In 1832, I was inspired to go to Rhode Is- land; my brother, Asahel, was also directed by the Spirit of God to go to the same place. When we met, we both told our impressions, and it caused us to marvel and wonder, what the Lord wanted of us in Rhode Island; but as we had made preparations to move to the west, we let outward circumstances control us, and Jonah-like, instead of going to Rhode Is- land, we went to Richland, Oswego Co., New York, and there remained until Dec. 29, 1833, when I heard Elders Zerah Pulsipher and Elijah Cheeny preach. My brother Azmon and I believed their testimony, entertained the elders and offered ourselves for baptism the first sermon we heard. We read the Book of Mormon, and I received a testimony that it was true. We soon learned what the Lord wanted of us in Rhode Island, for at the time we were warned to go there, two of the elders were preaching there, and had we gone, we should have embraced the work at that time.

Shortly, Joseph called the brethren together at Lyman Wight's, and told them if they would humble themselves be- fore the Lord, and covenant to keep His com- mandments and obey His counsel, the plague should be stayed from that hour, and there should not be another case of cholera in the camp. The brethren covenanted to do do this and the plague was stayed and there was not another case in camp.

I had a great desire to preach the gospel, which I did not name to my brethren, but one Sunday evening I retired into the woods alone, and called upon the Lord in earnest prayer to open my way to go and preach the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth; the spirit of the Lord bore witness that my prayer was heard, and should be answered. I arose from my knees happy, and walked some forty rods and met Elias Higbee, a High Priest, with whom I had staid a number of months. As I ap- proached him, he said "Br. Wilford, the Spirit of the Lord tells me that you should be or- dained and go on a mission." I replied, "I am ready."

On the 24th, while in the swamps, I had an attack of the rheumatism and could not travel fast. My companion, br. Brown, had got in a hurry, and wished to return to his family in Kirtland, and as I could not travel as fast as he wished, we parted. He left me sitting on a log in the mud and water; I was lame and un- able to walk, without food, and twelve miles from the nearest house on the road; he went out of sight in great haste. I then knelt down in the water and prayed to the Lord to heal me. The Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I was healed; the pain left me; I arose and went my way. Whenever I met with one or more families, I preached and bore testimony to them.

Nov. 15—While traveling in the night with br. Benjamin L. Clapp and others, a tremend- ous storm of wind and rain overtook us. We came to a creek which had swollen to such an extent by the rain that we could not cross without swimming our horses; several of the company were females. We undertook to head [Column 2] the stream, to ford it, but in the attempt, in the midst of the darkness and the raging of the wind and rain, we were lost in the thick woods, amidst the rain, wind, creeks and fal- len tree tops; we crossed streams nearly twen- ty times. I was reminded of Paul's perils by water; but the Lord was merciful unto us in the midst of our troubles, for while we were groping in the dark, running the risk of killing both ourselves and animals by riding off pre- cipitous bluffs, a bright light suddenly shone round about us, and revealed our perilous situ- ation as were upon the edge of a deep gulf. The light continued with us until we found a house and learned the right road; then the light disappeared, and we were enabled to reach the house of br. Henry Thomas at nine o'clock, all safe, having rode twenty miles, five hours in the storm, and we felt to thank the Lord for our preservation.

A woman was possessed of the devil and greatly afflicted, much of the time was dumb; four of us laid hands upon her, and cast the devil out in the name of Jesus Christ, and she was made whole, and gave thanks unto God, and went on her way rejoicing.

On the 24th, while in the swamps, I had an attack of the rheumatism and could not travel fast. My companion, br. Brown, had got in a hurry, and wished to return to his family in Kirtland, and as I could not travel as fast as he wished, we parted. He left me sitting on a log in the mud and water; I was lame and un- able to walk, without food, and twelve miles from the nearest house on the road; he went out of sight in great haste. I then knelt down in the water and prayed to the Lord to heal me. The Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I was healed; the pain left me; I arose and went my way. Whenever I met with one or more families, I preached and bore testimony to them.

