The Constable Sent to Arrest Wilford Woodruff Asks to Be Baptized Instead (March 1840)

On the first Sunday that Wilford Woodruff preached in Herefordshire, he drew a crowd of nearly one thousand people while the local Anglican parish church reported only fifteen in attendance.

The local rector was so upset by this disparity that he sent a constable to the Benbow farm to arrest the American preacher in the middle of his sermon.

Woodruff paused and acknowledged the constable. He pointed out that he held a license to preach — just as the rector did — and offered to speak with him after the meeting. The constable agreed and sat down to listen.

Woodruff later described what happened: 'The power of God rested upon me, the spirit filled the house, and the people were convinced.'

At the end of the meeting, the constable came forward.

He did not arrest Wilford Woodruff.

He asked to be baptized.

Woodruff baptized him that day. The constable returned to the rector and told him there was nothing in the American's preaching that was contrary to law.

The pattern repeated itself throughout the mission. The local clergy sent two other men on subsequent occasions to interrupt or discredit Woodruff's work — and both of those men were also baptized. Within eight months, nearly all 600 members of the United Brethren had joined the Church, along with hundreds of others from the surrounding communities.