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Wilford Woodruff (March 1, 1807 – September
2, 1898) was the fourth President of the Church
(Mormonism)|President of Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints|The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, from 1889 until his death in
1898.

Woodruff was one of nine children born to Aphek
Woodruff, a miller working in Farmington,
Connecticut. Wilford's mother Beulah died of
"spotted fever" at the age of 26, when he was just
fifteen months old.  Aphek later married Azulah
Hart.  As a young man, Woodruff worked at his
father's mill.  He was always known as a religious
man, but was also enthusiastically involved in the
social life of his community.  He was an avid
outdoorsman, enjoying fishing and hunting.  As an
adult, Woodruff was a farmer, horticulturist and
stockman by trade, but also wrote extensively for
church periodicals. 

Wilford Woodruff lived during the period that the
LDS church authorized plural marriage, and was
married to a total of five women; however, not all
of these marriages were concurrent.  His wives
were:  

* Phoebe Whittemore Carter, m. 13 April 1837.
* Mary Ann Jackson (later divorced)
* Emma Smoot Smith
* Sarah Brown
* Sarah Delight Stocking

These women bore him a total of thirty three
children, with thirteen preceding him in death.

== Church Service ==

Wilford Woodruff, along with his brother Azmon,
was baptized by missionaries of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on 31 December
1833 in Richland, New York.  Other members of the
Woodruff family, including Aphek, joined the
church in 1839.  Wilford became noted for his
success as a missionary, completing several
missionary|missions during his lifetime.  The
church sent him to Arkansas, Tennessee and
Kentucky (1835-1836), to the Fox Islands, Maine
(1837), to England as an proselyting missionary
(1839), to England as President of the Church's
European/English mission (1844), and finally to
the Eastern United States (1848).  

Shortly after his baptism, he accompanied Joseph
Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith|Hyrum in a
journey from Kirtland, Ohio to the Missouri, as a
member of Zion's Camp.  In 1838, he led a party of
fifty-three new converts in wagons from the Maine
coast to Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1839, at the age of
32, Wilford Woodruff was ordained a member of the
Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints by Brigham Young.  He
became a member of the Nauvoo City Council, and
served as chaplain for the Nauvoo Legion, a local
militia. After the death of Joseph Smith, Woodruff
was an active participant in the westward
progression of the LDS Church.  He was a member of
the first pioneer company of Latter Day Saints to
arrive in Utah's Great Basin in 1847. 
      
In 1856, Woodruff began serving as church
historian, and served in this position for
thirty-three years.  During his time as Temple
President over the first completed temple in Utah,
the Saint George, Utah Temple (1877), Woodruff
standardized temple ceremonies.  He was baptized
for the dead in behalf of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence and other founding
fathers, after he claimed to receive a vision,
visitation or manifestation of the departed
spirits of these men.

Many historians consider Woodruff's journals his
most important contribution to LDS history. He
kept a daily record of his life and the church's
activities, beginning with his baptism in  1833
until his death.  These meticulous records provide
insight into not only church doctrines and the
daily actions of church leaders, but also into the
social and cultural aspects of early Mormonism. 
Several significant actions and speeches of early
Church leaders are known only through these
diaries.

== Actions as Church President ==

Wilford Woodruff became President of the LDS
church in 1889 with the death of John Taylor
(1808-1887)|John Taylor.  He was eighty-two. 
Woodruff had never expected to become president,
as Taylor was the younger man.  

During his tenure the church faced a number of
legal battles with the United States, primarily
over the practice of plural marriage.  The church
faced a real possibility of being destroyed as a
viable legal entity.  President Woodruff issued
the 1890 Manifesto which ended polygamy or plural
marriage in the Territory of Utah and directed
Latter-day Saints only to enter into marriages
that are recognized by the laws in the areas in
which they reside. He wrote in his diary, I have
arrived at the point in the history of my life as
the president of the Church...where I am under the
necessity of acting for the temporal salvation of
the Church.... (Wilford Woodruff-Diary, Sept. 25,
1890).  Some historians consider this policy
statement his most important contribution to the
stability of the church.

