This collection of Wilford Woodruff quotes highlights his teachings on revelation, temple work, record keeping, the Holy Ghost, and more. He kept a detailed journal that has served as a core resource for historians, enabling the compilation of Woodruff sayings similar to our Dallin H. Oaks quotes page. This curated collection deals with topics ranging from the afterlife to true religion. Please leave a comment if there’s a quote you’d like considered for inclusion.
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Table of Contents
- Afterlife
- Blood Atonement
- The Church
- Family
- Holy Ghost
- Jesus Christ
- Kindness
- Missionary Work
- Prayer
- Record Keeping
- Repentance
- Revelation
- Scriptures
- Temple Work
- True Religion
- FAQ
- Further Reading
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About the Afterlife
All Humans Will Die
When a man dies he can not take his cattle, horses, houses or lands with him; he goes to the grave—the resting place of all flesh. No man escapes it, the law of death rests upon all. In Adam all die, while in Christ all are made alive [see 1 Corinthians 15:22]. We all understand that death has passed upon all men, but … none of us know when our turn will come.
Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, June 23, 1874, 1.
Every Death is a Birth
When mourning the loss of our departed friends, I cannot help but think that in every death there is a birth; the spirit leaves the body dead to us, and passes to the other side of the veil alive to that great and noble company that are also working for the accomplishment of the purposes of God, in the redemption and salvation of a fallen world.
Discourse January 29, 1882, Journal of Discourses 22:348.
We are not called to mourn without hope
I rejoice that God hath taught us the principles of life and death, time and eternity, the Resurrection and the judgment. I rejoice that we are not called to mourn without hope, but that we have the fullest assurance that we shall meet our child in the First Resurrection.
Wilford Woodruff to Phebe Woodruff, October 30, 1840, written after receiving news of the death of their first child.
We Don’t Comprehend Our Afterlife
We will never while in the flesh, with this veil over us, fully comprehend that which lies before us in the world to come.
Deseret Weekly, February 3, 1894, 194.
There is Unity in Heaven
Who, to use a comparison, expects to have a forty-acre lot alone in the kingdom of God, or in heaven, when we get there? None need expect it, for in that kingdom, in heaven or upon earth, we shall find unity, and the Lord requires at our hands that we unite together, according to the principles of his celestial law.
Journal of Discourses 18:126–127, October 8, 1875.
Blood Atonement
We solemnly make the following declaration, viz:
That this Church views the shedding of human blood with the utmost abhorrence. That we regard the killing of a human being, except in conformity with the civil law, as a capital crime which should be punished by shedding the blood of the criminal after a public trial before a legally constituted court of the land. …
We denounce as entirely untrue the allegation which has been made, that our Church favors or believes in the killing of persons who leave the Church or apostatize from its doctrines. We would view a punishment of this character for such an act with the utmost horror; it is abhorrent to us and is in direct opposition to the fundamental principles of our creed.
Woodruff, Wilford, 1807-1898. Manifesto of the Presidency and Apostles issued December 12, 1889 (Salt Lake City: The Deseret News, 1890).
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About the Church
Wilford Woodruff’s Testimony
I bear my testimony that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, ordained of God to lay the foundation of his church and kingdom in the last dispensation of the fulness of times.
I bear my testimony that in the early spring of 1844, in Nauvoo, the Prophet Joseph Smith called the Twelve Apostles together and he delivered unto them the ordinances of the church and kingdom of God; and all the keys and powers that God had bestowed upon him, he sealed upon our heads, and he told us that we must round up our shoulders and bear off this kingdom, or we would be damned. I am the only man now living in the flesh who heard that testimony from his mouth, and I know that it was true by the power of God manifest to him. At that meeting he stood on his feet for about three hours and taught us the things of the kingdom. His face was as clear as amber, and he was covered with a power that I had never seen in any man in the flesh before. …
The Prophet Joseph laid down his life for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ, and he will be crowned as a martyr in the presence of God and the Lamb.
In all his testimonies to us the power of God was visibly manifest with the Prophet Joseph.
This is my testimony, spoken by myself into a talking machine on this the 19th day of March, 1897, in the 91st year of my age.
Wilford Woodruff.
Transcript of Wilford Woodruff’s testimony, March 19, 1897, Church History Library; spelling and punctuation modernized.
