About four months before the death of John Taylor in 1887, Elder Heber J. Grant, then a junior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, asked President Wilford Woodruff, the presiding member of that Quorum, if it was necessary for President Woodruff to be the next prophet. Elder Grant hoped they could skip ahead to Joseph F. Smith, the third Apostle in seniority after Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow. In 1887, President Woodruff was already 80 years old. President George Q. Cannon was ruffling feathers as a member of President Taylor’s presidency and was sure to be a member of President Woodruff’s presidency. And Joseph F. Smith was much younger and universally well liked. Furthermore, the younger Apostle was in line to be the prophet one day anyway, so why not now?
John Taylor was only the third President of the restored Church, and none of the previous presidential successions had gone smoothly or quickly. Brigham Young was not sustained as President of the Church until December 1847, three and a half years after Joseph Smith’s death. John Taylor’s succession to the presidency did not occur until October 1880, more than three years after Brigham Young’s death.
President Woodruff was stunned by the question, but instead of responding immediately, he told Elder Grant he needed time to think about it. He took a week or so to respond with a very detailed, and, under the circumstances, especially kind and generous explanation. His letter of March 1887 outlined the precedent for calling the next President of the Church.
President Woodruff knew that Grant was still learning, and that Elder Grant’s concerns had more to do with President Cannon than with himself. Still, it must have been harsh criticism for President Woodruff, who had dedicated himself so completely to the Church, who knew its doctrine and administration better than anyone, and who was, after the death of John Taylor, the only Apostle alive who had been called by the Prophet Joseph.
Wilford Woodruff’s Response to Heber J. Grant
In his response, dated 28 March 1887, President Woodruff wrote, “You asked me a question the last time we met which I was not prepared to answer at the time it was given. I have given the subject some thought and reflection, and I now feel prepared to answer the question.”
Letter from Wilford Woodruff to Heber J. Grant, 28 March 1887, page 1
He continued for ten pages, relying heavily on a meeting from March 1844 in which the Prophet Joseph Smith conferred the keys of the kingdom upon the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In a later discourse, President Woodruff described that experience this way:
I am the only man in the flesh that was with the Twelve Apostles when he [Joseph Smith] turned over the kingdom of God to them and laid upon them the commandment to bear off this kingdom. He stood for some three hours in a room delivering to us his last lecture. . . . He said, . . . “I have sealed upon your heads all those principles, Priesthood, apostleship, and keys of the kingdom of God, and now you have got to round up your shoulders and bear off this kingdom or you will be damned.” I do not forget those words—I never shall while I live.
It was clearly a life-changing experience, and not one President Woodruff was going to discount to appease Elder Grant. He finished the letter, “your brother in the Gospel.”
President Woodruff could have written a very different letter. He could have fired back at Elder Grant and reprimanded his audacity, but instead his tone was gentle and patient. While Elder Grant was later embarrassed by his own criticism, he always spoke fondly of President Woodruff and was grateful for his kind response. The exchange could have gone a very different way, yet it didn’t.
George Q. Cannon, Wilford Woodruff, and Joseph F. Smith dressed for the Salt Lake Temple Dedication, April 6, 1893
Courtesy of the Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Captain Moroni and Pahoran
There’s a similar exchange in the Book of Mormon with Captain Moroni and Pahoran, the chief judge in Zarahemla. Starting with Alma 58, we read the letter Helaman wrote to Moroni, in which Helaman and his stripling warriors were fighting to take back the city of Manti from the Lamanites and asked Pahoran for help. We then read the army’s disappointment when so little help came.
The war wasn’t going well, and Moroni was watching all these losses out in the field. Then we read the last verse of Alma 59: “And it came to pass that Moroni was angry with the government, because of their indifference concerning the freedom of their country” (Alma 59:13).
Moroni then wrote a letter to Pahoran, asking for assistance for Helaman and his armies in Manti, and for help defending the city of Nephihah. His letter to Pahoran and the military officials in Zarahemla opened with, “For behold, I have somewhat to say unto them by the way of condemnation” (Alma 60:2).
Moroni came in hot, then he really got going.
But behold, great has been the slaughter among our people; yea, thousands have fallen by the sword, while it might have otherwise been if ye had rendered unto our armies sufficient strength and succor for them. Yea, great has been your neglect towards us.
And now behold, we desire to know the cause of this exceedingly great neglect; yea, we desire to know the cause of your thoughtless state.
Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you? Yea, while they are murdering thousands of your brethren[?] (Alma 60:5–7).
Moroni continued by threatening the government if they didn’t jump to action, his language building in intensity:
And I will come unto you, and if there be any among you that has a desire for freedom, yea, if there be even a spark of freedom remaining, behold I will stir up insurrections among you, even until those who have desires to usurp power and authority shall become extinct.