We undertook to head the stream, to ford it, but in the attempt, in the midst of the darkness and the raging of the wind and rain, we were lost in the thick woods, amidst the rain, wind, creeks and fal- len tree tops; we crossed streams nearly twen- ty times. I was reminded of Paul's perils by water; but the Lord was merciful unto us in the midst of our troubles, [Acts 27] for while we were groping in the dark, running the risk of killing both ourselves and animals by riding off pre- cipitous bluffs, a bright light suddenly shone round about us, and revealed our perilous situ- ation as were upon the edge of a deep gulf. The light continued with us until we found a house and learned the right road; then the light disappeared, and we were enabled to reach the house of br. Henry Thomas at nine o'clock, all safe, having rode twenty miles, five hours in the storm, and we felt to thank the Lord for our preservation.

We traveled and la- bored together; persecution raged against us. Elder Patten bore a strong and forcible testi- mony of the work of God, and when we were opposed by mobs he would rebuke them in great plainness; we were threatened, but not injured. The sick were healed under our ad- ministrations.

Prests. Joseph Smith and O. Cow- dery addressed the Saints in the Temple. Jo- seph blessed the people in the name of the Lord, and said, if we would be faithful, we should arise above our embarrassments and be delivered from the hands of our enemies.

Feb. 19—I attended meeting at the Temple. Prest. Joseph Smith had been absent on busi- ness for the church, but not half as long as Moses was in the mount away from Israel; yet many of the people in Kirtland, if they did not make a calf to worship as did the Israelites, turned their hearts away from the Lord and from his servant Joseph[Exodus 32:1-8], and had engaged in speculation and given away to false spirits, until they were darkened in their minds; and many were opposed to Joseph Smith, and some wished to appoint David Whitmer to lead the church in his stead. In the midst of this cloud of dark spirits, Joseph returned to Kirtland, and this morning arose in the stand. He appeared much depressed; but soon the Spirit of God rested upon him, and he addressed the assembly in great plain- ness for about three hours, and put his enemies to silence. When he arose he said, "I am still the President, Prophet, Seer, Revelator and Leader of the church of Jesus Christ. God, and not man, has appointed and placed me in this position, and no man or set of men have power to remove me or appoint another in my stead, and those who undertake this, if they do not speedily repent, will burn their fingers and go to hell.["] He reproved the people sharply for their sins, darkness and unbelief; the power of God rested upon him, and bore testimony that his sayings were true.

I received my washings and an- ointings in the house of the Lord. I spent the whole night in the Temple, with others of the Seventies, in prayer and fasting, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon us. After twenty-four hours I partook of food.

The Presidency of the Church, the Twelve Apostles, and other quorums, met in solemn assembly, and sealed upon our heads, our washings, anointings and blessings with a loud shout of hosannah to God and the Lamb; the Spirit of the Lord rested upon us. After spending three hours in the upper room, the quorums repaired to the lower court; the vails were lowered, and the ordinance of washing of feet was administered.

July 22—I was with Prest. Joseph Smith and his council and the Twelve: it was a day of God's power with the Prophet. He healed many who were sick nigh unto death, among whom were Elijah Fordham and Joseph B. Nobles; even the wicked rabble followed to see the sick healed. As Joseph was about to cross the river a man came to him and asked him if he would go about three miles and heal two of his small children, who were twins, about three months old, and were sick nigh unto death. He was a man of the world; he had never heard a sermon preached by a Latter- day Saint. Joseph said he could not go, but he would send a man. After hesitating a mo- ment, he turned to me and said, "You go with this man and heal his children"—at the same time giving me a red silk handkerchief, and said, "After you lay hands upon them, wipe their faces with it, and they shall be healed; and as long as you will keep that handkerchief it shall ever remain as a league between you and me." I went and did as I was command- ed, and the children were healed.

I was immediately called upon to visit a woman possessed with the devil; she was raging and foaming and had to be held by four men. The more we rebuked the devil the worse she raged. We continued to pray and administer until we cast the devil out. She arose and gave thanks to the Lord. The devil then entered into a young child, and we cast him out. I

We baptized over eighteen hundred, including all of the United Brethren save one. We bap- tized over two hundred preachers of various denominations in that part of the vineyard. A synod of church ministers became so alarm- ed for their flocks in that part of the vineyard, they petitioned Parliament to adopt measures to stop our preaching. They received for an answer, that if they were as well acquainted with the Bible as their hunting grounds, and were as much interested in the welfare of the souls of men, as the chasing of the stags and foxes, they would not lose so many of their congregations.

