User talk:Ashlyn256

Hi Ashlyn, I noticed that you added some information and a reference to the Wilford Woodruff papers website to Wilford Woodruff. That landing page doesn't have any of the information that you referenced on it. Did you mean to reference a certain page within the site? Rachel Helps (BYU) (talk) 19:35, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Hello again

Hi again Ashlyn256. Thanks for providing those links on Wilford Woodruff. I noticed that the information comes from Woodruff's journal directly. I know that most of the time for historical research, primary sources like journals are preferred. However, on Wikipedia, secondary sources are preferred (you can read more about it in the Reliable sources guideline). There are guidelines specifically for using a subject's writings as a source about themselves here. My opinion on Wilford Woodruff's page is that there are plenty of secondary sources that we can use, so we should not cite his journals directly. If you want to keep the added details about Phebe's vision, you might reference the same story in Saints (although since that book is published by the LDS Church, it isn't considered neutral). I spent a lot of time editing the Wilford Woodruff page back in 2019, although admittedly, the page relies a lot on the Alexander biography. I don't want to discourage you from editing--I know how hard it can be to figure out everything when you're starting. I think the Woodruff Papers project could add a lot to the Wilford Woodruff page and its related pages. I'm happy to give advice either here on Wikipedia or over e-mail. Rachel Helps (BYU) (talk) 18:14, 18 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]