REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES IN ARIZONA, 1880.
In a Shepherd's Tent in Arizona.—A Revelation Given Jan. 26, 1880.—Organization of First Presidency.—Call to Apostleship of Francis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith.
New Year's Day, 1880, found Apostle Woodruff at the home of a Brother Greer at the Little Colorado meadows, Apache County, Arizona. He says he passed much of the day in reading and in meditation upon the past. His mind was also occupied with his present situation, and he was led to contemplate the future. The day following he went to a small uninteresting town about fifteen miles from St. Johns to a meeting. Judge Stinison was present at the meeting to hear Elder Woodruff in his discourse upon the divinity of the great latter-day work. On the 5th he rode to what was known as Perkins' ranch, where he ordained John H. Perkins to the office of a seventy and set him apart for a mission to the Lamanites. At this time Elder Woodruff was strongly impressed with the desirability of opening a mission among the Lamanites, and therefore set apart Elder Greer and Henry W. Despain for that mission.
After his visit along the settlements up the Little Colorado Elder Woodruff returned to Brigham City, and later took up his abode in a shepherd's tent about twenty-five miles from Sunset. Here he wrote letters to President Taylor and others, and was especially thoughtful of Elder George Reynolds, then a prisoner in Lincoln, Nebraska, Elder Reynolds having been convicted of polygamy. It was here in this shepherd's tent that he felt the solemnities of eternity resting upon him and desired to know the mind and will of the Lord concerning the Apostles and the nation, and especially the purpose of the persecution against the Saints of God. On the 26th of January in his journal he says: "I went to bed filled with prayer and meditation. I fell asleep and remained in slumber until about midnight, when I awoke. The Lord then poured out His spirit upon me and opened the vision of my mind so that I could comprehend in a great measure the mind and will of God concerning the nation and concerning the inhabitantsof Zion. I saw the wickedness of the nation, its abominations and corruptions and the judgments of God and the destruction that awaited it. Then I also comprehended the great responsibility which rested upon the Quorum of the Apostles. My head became a fountain of tears, and my pillow was wet with the dews of heaven. Sleep departed from me. The Lord revealed unto me the duty of the Apostles and of all the faithful elders of Israel." The revelation was submitted to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles just prior to the April conference of that year. It was accepted by that body as the word of the Lord, according to Elder Woodruff's journal, under date of April 4th, 1880.
On the morning following the revelation, January 27th, he said: "I arose in the morning after the vision of the night. My heart was filled with joy and gratitude for a manifestation of the spirit of God to me. It was given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I had read a revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants and prayed earnestly to the Lord to manifest to me His mind and will concerning myself and my brethren, the Apostles, and the Lord gave me that revelation in answer to my prayers.
"On January 28th I was again given a vision. It concerned the destiny of our nation and of Zion. My pillow was again wet by a fountain of tears as I beheld the judgments of God upon the wicked. I was strongly impressed that the Apostles and elders should warn the inhabitants of the earth."
On his return to the settlements from the mountains, February 1st, he writes: "I have passed eleven days in the mountains in the midst of driving snow, making my bed upon the ground in a shepherd's tent. I ate my bread and meat twice a day with thanksgiving. I drank the cold snow water and indeed have had the best of health, although when I left Sunset I had a severe cold on my lungs. I also passed several days in the saddle, from eight to ten hours a day, when the cold north wind was blowing in my face. I shall soon be seventy-three years of age."
Between the 20th and 27th of February with John W. Young he visited much of the mountain country where in places it was necessary to let the wagons down over the rocks with ropes on account of the rugged character of that region. On the 28th and 29th he attended the Stake Conference.
March the 1st was Elder Woodruff's birthday. The Saints ofSunset and Brigham City honored him with their presence. About one hundred guests sat down to his birthday dinner. The Saints of that region were greatly devoted to Apostle Woodruff, and some named their children after him. His sojourn in Arizona during those months of exile disclosed more than anything else in later years of his life the spirit that actuated the man. Far removed from the busy life which the leaders of the Church were leading at the time, his mind was touched by the visions of God, and it was a time of spiritual enjoyment.
On the 3rd of March, in company with Lot Smith, he left for St. George, which he reached on the 18th. On his way, at Kanab, Elder Woodruff mentions the fact that Elder David K. Udall of that place was wanted to be bishop of St. Johns, Arizona, a position which Elder Udall subsequently filled, and later he became the president of the stake, a position he now holds. During his stay at St. George he refers to the many happy hours he passed in connection with Erastus Snow, James G. Bleak, Moses F. Farnsworth, John D. T. McAllister and others. On the 24th of March, in company with Erastus Snow, he left St. George and reached Salt Lake City, after holding meetings en route, on the 2nd of April. On the 4th and 5th of the month meetings were held by the Council in the Assembly Hall preparatory to the conference which began on the 6th of April.
The April conference of 1880 was one of the most important in the history of the Church. Fifty years had passed since its organization. President Taylor felt inspired to make it a year of jubilee to the Latter-day Saints. The people were, therefore, forgiven their debts to the Church to the extent of eight hundred thousand dollars, money chiefly due to the emigration fund. Unpaid tithing was also forgiven to the amount of seventy-six thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine dollars. Hundreds of cows and thousands of sheep were given to the widows and other worthy poor. The discourses at the conference were especially effective in bringing comfort and consolation to the Latter-day Saints who were in financial need. On the 27th of May following, Elder Woodruff wrote his last will and testament, as he felt that at any time he might be called to the great beyond; yet he lived subsequently eighteen years.
On the 24th of July following he wrote: "We had the greatestcelebration to-day in commemoration of the entrance of the pioneers into this valley that we ever held in Utah. A procession two miles long was arranged. It passed through the streets of the City as an object lesson in Church history. It is recorded in full in theDeseret Newsof July 26th."
