I wish you to understand this subject for it is important & if you will recieve it this is the spirit of Elijah that we redeem our dead & connect ourselves with our fathers which are in heaven & seal up our dead to come forth in the first resurrection & here we want the power of Elijah to seal those who dwell on earth to those which dwell in heaven this is the power of Elijah & the keys

had the keys of the priesthood been retained & handed down from father to son throughout all generations up to the present time then there would have been no nece[ssity] of the law of adoption for we would have all been included in the covenant without it & would have been legal heirs

who should have women sealed to them those men who have proved to God Angels & man that they are willing to do any thing that God requires of them at the sacrafice of all their own private interest or feelings & have been faithful all the day long such should have women sealed to them for they will be saved.

Elijah is spoken of in the Bible that he should come in the last days to sta turn the hearts of the fathers to the children & the children to their fathers, the fulfillment of this scripture is manifest in esstablishing the kingdom of God & Priesthood on the earth in the last days & those who hold the keys of the priesthood & sealing power have the spirit & power of Elijah & it is necessary in order to redeem our dead & save our children

Some ordinances cannot Be given without A temple All children Born Before Parents are sealed to the Altar will have to be sealed to their Parents in order to make them Legal heirs those who are Born after the parents are sealed are legal heirs. Man also will have to be sealed to Man untill the chain is united from Father Adam down to the last saint this will be the work of the Millennium & Joseph Smith will be the Man to attend to it or to dictate it He will not administer in person But He will receive his resurrected Body & will dictate to those who dwell in the flesh & tell what is to be done for He is the Last Prophet who is called to lay the foundation of the great Last dispensation of the fullness of times

Wilford in the name of Jesus Christ and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood I lay my hands upon your head and seal upon your head a Fathers blessing and seal upon ^you^ the priesthood of Aaron which you have received, and also to dedicate you unto God for the purpose of the ministry. I seal upon your head all the blessings of Abram Isaac & Jacob. I seal you up unto Eternal life and no power shall take your crown. And you shall live long upon the Earth and do great good and bring many souls into the kingdom of God. And you shall stand in the defence of Zion and if you will be faithful in keeping the Commandments of God you shall receive the fulness of the priesthood and the Apostleship and the keys thereof and shall follow the footsteps of thy father wherein he has been faithful in the Apostleship. and thou shalt live and not die. thy body shall not be laid in the grave but thou shalt live till the coming of Christ. then shall thy body be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to

Brethren & sisters you are of the seed of Abraham & you should live your legio religion that you may claim the promises of Abraham This priesthood will turn the hearts of the children to the Ancient Fathers & the children to the Fathers now & those which are to come will be made perfect this chain must not broaken for mankind cannot be saved any other way. This Priesthood must be linked together so that all the children may be linked to Father Adam. It may be asked when will this work be done, it will be done in Temples in our day & in the days of our children.

18th March 1856 Mrs Phebe W. Woodruff & myself in company with our two oldest children Wilford & Phebe repaired to the house of the Lord that our children might receive their endowment I washed & anointed my son Wilford and ordained him to the office of an Elder & sealed upon him all the Blessings of his ordination, Anointing, & my Birthright in compliance with the council of President Kimball.

I spent the day in the Council House & had an interesting day long to be remembered for the Blessing that Father Joseph Smith the Patriarch sealed upon my head before I had any children was fulfulled this day upon my head in a measure for He said that I should live to have posterity who should recieve the priesthood & my oldest son received it this day under my hands

He said that He did not Believe in this custom of Adoption [FIGURE] that had been practiced in this Church no man should give his Birthright to another but should keep his birthright in the linage of his Fathers & go to & unite the link through the whole linage of their fathers untill they come up to a man in the Linage who held the priesthood like a Branch of a tree the branch of a vine still abides in the vine though it comes out of it unless the vine is cut of[f] or the branch it will abide in it. now unless a man is a poor Cuss he should keep his priest- hood & unite it with his Fathers & not give it to another. & the Lord will save our Father. Evry man that gets his Patriarchal Blessings & Priesthood He becomes the Patriarch of his own family & should bless his own family.