Wilford Woodruff's testimony of the laying of the corner stone of the Far West Temple

Wilford Woodruff recounts the miracle of fulfilling a revelation during the 1839 exodus from Missouri. Despite the Saints being driven out and their lives in jeopardy, the Twelve Apostles were commanded to lay the corner stone of the Temple in Far West on April 26, 1839. They traveled to the site, performed the ordinance, and ordained new Apostles, demonstrating the Lord's hand in guiding them to fulfill the prophecy despite extreme danger.

The danger faced by the Apostles was acute, as Missourians had sworn that the revelation concerning the April 26th date at Far West would fail, and on April 5, 1839, Captain Samuel Bogart and other dissidents explicitly threatened to murder the Twelve if they returned. Despite these threats and the skepticism of some authorities who felt the Lord would take the will for the deed, Brigham Young held an iron resolve to fulfill the commandment. The Apostles departed Quincy on April 18, and held the conference with twenty-five members in the early morning of April 26 to avoid detection; by the time a mob organized later that day, the Apostles had already performed the ordinance and departed.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

The Lord gave a revelation, with date, day, month and year, when they were to go up to lay the cornerstone in Caldwell County, Far West, Missouri. When that revelation was given all was peace and quietude, comparatively, in that land. But before the time came for the fulfillment of that revelation, the Saints of God had been driven out of the State of Missouri, and the Prophet of God and his brother Hyrum, and others, were cast into prison, and the Church was scattered to the four winds. The Missourians had sworn by all the gods of eternity that if every other revelation given through Joseph Smith were fulfilled, that should not be, for the day and date being given they declared that it should fail. But the Twelve Apostles, or a portion of them, felt that the Lord God had given the commandment and we had faith to go forward and accomplish it, feeling that it was His business whether we lived or died in its accomplishment. We went to Far West, and we laid the cornerstone of that Temple, and there take the parting hand with the Saints, to cross the waters to preach the gospel in England, the inhabitants of Missouri had sworn that if all the revelations of “old Joe Smith” were fulfilled, that should not be, because it had a day and date to it.