On the 23rd of April, 1852, Wilford Woodruff accompanied the First Presidency on a tour through the southern settlements as far south as Cedar City, which they had visited once before. On this trip they organized the Iron Company for the purpose of developing the iron deposits of that region. The rodometer showed the distance from Salt Lake to Cedar via Sanpete Valley to be 314 1/2 miles. It was on this visit that the Parowan Stake was organized, with John L. Smith as president, John Steele as first, and Henry Lunt as second counselor. On the 28th of August, 1852, a special conference was held and about one hundred missionaries were called to Europe and other parts of the world. The following October witnessed the call of still other missionaries. In speaking of their blessings President Woodruff said: "The spirit and power of God rested upon us in a great degree. The heavens were opened, and our minds were filled with visions, revelations, and prophecy, while we sealed great blessings upon the heads of the elders and foretold what would befall them by sea and by land; that they would do a great work and gather many Saints and much wealth to Zion." Before the close of the year, there were special meetings of the Council of the Twelve in which the importance of keeping a history of the Twelve was emphasized, and Elder Woodruff was at that time appointed to write a history of his Quorum. Speaking of the Twelve at this time he says: "There has not been a death in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles except that of David Patten, who fell a martyr to his religion, according to the special request he made of the Lord that he might die that death. I lament the fact that David Patten did not leave a record of his life, for he was a true prophet, an apostle, and a fine man. Many {353} miracles were wrought by him. He once told a rich man in Tennessee who fought the work of God, that he and his family would yet beg for their bread. Robert C. Petty saw that same man cry at a blacksmith shop because the blacksmith would not sharpen his plough on credit." Speaking upon the principle of writing a history he said that since he had been a member of the Church he had been inspired to write not only of his own acts and life but to write the sermons, teachings, and prophecies of the Prophet Joseph, President Young, and Council of the Twelve Apostles as far as he was acquainted with their labors. When the new year of 1853 opened Wilford Woodruff gave expression to those noble inspirations which characterized his life. In his journal he writes: "A new year in a new era! How time flies, and how wonderful, how magnificent are the events which are borne upon its wings! It is the opening of a dispensation that includes all other dispensations since the world began. The events of the one thousand years past pale into insignificance compared with the work of the present time."