Higbee for months, and it was the first time he had ever named such a thing to me. Soon after this Elder Woodruff was ordained a Priest, and sent on a mission to Arkansas and Tennessee. During the ministry of Elder Woodruff in England, after he had become an Apostle in the Church, he records the following item of his experience, which was published by him in a little work called "Leaves from My Journal:" March 1st, 1840, was my birthday [anniversary], when I was thirty-three years of age. It being Sunday, I preached twice through the day to a large assembly in the City Hall, in the town of Hanley, and administered the sacrament unto the Saints. In the evening I again met with a large assembly of the Saints and strangers, and while singing the first hymn the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and the voice of God said to me: "This is the last meeting that you will hold with people for many days." I was astonished at this, as I had many appointments out in that district. When I arose to speak to the people, I told them that it was the last meeting I should hold with them for many days. They were as much astonished as I was. At the close of the meeting four persons came forward for baptism, and we went down into the water and baptized them. In the morning I went in secret before the Lord, and asked him what his will was concerning me. The answer I got was, that I should go to the south, for the Lord had a great work for me to perform there, as many souls were awaiting for the word of the Lord. [15] Obedient to the instructions of the Spirit, Elder Woodruff went south into Herefordshire, where he "found a society called 'United Brethren,' numbering about six hundred members and fifty preachers. They were prepared for the reception of the Gospel, so that upon hearing Elder Woodruff's testimony, they came forward and in thirty days he baptized one hundred and sixty persons, forty-eight of whom were preachers, including their presiding Elder, Thomas Kingston. Three clerks of the Church of England were sent by their ministers to see what he was doing, and he baptized them; also a constable who came to arrest him." [16] Subsequently the field of labor widened and through the blessings of God Elder Woodruff was enabled in the course of eight months to bring into the Church over eight hundred souls, including all of the six hundred United Brethren; also some two hundred preachers of various denominations. [17] Elder Woodruff also relates the following incident, among many others, as illustrating the operations of the Spirit of the Lord upon his mind for his bodily preservation: