From the Life of Lorenzo Snow

In 1844, while fulfilling an assignment in the eastern United States, Lorenzo Snow learned that the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum had been martyred. He said: “The news of this sad event, of course, came wholly unexpected, and struck me with profound astonishment and grief, which no language can portray.” Obeying instructions from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he made preparations to return to his home in Nauvoo, Illinois.1

He later recalled: “It was thought by some in the days of Joseph that this Church could not prosper except Joseph guided its destinies, and when the time came when he was to pass away from this world as a martyr into the spirit world, the Saints throughout the kingdom of God were greatly agitated. It was something unexpected. They hardly knew how things would then move. The responsibility [to lead the Church] then devolved upon the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; and through the blessings of God upon them and the spirit of inspiration that dwelt in their bosoms, and under the guidance of the Almighty, the kingdom moved forward.”2

The second President of the Church, Brigham Young, died in 1877, after having led the Church for 33 years. Elder Lorenzo Snow, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, once again witnessed a change in the Church’s earthly leadership. He later said that President Young “passed away almost unexpectedly. The Saints were hardly prepared for it. And yet the kingdom of God moved forward.”3

When John Taylor, the third President of the Church, died in 1887, Elder Snow reassured the Saints, “The Lord has seen proper now to call our beloved brother, President Taylor, away from these scenes of suffering, these scenes of martyrdom; and the Church still moves forward.”4

In 1898, about 11 years after reassuring the Saints at President Taylor’s funeral, Lorenzo Snow found himself in need of such reassurance. He was serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve at the time. President Wilford Woodruff was serving as President of the Church, and his physical health was failing. President Snow knew that according to the established line of succession, he would preside over the Church if he outlived President Woodruff. One evening he felt especially burdened by this possibility. Considering himself inadequate to assume the leadership of the Church, he went alone to a room in the Salt Lake Temple to pray. He asked God to spare President Woodruff’s life, but he also promised that he would perform any duty God required of him.

President Woodruff died on September 2, 1898, not long after President Snow’s fervent prayer in the temple. President Snow was in Brigham City, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Salt Lake City, when he received the news. He made arrangements to travel to Salt Lake City by train that same evening. Upon his arrival, he again went to a private room in the temple to pray. He acknowledged his feelings of inadequacy but expressed his willingness to do the Lord’s will. He asked for guidance and waited for an answer, but none came. So he left the room.

Entering a large hallway, he received the answer﻿—and the reassurance﻿—he had sought. Before him stood the resurrected Savior, who told him what he needed to do. President Snow later told his granddaughter Alice Pond about this experience. Alice recorded the conversation she had with her grandfather in the Salt Lake Temple:

“In the large corridor leading into the celestial room, I was walking several steps ahead of grand-pa when he stopped me and said: ‘Wait a moment, Allie, I want to tell you something. It was right here that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me at the time of the death of President Woodruff. He instructed me to go right ahead and reorganize the First Presidency of the Church at once and not wait as had been done after the death of the previous presidents, and that I was to succeed President Woodruff.’

“Then grand-pa came a step nearer and held out his left hand and said: ‘He stood right here, about three feet above the floor. It looked as though He stood on a plate of solid gold.’

“Grand-pa told me what a glorious personage the Savior is and described His hands, feet, countenance and beautiful white robes, all of which were of such a glory of whiteness and brightness that he could hardly gaze upon Him.

“Then [grand-pa] came another step nearer and put his right hand on my head and said: ‘Now, grand-daughter, I want you to remember that this is the testimony of your grand-father, that he told you with his own lips that he actually saw the Savior, here in the Temple, and talked with Him face to face.’”5

President Snow’s visit with the Savior was a sacred confirmation of a truth he had known for many years﻿—that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. Inspired by this truth, President Snow frequently testified that the Church would continue to progress in spite of opposition. He expressed his gratitude for the privilege of participating in the forward movement of the Lord’s latter-day work. In the October 1898 general conference, in which he was sustained as President of the Church, he said: “Let us decree in our hearts, let us inwardly testify to the Lord, that we will be a better people, a more united people at our next Conference than we are today. This should be the feeling and determination of every man and woman present in this solemn assembly. I feel in my heart that I will try to be more devoted than I have been in the past to the interests of the kingdom of God and the carrying out of His purposes.”6 [See suggestion 1 on page 246.]