Wilford Woodruff’s Vision of the Founding Fathers
The Vision
In September 1877, Wilford Woodruff gave an address on the importance of temple work, affirming that those on the other side of the veil would “seek after” the Saints as they had reached out to Wilford Woodruff in the St. George Utah Temple. He shared,
They called upon us, knowing that we held the keys and power to redeem them. I will here say, before closing, that two weeks before I left St. George, the spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, “You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.” These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights. . . . I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon brother McCallister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others; I then baptized him for every President of the United States, except three; and when their cause is just, somebody will do the work for them.
In a later address Wilford explained that these eminent men had called upon him in the temple and demanded that he “go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them.” He then stated, “Would those spirits have called upon me, as an Elder in Israel, to perform that work if they had not been noble spirits before God? They would not.” Wilford shared his belief that those men who laid the foundation of the American government and who signed the Declaration of Independence were “the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits . . . inspired of the Lord.”
Wilford’s description of his experience in St. George was specific. He said the Signers not only conversed with him, but they were with him for two days and two nights. He believed that the Founding Fathers were inspired in their combined efforts to establish the United States while they were alive. Yet none of these men had the opportunity to hear the restored gospel or accept it in mortality. The fact that they came to Wilford and asked him to attend to the temple ordinances for them suggested to Wilford that they had accepted the gospel in the spirit world.
Wilford’s journal entry listing signers of the Declaration proxy ordinance work from August 21, 1877
Wilford’s journal entry listing other Eminent Men for proxy ordinance work from August 21, 1877
Two days later, on the day of the week designated for baptismal work, Wilford took his list to the temple and asked John D. T. McAllister to baptize him for the Signers and 45 other eminent men. Included in this group were John Wesley, Christopher Columbus, Daniel Webster, and three generations of George Washington’s extended family. Wilford then baptized John for all the deceased presidents of the United States, except Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan because of their actions against the Saints.
In addition to the list of eminent men, he included this important addition when the proxy work was commenced on Tuesday, August 21: “Sister Lucy Bigelow Young went Forth into the font and was Baptized for Martha Washington and her family and seventy (70) of the Eminent women of the world.”
Backround
Proxy ordinance work began in Nauvoo, Illinois, with the revelation to Joseph Smith regarding baptisms for the dead in 1840. When the Nauvoo temple was sufficiently completed in 1845, members of the Church who had been taught the endowment by Joseph Smith began administering the endowment to others. However, no proxy endowments were performed.
In 1851 temple ordinance work was continued in the Council House in Salt Lake City, and in 1855 ordinance work began in the newly constructed Endowment House. But, Brigham Young explained in 1874, “We can, at the present time, go into the Endowment House and be baptized for the dead, receive our washings and anointing, etc. . . . We also have the privilege of sealing women to men, . . . in the Endowment House; but [other ordinances] . . . cannot be done without a Temple.”After the appearance of the Signers, Wilford commented, “I thought it very singular, that notwithstanding so much work had been done, and yet nothing had been done for them. The thought never entered my heart, from the fact, I suppose, that heretofore our minds were reaching after our more immediate friends and relatives.” Wilford was apparently referring to all the higher ordinances—washings, anointings, ordinations, endowments, and priesthood adoptions—that the Saints had not been able to perform by proxy until the St. George temple was completed, and could now perform for all the dead.
Although proxy baptisms and a few sealings for some of the eminent men and women had been completed by non-relatives in the Endowment House, these were exceptions to the general practice of performing proxy ordinances only for relatives and close friends.
The appearance of the signers of the Declaration of Independence to Wilford Woodruff not only changed his approach to temple work, but it also became a powerful example of the universal nature of proxy temple work. His experience underscored the role of the living in providing the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ’s salvation to all who have ever lived. It also reminded the Saints that those in the spirit world expected the Saints to fulfill their responsibility.
The message of universal salvation was one Wilford frequently focused on over his subsequent 21 years of Church leadership: all of God’s children will be taught the principles of the gospel and all will need to complete the saving ordinances. The Signers’ request reminded Wilford of this and expanded his circle of awareness.
Eminent Men and Women
The eminent men he listed in his journal are well known, and for the most part, their lives are well documented. The eminent women, on the other hand, range from infamous to unknown. Some were admired figures, including the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning and novelists Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë. Others, such as Charlotte de Corday and Marie Antoinette, were more controversial historical figures. Eleven of the women were members of George Washington’s extended family.
St. George temple record of proxy baptisms for eminent women by Lucy Bigelow Young on August 21, 1877
Of the women on Wilford’s list, 37 were wives of the eminent men. Another 24 of the women were married, but Wilford did not include their husbands on the corresponding list of eminent men, and proxy ordinances were not performed for them at that time—including men such as Lord Palmerston, Thomas Moore, Patrick Calhoun, and Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.
Proxy endowments for the eminent men and women, and proxy ordinations for the men, were performed for the majority of the 168 individuals over the next few days. The endowments for the remaining eminent men and women were finally completed after Wilford returned to preside over the St. George temple in February 1878. All of the eminent men were ordained to the office of Elder, except George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Horatio Nelson, John Wesley, and Christopher Columbus, who were ordained to the office of High Priest. Even though no children were sealed to their parents at this time, several marriage sealings were performed, including Martha Dandridge to her first husband Daniel Parke Custis, and to George Washington, her second husband. In addition, George Washington’s parents, Lawrence and Mary Ball Washington, were sealed on August 22, 1877.
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