On the 6th of October the fall conference was held. It was the third time in the history of the Church that the Presidency had been organized. President John Taylor, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith were ordained to that position. The vacancies in the quorum thus created were filled by the appointment of Francis M. Lyman, president of the Tooele Stake, and John Henry Smith, bishop of the Seventeenth Ward. On that occasion the voting was done by the different quorums and the scene was most impressive upon all present. Elder Woodruff was called at this time to be the President of the Twelve Apostles. The ordination of the new Apostles, however, in consequence of Elder Lyman's absence, was postponed until October 27th, that year. It had been the practice theretofore for the President of the Church to ordain when there was only one Apostle to be ordained. When two, the second was ordained by the first counselor, and the third, where there were three, by the second counselor. Apostle John Henry Smith, speaking of the circumstance, said: "I had secretly asked the Lord that President Woodruff might ordain me, and that if he did so I would accept it as a special testimony that my call to the apostleship came from the Lord."
His prayer was answered. Elder Woodruff records the fact that at the close of that year, December 28th, he was inspired to write a prayer to be presented before the Lord in keeping with the revelation given him in the wilderness of Arizona. The prayer was approved by President Taylor and was recorded in the journal of Apostle Woodruff and presented to the Lord in accordance with divine command. It was answered by the blessing and protection of God's people. The close of the year brought the Saints nearer to those eventful chapters that began in the year 1882.
YEARS OF GREAT AGITATION, 1881, 1882.
Leonard Hardy's Birthday Party.—Prophecy Concerning Joseph F. Smith.—Death of Orson Pratt.—Visit to St. George.—The Edmunds Law.—Oscar Wilde.—Conditions at St. Johns, Arizona.—Call of President George Teasdale, Heber J. Grant and Seymour B. Young.—Death of Captain William H. Hooper.
In the beginning of the year 1881 Elder Woodruff found it possible to enjoy the quietude of his home, free from the threats and undisturbed by the agitation of his enemies. He appreciated the liberties he now enjoyed, and so far as his own life was concerned, he characterized the New Year not by personal resolutions, but by prayer. He had no will of his own to carry out, but wanted to be in a position to do God's will. There is something about the prayers of Elder Wodruff that was on his part an intense interest in the welfare and happiness of others. He is always zealous for God and the Church; and those who were true to their calling had a special claim upon his friendship and love.
January 1st was the anniversary of Bishop Leonard W. Hardy's birth. The venerable leader had a well-earned reputation for integrity to God and to his fellow-men. In the sunset of life his family came to appreciate more and more the arduous labors of an honored sire, the anniversary of whose birth they now celebrated by a surprise party. Elder Woodruff was present and joined in the congratulations of the family and friends. Such occasions always made him reminiscent. In learning so thoroughly the history of the Church, he had also learned the history of those who were its representative men. He also knew, too, when their spirit was in harmony with the spirit of the great latter-day work.
As long as Elder Woodruff stood at the head of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations he devoted himself specially to their interest. Like all those who are full of enthusiasm and have hope constantly enkindled within their hearts, he was naturally young in spirit. On January 16th that year he attended a conference of the young men in Ogden City, where he explained to them the importance of divine authority, and showed the meaningof those keys which unlock the door of salvation to the human family. Those keys, he explained, had been in the keeping of God's trusted servants from the most ancient times; by them different dispensations were opened. He exhorted the young men to study the Scriptures. They were of all books the most important to the welfare and happiness of mankind. He also recommended to them the study of ancient history, wherein they might see the hand dealings of God with the human family.
On the 19th of January, 1881, the President and the Twelve, the Patriarch, Bishop Hunter, L. John Nuttall, the President's secretary, met in solemn council and prayer by which they represented to the Lord the needs of His people. They implored His protection against the enemy, whose growing power was an increasing menace to the peace of the Church. This meeting was in obedience to the Lord's command, given in the revelation to Elder Woodruff in the wilderness of Arizona. "It was truly a solemn occasion," writes Elder Woodruff, in his journal.
On the 21st he went to Ogden, where he took part in a social party, gotten up in honor of Eliza R. Snow, it being the anniversary of her birth.
The Quarterly Conference there, convened on the 22nd and 23rd, and it was on this occasion, after an address to the people by Joseph F. Smith, that Elder Woodruff arose and prophesied that the man to whom they had just listened would yet become the President of the Church in all the world. In his journal he asks that the prophecy be made a note of, and that it be made a matter of special record when its fulfillment was realized, which was October 17th, 1901, more than twenty and a half years after the prophecy was uttered, and more than thirty years from the time he made the same prediction in Nephi.
"NEPHI, March 22nd, 1909.
"About the year 1869, two Apostles visited Nephi and held meeting there. They were Wilford Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith. On Sunday morning they attended Sunday School, which was held in the old Social Hall. Elder Woodruff interested the children by speaking of incidents in the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of his labors. He then turned to Elder Joseph F. Smith and asked him to arise to his feet. Elder Smith complied.'Look at him, children,' Wilford Woodruff said, 'for he resembles the Prophet Joseph more than any man living. He will become the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I want you, every one of you, to remember what I have told you this morning.' After this Brother Woodruff called on Elder Smith to speak. The latter said he could remember the Prophet, although he was then very young. He remembered sitting upon his knees. I was present on this occasion.
"Respectfully,
"LANGLEY A. BAILEY."
Early in the month of February we find him in Smithfield, where he was building a new home for his family. His journal shows considerable impatience over the delay in the work on his house. He was himself a man of action. Whatever he had to do, he went at with all his might. His presence, however, had the desired effect, and it was not long before his home was completed and his wife and children thereby made more comfortable.
