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Church History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
Collection Name | Wilford Woodruff journals and papers, 1828-1898 |
Collection Description | Wilford Woodruff journal, 1880 February-1885 December |
Collection Number | MS 1352 |
Collection Page | 1-496 |
Source Link | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
Rights and Use | Copyright and Use Information |
Transcript | View Full Transcript |
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The Apostle then Met in council at 6 oclok and Decided to Organize the first Presidency of the Church [FIGURES] Wilford Woodruff Nominated John Taylor to be the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and it was carried unanimously Presidet John Taylor then chose George Q Cannon as his first councillor and Joseph F Smith as his second councillor. It was then Moved seconded & carried Unanimously that Wilford Woodruff should be the President of the Twelve Apostles.
Oct 27, 1880 Ordination of John Henry Smith to the Apostleship to be one of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Ordained under the hands of President John Taylor, George Q. Cannon, & Joseph F Smith of the Presidency, and Wilford Woodruff who was Mouth in Ordaining, also Orson Pratt, Erastus Snow, Franklin D Richards, & Brigham Young of the Quorum of the Twelve and D H Wells councillor to the Twelve Brother John Henry Smith in the name of the Lord Juesus Christ and by the Authority of the Holy Priesthood And Apostleship confered upon us we lay our hands upon your head, and we ordain you an Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and as A member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, And we seal upon you all the power And Authority to Administer in all the Ordinances of the House of God agreeable to this Office Even the Apostleship which is the Highest Authority Ever confered and sealed upon the sons of men in the flesh. And we pray God to cloth you with the power of this Apostleship. with the power of God, That your mind may be open to comprehend & understand your relationship to God, your relationship to your Brethren, your relationship to the Church and Kingdom of God, in relation to this world, and in relation to the responsibility which now rest upon you. And we say unto you The Eyes of God & his Son Jesus Christ isand of the Heavenly Hosts, and of Joseph Smith and the Apostles, And the Eyes of your Father who are behingd the veil are upon you, and there is rejoicing in Heaven becaus you are one of the Sons of the Prophets & Apostles and have come forth to take upon yourself the Holy Apostleship and we say unto you be humble before God and seek for the Holy spirit
Their has Exhisted a difficulty between the Authorities of the Church in that Place for a good while and the forenoon was taken up in teaching them and some sharp chastisements were given and I think the harts of some were made to quake before the two Edged sword of truth by the Power of God. The spirit of God was with us we Met in the Afternoon and Organized 7 Prayer Circles but many of the company had to settle their difficulties before they could Enter the Prayer Circle it was a profitable time
Thus saith the Lord unto my servant Wilford Woodruff. I have heard thy Prayers, And will ans- wer thy Petitions. I will make Known unto thee my will concerning the Nation who encumber the land of promise, And also concerning Zion and her inhabitants. I have already revealed my will con[cer]ning the Nation through the mouth of my servant Joseph, who sealed his Testimony with his own Blood, which Testimony has been in force upon all the world from the hour of his death. What I the Lord have revealed in that Testiment and decreed upon this Nation, and all the Nations of the Earth shall be fulfilled, Saith the Lord of Hosts. I the Lord have spoken and will be obeyed. My Purposes shall be fulfilled upon this Nation, and No power shall stay my hand. The hour is at the door when my wrath and indignation shall be poured out upon the wicked of this Nation. Their murders, blas- phemies, Lyings, whoredoms and abominations have come up before my face and before the heavens and the wrath of mine indignation is full. I have decreed Plagues to go forth and lay waste mine Enemies and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute mine herritage. The Devil is ruling over his Kingdom and my spirit has no
