Get the Delaware grape
the Best for Eating & wine
Concord is good & Hartford prolific
Diana Good
Brother Ozem Woodruff
Dear Sir I Received your vary interesting Letter
under Date of And you may be assured that it was a great
treat to me you are the ownly person upon the Earth of all relations who holds any
correspondance with me by writing except I have occasionally got a letter from Ozem
Thompson I have freequently written to him for the last year but obtained No answer
your Letter informed me that He was at Lovely Street which Explained the matter
to me. As soon as I got your Letter I Read to Father & my family and then Read
it to Bittsey Cossett she says she thinks she has Received all of Annas Letters
that she has written to her. We were glad to hear from so many of our Connecticut
Relations you spent about my not being able to Read your writing I have no difficulty
whatever in reading your writing not near as much as you will have in Reading mine
I do but vary little common Hand writing I am officiating as the (assistant) Historian of the
Church in compiling the History of the Church I have been Employed in this business
for some five years and I Employ clerks to do most of my writing I write all my daily
Journals in this hand and I do all my reporting in phonography I have reported more sermons
& done more Journal writing than any man in the Church and and a great Deal of the
Church History is made from my Journal. I have kept a Daily Journal for twenty
five years & I have Recorded in my Journal mostany off the sermons & teachings
that I have heard Joseph Smith the prophet & Brigham Young and it has been a
gift bestowed upon me that I could hear half a dozen sermons Delivered in
succession & go to my office & sit down next day and write most of them sentence by
sentence as they were Delivered and it is in consequence of this gift that I have been Employ as
the assistant Historian of the Church I have a great anxiety to preserve the History of the
church & kingdom of God esstablished upon the Earth in the last dispensation and
fulness of times for it is destined to become a mountain & fill the whole Earth
as Daniel saw it, and those things which have been prophesied of by Joseph
Smith 30 years ago are now being fulfilled day by Day. [Daniel 2:26-47] I wrote 25 years ago a
Revelation of Joseph Smith saying that a war would commence at the Rebelion of
South Carolina, that South Carolina would Rebel against the Government & that the
Southern States would rise up against the Northern States & the Northern States
would rise up against the Southern States to war & that the Southern States
would call upon Great Britton to defend them against the Northern States & gGreat
Britton would call upon other Nations to Defend them against other Nations &
this war would be poured out upon all Nations & the Slaves would be
marshaled in battel many against their masters. [Doctrine and Covenants 87:1-4] And the Remnant of the Lamanites
would also go forth among the Gentiles & devour them like the Lion among the flocks
of sheep & this war would End in the Death & misery of many souls, & the
Lord would also visit the Nation with thunder & lighting & tempest & whirlwind
& pestilence & Famine & the flame of Devouring fire & the Lord would visit all
the Nations of the Earth with these Judgments untill the Earth was clensed
from the wickednesss & abominations which now reign & the Blood of the Saints
& prophets which had been shed upon the Earth should fully be avenged And Now
Brother Ozem let me tell you in the Name of Jesus Christ that the Lord has commenced
to fulfill these Revelations upon the United Stats & he has commenced a [controversy]
with all Nations & He will never scease untill He has accomplished his purposes
and fulfilled his words & though the Heavens & Earth pass away not one jot or tittle of his
words will fall unfulfilled & the time is at hand when Evry man who will not take
his sword against his Neighbor will have to loose his life or flee to zion for safety
the world will not Believe this Nevertheless they will soon see it. The Church & kingdom of
God is shup up here in these chambers of the mountains & here we will Remain untill
the indignation of the Lord passes over, then we shall Return to Jackson County
Missouri & build up Zion & the Great Temple of our God in that Land upon
the conescrated spot, & this the Latter Day Saints will do as true as God lives
probally this period may not be more than ten years distant Yet there is an
awful scenes of things of war Blood & Judgment to pass over the United States Before
that time yes it will make the ears of men tingle to hear the report of it the
United States do not know what await them No more than the Jews did
before the Destruction of Jerrusalem and they will not believe it though man
Declair it unto them but they will soon both see & feel it or the
Lord never spake by my mouth. I wish you was Here & all my friends who
have any interest in the things of God. For this will be the only safe place upon this
continent during the terrible wars awaiting, & desolation which is abot to sp
sweep over this continent. But says the unbeliever it is impossible for these
things to come to pass. it is impossible to Destroy the United States Government
so thought the citizens of Sodom & Gommorah, of the Antedeluvian world of Jersu
Jerruselem, of Greesce & Rome & Babylon & many other Nations who were
Destroyed from under Heaven why? Because of there wickedness. were they any more
wicked or corrupt than the United States or the Christian world at large which
is great Babylon of the last Days No they were not there never was a more
wicked or corrupt generation upon Earth since the foundation of the world than
the present and the Lord is withdrawing his spirit from the inhabitants of the
Earth as fast as they are rejecting the Gospel which the Lord has sent among them