On his return to Salt Lake he manifested great interest in the condition of Orson Pratt and Charles C. Rich, who were both in a critical condition physically. On the 20th, feeling that Elder Pratt's mission in this life was nearly ended, and to the end that his last days might close in peace, he gave him a blessing of comfort that he might be resigned to the will and purposes of God concerning life and death.
It was a practice with Wilford Woodruff whenever he gave an important blessing, to record it in his journal. In blessing Elder Pratt, he says: "It has been your lot to dwell as an Apostle in the flesh and stand in the Church and Kingdom of God longer than any other man in this generation. It has been your lot to cross the ocean to proclaim the words of salvation more than any other man. Let your heart be comforted. Let your soul be full of joy, for the Heavenly hosts are watching over you."
Before the close of February, Elder Woodruff started again for St. George. His associations there were always to his mind those of the most heavenly character. There was, perhaps, no place in the Church ever settled by a choicer class of men than those who were called to St. George. The men and women of that place possessed spiritual natures that were in harmony with thelife and aspirations of Elder Woodruff. St. George has, therefore, in his journal, a very prominent place. On the anniversary of his birth, in St. George that year, he says: "I have passed my birthdays in this Temple in the years 1870, 71, 72, and 74. My seventy-third birthday I passed in Sunset, Arizona. This is one of the most glorious days of my life. This morning there appeared at the Temple two hundred and thirty-nine persons for endowments. Many of these had come to assist him in his Temple work. He also records the fact that for his dead there had been performed two thousand seven hundred and forty-nine baptisms, two thousand and thirty-seven had been endowed, and seven hundred and five couples sealed.
On March 22nd he returned to Salt Lake. After the spring Conference of that year Elder Woodruff was prostrated by a sickness which lasted most of the month of April. On May 1st, however he attended the Quarterly Conference in Logan and held meetings in Smithfield, Franklin, and other places. The summer months of that year he was occupied in visiting the leading stakes of Zion, both north and south of Salt Lake City.
On the 2nd of July he expressed his horror at the shocking news of the assassination of President Garfield. Respecting the celebration of the Fourth of July that year he writes, that as a people they do not consider it proper to be celebrating while the President of the United States lies in the agonies of death, brought about by the hand of an assassin.
On the 16th he records the death of Joseph Young, aged eighty-seven years, three months and nine days. Joseph Young was at the time of his death senior president of the Seventies, and had been from the first organization of the first council to the end of his life.
October 3rd he records the death that day of Apostle Orson Pratt. At the funeral Elder Woodruff spoke at some length on the life of Elder Pratt, and read the revelation given through Joseph Smith to Orson Pratt in 1830. "Brother Orson Pratt has lived in the Church longer than any other man, perhaps he has lived in it longer than any former man could ever live in the Church. He has crossed the Atlantic Ocean sixteen times and has traveled more miles than any other man in the Church. He has preached more sermons; he has brought many thousands to aknowledge of the truth. He had this revelation given to him which I have read in your hearing. He has lifted up his voice long and loud. He has done a great work and I cannot mourn his death. I cannot mourn over the death of inspired men who have died in the faith. Any man or woman who has kept the Celestial Law of God on the earth and has died in the faith will open his or her eyes to a scene of glory and blessings and eternal life that men cannot obtain from any other principle."
After the October conference, Elder Woodruff accompanied President Taylor and party to all the stakes in the southern part of the Territory. They were absent three weeks. That visit gave to the Saints new courage and awakened a stronger desire to attend to their duties. Elder Woodruff was present the early part of January, when the Gardo House was opened and a reception given on that occasion by President John Taylor, who shook hands with something like two thousand people. On the 8th he was also in the Assembly Hall when the Temple Block was dedicated.
In the early part of 1882 the Saints began to feel the effects of the agitation abroad against them, and Congress was beset by the enemies of the Church, who importuned that body to pass the most drastic measures against the Mormons. Throughout the United States the most vicious and absurd stories were circulated. The President and the Twelve made special efforts to get the facts before the country, and especially before the Congress of the United States. The spirit, however, of anti-Mormonism had worked itself into a state of frenzy. Ministers of the United States held frequent meetings in all parts of the country.
Under date of February 15th, 1882, Elder Woodruff says: "There has never been a time since the organization of this Church when such a universal howl was raised against us. The whole land is flooded with lies against the people of God. The government seems determined on the destruction of the faithful Latter-day Saints."
In the midst, however, of the political excitement, Elder Woodruff took comfort in that spiritual nature with which God had so richly endowed him. Nor was he forgotten by his faithful co-workers in St. George. On March the first there came to him the following telegram: "President Woodruff: Templeworkers of St. George greet and congratulate you on this your natal day, praying peace, length of days, continued usefulness, and the increasing power of the heavens to rest upon you." His reply reads: "Thanks for the greeting of my friends. May our friendship and union increase and continue throughout time and eternity." Such exchanges of friendship and such assurances of love meant much to him. He was a man of a most friendly nature and those friendships of life which his integrity won, he never lost.
The month of March, 1882, was an important landmark in the history of God's people. After years of constant agitation, and after the circulation of the most pernicious falsehoods, and after a campaign by the ministers of the country against the Latter-day Saints, Congress passed a law most drastic in its terms, and doubly so in the manner of its execution. From that period dates what has been properly styled, the Crusade.
On the 14th of March, 1882, the Edmunds Bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of one hundred and ninety to forty-two. Elder Woodruff records in his journal, to their credit, the names of those who voted against the bill, and the states which they represented. Of the bill itself he writes: "It is entirely a breach of the Constitution of the United States; condemns men before trial or conviction by court or jury; takes away the right of trial by a jury of their peers; makes anex post factolaw and a bill of attainder; takes away from the Latter-day Saints, because of their religious convictions, the franchise, and deprives them from sitting on juries because of their opinions; but if the nation can stand it, we can. It is taking a stand against God, against Christ and His kingdom, and against His people."
