A Revelation to Wilford Woodruff.
In the Wilderness, .
Thus saith the Lord unto my ser-
vant, Wilford Woodruff, I have heard thy
prayer and will answer thy petition. I
will make known unto thee my will concern-
ing the nations who encumber the land of
promise, and also concerning Zion and her
inhabitants. I have already revealed my
will concerning the nation through the mouth
of my servant Joseph, who sealed his testimony
with his own blood, which testimony has been
in force upon all the world from the hour of
his death. What I the Lord have revealed
in that testament and decreed upon the nation,
and upon all the nations of the earth, shall
be fulfilled, saith the Lord of hosts. I the
Lord have spoken and will be obeyed. My
purposes shall be fulfilled upon this nation,
and no power shall stay my hand. The
hour is at the door when my wrath and in-
dignation will be poured out upon the wick-
ed of the nations. Their murders, blas-
phemies, lyings, whoredoms, and abomina-
tions have come up before my face and
before the heavens, and the wrath of mine
indignation is full. I have decreed
plagues to go forth and waste mine ene-
mies, and not many years hence they shall
not be left to pollute my heritage. [Doctrine and Covenants 105:15] The
devil is ruling over his kingdom, and my
spirit has no place in the hearts of the rulers
of this nation, and the devil stirs them up to
defy my power and to make war upon my
Saints. Therefore, let mine apostles and
mine elders who are faithful obey my command-
ments which are already written for their profit
and guidance.
Thus saith the Lord unto my servant
John Taylor, and my servant Wilford Woodruff,
and my servant Orson Pratt, and to all the resi-
due of mine apostles, Have you not gone forth
in my name without purse or scrip and de-
clared the Gospel of life and salvation unto this
nation and the nations of the earth, and warned
them of the judgments which are to come, as
you have been moved upon by the power of the Holy
Ghost and the inspiration of the Lord? You
have done this year by year for a whole generation
as men count time. Therefore your gar-
ments are clean of the blood of this generation, and
especially of this nation. Therefore, as I have
said in a former commandment, so I the Lord
say again unto mine apostles, go ye alone by
yourselves, whether in heat or in cold, and cleanse
your feet in water, put water, it matters not whether
it be by the running streams or in your closets, but
leave these testimonies before the Lord and the heav-
enly hosts; and when you have all done this
then gather yourselves together in your holy places,
and clothe yourselves with robes of the Holy priesthood,
and there offer up your prayers according to my holy
law. Let him who presides be mouth and kneel
upon the holy altar, and there let mine apostles
bring all these testimonies before my face and be-
fore the heavenly hosts and before the justified spirits
made perfect. And thus saith the Lord unto
you, mine apostles, when you bring these testimonies
before me, let them be presented by name as far as
the Spirit shall present them unto you—the presidents
of the United States, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the
Senate and House of the Congress of the United States,
the governors of the States and Territories, the judges
and others sent unto you, and all men and persons
who have taken any part in persecuting you, or bring-
ing distress upon you or your families, or who
have sought your lives, or sought to hinder you from
keeping my commandments, or from enjoying the
rights which the constitutional laws of the land guar-
iantee unto you. And what I the Lord say
unto you, mine apostles, I also say unto my servants
the seventies, the high priests, the elders, the priests,
and all my servants who are pure in heart and who
have borne testimony unto the nations. Let them
go forth and cleanse their feet in pure water, and
bear testimony of it unto their Father who is in
heaven. And then, saith the Lord unto mine
apostles and mine elders, when ye do these things with
purity of heart, I the Lord will hear your prayer and
am bound by oath and covenant to defend you and
fight your battles. As I have said in a former
commandment, it is not my will that mine elders
should fight the battles of Zion, for I will fight your bat-
tles. Nevertheless, let no man be afraid to lay down
his life for my sake, for he that layeth down his life for
my sake shall find it again and have eternal life. [Doctrine and Covenants 103:27]
The nation is ripened in iniquity, and the cup of
the wrath of mine indignation is full, [Doctrine and Covenants 43:26] and I will not
stay my hand in judgments upon this nation, or the
nations of the earth. I have decreed wars and judge-
ments upon the wicked, and my wrath and indigna-
tion are about to be poured out upon them, and the
wicked and rebellious shall know that I am God.
