From there he went to Montrose by stage and crossed the river to Nauvoo, where he found the printing press stopped for want of paper. Notwithstanding his impoverished physical condition, Elder Woodruff took a skiff and rowed down the river to the steamboat which had been delayed for five days, unable to go over the rapids. He obtained there sufficient paper for immediate use.
Returning over the rapids he reached home about midnight, still in a feverish condition and suffering from a severe cold. "Since the boat had landed our freight and I had seen it distributed to the several departments, I went home where I was confined to my bed and passed through the severest siege of sickness I ever had in my life." He was confined to his room and most of the time to his bed for forty days. Upon his partial recovery he found himself again actively engaged in his work. During his recovery he was once taken by Brigham Young in his carriage to attend a meeting of the Council of the Twelve. He had been in the house only a few minutes when his strength began to fail him. He lay down upon a bench and became unconscious. His breath ceased for a few moments, but he revived through the administration of his brethren. Remarkable testimonies came to him respecting the healing power which was then in the Church. Apostle Woodruff suffered much less from sickness than he did from his inability to meet the Prophet and to listen to the glorious truths which he had to impart to the brethren.
The Prophet was then much of his time in hiding, owing to the accusation that he was accessory to the shooting of Governor Boggs and therefore wanted in Missouri.
Those were trying times; many of the people questioned their leader and the wisdom of his policy. They argued among themselves that the Prophet Joseph had done nothing wrong, he had nothing to fear. They wanted him to clear himself with the world and with his enemies; that was the honorable thing, as they saw it, to do. Nothing less would satisfy them. But the Prophet knew very well the sentiment behind those who demanded his presence in Missouri. The fear of the enemy was less trying to him than the folly of many of his brethren who were swayed by the spirit of the age and the peculiar sophistries of those times. They were sophistries as full of folly and recklessness as many that have prevailed in the Church since then, and are now prevalent in many places.
On the 30th of October, 1842, for the first time, the Saints held a meeting in the Nauvoo Temple. A temporary floor was laid within the unfinished walls; and about three thousand Saints, full of joyful anticipations, assembled to hear the Prophet of God. They were disappointed, as sickness and other causes prevented his appearance on that occasion.
Those who were faithful and true were sad over the enforced absence of their leader. Steps were taken by the city council with the view of passing a bill granting the right of the writ of habeas corpus within the city. They thought such a law would be a protection to Joseph and other leading men who were constantly harrassed by their enemies without a cause. The writ of habeas corpus was a burning question in those days, as the liberties of the elders were constantly menaced.
On the 7th of December that year, Elder Orson Hyde returned from his mission to Jerusalem, where he had gone by appointment through revelation to dedicate the Holy Land for the return of the Jews. After performing the mission he returned home to give an account of his experiences and of the country. The Holy Land came within the hopes, promises, and blessings of the new dispensation. The promise of its redemption had been made. Many of the elders rejoiced in what they hoped would be its early fulfillment. As children in their new found calling, they possessed the impatience of youth, and the fulfillment of God's purposes they hoped speedily.
Most of the year 1842 found Elder Woodruff at home, with his family. He was engaged in all sorts of occupations, and his journal records a great variety of work. On the 19th of September he had cut an acre of corn and stacked it. During the days immediately following he was occupied in hauling wood to his door. He had traveled only 450 miles that year, a modest journey for him. During those times he had learned to know more of the Prophet, more of the doctrines which he taught, and more of the spirit by which he was actuated. Joseph Smith, himself, was a revelation to President Woodruff; he was a marvel and wonder to his mind. He was no less than a prophet of God, equally important with the prophets of old; aye! more so. The privilege of associating with the Prophet of God was the most glorious opportunity of his life, and his journal contains unnumbered manifestations of sublime satisfaction over the dispensations of his Heavenly Father.