The church under Woodruff also faced severe
financial difficulties, some of which were related
to the legal problems over polygamy.  Although he
instituted a number of sound financial practices,
he was unable to completely solve these
difficulties during his time as president. 
Woodruff was the LDS president who organized the
Genealogical Society of Utah and dedicated the
Salt Lake Temple.  He died in San Francisco,
California in 1898, and was succeeded in office by
Lorenzo Snow.

== References ==

* Allen, James B. and Leonard, Glen M.  The Story
of the Latter-day Saints.  Deseret Book Co., Salt
Lake City, UT, 1976.  ISBN 0-87747-594-6.
 
* Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor.  Church History,
Selections from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. 
Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 1992. 
ISBN 0-87579-924-8.

* Nibley, Preston.  The Presidents of the Church. 
Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 1974. 
ISBN 0-87747-414-1.

start box
succession box |
  title= President of the LDS Church |
  years= April 7, 1889–September 2, 1898 |
  before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
  after= Lorenzo Snow

succession box |
  title= President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles |
  years= October 10, 1880–April 7, 1889 |
  before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
  after= Lorenzo Snow

series box |
 title= Quorum of the Twelve Apostles |
 years= April 26, 1839–April 7, 1889 |
 before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
 after= George A. Smith |

end box

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Wilford Woodruff (March 1, 1807 – September
2, 1898) was the fourth President of the Church
(Mormonism)|President of Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints|The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, from 1889 until his death in
1898.

Woodruff was one of nine children born to Aphek
Woodruff, a miller working in Farmington,
Connecticut. Wilford's mother Beulah died of
"spotted fever" at the age of 26, when he was just
fifteen months old.  Aphek later married Azulah
Hart.  As a young man, Woodruff worked at his
father's mill.  He was always known as a religious
man, but was also enthusiastically involved in the
social life of his community.  He was an avid
outdoorsman, enjoying fishing and hunting.  As an
adult, Woodruff was a farmer, horticulturist and
stockman by trade, but also wrote extensively for
church periodicals. 

Wilford Woodruff lived during the period that the
LDS church authorized plural marriage, and was
married to a total of five women; however, not all
of these marriages were concurrent.  His wives
were:  

* Phoebe Whittemore Carter, m. 13 April 1837.
* Mary Ann Jackson (later divorced)
* Emma Smoot Smith
* Sarah Brown
* Sarah Delight Stocking

These women bore him a total of thirty three
children, with thirteen preceding him in death.

== Church Service ==

Wilford Woodruff, along with his brother Azmon,
was baptized by missionaries of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on 31 December
1833 in Richland, New York.  Other members of the
Woodruff family, including Aphek, joined the
church in 1839.  Wilford became noted for his
success as a missionary, completing several
missionary|missions during his lifetime.  The
church sent him to Arkansas, Tennessee and
Kentucky (1835-1836), to the Fox Islands, Maine
(1837), to England as an proselyting missionary
(1839), to England as President of the Church's
European/English mission (1844), and finally to
the Eastern United States (1848).  

Shortly after his baptism, he accompanied Joseph
Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith|Hyrum in a
journey from Kirtland, Ohio to the Missouri, as a
member of Zion's Camp.  In 1838, he led a party of
fifty-three new converts in wagons from the Maine
coast to Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1839, at the age of
32, Wilford Woodruff was ordained a member of the
Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints by Brigham Young.  He
became a member of the Nauvoo City Council, and
served as chaplain for the Nauvoo Legion, a local
militia. After the death of Joseph Smith, Woodruff
was an active participant in the westward
progression of the LDS Church.  He was a member of
the first pioneer company of Latter Day Saints to
arrive in Utah's Great Basin in 1847. 
      
In 1856, Woodruff began serving as church
historian, and served in this position for
thirty-three years.  During his time as Temple
President over the first completed temple in Utah,
the Saint George, Utah Temple (1877), Woodruff
standardized temple ceremonies.  He was baptized
for the dead in behalf of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence and other founding
fathers, after he claimed to receive a vision,
visitation or manifestation of the departed
spirits of these men.

