[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] Dec 20th 1846 Sunday According to previous appointment I met with our ward for an organization according to the araign[ment?] of the Camp And to teach instruct and rebuke as the case may require. We met at Br Ensigns at half past 10 oclock.
I opened the meeting by singing and prayer And addressed the people. I confessed my own sins And in some respects the sins of the 14th ward in which I dwell for they were varily guilty before God of many wrongs. I warned them to repent before the Lord or a scourge would come upon them.
I was followed by Elder G. A. Smith And O Pratt. Br Smith spoke of there treatment towards me in not building me a house as I had been sick. Said when there would be another temple built they would be pulling the buttons off my coat to get into the temple to recieve their blessings &c And taught much good doctrin. Asked if they had yet got there inheritances sealed to them on the earth and in heaven. If not they had yet still sumthing to do.
O Pratt Addressed us also with much interest. Spoke of the trials we were Called to pass through and that the hand of God was in it and it would all work together for good if we made a right use of it.
We were informed there was to be a meeting at the stand so we dismissed our meeting & repaired to the stand whare we found a large Congregation of saints and President Young was addressing them. The following are some of the important words that flowed from President Youngs lips as He addressed the people and called upon them loudly to repent. He said:
You must stop your swearing. You must stop your cheating. You must stop your lying. You must stop your stealing. You must stop your Horedoms. You must stop your back biteings speaking evil of the Twelve speaking evil of me. You must stop these things & put away your wickedness or you will be damned. You will be destroyed. You will be visited by pestilence and plague and by the Sword, and you will fall to the ground. And I warn you and fore warn you of these things if you do not repent.
Yes councellors, High Priest and Elders Here in the Camp of Israel will say I will de damned if I will pay my tithing or if I will do this or that. If God was like man He would Hurl you down to Hell & let you lie and welter there a thousand years and his mercy ownly keeps you out. There are many Here that are corrupt and rotton at the core and I have no more fellowship for them than I have for John C Bennett. If I fellowship these things it will drag me down to Hell with you and I will not do it.
Brother Joseph being a vary merciful man bore with these things untill it took his life but I will not do it. Men get led away by degrees untill the devil gets possession of there tabernacle and they are led captive at the will of the devil. And now I say that those who are Calculating to continue in wickedness and serve the devil had better go no further with this Camp. They had better go to Missouri and spend the rest of there time with the gentiles for I can swear to them if they go with us & continue there wickedness there Heads shall be sevred from their tabernacles and the devils that are in them shall go and have no tabernacles to dwell in.
The truth of the matter is there are many places we pass through that have been the slaughter ground of the ancient Nephites and Lamanites and the spirits of Devils are hovering around it and if you are not on your guard they will enter you and lead you captive at their will. For if you are not governed by the spirit of God you will be by the spirit of the devil. And if you are governed by the spirit of God while in such places and they cannot enter any of you they will try to enter your cattle your beast for they want to enter some tabernacle as they did the swine in ancient days.
I had rather go to the mountains with the Twelve alone and not to have another soul with us than to have those who will not be subject to the Priesthood but practice wickedness and serve the devil. For if we continue with this company and they do not repent the righteous will fall with the wicked. There are people now in this camp who are stealing hay and wood and I know who they are. Will I fellowship them? No I will not. And because we know who is guilty of wickedness they think we are fellowshiping them and doing the same ourselves but it is not so. And Joseph suffered much from the same cause because He knew of the rascality and wickedness. His enemies and many of the saints thought He was guilty of it himself. The truth of the matter is those who are leading the House of Israel while in the path of there duty know the wickedness that is among the people. It cannot be hid from them for they are in vision all the time.
I will now look a little upon the other side of the question. I will say However that if we are amind to be subject to the will of the devil, Death Hell and the grave we may be & bow down to it all the day long or we may have perfect power and triumph over it. Who am I surrounded by? Men who have entered into covenant with God, have recieved endowments in the temple and are called to be saviors upon mount Zion. To save who? Our Fathers and Israel clear back to Father Adam who are still lying in there graves and waiting for the redemption of there bodies through your instrumentality.
Then will you curs swear, lie, steal, commit Adultry and take that name of God in vain? Putty saviors you would be. O shame. God and Angels would blush at such conduct. Then repent and do the work appointed you.
Many men are overtaken in a fault desire to repent and turn to God. Shall we call such away? Nay but bear with them as God bears with us. We cannot be sanctifyed all at once, but have to be tried and placed in all kinds of shapes and proven to the utmost to see whether we will serve the Lord unto the end so that we may be safe when we come into the Celestial Kingdom of God and not do as Lucipher did the first time an oppertunity is offered rebel against God and the Council of Heaven and be hurled down to Hell in a manner that you could not be redeemed at all.
And you must not sin murmur and complain while in the midst of your trials because you have been mobed and tried even to the utmost. It is no excuse for you to commit a wicked deed take the name of God in vain or to do any evil. Now all of you quit it. Repent and turn to God and you shall be blessed.
Notwithstanding I have thus reproved you I consider you the best people as a body there is on the earth and if there was any better I would go to them and take you with them that desired to go.
In speaking of the redemption of our dead I would say there are millions that died from the days of Adam to Christ that are waiting for there bodies to be raised. But few arose in comparison to the Number at the resurrection of Christ and they were some that had the priesthood or fulness of it sealed upon them. After making many other usful remarks He closed by blessing the people believing they would repent.
The remarks of president Young made a deep impression upon the congregation And I trust there will spedily be a refermation in the Camp of Israel.
I also met in council in the evening with the Twelve High Council and Bishop And Herd the report of the Bishops of each ward and other business attended to.
The following is a true report of the camp of Israel in this city called winter quarters on this 20th Day of Dec:
Total number of Souls 3,483
Sick persons 334
Well men 502
Sick men 117
Absent men 138
Days tithing 84 1/2
Cords of wood drawn 83 3/4
Days on mill race 561 1/4
Waggons in camp 814
Horses 145
Mules 29
Yokes of oxen 388 1/2
cows 463
Policemen 19
Women whose husbands
are in the Armey 53
Widows 75
[source: Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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