Ten days later, the 24th, the bill became a law by the signature of President Arthur. The words of President Woodruff will be debated and contradicted. It will be pointed out that the Supreme Court of the United States, in passing upon the constitutionality of that law, is the final arbiter; and so it is, so far as this nation is concerned; but the Latter-day Saints held then, as they do now, that there is One who holds in His keeping the destinies of nations; One who is raising up a people to Himself, who shall practice virtue and righteousness. Whether the words of ElderWoodruff were prophetic, or merely the expression of disappointment and anger, must be left to Him in whose name, and in whose name only, men have authority to prophesy. One thing is certain: the Latter-day Saints, in a spirit of resignation, have left the conduct of this nation toward them in the hands of God. At the same time, they have no desire to hinder the progress of this nation or thwart any patriotic purpose. On the contrary, they hope for the best, teach loyalty, patriotism, and uphold the Constitution of their country. They feel that men must come sooner or later to recognize the hand of God in His judgments.
When the spring conference convened, on the 6th of April, that year, there was considerable anxiety among the people; for with them there was a general desire to submit themselves to the will of God; and it is a part of their religious training, indeed, their conviction and testimony that there are properly appointed channels through which divine guidance comes to them. The words of their leaders at this conference were received with solemn attention and heartfelt determination. President Taylor spoke with great power and determination, counseled the Saints to keep the commandments of God and honor the constitutional laws of the land. On that occasion a reporter of theNew York Worldand a correspondent of theLondon Timeswere present and listened to the proceedings of the conference.
Elder Woodruff was a many-sided man. He never surrendered himself or his interests to one thing exclusively. To him the program of life was made up of all sorts of conditions and experiences. From the affairs of the conference he records in his journal the lecture delivered on the 10th of the month by Oscar Wilde on "Art and Beauty." Elder Woodruff was slow to judge men and then only upon the most impressing convictions. However, of Oscar Wilde he said: "It was a very singular lecture, indeed, and he seemed a very singular man." His subsequent history proved him to be very singular indeed.
On the 13th he met with his council, when it was voted to call twenty young Indians and educate them in the Brigham Young Academy at Provo, that they might be missionaries among their own people. His heart was in the Indian mission,—the great possibilities of that people were so clear to his mind as to make him somewhat impatient concerning their future.
On the 20th he said: "We received a telegram this morning from George Q. Cannon, saying that a vote was taken on his case in the House of Representatives. One hundred and twenty-three votes were cast for his expulsion, and seventy-nine against it. Ninety did not vote at all. His seat in Congress was therefore declared vacant."
Shortly after this he referred to his visit to the quarterly conference in Logan with President Taylor, whom he quotes at that time as follows: "When we go to the spirit world, we go naked, as we came into the world, or if we get any clothing it is as much by our dependence upon others as when we were born into this world. If we get a mansion in our Father's Kingdom we shall also be dependent upon Him for it."
Of Joseph F. Smith's sermon, he quotes: "Can we say that that which is perfect has not come? Are not the revelations and commandments of God perfect? Is not the gospel of Christ, with the priesthood which God has revealed, perfect? Although we ourselves have not arrived at that stage of perfection which it is our privilege to obtain, yet the means of perfection has been given us." At the close of the meeting Elder Woodruff said: "I went to the tower of the Temple in a rain storm and found the work there progressing very nicely."
Elder Woodruff kept in close touch with affairs in Arizona. His recent experiences there had endeared the Saints to him, and the opportunities among the Indians had made that Territory important from the standpoint of Church history. A number of Saints located in St. Johns, which was a Mexican town. In those days the people were surrounded by a class of ruffians known there as cowboys. There was also some friction between the Saints and the Mexicans, and altogether the people of St. Johns were subjected to considerable anxiety because of the contentious spirit around them.
In Elder Woodruff's journal we take the following account of a disturbance, which came to him through private correspondence. The event mentioned occurred June 24th, 1882. "The Mexicans were celebrating St. John's day, when several men rode into town armed with pistols and guns. The Mexicans ordered them to leave town or put away their arms. They refused to do either, when fighting broke out between the two parties. The Mexicans gatheredtheir arms and drove the cowboys into some unfinished houses. Three of the leaders were then taken prisoners, one killed and another wounded. It was on this occasion that Elder Nathan C. Tenney, one of the Saints there, was killed while trying to make peace and stop the fight."
On the 27th of the following September they met in council to consider fully all the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Council of Seventies. It was decided to leave the nominations entirely to the President of the Church, which has been largely the custom from the beginning. A little later Elder Abraham H. Cannon was chosen to fill the vacancy in the First Council of Seventies.
On the 13th of October the First Presidency and the Twelve met to receive the revelation of God to President Taylor, in which the duties of the Priesthood and of the Saints were set forth. In that same revelation appears the call of President George Teasdale of the Juab Stake, and President Heber J. Grant of the Tooele Stake to the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Seymour B. Young was called to fill the vacancy in the First Council of Seventies and requested to keep the whole law of God as a preparation for his new calling and labors.
Concerning the Patriarchal Order of Marriage, President Taylor said: "If we do not embrace that principle soon, the keys will be turned against us. If we do not keep the same law that our Heavenly Father has kept, we cannot go with Him. A man obeying a lower law is not qualified to preside over those who keep a higher law." In harmony with the remarks of President Taylor Elder Woodruff observed: "The reason why the Church and Kingdom of God cannot advance without the Patriarchal Order of Marriage is that it belongs to this dispensation just as baptism for the dead does, or any law or ordinance that belongs to a dispensation. Without it the Church cannot progress. The leading men of Israel who are presiding over stakes will have to obey the law of Abraham, or they will have to resign."
