52 Ironmonger Row, St Lukes, London. .
My Dear Phebe,
I received your kind & affectionate letter ^written^ in the midst of
affliction & mourning under Date of July 18th 1840. truly your
letter brought tidings which were painful & sorrowful to me, but
notwithstanding this it was not without its joys, For while I keenly
felt the [roots], & to mourn the Loss of the lovely flower which God had lent
unto us a few days & then taken it away in an hour that was best calcu
lated to try the feelings of a kind & affectionate Mother & an absent Father
& while I felt to sympathise with my Dear Companion who alone had been
called to watch her tender ospring in my absence & behold her life depart & follow
her remains to the grave without a single relative to mingle a tear, you in the
midst of this affliction meditation & sorrow I truly rejoice before the Lord, I rejoice
that God hath taught us the principles of life & Death, time & Eternity, the Resurrection
& the judgment. I rejoice that we are not Called to mourn without hope, but
that we have the fulest assurance that we shall meet our Child in the first resurrection
As we have got to come up through great tribulations in order to inherit
the Celestial kingdom of God, I rejoice that in all these trials, sacrifises losses
& crosses, we have one the less to go through. I again rejoice that God hath
given you grace, strength & fortitude, to support you in the midst of
this deep affliction, & it hath been the highth of my joy, sweetened all my lonely
lonely meditations, & filled the days of my consolation to know that God hath
granted me a companion in this life who hath been willing to make evry sacrafice
which God hath lade upon her for my sake for the sake of Christ & for the sake of
a celestial kingdom whare we shall reign forever, whare the wicked & ungodly
will scease from troubling & the weary be at rest, yes my Dear Companion
in affliction, you may rest assured, the whole spirit of your letter the resignation
you manifest gives me great joy. I know your sorrow, trials & afflictions are
keen, & sacrifices great. Why is it there with you, with me & with the Saints at large
in evry age of the World. Ah the first resurrection will tell, the judgment of
the great day will declare, & the Celestial glory of God will more fully illustrate
the truth of all these things unto you then I can possibly do with my pen
the Lord Jesus suffered & desended below all things, the Holy prophets & Apostles
in evry age of the world have suffered greatly & come up through tribulations
in there day & now we have ours, & we shall find at last that all our sufferings
trials, & privations are ownly to prove us & more fully prepare us to rightly
prise that rest, comprehend the glory, & enjoy the fulness of that reward which we shall receive
at the end of the race, Then under this view of things shall we not kiss the rod & be
resigned, I can exclaim yes with every feelings of my Soul, I can say with my
Dear Wife the Lord hath given & the Lord hath given & the Lord hath taken
away & blessed be the name of the Lord. I I can but bear evry trial that I am
called to pass through in this life as well as I have the Death of Sarah Emma I shall bee
thankful, she was a beautiful flower, I loved it with all all my heart but as willingly
resigned it to God. I shall never forget the last look she gave me when I took the parting
hand with her. The first intimation I had of her death was on the 22d of Oct several
letters was sent me from Manchester one of which was from Elder W. Richards &
while reading over the list of the Deaths among the Saints Sarah Emma Woodruff
caught my eye, it produced a peculiar sensation in my mind which went through
me like electricity yet my nerve was firm I continued reading as though nothing
had happened & from that moment to the present I have felt perfectly resigned
so by receiving this intelligence I was prepared for the reception of your letter
I also feel thankful that you have some friends that try to comfort you in
your afflicitons & necessities, I feel that Sister Margarett has prooved herself a
friend in deed as far as it hath been in her power & she shall not loose her
reward & I feel thankful to all the friends for there kindness unto you in
your afflictions, & Mourning. I copied Sister Margaretts lines in my journal
they were sentimental & good. I thank Brother Petty for writing to me I was truly glad to
hear from him. I feel to send my blessings to him & his houshold, Phebe I have
had several interviews with you in my sleep & ^on^ one occasion Sarah Emma was not
with us & I enquired where she was you said she was Dead & gave me sumthing
of an account of it, but as I had heard from you since & she was well, it had almost
worn of my mind, I found from my conversation with you you had many
lonely hours, & some gloomy meditations, as you were left alone so long & had no
Relatives to keep you company, I know this is trying & none would have bourn it
better than you have done possessing that warm attachment to friends & Relatives
which virtue hath been so perminant in your whole life, Was it in my power
I would willingly bear your sorrows myself, but as I cannot I am comforted
with the reflection, that these sorrowful hours are not lade upon you because of
crime on your part or mine but that we are seperated for the Sake of the
Gospel & the cause of Christ, If any of our friends are in any more comfortable
circumstances as to the things of this present evil world in the midst of ease &
without sacrafice, how will it be a few years hence at the coming of Christ in
the resurrection the general judgment & in the Eternal World. my object is to be
on the safe side there, My object is to secure a safe abode in the Eternal world
even a Celestial Kingdom, yes if I can but once see this second to
myself my wife & childen it will amply reward me for all my toils & labours
my sacrafises & my hours of sorrow in this life, yes I can say wellcome
all these things If I can but at last obtain the favor of my God & a place
whare he dwelleth with my Wife & the children which God hath given us.