they are broaken up and Destroyed, and wasted away from under heaven, and No power can stay my hand. Therefore let the wicked tremble. Let them that blaspheme my name hold their lips, for destruction will swiftly over- take them. All that I the Lord have spoken through the Mouth of my Prophets and Apostles since the world began concerning the Last dispensation and fulness of times, con- cerning my Church which has been called out of the wilderness of darkness and Error, and concerning the Zion and Kingdom of God and concerning Babylon the Great, And what I have spoken through the Mouth of My servant Joseph shall all be fulfilled And though Heaven and Earth Pass away my words shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled Saith the Lord. These revela- tions and testimonies you have before you. Let my saints search the word of the Lord and treasure up wisdom and be prepared for that which is to come As I have decreed so shall my Judgments begin at the House of God. There are those in my Church who have a name among you who are Adulterers and Adulteresses and those who blas- phene my name and those who love and make a lie, and those who revel and Drink with the Drunken with the drunken if they do not spedy repent of their wickedness and Abomina- tions They shall be severed from the ordinances of my house saith the Lord. There are many who have need to repent whose hearts are set upon the things of this world, who asspire to the honors of men, and do not honor the Priestood, nor seek to build up the Kingdom of God as they should
A Prayer written By Wilford Woodruff By request of President John Taylor to be Presented at the Altar O God Our Eternal Father, Thou who dwellest in the heavens Thou who hast created the heavens and the Earth and all that dwelleth therein; Thou art the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Thou hast sustained thay [thy] Prophets, Apostles, and anointed Ones from Eternity to Eternity. Therefore we come before thee, in confidence and in faith, as thy saints, thine Apostles, and thy friends, to make our wants known unto thee, the Lord Our God. Thou art our Eternal Father, the Father of our spirits, and hast called us and ordained us, and commanded us to go forth unto the inhabitants of the Earth, ^in this generation to declare unto them the gospel of Jesus Christ the words of Life & salvation thou hast commanded us to go forth unto the Nations of the Earth^ unto the most notible Cities, towns and Cities villages of the world reproveing them in righteousness of all their wickedness and abominations, and warning them of the desolation which awaiteth them if they reject the message and testimony which thou hast sent unto them. Therefore O Lord our God we have obeyed they commandments in thes things. We have gone forth through our own Nation and the Nations of the Earth, and have declared faithfully unto them the gospel of Jesus Christ. ^we have travelled in poverty offliction & persecution^ we have travelled without purse or scrip and declaired thy word freely without money and without price, and been chargeable to no man, as thou knowest, for thou knowest all our ways. Thou hast given unto us of thy Holy Spirit and of the Testimony of Jesus Christ, for which we thank thee, O our Father and we have found many of thy Sons and Daughters of the seed of Abraham who have received Our testimony among the Nations of the Earth and have been gathered
his is my birth day I am this day 74 years of Age And I wish to bear my Testimony to all persons whomsoever may read this Journal that the God of Israel has sustained me and watched over me by his power or agency from the hour of hism^y^ birth up to the present hour
sometimes I feel when I realize these things it would be a relief if I could break these bands as Brother Orson Pratt has done and open my Eyes in the spirit world and partake of the glory and blessings that await that man but then again we must submit, we should be patient, we should be satisfied in regard to our condition on the Earth, in our Mortal state, it will last but a vary little while.
Their are a few members of Zions Camp here to day. Their is a small remnant of them left All those brethren who were in the camp, our travelling a thousand miles led by a Prophet of God will remember the scenes we were called upon to pass through we were visited by the Cholera The first circumstance of the kind that we as a company ever experience. Br Orson Pratt whose body lies before us lay at the point of Death as also George A Smith and a number of others while some twenty of the Brethren were laid in the grave. The Lord took whom he would take, and preserved those whom He would preserve according to the council of his own will No man could pass through a much worse sickness than the Cholera, men weighing near two hundred pounds were reduced to seventy or one hundred pounds in a vary short time.
I returned from the farm and it was made known to [FIGURE] me that there was an Insane man in the City said He came from Calafornia Professed to be Christ and said God had ordained him to Baptize by fire all who did not receive his testimony and that was to be through a pistol or Rifle he was to kill every one who did not receive his testimony and He was Esspecially ordained to kill John Taylor & George Q Cannon. I laid the matter before President Taylor But he did not seem to have any fears upon the matter But we thought it proper to lay the Matter before the Probate Judge and as the court thot him a dangerous man to be at libyerty arangements were made to put the man in the Insane assylum.
