A REVELATION had been received by the Prophet Joseph on the eighth of July, 1838, in which a commandment was given to fill up the quorum of the Twelve Apostles by ordaining John Taylor, John E. Page, Wilford Woodruff, and Willard Richards to take the places of those who had fallen through apostasy. The following spring "let them depart," said the revelation, "to go over the great waters, and there promulgate my Gospel, the fullness thereof, and bear record of my name. Let them take leave of my Saints in the city of Far West, on the twenty-sixth day of April next, on the building spot of my house." By the twenty-sixth of April, the day set for them to take leave of the Saints to start on their mission, nearly all the members of The Church had been driven from Far West. I have already related, however, in "The Missouri Persecutions" how five of the Apostles and several who were to be ordained returned by different routes to Far West, met with a few of the Saints there and fulfilled the mandates of this revelation, notwithstanding the boasts of the mob that it should fail. [1] For some time the Apostles who started from the public square at Far West for England were detained to aid in settling the Saints at Nauvoo, but the latter part of the summer of 1839 found them making every exertion to continue their journey. Wilford Woodruff and John Taylor were the first of the quorum to leave Nauvoo for England. Elder Woodruff at this time was living at Montrose, and was rowed across the river in a canoe by Brigham Young. On landing, he lay down to rest on a side of sole leather, near the post office. While there Joseph came along and said: "Well, Brother Woodruff, you have started on your mission?" "Yes, but I feel and look more like a subject for the dissecting room than a missionary," was the reply. "What did you say that for?" asked Joseph. "Get up and go along, all will be well with you." Shortly afterwards Elder Woodruff was joined by Elder Taylor, and together they started on their mission. On their way they passed Parley P. Pratt, stripped, bareheaded and barefooted, hewing some logs for a house. He hailed the brethren as they passed and gave them a purse, though he had nothing to put in it. Elder Heber C. Kimball, who was but a short distance away, stripped as Elder Pratt was, came up and said: "As Brother Parley has given you a purse, I have a dollar I will give you to put in it." And mutually blessing each other, they separated to meet again in foreign lands. On the twenty-ninth of August, Parley P. Pratt and his brother Orson started for England, leaving Nauvoo in their own carriage.