-- Jan 26, 1880
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] Mountains of Sunset, Arizona I read Coates lectures against Mormonism which were the inspiration of the Devil and full of lies. I Prayed the Lord to give me his Holy Spirit and light and truth. I went to bed filled with Prayer and Meditation. I fell asleep and slept untill about midnight. I awoke [and] the Lord poured out his spirit upon me and opened the vision of my mind so I could comprehend in a good measure the mind and will of God and his purposes concerning our Nation and the inhabitants of Zion and when the vision of my mind was open to comprehend the situation of our Nation, their wickedness, Abominations & Corruption and the Judgments of God and destruction which awaited them and when I comprehended the great and Mighty responsibility which rested upon the Quorum of the Apostles in the sight of God and the Heavenly Hosts, my head became a fountain of tears and my Pillow was wet as with dews of heaven and sleep departed from me and
the Lord revealed unto me our duty even the duty of the Twelve Apostles and all the faithful Elders of Israel and the following is a portion of the will of the Lord made manifest to me while dwelling in a shepherds tent in the wilderness surrounded by the drifting snows of the mountains while wrapped in the visions of the night.
A Revelation given to Wilford Woodruff in the wilderness of San Francisco Moon lain in Arizona on the 26 day of Jan 1880
Thus saith the Lord unto my servant Wilford Woodruff. I have heard thy Prayers, and Will answer thy Petitions. I will make known unto thee my will concerning the Nation who encumbers and land of promise and also concerning Zion and her inhabitants. I have already revealed my will concerning the Nation through the mouth of my servant Joseph who sealed his Testimony with his own Blood, which Testimony has been in force upon all the world from the hour of his death. What I the Lord have revealed in that Testimony and decree upon this Nation, and all the Nations of the Earth shall be fulfilled. Saith the Lord of Hosts, I the lord have spoken and will be obeyed. My Purposes shall be fulfilled upon this Nation and no power shall stay my hand. The hour is at the door when my wrath and indignation shall be poured out upon the wicked of this Nation. Their murders, blasphemies, Lyings, whoredoms and abominations have come up before my face and before the heavens and the wrath of mine
indignation is full. I have decreed Plagues to go forth and lay waste mine enemies and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute mine heritage The Devil is ruling over his kingdom and my spirit has no place in the harts of the Rulers of this Nation, and the Devil stirs them up to defy my Power, and to make war upon my Saints. Therefore let mine Apostles and mine Elders who are faithful obey my commandments which are already written for your profit and guidence.
Thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Taylor and my servant Wilford Woodruff and my servant Orson Pratt and to all the residue of mine Apostles. Have you not gone forth in my name without Purse or scrip and declared the Gospel of Life and Salvation unto this Nation and the Nations of the Earth and warned them of the Judgments which are to come as you have been moved upon by the power of the Holy Ghost and the inspiration of the Lord. You have done this year by year for a whole Generation as man counts time. Therefore your garments are clean of the Blood of this generation and especially of this Nation.
Therefore as I have said in a former commandment so I the Lord say again unto mine Apostles go ye alone by your selves whether in heat or in cold and clens your feet with water pure water, it matters not whether it be by the running streams or in your closets but bear their testimonies before the Lord and the Heavenly Hosts
And when you have all done this then gather yourselves together in your Holy places and cloth yourselves in the Robes of the Holy Priesthood and there offer up your Prayers according to my Holy Law Let him who Presides be mouth and kneel upon the Holy Alter and there let mine Apostles bring all their testimonies before my face and before the heavenly Hosts and before the justified spirits made perfect and thus saith the Lord unto you mine Apostles when you bring these testimonies before me, let them by presented by Name as far as the spirit shall present them unto you. The Presidents of the United States, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the Senate & House of Congress of the United States, the Governors of the States and Territories, the Judges & officers sent unto you and all men & persons who have taken any part in persecuting your or bringing distress upon you or your lives or sought to hinder you from keeping my commandments or from enjoying the rights which the Constitu
tion of Law of the Land guarantee unto you.
And what I the Lord say unto you mine Apostles I say unto my servants the Seventies, the High Priests, the Elders, and the Priests And all my servants who are pure in heart and who have born testimony unto this Nation Let them go forth & cleans their feet in pure water and bear testimony of it unto your Father who is in heaven
And thus saith the Lord unto mine Apostls and mine Elders when you do these things with Purity of heart & the Lord will hear your Prayers and am bound by oath and covenant to defend you and fight your battles as I have said in a former commandment it is not my will that mine Elders should fight the battle of Zion for I will fight your battle Nevertheless Let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake for he that layeth down his life for my sake shall find it again and have eternal life.
