The Papers
Browse the PapersDocumentsJournalsAdministrative RecordsRevelations and TranslationsHistoriesLegal RecordsFinancial RecordsOther Contemporary Papers
Reference
PeoplePlacesEventsGlossaryLegal GlossaryFinancial GlossaryCalendar of DocumentsWorks CitedFeatured TopicsLesson PlansRelated Publications
Media
VideosPhotographsIllustrationsChartsMapsPodcasts
News
Current NewsArchiveNewsletterSubscribeJSP Conferences
About
About the ProjectJoseph Smith and His PapersFAQAwardsEndorsementsReviewsEditorial MethodNote on TranscriptionsNote on Images of People and PlacesReferencing the ProjectCiting This WebsiteProject TeamContact Us
Published Volumes
  1. Home > 
  2. The Papers > 

Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Others, 9 March 1838

Source Note

Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
,
James Townsend

20 Feb. 1808–2 Apr. 1886. Brick mason, hotel keeper. Born in Buxton, York Co., District of Maine. Son of Jacob Townsend and Abigail Elden. Married Susan Davis, 11 Apr. 1828, in Buxton. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Aug. 1833. ...

View Full Bio
, and
Joseph Ball

21 Feb. 1804–20 Sept. 1861. Born at Boston. Son of Joseph Ball and Mary M. Drew. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Served missions to Orange Co., New York; to Fox Islands, Maine, 1838; and to Massachusetts, 1838. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., ...

View Full Bio
, Letter, Vinalhaven, Fox Islands, Hancock Co., ME, to
Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
, JS,
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
,
Hyrum Smith

9 Feb. 1800–27 June 1844. Farmer, cooper. Born at Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Randolph, Orange Co., 1802; back to Tunbridge, before May 1803; to Royalton, Windsor Co., Vermont, 1804; to Sharon, Windsor Co...

View Full Bio
, and “Saints in Zion,” [
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
, Caldwell Co., MO], 9 Mar. 1838. Featured version published in Elders’ Journal, July 1838, pp. 35–36. For more complete source information, see the source note for Elders’ Journal, Oct. 1837.

Historical Introduction

On 9 March 1838, while proselytizing in
Maine

Initially established as district of Massachusetts, 1691. Admitted as state, 1820. Population in 1830 about 400,000. Population in 1840 about 500,000. Capital city and seat of government, Augusta. First visited by Latter-day Saint missionaries, Sept. 1832...

More Info
,
Wilford Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
wrote a letter to
Bishop

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

View Glossary
Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
, JS and his counselors in the
First Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
, and the Saints in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
generally. As a member of the First
Quorum

An organized group of individuals holding the same office in the Melchizedek priesthood or the Aaronic priesthood. According to the 1835 “Instruction on Priesthood,” the presidency of the church constituted a quorum. The Twelve Apostles also formed a quorum...

View Glossary
of the
Seventy

A priesthood office with the responsibility to travel and preach and assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, similar to the seventy in the New Testament. In February and March 1835, the first members of the Seventy were selected and ordained. All of those...

View Glossary
, Woodruff was expected to travel, proselytize, organize
branches

An ecclesiastical organization of church members in a particular locale. A branch was generally smaller than a stake or a conference. Branches were also referred to as churches, as in “the Church of Shalersville.” In general, a branch was led by a presiding...

View Glossary
of the church, and encourage church members to gather to
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

View Glossary
in Missouri.
1

See Woodruff, Journal, 3 Jan. 1837; and Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:25].


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

At the time of the letter, Woodruff had been proselytizing in the northeastern
United States

North American constitutional republic. Constitution ratified, 17 Sept. 1787. Population in 1805 about 6,000,000; in 1830 about 13,000,000; and in 1844 about 20,000,000. Louisiana Purchase, 1803, doubled size of U.S. Consisted of seventeen states at time ...

More Info
for almost a year—most recently in the
Fox Islands

Archipelago featuring two large islands about halfway along coast of Maine in center of Penobscot Bay. English ship captain Martin Pring named islands after indigenous silver-gray foxes, 1603. Established as part of Massachusetts Bay Colony, by 1658. First...

More Info
, about halfway along Maine’s coast in the middle of Penobscot Bay. In May 1837, within a few weeks after marrying Phebe Carter, he had departed
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
on a mission “into the eastern country” with
Jonathan H. Hale

1 Feb. 1800–4 Sept. 1846. Butcher, school director, assessor. Born in Bradford, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Soloman Hale and Martha Harriman. Married Olive Boynton, 5 Sept. 1825, in Bradford. Moved to Dover, Strafford Co., New Hampshire, between June...

