M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Wilford Woodruff's Annual Self-Evaluation
By Davis Bitton

Wilford Woodruff had an interesting way of looking back over the previous year and summarizing his activities. Before looking at this end-of-year exercise, let us peek in for a moment at a day in 1837.

It is 9 April 1937. Woodruff goes to the House of the Lord, the new Kirtland Temple, for worship. John Smith preaches a sermon based on 2 Nephi 12. Heber C. Kimball and Orson Pratt give remarks. Sidney Rigdon speaks about the Saints' financial situation. (The meeting isn't over yet. I think they had longer attention spans in those days.)

Then Joseph Smith gives a powerful address. I picture Wilford, sitting on the edge of his bed that night, dipping a quill pen in ink as he tries to capture for his journal what he had heard.

Joseph arose and like the lion of the tribe of Judah he poured out his soul in the midst of the congregation of the Saints. But who can find language to write his words and teachings as with an iron pen in a rock that they may stand for future generations to look upon. A fountain of knowledge rolled from his mouth to the people, which was the word of God.

There is not a greater man than Joseph standing in this generation. The gentiles look upon him and he is to them like [a] bed of gold concealed from human view. They know not his principle, his spirit, his wisdom, virtue, philanthropy, nor his calling. His mind like Enoch's swells wide as eternity. Nothing short of a God can comprehend his soul.

I remember when first reading this passage many years ago I thought to myself: "My own testimony is another matter. But I am thoroughly convinced that Wilford Woodruff had a powerful testimony of Joseph Smith's prophetic calling."

As his monumental journal marches through the years from his conversion in 1834 to his death in 1898, Woodruff often wrapped up his activities of the previous twelve months in a kind of quantitative analysis. Here is part of his summary for 1837:

Miles traveled: 2,350
Meetings held: 108
Churches planted: 3
Persons baptized: 21
Healings through administration: 5
Children blessed: 2
Letters sent: 30
Letters received: 13

It is a bare-bones, quantitative listing. In principle, the details could be looked up in the journal itself. Does such an evaluation have any use for us? I do not suggest, and I am sure Wilford Woodruff did not believe, that God would count points in judging us. But Woodruff wanted to get down to hard facts and figures. Not for him vague generalizations.

I don't know which of our activities might be worth considering in these terms. Meetings? Hours of television-watching? Movies? Pizzas? Sports events attended?

Since letters of the traditional kind are fewer now, would email messages sent and received be of any interest? Books read? Prayers? Ordinances? Acts of service? We may not choose to reduce any of our activities to numbers, but just thinking in these terms forces us to evaluate what is of real importance and what is transitory.

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