FamilySearch and the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation: Connecting the past and the present

Stories have been and always will be our primary tools for remembering, learning, and creating community. The Wilford Woodruff Papers Project is sharing stories of all kinds about the individuals Wilford Woodruff interacted with in his lifetime and making these stories available through FamilySearch. Wilford’s writings have given a new perspective about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and now his records are adding details to the lives of individual people as well.

BYU–Idaho students draw inspiration from the life of a prophet

Over 30 students at BYU–Idaho participated in a “Hackathon” on March 18, 2023, in collaboration with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. During the 12-hour event, computer and data science students competed to develop an algorithm that could match scripture references to entries in Wilford Woodruff’s journals. 

See your ancestor’s ‘journey of faith’ with new FamilySearch discovery experience

Journey of Faith includes records from 9 collections — the first time FamilySearch has pulled this many Church databases into one place.

For the early Saints, gaining a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ was not a one-time event — it was a journey of faith. And it’s the same for Church members today. 

Filling in the Gaps: How the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project is changing our modern-day perspective of the Restoration

The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is often referred to as a corner stone of religion for Latter-day Saints. Wilford Woodruff, the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is said to have been “the most important journal keeper in Church history.”  

By way of technology transcription, the Wilford Woodruff Foundation aims to “digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from 1833 to 1898.” 

BYU students digitally transcribe the Wilford Woodruff Papers

BYU students and faculty members are working to create an algorithm to digitally transcribe the Wilford Woodruff Papers.

These papers consist of hundreds of thousands of letters, journal entries and other documents all written by the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

BYU economics professor Joe Price and director of the Record Linking Lab has done research which involves developing “tools that would automatically index historical records.”

Decoding a Prophet

“We’re working on something that, to my knowledge, hasn’t been done before,” BYU student Bryce Lunceford revealed.

Bryce is part of a four student team at Brigham Young University working with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation. The team members, Bryce Lunceford, Amber Oldroyd, Paul Smith, and Nathan Christiansen, are all part of the Applied and Computational Math (ACME) program at BYU.

How BYU students are using technology to help transcribe Wilford Woodruff documents

A team of four Brigham Young University students is working on a unique project for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation.

“We’re working on something that, to my knowledge, hasn’t been done before,” said Bryce Lunceford, one of the students.

The team — Lunceford, Amber Oldroyd, Paul Smith and Nathan Christiansen, all part of BYU’s applied and computational math program — are using computers to help assist those transcribing the writings of early Latter-day Saint leader Wilford Woodruff.

Wilford Woodruff personal Bible, son’s journals acquired by foundation

The Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation has acquired some significant historical documents in recent months.

The foundation recently announced the additions of Wilford Woodruff’s personal Bible and six volumes of journals authored by one of his 18 sons, Asahel Hart Woodruff, according to a news release.

How the WWPF is celebrating the church leader’s 215th birthday

Today, March 1, marks the early church leader’s 215th birthday.

The Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation is celebrating the milestone, as well as the foundation's second anniversary, by sponsoring various activities and events.

Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation Celebrates Two-Year Anniversary

March 1, 2022 marks the second anniversary of the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the restoration of the gospel.