Wilford Woodruff's Mission to England: 1,800 Baptisms in One Year — 'The Greatest Harvest in the History of Missions'

Wilford Woodruff (1807–1898) became the fourth President of the Church and one of the most prolific journal keepers in Church history — but before all of that, he was a missionary whose results defied all natural explanation.

In 1840, Elder Woodruff arrived at the farm of John Benbow in Herefordshire, England. He found approximately 600 members of a group called the United Brethren — people who had been praying and searching for a church that taught the same principles as Christ's primitive church. They had literally been fasting and praying to find the truth.

In less than one month, Woodruff had baptized 45 preachers of the United Brethren church, and 160 other members — a remarkable harvest of ordained ministers of another denomination. Constables came to arrest him twice — he preached the gospel to them both times, and both constables were baptized instead. Even the parish rector's clerks, sent to spy on his meetings, were baptized.

Over the following months, all but ONE of the 600 United Brethren became Latter-day Saints — a 99.8% conversion rate of an entire religious denomination. In a single year of missionary service in England, Wilford Woodruff baptized approximately 1,800 people and organized 50 branches of the Church.

Woodruff wrote in his journal: 'I have never seen such a field of labor. The hearts of the people were prepared by the Lord.'

This mission is widely considered the most miraculous single-year missionary harvest in the history of the restored Church. Woodruff himself recorded: 'When I reflect upon what the Lord has done... my heart is filled with wonder and amazement.'

Woodruff was also miraculously preserved from death on multiple occasions — from drowning, from falling trees, from a horse and buggy accident — each time recording in his journal that he felt the hand of God protecting him for further work.