Behold it is time, yea, the time is now at hand, that except ye do bestir yourselves in the defence of your country and your little ones, the sword of justice doth hang over you; yea, and it shall fall upon you and visit you even to your utter destruction. (Alma 60:27, 29)
This is a scathing letter to Pahoran. Yet it is Pahoran’s response to the letter that is so instructive for us. Instead of getting defensive and firing back at Moroni, which would clearly have only escalated the matter further (since Moroni was in a position to follow through on his threats), Pahoran responded with love and generosity. In Alma 61:2 & 9, we read:
I, Pahoran, who am the chief governor of this land, do send these words unto Moroni, the chief captain over the army. Behold, I say unto you, Moroni, that I do not joy in your great afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul.
And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free.
Pahoran then explained that there had been an insurrection in Zarahemla, and that the leadership had to flee to Gideon. He does not sound angry at Moroni’s response; he sounds tired, humble, and in need of help. He wrote about his faith and his love of God: “Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God” (Alma 61:14).
Pahoran’s response quieted Moroni’s temper, so much that Moroni’s reaction was to head toward Zarahemla and fight to defend Pahoran and the government.
The Shared Elements of Wilford Woodruff’s and Pahoran’s Responses
So what do these two exchanges have in common? What can we learn from the grace of both President Woodruff and Pahoran in responding to what could easily have been interpreted as insults? Their similarities are striking.
Conviction in their beliefs
President Woodruff knew firmly and clearly what he had learned from the Prophet Joseph and his own personal revelation. Pahoran, likewise, expressed that his wish was to follow the Lord’s command: “But behold he doth not command us that we shall subject ourselves to our enemies, but that we should put our trust in him, and he will deliver us” (Alma 61:13). Their integrity enabled them to respond with doctrinal clarity.
An explanation of the context
Like President Woodruff, who spent ten pages explaining to Elder Grant why the succession to the Church presidency proceeds the way he outlined, Pahoran filled in the blanks for Moroni, explaining the insurrection at home and the reason for the seeming neglect of the army. They both chose to start by offering to fill in the missing pieces for their counterparts.
Charitable language
Both President Woodruff and Pahoran closed their letters with a similar phrase: “Your Brother in the Gospel of Christ” for President Woodruff and “my beloved brother” (Alma 61:14) for Pahoran. Their language throughout both letters is equally conciliatory. They chose to express love toward those on the other side of the debate.
Time and effort in responding carefully and intentionally
President Woodruff took a week to think about his response, then wrote ten pages. Pahoran was in the middle of all-out warfare and in retreat in Gideon, yet he also made the effort to respond conscientiously and gently to his military commander, even responding quickly; as we read in Alma 61:1, Pahoran’s letter came “soon after Moroni had sent his epistle.” Quick and less-considered missives would have sent the message that these complaints were not to be taken seriously and that Moroni and Elder Grant were not worth the time.
Humility
In closing his letter to Elder Grant, President Woodruff wrote: “Now, Brother Grant, if you have any argument, or light, outside of what I have presented, as the path for the Twelve Apostles to walk in, different from what we have followed as a Church, and will forward it to me, I will carefully give it investigation.” He left the door open for Elder Grant to come to him with further discussion. Pahoran similarly wrote to Moroni that all he wanted was to retain the freedom of the people that God has already granted them. He then asked for Moroni’s help, replying that he was “somewhat worried concerning what we should do” (Alma 61:19). Their responses were an invitation to discussion and counsel.
Lack of blame or recrimination
Pahoran and President Woodruff could have both responded with some variation of “who does he think he is?” Yet they didn’t. They could have pointed fingers, yet in the spirit of Christlike love and leadership, they chose to speak peace.
Love towards the other person
As Pahoran’s military commander, Moroni had served and worked closely with the leader; we can likely assume they were friends. Elder Grant was a junior apostle and the son of one of President Woodruff’s closest friends from Zion’s Camp, so President Woodruff and Elder Grant were also well acquainted. In both cases, Wilford Woodruff and Pahoran fell back on their friendly relationship with the instigators of the questions, choosing to trust in charity rather than sending base responses.
Learn More about Wilford Woodruff’s Legacy at the Wilford Woodruff Papers Conference
Their responses were gentle and loving, fostering unity instead of discord.
The seven-year project to digitize, index, and publish his personal accounts constitutes the “Wilford Woodruff Papers.” The culmination of that project, at which the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation will gift the papers to the Church History Department for perpetual access through the Church Historian’s Press website, is the jointly sponsored conference “A Rich & Holy Legacy” on November 13, 2026, at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Speakers include current Church Historian Elder Kyle S. McKay; former Church Historian LeGrand Curtis Jr.; and scholars and historians Ronald K. Esplin, Steven C. Harper, Claire Haynie Brown, Stephen Jones, Jenny Reeder, Josh Coates, Keith A. Erekson, and Amy Tanner Thiriot. Renowned historian and author Karin Wulf will deliver the keynote address, “Wilford Woodruff at the Crossroads of American Genealogy.” The evening will conclude with dinner and music featuring Jenny Oaks Baker. In-person participants can also view an artifact display and art competition submissions. For more information about the arts competition and virtual viewing options, or to register for in-person attendance, visit 2026.wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.
