From his early childhood on, Wilford Woodruff kept a complete journal of his daily life, and was meticulous in keeping careful records of Church events as well. Many of those records were used as sources when the history of the Church was compiled years later.

Toward the end of his life, President Woodruff, the fourth president of the Church, wrote the following paragraph:"From the beginning of my ministry in 1834 until the close of 1895 I have traveled in all 172,369 miles; held 7,655 meetings; preached 3,526 discourses; organized 51 branches of the Church and 77 preaching places; my journeys cover England, Scotland, Wales, and 23 states and 5 territories of the Union. My life abounds in incidents which to me surely indicate the direct interposition of God whom I firmly believe has guided my every step. On 27 distinct occasions I have been saved from dangers which threatened my life. . . ." (Matthias Cowley, Wilford Woodruff, p. vi.)

Cowley explained that throughout his full and active life, President Woodruff was the kind of man who, "when once he put his hand to the plow, never looked back."

In Profiles of the Presidents, Joseph M. Tanner, a friend of President Woodruff, is quoted as having said: "No man ever did more in the Church to exalt work and put upon it the impress of divine command than Wilford Woodruff; and he was as unostentatious in physical toil as he was in every other occupation which he honestly and faithfully pursued."

President Woodruff was "not very particular about how things were done, provided they could be accomplished without friction and in a spirit which conformed to the principles of the gospel," Tanner continued.

President Woodruff, who joined the Church at age 26, was an extremely active child. Before he reached adulthood, he had experienced numerous life-threatening accidents: he fell into a caldron of scalding water, fell from a beam in the barn to the floor below, tripped down a flight of stairs, was kicked in the stomach by an ox, was in a wagon when it overturned, fell 15 feet from a tree, nearly drowned in a river, almost froze to death, was bitten by a mad dog and split his instep open with an ax. (Emerson R. West in Profiles of the Presidents, p. 134.)

President Woodruff is well known for his missionary work. He served several missions to Great Britain and various parts of the United States. During one trip to England, "he baptized hundreds," West observed. "Entire congregations and villages accepted the message of the gospel. Nothing quite like it has been recorded elsewhere in the history of the Church."

President Woodruff became president of the Church in 1889. The next year, in 1890, he isssued the Manifesto, which was announced to the world in September. In October, it was ratified in general conference. During the next eight years of President Woodruff's ministry, the attitude of the world toward the Church improved steadily. (Profiles of the Presidents, p. 128.)

*****

(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the gospel doctrine course of study.

Information compiled by Elayne Wells and Kellene Ricks.

Sources: LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, by Andrew Jenson; Profiles of the Presidents, by Emerson R. West.