The following incident of History wars repeated to W Woodruff On the Evening of Aprail 29, 1883 By Wm Davis 88 years of age and Blind He said After they were driven from Far West and Joseph Smith the prophet was in Liberty Jail He Wm Davis went to Liberty to see the prophet while there Mr Weathers the County Surveyor came to him and said Mr Davis I want to ask you some questions and I want you to tell the truth will you do it. He answered I will if I know it Mr Davis do you not know that there is 300 Mormons lying in ambush near this town, with the intention of liberating Joseph Smith and his brethren from Prision. Mr Davis Answered No sir I do not know that there is one Mormon lying in Ambush in this region. Mr Davis do you not know that there is 300 Indians lying in ambush near this town to liberate Joseph Smith. No Sir I do not know that there is an Indian any whare near here Mr Weathers then said last night all the guard saw three Indians Chiefs dressed in war rament walk three times around Liberty Jail whare Mormons are imprisioned and Evry th time they came aroung [around] they struck their tomakawks into a cedar post and then they went off towards the forest and when they left there was a large Bow & Arrow appeared in the Heavens over the Jail and it shone like silver and the reflection of it cast its form upon the Jail over the probbats room and that was a sure sign that there was 300 Indians in Ambush to liberate the prisioners And Mr Weathers & the guard all believed this was true if it is correct it is certainly worthy of a place in the History of the Church
We drove to Richmond & I visited Beason Lewis who was 74 years of Age and was Entirely helpless from a stroke of paralasis had been so for a year He has been a good man [FIGURES] and done Much good. He wanted me to Bless him which I felt impressed to do, & while my hands was upon his head I felt strongly moved upon to ordain him a High Priest and Patriarch which I did do and the spirit & Power of God rested upon us while doing it and He felt vary thankful for the Blessing
A. O. Smoot told W. Woodruff that He & Alanson Ripley while surveying out Adam Ondi Ahman about 22 Miles North of Jackson County Missouri they came acros a stone wall in the midst of a dens forest & underbrush. The wall was 30 feet long 3 feet thick, and about 4 feet high above the ground and laid in mortar or cement. when Joseph Smith the Prophet visited the place, and Examined the wall, He said it was the remains of an Altar Built By Father Adam whare he offered sacrafice after he was driven from the Garden of Eden which was located in Jackson County Missouri The whotle town which was laid out and named Adam Ondi Ahman was in the midst of a thick & heavy forest of timber and the place named after Adams Altar The Prophet Joseph said it was upon this Altar whare Adam blessed his sons and Posterity Before his death Let Historians of the Church note this
Zebedee Coltrin related a vision in the Temple in Kirtland After the school of the Prophets was organized He said while sitting in council a personage passed through the room dressed in usual clothing Joseph said that was the Savior soon another personage passed through the House clothed in fire his features & feet were visable but his body was ^w^rapted in flames Joseph said that was God the Father. He said He was with Joseph & another Man in the woods praying and Heavens was opened and they saw a Man sitting upon a Throne whose hair was white as wool & a woman sitting beside of him Both dressed in white Joseph said it was Adam & Eve
Zebedee Coltrin related a vision in the Temple in Kirtland After the school of the Prophets was organized He said while sitting in council a personage passed through the room dressed in usual clothing Joseph said that was the Savior soon another personage passed through the House clothed in fire his features & feet were visable but his body was ^w^rapted in flames Joseph said that was God the Father. He said He was with Joseph & another Man in the woods praying and Heavens was opened and they saw a Man sitting upon a Throne whose hair was white as wool & a woman sitting beside of him Both dressed in white Joseph said it was Adam & Eve
Oct 12, 1883 This was a day of fasting and Prayer with [FIGURES] the leaders of the Church I took a Bath and wash in the Morning and went to the Endowment House at 9 oclok to receeive the washing of feet as it was done in Kirtland 47 years ago By the Prophet Joseph Smith as an Initiarytory ordinance into the school of the Prophets. Remarks were made By the Presidency & others. President John Taylor washed the feet of Zebedee Coltrin as He was the ownly man living that was in the first school of the Prophets organized by Joseph Smith in Kirtland ^in 1833^. Then Zebedee Coultrin washed the feet of President Taylor. Then President Taylor washed the feet of his two councillors & all the Twelve Apostles except C. C. Rich who was sick & John Henry Smith in England He washed the feet of 38 in all At the close of this ceremony we partook of Bread & wine as a sacrament as they did in the Temple in Kirtland
