Zerah and Mary Brown Pulsipher

Seeking Revelation and Sharing Truth: Lessons for Today from the Life of Wilford Woodruff

By Jennifer Ann Mackley

In 1833, less than a year after joining the Church, Zerah Pulsipher was working on his farm and felt impressed to begin preaching the gospel. The feeling was so strong that shortly before noon he unyoked his oxen and turned them into the pasture, then walked to the house and asked his wife for a clean shirt and a pair of socks.

“Where on earth are you going?” she asked.

“I don’t know, only that I am going to preach the gospel. The Lord will show me where to go. I am going where He guides me.”

“How long will you be gone?” she inquired.

“I don’t know. Just long enough to do the work the Lord has for me to do.”

By Jake Nichol, Board Member

Jake Nichol believes Wilford Woodruff, as much as any man or woman he has studied, approached every obstacle with faith. That is something the rising generation could learn from in a time when, according to Nichol, "so much of faith has been replaced by instant information."

By Steve Thorsted

Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are familiar with the events at John and Jane Benbow’s Farm in Herefordshire, England, in the spring of 1840. Elder Wilford Woodruff was inspired to teach the Benbows and the members of the United Brethren congregation. The impact on the growth of the Church was enormous.

But what led Elder Woodruff to visit the Benbows? The Benbow Farm visit was a result of inspiration and missionary work by Elder Woodruff and a young member of the Church, William Benbow, who was taught by Alfred Cordon. This short story recounts the role of Alfred in the Benbow Farm history. 

Volunteer Spotlight: Laurie Low

By Maddie Christensen

“I have felt a spark kindled regarding my family history in the early days of the Church,” shares Laurie Low, a member of the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation Board.

In her service, Laurie has had many tender experiences, such as this one:

"While exploring the website, I decided to look up family names to see if any were mentioned in the journals or documents. I found a letter written by my great-grandfather and his brother, responding to a mission call to New Zealand from President Woodruff" . . .

This month my husband and I were able to attend general conference. What a great experience it was for us to gather with so many Saints and hear our leaders speak. As we were walking to the Conference Center, a protestor began screaming at us. At the top of his lungs he yelled, “You’re desperate for Jesus!” At first I was taken aback. What? But then I realized he was completely right. I am desperate for Jesus. Desperate to be with Him. Desperate to live with Him in the celestial kingdom. Desperate to live my life to please Him. Wilford Woodruff said in one discourse, “I hope we live our religion. I hope we strive to keep the commandments of God. We occupy a very important position in the world. There are very few of the inhabitants of the earth who are laboring to build up Zion. There are very few, apparently, who are able to abide the law of God. There are very few who are willing to sacrifice anything for eternal life and salvation, and thousands will have to inherit a kingdom other than the celestial.”

We continue to identify and geolocate the 4,000 places referenced in Wilford Woodruff’s records, and the Technology Team has now released an improved mapping tool to contextualize the places' significance in space and time. Users can now visualize the documents by location and understand the documents historically using the slider feature to filter by date.

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