To President Wilford Woodruff, and the Twelve Apostles.
Dear sir when sent to you last winter for the priviledge and appointment, of teaching
the principles of the gospel contained in the New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Former
Commandments, you did not according to the conduct of your servant Jakes, think it worth
your while to even give a respectable answer to my request, but said that there was nothing
worth answering that he knew of. I would not at this ^time^ think that it would be worth while to write
any more to you, if I had not been reading your Epistle to the Church, for you appear s^o^ indepen-
dent, yea so much above your fellow man, that I should leave you go on to the end of your days,
but my soul is filled with sorrow, when I behold the miserable condition you and the people
are in. In your Epistle you give your testimony about what the prophet taught you and
the Twelve Apostles before his death, and the keys, endowments, blessings, and powers you received
from him, and that he appointed no one but the Twelve that should have authority to lead the
Church, and you are the last of that Twelve, that heared these things. It is now over forty 40 years
since that time and you are the last of that wasTwelve that was left by Joseph to lead the Church.
Even forty years is a long time to wait for that, that may be compared to a great river of corru-
ption and wickedness that did spring from the unbelief and carnal desires of the people
that are now nearly all passed away. The darkness of that unbelief was terrible to behold,
in it many of the sheep of the fold has been scattered to an fro, here and there, and almost every
where. Are you not satisfied with the past experience and misery of this people? Do you
want to continue this state of things, until those that are scattered will all perish, and
the riseing generation to dwindle away in unbelief, without a knowledge of God, like
an anchor to hold them, while the storms are beatting about them? I write to you this
time as the representative of the Church, because you stand now at the head of the highest
To President Wilford Woodruff, and the Twelve Apostles.
Dear sir when sent to you last winter for the priviledge and appointment, of teaching
the principles of the gospel contained in the New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Former
Commandments, you did not according to the conduct of your servant Sakes, think it worth
your while to even give a respectable answer to my request, but said that there was nothing
worth answering that he knew of. I would not at this time think that it would be worth while to write
any more to you, if I had not been reading your Epistle to the Church, for you appear so independent, yea so much above your fellow man, that I should leave you go on to the end of your days,
but my soul is filled with sorrow, when I behold the miserable condition you and the people
are in. In your Epistle you give your testimony about what the prophet taught you and
the Twelve Apostles before his death, and the keys, endowments, blessings, and powers you received
from him, and that he appointed no one but the Twelve that should have authority to lead the
Church, and you are the last of that Twelve, that heared these things. It is now over forty 40 years
since that time and you are the last of thatTwelve that was left by Joseph to lead the Church.
Even forty years is a long time to wait for that, that may be compared to a great river of corruption and wickedness that did spring from the unbelief and carnal desires of the people
that are now nearly all passed away. The darkness of that unbelief was terrible to behold,
in it many of the sheep of the fold has been scattered to an fro, here and there, and almost every
where. Are you not satisfied with the past experience and misery of this people? Do you
want to continue this state of things, until those that are scattered will all perish, and
the riseing generation to dwindle away in unbelief, without a knowledge of God, like
an anchor to hold them, while the storms are beatting about them? I write to you this
time as the representative of the Church, because you stand now at the head of the highest