View Full Bio
.
2

Woodruff, Journal, 30–31 May 1837.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Woodruff had a compelling desire to gather the house of Israel from “the islands of the sea,” as Isaiah had prophesied and as JS’s revelations had commanded.
3

See Isaiah 11:11; and Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:8]. Woodruff frequently expressed his interest in proselytizing upon the “Islands of the sea.” (See Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 Sept. 1837; and Woodruff, Journal, 20 Aug. 1837; 3–5 Sept. 1837; 1 Oct. 1837; 15–16 Nov. 1837; 31 Dec. 1837; 26 Apr. 1838.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Later in life, Woodruff recounted that after feeling “impressed by the Spirit of God to take a mission to the Fox Islands,” he expressed his desire to
President

An organized body of leaders over priesthood quorums and other ecclesiastical organizations. A November 1831 revelation first described the office of president over the high priesthood and the church as a whole. By 1832, JS and two counselors constituted ...

View Glossary
Sidney Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
and
apostle

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

View Glossary
Heber Kimball

14 June 1801–22 June 1868. Blacksmith, potter. Born at Sheldon, Franklin Co., Vermont. Son of Solomon Farnham Kimball and Anna Spaulding. Married Vilate Murray, 22 Nov. 1822, at Mendon, Monroe Co., New York. Member of Baptist church at Mendon, 1831. Baptized...

View Full Bio
and they advised him to go.
4

Woodruff, “Autobiography of Wilford Woodruff,” 11; “History of Wilford Woodruff,” 23–24, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. “Autobiography of Wilford Woodruff.” Tullidge’s Quarterly Magazine 3, no. 1 (Oct. 1883): 1–25.

Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

Woodruff preached in many places along the way to Maine, including Farmington, Connecticut, where he shared with his parents and family members the Mormon message of a restored gospel. While in Farmington, he was met by his wife, who traveled with him to Scarborough, Maine, to share the gospel with her parents and other family members. Then Woodruff left Phebe with her family and pressed on with Hale to the Fox Islands.
Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
and
Hale

1 Feb. 1800–4 Sept. 1846. Butcher, school director, assessor. Born in Bradford, Essex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Soloman Hale and Martha Harriman. Married Olive Boynton, 5 Sept. 1825, in Bradford. Moved to Dover, Strafford Co., New Hampshire, between June...

View Full Bio
were very successful proselytizing in the
Fox Islands

Archipelago featuring two large islands about halfway along coast of Maine in center of Penobscot Bay. English ship captain Martin Pring named islands after indigenous silver-gray foxes, 1603. Established as part of Massachusetts Bay Colony, by 1658. First...

More Info
during August and September 1837, and in early October they organized a branch of the church there. The men then returned to Scarborough, where Hale determined to return home to
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
while Wilford and Phebe Woodruff traveled to the Fox Islands so Wilford could continue his labors there.
5

Woodruff, Journal, 31 May 1837–13 Jan. 1838; Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 Sept. 1837; see also Thompson, “Wilford Woodruff’s Missions to the Fox Islands,” 97–117.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Thompson, Jason E. “‘The Lord Told Me to Go and I Went’: Wilford Woodruff’s Missions to the Fox Islands, 1837–38,” in Banner of the Gospel: Wilford Woodruff, edited by Alexander L. Baugh and Susan Easton Black, 97–148. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2010.

In January 1838, he received a new mission companion:
Joseph Ball

21 Feb. 1804–20 Sept. 1861. Born at Boston. Son of Joseph Ball and Mary M. Drew. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Served missions to Orange Co., New York; to Fox Islands, Maine, 1838; and to Massachusetts, 1838. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., ...

View Full Bio
, an
elder

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

View Glossary
from
Boston

Capital city of Massachusetts, located on eastern seaboard at mouth of Charles River. Founded by Puritans, 1630. Received city charter, 1822. Population in 1820 about 43,000; in 1830 about 61,000; and in 1840 about 93,000. JS’s ancestor Robert Smith emigrated...

More Info
.
6

Woodruff was preaching on South Fox Island when Ball arrived on North Fox Island. By the time Woodruff returned to North Fox Island to meet his new mission companion, Ball had already baptized six people. (Woodruff, Journal, 13 Jan. 1838.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

In February, Woodruff returned to the mainland to preach in Bangor, Maine, and other towns along the way, accompanied by another Mormon elder named
James Townsend

20 Feb. 1808–2 Apr. 1886. Brick mason, hotel keeper. Born in Buxton, York Co., District of Maine. Son of Jacob Townsend and Abigail Elden. Married Susan Davis, 11 Apr. 1828, in Buxton. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Aug. 1833. ...

