To the Venerable Wilford Woodruff:
Beloved President
Please forgive the lib-
erty I take in thus writing to you, but
it ^is^ nothing but the agony I suffer that
would induce me to do so. Will be as brief
as the circumstances will admit of. I was
president of a Ward Primary Association
at the time the call was made for means
to complete our grand & noble Temple & I
found out my nerves were giving out under
the strain of that ^&^ with the cares of a large
family of small children & unable to afford
help. but my desire to keep up until
we had given entertainments enough to
donate a goodly portion to that cause
prevented me from resigning & the Sisters
with whom I was laboring felt like it
would be wrong to resign when weI had
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accomplished so much good. So I con-
tinued until the following June when
the anniversary of Pres't Young's Birth-
day was to be celebrated by the children
& when those exercises were over, & a
short time after another child was
born to me I was a complete nervous
wreck & am yet; my brain troubling
me to such an extent I can scarcely
endure the children to speak to me
& when they worry me I feel like I
would go raving mad. The oldest one
is a boy of 12 yrs & I am obliged to
remain all day alone with them.
On account of my long seige of help-
lessness we are very much reduced
in circumstances & for that reason
it is very difficult to get help.
Have been administered to by the Elders
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& Bishops & by Apostle Richards who
promised me great & glorious blessings
& have been to Salt Lake & Logan Temples
& been baptized for my health.
It is for the sake of my children
that I pour out the anguish of my
soul to you, not being able to go to
meetings with them & their father has
to work every day Sundays & holidays
too they are running wild.
Although this nervous trouble has been
coming on for years, one of the
Bishops here says it is the adversary
that is troubling me & I do not un-
derstand how that could be when
I have tried in every way to do
right & have never shrank from a
duty in the Church but have gone
under very trying circumstances
when I & my children have been
sick
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Dear President I ask you as I
would my father were he alive
to try to help me, pray for me
& may that channel of commu-
nication that is open between
you & the Heavens be opened for
my benefit that my fasting &
prayers may not be in vain &
that my children may not have
to suffer longer for the want of
a mother's care. I fear so much
for my mind for it is ^in^ a dreadful
state & it seems impossible to endure
it much longer unless the Lord
looks down in tender mercy upon
me & restores me to health; which
I have had faith He would do
for the sake of my helpless children
& because of long labor among the
children of the Saints which has con-
tinued more or less from the time
I was 15 yrs old.
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Please do favor me with a quick
reply advising me what to do.
Oh if I could never do hard work
again if I could only get the strength
of nerves & brain again how I
would rejoice & praise my Heaven
ly Father. I have covenanted that
if he will heal me I would devote
my life to the Ministry.
May God bless you & I do pray
that you may be the means in
His hands of lifting me from
this lamentable condition