Prest. Joseph Smith addressed the elders for three hours, clothed with the Spirit and power of God. He unbosomed his feelings in the house of his friends, and gave much instruction. He urged upon us the absolute necessity of giving strict heed to his teachings and counsel and the re- velations of the Lord to the church, and be wise in all things, that Zion and her stakes my be redeemed and established, no more to be thrown down. He said, that the kings of the earth would yet come to behold the glory of Zion, and that great and glorious blessings would be bestowed upon the Saints in the last days.

Prest. Smith spoke in the after- noon, and said in the name of the Lord that the judgments of God would rest upon those men who had professed to be his friends, and friends of humanity, and in building up Kirt- land, a stake of Zion, but had turned traitors to him, and the interests of the kingdom of God, and had given power into the hands of our enemies against us; they had oppressed the poor Saints, and had brought distress upon them, and had become covenant break- ers, for which they will feel the wrath of God.

A woman was possessed of the devil and greatly afflicted, much of the time was dumb; four of us laid hands upon her, and cast the devil out in the name of Jesus Christ, and she was made whole, and gave thanks unto God, and went on her way rejoicing. We visited several other branches and preached the word of God, and several of the sick were healed.

I preached in a school house in West Avon to an attentive congregation; after meet- ing I baptized my uncle, Ozem Woodruff, his wife and son, John, in fulfillment of a dream which I had at ten years of age.

we arrived at sun- set, without means to prosecute our journey further. We retired to a high hill, and bowed before the Lord, and prayed that he would open our way; the Spirit of the Lord rested upon us, and testified unto us that our prayers would be answered.

The hour of meeting arrived, and I preached to a full house upon the first principles of the gospel, and bore testimony that the Lord had raised up a prophet, and had commenced to establish his church and kingdom again upon the earth, in fulfillment of his word, as spoken through the ancient prophets and apostles.

Mr. Kent, the postmaster, showed me a letter containing two sheets of foolscap signed by Warren Parrish and several of the Twelve, who had apostatized and been cut off from the church. The communication was full of slander and falsehoods against Joseph Smith and all that stood by him. It was sent with the intention of breaking up the work upon these islands

I received a letter from Thomas B. Marsh, informing me of my appointment to fill the place in the Quorum of the Twelve of one who had fallen, and I was requested to come to Far West as soon as possible, to prepare for a mission to England in the spring.

We started upon our journey. My child was in the first stages of the hooping- cough. Our company consisted of fifty three persons; we had ten wagons, with a pair of horses to each. We had before us, at this late period, a gloomy laid journey of two thousand miles, from Maine to Missouri. We continued to travel through rain, mud, cold, frost and snow, until we arrived in Rochester, Sangamon county, Illinois, Dec. 19, where I stopped and settled my family and company for the winter, being unable to proceed further. My wife had passed through a severe course of the brain fever while upon the journey; her sufferings had been very great. Her spirit had left her body twice to all human appearance, and only been called back through the prayer of faith and the power of God. Our child had also been very sick, and I had become so thoroughly chilled through my whole system, in crossing the bleak prairies, that it was two months after I stopped before I got sufficiently warmed to feel natural.

I took my family and started for Quincy, where I arrived on the 16th. I dined with Emma Smith at Judge Cleveland's. I then went on to the bank of the river near Quincy, and saw a great many of the Saints, old and young, lying in the mud and water, in a rain storm, without tent or covering, which suffering was caused by the unhallowed perse- cution of the State of Missouri. The sight filled my eyes with tears, while my heart was made glad at the cheerfulness of the Saints in the midst of their affliction.