On the 30th of December Elder Woodruff's journal contains the following: "I dreamed last night that Captain William H. Hooper was dead. I told my family this morning that when I heard from him I should hear that he was dead. Later, BrotherJacques informed me at the Historian's office that the captain died at twenty minutes past eight. I saw Captain Hooper in the spirit world in my dream. I saw a few of the mansions in the Celestial Kingdom of God which were composed of beautiful stones and of materials that were as real as anything on earth, and that the best architects in heaven were employed in the construction of these buildings."
THE CRUSADE OPENS, 1883-1885.
Exemplary Deacons.—Adam-ondi-Ahman.—Visit to Colorado.—The Patriarchal Order of Marriage.—Andrew Burt.—Farm Life.—The Crusade Opens.—The Family Celebration of His Birthday.—Call of Jno. W. Taylor.—Call of Wm. B. Preston.—Land Troubles in Arizona.—Dedication of the Logan Temple.—A Visit to Snake River Country, Idaho.—Growth of Children After the Resurrection.—Call of John Morgan.—In Exile.—Conference at Fish Lake.
On the 2nd of January, 1883, President Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith spoke at the funeral of Captain William H. Hooper. He had occupied a prominent place in the history of Utah. Besides representing the people in Congress he was one of a small number of strong financiers, who had much to do with the material development of the Territory. On the 20th of the same month he makes mention of the appointment of L. W. Shurtliff, bishop of Plain City, to succeed David H. Peery as the president of the Weber Stake of Zion, at the same time Elders Chas. F. Middleton, and N. C. Flygare were chosen as counselors.
On the 27th of the same month Elder Woodruff attended a Stake Quarterly Conference at Nephi where George Teasdale had been called to preside. A circumstance took place on Saturday at that conference which was exceptionally gratifying to Elder Woodruff and he desires that it have a place in his journal and history. He said, "As the meeting-house was not large enough to hold all the people, some fifteen deacons gave up their seats. Leaving the meeting-house they obtained axes and went directly to President Teasdale's home where they cut up several cords of wood. They then went to the homes of some half dozen widows in the place where they cut up the wood they found there. They also cut up the wood at the home of one of the deacons who had met with an accident so that he was unable to cut his own wood. They continued in this employment throughout the day. When Brother Teasdale arrived home, to his surprise he found all his wood pile missing, but was much gratified to find it all cut up and in his wood shed. God bless such deacons."
During the early months of 1883 a number of prominent men throughout the Church died. It was always a gratification to Elder Woodruff to record his testimony to the character of men who died devoted to the Church, true to their covenants and faithful to the last. He makes special mention of the death of John Van Cott, Bishop William Bringhurst of Springville, Harrison Burgess, Bishop L. E. Harrington, and David Evans. The latter two, however, died about the last of June.
On the 22nd of February Elder Woodruff was present at the dedication of the Gardo House. The prayer was offered by Franklin D. Richards. This residence had been in process of construction for some time and its use was delayed in consequence of litigations begun by the heirs of President Young against his executors. President Taylor was therefore its first occupant. That he himself might be in position to ward off the persecutions of himself as head of the Church, he left his families in the homes he had built for them and made his sister matron of the new official residence. His care, however, proved unavailing since persecution was aimed specially at him.
During their lifelong experiences in the Church, President A. O. Smoot of Provo, and Elder Woodruff were devoted friends. Their associations had been intimate, and in the trying times of early Church history their relations were the most cordial and brotherly. The home of President Smoot in Provo always gave the fullest hospitality to Elder Woodruff on his visits to that town. On the 12th of May he records the circumstance that President Smoot's wife began immediately to regain her speech, after it had been lost through paralysis, by the special administration of Elder Woodruff and others. At that time his old friend related a peculiar circumstance of history that occurred at Adam-ondi-Ahman. President Smoot said that he and Alanson Ripley, while surveying at that town, which was about 22 miles from Jackson County, Missouri, came across a stone wall in the midst of a dense forest of underbrush. The wall was 30 feet long, 3 feet thick, and 4 feet high. It was laid in mortar or cement. When Joseph Smith visited the place and examined the wall he said it was the remains of an altar built by Father Adam and upon which he offered sacrifices after he was driven from the Garden of Eden. He said that the Garden of Eden was locatedin Jackson County, Missouri. The whole town of Adam-ondi-Ahman was in the midst of a thick and heavy forest of timber and the place was named in honor of Adam's altar. The Prophet explained that it was upon this altar where Adam blessed his sons and his posterity, prior to his death.
On the 5th of June Apostle Woodruff with President Smith, Brigham Young, and President John Morgan, paid a visit to the Saints in San Louis Valley, Colorado. The Saints there were emigrants largely from the Southern States. It was during this visit that Silas S. Smith was sustained as stake president. While traveling on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, Elder Woodruff felt and expressed his admiration for the beauty of the scenery. Whenever he contemplated the laws of God or his Creator's marvelous works it intensified his religious devotion and his sense of gratitude. It was to him also a source of satisfaction that much of the work in the construction of the railroad over which he passed was the work of his brethren.
On his return to Salt Lake City the next important circumstance he mentions was the threatened destruction of the great Tabernacle by a spark of fire which had been thrown by an explosion from the old wagon yard just across the road south of the Temple block. On the 21st of June this year the old Council House and Savages Art Callery were burned to the ground. This threatened destruction of the great Tabernacle led to the removal of its old shingled roof and the substitution therefor of an iron one.
Soon after this we find him at a conference in Nephi. As plural marriage was then attacked from all sides, it received special attention from the leaders of the Church who maintained the importance as well as the divinity of the institution. In his discourse at Nephi he quoted himself as having made the following remarks, "The law of the Patriarchal Order of marriage belongs to this dispensation, and after it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph, he was commanded to receive it. If he and the people had rejected it, the Church and Kingdom of God would have advanced no further and God would have taken it from them and given it to another people. It has been said that the Patriarchal Order of marriage has caused more sorrow to the daughters of Eve than any other principle ever revealed from Heaven to men, but thisis not true. No divine principle brings trouble to those who faithfully obey it. If they who are in it have troubles it is not the fault of the principle but because of weakness and of the false traditions which surround them. The Lord never gave a law to the children of men which will give to them exaltation and glory except through the observance of that law. The Lord's people who abide that law are entitled to His protection by the oath and covenant which He has made with them. From the day that the apostles and elders published that law to the world with the determination to maintain it, the Lord has fought their battles."