As I the Lord have spoken, so will I fulfill. I will
spare none who remain in Babylon, but I will burn
them up, saith the Lord of hosts. [Doctrine and Covenants 29:9] As I the Lord
have suffered, so will I put all enemies under my feet.
For I the Lord utter my word, and it shall be obeyed.
And the day of wrath and indignation shall come
upon the wicked. And I say again, woe unto
that nation or house or people who seek to hinder
my people from obeying the patriarchal law of Abra-
ham, which leadeth to a celestial glory, which has
been revealed unto my Saints through the mouth
of my servant Joseph, for whosoever doeth these things
shall be damned, saith the Lord of hosts, and shall
be broken up, and wasted away from under heaven
by the judgments which I have sent forth and
which shall not return unto me void. And
thus, with the sword, and by bloodshed, and with
famine, and plagues, and earthquakes, and the
thunder of heaven, and the vivid lightnings shall
this nation and the nations of the earth be made
to feel the chastening hand of an Almighty God
until they are broken up and destroyed, and wasted
away from under heaven, and no power can stay
my hand. Therefore, let the wicked tremble,
let them that blaspheme my name hold their lips,
for destruction will swiftly overtake them. All
that I the Lord have spoken through the mouths
of my prophets and apostles since the world began,
concerning the last dispensation and fulness of
times, concerning my Church which has been called out
of the wilderness of darkness and error, concerning
the Zion and kingdom of God, and concerning Babylon
the Great, and what I have spoken through the mouth
of my servant Joseph, shall all be fulfilled. And
though heaven and earth pass away, my words shall
not pass away, but shall be fulfilled, saith the Lord.
These revelations and testimonies are before
you. Let my Saints search the word of the Lord,
and treasure up wisdom, and be prepared for that
which is to come. As I have decreed, so shall
my judgments begin at the house of God. There
are those in my church who have a name among
you, who are adulterers and adulteresses, and those
who blaspheme my name, and those who love and
make a lie, and those who revel and drink with the
drunken. If they do not speedily repent of this
wickedness and abomination, they should be severed
from the ordinances of my house, saith the Lord.
There are many who have need to repent, whose lusts ^hearts^
are set upon the things of this world, who aspire to
the honors of men, and do not honor the priesthood,
nor seek to build up the kingdom of God, as they should.
Neither do they learn and comprehend that the rights
of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the
powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven can [Doctrine and Covenants 121:36]
not be controlled nor handled, only upon the prin-
ciples of righteousness. Such should repent and
turn unto the Lord, and seek for the Holy Spirit
to guide them. Judgments will begin upon
my house, and from thence will they go forth unto
the world, and the wicked cannot escape. Bles
sed are the pure in heart, for my blessings
await them in this life, and eternal life in the
world to come.
Thus saith the Lord unto you, my servants
the apostles, who dwell in the flesh, Fear ye not
your enemies. Let not your hearts be troubled. I
am in your midst. I am your advocate with
the Father. I have given mine angels charge
concerning you. Mine eyes are upon you,
and the eyes of your heavenly Father and the
heavenly hosts and all justified spirits made perfect
are watching over you. Your works are manifest
before the faces of my servants who have sealed their
testimony with their blood, and before all my ser-
vants of the Twelve Apostles whom I have taken
unto myself. The vail is taken from off their
faces and they know your works. They await
your coming when you have finished your
testimony in the flesh. Therefore, be ye faith-
ful until I come. My coming is at the door[.]
Call upon the Lord in mighty prayer. Ask and
you shall receive. Whenever you agree as touching
anything, and ask the Father in my name, it
shall be given unto you. [Doctrine and Covenants 88:64] Seek diligenty to
build up Zion, and to magnify your high cal-
ling, and your enemies shall not prevail over
you. Zion shall not be moved out of her place. [Doctrine and Covenants 101:17]
Zion shall prevail against her enemies. My
people shall not be hindered in the building of
my temples unto my holy name, if they will
hearken unto my voice and do as I command
them.
