who would obey His ordinances as in ancient days. I believed the Church of God would be re-established upon the earth, and that I should live to see it. These principles were riveted upon my mind, from the perusal of the Old and New Testament, and with fervent prayer that the Lord would show me what was right and what was wrong, and lead me in the path of salvation without any regard to the opinions of men.

The whisperings of the Spirit of the Lord for a space of three years taught me that the Lord was about to set up His Church and Kingdom in the earth, in the last days, in fulfilment of promises made by ancient prophets and apostles who spoke as they were moved upon by the inspiration of Almighty God. While in this state of mind I went with my brother Azmon to Richland, Oswego County, New York. We bought a farm and commenced business. In December, 1833, two Mormon Elders, viz. Zera Pulsipher and Elijah Cheney, came into our town and stopped at our house. Elder Pulsipher said he was commanded by the Spirit of the Lord to go into the north country, and he and Elder Cheney had walked from Fabins via Syracuse, near sixty miles through deep snows, and our house was the first place he felt impelled to stop at. He appointed a meeting at the schoolhouse which I attended, and on hearing him preach I felt that his sermon was the first gospel sermon I had ever heard in my life. I invited these Elders home and spent the night in conversation and in reading the Book of Mormon. I was thoroughly convinced it was a true record of the word of God. My brother Azmon and myself offered ourselves for baptism, and on the thirty-first day of December, 1833, Elder Pulsipher went with us to the creek and baptized us, with two other persons, we being the first baptized in Oswego County; eight

*Since this paper was written, my brother Azmon, departed this life, at my farm house, on Monday, the fourteenth of January, 1889, at 10:26 o'clock p.m., aged eighty-six years, one month and fifteen days. The funeral services were held at the Farmer's Ward Meeting House, at 11 o'clock a.m., Wednesday, January 16th, after which, his mortal remains were consigned to the tomb.—W. W.