The 24th of that year was celebrated in the Tabernacle with great enthusiasm. Ten thousand people were present. On the anniversary of that day Wilford Woodruff was always reminiscent. As time went on, the earlier impressions of his mind were confirmed in the fulfillment of God's promises which year after year were to his mind more plainly fulfilled. He felt that the observance of that day was a duty which the people owed to their God because of the care He had manifested over them and the wonderful manner in which He had made the desert blossom like the rose.
In his journal of August 27th he mentioned regretfully the death of Andrew Burt who had been killed on the 25th by a mulatto. At Bishop Burt's funeral there were about nine thousand people, and it is said that before the exercises something like fifteen thousand viewed the remains. Captain Burt's splendid integrity, his simple life and unassuming demeanor had won for him a respect quite universal. He was bishop of the 21st ward.
Wilford Woodruff's love for men whose friendship was tried and true and whose devotion to the things of God was above question, was again verified. It made no difference to him what their standing in life was, he saw above the honors of men that which he esteemed true greatness, such greatness as he sincerely believed God recognized.
In reading his journal one learns to esteem more highly the practice of manual labor. He exalted work by the interest he took in the workmanship of his own hands. If he ever felt the temptation to leave his ministry for any length of time it was the temptation which came to him in his love of manual labor.All through his journal he was telling about the things that he did on his farm. He wrote about his horses, his cows, his orchards, his crops, he spoke of them in detail, they all meant much to him. One is constantly reminded in reading his journal of the life and doctrines of Tolstoi, the great Russian author, whose simple life and labors upon his farm with the Russian peasants have won the admiration of millions of admirers.
As the year 1883 was drawing to a close the times became more trying. The hatred of the enemy was greatly intensified. The brethren felt the impending storm coming upon them, there was often a spirit of gloom which it was not easy to cast aside. Elder Woodruff's journal of October 12th that year contained an account of a meeting of the Presidency and Twelve, a meeting of fasting and prayer that the troubles which were coming upon them might be diverted if it were the will of God, and if they were not to be diverted that they might have the strength to bear them and the wisdom and patience and spirit to do the will of the Father. To all these unhappy forebodings was added the sorrow that comes from separation of old friends. On the 19th of that month Bishop Edward Hunter died, and on the 17th of the month following he was joined by Charles C. Rich.
During the year 1883 he traveled, according to the summary which he made in his journal, over six thousand miles, held 213 meetings and preached 144 discourses.
The year 1884 was the beginning in the Church of a great crusade. It was a land-mark in history. What began that year is likely to be told from generation to generation. The hardships that it brought to the Church and the trials which the people underwent were themes for household conversation throughout the entire Church. The Edmunds law of 1882 had been put into effect so far as it related to the imprisonment of the Saints. The enemy were at first occupied in its political phases. As time went on it was seen that the disappointment of the enemy in the political advantages to be derived from the law became more apparent. The law was really a disappointment to them. The Utah commission which it established was filled by appointees from the East and those who were grasping for political power in the Territory found their hopes unrealized. This disappointment led to a spirit of intensified anger and the criminal part of the law began toreceive its enforcement in the most drastic, spiteful, and revengeful manner. Everything possible was done to prepare the people for dark days to come. The revelations of God were to the effect that men should set their families in order.
Elder Woodruff on his birthday, March 1st, had a family gathering. Of the 46 members of his family, 39 were present. This included his daughters-in-law and grandchildren. As a token of respect on the part of his family, an address to him was read by his little grandson, Elias Smith Woodruff: "To our beloved Grandfather,—we greet you on this your seventy-seventh birthday. We wish you many happy returns of the day, for this and more we ever pray. We all shall strive to walk in your footsteps and listen to your counsel as you are a man of God. We likewise hope to be like you by the help of our Heavenly Father. You have done a vast amount of good, both for the living and the dead. Your days have been many and many call you blessed. You have been in the hands of God, the savior of thousands. Through the blessings of the Lord your life has been preserved in many dangers through which you have been called to pass. You have accomplished a great work and we all with one voice say: 'Peace and blessings be with you to the end of your days.' Please accept this tribute of love and respect. From your little grandson. Written for him by Julia Woodruff." The family little imagined at that time that President Woodruff would continue with them in life yet fourteen years.
The 6th of March he became very much interested in the visit to Salt Lake City of the great singer, Adelina Patti. Her world-renown fame made her a person of great interest. She in turn recognized the important stand occupied by the leaders of the Church, and invited President Taylor and Elder Woodruff to visit her private car which had cost something like sixty thousand dollars. Its conveniences and beautiful apartments greatly interested Elder Woodruff whose powers to observe were always strong.
As the year went on reports of the activity of the enemy and the intense anti-Mormon hatred came to the Presidency of the Church. Miles Romney brought word from St. Johns, Arizona, of the opposition there from both the Mexicans and the whites. The April conference witnessed the call of John W. Taylor to fillthe vacancy occasioned by the death of Charles C. Rich. William B. Preston was made the presiding bishop of the Church. That same month word also came from Arizona of the attempt to rob the people there of their lands by means of a purchase of railroad land which the Saints had occupied and cultivated long before the railroad was built and before any grant had been received by the railroad. Presidents Taylor and Cannon were absent at the time, but a telegram signed by President Woodruff and others was sent to General Williamson, Washington, D. C., the general agent of the railroad lands, asking him not to sell the land in question before receiving a letter from them. The method here referred to of robbing the Saints was due to the fact that the enemy was taking advantage of special information of which the Saints were ignorant. The lands granted to the railroad in that part of Arizona were of little value except as they had been made valuable by the labor of the Latter-day Saints. It was a specie of robbery, but those who engaged in it thought, no doubt, that their unscrupulous methods would be condoned by exciting prejudice against the Saints.
