The years contained in this volume, 1886-1889, were years filled with persecution and trials for the Church and its members. Due to the intense persecution from the Federal Government involving both polygamy and unlawful cohabitation, those brethren living the law of plural marriage, including John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and almost half of the Quorum of the Twelve, were forced into hiding, thus keeping them away from General Conferences, funerals, and other religious gatherings. [...] Unfortunately, the forced seclusion of the brethren resulted in a dearth of talks and discourses, which led to the demise of the Journal of Discourses in 1886. In 1889, as a result of concessions made by the Church, the leading brethren were once more allowed to gather with the Saints. The talks delivered by Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon and others in early 1889 show the intense joy the brethren felt at once more being allowed to meet with the Saints. [from the preface to vol. 1]