On one occasion he met Wilford Woodruff, and after scrutinizing him very closely as though he were reading his inmost thoughts, said: "Brother Woodruff, I am glad to see you. I hardly know when I meet those who have been my brethren in the Lord, who of them are my friends. They have become so scarce." Elder Woodruff felt throughout all the subsequent years of his life a supreme satisfaction over the loyalty he had manifested in those trying times to the Prophet of God. Elder Woodruff was so faithful in the discharge of his duties, so humble in his demeanor, so sincere and devoted that he was rewarded by a discerning spirit which kept him in the path of safety when some of his brethren were struggling in the meshes of misgivings and doubt. The correctness of Wilford Woodruff's attitude in those days was manifested in his ability to see in the Prophet the same spiritual power that had been manifested to him on former occasions. Of a meeting held on April 19th, when the Prophet spoke, he writes: "He seemed a fountain of knowledge from whose mouth streams of eternal wisdom flowed. As he stood before the people, he showed clearly that the authority of God was upon him. When speaking of those who professed to be his friends and the friends of humanity, but who had turned against the people and opposed the prosperity of Kirtland, he declared the Lord would deal severely with them. Joseph uttered the feelings of his soul in pain, while reviewing the poverty and afflictions of his people, and while finding false brethren whose course brought peril upon the Saints. Joseph is a father to Ephraim and to all Israel in these last days; and he mourned because of unbelief and treachery among many who had embraced the gospel. He feared lest few in Kirtland should remain worthy to receive an inheritance." "There is not so great a man as Joseph standing in this generation," he wrote later on. "The Gentiles look upon him, and he is like a bed of gold concealed from human view. They know not his principle, his spirit, his wisdom, his virtue, his philanthropy, of his calling. His mind, like Enoch's, expands as eternity, and God alone can comprehend his soul." Misfortune and affliction so often unsettle men's minds and {69} move them from their moorings that they are prone to doubt the goodness of God and His protecting care over them. The highest type of saintly life and divine loyalty among men, alike in affliction and prosperity, was Job. Job was one of those beautiful characters in Old Testament history that appealed strongly to the mind and heart of Wilford Woodruff. His reference to Job in public discourses shows how deeply that worthy character of Holy Writ had influenced his life.