The Gospel of Christ
I wanted the Gospel of Christ; and the first sermon I ever heard preached in this Church I had a testimony for myself that it was the Gospel of Christ. I had a testimony to satisfy myself when I was baptized. I had been looking, praying, hungering and thirsting to find some man on the face of the earth who had the Priesthood, and who could teach me the Gospel. When I heard this sermon, I knew the voice; I knew the shepherd; I knew it was true. And from that day until this, I have never seen one moment in my life that I have ever had doubts with regard to it.
Discourse March 3, 1889 in “President Wilford Woodruff,” Deseret News, March 23, 1889, 389.
Joseph Smith Laid the Foundation
Joseph Smith … came in fulfillment of prophecy, accomplished what was required of him, laid the foundation of the work, received the keys of the priesthood and apostleship, and every gift and grace in the organization of the church necessary to carry it on. We are called to build on the foundation he laid.
Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, January 10, 1871, 2.
The Lord Will Not Permit the President to Lead Us Astray
The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty.
Sixty-first Semiannual General Conference of the Church, Monday, October 6, 1890, Salt Lake City, Utah. Reported in Deseret Evening News, October 11, 1890, p. 2.
Unity is Necessary
The Saints of God cannot prosper unless they are united.
Deseret Weekly, August 30, 1890, 305.
Selecting the President of the Church
You asked me if I knew any reason, in the case of the death of the President of the Church, why the Twelve Apostles should not choose some other person to be President of the Church, instead of the President of the Twelve Apostles. I think I do know of several good sound reasons; which I will now give you. …
First: When the President of the Church dies, who then is the Presiding Authority of the Church? It is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, ordained and organized by the Revelations of God. And none else. Then, while these Twelve Apostles preside over the Church, who is the President of the Church? It is the President of the Twelve Apostles. And he is virtually as much the President of the Church, while presiding over Twelve men, as he is when organized into the Presidency of the Church, and presiding over two men. … If the President of the Twelve is not fit to become the president of the Church, he is not fit to be the President of the Twelve Apostles. …
Again, there is another eternal truth stares me in the face. In case of the death of the President of the Church, Brother George Q. Cannon, Wilford Woodruff, the President of the Twelve nor any six of the Twelve Apostles, combined, have the power to appoint a President for the Church. It takes Twelve men or a majority of them, to appoint a President for the Church. … And I certainly do not believe, should President Taylor die today, that Brother George Q Cannon, nor any other man, could use argument enough to convert a majority of the Twelve Apostles to depart from the beaten track laid out, and followed by the inspiration of Almighty God, for the last fifty seven years, by the Apostles, as recorded in the history of the Church. As far as I am concerned, it would require not only a much stronger argument than I ever heard but a Revelation from the same God who had organized the Church, and guided it by inspiration in the channel in which it has traveled for fifty seven years, before I could give my vote, or influence, to depart from the path followed by the Apostles since the organization of the Church.
Wilford Woodruff letter to Heber J. Grant, 1887 March 28.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Family
Eternal Families
I have thought many a time that if I labored until I was as old as Methuselah and by that means could have my family dwell with me in glory in the eternal worlds, it would pay me for all the pain and suffering I could endure in this world.
Deseret Weekly, August 17, 1889, 226.
Eternal Families are Worth all Sacrifices
Brethren and sisters, the glory of the whole matter is, that when we get through we are going to have our families with us—our fathers and our mothers, our brothers and our sisters, our wives and our children—in the morning of the resurrection, in the family organization of the celestial world, to dwell forever and forever. This is worth all you or I can sacrifice the few years we have to spend here in the flesh.
Deseret Weekly, October 22, 1892, 548.
Children Have Their Agency
None of us know what course our children will take. We set good examples before them, and we strive to teach them righteous principles; but when they come to years of accountability they have their agency and they act for themselves.
Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, July 20, 1875, 1.
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Wilford Woodruff Quotes About the Holy Ghost
We Need the Spirit of God
We must seek for the Spirit of God to assist us; for without this Spirit we can accomplish but very little.
Deseret Weekly, June 22, 1889, 823.
No Greater Gift
Now, if you have the Holy Ghost with you—and every one ought to have—I can say unto you that there is no greater gift, there is no greater blessing, there is no greater testimony given to any man on earth. You may have the administration of angels; you may see many miracles; you may see many wonders in the earth; but I claim that the gift of the Holy Ghost is the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon man. It is by this power that we have performed that which we have. It is this that sustains us through all the persecutions, trials and tribulations that come upon us.
Deseret Weekly, April 6, 1889, 451.
Labor for the Spirit of God
There is nothing that we ought to labor more to obtain while in the flesh than the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, which we are entitled to receive by reason of our having obeyed the requirements of the Gospel.