View Full Bio
, while Ball continued preaching on the islands.
7

Woodruff, Journal, 13 Feb.–8 Mar. 1838.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

The church elders and new converts kept in contact with the gathered Saints through the church newspapers. The Elders’ Journal, the church’s new periodical, had been designed for this purpose.
8

“Prospectus,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Sept. 1837, 3:571–572; see also Elders’ Journal, Oct. and Nov. 1837. When Woodruff received the first issue of the Elders’ Journal, he wrote in his journal that it “warmed my Soul.” When he and Ball received the second issue, Woodruff noted, “It did our souls good.” (Woodruff, Journal, 13 Dec. 1837 and 17 Jan. 1838.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
collected several subscriptions for the Elders’ Journal in the
Fox Islands

Archipelago featuring two large islands about halfway along coast of Maine in center of Penobscot Bay. English ship captain Martin Pring named islands after indigenous silver-gray foxes, 1603. Established as part of Massachusetts Bay Colony, by 1658. First...

More Info
and mailed them to
Don Carlos Smith

25 Mar. 1816–7 Aug. 1841. Farmer, printer, editor. Born at Norwich, Windsor Co., Vermont. Son of Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack. Moved to Palmyra, Ontario Co., New York, 1816–Jan. 1817. Moved to Manchester, Ontario Co., 1825. Baptized into Church of Jesus...

View Full Bio
, who was in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
and completed the editorial work for the paper.
9

See Woodruff, Journal, 20 Nov. and 31 Dec. 1837.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
also corresponded occasionally with church members in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
and heard news as he traveled.
10

See, for example, Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 Sept. 1837; and Woodruff, Journal, 14 Feb. 1838.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

While staying with a Latter-day Saint on the way to Bangor, Woodruff “heard that Kirtland was in difficulty,” a continuation of the dissent that Woodruff had witnessed before leaving on his mission.
11

Woodruff, Journal, 19 Feb. and 28 May 1837; 14 Feb. 1838.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

He learned of further trouble when he and
Townsend

20 Feb. 1808–2 Apr. 1886. Brick mason, hotel keeper. Born in Buxton, York Co., District of Maine. Son of Jacob Townsend and Abigail Elden. Married Susan Davis, 11 Apr. 1828, in Buxton. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Aug. 1833. ...

View Full Bio
returned from the mainland to the
Fox Islands

Archipelago featuring two large islands about halfway along coast of Maine in center of Penobscot Bay. English ship captain Martin Pring named islands after indigenous silver-gray foxes, 1603. Established as part of Massachusetts Bay Colony, by 1658. First...

More Info
on 8 March and Phebe gave Wilford letters that had arrived during his absence. One of these letters, from an “Elder Robbins” in Kirtland, informed Woodruff that dissenters in Kirtland had caused great turmoil in the church, that the
printing

Following destruction of church printing office in Independence, Missouri, July 1833, JS and other church leaders determined to set up new printing office in Kirtland under firm name F. G. Williams & Co. Oliver Cowdery purchased new printing press in New ...

More Info
office had been “burned to the ground with all its contents,” that JS and
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

View Full Bio
had fled Kirtland for
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
, and that “the faithful are to follow them for Kirtland will be scorged.”
12

Woodruff, Journal, 8 Mar. 1838. “Elder Robbins” is likely Lewis Robbins, a fellow member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Lewis Robbins was the only known Robbins in Kirtland during this time, as identified by Milton V. Backman in his extensive survey of local records. Robbins lived with Don Carlos Smith, to whom Woodruff had been writing and sending subscriptions for the Elders’ Journal. (Minutes and Blessings, 28 Feb.–1 Mar. 1835; Robbins, Autobiographical Sketch, 3–4; Backman, Profile, 59.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Robbins, Lewis. Autobiographical Sketch, ca. 1845. Typescript. CHL.

Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.

The following day,
Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
discussed this troubling news with
Ball

21 Feb. 1804–20 Sept. 1861. Born at Boston. Son of Joseph Ball and Mary M. Drew. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Served missions to Orange Co., New York; to Fox Islands, Maine, 1838; and to Massachusetts, 1838. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., ...

View Full Bio
and
Townsend

20 Feb. 1808–2 Apr. 1886. Brick mason, hotel keeper. Born in Buxton, York Co., District of Maine. Son of Jacob Townsend and Abigail Elden. Married Susan Davis, 11 Apr. 1828, in Buxton. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Aug. 1833. ...

View Full Bio
. The three missionaries decided to write a letter to Bishop
Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
, the First Presidency, and the Saints in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
. Woodruff probably wrote the letter while at the home of Latter-day Saint Malatiah Luce on
North Fox Island

Archipelago featuring two large islands about halfway along coast of Maine in center of Penobscot Bay. English ship captain Martin Pring named islands after indigenous silver-gray foxes, 1603. Established as part of Massachusetts Bay Colony, by 1658. First...