My constant prayer to god is that he will feed & cloth you, comfort your
heart, raise you up friends in my absens, & let his angels guard you & give
you grace according to your day in all things & spare your life & the remain
ning child for my sake. I am sorry you have not obtained more of my
Letters I have written you more than a dozen since I have been in England
& I have received a number from you which has done me much good, I also
sent a large number of letters to you by Elder Turley & the company which
went with him. (I also ^sent^ you by Elder Turley £7 seven sovreigns with many other things for you &
Sarah Emma & Willford, which I trust you have got before time I have others presents for you which I shall bring when
I come, which will be early in the spring if the Lord will) I sent two letters by Elder Mulliner to you
who sailed from Liverpool on the 15th of Oct for Nauvoo via Neworleans I also sent a very
long letter for the Times & Seasons by Elder Mulliner it contained an account of
my travels from the 8th of Aug. 1829 to the 7th of Oct 1840 it covered six side of a mamoth
sheet as full as I could print it. I mailed another one yesterday for the same purpose
Sleep my child, sleep a while, thy mission thou
hast closed, the debt of nature thou hast
paid and all is well with thee, I well remem
ber an hour, when the earth in a sable shade of
night was wrap'd & lighted ownly by the moon
thy Parents stood upon a ragged rock, the
Billows of the mighty deep surged from its
native element & dashed at their feet spent
its strength & sunk back in silence. Then
they spoke of thee, In like manner the hopes
of thy fond parents thou hast dashed, & returned
in silence to thy native earth but not to be forgo
tten, why all this, Ah Lovely Sarah thy share
of the bitter cup thou hast drank & hid thyself
for a while from the evils of this present
world though thy pilgraimage to earth was
short, busy thou hast been in partaking of
the sacrifices of thy generation, thou
hast shared in the deepest sorrow with thy
Parents in a journey or two thousand miles
in thy infancy but this is not all thou hast
made a sacrifice of the society of thy
father many long months who will meet
thee no more untill clothed in Immortality
In honour to thee my child thy Father drops
a tear by the midnight lamp in London while
naught but the watchmans voice is herd.