The Nation is ripend in iniquity and the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full and I will not stay my hand in Judgment upon this Nation or the Nations of the Earth I have decreed wars and Judgments upon the wicked and my wrath and indignation are about to be poured out upon them and the wicked and rebellious shall know that I am God. As I the Lord have. spoken so will I the Lord fulfill. I will spare none who remain in babylon but I will burn them up saith the Lord of Hosts As I the Lord have suffered so will I put all enemies under my feet, for I the Lord utter my word, and it shall be obeyd and the day of wrath and indignation shall come upon the wicked
And I say again wo unto that Nation or house or people who seek to hinder my People from obeying the Patriarchal Law of Abraham which leadeth to a Celestial Glory which has been revealed unto my Saints through the mouth of my servant Joseph for whosoever doeth those things shall be damned saith the Lord of Hosts and shall be broken up & wasted away from under heaven by the judgments which I have sent forth and shall not return unto me void And thus with the sword and by bloodshed and with famine & plagues and earthquakes and the Thunders of Heaven and the vivid lightnings shall this Nation and the Nations of the Earth be made to feel the Chastning hand of an Almighty God untill they are broken up and Destroyed, and wasted away from under heaven, and no power can stay my hand. Therefore let the wicked tremble, Let them that blaspheme my name hold their lips, for destruction will swiftly overtake them,
All that I the Lord have spoken through the mouth of my Prophets and Apostles since the world began concerning the Last dispensation and fulness of times, concerning my Church which has been called out of the wilderness of darkness and error, and concerning Babylon the Great, and what I have spoken through the Mouth of my servant Joseph shall all be fulfilled and though heaven and Earth pass away my words shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled Saith the Lord
These revelations and testimonies you have before. Let my Saints search the word of the Lord and treasure up wisdom and be prepared for that which is to come As I have decreed so shall my Judgments begin at the House of God There are those in my Church who have a name among you who are Adulterers and Adulteresses and those who blaspheme my name and those who love and make a lie and those who revel and Drink with the Drunken with the drunken (Sic) if they do not spedy (sic) repent of their wickedness and.Abominations they shall be severed from the ordinances of my house saith the Lord.
There are many who have need to repent whose hearts are set upon the things of this world, who asspire to the honors of men and do not honor the Priesthood, nor seek to build up the Kingdom of God as they should Neither do they learn or comprehend that the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the Powers of heavens and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled or handled ownly upon the principles of righteousness such should repent and turn unto the Lord and seek for the Holy Spirit to guide them Judgments will begin at my house and from thence will they go forth unto the wicked, and the wicked cannot escape Blessed are the pure in heart, for my Blessings await them in this life and Eternal Life in the world to come
Thus saith the Lord unto you mine servants the Apostles who dwell in the flesh fear ye not your Enemies Let not your hearts be troubled I am in your midst I am your Advocate with the Father I have given mine Angels charge concerning you, mine eyes are upon you. and the Eyes of your Heavenly Father and the Heavenly Hosts, and all Justfied Spirits made perfect are watching over you. Your works are manifest before the face of my servants who have sealed their Testimony with their Blood and before all of my servants of the Twelve Apostles whom I have taken unto myself. The vail is taken from off their faces and they know your works They await your coming when you have finished your testimony in the flesh. Therefore be ye faithful untill I come. My coming is at the door. Call upon the Lord in mighty Prayer. Ask and you shall receive whatever you agree is touching anything and ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you seek dilligently to build up Zion and magnify your
high calling and your enemies shall not prevail over you Zion shall not be moved out of her Place. Zion shall prevail against her enemies My People shall not be hindered in the building of my Temple unto my hold Name if they will harken to my voice and do as I command them.
The blood of my servant Joseph & Hyrum and of mine Apostles and Elders which have been shed for the word of God & Testimony of Jesus Christ cries from the ground for vengeance upon the Nation who have shed their blood but that Blood shall spedily be avenged and shall seace to cry unto me for the hour of Gods Judgment is fully come and shall be poured out without measure upon the wicked.
But harken & hear O ye Apostles Elders & people of my church to the word of the Lord concerning you that for all the Blessings that I will pour out upon you and the inhabitants of Zion, and the Judgments and destructions upon the wicked that I will be inquired of by you to ask the Father in my name to do and to perform these things for you. As I told all the House of Israel by my servant Moses that they should ask of my hand for all these blessings which I the Lord had promised unto Israel in the Latter Days. And as I the Lord ordained my Apostles who were with me in my ministry, and Promised them that they should sit upon Twelve Thrones Judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel so I say unto you mine Apostles whom I have raised up in these last days that I have ordained you to bear record of my name and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentile first and then to the House of Israel. I have also ordained you to set upon Thrones and Judge the Gentiles and all of the inhabitants
of the Earth unto whom you have borne testimony of my name in the day and Generation in which you live.