The next circumstance of importance was the dedication of the Logan Temple, May 17th, 18th, and 19th. The services were attended by thousands of people and were repeated in order to accommodate all who desired the privilege and were entitled to be present. People were admitted to the services by tickets of recommendation given them by their bishops. On that occasion a circumstance happened analogous to that of Annanias and Sapphira who lied to the Lord and to Peter in the days of the ancient apostles. As the hosts of people were climbing the stairs to the assembly room of the Temple, President Taylor discerned in the multitude one woman unworthy of admission. He did not know her but said to President C. O. Card, "Turn that woman back." "Why?" asked President Card, "She has come with a ticket of recommendation as well as all the others." "I don't know why," replied President Taylor, "only that the spirit of the Lord says, 'Turn that woman back.'" President Card observed the instructions to him and upon special investigation learned that the lady was altogether an improper person, and by connivance with another she had procured the ticket for the price of one dollar. In commenting upon this circumstance later, PresidentTaylor said: "You may deceive the bishop, the president of the stake, the apostles, the president of the Church, but you can't deceive the Lord, Jesus Christ, nor the Holy Spirit, and sooner or later the unworthy, the hypocrites and unrepenting transgressors will be found out and separated from the assembly of the righteous." At that time M. W. Merrill was chosen by revelation to preside over the Logan Temple, a place he held up to the time of his death in February, 1906. The first baptisms were performed there by Elder David H. Cannon of St. George, and the first recipients of them were Franklin D. Richards, and Rachael Grant.
In his journal relating to that occasion, Elder Woodruff wrote: "While attending the dedication of this Temple my mind was carried back to the many hours of prayer I had passed in my early manhood days. I prayed that I might see the Church of Christ established on the earth and that I might see a people raised up who would receive the ancient gospel and contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints. The Lord then promised me that I should live to see that day, to find the people of God and have a name and place within His House, a name that should not be cut off. To-day I rejoice in the fulfillment of that promise, I rejoice in the opportunity of assisting in the dedication of another Temple to His most Holy Name, to God and the Lamb. Praises be to His name for ever more."
On the 29th, in company with Heber J. Grant, he left on an extended tour of the settlements in the Snake River and Teton Valleys. In those days that part of Idaho was in process of settlement by the Saints, under the leadership of Thomas E. Ricks, who met Elders Woodruff and Grant and conveyed them by team from Market Lake to Rexburg. When the brethren on that occasion visited those parts not much had yet been done in bringing that district of country under cultivation. In 1884 there was but one stake of the Church extending from Paradise in Cache Valley on the south, to the Montana line on the north. To-day there are ten stakes, six of which are along the Snake River Valley; namely, Pocatello, Blackfoot, Bingham, Rigby, Fremont, and Yellow Stone. To-day there are also in that region of country three large factories in operation.
Congress adjourned that year without passing special billsthat were inimicable to the Latter-day Saints. The anti-Mormons of Utah were like hungry wolves clamoring for prey. They wanted all the offices and were constantly importuning Congress to disfranchise in a body the Latter-day Saints. When congress therefore adjourned without further legislation Wilford Woodruff exclaims in his journal, "Thank the Lord for another breathing spell."
Later he attended the Sevier Stake Quarterly Conference held at Fish Lake. Hundreds of teams had conveyed the people to that place. While administering Sacrament there he said it was the first time it had taken place since the ancient Nephites had had a similar feast in those parts. He manifested on this and other occasions a special interest in the material welfare of the people. He examined their farms and orchards, visited their canals, made a critical examination of their water dams and head gates, and it may perhaps be said of him as truthfully as of any man that ever lived, that he subordinated his own personal interests to the general interest of the Church.
Evil days were soon to fall upon the Church. The failure of Congress that year to pass anti-Mormon legislation intensified the rage of the anti-Mormons. A campaign of slander and falsehood was taken up by the anti-Mormon press of Salt Lake City, and press dispatches to embitter the minds of the people in the East were sent; and in making this campaign it was well understood by those who engineered it that Congressmen might be made to fear their constituency and pass laws their own judgment condemned.
TheTribunepublished and sent out an alleged "Red Hot Address." It purported to be an inflammatory address by Bishop West of Juab. The purport of the address was the recommended assassination of the Governor of Utah. There was no meeting held in Juab on the occasion referred to, there was no Bishop West, and of course no such address. The lie, however, inflamed the public mind abroad; and to those who love a lie and darkness rather than light, it had the desired effect.
On the 10th of August following in Lewis County, Tennessee, Elders Berry and Gibbs, and two members of the local Church their names being James Riley Hudson, and Martin Condor, were shot and killed by a mob as they were about to begintheir Sabbath services. Mrs. Condor, the mother of the murdered boys, was also shot but not killed.
The Church was making history during those days and special care was taken to give an exact record of current events. Hubert H. Bancroft was publishing his history of the Pacific Coast and included Utah among his volumes. Elder Woodruff opened to him the records of Church history that he might give both sides of the question and draw fair and impartial conclusions.
September 3rd he visited Provo where he attended the funeral of Margarette T. Smoot. On that occasion he gave it as his opinion that children would grow and develop after the resurrection and obtain all the blessings of adult persons. The visit to Provo was followed by the October conference, which that year was chiefly noted by the call of John Morgan to be one of the presiding seventies. Elder Morgan had been a missionary in the South for twelve years, and for ten years the distinguished president of the Saints in the South. Elder Morgan was a man of strong character, a conspicuous preacher, and a fearless advocate. He was ordained to his new calling on October 7th, 1884.
