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
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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
"The words of the Prophet were not like the words of man, but like the
voice of God. It seemed to me that the house shook on its foundation.
Elijah Fordham leaped from his bed like a man raised from the dead. A
healthy color came to his face, and life was manifested in every act.
His feet had been done up in Indian meal poultices; he kicked these off
his feet, scattered the contents, then called for his clothes and put
them on. He asked for a bowl of bread and milk, and ate it. He then put
on his hat and followed us into the street, to visit others who were
sick.
"The unbeliever may ask, 'Was there not deception in this?' If there
is any deception in the mind of the unbeliever, there was certainly
none with Elijah Fordham, the dying man, or with those who were present
with him; for in a few minutes he would have been in the spirit world,
if he had not been rescued. Through the blessing of God he lived up
till 1880, when he died in Utah; while all who were with him on that
occasion, with the exception of one (myself), are in the spirit world.
Among the number present were Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon,
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Parley P. Pratt,
Orson Pratt, and Wilford Woodruff.
"As soon as we left Brother Fordham's house, we went into the home of
Joseph B. Noble, who was very low. When we entered {106} the house,
Brother Joseph took Brother Noble by the hand, and commanded him, in
the name of Jesus Christ, to arise and be made whole. He did arise, and
was healed immediately.
"While this was going on, the wicked mob in the place, led by one
Kilburn, had become alarmed, and followed us into Brother Noble's
house. Before they arrived there, Brother Joseph called upon Brother
Fordham to offer prayer. While he was praying, the mob entered, with
all the evil spirits accompanying them. As soon as they entered,
Brother Fordham, who was praying, fainted, and sank to the floor. When
Joseph saw the mob in the house, he arose and had the room cleared of
both that class of men and their attendant devils. Then Brother Fordham
immediately revived, and finished his prayer.
"The case of Brother Noble was the last one of healing upon that day.
It was the greatest day for the manifestation of the power of God
through the gift of healing since the organization of the Church.
When we left Brother Noble's, the Prophet Joseph, with those who had
accompanied him from the other side, went to the bank of the river, to
return home.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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