The day following their arrival they were met by Elders Hedlock and Ward. They inquired into the affairs of the mission and on January 5th he addressed the people in Music Hall. They made their headquarters with a Brother William Powell, who, Elder Woodruff observes, boarded the elders for a quarter of a century. The new year witnessed the beginning of his active work in the missionary field. Arrangements had to be made for the emigration of the saints to Nauvoo. In those days they went to New Orleans, thence up the Mississippi to Nauvoo. Conferences had to be visited, business affairs of the mission transacted, and attention given to the opening of new fields for missionary activities. The work in the British Mission, however, did not occupy wholly the thoughts and feelings of Elder Woodruff. He had left Nauvoo in an unsettled condition, the future of that city was full of uncertainty. The work on the Temple was all important, with the conviction he had long since formed that that sacred structure must be completed. Letters from home, however, brought him encouragement and assurances. President Young {236} wrote him encouraging letters informing him of the unity and prosperity of the Church in America. He also told him of the call of parley P. Pratt to the presidency of the Eastern States Mission. He explained the plan to publish a paper in New York City. On the 16th of March special conference was held in Manchester. Elder Woodruff was there with his two counselors, Reuben Hedlock and Thomas Ward. He mentions the fact that there were present five other high priests, thirty elders, twenty-one teachers, and four deacons. The conference there was crowded with eager listeners, both members and non-members of the Church. "The spirit of the Lord," he said, "was with us. Love and union pervaded the congregation. It was a scene that made the heart glad when we beheld in a foreign land so many Saints assembled, Saints united in the everlasting covenant. I had often thought how much I would like to see the Prophet Joseph meet with a conference of Saints in England. It was not granted, however, to the British Nation to have the Prophet of God in that land. This was one of the most interesting conferences I had ever attended abroad. It fulfilled a prophecy I had made in the House of the Lord in Kirtland in 1837 to the effect that I should attend a conference with Elder Milton Holmes in the British Isles." These old associates of Wilford Woodruff, men tried and true, were always held in loving remembrance by him. He loved those who loved God. The names of those old-time friends lingered in his memory throughout all the years of a long, busy life.