More Info
, where Woodruff was living at the time.
13

Woodruff, Journal, 8–15 Mar. 1838. Woodruff had stayed with Luce before. Luce owned several pieces of property on North Fox Island. He may have been living along the stream between Fresh Pond and North Harbor. (Woodruff, Journal, 26 and 29 Aug. 1837; Hancock Co., ME, Deeds, 1791–1861, vol. 67, p. 101, 12 Apr. 1838, microfilm 10,980; Waldo Co., ME, Record of Deeds, 1828–1896, vol. 47, p. 445, 7 Sept. 1838, microfilm 12,373, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also Wells, Provisional Report upon the Water-Power of Maine, 227; Woodruff, Journal, 13 Aug. 1838; and Chace et al., Map of Waldo County, Maine [Portland, ME: J. Chace Jr., 1859].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

Wells, Walter. Provisional Report upon the Water-Power of Maine. Augusta, ME: Stevens and Sayward, 1868.

Chace, J., D. Kelsey, D. H. Davidson, and W. H. Rease. Map of Waldo County, Maine. Portland, ME: J. Chace Jr., 1859. Copy at the Library of Congress.

Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
began his letter with a general address to “friends in the
new and everlasting covenant

Generally referred to the “fulness of the gospel”—the sum total of the church’s message, geared toward establishing God’s covenant people on the earth; also used to describe individual elements of the gospel, including marriage. According to JS, the everlasting...

View Glossary
” and then reported on proselytizing in the
Fox Islands

Archipelago featuring two large islands about halfway along coast of Maine in center of Penobscot Bay. English ship captain Martin Pring named islands after indigenous silver-gray foxes, 1603. Established as part of Massachusetts Bay Colony, by 1658. First...

More Info
. In the middle of the letter, Woodruff explicitly addressed the members of the First Presidency and asked them to recommence the Elders’ Journal in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
. Woodruff expressed the missionaries’ dire need for church literature to help combat false information about the church that was being circulated in the region. Woodruff concluded by expressing loyalty to JS and the church and by admonishing the Saints in Missouri not to make the mistakes being made by church members in
Ohio

French explored and claimed area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut...

More Info
. The letter was apparently composed by Woodruff, who wrote in the first-person singular voice, but
Ball

21 Feb. 1804–20 Sept. 1861. Born at Boston. Son of Joseph Ball and Mary M. Drew. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Served missions to Orange Co., New York; to Fox Islands, Maine, 1838; and to Massachusetts, 1838. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., ...

View Full Bio
and
Townsend

20 Feb. 1808–2 Apr. 1886. Brick mason, hotel keeper. Born in Buxton, York Co., District of Maine. Son of Jacob Townsend and Abigail Elden. Married Susan Davis, 11 Apr. 1828, in Buxton. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Aug. 1833. ...

View Full Bio
signed the letter with him, indicating their agreement with the letter’s content. The original letter is apparently not extant, but the letter states that it was written on one page.
Woodruff

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
noted in his journal that on the following Wednesday he walked to the post office, presumably to mail this and other letters he had recently written.
14

Woodruff, Journal, 10–14 Mar. 1838. Notes in Woodruff’s journal indicate that the post office, located in John Kent’s store, was in the hamlet of North Haven on the south side of North Fox Island. However, the post office was possibly on the southeast side of the island, where an 1859 map of Waldo County shows two Kent domiciles at Kent’s Cove. In September 1837, Woodruff “walked to the Post Office. Took a sail boat to cross to South fox Island.” In February 1838, he “walked to Mr Kents crossed the thoroughfare,” the channel between North Fox Island and South Fox Island. On 5 April, Woodruff walked “to Mr John Kents store & Post Office” to receive mail. (Woodruff, Journal, 4 Sept. 1837; 13 Feb. and 5 Apr. 1838; Chace et al., Map of Waldo County, Maine [Portland, ME: J. Chace Jr., 1859].)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Chace, J., D. Kelsey, D. H. Davidson, and W. H. Rease. Map of Waldo County, Maine. Portland, ME: J. Chace Jr., 1859. Copy at the Library of Congress.

Woodruff’s letter made its way safely across half the continent, likely arriving in
Far West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

More Info
sometime in early or mid-April.
15

In the summer, a letter from Marsh reached Woodruff in less than four weeks, suggesting that the 9 March letter from Woodruff traveled at about the same speed. Marsh’s 14 July letter was postmarked 15 July 1838 in Far West and was directed to Woodruff in Vinalhaven, Maine. Woodruff, who had been absent from the Fox Islands for several weeks, returned to Vinalhaven on 7 August and noted that he received Marsh’s 14 July letter from a local member on 9 August. (Thomas B. Marsh, Far West, MO, to Wilford Woodruff, Vinalhaven, ME, 14 July 1838, Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, CHL; Woodruff, Journal, 7 and 9 Aug. 1838.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

Whenever Woodruff’s letter was received, it was probably read by or to JS. Sometime on or after 30 April 1838,
Thomas B. Marsh

1 Nov. 1800–Jan. 1866. Farmer, hotel worker, waiter, horse groom, grocer, type foundry worker, teacher. Born at Acton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of James Marsh and Molly Law. Married first Elizabeth Godkin, 1 Nov. 1820, at New York City. Moved to ...

