Prepare Me for Thy Use: Lessons from Wilford Woodruff’s Mission Years, by Kristy Wheelwright Taylor is a wonderful, concentrated dose of Wilford Woodruff’s life for devoted Latter-day Saints. Taylor is able to draw upon her work as board secretary for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation and knowledge of the sources available through the Wilford Woodruff Papers project as well as other publications about Wilford Woodruff in compiling this book. As the title suggests, the historical narrative of the book focuses on the missionary journeys taken by Woodruff between 1834 and 1847, following a roughly chronological approach. The chapters, however, are structured around attributes that Wilford Woodruff and his first wife, Phebe, demonstrated through their missionary service. The book does continue after those missionary journeys, however, offering some of the key notes from Woodruff’s later life, such as his service as temple president in St. George and the 1890 Manifesto.

The book is geared towards faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, particularly those wanting to supplement their study of church history or to prepare for missionary service in the Church. It is very readable, and maintains a tight narrative throughout its 144 pages. The stories it tells, as a result, are designed to be faith-promoting and informative, and it does play it safe in its choices, tailoring to the intended audience. And, frankly, that works really well for what it is trying to accomplish. 

My main complaint is that on one occasion, the author did not check the source closely to make sure that she knew who was speaking. In the case in question, she quoted a Joseph Smith sermon as something that Wilford Woodruff taught. This ties into a broader problem I’ve observed with people offering Wilford Woodruff quotes when drawn from his journal—Wilford recorded a lot of things that other people said in his records, particularly when they were ecclesiastical superiors like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Thus, when pulling isolated statements from the journals, it is easy to overlook who is speaking and assume it is something that Wilford Woodruff said. I only caught one time that Taylor did this, however, and most of the use of sources throughout was reliable.

Taylor’s work builds upon previous scholarship about Wilford Woodruff. While any work on the topic will draw upon Thomas G. Alexander’s biography and other publications on the subject, the three works that seemed most evident in the DNA of Prepare Me for Thy Use were Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s A House Full of Females, Jennifer Ann Mackley’s Wilford Woodruff’s Witness: The Development of Temple Doctrine, and the Church’s Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff. The Teachings of the Presidents of the Church influenced the choice of stories throughout, highlighting those which have become the “greatest hits” from Wilford Woodruff’s life (and in turn drawing upon Woodruff’s autobiographical Leaves from My Journal). Mackley’s work undergirded the discussion of Wilford’s interest in temple work, which alternated between his time learning in association with the Kirtland and Nauvoo temples and his time leading the St. George Temple. The influence of A House Full of Females was felt most keenly in the intentional inclusion and focus on Phebe Woodruff throughout, particularly in what she endured in Nauvoo while Wilford served a multi-year mission in England. Discussion of plural marriage was minimal outside of the 1890 Manifesto, though Taylor drew upon Edward W. Tullidge’s The Women of Mormondom as much as she did Laurel Thatcher Ulrich when she did discuss the impact of polygamy on Phebe.

Drawing upon these historical studies of Wilford Woodruff and the fruits of the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation’s work in cataloging and digitizing Woodruff’s writings, Kristy Wheelwright Taylor is able to deliver a delightful introduction to Wilford Woodruff. In Prepare Me for Thy Use: Lessons from Wilford Woodruff’s Mission Years, she delivers the key pieces of information that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should know about Woodruff’s life and work while providing inspiring insights into the aspects of his personality and approach that helped him to be a phenomenally successful missionary. It also provides a window into Phebe Woodruff’s life and faith, for which I was grateful. Because of all of this, I think highly of this little volume and recommend it as a great introductory study of an important figure in Latter-day Saint history.