President Wilford Woodruff and the Eminent Men in the St. George Temple

Now that we know about the Founding Fathers--I have an incredible story to share!

Wilford Woodruff was the 4th President (and Prophet) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was born in Famington, Connecticut on March 1st 1807. He learned of the church when he was twenty-six years old and was baptized on New Year's Eve 1833. He would later be one of the greatest missionaries--baptizing thousands of men and women by the power of the Priesthood into the Church of Jesus Christ. He was ordained an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1839 just after he turned thirty-two years old.

After the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Wilford followed Brigham Young with the other saints to the Salt Lake Valley. Following the death of Brigham Young, John Taylor was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and took his place as the President of the Church in 1880. Upon the death of President Taylor Wilford was ordained the President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 7th 1889.

Prior to this, Wilford served in many capacities as an Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It was January 1st 1877 when the first temple in Utah was dedicated. It was the St. George Temple. Two other Temples (Kirtland, Ohio and Nauvoo, Illinois had been built and dedicated earlier in the Restoration of the gospel).

Wilford was seventy years old when as the President of the St. George, Utah Temple he had a remarkable experience. It was August 1877 when he recorded the following:

Two weeks before I left St. George, 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 never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.

Everyone of those men that signed the Declaration of Independence, with General Washington, called upon me as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them.

I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon Brother McCallister 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.

When Brother McAllister had baptized me for the 100 names I baptized him for 21, including General Washington and his forefathers and all the Presidents of the United States–except three. Sister Lucy Bigelow Young went forth into the font and was baptized for Martha Washington and her family and 70 of the ’eminent women’ of the world.

On August 19, 1877 Wilford records,

"I spent the Evening in preparing a list of the Noted Men of the 17 century and 18th including the signers of the declaration of Independence and the Presidents of the United State[s] for Baptism on Tuesday the 21, Aug 1877."

Wilford Woodruff's Journal

Some years at General Conference in 1898 President Woodruff declared;

"I am going to bear my testimony to this assembly, if I never do it again in my life, that those men who laid the foundation of this American government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits, not wicked men. General Washington and all the men that labored for the purpose were inspired of the Lord."

President Woodruff calls them "eminent" men and women. Eminent means exalted in rank; high in office; dignified; distinguished above others; remarkable.

Other men have commented on these men and President Woodruff's experience. President Ezra Taft Benson said,

The temple work for the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence and other Founding Fathers has been done. All these appeared to Wilford Woodruff when he was President of the St. George Temple. President George Washington was ordained a high priest at that time. You will also be interested to know that according to Wilford Woodruff’s journal, John Wesley, Benjamin Franklin, and Christopher Columbus were also ordained high priests at that time. When one casts doubt about the character of these noble sons of God, I believe he or she will have to answer to the God of heaven for it. Yes, with Lincoln I say: ‘To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is . . . impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name and in its deathless splendor, leave it shining on.’

Matthias E. Cowley said,

On the night of March 19th, 1894, he [Wilford Woodruff] had a dream which followed his meditations upon the future life and the work that he had done for the dead. In his dream there appeared to him Benjamin Franklin for whom he had performed important ceremonies in the House of God. This distinguished patriot, according to his dream, sought further blessings in the Temple of God at the hands of his benefactor. President Woodruff wrote: ‘I spent some time with him and we talked over our Temple ordinances which had been administered for Franklin and others. He wanted more work done for him than had already been done. I promised him it should be done. I awoke and then made up my mind to receive further blessings for Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.The appearance, therefore, in his dream of Franklin was to him a satisfying conclusion that he had at least received joyfully the blessings that came to him from the ordinances of the Lord’s House.

Matthias E. Cowley, Wilford Woodruff–His Life and Labors, p. 585-9.

I am including a link to more information, including images of the actual documents recording the names of those who appeared to Wilford Woodruff. It is AMAZING! You can also read his journal entry.

Read all about Wilford Woodruff and the Eminent Men and Women HERE

I cannot express in words how incredible this experience is. These men (and women) were truly remarkable and granted permission to visit President Woodruff to make covenants with God by having their Temple work done. They were righteous men and women. We should honor and revere them. It is thanks to them that we have the freedoms we enjoy today!

ACTIVITIES AND IDEAS

• Talk to your kids about Temple work and our ancestors. If these men and women came to Wilford Woodruff to ask for their work to be done, how much more important is it for us to seek out our own family members, who are waiting!