Contributor, August 1895, 637.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Jesus Christ
Jesus Descended Below All Things
Jesus … descended below all things that he might rise above all things and comprehend all things. No man descended lower than the Savior of the world. Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, he travelled from there to the cross through suffering mingled with blood to a throne of grace; and in all his life there was nothing of an earthly nature that seemed to be worth possessing. His whole life was passed in poverty, suffering, pain, affliction, labor, prayer, mourning and sorrow until he gave up the ghost on the cross. Still he was God’s firstborn son and the Redeemer of the world. The question might be asked why the Lord suffered his Son to come here and to live and die as he did. When we get into the spirit world, and the veil is withdrawn we shall then perhaps understand the whys and wherefores of all these things.
Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, July 20, 1875, 1.
Our Savior Had Appeared
President Wilford Woodruff told some of the Saints that our Saviour had appeared unto him in the East Room in the Holy of Holies [of the Salt Lake City Temple], and told him that He had accepted of the Temple and of the dedication services, and that the Lord forgave us His Saints who had assisted in any manner towards the erection and completion of the Temple—that our sins were forgiven us by the Lord Jesus Christ. … Seek for the Spirit of God and we shall triumph, that if the Saints would be faithful their sins should be blotted out.
John Lee Jones, Biography, no date, cited in Brian Stuy, ed. Collected Discourses Delivered by President Wilford Woodruff, His Two Counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others (Burbank, California: B.H.S. Publishing, 1989), 3:273.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Kindness
Kind is Better than Harsh
Kind words are far better than harsh words. If, when we have difficulties one with another, we would be kind and affable to each other, we would save ourselves a great deal of trouble.
Deseret Weekly, June 22, 1889, 823.
Be Kind
Be kind to one another. Do not find fault with one another. … Bear one another up.
Deseret Weekly, October 22, 1892, 548.
Love Our God and Fellow-humans
If our religion does not lead us to love our God and our fellow-man and to deal justly and uprightly with all men, then our profession of it is vain.
“An Epistle to the Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Millennial Star, November 14, 1887, 729–30.
The Duties We Owe
It is vain to profess a love for God while speaking evil of or doing wrong to His children. The sacred covenants we have made with Him strictly impose upon us the duties we owe to one another; and the great office of religion is to teach us how to perform those duties so as to produce the greatest happiness for ourselves and for our fellow-beings.
“An Epistle to the Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Millennial Star, November 14, 1887, 729–30.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Missionary Work
Home Ministry
We are surrounded at home with many to whom it is our duty to preach, for it is just as necessary to preach at home as abroad.
Salt Lake Herald “Church and Farm,” June 15, 1895, 385.
Never Attack Another Religion
When you go into a neighborhood to preach the Gospel, never attempt to tear down a man’s house, so to speak, before you build him a better one; never, in fact, attack any one’s religion, wherever you go. Be willing to let every man enjoy his own religion. It is his right to do that. If he does not accept your testimony with regard to the Gospel of Christ, that is his affair, and not yours. Do not spend your time in pulling down other sects and parties. We haven’t time to do that. It is never right to do that.
Contributor, August 1895, 636–37.
Joy, Glory, and Happiness
Who can comprehend the joy, the glory, the happiness and consolation that an elder of Israel feels in being an instrument in the hands of God, of bringing his father, mother, sister, brother, or any of the posterity of Adam through the door that enters into life and salvation? No man can, unless he has experienced these things and possesses the testimony of Jesus Christ and the inspiration of Almighty God.
Leaves from My Journal, 49.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Prayer
The Lord Hears and Answers Prayers
The inhabitants of the earth do not realize the effect and benefit of prayer. The Lord hears and answers the prayers of men, women and children. Prayer has more power, a great deal, to bring down the blessings of God, than almost any other thing.
Millennial Star, May 7, 1893, 305.
Seek God in Mighty Prayer
I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints, all that we have to do is to be faithful, to keep His commandments, to be humble, to seek Him in mighty prayer, and all will be well with us.
The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Vol. 54, No. 34 (August 22, 1892), 532.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Record Keeping
Keep a Record of Our Work
While walking in a rapid stream we cannot tread twice in the same water. Neither can we spend twice the same time. When we pass out of that door, the work of this meeting will be closed to us forever. We shall never spend the time of this evening again. Then should we not keep a record of our work, teachings, and counsel which we give in this meeting? We should.