The last part of the year 1884 found the storm of persecution growing in intensity. Men and women to escape prison went into exile. Men and women were pursued by a spirit of vindictiveness and hatred perhaps never known in a civilized age. Stories of the Mountain Meadow Massacre, the Bishop West address, and other malicious inventions had done their work. Public opinion in the East had been so aroused as to justify any sort of cruelty that the anti-Mormons in Utah might inflict upon the Saints. All efforts to run down falsehoods by the circulation of truth seemed a hopeless task. Elder Woodruff also found it necessary to go into exile and he said: "I am a wanderer from home because of my religion. It is not the first time I have been a wanderer in the wilderness for the gospel's sake." However, he appeared in public at special occasions for a short season.
On the first of January, 1885, he took part in the dedication of the Brigham Young College, at Logan, but on the 14th he found it necessary to go again into exile with all the Presidency and most of the Twelve Apostles. Stake presidents, bishops of wards, and other leading men were rapidly filling up prisons orconcealing themselves among friends. It was not a movement to suppress immorality. Men were not harangued and imprisoned because of lascivious cohabitation as it obtains throughout the Christian world, but because men had accepted from the Lord a principle which would, if universally carried out, give to every woman in the world a husband and a home, the opportunity of honored wifehood and motherhood, conditions desired by every right-feeling and sound-minded woman. Under these persecutions President Woodruff was among the number sought for. After a few days of seclusion in his own home and neighborhood he boarded a south bound train for southern Utah. At Nephi he was joined by George Teasdale, and together they made their way by private conveyance and without publicity to Saint George where they labored for some time in the Temple. He also made a trip down the Virgin River to the Muddy country. During his absence he read Josephus and Cassell's History of England.
On one occasion during those times we find him making calculations from history of what the civil war had cost his country in the loss of human lives, and the expenditure of money. That war he looked upon as a judgment of God upon the country because of the wrong doings of the people. "This shows," he wrote, "in a measure, what it costs a nation to shed the blood of the prophets, apostles, and the Lord's anointed." He sincerely believed that before very many years the judgments of God would follow the persecutions which he was then undergoing.
In July he visited the stakes of the southern part of the Territory, and was at a conference October 18th, and 19th, at Fish Lake. Conference, he wrote, was attended by 1,136 persons. There were 187 vehicles, and 517 animals. While there, he with others, sounded the depths of the lake which measured all the way from three feet near the shore to 168 1/2 feet in the deepest places. He thought the lake was the largest depository of trout in the mountain valleys. It is located about 9,000 feet above the sea level. After going as far north as Manti he returned again to St. George.
In his journal he makes special mention of an effort on the part of the federal officers to create a disturbance on the 4th of July, because certain persons manifested their sorrow for departed liberty by placing the flag at half-mast on certain buildingsowned chiefly by Mormons. At the same time threats were made that if the flag were placed at half-mast on the 24th, war would be waged against the Mormons with the utmost bitterness. The flag, however, on that date was placed at half-mast by order of the President of the U. S. in honor of General Grant who died July 23rd. There was no likelihood that any of the leaders would encourage any one to place the flag at half-mast upon the 24th, but the threat of the anti-Mormons was, in the end, all a challenge that brought to the enemy chagrin because of the peculiar circumstance.
As a rule nearly all who were indicted under the law went to prison rather than promise the abandonment of their wives and children. Occasionally a man would enter court and make the required promise to escape punishment. As a rule the practices of such men were not in harmony with the requirements of the gospel and those times gave them an opportunity to demonstrate their unworthiness rather than a lack of courage. Later, such men undertook to draw comfort from the circumstance that the leaders counseled men under indictment to give the demanded promise. They failed, however, to make the distinction between an order for retreat coming from those at the head and the act of desertion while in the ranks.
Indictments in those days were followed as a matter of the course by convictions. Juries were made to order. Judges considered themselves missionaries and the greater their trespass on justice the more they were honored by the anti-Mormon element. Their vindictiveness became an object of honor, and the leaders in the crusade walked the streets of Salt Lake City with feelings of special pride. They were pointed out to the curious and were the objects of adulation of those whose religious hatreds were most intense. Leaders of the persecution were making a record over which they were not only proud but boastful, although in the beginning the feelings of antagonism between the persecutors and the persecuted were most intense. As time went on, feelings of resignation sprang up in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints who more and more became disposed to leave in the hands of God the future of those who despitefully used them. In passing, it may here be remarked that the persecutors of the Latter-day Saints will, in days to come, be left to the Latter-daySaints for the estimation in which they will be held by those to whom their lives will be of no consequence; in other words, those whom they persecuted will in turn become their judges whose verdicts will go down to history.
Elder Woodruff, after returning to the south, took an active part in the daily lives of the people. In Pine Valley he assisted Brother Thompson in repairing his grist mill. He dressed the Burr stones, since by trade he was a miller. However, it had been fifty-five years since he had done such work and in some respects such labor was restful to him and would have been healthful had it not been for the constant strain which those evil days placed him under.
In October he received word that his wife Phoebe was in poor health and he therefore hastened home to Salt Lake City where he arrived on the 5th of November. He remained, however, in seclusion in his home and neighborhood. On the 10th of November she died. He was greatly affected by her death and painfully humiliated by the circumstance under which her funeral was held. He stood concealed in the Historian's Office as he watched the funeral procession pass by on its way to the city of the dead. "I am," said he, "passing through a strange chapter in the history of my life. Persecution is raging against the Latter-day Saints. I hope I may prove true and faithful to the end and that I may join her in the celestial Kingdom of God and have part in the first resurrection."