Then rest my child yes Sarah rest untill with thy
parents thou shalt rise clothed with Immortal
DAY
Extract of W Woodruff Journal Oct 18th After bearing testiment
to the Saints in London, & feeling a witness that there would
be a good work in this city. We retired to rest in good season
I felt well in my mind & slept untill 12 oclock at night
I awoke & meditated upon the things of God untill near
3 oclock & while forming a determination to warn the people
of London & overcome the powers of darkness by the assi
stance of God, A personage appeared unto me which I
considerd to be the prince of Darkness or the Devil. he made
war with me & attempted to take my life he caught me by
the throat & choaked me nearly to death he wounded me in
my forehead I also wounded him in a number of places
in the head As he was about to overcome me I prayed
to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ for help, I then
began to have power over him, the Lord sent his Angels
unto me who deliverd me by wounding my enemy & driving
him from me one personage dressed in white who I thought
was a friend i had seen before came to me prayed with me
& healed me. & I was instantly made whole & deliverd As soon
as I could speak I awoke Br Smith who was also in trouble
i.e for the press I copied it off with my pen & it filled four sheets of common
letter paper. I extracted it mostly from my journals & signed it Kinball, Woodruff
& Smith We also sent a lengthy letter to Bishop Elias Smith, we are sparing no
pains to communicate any intelligence to our friends in America that we
may have in our possession, I have just recieved two letters from our Maine
friends one from Sister Foss & the other from Brother Ilus F Carter they were
all well when they wrote & some of them were thinking of visiting Nauvoo next
season esspecially Brother Luther Scamman Brother Ilus sayes he has written
much to Phebe but had no answer he says letters will not reach him unless
they are directed to his store or address I have not herd from Father Woodruff
for many weeks I shall write to our Maine friends as soon as I finish
this. I shall expect a letter from you as soon as Eldr Turley arives &
you obtain the things which I have sent by him, The work of the Lord is
prosperous throughout Europe & all the America Brother are well. Elders
Young & Kimball were in Preston yesterdy & well their letter said, they
are ingaged about the Book of Mormon. Elders J. Taylor & H. Clark sent a letter
to us yesterday they are on the Isle of Man & making no small stir they are
opening a large field those have Baptized about 20 & will have a large harvest they
are well. Elders P. P. Pratt & Richards are in Manchester & both well & their
families a letter from them to day Elder PP Pratt has just returned from New York with his
family had a passage of 37 days going & 35 comeing which was a long time to be on the
water. A letter from Elder O. Pratt yesterday says I am still in Edinburgh am well &
Baptised over 50, A letter from R. Hedlock to day says my health is not the best but
pretty comfortable I have just been on a trip to Ireland & returned to Glasgow the work
prospering throughout this region. Elders Woodruff & G. A. Smith are enjoying good health
& spirits in the city of London we have hired an Academy in a respecta[ble]
part of London & have published 500 hand Bills to give Notice of our pla[ce]
of meeting we have ownly formed a small society here as yet, but has [page torn]
faith in expecting a good work in London Postage on letters in any part of England is [o]wnly
one penny except foreign letters are 25 cts so I recieve & write nearly half a dozen letters daily
so I know almost evry day what is going on throughout Europe, ^in our cause^ I have many things I should
like to say to you but you will hear from me again before long. I wish to say a
few words to Brother Petty & Sister Margarett. So I close my remarks to my dear Wife by
saying let us not be weary in well doing but maintain our integrity unto the end then our
sufferings that we have passed through will not be in vain but our reward will be sure & our joy
full, give my blessings to all who inquire & remember me to all Saints. Elder G. A. Smith sends his
Blessings to you, & all friends. that health, strength, peace & grace, may abide with you untill we
meet is the earnest prayer of your Absent compainion & bosom friend W Woodruff
Albert Petty Dear Brother I thank you for occu
pying a space in my Wifes letter to me. It truly
does my soul good to hear from a old friend
from whome I have been seperated to long, I
should be glad to say more to you than my
limits will admit of at this time. give my
respects to Sister Petty, to Brother Allexander
& all our Southern friends to Brother & Sister
Luce & all from fox Islands I finally all the
Saints I trust we share in the prayers of you
all, Remember me to Father & Mother J. Smith &
to the presidency how is President Rigdons health
is Brother Hiram well; How does Brother Joseph
do I want to hear from him, I hope the
church will constantly uphold him by prayer
faith, & confidence. he is a chosen vessel in
the hands of God, let the Saints stand by
him & his councillors & God will bless them
but if they forsake him even in an hour of trial
persecution or trouble it will be to their hurt
