HISTORY
OF
WILFORD WOODRUFF.
-[FROM HIS OWN PEN.]-
—A States warrant was
issued against D. W. Patten, Warren
Parrish and Wilford Woodruff, sworn
out by Matthew Williams, a Metho-
dist priest, and served by the sheriff, Robert C. Petty. Elders Patten and
Parrish were taken by an armed mob
of about fifty, under pretence of law,
led by the sheriff, a colonel, first and
second major, with other officers, and
a Methodist priest with a gun upon his
shoulder. I was in another county,
and therefore not taken. We were
accused of prophesying falsely, by
saying that four persons who were
baptized should receive the Holy
Ghost in twenty-four hours, and that
Christ should come the second time
before this generation passed away.
The whole concern was a mob mock
trial, contrary to law, justice, judg-
ment or truth.
On the , I went to a Baptist
meeting-house, on Thompson's creek,
to preach; the house was crowded.
As I rose to speak, a Baptist priest,
Mr. Browning, arrived at the door on
horseback, and stepped in greatly
agitated, and told the deacon to forbid
my preaching in the house, at the
same time commenced a tirade of
abuse against the "Mormons," telling
several lies, which I corrected before
the people, which increased his rage.
As I was forbidden to preach in the
house, and had been invited, and tra-
velled many miles to fulfil my ap-
pointment, I told the people I would
like to preach, and was willing to
stand on a wood pile, a fence, a cart,
or any place they would appoint. A
man rose and said he owned the land
in front of the meeting-house, and I
might stand and preach on that, and
welcome. All the congregation, with
the exception of the minister and one
deacon, arose and left the house,
walked across the street, and formed
seats of a worm fence, and gave good
attention while I preached for an hour
and-a-half, on the principles of the
Gospel.
When I closed, Mr. Randolph Alex-
ander, who had never heard a "Mor-
mon" Elder speak before, said, the
people of the present day made him
think of a pen of hogs; the keeper
would make a trough, and pour into
it hot or cold water, dish water, or
anything else, and they would drink
it; but let a stranger come along, and
pour over a basket of corn on the back
side of the pen, and the hogs would
be frightened, and run and snort all
over the pen. He said it was so with
the people; the priests would feed
them with any kind of doctrine, no
matter how false, the people will
swallow it down; but let a stranger
come and preach the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, which will save the people, as
Mr. Woodruff has done, and the peo-
ple are afraid of him.
Mr. Alexander invited me home,
bought a Book of Mormon, and was
soon baptized, and several others
followed his example.
——I rode in company with A.
O. Smoot to a ferry on the Tennessee
river. The ferryman was absent.
We were offered the use of the boat,
and ferried ourselves; but not being
much used to the business, and losing
one oar in the river, and having to
row with a broken oar, we landed a
great distance below the usual place,
(Continued from page 232.)
HISTORY
OF
WILFORD WOODRUFF.
[FROM HIS OWN PEN.]
—A States warrant was
issued against D. W. Patten, Warren
Parrish and Wilford Woodruff, sworn
out by Matthew Williams, a Methodist priest, and served by the sheriff,
Robert C. Petty. Elders Patten and
Parrish were taken by an armed mob
of about fifty, under pretence of law,
led by the sheriff, a colonel, first and
second major, with other officers, and
a Methodist priest with a gun upon his
shoulder. I was in another county,
and therefore not taken. We were
accused of prophesying falsely, by
saying that four persons who were
baptized should receive the Holy
Ghost in twenty-four hours, and that
Christ should come the second time
before this generation passed away.
The whole concern was a mob mock
trial, contrary to law, justice, judgment or truth.
On the , I went to a Baptist
meeting-house, on Thompson's creek,
to preach; the house was crowded.
As I rose to speak, a Baptist priest,
Mr. Browning, arrived at the door on
horseback, and stepped in greatly
agitated, and told the deacon to forbid
my preaching in the house, at the
same time commenced a tirade of
abuse against the "Mormons," telling
several lies, which I corrected before
the people, which increased his rage.
As I was forbidden to preach in the
house, and had been invited, and travelled many miles to fulfil my appointment, I told the people I would
like to preach, and was willing to
stand on a wood pile, a fence, a cart,
or any place they would appoint. A
man rose and said he owned the land
in front of the meeting-house, and I
might stand and preach on that, and
welcome. All the congregation, with
the exception of the minister and one
deacon, arose and left the house,
walked across the street, and formed
seats of a worm fence, and gave good
attention while I preached for an hour
and-a-half, on the principles of the
Gospel.
When I closed, Mr. Randolph Alexander, who had never heard a "Mormon" Elder speak before, said, the
people of the present day made him
think of a pen of hogs; the keeper
would make a trough, and pour into
it hot or cold water, dish water, or
anything else, and they would drink
it; but let a stranger come along, and
pour over a basket of corn on the back
side of the pen, and the hogs would
be frightened, and run and snort all
over the pen. He said it was so with
the people; the priests would feed
them with any kind of doctrine, no
matter how false, the people will
swallow it down; but let a stranger
come and preach the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, which will save the people, as
Mr. Woodruff has done, and the people are afraid of him.
Mr. Alexander invited me home,
bought a Book of Mormon, and was
soon baptized, and several others
followed his example.
—I wrote a letter to Oliver
Cowdery, and sent him a list of subscribers for the Messenger and Advocate,
and a detail of my mission in the south.
——I rode in company with A.
O. Smoot to a ferry on the Tennessee
river. The ferryman was absent.
We were offered the use of the boat,
and ferried ourselves; but not being
much used to the business, and losing
one oar in the river, and having to
row with a broken oar, we landed a
great distance below the usual place,
