Providential guidance of Wilford Woodruff and James Townsend to Mr. Teppley
Published October 5, 2026 at 5:49 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
After being refused lodging by eight families, Wilford Woodruff and James Townsend were led to the home of Mr. Teppley. Teppley had just finished reading the 25th chapter of Matthew and felt an impression to welcome them as he closed the book, at the very moment they knocked on his door. Woodruff later helped Teppley overcome a state of despair regarding the unpardonable sin.
In Their Own Words
“After being refused lodging for the night by eight families, we were kindly entertained by a Mr. Thomas Teppley, who lived in the town of Belfast. Mr. Teppley placed a stand before me with a Bible upon it, asking me to read a chapter and have prayers with them. I opened the Bible mechanically, when, the 25th chapter of Matthew being the first to catch my eye, I read it, and as I closed the book Mr. Teppley turned to his wife and said, 'Is not this a strange thing?' Then he explained to us that he had just read that chapter and closed the book when we rapped at the door, and he felt impressed to say, 'Walk in, gentlemen.' I found Mr. Teppley in a state of great despair, fearing he had committed the unpardonable sin. I spent the evening in explaining the scriptures to him, and was enabled to remove the burden from his mind, and he was filled with joy and peace.”
— Wilford Woodruff, as quoted in 'Leaves from My Journal', Millennial Star 43:36
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 5 September 1881 (Vol. 43, No. 36). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-09-05_43_36 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 43, No. 36, September 5, 1881 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1881-09-05_43_36
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