God are made manifest in your preservation from Danger & death
you should make a record of it keep an account of the dealings of
God with you daily. I have written all the blessings I have received
& I would not take gold for them. I am in the Historians office & I find
it vary difficult to get or find a record of Events as they past
along shuch as we want to make the History but if the Elders will take
pains to write their Official Acts so the Historian can get hold of
them it will be a benefit to the Church the History of this Church
will remain throught time & In Eternity *
Elder P. P. Pratt followed & backed up my testimony & said he had
reflected upon this subject for years to know what a man should write
& have come to the conclusion that a man should write his
official acts in the priesthood I have been sorry that I have not
kept more of a Journal than I have I wish I had written evry
mans name that I had ever baptized or administered unto it
is necesary for us to keep a Journal.
* W. Woodruff said if their was no other motive in view ownly to have
the privilege of reading over our Journals & for our children to read it
would pay for the time spent in writing it
I left while Elder Pratt was speaking & wento to the Council House &
attended the Agricultural Meeting see minutes of meeting in the D News
of Sept 10th. I spent the night at home was poorly in health I
suffer much in the rheumatisms
~ Sunday
7th Sunday I did not Attend meeting. P. P. Pratt spoke in the morn-
ing upon the Priesthood & those who held the priesthood or the keys thereoff
Elders Tripp & Coleborn spoke in the Afternoon. Br Trip said said
He called upon Mother Smith & she clasped him in her arms (they were
formerly acquainted) & she said In My son Enoch I am glad to again
see you I am glad to see a man again from Salt Lake she cryed
for Joy, and said she had desired for two years to be with the Saints
in the vallies of the Mountains but others had hindered her she alluded
to Emma she says give my love to Brigham & Heber & all the
Faithful Saints for my heart is with them
I attended the prayer circle in the evening. After prayers President
B. Young J. M. Grant W Woodruff & all in the prayer circle laid Hands
upon Elder P. P. Pratt Head & blessed him. President Young was
Mouth I never heard a better blessing given to man it was not
written at the time but afterwords an outline was written by
Elder pratt & filed in the Historians office Elder T. Bullock was
also blessed J M Grant was Mouth I then
President Young remarked at the closed of the blessing that I am
going to take a mission I will name it here. I want to go through this Territory with H. C. Kimball & J. M. Grant & I want the 12 to go (Brother
Parley says Brother Woodruff the Historian is all of the Twelve there is here)
I want to go through among this people & preach the gospel to them If I can
get red of some of the care of my temporal business I do not feel that
I am in the path of my duty to spend so much of my time in attending
to temporal Matters I think more of one soul than I do of all that
I have scraped together I feel that with the assistance of my brethren that
I could make a great wake by going through this Territory & preaching the gospel
to the people. I feel that some men ought never to be called upon to do another
days work but they should spend there time in preaching the gospel they should
have a man to take care of their Families this should be the case with P P Pratt
He should spend his time preaching we should devote our time to the ministry
as far as possible
God are made manifest in your preservation from Danger & death
you should make a record of it keep an account of the dealings of
God with you daily I have written all the blessings I have received
& I would not take gold for them. I am in the Historians office & I find
it vary difficult to get or find a record of Events as they past
along such as we want to make the History but if the Elders will take
pains to write their Official Acts so the Historian can get hold of
them it will be a benefit to the Church the History of this Church
will remain throught time & In Eternity *
Elder P. P. Pratt followed & backed up my testimony & said he had
reflected upon this subject for years to know what a man should write
& have come to the conclusion that a man should write his
official acts in the priesthood I have been sorry that I have not
kept more of a Journal than I have I wish I had written evry
mans name that I had ever baptized or administered unto it
is neccesary for us to keep a Journal.
* W. Woodruff said if their was no other motive in view ownly to have
the privilege of reading over our Journals & for our children to read it
would pay for the time spent in writing it
I left while Elder Pratt was speaking & went to the Council House &
attended the Agricultural Meeting see mintues of meeting in the D News
of Sept 10th I spent the night at home was poorly in health I
suffer much in the rheumatisms
~ Sunday
7th Sunday I did not Attend meeting. P.P. Pratt spoke in the morning upon the Priesthood & those who held the priesthood or the keys thereoff
Elders Tripp & Coleborn spoke in the afternoon. Br Trip said
He called upon Mother Smith & she clasped him in her arms (they were
formerly acquainted) & she said My son Enoch I am glad to again
see you I am glad to see a man again from Salt Lake she cryed
for Joy, and said she had desired for two years to be with the saints
in the vallies of the Mountains but others had hindered her she alluded
to Emma she says give my love to Brigham & Heber & all the
Faithful Saints for my heart is with them
I attended the prayer Circle in the evening. After prayers President
B Young J M Grant W Woodruff & all in the prayer Circle laid Hands
upon Elder P. P. Pratt Head & blessed him President Young was
Mouth I never heard a better blessing given to man it was not
written at the time but afterwords an outline was written by
Elder pratt & filed in the Historians office Elder T. Bullock was
also blessed J M Grant was Mouth
President Young remarked at the close of the blessing that I am
going to take a mission I will name it here I want to go through this
Territory with H. C. Kimball & J. M. Grant & I want the 12 to go (Brother
Parley says Brother Woodruff the Historian is all of the Twelve there is here)
I want to go through among this people & preach the gospel to them If I can
get red of some of the care of my temporal business I do not feel that
I am in the path of my duty to spend so much of my time in attending
to temporal Matters I think more of one soul than I do of all that
I have scraped together I feel that with the assistance of my brethren that
I could make a great wake by going through this Territory & preaching the gospel
to the people. I feel that some men ought never to be called upon to do another
days work but they should spend there time in preaching the gospel they should
have a man to take care of their Families this should be the case with P P Pratt
He should spend his time preaching we should devote our time to the ministry
as far as possible
"Journal (January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1859)," September 6, 1856 - September 7, 1856, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, accessed November 21, 2024, https://wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/p/06G