"We had a very interesting time on this occasion. The conference was held in a place which would contain 800, and it was crowded; but there was perfect order and much good feeling manifested during the day. There was prospect of a continued increase in the Potteries. George A. Smith was the president of the conference, and T. J. Fitcher and O. Shaw, clerks. Next day George A. Smith and myself met the officers in council at the Hanley meeting rooms, and gave such advice as we deemed wisdom; we then took our farewell. On the following day we also parted from the Saints at Burslem, took coach to Manchester, and called upon Parley P. Pratt, 47 Oxford Street; we found him and his family enjoying good health.
"On the 6th of April, 1841, the General Conference of the British Mission was held in Carpenter's Hall, Manchester, at which there were present nine of the quorum of the Twelve; namely, President Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, and George A. Smith. The total membership of the British mission at that time was represented as 5,814, and 800 besides had emigrated to America under the transportation arrangements of the Church. At this conference the Twelve blessed and set apart Orson Hyde for his mission to Jerusalem, to which he had been called by the Prophet Joseph. This was the first and only time in this dispensation that the Twelve Apostles sat in conference as a quorum in a foreign land.
"Immediately after the General Conference, those of the Twelve who were about to return home hastened to Liverpool, and embarked for America on the 20th of April, on board of the ship Rochester. Next day, the wind being favorable, the ship weighed anchor. There were on board Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, George A. Smith, Wilford Woodruff, Willard Richards, and John Taylor, of the Twelve, with Elder Reuben Hedlock and 120 of the British Saints. On our passage across the Atlantic we had some very tempestuous weather and became familiar with 'a storm at sea.' On the 20th of May we landed in New York, and on the next day George A. Smith and myself took up our abode for a few days at Brother Foster's. While there I met my brothers-in-law, Ezra and Ilus Carter, and also Dr. Charles Fabyan, my wife's relative.
"On the 22nd of May, at the house of Brother Foster, in New York, and in the presence of the quorum of the Twelve, I performed the service of marriage between Mr. Edward Ockey and Miss Eliza Brewer, both of them my converts of Castle Frome. This was the first marriage ceremony at which I officiated.
"On the 2nd of June I arrived at Scarboro by stage, and was permitted to embrace my wife, and also my first born son, Wilford, Jr., whom I had not seen before. After two years of separation from my wife, it was indeed a happy reunion. There I stayed with my father-in-law until the 5th of July, and then left for my native place, Farmington, Conn., where I arrived the third day after. While tarrying at my father's house I married my sister Eunice Woodruff to Mr. Dwight Webster. At my sister's marriage there were present between forty and fifty persons, mostly our relatives. This was on the 4th of August, 1841. A few days afterwards my aunt Beulah Hart was baptized into the Church, and on the 18th of the month I bade farewell to my father's house, after a stay of forty-one days. This was a longer visit than I had paid to any of my friends for the past ten years.
"On the 9th September, a little company, consisting of myself, wife, and son, and four others, started on board the boat Sandusky for Albany. Our ultimate destination was Nauvoo, where we arrived on the 5th of the next month. When I left Nauvoo, two years before, there were not more than a dozen houses in the place, but on my return to the city there were several hundred. We passed by the Temple, then building, and had a view of it; we then called at the house of Elder Brigham Young, and there spent the night. Brother Brigham was sick, and Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards were with him. We laid hands upon him and he soon recovered. I saw many of my old friends and acquaintances, and was informed that others of them were dead. I met with many friends on the day after my return to Nauvoo, and also sat in council with the Twelve, and was happy once more to meet with my quorum. I moved my things to Elder Kimball's. My wife and child were sick. On the 30th of October, 1841, the city council met, and in course of its business I was appointed one of the city council of Nauvoo."
CHAPTER 14.
REVIEW OF HIS MISSION.