Therefore how great is your calling and responsibility before me. Therefore gird up the loins of your minds and magnify your callings in the fear of God and prepare for the coming of the Son of Man which is nigh at the Door No man knoweth the day or the hour but the Signs of both heaven and earth indicate his (sic) coming as promised by the Mouth of my deciples the fig trees are leaving and the hour is nigh Therefore prepare yourselves O ye Saints of the Most High God with oil in your Lamps, for Blessed is he that watcheth for the Coming of the Son of man Again hear ye the word of the Lord O ye mine Apostles whom I have chosen in these last days to bear record of my Name and to Lead my People Israel untill the coming of the son of Man.
I the Lord have raised up unto my servant John Taylor to Preside over you & to be a Law Giver unto my Church He has mingled his Blood with that of the Martered Prophets Nevertheless while I have taken my servants Joseph & Hyrum Smith unto myself I have preserved my servant John Taylor for a wise purpose in me I have also taken many others of the Apostles unto myself for I take whom I will take and preserve in life those whom I will preserve according to the council of my own will.
And while my servant John Taylor is your President I wish to ask the rest of my servants of the Apostles the question Although you have one to Preside over your Quorum and over the Church which is the order of God in all generations Do you not all of you hold the Apostleship which is the highest authority ever given to man on the earth You do. Therefore you hold in Common the keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world you each of you have power to unlock the vail of Eternity and hold convers with God the Father and his son Jesus Christ and to have the Administration of Angels. It is your right privilege & duty to inquire of the Lord his mind & will concerning yourselves the inhabitants of Zion and their interest And whenever any one of you receive the word of the Lord Let it be written and Presented in your Council and whatever by a united council you deem wisdom to be presented unto the people let it be presented by the President my servant John Taylor as the word of the
Lord in this way you will uphold him & strengthen his hands as all the burden should not rest upon one man. For thus saith the lord All of mine Apostles should be fill of the Holy Ghost of inspiration and revelation and know the mind & will of God and be prepared for that which is to come Therefore let mine Apostles keep my commandments and obey my laws and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you Fear not for lo I am with you until I come I come quickly even so Amen.
A Prayer written By Wilford Woodruff By request of President John Taylor to be Presented at the Altar
O God Our Eternal Father, Thou who dwellest in the heavens Thou who hast Created the heavens and the Earth and all that dwelleth therein Thou art the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Thou hast sustained thy Prophets, Apostles, and anointed Ones from Eternity to Eternity. Therefore we Come before thee, in Confidence and in faith, as thy Saints, thine Apostles, and they friends, to make our wants known unto thee, the Lord Our God. Thou art our Eternal Father, the Father of our spirits, and hast Called us and ordaind us, and Commanded us to go forth unto the inhabitants of the Earth /in this generation to declare unto them the gospel of Jesus Christ the words of Life and salvation & thou hast Commanded us to go forth unto the Nations of the Earth/ unto the most notible Cities, towns and villages of the world reproveing them in righteousness of all their wickedness and abominations, and warning them of the desolation which awaiteth them if they reject the message and testimony w
hich thou hast sent unto them.
Therefore O Lord our God we have obeyed they commandments in thes things. We have gone forth through our Own Nation and the Nations of the earth, and have declared faithfully unto them the gospel of Jesus Christ. /We have travelled in poverty affliction & persecution./ We have travelled without purse or scrip and declaired thy word freely without money and without price, and been chargeable to no man, as thou knowest, for thou knowest all our ways. Thou hast given unto us of thy Holy Spirit and of the Testimony of Jesus Christ for which we thank thee, O our Father and we have found many of thy Sons and Daughters of the seed of Abraham who have received Our testimony among the Nations of the Earth and have been gathered Home unto Zion in the Mountains of Israel. For these things O our Father we feel to praise thy Holy Name.
Thou hast made us many promises through the mouth of thy servant Moses, and through many of the ancient Prophets and Apostles who by inspiration and revelation saw our day. Thou hast also made us many promises through the mouth of thy servant Joseph whom thou hast raised up to lay the foundation of thy Church and Kingdom in this last dispensation, and who has sealed his testimony with his own blood. Thou hast also Commanded us to ask the Father in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ for all blessings promised onto us.
Therefore O Our Father, we Come before thee for this purpose. Thou hast Commanded us O Our God through the mouth of thy Servant Joseph Smith the Prophet, that whenever any Nation or people or house or individual rejects us or our testimony of Jesus Christ or his gospel we should go alone by ourselves and Cleanse our feet with water pure water whether in heat or in Cold and bear testimony against that Nation, or man, or house, or people before thee our Father and thy son Jesus Christ and the Heavenly hosts.
