Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: History of His Life and Labors, as Recorded in His Daily JournalsWoodruff, Wilford
Religion
Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: History of His Life and Labors, as Recorded in His Daily Journals
Woodruff, Wilford
Woodruff, Wilford, 1807-1898
"Brother Kimball and myself picked the road during our journey of the
following morning, and in the afternoon I piloted as straight as any
road yet made on the whole route, and picked out a camping ground on
the bank of the river in good feed. It should be understood that we
were pioneering a road for the whole House of Israel to travel over for
many years to come and it required, therefore, the greatest care in
marking the route.
"A cold rainy morning followed and we concluded not to start until
the rain stopped. We remained till 10 o'clock and traveled eleven and
one-half miles and camped for the night. During the evening, President
Young called at my fire, and seeing several brethren playing dominoes
in a wagon near by, he began to teach, saying that the devil was
getting power over the camp which had for several days given way to
cards and dominoes, etc., and that if they did not speedily repent,
their works, labors, and journey would be in vain. He said that to be
sure the camp did not quarrel, for the devil would not set them at that
as long as he could draw them gradually away from their duty and fill
them with nonsense and folly, for the devil was very cunning in winning
away the people of God. I felt the force of his remarks.
"During the evening I went into Dr. Richards' wagon and read a chapter
in the Book of Mormon and prayed with him, after which President
Young, H. C. Kimball, Willard Richards, E. T. Benson, and myself met
in council in Brother Brigham's wagon. President Young wrote some of
the words of the Lord concerning the camp and expressed his views and
feelings--that they must speedily repent or they would be cursed, that
they were forgetting their mission, and that he would rather travel
{290} with ten righteous men who would keep the commandments of the
Lord than the whole camp while in a careless manner and forgetting God.
We stayed together until ten o'clock.
"Next morning President Young called the camp together and required
each captain separately to call out his men and when all were present,
except two who had gone out hunting, he addressed them in something
like the following words:
'I think I will take as my text to preach my sermon from, _I am about
to revolt from traveling with this camp any further with the spirit
they now possess._ I had rather risk myself among the savages with ten
men who are men of faith, men of mighty prayer, men of God, than to be
with the whole camp when they forget the Lord and turn their hearts
to folly and wickedness. Yes, I would rather be alone and I am now
resolved not to go any farther with the camp unless you will consent to
humble yourselves before the Lord and serve Him and cease your folly
and wickedness. For a week past, nearly the whole camp has been card
playing, and checkers and dominoes have occupied the attention of the
brethren, and dancing has been going on continually.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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