View Full Bio
wrote a reply to Woodruff on JS’s behalf, remarking that Woodruff’s letter arrived “some days, since.”
16

Letter to Wilford Woodruff, ca. 18 June 1838. Marsh’s letter bears an 18 June 1838 postmark.


Woodruff’s request for a church newspaper was fulfilled when JS and Marsh began publishing the Elders’ Journal in Far West in summer 1838. As the editor of the Elders’ Journal, JS may have reviewed Woodruff’s letter again when it was prepared for publication in the July issue.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Woodruff, Journal, 3 Jan. 1837; and Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:25].

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  2. [2]

    Woodruff, Journal, 30–31 May 1837.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  3. [3]

    See Isaiah 11:11; and Revelation, 3 Nov. 1831 [D&C 133:8]. Woodruff frequently expressed his interest in proselytizing upon the “Islands of the sea.” (See Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 Sept. 1837; and Woodruff, Journal, 20 Aug. 1837; 3–5 Sept. 1837; 1 Oct. 1837; 15–16 Nov. 1837; 31 Dec. 1837; 26 Apr. 1838.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  4. [4]

    Woodruff, “Autobiography of Wilford Woodruff,” 11; “History of Wilford Woodruff,” 23–24, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL.

    Woodruff, Wilford. “Autobiography of Wilford Woodruff.” Tullidge’s Quarterly Magazine 3, no. 1 (Oct. 1883): 1–25.

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

  5. [5]

    Woodruff, Journal, 31 May 1837–13 Jan. 1838; Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 Sept. 1837; see also Thompson, “Wilford Woodruff’s Missions to the Fox Islands,” 97–117.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Thompson, Jason E. “‘The Lord Told Me to Go and I Went’: Wilford Woodruff’s Missions to the Fox Islands, 1837–38,” in Banner of the Gospel: Wilford Woodruff, edited by Alexander L. Baugh and Susan Easton Black, 97–148. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2010.

  6. [6]

    Woodruff was preaching on South Fox Island when Ball arrived on North Fox Island. By the time Woodruff returned to North Fox Island to meet his new mission companion, Ball had already baptized six people. (Woodruff, Journal, 13 Jan. 1838.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  7. [7]

    Woodruff, Journal, 13 Feb.–8 Mar. 1838.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  8. [8]

    “Prospectus,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, Sept. 1837, 3:571–572; see also Elders’ Journal, Oct. and Nov. 1837. When Woodruff received the first issue of the Elders’ Journal, he wrote in his journal that it “warmed my Soul.” When he and Ball received the second issue, Woodruff noted, “It did our souls good.” (Woodruff, Journal, 13 Dec. 1837 and 17 Jan. 1838.)

    Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. Kirtland, OH. Oct. 1834–Sept. 1837.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  9. [9]

    See Woodruff, Journal, 20 Nov. and 31 Dec. 1837.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  10. [10]

    See, for example, Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 Sept. 1837; and Woodruff, Journal, 14 Feb. 1838.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  11. [11]

    Woodruff, Journal, 19 Feb. and 28 May 1837; 14 Feb. 1838.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  12. [12]

    Woodruff, Journal, 8 Mar. 1838. “Elder Robbins” is likely Lewis Robbins, a fellow member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Lewis Robbins was the only known Robbins in Kirtland during this time, as identified by Milton V. Backman in his extensive survey of local records. Robbins lived with Don Carlos Smith, to whom Woodruff had been writing and sending subscriptions for the Elders’ Journal. (Minutes and Blessings, 28 Feb.–1 Mar. 1835; Robbins, Autobiographical Sketch, 3–4; Backman, Profile, 59.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Robbins, Lewis. Autobiographical Sketch, ca. 1845. Typescript. CHL.

    Backman, Milton V., Jr., comp. A Profile of Latter-day Saints of Kirtland, Ohio, and Members of Zion’s Camp, 1830–1839: Vital Statistics and Sources. 2nd ed. Provo, UT: Department of Church History and Doctrine and Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1983.

  13. [13]

    Woodruff, Journal, 8–15 Mar. 1838. Woodruff had stayed with Luce before. Luce owned several pieces of property on North Fox Island. He may have been living along the stream between Fresh Pond and North Harbor. (Woodruff, Journal, 26 and 29 Aug. 1837; Hancock Co., ME, Deeds, 1791–1861, vol. 67, p. 101, 12 Apr. 1838, microfilm 10,980; Waldo Co., ME, Record of Deeds, 1828–1896, vol. 47, p. 445, 7 Sept. 1838, microfilm 12,373, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also Wells, Provisional Report upon the Water-Power of Maine, 227; Woodruff, Journal, 13 Aug. 1838; and Chace et al., Map of Waldo County, Maine [Portland, ME: J. Chace Jr., 1859].)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

    Wells, Walter. Provisional Report upon the Water-Power of Maine. Augusta, ME: Stevens and Sayward, 1868.