I was with Prest. Joseph Smith and his council and the Twelve: it was a day of God's power with the Prophet. He healed many who were sick nigh unto death, among whom were Elijah Fordham and Joseph B. Nobles; even the wicked rabble followed to see the sick healed. As Joseph was about to cross the river a man came to him and asked him if he would go about three miles and heal two of his small children, who were twins, about three months old, and were sick nigh unto death. He was a man of the world; he had never heard a sermon preached by a Latter- day Saint. Joseph said he could not go, but he would send a man. After hesitating a mo- ment, he turned to me and said, "You go with this man and heal his children"—at the same time giving me a red silk handkerchief, and said, "After you lay hands upon them, wipe their faces with it, and they shall be healed; and as long as you will keep that handkerchief it shall ever remain as a league between you and me." I went and did as I was command- ed, and the children were healed.

As I met in the evening with a large assembly in Hanley, the Lord revealed unto me that it would be the last meeting that I would hold with the Saints in the Potteries for many days; I told the people it was the last meeting I should hold with them for a season; it created much excitement. I had appointments out for a week, which I got bro. Cordon to fill. I went before the Lord in pray- er, and asked him where I should go; the Spirit said, "Go to the south." According to the directions of the Spirit, on the 3rd, I went to Herefordshire, and called upon John Ben- bow at Castlefroom; I found a people prepared for the gospel. I preached twice at his house. On the 6th, I baptized six persons, including [Column 4] John Benbow and wife. I here found a society called "United Brethren," numbering about six hundred members, and about fifty preach- ers; Thos. Kington was the presiding elder. They came from all quarters to hear me preach, and believed my testimony; and I preached and baptized daily. The ministers of the Church of England sent three church clerks to see what I was doing, and I baptized them. One constable came to arrest me for preaching, and I baptized him. In about thirty days I baptized 160, forty eight of whom were preach- ers of the United Brethren, including their presiding elder, Thomas Kington.

I preached to the people; five came forward to be baptized. The mob surrounded the pool, armed with stones. I dismissed the meeting, and went away; but the congrega- tion and mob remained on the ground till mid- night; and as there was no prospect of their dispersing, and the candidates were anxious to be baptized, I went down into the water and baptized five in the midst of a shower of stones. The water was all in a foam for a rod around me. None that I baptized were hit, and I was only hit twice, once on my hip and once on my head; the blow on my head raised a large bump, which went away while I was confirming: subsequently I baptized many of the mob.

I spent about seven months in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. We baptized over eighteen hundred, including all of the United Brethren save one. We bap- tized over two hundred preachers of various denominations in that part of the vineyard.

I have ever been impressed since my first acquaintance with the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth, with the importance of keeping a journal and record of the dealings of God with this people, and our official acts in the ministry, and under this view I have written sketches of most of the sermons and teachings which I have heard from the mouth of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and many of the teachings of the Twelve Apostles and others; believing this course to be beneficial, I would recommend the elders of Israel to do likewise, that what is recorded on earth may be recorded in heaven.

VARIED and diverse are the lives and for- tunes of men; while the paths of some are strewn with flowers and ease from the cradle to the grave, with naught to disturb their peace; others are marked victims of varied misfortunes, accidents and dangers. The last named class is the one in whose ranks I have stood, through my infancy, childhood, youth and manhood, up to the present time, so much so that it has seemed as though some invisible power or fate was watching my foot steps in order to find some opportunity to take my life from the earth. I can only attribute the con- tinuation of my life to the present time to a merciful God, whose hand has been stretched out and rescued me from death in the midst of the many dangers and hair breadth escapes, I have passed through

I have occupied considerable space in refer- ring to those peculiar circumstances which have attended me during life, and to sum the matter up it stand thus: — I have broken both legs — one in two places — both arms, my breast bone and three ribs, and had both ankles dis- located. I have been drowned, frozen, scalded, and bit by a mad dog — have been in water wheels under full head of water — have passed through several severe fits of sickness, and encountered poison in its worst forms — have landed in a pile of railroad ruins — have barely been missed by the passing bullet, and have passed through a score of other hair-breadth escapes. It has appeared miraculous to me, that with all the injuries and broken bones which I have had, I have not a lame limb, but have been enabled to endure the hardest labor, exposures and journeys — have often walked forty, fifty, and on one occasion, sixty miles in a day. The protection and mercy of God has been over me, and my life thus far has been preserved; for which blessings I feel to render the grati- tude of my heart to my Heavenly Father, pray- ing that the remainder of my days may be spent in His service and in the building up of His kingdom.