Posted by:
Fetal Deity
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Date: November 22, 2010 05:16PM
Public Address on September 16, 1877--approximately one month after the "visitation" (Journal of Discourses):
"I will here say, before closing, that 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.' These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights. I thought it very singular, that notwithstanding so much work had been done, and yet nothing had been done for them. The thought never entered my heart, from the fact, I suppose, that heretofore our minds were reaching after our more immediate friends and relatives. 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; I then baptized him for every President of the United States, except three; and when their cause is just, somebody will do the work for them."
http://books.google.com/books?id=nGUoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA229&dq=%E2%80%9CI+will+here+say+before+closing%E2%80%9D&hl=en&ei=yeXqTIqhO5CWsgOvo8yxCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9CI%20will%20here%20say%20before%20closing%E2%80%9D&f=falseCOMPARE ABOVE PUBLIC NARRATION OF THE ALLEGED EVENTS TO THE PRIVATE RECORD MADE BY WOODRUFF COVERING THE RELEVANT TIME FRAME INVOLVED.
Excerpts from Wilford Woodruff's journal:
"In his journal entry of Sunday, 19 August 1877, Elder Woodruff, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and president of the St. George Temple, wrote: '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 presidents of the United States, for baptism on Tuesday the 21 Aug 1877.'
"His journal entry for August 21 reads, 'I, Wilford Woodruff, went to the temple of the Lord this morning and was baptized for 100 persons who were dead, including the signers of the Declaration of Independence. … I was baptized for the following names.' He then listed the names of one hundred men (one of whom was shown twice, so actually there were ninety-nine), including forty-five 'eminent men' of several nationalities. The baptisms were performed by J. D. T. McAllister, a counselor in the temple presidency.
"Elder Woodruff continued his journal entry: 'When Br. McAllister had baptized me for the 100 names, I baptized him for 21, including Gen. Washington and his forefathers and all the presidents of the United States that were not on my list except Buchanan, Van Buren, and Grant.' (The work for these presidents has since been done.)
"'It was a very interesting day,' Elder Woodruff continued. 'I felt thankful that we had the privilege and the power to administer for the worthy dead, especially for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, that inasmuch as they had laid the foundation of our Government, that we could do as much for them as they had done for us.
"'Sister Lucy Bigelow Young went forth into the font and was baptized for Martha Washington and her family, and seventy of the eminent women of the world. I called upon the brethren and sisters who were present to assist in getting endowments for those that we had been baptized for today.' (Wilford Woodruff’s journal, typescript, vol. 7, Church History Library; spelling and punctuation modernized.)"
http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=03d6b850e318b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1WHERE DID THE "SPIRITS OF THE DEAD" GO?!?!?
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2010 05:37PM by Fetal Deity.