A Place of Prayer

AjPlace of Prayer Wilford Woodruff, fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the first General Superintendent of the Y. M. M. I. A., (born in Farmington (now A\on), Connecticut, March 1, 1807; died in San Francisco, September 2, 1898) before he joined the Church and ever after, was a strong believer in the efficacy of prayer. He had a place of prayer. In the early spring of 1830, he was employed to run a flour mill at Collinsville, Connecticut. During this time he became especially anxious to know the will of the Lord. He says: "My work in the mill was very light, and I passed much of my time in reading, in meditation, and in prayer. I read the Bible, and it was like a new book to me. I received much light in perusing its sacred pages. If I was cast down, tried, or tempted, I found in it relief in connection with the Spirit of God. "A short distance from the mill was a beautiful island upon the top of which was a level field covered with flowers. The island was sur- rounded by a rapid current of water dashing over the rocks. The banks of the current were thickly studded by tall, waving pines. I chose the pleasant retreat on the top of the island as my place of prayer and suppli- cation. I retired to it many times, both by day and by night, and offered up my soul in prayer to the Lord. I never shall forget the happy hours I spent alone in meditation and prayer upon that solitary island. When sitting there alone, there would come to my mind the words of Robert Pollok: " 'In the wide desert where the view was large, Pleasant were many scenes, but most to me The solitude of vast extent untouched by hand Whose nature sowed herself and reaped her crop; Whose garments were the clouds; whose minstrels, brooks; Whose lamps, the moon and stars; whose organ choir, The voice of many waters; whose banquets, The falling leaves; whose heroes, storms; whose warriors, Mighty winds; whose lovers, flowers; Whose orators, the thunderbolt of God; Whose palaces, the everlasting hills; Whose ceilings, heaven's unfathomable blue; And from whose rocky turrets, battled high, Prospects immense spread out on all sides in air, Lost now between the welkin and the main, Now walked with hills that slept above the storm.' "The Lord blessed me with joy and happiness such as I had never before enjoyed, doubtless because I was living up to the best light I had. I had no apostle or prophet to teach me the right way; so I had to do the best I could. In my zeal to promote good, I got up prayer meetings in our village, and prayed for light and knowledge. It was my desire to receive the ordinances of the gospel, as I could plainly see by reading the Bible that baptism by immersion was a sacred ordinance. In my eager- ness, yet being ignorant of the holy priesthood and of the true authority to officiate in the ordinances of eternal life, I requested the Baptist min- ister to baptize me. At first he refused because I told him I would not join his church, as it did not harmonize with the apostolic church which our Savior established. Finally after several conversations, he baptized me on the 5th of May, 1831. This was the first and only gospel ordinance I sought for until I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."