When he entered the city, he beheld, to his great joy, the Temple of the Lord. It contained for him grand opportunities. Its ordinances which he so fervently revered gave comfort and consolation to his life. On Sunday the 27th, 1836, he attended his first public meeting in the Temple. He had visited the building previously and viewed with pleasure its sacred apartments. On the forenoon of that day in company with Elders Warren Parrish and A. O. Smoot, he listened with pleasure to the words of Elder S. Carter, and to an impressive discourse from the Prophet Joseph.
In the afternoon of the same day, Elders Woodruff and A. O. Smoot were invited to address the congregation. Elder Woodruff first opened by prayer and then turned at random to a page in the Bible. To his surprise, he opened to the 56th chapter of Isaiah, the same chapter he had turned to on the night of his eventful prayer in Connecticut. Here the memories of that night flashed upon his mind, and he told the incidents thereof with impressive force and inspiration upon the congregation. The people were greatly interested. Those who knew the voice of the good shepherd recognized in him a man truly born of the spirit of God, a fit companion of prophets and apostles.
On the 1st of December, 1836, he attended for the first time in his life a meeting called for the purpose of giving certain persons their patriarchal blessings. Father Joseph Smith was the patriarch of the Church in those days. This new experience brought to him new evidences that the God of the Bible, the God of the patriarchs of old,—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,—was truly the God of the new dispensation whose spirit and purposes were kindred to those in ancient times when the patriarchs of old blest the people.
The spiritual manifestations of those times in Kirtland brought with them heartfelt desires to observe every rule of correct living. That spirit was not at all in harmony with the use of intoxicating liquors; and whatever became an obstacle to the spirit of worship must be removed if the worship were to be enjoyed. It was important that the use of liquor should be discontinued, and Elder Woodruff records in his journal that on the 4th day of December, that year, Sidney Rigdon called for a vote of the people on the discontinuance of the use of liquor in the Church both in sickness and in health. An exception to the rule was made in the case of the washing of the bodies; and under proper regulations, wine might be used for the Sacrament. The vote was unanimous.
On the 11th of December, the Prophet sharply rebuked the Kirtland Saints for their sins and backsliding. He warned them to repent, lest judgment should come upon them as it had come upon the Saints in Jackson County, Missouri. Those were trying times. They were days of separation when it became necessary to separate the unworthy from those who were of the household of faith. Kirtland was not to be the abiding place of the Saints. They must give up their possessions and their love for the city they had striven so hard to adorn. Many had placed themselves in opposition to a divine purpose whose wisdom they could not comprehend. That opposition invited the presence of the evil one who both tempted and beguiled them. Wilford Woodruff, however, was among those who could say then, as he ever after kept himself in a condition to say, "Thy will, not mine be done."
Before the close of 1836, there came to Elder Woodruff one of those choice blessings which he esteemed so highly. He was advanced in the priesthood to a place in the first quorum of seventies. His faithful friend and missionary companion, A. O. Smoot, was likewise ordained to the office of a seventy. This ordination of his friend was in fulfillment of a prophesy which he had pronounced upon the head of Elder Smoot on the 30th day of June, that year, while they were together in Tennessee. The call of Wilford Woodruff to take his place in the first quorum of seventy took place on the 3rd day of January, 1837, though he had been ordained to his new calling in the priesthood on the 20th of the preceeding December. His love for missionary service made this calling one of special honor to him. To be a witness for Jesus Christ to the nations was his soul's delight. The manner in which he honored that calling is known to all who are at all familiar with the early history of the Church.
The early part of April, 1837, Wilford Woodruff devoted himself to the meetings which were held in the Temple during those days. Those who were absent from Kirtland in the spring of 1836, and had not therefore the privilege of receiving their endowments at that time were granted the opportunity to do so in the following spring. This was another blessing that he received with feelings of gratitude and praise to his Maker. The influence of the Temple ordinances is, perhaps, the most potent of any influence in the Church in the establishment of union, in the perpetuity of brotherly love, and in the preservation of a God-like purity. It is not too much to say that one, upon whom the spirit of these ordinances has fastened itself, never escapes in his conscience the sacred obligations they impose upon him.
Referring to the administration of the Temple ordinances on that occasion, he writes in his journal: "The Prophet Joseph arose and addressed the congregation for the space of three hours. He was clothed with the power, spirit, and image of God. He presented many things of great importance to the elders of Israel. O, that the record could be written as with an iron pen, of the light, principles, and virtue that came from the mouth and heart of the Prophet Joseph, whose soul, like that of Enoch, seemed as wide as eternity! That day strikingly demonstrated that he was, indeed, a prophet of God raised up for the deliverance of Israel. He presented to us a plan of the city of Kirtland which was given him by vision. The future will prove that the visions of Joseph concerning Jackson County and concerning the various stakes of Zion will be fulfilled in the time appointed of the Lord. After his remarks, the Sacrament was administered and all were made glad at the table of the Lord in association with apostles, prophets, patriarchs, evangelists, and teachers. In the evening a meeting was held in which many took part by speaking in tongues, giving the interpretations thereof, prophesying, etc.,—a veritable feast of Pentecost."
Temple work in Kirtland in the early part of 1837 afforded him that spiritual satisfaction which was so helpful in those subsequent years of his life when he was employed in missionary service and upon the plains as a pioneer. He also learned during those days in Kirtland that the more remarkable the spiritual manifestations, the greater the opposition of the evil one. He was present at the Sunday services in the Temple, April 9th, when Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, and Sidney Rigdon laid before the Saints the condition of the Church respecting temporal affairs.
A financial panic was on throughout the United States. Its depressing influence was severely felt in Kirtland. Before it reached that place, however, many of the leading brethren had given their time and talent to speculation and were absorbed in schemes detrimental to their religious standing, and quite contrary to the counsel of the Prophet. Speculations brought on jealousies and hatreds, and those evil attributes manifested themselves toward Joseph who sought so diligently to suppress them. Prominent men—men who had shown the highest degree of loyalty to the Prophet became disaffected. Their financial speculations brought on a spirit of self-sufficiency, and that spirit made them wise in their own conceit. The affairs of the Church were put to the test of "wisdom"—wisdom as they understood it. Such wisdom, however, was undermining their integrity to the Church. The meek and humble maintained their fidelity and brought encouragement and solace to the Prophet, and the noble men who stood with him in the hours of financial distress.