    Chace, J., D. Kelsey, D. H. Davidson, and W. H. Rease. Map of Waldo County, Maine. Portland, ME: J. Chace Jr., 1859. Copy at the Library of Congress.

  14. [14]

    Woodruff, Journal, 10–14 Mar. 1838. Notes in Woodruff’s journal indicate that the post office, located in John Kent’s store, was in the hamlet of North Haven on the south side of North Fox Island. However, the post office was possibly on the southeast side of the island, where an 1859 map of Waldo County shows two Kent domiciles at Kent’s Cove. In September 1837, Woodruff “walked to the Post Office. Took a sail boat to cross to South fox Island.” In February 1838, he “walked to Mr Kents crossed the thoroughfare,” the channel between North Fox Island and South Fox Island. On 5 April, Woodruff walked “to Mr John Kents store & Post Office” to receive mail. (Woodruff, Journal, 4 Sept. 1837; 13 Feb. and 5 Apr. 1838; Chace et al., Map of Waldo County, Maine [Portland, ME: J. Chace Jr., 1859].)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Chace, J., D. Kelsey, D. H. Davidson, and W. H. Rease. Map of Waldo County, Maine. Portland, ME: J. Chace Jr., 1859. Copy at the Library of Congress.

  15. [15]

    In the summer, a letter from Marsh reached Woodruff in less than four weeks, suggesting that the 9 March letter from Woodruff traveled at about the same speed. Marsh’s 14 July letter was postmarked 15 July 1838 in Far West and was directed to Woodruff in Vinalhaven, Maine. Woodruff, who had been absent from the Fox Islands for several weeks, returned to Vinalhaven on 7 August and noted that he received Marsh’s 14 July letter from a local member on 9 August. (Thomas B. Marsh, Far West, MO, to Wilford Woodruff, Vinalhaven, ME, 14 July 1838, Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, CHL; Woodruff, Journal, 7 and 9 Aug. 1838.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  16. [16]

    Letter to Wilford Woodruff, ca. 18 June 1838. Marsh’s letter bears an 18 June 1838 postmark.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. *Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Others, 9 March 1838 Elders’ Journal, July 1838

Page 36

the salvation of Israel; and for one, I pray God to take away my life, sooner than to suffer me to turn my back upon the faithful part of the
church of Latter Day Saints

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
, and Joseph whom God hath chosen to lead his people. O my soul mourns over the corruptions of the hearts of men! O how man will stumble in dark places,
22

See Jeremiah 13:16.


when he neglects prayer and departs from his God! O ye Saints of
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

View Glossary
, watch and pray,
23

See Matthew 26:41; and Mark 13:33.


and keep the Celestial law,
24

According to a revelation JS dictated in 1834, “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principoles of the law of the Celestial kingdom.” By “Celestial law,” Woodruff probably meant the “Laws of the Church” that had been revealed in 1831, including the consecration of property. The Saints in and around Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, had attempted to live by this law of consecration prior to being driven out of their “centre place” in Jackson County. Now, after purchasing several tracts of land in Caldwell County, church leaders there were contemplating how to live the law of consecration again. (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:5]; Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–39]; Cook, Joseph Smith and the Law of Consecration, 29–39; Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57]; Minute Book 2, 6–7 and 23 Dec. 1837.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Cook, Lyndon W. Joseph Smith and the Law of Consecration. Provo, UT: Grandin Book, 1985.

which is safe!
That you may know the feelings of the undersigners of this page, we say to you before God, that we are in full fellowship with Joseph Smith jr. and the
first Presidency

The highest presiding body of the church. An 11 November 1831 revelation stated that the president of the high priesthood was to preside over the church. JS was ordained as president of the high priesthood on 25 January 1832. In March 1832, JS appointed two...

View Glossary
of the church, and with all who still adhere to, and receive their teachings and instructions; and we say, in the name of Jesus Christ, that we will uphold such by our prayers, faith, and influence,
25

See Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:22].


at the risk of our fortunes, lives, and worldly honor.
26

See the closing line of the United States Declaration of Independence.


