President Wilford Woodruff was the Church President who ushered in the most marvellous work in this dispensation, that of family history. During the 1894 general conference he announced that he had received a revelation about genealogical work. He said:
"We want Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it. This is the will of the Lord to his people.
"In my prayers the Lord revealed to me, that it was my duty to say to all Israel to carry this principle out, and in fulfilment of that revelation, I lay it before this people. I say to all men who are labouring in these temples, carry out this principle, and then we shall make one step in advance of what we have had before." (Deseret Evening News, May 19, 1894)
President Woodruff had a great love for this work which might have commenced with a remarkable experience he had in the St. George Temple where he served for a time as its' President. It was in this temple that endowments for the dead were performed for the first time in this dispensation.
"In 1887, Elder Woodruff was appointed as the first president of the St. George Temple. Here he experienced some marvellous manifestations. It was in this temple that the signers of the Declaration of Independence appeared to him and requested that their temple work be done.
"The spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, 'You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we...remained true to it and were faithful to God'. These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence (of the United States of America) and they waited on me for two days and two nights...I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon Brother McAllister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus and others". (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham (1946), 160-61) He was also baptized for every president of the United States until that time except three." (Church News May 1, 1993)
From 1885 to 1900, many Church members served genealogical missions. They were invited to Salt Lake City to receive a blessing for their mission from a General Authority. They were also provided with a missionary card and a letter of appointment. They visited relatives, recorded names from gravestones, and studied parish records and family Bibles, returning to their homes with valuable information that allowed temple work to be performed. Many missionaries reported spiritual experiences that gave them the firm assurance that the Lord was with them and often directed them to a needed source or relative. (Our Heritage, A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, p 101-2)
You hear many amazing experiences in the Church from members who are heavily involved in family history but none is more amazing than that of Wilford Woodruff who was visited by the founding fathers. These were faithful, God fearing men who provided the foundation of faith in God on which America stands. I have always admired them and rejoice in knowing that the temple ordinances have been done for them.
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