Wilford Woodruff's Conversion Fulfilled Robert Mason's Prophetic Vision

“I was acquainted with a man by the name of Robert Mason. He was a man of great faith, and he believed in the ancient order of things. He believed in prophets, apostles, dreams, visions, and revelations. He was a man who was looked upon by the people of the world as being a little deranged, because he believed in these things. He told me, in the year 1830, that the Lord had shown him in a vision that the Church of Christ was not upon the earth, but that it would be restored in the next generation, and that I would be a conspicuous actor in that kingdom. He told me that he would not live to see it, but that I would. He said he had seen a vision of a large field of fruit, and he had gone into the field and gathered the fruit, and it was very delicious, and he had eaten of it, and it was the best fruit he had ever tasted. He said he had seen the time when the Church of Christ would be restored to the earth, and he had seen the time when the gospel would be preached to all nations. He said he would not live to see it, but that I would. Three years later when I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, almost the first person I thought of was this prophet, Robert Mason. Upon my arrival in Missouri with Zion's Camp, I wrote him a long letter in which I informed him that I had found the true gospel with all its blessings; that the authority of the Church of Christ had been restored to the earth as he had told me it would be; that the gifts and graces of the gospel were enjoyed by the Saints; and that the kingdom of God was established. He received my letter with great joy and had it read over to him many times. He handled it as he had handled the fruit in the vision. He was very aged and soon died without having the privilege of receiving the ordinances of the gospel at the hands of an elder of the Church. The first opportunity I had after the truth of baptism for the dead was revealed, I went forth and was baptized for him in the temple font at Nauvoo. He was a good man, a true prophet; for his prophecies have been fulfilled.”

— Wilford Woodruff, Leaves from My Journal