December 24, 1883 ~ Monday 24 [FIGURE] I went to the Temple in the morning. We had a day of Prayer and fasting I met with 28 Men Holding the Melchesedek Prieshood and I organized them into the school of the Prophets, all of which had Entered into the school of the Patriarchal order of Marriage and all agreed to keep the word of wisdom {I washed the feet of} 24 {men} we broak bread and partook of the sacramet of Bread and wine {the washing of feet was an introductory ordinance into the school of the prophets. I also gave the salutation to the brethren as they entered the school.} we had a vary interesting day the spirit of the Lord rested upon us
Wilford's son Elias Woodruff Deliverd the following Address to his Grand Father To our Beloved Grand Father Our dear Grand Father We greet thee On this thy seventy Seventh birth day, we wish you many many hapy returns returns of the same. For this and more we Ever pray. We all will strive to walk in thy footsteps, and listen unto thy councils as thou art a man of God. we likewise hope to become the same, and with the help of our Heavenly Father, and for this we will strive You have done a vast amount of Good both for the living and the dead your days have been many, and many call you blessed. Thou hast been in the hands of God The savior of thousands. Through the blessings of God your life has been preserved from death through many dangers through which you have been called to pass through Thou hast accompliished a great work, and we all of one voice say peace, & Blessings be unto you to the End of thy days Please accept of this tribute of Love and respect from your little Grand Son Elias Woodruff. Written for him By Julia Woodruff
As I am called upon this morning to Address this Assembly My mind leads me to speak to the young people who are before me this Morning I wish to say to you my young friends, last Evening as we came into this Town we met you paraded in the street to pay proper respect to President Young and his party you met to greet Prophets & Apostles and inspired Men. This is a privilege which no other Generation of young people have Ever Enjoyed for Eighteen hundred years untill Joseph Smith the prophet was raised up to lay the foundation of the Church & Kingdom of God
He gave it as his opinion that whatever ordinances were necessary for the salvation of the souls of Men that were not performed in this life would be done after the Resurriectin Even that children would grow up after the resurrection and receive all the Blessing of Adult person on Earth
] The funeral of my wife Phebe was attended to day at the 14 ward school House I saw the procession as it Past the office. I saw the hearse that carried my wife Phebe Whitemore Carter Woodruff to the grave I was not permitted to attend her funeral without being arriested for my religin, & imprisioned for cohabitation with my wives as many others are. she was followed to the grave with 35 carriages. I am passing through a strange Chapter in the history of my life persecution is raging against the Latter Day Saints I am perfectly willing for my wife to lie down & go to sleep & be freed from any for [of] the persecution from the wicked. I hope I may prove true & faithful unto the End that I may meet with her & our friends in the Celestial kingdom of God, and have part in the first Resurrection with the righteous Prophets & Apostles and dwell with them in peace forever
Thus Ends the year of 1885. I have written in my Daily Journals for fifty one years since Jan 1, 1834 I have recorded many Events in the Church and kingdom of God on Earth in these last days concerning our per- secutions and Afflictions in the rise & Progress of the Church. This year Ends with the prision crouded with the Leading Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Because of Obeying the Celestial Law of God in the Patriarchal Order of Marriage And the presidency of the Church and Twelve Apostles & Many other Leading Men are in Exile for our Religion And we are now Approaching 1886 with the whole United States Government united at war against us including the Supreme Court President, Cabinet & both Houses of Congress seaem now Determined to Mob us under the form of Law The Edmunds Bill take away all the Civil political & Religious rights of the Latter Day Saints And Nothing but the God of Heaven can safve us But the God of Heaven will save his people and protect his Church Zion & Kingdom and Fight the battles of his Saints and Destroy our Enemies in his own time & way He has said it & He will do it