“For life is but a name, when virtue and truth is gone.”
We further believe, that judgment awaits the world speedily,
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
not excepted,
27

Several JS revelations predicted millenarian judgment upon the world. One revelation, dictated in 1831, includes the Lord’s intention to “retain a strong hold in the Land of Kirtland, for the space of five years in the which I will not overthrow the wicked, that thereby I may save some.” Though Kirtland had been singled out as a stronghold, it was only temporarily so. (Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21]; see also Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45].)


and we do believe that those who have dissented from the body of the church, will have cause to lament for their folly. We ask in the name of reason and revelation, who has power to take from Joseph, the
keys

Authority or knowledge of God given to humankind. In the earliest records, the term keys primarily referred to JS’s authority to unlock the “mysteries of the kingdom.” Early revelations declared that both JS and Oliver Cowdery held the keys to bring forth...

View Glossary
delivered to him by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and deprive him of the work that God has said he should perform? We answer, none but God alone.
28

In an early revelation, JS was “chosen to do the work of the Lord.” JS’s revelations and writings indicated that the “keys” he had received allowed him to unlock the mysteries of heaven and divine authority. A recent revelation declared that “the keys which I have given him . . . shall not be taken from him untill I come.” (Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3:9–10]; Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112:15]; see also Matthew 16:19; Revelation, 30 Oct. 1831 [D&C 65:2]; Revelation, 15 Mar. 1832 [D&C 81:2]; and JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 1.)


We believe the book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, speaks too loud upon the subject,
29

The Book of Mormon includes prophecies of a latter-day prophet named Joseph, who would be “like unto Moses” and help restore the house of Israel in preparation for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants affirm JS’s divine calling. (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 66–68, 500 [2 Nephi 3:6–25; 3 Nephi 21:10–11]; see also Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:5–11].)


to fall unfulfilled and to be made void, by those who have neglected prayer, and departed from the living God,
30

See Hebrews 3:12; and Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:32].


and sought to take honor unto themselves.
31

Warren Parrish and others in Kirtland had attempted to depose JS and either replace him with David Whitmer or lead the church themselves. (Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 14; Backman, Heavens Resound, 327–329.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.

Backman, Milton V., Jr. The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.

O ye Saints of God in Zion! we entreat you to uphold Joseph by prayer, faith, brotherly love, and charity:
32

See Revelation, Feb. 1831–A [D&C 43:12]; and Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:22].


for we testify, in the Spirit of God, that he will be brought off conquerer, and his enemies put to shame.
33

See Psalm 44:7.


Do you remember his toils and labors for your salvation? Nothing but a God has supported him to the present day. His perils are great, and the greatest are among false brethren;
34

See 2 Corinthians 11:26.


and we do entreat the Saints in Zion not to add to his wounds, by following the example of many in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
.— Bear with us, ye Saints of God, while we exhort you to keep the Celestial law of God, while in the land of
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
. Be humble, be watchful, be prayerful.
35

See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 321, 576 [Alma 34:39; Moroni 6:4].


Beware of pride, lest you fall like others.
36

See Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:39].


We do not make these remarks for compliment sake, we feel what we say.
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
is and will be scourged, to fulfill revelation and prophecy;
37

The letter that Woodruff received the day before from Elder Robbins reported that JS and Rigdon had left Kirtland for Far West and that, as Woodruff wrote in his journal, “the faithful are to follow them for Kirtland will be scorged.” Woodruff added: “Often have I herd Joseph Prophecy of these things for a year past.” (Woodruff, Journal, 8 Mar. 1838.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

it is all right, the hand of God is in it. God’s work will not stop. He will work for, and with his Saints. God will redeem Jacob.
38

See Isaiah 44:23; Jeremiah 31:11; and Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109:62].


God will build up Zion.
39

See Psalm 102:16.


The Lord will establish Jerusalem. And O ye Judges in Zion!
40

JS’s revelations explained that Edward Partridge, the bishop of Zion, was “a Judge in Israel” and a “common judge,” while the president of the high priesthood was a supreme church judge. In addressing this 9 March letter to Partridge, JS, and his counselors in the First Presidency, Woodruff was addressing the chief judges in Zion. (Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:17–18]; Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 107 (partial)].)


that God may bestow wisdom and salvation upon you, is the prayer of
WILFORD WOODRUFF

1 Mar. 1807–2 Sept. 1898. Farmer, miller. Born at Farmington, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of Aphek Woodruff and Beulah Thompson. Moved to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, 1832. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Zera Pulsipher,...

View Full Bio
,
JAMES TOWNSEND

20 Feb. 1808–2 Apr. 1886. Brick mason, hotel keeper. Born in Buxton, York Co., District of Maine. Son of Jacob Townsend and Abigail Elden. Married Susan Davis, 11 Apr. 1828, in Buxton. Baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Aug. 1833. ...

View Full Bio
, &
JOSEPH BALL

21 Feb. 1804–20 Sept. 1861. Born at Boston. Son of Joseph Ball and Mary M. Drew. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, by 1836. Served missions to Orange Co., New York; to Fox Islands, Maine, 1838; and to Massachusetts, 1838. Moved to Nauvoo, Hancock Co., ...