Many historians consider Woodruff's journals his
most important contribution to LDS history. He
kept a daily record of his life and the church's
activities, beginning with his baptism in  1833
until his death.  These meticulous records provide
insight into not only church doctrines and the
daily actions of church leaders, but also into the
social and cultural aspects of early Mormonism. 
Several significant actions and speeches of early
Church leaders are known only through these
diaries.

== Actions as Church President ==

Wilford Woodruff became President of the LDS
church in 1889 with the death of John Taylor
(1808-1887)|John Taylor.  He was eighty-two. 
Woodruff had never expected to become president,
as Taylor was the younger man.  

During his tenure the church faced a number of
legal battles with the United States, primarily
over the practice of plural marriage.  The church
faced a real possibility of being destroyed as a
viable legal entity.  President Woodruff issued
the 1890 Manifesto which ended polygamy or plural
marriage in the Territory of Utah and directed
Latter-day Saints only to enter into marriages
that are recognized by the laws in the areas in
which they reside. He wrote in his diary, I have
arrived at the point in the history of my life as
the president of the Church...where I am under the
necessity of acting for the temporal salvation of
the Church.... (Wilford Woodruff-Diary, Sept. 25,
1890).  Some historians consider this policy
statement his most important contribution to the
stability of the church.

The church under Woodruff also faced severe
financial difficulties, some of which were related
to the legal problems over polygamy.  Although he
instituted a number of sound financial practices,
he was unable to completely solve these
difficulties during his time as president. 
Woodruff was the LDS president who organized the
Genealogical Society of Utah and dedicated the
Salt Lake Temple.  He died in San Francisco,
California in 1898, and was succeeded in office by
Lorenzo Snow.

== References ==

* Allen, James B. and Leonard, Glen M.  The Story
of the Latter-day Saints.  Deseret Book Co., Salt
Lake City, UT, 1976.  ISBN 0-87747-594-6.
 
* Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor.  Church History,
Selections from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. 
Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 1992. 
ISBN 0-87579-924-8.

* Nibley, Preston.  The Presidents of the Church. 
Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 1974. 
ISBN 0-87747-414-1.

start box
succession box |
  title= President of the LDS Church |
  years= April 7, 1889–September 2, 1898 |
  before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
  after= Lorenzo Snow

succession box |
  title= President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles |
  years= October 10, 1880–April 7, 1889 |
  before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
  after= Lorenzo Snow

series box |
 title= Quorum of the Twelve Apostles |
 years= April 26, 1839–April 7, 1889 |
 before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
 after= George A. Smith |

end box

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Wilford Woodruff (March 1, 1807 – September
2, 1898) was the fourth President of the Church
(Mormonism)|President of Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints|The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, from 1889 until his death in
1898.

Woodruff was one of nine children born to Aphek
Woodruff, a miller working in Farmington,
Connecticut. Wilford's mother Beulah died of
"spotted fever" at the age of 26, when he was just
fifteen months old.  Aphek later married Azulah
Hart.  As a young man, Woodruff worked at his
father's mill.  He was always known as a religious
man, but was also enthusiastically involved in the
social life of his community.  He was an avid
outdoorsman, enjoying fishing and hunting.  As an
adult, Woodruff was a farmer, horticulturist and
stockman by trade, but also wrote extensively for
church periodicals. 

Wilford Woodruff lived during the period that the
LDS church authorized plural marriage, and was
married to a total of five women; however, not all
of these marriages were concurrent.  His wives
were:  

* Phoebe Whittemore Carter, m. 13 April 1837.
* Mary Ann Jackson (later divorced)
* Emma Smoot Smith
* Sarah Brown
* Sarah Delight Stocking

These women bore him a total of thirty three
children, with thirteen preceding him in death.

