The Dawning of a Brighter Day by Julie Rogers

Missionary Faith in Persecution:

Wilford Woodruff’s First Mission to England

By Ellie Hancock

The Anglican ministers in the South of England were furious. They called a convention and wrote a petition to the highest religious authority in the land, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In this petition the rectors stated that one Mormon missionary had baptized fifteen hundred persons, mostly members of the Church of England, during the past seven months. They hoped to convince the Archbishop to use his power and influence in Parliament to ban Mormons from preaching in Britain.

Although this reaction seems extreme, it was not unprecedented. Around this time Wilford Woodruff wrote that the church ministers were very stirred up, concerned that they would ...

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ has been called the keystone of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church members have been continually encouraged to read, study, and ponder the Book of Mormon’s contents since it was first translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph himself said that “a man would get closer to God by abiding by its precepts.” But how can we know this is true?

All members of the Church have faced or will face this question at least once in their lives, and every individual will find an answer in their own unique way. But we can learn from the experiences of others to help us ...

When Wilford Woodruff was a young missionary, he would spend time during his personal and companionship worship singing hymns. For example, on one occasion while serving in the Fox Islands of Maine, he and his companion, Jonathan Hale, retired to a grove of trees at the end of the day and sang “The Sun That Declines in the Far Western Sky,” a hymn, Wilford noted, that was composed by Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Pratt. Though I had never heard of this particular hymn before, after I read about this experience, I became curious—what was Wilford Woodruff’s favorite hymn?

Thanks to a recollection of President Heber J. Grant in the April 1937 general conference, I learned the answer: “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” President Grant said, “This was the favorite hymn of the late President Wilford Woodruff. He loved it. We sang it, I am sure, sometimes twice ...

Witness of a Prophet’s Fearless Faith

By Lyndie Jackson

“It has been a great experience to witness, from his own words, President Woodruff's firm testimony of the restored gospel and the Prophet Joseph Smith, his missionary zeal, and especially his amazing, fearless faith,” said Karen Dupaix, a volunteer for the Wilford Woodruff Papers.

Recently, Karen has been searching for, linking, and cataloging quotes from Wilford Woodruff to help with the communication and outreach efforts of the Project.

Karen discovered the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project through a Facebook ad and was drawn to it as a way to learn more about the fourth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was specifically interested in understanding Wilford and the Manifesto that was the first step in ending polygamy ...

Insight from the Journals Team

When Abraham Owen Woodruff, or “Owen,” as he was called by his family, left to serve a mission in Switzerland and Germany, his parents felt emotions similar to parents who send their children to serve missions today. Owen was 22 years old and the second of Wilford and Emma Woodruff’s children to serve, following the example of his older brother Asahel. Wilford and Emma waited anxiously for his correspondence—letters that traveled across the Atlantic Ocean by ship and took weeks to arrive. Frequently, when a new letter was received, it was the main subject in Wilford’s journal entry for that day. Wilford and Emma wrote many ...

Hackathon winners AJ Averett, Youngwho Park, and Spencer Driggs are presented with computer monitors

Students at BYU-Idaho participated in a “Hackathon” on March 18. During the 12-hour event, students competed to develop an algorithm that could match scripture references with content in Wilford Woodruff’s journals.

We are grateful for the service of our volunteers! If you are interested in a service opportunity, the Foundation is in need of content volunteers to tag quotes. Send an email to contact@wilfordwoodruffpapers.org if you or someone you know is interested.

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