From there they proceeded to Philadelphia, where they arrived August 5th. The following day (Sunday) they met about three hundred Saints in conference. Elder Jedediah M. Grant was also present and opened the conference by prayer. President Young, Orson Pratt, and George A. Smith occupied the principal part of the time in both of the meetings, afternoon and evening. In the forenoon Elder Woodruff accompanied President Young and others to hear the Reverend Mr. Litz, the Millerite preacher. The reverend gentleman strongly contended that the Jews would never be restored to the land of Palestine or be gathered together.
On the 8th the Twelve took a steamboat excursion, and while thus riding for their enjoyment, a number of subjects came up for discussion. Among others the question: "Is the prosperity of any religious denomination a positive evidence of the truth of its contention?" John E. Page took the affirmative, and Elder J.M. Grant the negative. President Young, who was chairman, decided in favor of the negative.
During the stay of the Twelve in this historic city, Elder Woodruff was very active in visiting the Saints, strengthening them in their faith and laying before them the purpose of their mission. At intervals in his labors he occupied himself in gathering a great variety of useful information within his reach. His journal is, indeed, an interesting history of the places visited by him in those early days. He speaks of the visit of himself, Elders Young, Pratt, Smoot, and Hessy to the state house, also of his visit to Independence Hall. "We saw," he remarks, "the room where the patriots signed the Declaration of Independence. We sat in the chair occupied by John Hancock when he signed that immortal instrument."
On the 14th, Elders Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, and William Muir parted with the Saints in Philadelphia and went by steamer to Schuylkill, then walked six miles to a Mr. Mosley's, where they preached in the evening. For several days Elder Woodruff traveled and preached in various neighborhoods of that vicinity. He visited the scene of the Battle of Brandywine.
On the 21st the party returned to Philadelphia, where they learned that the other apostles had gone on to New York. They remained two days, then followed their companions. In New York they held a conference on August 26th and 27th. At this conference many questions which are well understood doctrines of the Church were commented upon in such a manner as to show that they were not plain to the missionaries of those early days, a fact, no doubt, due to the traditions and religious teachings which men of those times brought with them into the Church. Among other things, the question was asked whether a man could be deprived of his priesthood and still retain his standing in the Church. President Young answered decidedly, "No."
On the 29th of that month Elder Woodruff went to Boston with Elders Davis and Wandell. This afforded him an opportunity to visit his father and family in his old home at Farmington, Connecticut. On the 9th of September, after reaching Boston, he, with six other members of the Twelve; namely, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, John E. Page, and George A. Smith, held conference in Boylston Hall. From his notes the following is taken: "President Young said: 'The spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a gathering spirit, and its tendency is to gather the virtuous and good, the honest and meek of the earth, in other words the Saints of God. Now is the set time for the Lord to redeem Israel. He does not require every soul to leave his home as soon as he believes, but requires him to hearken to counsel and follow the counsel which the Lord points out to him. You say the Lord may save us as well where we are. Yes, if the Lord says so, but when He commands us to gather and we do not do it, He will not save us. You might have been baptized seventy times in any other way than that ordained of God and you would not have received the Holy Ghost. Can you get an endowment in Boston? No, only in that place which God has appointed. If you do not help to build the Temple and the Nauvoo House, if you do not help to build up Zion and the cause of God, you will not inherit the land of Zion. Be faithful or you will not be chosen; for the day of choosing is at the door. Why be afraid of sacrifice? I have given my all many times and would be willing to do so again. I would be glad to hear the Lord say to His servant Joseph, "Let my servant Brigham give all he has." I would obey in a moment if it took the last coat from my back.'"
From a discourse of Heber C. Kimball the following is taken: "We do not profess to be polished stones like some of the elders. The more we roll through the forests and get the corners knocked off the better we are. If we were polished and smooth it would deface us to have the surface chipped off. This is the case with Joseph Smith, he never professed to be smooth and polished. Rolling around among the rocks has not hurt him at all, but in the end he will be as polished as any stone, while many who were so very polished in the beginning will become badly defaced."
"Do the Saints of Boston know," said Parley P. Pratt, "that they are identified in laying the foundation of so great and mighty a work that it will include all the great and glorious purposes of God which are to be fulfilled in the dispensation of the fullness of times? Millions will yet celebrate the day when the foundation of this work was laid."
The Twelve little dreamed that when they would meet again in Boston it would be on the sad 27th day of June, when the Prophet and the Patriarch would be called upon to lay down their lives at the hands of a murderous mob.
On the 12th Elder Woodruff left for Portland, Maine. The express train conveying him to his destination was thrown from the track. The engineer was killed and a lady passenger bruised; all the rest escaped in a marvelous manner. From Maine Elder Woodruff wrote an account of the wreck to the "Boston Bee" as well as to the "Times and Seasons" in Nauvoo. He occupied some several days in visiting his wife's father, Ezra Carter, and the family of Arthur and Lucy Milliken, the latter being the youngest sister of the Prophet Joseph.