== Church Service ==

Wilford Woodruff, along with his brother Azmon,
was baptized by missionaries of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on 31 December
1833 in Richland, New York.  Other members of the
Woodruff family, including Aphek, joined the
church in 1839.  Wilford became noted for his
success as a missionary, completing several
missionary|missions during his lifetime.  The
church sent him to Arkansas, Tennessee and
Kentucky (1835-1836), to the Fox Islands, Maine
(1837), to England as an proselyting missionary
(1839), to England as President of the Church's
European/English mission (1844), and finally to
the Eastern United States (1848).  

Shortly after his baptism, he accompanied Joseph
Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith|Hyrum in a
journey from Kirtland, Ohio to the Missouri, as a
member of Zion's Camp.  In 1838, he led a party of
fifty-three new converts in wagons from the Maine
coast to Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1839, at the age of
32, Wilford Woodruff was ordained a member of the
Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints by Brigham Young.  He
became a member of the Nauvoo City Council, and
served as chaplain for the Nauvoo Legion, a local
militia. After the death of Joseph Smith, Woodruff
was an active participant in the westward
progression of the LDS Church.  He was a member of
the first pioneer company of Latter Day Saints to
arrive in Utah's Great Basin in 1847. 
      
In 1856, Woodruff began serving as church
historian, and served in this position for
thirty-three years.  During his time as Temple
President over the first completed temple in Utah,
the Saint George, Utah Temple (1877), Woodruff
standardized temple ceremonies.  He was baptized
for the dead in behalf of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence and other founding
fathers, after he claimed to receive a vision,
visitation or manifestation of the departed
spirits of these men.

Many historians consider Woodruff's journals his
most important contribution to LDS history. He
kept a daily record of his life and the church's
activities, beginning with his baptism in  1833
until his death.  These meticulous records provide
insight into not only church doctrines and the
daily actions of church leaders, but also into the
social and cultural aspects of early Mormonism. 
Several significant actions and speeches of early
Church leaders are known only through these
diaries.

== Actions as Church President ==

Wilford Woodruff became President of the LDS
church in 1889 with the death of John Taylor
(1808-1887)|John Taylor.  He was eighty-two. 
Woodruff had never expected to become president,
as Taylor was the younger man.  

During his tenure the church faced a number of
legal battles with the United States, primarily
over the practice of plural marriage.  The church
faced a real possibility of being destroyed as a
viable legal entity.  President Woodruff issued
the 1890 Manifesto which ended polygamy or plural
marriage in the Territory of Utah and directed
Latter-day Saints only to enter into marriages
that are recognized by the laws in the areas in
which they reside. He wrote in his diary, I have
arrived at the point in the history of my life as
the president of the Church...where I am under the
necessity of acting for the temporal salvation of
the Church.... (Wilford Woodruff-Diary, Sept. 25,
1890).  Some historians consider this policy
statement his most important contribution to the
stability of the church.

The church under Woodruff also faced severe
financial difficulties, some of which were related
to the legal problems over polygamy.  Although he
instituted a number of sound financial practices,
he was unable to completely solve these
difficulties during his time as president. 
Woodruff was the LDS president who organized the
Genealogical Society of Utah and dedicated the
Salt Lake Temple.  He died in San Francisco,
California in 1898, and was succeeded in office by
Lorenzo Snow.

== References ==

* Allen, James B. and Leonard, Glen M.  The Story
of the Latter-day Saints.  Deseret Book Co., Salt
Lake City, UT, 1976.  ISBN 0-87747-594-6.
 
* Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor.  Church History,
Selections from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. 
Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 1992. 
ISBN 0-87579-924-8.

* Nibley, Preston.  The Presidents of the Church. 
Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 1974. 
ISBN 0-87747-414-1.

start box
succession box |
  title= President of the LDS Church |
  years= April 7, 1889–September 2, 1898 |
  before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
  after= Lorenzo Snow

succession box |
  title= President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles |
  years= October 10, 1880–April 7, 1889 |
  before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
  after= Lorenzo Snow

series box |
 title= Quorum of the Twelve Apostles |
 years= April 26, 1839–April 7, 1889 |
 before=John Taylor (1808-1887)|John Taylor |
 after= George A. Smith |

end box