The blood of my servants Joseph and Hy-
rum, and of mine apostles and elders, which
has been shed for the word of God and the testimo-
ny of Jesus Christ, cries from the ground for ven-
geance upon the nation which has shed their
blood. But their blood shall speedily be
avenged, and shall cease to cry unto me, for the
hour of God's judgment is fully come and shall
be poured out without measure upon the wicked.
But hearken and hear, O ye apostles, elders, and
people of my church, to the word of the Lord con-
cerning you, that for all the blessing that I will
pour out upon you and the inhabitants of
Zion, and the judgment and destruction
upon the wicked, I will be inquired of by
you to ask the Father in my name to do and
to perform these things for you, as I told
all the house of Israel by my servant Moses that
they should ask at my hand for all those
blessings which I the Lord have promised
unto Israel in the latter days. And as I
the Lord ordained mine apostles who were with
me in my ministry, and promised them
that they should sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel, [Matthew 19:28] so I say
unto you, mine apostles, whom I have
raised up in these last days, that I have
ordained you to bear record of my name,
and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to the Gen-
tiles first, and then to the house of Israel. I
have also ordained you to sit upon thrones
and judge the Gentiles and all of the inhabi-
tants of the earth unto whom you have borne
testimony of my name in the day and genera-
tion in which you live. Therefore, how great
is your calling and responsibility before me!
Therefore, gird up the loins of your minds and
magnify your calling in the fear of God, and
prepare ye for the coming of the Son of Man,
which is nigh at the door. No man knoweth
the day nor the hour. But the signs of both
heaven and earth indicate his coming, as pro-
mised by the mouths of my disciples. The fig
tree is leaving and the hour is nigh. Therefore,
prepare yourselves, O ye Saints of the Most High
God, with oil in your lamps, for blessed is he
that watcheth for the coming of the Son of Man.
Again, hear ye the word of the Lord,
O ye mine apostles, whom I have chosen in
these last days to bear record of my name
and to lead my people Israel until the
coming of the Son of Man, I the Lord have
raised up unto you my servant John Tay-
lor to preside over you and to be a lawgiver
unto my church. He has mingled ^his blood^ with that
of the martyred prophets. Nevertheless, while
I have taken my servants Joseph and Hyrum
unto myself, I have preserved my servant
John Taylor for a wise purpose in me. I
have also taken many others of the apostles
unto myself, for I take whom I will take,
and preserve in life whom I will preserve, ac-
cording to the counsel of my own will. And
while my servant John Taylor is your pres-
ident, I wish to ask the rest of my servants
of the apostles the question, Although you have
one to preside over your quorum, which is the
order of God in all generations, do you not,
all of you, hold the apostleship, which is the
highest authority ever given to men on the
earth? You do. Therefore, you hold in
common the keys of the kingdom of God
in all the world. You each of you have
power to unlock the vail of eternity and
hold converse with God the Father, and
his son Jesus Christ, and to have the
administration of angels. It is your
right, privilege, and duty to inquire of
the Lord as to his mind and will concerning
yourselves and the inhabitants of Zion and
their interests. And whenever any one of
you receives the word of the Lord, let it be
written and presented in your councils.
And whatever, by united consent, you deem
wisdom to be presented unto the people, let
it be presented by the president, my servant
John Taylor, as the word of the Lord. In
this way you will uphold him and strength-
en his hands, as all the burden should not
lie upon one man. For thus saith the
Lord, All mine apostles should be full of the
Holy Ghost, of inspiration and revelation, to know
the mind and will of God, and be prepared
for that which is to come. Therefore, let mine
apostles keep my commandments and obey
my voice, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against you. Fear not, for lo
I am with you until I come. I come
quickly. Even so. Amen.
[sideways text] Revelation to Wilford Wood-
ruff. Jany 26, 1880 [end of sideways text]