Journal of Wilford Woodruff, March 17, 1857, “Journal (January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1859),” The Wilford Woodruff Papers.
Write a Brief History
Every man should write a brief history of his life: his parentage, his birth, his religion, when he was baptized and by whom, when ordained, what to, and by whom—give a brief sketch of all his missions and of all his official acts and the dealings of God with him. Then if he were to die and the historians wished to publish his history, they would have something to go by. Many may think this a dry subject and unimportant, but it is not so to me.
Journal of Wilford Woodruff, March 17, 1857, “Journal (January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1859),” March 17, 1857, The Wilford Woodruff Papers.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Repentance
A Definition of Repentance
What is repentance? The forsaking of sin. The man who repents, if he be a swearer, swears no more; or a thief, steals no more; he turns away from all former sins and commits them no more. It is not repentance to say, I repent today, and then steal tomorrow.
Journal of Discourses 23:127, May 14, 1882.
We Cannot Sin with Impunity
I have never committed a sin in this Church and kingdom but what it has cost me a thousand times more than it was worth. We cannot sin with impunity; we cannot neglect any counsel with impunity, but what it will bring sorrow.
Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, December 14, 1880, 1.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Revelation
A Definition of Revelation
What is revelation? It is the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to man.
Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star vol. 53 (1891): 642.
The Church is Led by Present Revelation
We have revelation with us. True, the leaders of this Church since the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith have not [published] many revelations. Joseph Smith brought forth the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and it is a grand volume of revelation—one of the most glorious records ever given of God to man on the earth. But I want to say that Brother Brigham Young did not live without revelation. He always had revelation with him. He could not labor without it; he could not preach or do the will of God without it. Nor can any man that occupies that position. The Lord would permit no man to stand at the head of this Church unless he was governed and controlled by revelation. We are feeble instruments—weak worms of the dust; but God has chosen the weak things of the earth to confound the wise, and to build up His Zion, and He gives us revelation and makes known unto us His mind and will.
Millennial Star, March 5, 1896, 148.
![A photograph of Wilford Woodruff next to quote text saying, "True, the leaders of this Church since the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith have not [published] many revelations. Joseph Smith brought forth the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and it is a grand volume of revelation—one of the most glorious records ever given of God to man on the earth. But I want to say that Brother Brigham Young did not live without revelation. He always had revelation with him. He could not labor without it; he could not preach or do the will of God without it. Nor can any man that occupies that position."](https://i0.wp.com/fromthedesk.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Wilford-Woodruff-Quotes-Revelations.jpg?resize=580%2C329&ssl=1)
Seek and Labor for Revelation
The Prophet said the Elders of Israel would have their minds moved upon by the Spirit of God concerning various things which they might not always understand, but if they would follow out the principle and practice upon it, it would very soon become a principle of revelation to them. … We all should seek and labor for this principle of revelation and get the mind and will of God. It is very easy to do that, if we do our duty before the Lord. … When the Spirit of God tells a man to do anything, he ought to do it, and then the blessings of God will be with him. It has been so with me in my labors. I have endeavored to do what the Lord has told me.
Wilford Woodruff, quoted in “Sunday Services: President Woodruff’s Address,” Deseret News Weekly, August 29, 1897.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes about Scriptures
The Book of Mormon
I Wilford Woodruff, son of Aphek Woodruff, have read the Book of Mormon much during the last twelve years of my life, and my soul delighteth much in its words, teaching and prophesyings. I rejoice in the goodness and mercy of the God of Israel in preserving the precious Book of Mormon and bringing it to light in our day and generation. It teaches the honest and humble mind the great things of God.
Wilford Woodruff Journal, November 2, 1845.
The Doctrine and Covenants
[I] had a pleasant interview with Brother Utley. As he had just returned from Kirtland he brought me a letter from W. Parish, also a book containing the Doctrines & Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints as a present from O. Cowdery. [The next day, I] spent the day in perusing the book from Brother Cowdery and found it to be a precious treasure, a legacy from heaven.
Wilford Woodruff Journal, September 23–24, 1835.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About Temple Work
Be Sealed to Biological Ancestors
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 fulfillment of that revelation I lay it before this people. … We want the 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.
Millennial Star, May 28, 1894, 338–39.
God is Merciful to All
If the dead have not heard the Gospel, the Lord is not going to send them to hell because they have not received it. The Lord is the Father of all. He is merciful to all. … Millions of people have been born in the flesh, have lived and have gone to the grave, who never saw the face of a prophet in their lives; never saw a man that was called of God and had power to administer in one of the ordinances of the House of God. Will God condemn them because they did not receive the Gospel? Not at all.
