Wilford Woodruff's Leaves from My Journal moves through a series of geographical and spiritual transitions, each marked by precise dates and locations. The narrative opens with the strict "Blue Laws" of Connecticut and quickly shifts to missionary travels, baptisms, and farewells. Woodruff records not only his own movements but also the emotional weight of leaving family, as when he takes a last walk with his sister by the canal. The journal's structure relies on dated entries and chapter breaks that correspond to changes in place or calling, such as his appointment to the apostleship while on Fox Islands.

Recurring Scenes of Departure and Return

Woodruff's journal repeatedly stages departure scenes that blend personal emotion with religious purpose. In Chapter XVI, he describes his final night at his father's home: after evening prayer, he spends time with his step-mother and sister, noting "the weight of the power of temptation" from which they were delivered. The next morning he takes leave of relatives and his native land. This pattern recurs throughout the excerpts: he leaves his wife and child at Father Carter's to visit Fox Islands, and later receives a letter calling him to the apostleship while holding a meeting on North Vinal Haven. Each departure is tied to a specific date and location, reinforcing the journal's documentary quality.

Baptism as a Climactic Event

Baptism scenes serve as structural high points in the narrative. In one episode, after preaching, Woodruff leads six people to the Farmington river "because there was much water there" and baptizes them, including his father, stepmother, and sister. He organizes a branch of nine persons, eight of whom are relatives. The language shifts from plain narration to exclamatory reflection: "Who can comprehend the joy... that an Elder of Israel feels in being an instrument... of bringing his father, mother, sister, brother... through the door that enters into life and salvation?" These moments punctuate the travelogue with spiritual climaxes.

The Journal as a Record of Narrow Escapes

The publisher's preface highlights Woodruff's "adventures, accidents and hair-breadth escapes," comparing them to the Apostle Paul's. In the excerpts, Woodruff describes being delivered from the power of the devil before a meeting: he prays, arises from his bed, and preaches. The preface notes that Satan often sought his destruction, and that the number of broken bones he suffered is remarkable for a man of seventy-five. These references to physical peril and divine preservation recur as a motif, though the excerpts do not detail the accidents themselves.

Movement Between Islands and Mainland

Woodruff's missions take him repeatedly to Fox Islands (North Vinal Haven) and back to the Maine mainland. He records specific dates of arrival and departure, such as leaving Scarboro on July 30th and arriving on Fox Islands. The journal's structure mirrors this back-and-forth: he returns to Maine after his mission to his native land, then departs again for the islands. This geographic oscillation creates a rhythm of separation and reunion, both from family and from the Saints. The islands themselves are named precisely, grounding the spiritual narrative in a tangible landscape.

Readers attentive to movement will notice how Woodruff's journal uses place and date as anchors for spiritual experience. The recurring pattern of departure, baptism, and narrow escape gives the work a distinctive rhythm. Rather than a continuous autobiography, it offers selected leaves—episodes that highlight faith and perseverance. The journal's structure rewards those who track the shifts between Connecticut, Maine, and the islands, as each location carries its own emotional and religious weight.