Articles

Big Questions Come, Follow Me Insights Volunteer Spotlights

Jun 6, 2023

Asking Big Questions: How Can I Find Answers to Gospel Questions on the Internet?

by Maddie Christensen

In today’s digital age, the Internet has become an indispensable tool for accessing information on any topic imaginable. With just a few keystrokes and a click of a button, one can easily find answers to any question that comes to mind. Googling questions has become a ubiquitous activity that many of us engage in on a daily basis.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

by Krystyna Hales

Come, Follow Me

Who is the Holy Ghost to you?

In John 16:13, Christ said, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

Jun 1, 2023

More Than a Name on a Page

by Maddie Christensen

Volunteer Spotlights

“One of my favorite things about working on the Project is finding my ancestors’ names mentioned,” shares Rose Bowen, a volunteer for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation. “I love to see how they were involved in building up the Church in their own ways. Just as President Woodruff had a calling to fulfill, we each have callings and opportunities to build up the Church and make the world a better place.”

Jun 1, 2023

Wilford Woodruff and the Development of Temple Doctrine

by Chad Nielsen

Wilford Woodruff was witness to temple-related events throughout the nineteenth century. He participated in ordinances in the Kirtland Temple and was among the first to experience the endowment in the Red Brick Store with Joseph Smith. He also dedicated the Salt Lake Temple and kept records that provide a glimpse into the development of temples in the Church. In this interview, Jennifer Mackley discusses some of Wilford Woodruff’s experiences with Latter-day Saint temples.

"In Remembrance"

by Jason Godfrey

Come, Follow Me

Serving as an Apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1861, Elder Wilford Woodruff began a discourse with the following: “It is truly good to sit and hear the word of the Lord, and it is truly a good thing to believe in it; but it is still better to practice it.” This brief yet powerful message was not only for the Saints living in Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, but it was truly a mantra that Wilford Woodruff believed in—beginning with his conversion in 1833 through to his death in 1898.

May 23, 2023

Asking Big Questions: How Do I Keep My Testimony?

by Kaitlin Palmer

Big Questions

In a world of so many opinions and voices, it can be hard to find the truth and gain a testimony. But what comes next can be just as hard – keeping that testimony. Once a testimony has been gained, how do you keep your testimony?

When the World Is Ending Around You

by Lydia Martin

Come, Follow Me

One of my greatest fears is the end of times. Today, I worry about bringing children into a world where schools are filled with temptation and the world is filled with war and disease. While pondering this I came across a quote in the Wilford Woodruff Papers: “The mob used every exertion to take the life of Joseph and others; but through the mercy of God in whose hands their lives were their enemies did not succeed in this.

May 15, 2023

Lot Smith

by Erin Hills

A lawyer asked Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus responded, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

May 12, 2023

The Road to St. John

by Erin B. Hills

When Wilford Woodruff was a young missionary, he would spend time during his personal and companionship worship singing hymns. For example, on one occasion while serving in the Fox Islands of Maine, he and his companion, Jonathan Hale, retired to a grove of trees at the end of the day and sang “The Sun That Declines in the Far Western Sky,” a hymn, Wilford noted, that was composed by Thomas B. Marsh and Orson Pratt. Though I had never heard of this particular hymn before, after I read about this experience, I became curious—what was Wilford Woodruff’s favorite hymn?

May 12, 2023

Missionary Faith in Persecution: Wilford Woodruff’s First Mission to England

by Ellie Hancock

The Anglican ministers in the South of England were furious. They called a convention and wrote a petition to the highest religious authority in the land, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In this petition the rectors stated that one Mormon missionary had baptized fifteen hundred persons, mostly members of the Church of England, during the past seven months. They hoped to convince the Archbishop to use his power and influence in Parliament to ban Mormons from preaching in Britain.