Figures

Wilford Woodruff made approximately 9,000 illustrations in his journals. He used approximately 8,000 symbols repeatedly in predictable contexts to identify recurring events and these symbols are indicated in the manuscript using Figures 1-18. The remaining 1,000 unique images, connected to a single event on a specific day, are indicated in the manuscript by the unnumbered word “Figure.”

ID	Description	Time of Use	Meaning
Figure 1	A hand pointing to the right	February 1838 – March 1897 (3,800+ Uses)	Letters Written
Figure 2	A hand pointing to the left	February 1838 – November 1856 (21 Uses)	Letters Written/Received
Figure 3	A heart	August 1838 – March 1897 (37 Uses)	Births, Marriages, Deaths, Heartfelt
Figure 4	A crown	April 1839 – November 1896 (400 uses)	Activities Requiring Executive Authority
Figure 5	An arrow piercing a heart	April 1839 – March 1882 (32 Uses)	Troubling News, Circumstances, or Persecution
Figure 6	A single key with teeth to the left	June 1839 – April 1877 (130 Uses)	1851–1877 Recording of Sermons or Meeting Minutes 1839–1850 Personal Moments of Priesthood Use
Figure 7	A single key with teeth to the right	June 1839 – April 1895 (314 Uses)	Performing Priesthood Ordinances; Meetings of the Quorum of the Twelve
Figure 8	A vertical key with teeth pointing upward	July 1839 – April 1845 (9 Uses)	Key of Knowledge
Figure 9	An arrow	July 1839 – November 1896 (440 Uses)	Sickness, Distress, Aggression, Death
Figure 10	A folded letter/box	October 1839 – March 1897 (1,963 Uses)	Letters Received
Figure 11	A humanoid	February 1840 – November 1892 (49 Uses)	Childbirth, Important Figures, Portraits, Human Bodies
Figure 12	A coffin	June 1840 – January 1897 (200 Uses)	Deaths, Funeral Sermons, Family Deaths
Figure 13	A building	July 1841 – June 1885 (25 Uses)	Visiting Architectural Structures
Figure 14	Wheat sheaves	March 1842 – February 1847; May 1857–June 1858 (39 Uses)	Council Meetings of the Twelve
Figure 15	A heart with a key inside	January 1844 – March 1894 (24 Uses)	Sealing Ordinances Eternal Unions of Family
Figure 16	Keys crossed	March 1844 – December 1896 (877 Uses)	Priesthood Ordinances
Figure 17	A council table	March – May 1844 (14 Uses)	Council Meetings
Figure 18	A circle of stars	August 1844 (5 Uses)	Meetings of the Twelve