Over 30 students at Brigham Young University-Idaho participated in a “Hackathon” on March 18, 2023, in collaboration with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. During the 12-hour event, computer and data science students competed to develop an algorithm that could match scripture references to entries in Wilford Woodruff’s journals. 

“We think it’s valuable to see what scriptures a prophet turned to when he had struggles,” one student explained.

The event was made possible by a recent partnership established between BYU–Idaho and the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation allowing university students to utilize more than 65 years of transcribed records kept by Wilford Woodruff, the fourth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His writings are being transcribed and made available online at wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.

The partnership provides the opportunity for students to work on projects they design to help people connect with President Woodruff, his family, and other early Church members in new ways using data science and advanced technology.

“There’s just not another prophet like this who was an eyewitness to so many events in Church history and recorded very intimate journal entries that we have access to on this level,” said J. Hathaway, chair of BYU–Idaho’s Data Science Program. “When students are able to see how a prophet thinks and lives his everyday life, it’s a fun way for them to engage.”

Current student projects are focused on analyzing text and sharing the compelling stories from President Woodruff’s records. For example, some BYU–Idaho students are writing computer applications that will engage Latter Day Saint audiences with interactive maps and graphs that bring Church history to life in a very unique way. You can see an example of one student’s mapping project showing every town and city in the United States that Wilford Woodruff lived in, traveled to or journaled about between 1834 and 1898 at clarabrobergseniorproject.netlify.app/posts/final_project.

These projects have helped students get to know Wilford Woodruff on a more personal level because his journals are incredibly detailed. In addition to spiritual matters, he frequently wrote about interactions with individuals as a missionary and a community leader, his sleeping patterns and dreams, his favorite foods and daily exercise, his hunting and fly fishing adventures, and his family relationships.

“Our students can use their coding skills and they get to build faith at the same time as they study these records,” Hathaway told BYU–Idaho Radio during the Hackathon. “They also get to show their work and hopefully it helps them land a job, too.”

Another student said, “Even though we’re doing this very programmatic thing, it can still be a very personal experience.”

The ongoing student projects are evidence that the rising generation is interested in learning about the prophet’s personal life.

“We get consistent feedback from interns, volunteers, and students that they are interested in learning more details about President Woodruff’s life and the lives of others from that era,” said Ed Evans, director of strategy for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation. “Spending time in Wilford Woodruff’s writings has allowed Church history to come alive while reading the stories about him and the details he recorded about the lives of over 14,000 other individuals. The humanity of their journey is clearly evident in the journal entries as they overcame very difficult challenges and moved forward in faith.”

The Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation will continue to provide individual and immersive experiences online along with doctrinal insights as the Project moves forward. Current progress on the Wilford Woodruff Papers website includes learning about Wilford Woodruff’s missions in Great Britain through videos filmed on location in England and recordings of testimonies of young adults working on the Project. To stay up-to-date on the thousands of documents and images being made accessible online, sign up for their newsletter or follow them on social media.

The mission of the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The purpose in making these records universally accessible is to inspire all people, especially the rising generation, to study and increase their faith in Jesus Christ. If you are interested in volunteering, visit wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/get-involved.