through the mouth of his servants the prophets which he has raised up in the
Last Days unto this generation The increase of wickendess in the Earth is
awful look back Uncle Ozem to the Days of your youth & compare it with this day
& their is more murders & crime of any kind now committed in one day in
the United States than there was then in ten years and our Government has
become one universal sink of iniquity & gambling Hell from the president of the United
States to the lowest affairs the government including nine tenth of the priests of the day
and think that God will not destroy them Ah He will & this spedily They are like the ox young to
the slaughter but know not the day of their visitation. The priests & people have cryed
out against the Latter Day Saints for the last 30 years But the Latter Day Saints
are the Kingdom of God that Daniel saw & they will stand become a great mountain
& fill the whole Earth while great Babylon will fall & be broaken in peaces l
like the Image & pass away like the chaff of the summers thrushing flour. [Daniel 2:26-47] The Saints
will build up zion litterly as Isaiah saw it while the christan world who have shed the
Blood of the saints will receive the plagues which the revelation John saw, there
will be but two places of safety upon the Earth before the coming of Christ one will be
Zion & the other Jerrusalem. [Isaiah 60] [Revelation 14] The Law will go forth from Zion which will rule
all Nations & the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. when the Judgments of
God are poured out upon the Earth & the wars wars wax hot thousands will
flee to Zion for safety that do not now Dream of such a thing. But Uncle
Ozem seeing that I have got into a kind of spirit of preaching upon this subject I
Believe I will give you a [FIGURE] key to my views to some of the great Events which are to trans-
pire in Rapid succession before the coming of Christ will be in this generation, which Events
must transpire and that to litterally as the prophets declare before Christ will come to
reign on the Earth 1st This gospel of the Kingdom the Everlasting Gospel as seen by thJohn
the Revelator must be preached to every nation tongue & people under Heaven as a witness
unto them before the End come. which the Elders are vary fast doing at the present time
As fast as the Nations reject it and persecute the Saints the Judgments of God will follow as they
are now about to visit the United States the Jews will be gathered out of all Nations
under Heavens unto Jerrusalem they will Rebuild their city & temple in
unbelief & the gentiles Nations will go up to battle aganst them. when
that great destruction will take place in the valley of Jehoshaphat as spoken of
by Ezekiel. The Latter Day Saints will build up Zion. The Ten tTribes of
Israel will be Revealed & come forth from the North country into the land
of Zion & Recieve their Endowments & be crowned under the hands of the children
of Ephraim the servants of God, & Zion will be built up in beauty power
& glory & the Saints have got to become purified & prepared as a Bride adorned
for her Husband [Revelation 21:2] and the wicked Nations will be destroyed by wars & the Judgments of
God. And Christ will descend in the clouds of Heaven & all the Saints who are alive
will be changed & caught up to meet him & the Saints who are in ther graves will
come forth out of ther graves, & will be caught up to meet the Lord then after the
wicked are Destroyed the Lord will Descend to the Earth to reign with his
Saints one thousand years this is what is called the Millennium Now
these things will take place in this generation. there are many now standing
in this generation who will live to see the coming of the Mesiah & one reason
why the Christ will overtake the world like a thief in the night is that the
world do not believe in the litteral fulfillment of the scripture while the fact
is all the prophesies will be litterally fulfilled. You can see from this that there
must be a great Deal done in a little time but we will find that the
Lord will make a short work upon the Earth in the Latter day & you may
look out for sights, signs & wonders from this time Henceforth untill the com-
ing of Christ Now I Realize that to talk these things to the
Christian world it would be nonesens they would take a man to be
crazy for they are strangers to the truth & they will make lies their Refuge
& covering untill itst is swept away by the Judgments of God which is nigh
their Door But I must stop leave this subject although my mind is
upon it more than any thing Els upon Earth. I wish I could see you and spend
a day with you I would value it far above gold. I am well & so is my family
we are all blessed with good health good House & home & Enough to eat Drink
& ware Father Woodruff is vary well & smart & will work at something. I
Have an Indian Boy well able to saw up all my wood but Father will not let
him saw much as He wants to saw it Himself Father sends his bests Repects to
you & would be glad to see you. I think you saw my wife in Connecticut
Phebe Carter was her maiden name she has had 9 children lost 5 & has
4 living they are all vary good children Wilford is 20 years old now goes to school
& is a valuable son to me My oldest Daughter is 18 a worthy girl married
Lorenzo Snow who is a member of the Legislature this winter both are boarding
with us this winter. Susan Cornelia our second Daughter living is 17, married
Robert Scholes are now living on my farm she is a thorough going farmer. Beluah
our youngest Daughter is 9 years old goes to school she now sits by my side at 11
oclok at night to see me write to Uncle Ozem she says O do give my love to him But
I must stop Remember me to your family & Friends & all who inquire after me
write often give the inclosed to Thompson & Ann Cossett. Yours Truly W Woodruff