Wilford Woodruff Sr. was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death on September 2, 1898. In 1890, he prohibited the public practice of plural marriage among LDS Church members. After researching Restorationism as a young adult, Woodruff joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In Kirtland, Ohio, he met Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, before joining Zion's Camp in April 1834. Before returning to Kirtland, he served as a missionary in Missouri, preaching in Arkansas and Tennessee. That year, he married his first wife, Phebe, and served a mission in New England. In July 1838, Smith summoned Woodruff to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and he was ordained in April 1839. From August 1839 until April 1841, Woodruff worked as a missionary in England, guiding converts to Nauvoo. At the time of Smith's death, Woodruff was promoting Smith's presidential campaign. When he and Phebe returned to Nauvoo, they journeyed to England, where Woodruff preached and assisted local members. The Woodruffs returned to America just as the Saints were being forced out of Nauvoo, and Woodruff oversaw forty families at Winter Quarters, where he was sealed to his first plural wives.