Deseret Weekly, April 19, 1890, 562.
Few Will Reject the Gospel in the Spirit World
“All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.” [D&C 137:7–9.] So it will be with your fathers. There will be very few, if any, who will not accept the Gospel. … The fathers of this people will embrace the Gospel.
Millennial Star, May 28, 1894, 339–40.
Baptisms for the Dead
When I lay my body in the tomb and my spirit goes into the spirit world, I shall rejoice and have glory with them in the morning of the resurrection, inasmuch as they receive these principles. “Well,” perhaps you may say, “what if these people whom you have been baptized for do not receive the Gospel?” That will be their fault, not mine. This is a duty that rests upon all Israel, that they shall attend to this work, as far as they have the opportunity here on the earth.
Deseret Weekly, April 25, 1891, 555.
Offering Redemption to the Dead
There are men who have lived in this dispensation who are now in the spirit world preaching the gospel and offering redemption to the dead. Thousands will accept their testimony. We enter the temples and finish their labors by baptizing [and] being endowed and blessed. Records are kept of these labors. We go on the other side and meet our relatives for whom we have performed these ordinances and we stand to them in a measure as their saviors, or saviors on Mount Zion.
Discourse, July 22, 1889, quoted in “Quarterly Conference,” Ogden Semi-Weekly Standard, July 24, 1889, 1.
Our Duty to Build Temples
We are living in the great and last dispensation, in the which the God of Israel expects us, his servants, his sons and daughters, to perform the work which has been left to our charge. It is our duty to build these temples. It is our duty to enter into them and redeem our dead.
Joseph Smith is preaching to the spirits in prison; so are all the Elders who have died in the faith. There are millions of them there, and they must have the Gospel offered to them. Joseph Smith and others cannot baptize the spirits in water, it is not the law; but their posterity, their sons and daughters who are living in the last dispensation, are expected to go into these temples and there redeem their dead.
This is a good work, and it is a great blessing for men and women to have this privilege. We have one of these temples finished, and we are doing a great work in that temple. A hundred and sixty-two thousand persons have been baptized for the dead, and nearly seventy thousand endowments have been given in that temple. We have only just begun this work. We want the Logan temple finished, as also the temple at Manti, that the people may go forth and redeem their dead.
Our forefathers are looking to us to attend to this work. They are watching over us with great anxiety, and are desirous that we should finish these temples and attend to certain ordinances for them, so that in the morning of the resurrection they can come forth and enjoy the same blessings that we enjoy. We are living in the flesh and have the privilege of receiving the Gospel of Christ for ourselves. Our forefathers had not this privilege; and as their posterity when we meet them in the spirit world we shall have the joy and satisfaction of knowing that we did our duty by them while here upon the earth.
Discourse, December 10, 1882; Journal of Discourses, 23:331.
Wilford Woodruff Quotes About True Religion
Continually Improve
However good we may be we should aim continually to improve and become better. We have obeyed a different law and gospel to what other people have obeyed, and we have a different kingdom in view, and our aim should be correspondingly higher before the Lord our God, and we should govern and control ourselves accordingly, and I pray God my Heavenly Father that his Spirit may rest upon us and enable us to do so.
Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, December 28, 1875, 1.
Practice the Word of the Lord
It is truly good to … 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.
Deseret News, June 26, 1861, 130.
Live the Principles of the Gospel
It should be the aim of all the members of the Church to carry out practically in their lives the principles of the Gospel. In no way can we better convince the world of their truth than in showing in our acts and dealings with one another and with mankind the elevating effect they have upon us. We make high professions, and there should be such a high standard of purity of life among us as to correspond with these professions.
Millennial Star, November 14, 1887, 729.
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Further Reading
- How Did Wilford Woodruff Influence Temple Work?
- Did Wilford Woodruff Prophesy of the Idaho Falls Temple?
- Who Baptized Wilford Woodruff?
- How Was Wilford Woodruff Involved with the Nauvoo Bell?
- How Did Wilford Woodruff and Emmeline Wells Interact?
- In What Ways Did Wilford Woodruff Promote Temple Consciousness?
Wilford Woodruff Quotes Resources
- Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- Wilford Woodruff Papers (Homepage)
- Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828-1898 (Church History Catalog)
- Banner of the Gospel: Wilford Woodruff (BYU Religious Studies Center)
- President Wilford Woodruff and Thoughts for Youth (BYU Speeches)