View Full Bio
. [p. 36]
View entire transcript

|

Cite this page

Source Note

Document Transcript

Page 36

Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Others, 9 March 1838
ID #
380
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D6:31–39
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text

Footnotes

  1. [22]

    See Jeremiah 13:16.

  2. [23]

    See Matthew 26:41; and Mark 13:33.

  3. [24]

    According to a revelation JS dictated in 1834, “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principoles of the law of the Celestial kingdom.” By “Celestial law,” Woodruff probably meant the “Laws of the Church” that had been revealed in 1831, including the consecration of property. The Saints in and around Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, had attempted to live by this law of consecration prior to being driven out of their “centre place” in Jackson County. Now, after purchasing several tracts of land in Caldwell County, church leaders there were contemplating how to live the law of consecration again. (Revelation, 22 June 1834 [D&C 105:5]; Revelation, 9 Feb. 1831 [D&C 42:30–39]; Cook, Joseph Smith and the Law of Consecration, 29–39; Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57]; Minute Book 2, 6–7 and 23 Dec. 1837.)

    Cook, Lyndon W. Joseph Smith and the Law of Consecration. Provo, UT: Grandin Book, 1985.

  4. [25]

    See Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:22].

  5. [26]

    See the closing line of the United States Declaration of Independence.

  6. [27]

    Several JS revelations predicted millenarian judgment upon the world. One revelation, dictated in 1831, includes the Lord’s intention to “retain a strong hold in the Land of Kirtland, for the space of five years in the which I will not overthrow the wicked, that thereby I may save some.” Though Kirtland had been singled out as a stronghold, it was only temporarily so. (Revelation, 11 Sept. 1831 [D&C 64:21]; see also Revelation, ca. 7 Mar. 1831 [D&C 45].)

  7. [28]

    In an early revelation, JS was “chosen to do the work of the Lord.” JS’s revelations and writings indicated that the “keys” he had received allowed him to unlock the mysteries of heaven and divine authority. A recent revelation declared that “the keys which I have given him . . . shall not be taken from him untill I come.” (Revelation, July 1828 [D&C 3:9–10]; Revelation, 23 July 1837 [D&C 112:15]; see also Matthew 16:19; Revelation, 30 Oct. 1831 [D&C 65:2]; Revelation, 15 Mar. 1832 [D&C 81:2]; and JS History, ca. Summer 1832, 1.)

  8. [29]

    The Book of Mormon includes prophecies of a latter-day prophet named Joseph, who would be “like unto Moses” and help restore the house of Israel in preparation for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants affirm JS’s divine calling. (Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 66–68, 500 [2 Nephi 3:6–25; 3 Nephi 21:10–11]; see also Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:5–11].)

  9. [30]

    See Hebrews 3:12; and Articles and Covenants, ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:32].

  10. [31]

    Warren Parrish and others in Kirtland had attempted to depose JS and either replace him with David Whitmer or lead the church themselves. (Historian’s Office, Brigham Young History Drafts, 14; Backman, Heavens Resound, 327–329.)

    Historian’s Office. Brigham Young History Drafts, 1856–1858. CHL. CR 100 475, box 1, fd. 5.

    Backman, Milton V., Jr. The Heavens Resound: A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio, 1830–1838. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983.

  11. [32]

    See Revelation, Feb. 1831–A [D&C 43:12]; and Instruction on Priesthood, between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 [D&C 107:22].

  12. [33]

    See Psalm 44:7.

  13. [34]

    See 2 Corinthians 11:26.

  14. [35]

    See Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 321, 576 [Alma 34:39; Moroni 6:4].

  15. [36]

    See Revelation, 2 Jan. 1831 [D&C 38:39].

  16. [37]

    The letter that Woodruff received the day before from Elder Robbins reported that JS and Rigdon had left Kirtland for Far West and that, as Woodruff wrote in his journal, “the faithful are to follow them for Kirtland will be scorged.” Woodruff added: “Often have I herd Joseph Prophecy of these things for a year past.” (Woodruff, Journal, 8 Mar. 1838.)

    Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.

  17. [38]

    See Isaiah 44:23; Jeremiah 31:11; and Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 Mar. 1836 [D&C 109:62].

  18. [39]

    See Psalm 102:16.

  19. [40]

    JS’s revelations explained that Edward Partridge, the bishop of Zion, was “a Judge in Israel” and a “common judge,” while the president of the high priesthood was a supreme church judge. In addressing this 9 March letter to Partridge, JS, and his counselors in the First Presidency, Woodruff was addressing the chief judges in Zion. (Revelation, 1 Aug. 1831 [D&C 58:17–18]; Revelation, 11 Nov. 1831–B [D&C 107 (partial)].)

© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of UseUpdated 2021-04-13Privacy NoticeUpdated 2021-04-06