& the experiance of 10 years shows that God is with him
& he is an old tried friend & my prayer to god is
that he may have wisdom power, & means to soon
esstablish Zion & her stakes to be a place of rest
for the poor Saints. I hope Dear Brother that
after a few more months the Lord will enable
us to greet each other face to face. I feel
thankful to you or any of my friends that has
assisted my family in their times of mourning,
sickness, or want while in my abcence as I
cannot be there to comfort them myself, from
your Brother in the Love of God W. Woodruff
Sister Margarett
I received your lines with
gratitude & recorded them on my journal. You shall
not loose your reward for your kindness to my wife
& children in the midst of sickness & death. Sarah Emma
was a pleasent child. I loved her, but she is gone, the Lord hath
taken her & I feel resigned. I am glad to hear from br Owen
he asks what I am doing tell him with the assistance of God
& my brethren I have built up one Church in six months that
numbers more than one thousand saints with about 150 officers
about 100 of which were methodist preachers & four
church clarks. & the work is spreading throughout that
region & has run into Wales I am now situated in a com
fortable room in London with G. A. Smith are recieving &
writing many letters daily. Warning the citizens of London
what we can, convaising much about our American friends
looking for war with France daily. beholding much pove
rty & distress & are determined by the grace of God to keep the
faith to see what is at the end of the race W. Woodruff
London Oct 31st 1840
Sister Woodruff I feel to sympathise with
you in your afliction realiseing the situation
in which you are placed when your husband
had the dream about you and Litle Sarah I was
with him when he told it to me it mad an
impression on the mind whic I did not forget
I think it was about the 18th or ^of July^ 20th but cannot tell
Persicley I Never saw such ^w^ A shock and change
in El Woodruffs apearence for A moment as
when he read among other deaths litter Sarah
Woodruff howeve after A few Moments he
seemed re[c]onciled to the will of Heaven Give my
Love to all the Saints to families of the Twelve
And Espetialey to my aged parents my brother
and sister and all who Enquire tell them I shall
see them Next september if the Lord will and
I think he will have no objections by that time.
but then it is such A Long Journey one can
hardeley think so far yet home can be anticipted
Like heavenly songs only more fadeing give my Love
to Little Wilford may the Lord preserve him
and make him a mightyer man than his
Father may the Lord bleess you and yours
I have writen as Long letter to my Father dated
the 12 of oct and and by Eder Muliner youse &c
Phebe Woodruff George A Smith
Phebe please remember me to all the families at
the Twelve & all who inquire to Father Clark &
family. Should you have an opportunity of
obtaining a house in Nauvoo I should think it
best to except to exept of it but you know
best concerning all your affairs give my respect
to any of the Brother Benbows or any from England you
see the tell me in your next letter whose Br
William Benbow is I have not herd a word
from him since he went to America I
want to hear from him & know how he is
getting along write soon & tell me all the
knews has John Benbow arived & the company with
him how do they got along. You may look for me in the spring
W Woodruff
kiss little Wilford for me W.
Geo W. Robinson please inform E Robinson & D. C. Smith
we have their August No before us & we see nothing in it from
us in England we conclude they have not obtain our letters
We have Written a number of lengthy communications
& hope they will get them. The postman has just brought
a letter from O Pratt Edinburgh Oct 29th I Baptized 7 last evening
I am well &cs. We obtain letters evry day from differant
parts of Europe so we know what is going on all around us
We have lately recevd a letter from O Hide who was in
Philadelphia P. P. Pratt has just arivd in Manchester from New York
with his family & brought his Wifes Sister with him. We should
be pleased to hear from all our old friends in Nauvoo
Eldr Lorezo Snow is in England W. Woodruff
Geo W. Robinson post Master of Nauvoo
Dear Brother We have thought much
about you since we have been in England, tis true you
have been more the topic of conversation with our tongue than
pen A letter from you would meet a welcome reception
Ill assure you, I wish to hear from you & esspecally
to hear how president Rigdons health is We much hope
& pr[a]y that he may recover his health I have written lengthy
communications to the Editors of the times & seasons
which will give an account of things in teis country We
feel greatful to you in the kind offer you have made
us in the communications to our families G. A. Smith
sends his respects to you & the whole family I wish to be remebr
ed also to your family & president Rigdon. We have talked
about writing president Rigdon a letter a long time but
we have not got at it yet but hope we shall soon
W. Woodruff
[stamp in red ink] ^BOSTON
NOV 19
52
Mr Geoe W. Robinson Esq.
Post Master of Nauvoo
Hancock County
Illinois
United States
Single Letter
P. W. W.
[stamp in red ink] ^E
PAID
31 OC 31
1840^
Steam Ship
via Boston
33
Willford Woodruff
London Oct 30th 1840
Answered