"Do you suppose the mouth of God is closed to be opened no more? If this were true, I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for this Church. If God has ceased to speak by revelation or by the Holy Ghost, there is no salvation, but such is not so. Woe! Woe! Woe! to all who have shed the blood of the Saints and the Lord's anointed. If you have the spirit of God you can discern right from wrong. When a man is not right, even though his language is as smooth as oil, there will be many queries about him, he will not edify the body of the Saints and I give this to you as a key. Store your grain in Nauvoo, for it will be needed there while you are building the Temple. "I want to say to the hands upon the Temple, be united; and to the committee, don't turn away any person because he is English, Irish, or Scotch. Employ every man you can, and build {227} the Temple and build your homes. I would rather pay out every cent to build up this place and receive an endowment, even were I driven the next minute without anything to take with me. "I had a dream which I will relate here. I saw a fruit tree and went to it in search of fruit. I soon discovered that some of the main branches at the top of the tree growing from the body were dead. It seemed necessary to cut off the dead branches in order to save the tree. I asked someone to help me cut them off. He stepped on a large green limb. He was afraid it would break, so I put my shoulder under it and held it up while he cut off the dead branches. The green limb was cracked but it did not break. After we cut off the dead branches the wounds healed up and the tree grew nicely. Now let us cut off the dead branches of the Church that good fruit may grow." The central idea now in the mind of Brigham Young and the paramount influence actuating him in those days may easily be seen in the steadfast purpose he manifested to build upon the foundation which the Prophet had already laid. He had no ambition to excel his predecessor and was therefore loyal to the Prophet, and throughout all his life he magnified his calling by sustaining the prophetic mission of Joseph Smith. A few of the leaders fell by the wayside, but those who were foremost in supporting the Prophet at the time of his martyrdom were found faithful after his death. Elder Woodruff was no less enthusiastic in the great latter day work than he had formerly been. The men he most respected he regarded simply as instrumentalities of a divine purpose; for to his mind it was a great thing to be an instrument in the hands of God in the furtherance of a new and grand dispensation. His missionary zeal never waned and those mid-summer days of 1844 found him busily occupied making preparations for his departure to England where he was to preside over the British Mission. His wife was to accompany him, and arrangements were made to leave their son, Wilford, during their absence with his old time friend, John Benbow.