Revelation received by Wilford Woodruff
24 November 1889
Attended a meeting with the lawyers at the Guardo (house) in the evening. They wanted me to make some concession to the court upon polygamy and other points, and I spent several hours alone and inquired of the Lord and received the following revelation: (Journal of Wilford Woodruff, 24 November 1889)
Thus saith the Lord to my servant Wilford. I, the Lord, have heard thy prayers and thy request, and will answer thee by the voice of my spirit.
Thus saith the Lord unto my servants the Presidency of My Church, who hold the Keys of the Kingdom of God on the earth. I the Lord hold the destiny of the courts in your midst, and the destiny of this nation, and all other nations of the earth, in mine own hands, and all that I have revealed and promised and decreed concerning the generation in which you live shall come to pass, and no power shall stay my hand.
Let not my servants who are called to the Presidency of my Church deny my word or my law, which concerns the salvation of the children of men.
Let them pray for the Holy Spirit which shall be given them to guide them in their acts. Place not yourselves in jeopardy to your enemies by promise. Your enemies seek your destruction and the destruction of my people. If the Saints will hearken unto my voice, and the counsel of my servants, the wicked shall not prevail.
Let my servants who officiate as your counselors before the courts make their pleadings as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit, without any further pledges from the Priesthood, and they will be justified.
I, the Lord, will hold the courts, with the officers of government and the nation responsible for their acts towards the inhabitants of Zion.
I, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, am in your midst. I am your advocate with the Father. Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Fear not the wicked and ungodly.
Search the scriptures, for they are they which testify of me; also those revelations which I have given to my servant Joseph, and to all my servants since the world began, which are recorded in the records of divine truth.
Those revelations contain the judgments of God which are to be poured out upon all nations under the heavens, which include Great Babylon. These judgments are at the door. They will be fulfilled as God lives. Leave judgment with me, it is mine, saith the Lord. Watch the signs of the times and they will show the fulfillment of the words of the Lord.
Let my servants call upon the Lord in mighty prayer, retain the Holy Ghost as your constant companion and act as you are moved upon by that Spirit, and all will be well with you.
The wicked are fast ripening in iniquity, and they will be cut off by the judgments of God. Great events await you and this generation and are nigh at your doors. Awake! O Israel, and have faith in God and his promises and he will not forsake you. I the Lord will deliver my Saints from the dominion of the wicked in mine own due time and way.
I cannot deny my Word, neither in blessings nor judgments. Therefore let mine anointed gird up their loins, watch and be sober, and keep my commandments. Pray always and faint not. Exercise faith in the Lord and in the promises of God; be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The eyes of the Lord and the Heavenly Hosts are watching over you and your acts. Therefore be faithful until I come. I come quickly to reward every man, according to the deeds done in the body. Even so, Amen.
“This revelation was received during a period of intense difficulty by the Church, with many of the brethren living in hiding or otherwise seeking to avoid capture by the law because of the practice of plural marriage. President Woodruff was seeking to know the will of the Lord on what path to take in these difficulties, as he was being pulled on one hand by those within the Church who wanted to cease the practice of plural marriage, and on the other hand by those who wanted no compromise to doctrines of the Church regarding plural marriage as an eternal principle given to the Church for this dispensation. Finding himself unable to confirm which path to pursue through his own wisdom, President Woodruff inquired of the Lord on this day and then received this revelation.” (Messages of the First Presidency 3:171-176)