Now our Father who art in heaven we bear testimony unto thee that from the hour that Moroni gave into the hands of thy servant Joseph the sacred Record from the hill Cumorah wicked and ungodly men sought his life and Continued to persecute him up to the hour of his death and finally shed his Blood and martered him with his Brother Hyram in Carthage Jail for the word of God & Testimony of Jesus Christ. And the wicked of this Nation have Continued to persecute thy servants from time to time, untill the present hour. The wicked of this Nation have driven thy people from town to town from state to State and finally driven them from the Nation into the wilderness, into these Mountains of Israel.
And now our Enemies are not satisfied because we still live and prosper. Even Our Nation itself is taking a stand against thy Church and Kingdom and has passed laws forbidding us to obey the Law of the Celesstal Patriarchal Order of marriage which thou hast Commanded us to obey. The blood of one of thy servants has been shed. Others have been imprisioned because they would not deny thy word.
Now O Lord our God we bear our testimony against these men, befor Thee and the heavenly hosts and we bear testimony unto thee Our heavenly Father that we according to thy Commandments unto us we have gone alone by ourselves and Clensed our feet in pure water and born testimony unto Thee and thy Son Jesus Christ and to the heavenly hosts against these wicked men by name as far as the spirit has manifested them unto us. We have borne our testimony against those who have shed the blood of thy Prophets and Apostles and anointed Ones, or have given Consent to their death and against those who have driven thy saints and imprisoned them and those who are still ready to deprive us of Life, Liberty and the privilege of keeping the Commandments of God.
And now O Lord our God Thou hast Commanded us that when we have done this we should gather ourselves together in our holy Places and Clothed in the Robes of the Holy Priesthood should unite ourselves together in Prayer and supplication and that we should bear our testimony against these men by name as far as wisdom should dictate. Now O God our Eternal Father we ask in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ that in this important act of our lives we may do nothing but what shall be acceptable in thy sight. May the same spirit of Mercy love and Charity dwell in our hearts that dwell in the Soul of Jesus of Nazareth when he gave up the Ghosts upon the Cross and may we do nothing in this act but which we do by the Commandment of God.
Now O Lord our God we present before thee, the God of Israel and thy son Jesus Christ and Before the heavenly hosts, and Before Abraham Isaac & Jacob, And all the Justified spirits made perfect And Before the Altar the following names:
/This list of Names are in print & I omit recording them here./ * * * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
O Lord our God these Classes of Men whether living or dead have made war against Thee and thy kingdom and thine anointed ones. Some have shed the blood of thy Prophets and Apostles. Others have Consented unto their death and have persecuted the Saints of God and have driven them from place to Place and finally driven them into these mountains of Israel and barren deserts and many of our Nation their Presidents Governors and judges still seek our destruction and still wish to pass laws to prevent us from Building up thy Kingdom and keeping thy Commandments and from redeeming our dead and performing the work which thou has Commanded us to do and to deprive us of our freedom as men and our rights as Citizens.
Now O Lord Our God thou knowest the Situation this Nation. All their Sins wickedness and abominations are open before thy face. They are not hid from thee. Thou knowest the hearts and intent of the Children of men towards thy People. Our Father in heaven we Pray unto thee and ask thee in the name of thy son Jesus Christ that thou wilt protect they Church, thy Kingdom and thy people from the Power of the wicked. O Lord may this Nation not have power to prevent thy Saints from keeping thy Commandments, from building the Temples of our God and redeeming Our dead.
Cloth thy servants John Taylor George Q Cannon and Joseph F Smith with the power of God and the Revelations of Jesus Christ and also their Brethren the Apostles that they may be of one heart & one Mind and have power to lead Israel unto Salvation and Eternal life. Cloth all the faithful Elders of Israel with the power of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. O Lord protect Zion that she may not be moved out of her place.
O Lord Bless George Q Cannon as the Representative of thy people. May He be maintained by thy Power and be Enabled thereby to ward off Every blow aimed at our liberties. May he be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ, that his Garments may be Clean from the blood of this Nation.
O Lord hear us from heaven thy Holy dwelling place and answer our Pe[ti]tions Sustain thine anointed ones and deliver us from the hands of Our Enemies. Overthrow the Evil designs of the wicked and ungodly against thy Saints and break Evry weapon formed against us. Give thy people O Lord power to build up Zion and Redeem Our dead and be prepared for the Coming of the Son of Man. And we will ascribe all the honor power and Glory unto God and the Lamb both Now and forever. Amen. [from the Appendix of Wilford Woodruff's Diary] (1)
-- Jan 27, 1880
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] Jan 27, 1880 I arose in the morning after the visions of the night with my heart filled with Joy and gratitude for the manifestations of the spirit of God unto me. I have written the Revelation of God unto me as it was given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I had read the Revelation in the Doctrins & Covenants and Prayed earnestly unto the Lord to show me his mind & will Concerning myself and my brethren the Apostles and the Lord gave me that Revelation in answer to my Prayers. I spent the day in reading. (1)
Footnotes:
1 - Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993
Mormon Timeline: Dreams
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
