Wilford Woodruff Journal 4: Brigham Young Appeared to Him After Death in a Vision and Delivered Joseph Smith's Message (c. 1893)

Wilford Woodruff recorded multiple visitations by deceased Church leaders throughout his journals. One of the most tender and theologically significant occurred when President Brigham Young appeared to him in a vision after Young's death in 1877.

In a vision recorded by Wilford Woodruff and documented in L. John Nuttall's journal (April 19, 1893) and Anthon Lund's journal, President Brigham Young appeared to Woodruff riding in 'a splendid conveyance' along with Heber C. Kimball. They invited Woodruff to join them. He did.

Woodruff asked Brigham to speak.

Brigham Young replied: 'I am through with my preaching on earth, but I have come to impress upon your mind what Joseph had told me at Winter Quarters, and that is: seek always to have the Spirit of God, and it will direct you aright.'

This was a message from Joseph Smith, transmitted through Brigham Young, from the spirit world to Wilford Woodruff as he prepared for the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple and the challenges ahead. The message was simple and foundational: seek the Spirit always.

Woodruff described this gift as a characteristic of his entire life. Scholar Truman G. Madsen noted that Woodruff was 'the only man in LDS history who enjoyed a comparable richness of communion with the spirit world' to Joseph Smith himself, 'who seemed to have had that gift from birth, and who seemed to live as if with one foot in the spirit world and one foot in this one.'

Woodruff recorded in his journals and public addresses that the spirits of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Jedediah M. Grant, and many others visited him on multiple occasions. He also reported that George Washington and other eminent men appeared to him — not merely at the St. George Temple, but throughout his life.