Wilford Woodruff Journal 3: He Kept 31 Journals Across 65 Years — Called It His Sacred Stewardship and a Divine Gift

Wilford Woodruff's 31 journals, spanning 65 years from 1833 to 1898, represent one of the most extraordinary acts of spiritual stewardship in LDS history. He did not regard journal keeping as a hobby or a personal record — he regarded it as a divine mandate and a sacred gift.

Woodruff wrote: 'I have never spent any of my time more profitably for the benefit of mankind than in my Journal writing for some of the most glorious Gospel sermons, truths and revelations that were given from God to this people through the mouth of the Prophets Joseph, Brigham, Heber and the Twelve could not be found upon the Earth on record only in my Journals.'

He also described the gift itself as supernatural: 'I seldom ever heard Brother Joseph or the Twelve preach or teach any principle but what I felt as uneasy as a fish out of water until I had written it. Then I felt right. I could write a sermon of Joseph's a week after it was delivered almost word for word and after it was written it was taken from me or from my mind. This was a gift from God unto me.'

To Woodruff, journals were 'scripture in process.' He compared them to the records of ancient prophets from which the Bible and Book of Mormon were compiled. He urged the Saints constantly to keep detailed records.

BYU archivist David J. Whittaker said of the 7,000 manuscript pages: 'They are for Mormon history what the Thomas Jefferson papers are for American history: bedrock — primary source material for the men and ideas that shaped their respective institutions.'

Because of Woodruff's faithfulness, the Church preserved: the sermons of Joseph Smith in their most complete form; the detailed account of Zion's Camp; the record of the mission to England; the day of God's power at Nauvoo; the Founding Fathers vision; and thousands of personal spiritual accounts that would otherwise have been lost to history.