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Wilford Woodruff's Miraculously Preserved Life

Wilford Woodruff's Miraculously Preserved Life

  • 1810

    Fell into a cauldron of boiling water. It took nine months before his life was considered out of danger.

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  • 1812

    Fell from the great beam of the family barn, landed face first on the floor, and almost broke his neck.

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  • Broke his arm when he fell down the stairs when playing at home.

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  • Broke his other arm falling off uncle's porch onto a pile of lumber.

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  • 1813

    Escaped being gored by a bull that wanted the pumpkin he took from it to give to his cow.

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  • 1814

    Broke his leg in a saw mill accident after it got caught between the headlock and fender post.

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  • Saved from suffocation after wagonload of hay was overturned on top of him.

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  • 1815

    Uninjured when a horse bolted down a hill and flipped the wagon he was riding in.

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  • 1816

    Fell 15 feet from a tree and landed flat on his back, knocked unconscious; his cousin thought he was dead so ran home to tell his parents. Wilford recovered and met his family on their way to retrieve his body.

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  • 1819

    Rescued after drowning in 30 feet of water and "suffered much in being restored to life."

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  • 1820

    Almost froze to death in a blizzard; saved by passerby who saw him crawl into a hollow tree in a daze.

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  • 1821

    Split open his foot with an ax "nearly clear through," crippling him for nine months.

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  • 1822

    Bitten by a rabid dog but the bite did not break through his skin.

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  • 1823

    Thrown 16 feet over the head of a runaway horse; landed on both feet braking left leg in two places and dislocating both ankles.

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  • 1827

    Almost crushed when water was released into the mill while he was holding onto the shaft and using an ax to remove ice from the wheel.

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  • 1831

    Almost crushed by the 20-foot breast wheel of a flour mill when helping to de-ice the wheel.

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  • Suffered a severe bout of pneumonia.

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  • 1833

    Dragged headfirst between a team of horses for more than 300 feet with his sleigh on top of him.

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  • 1834

    A rifle accidentally discharged and the ball passed within a few inches of his body.

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  • A heavily-loaded musket pointed at his chest was accidentally discharged, but misfired.

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  • 1835

    January 13, 1835 - Preserved from a mob of about 60 people.

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  • January 19, 1835 - Preserved from a black bear and a large pack of wolves..

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  • November 15, 1835 - Rescued by divine intervention after wandering for five hours in a tremendous storm.

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  • 1835

    May 5, 1837 - Left unhurt when a tornado removed the building he was standing in.

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  • 1839

    April 1839 - Thrown from the axle tree of a wagon, head and shoulder were dragged on the ground for half a mile.

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  • August 8, 1839 - Contracted malaria but left for England to serve his mission with members of the Quorum of the Twelve.

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  • 1840

    Hit in the head with rocks thrown by a mob while he was baptizing.

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  • 1841

    September 25, 1841 - Survived shipwreck on Lake Michigan.

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  • 1842

    July 23, 1842 - Bedridden for 40 days with bilious fever and struggled between life and death.

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  • 1843

    September 12, 1843 - Survived train crash; passenger cars smashed, baggage cars caught fire, engineer killed.

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  • 1844

    September 17, 1844 - Helped ship captain extinguish fire on board the ship he was traveling on with his wife Phebe.

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  • 1846

    October 5, 1846 - Crushed by falling tree; broke breast bone and three ribs and suffered severe internal injuries.

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  • 1848

    Before 1848 - Survived shipwreck on Lake Michigan.

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  • July 5, 1848 - Inspired to move carriage and family from spot near tree; thirty minutes later a whirlwind uprooted the tree and the tree fell where his carriage had been.

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  • 1850

    April 18, 1850 - Inspired not to take Saints on steamboat; it later caught fire and passengers burned or drowned.

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  • 1856

    April 21, 1856 - Poisoned by infected animal; he arm was severely affected, and the poison caused him to temporarily lose his senses; he was restored to health by a priesthood blessing.

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  • 1859

    October 26, 1859 - Severe lung fever "nearly blew out the lamp of life" and his "spirit fluttering between life and death".

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  • 1860

    October 13, 1860 - Thrown from his mule, head and shoulders hit the ground, then he was dragged behind the mule.

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  • 1872

    July 25, 1872 - Dragged by runaway horse, but narrowly avoided being run over by the wagon.

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  • 1873

    September 25, 1973 - Mild stroke "it seemed to be paralysis and death."

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  • 1879

    May 4, 1979 - Severe bout of bilious colic; attacks took his breath away and he didn't think he'd live through one more.

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  • 1886

    September 13, 1886 - Mild heart attack or stroke; couldn't see or speak for about 30 minutes; priesthood blessing restored him.

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  • 1893

    June 1, 1893 - Severest bout of bilious colic “lay at the point of death;” prayers of Saints saved him.

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