We have accomplished our short and speedy journey to the North in
safety and in peace, and again have the privilege of assembling with
you in this Bowery for the purpose of worshipping the Lord our God,
for which we are thankful. Every heart responds to these sentiments,
and we give glory to our Father and to our God. His hand is over us
for good; He has preserved us, He has marked out our path. The God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the Patriarchs of old, of the
ancient Prophets and Apostles, of Joseph and of this people, is our
God—the only wise and true God, our Savior. It is him that we look
to; in him we trust, and from him we receive all our blessings.
I believe that every heart is filled with thankfulness, and is also
measurably filled with joy and peace. I can truly say to you, my
brethren and sisters, that I am thankful to you, as well as to my
Father in Heaven; for I have felt the strong cord of faith in my
absence arising from this people to our Father and our God in our
behalf. And I have no doubt but that our brethren who have just
returned from their missions to the East can testify to the same. They
have felt that the faith of the Saints has been in their behalf; they
have been sustained and upheld, and brought through their trials by
the arm of Jehovah, by the faith of the Saints.
The brethren have done me a kindness, and I am thankful to them for
it. I am also thankful that I live in the midst of a people whose
hearts and faith are measurably one, that what they rightly ask for is
granted unto them; and that when they feel to bless an individual or a
people, that individual or people is blessed; and when they feel it a
duty that the Lord should stay the wicked in their progress, their
faith accomplishes their desire. I am thankful that I am in the midst
of such a people—that I am numbered with you, my brethren and sisters
in the gospel of salvation.
I have sustained, I believe, a good character before our Father and
our God. I believe that your faith has been united with ours to
accomplish that which ought to be performed; and on this
occasion I am thankful that I have had your prayers, and have
accomplished the business proposed. I requested the people to have
faith for us, and to willingly release us to visit the northern
country. They voted that they would do so, and their acts have proved
that their faith was and is in accordance with their votes.
On our journey, I can truly say that we had perfect peace. In my
travels with the Saints, up to this day, I can truly say that I never
had the pleasure of journeying with so peaceful and orderly a company
as the one with which I traveled to Salmon River. They were schooled
and instructed, and knew how to contribute to the comfort of each
other, and performed every duty in peace, without noise, without
strife, without contention. Every man was at his post, performing the
duties assigned him, and that, too, in the faith of the Gospel, with a
perfect resignation to the requirements upon him. I believe that I
have never seen men together, to anywhere near the same number, who
were so united as the company I have traveled with this spring.
We took up our line of march on the morning of the 24th of April, and
were gone one month and two days, during which time we traveled 763
miles, and that, too, over a very rough country, 381 1/2 miles out.
Only one accident occurred worthy of mention and that happened on the
evening after we drove out of Fort Limhi. While chopping some
firewood, brother Franklin Woolley had the misfortune to cut his
foot, but the wound is already so far healed that he is walking about.
We did not lose an animal, though we left two at the Fort. Brother
Woolley's was the only accident that occurred in our camp; and I do
not think that I heard one cross word from man or woman during the
journey, unless it was from myself. I think if anybody was out of
humor, or cross, or irritated, it must have been myself, for I did
not see anybody else so; and I endeavored to keep my own temper as
cool as possible.
I feel to bless the brethren who accompanied me and those we have
visited, and I feel to bless the brethren, with all that pertains to
them, who have tarried at home. Strict industry and quietness have
marked well their doings in my absence, so far as I have seen or been
informed. The improvements in the settlements we have passed through
bespeak a contented, industrious spirit, and this place bespeaks faith
and industry during our absence.
Our crops look well, and I find that the brethren have attended to
making things comfortable about their houses so far as I have seen,
though as yet I have not been much about the city. The Temple Block
indicates hard labor; and I feel that the brethren are united in the
great work that is upon us, and I am thankful for it.
I could give you a detailed account of our journey, and a description
of the country through which we have passed; but perhaps it is
unnecessary today, though I will say, that I had not received, from
all the northern travelers with whom I had conversed, hardly one
correct idea of that region of country. I have asked several who had
been there to describe Salmon River Valley and the intermediate
country, the quality of the soil, the nature of the climate, the
positions of the mountains, &c.; but I must say that, when I came to
travel through the country, I might readily suppose that I had never
conversed about it with a man who had been there. I have frequently
asked with regard to the location of Fort Hall, and the
replies have been, "It is built near Snake River." Is there anything
of a valley? "Yes, something." Is there any timber there? "I think
there is pretty plenty of timber on the river, such as cottonwood,
quaking asp, and willows." Is it anything of a country for settling?
"I should think likely it might be." Is there any timber in the
mountains? "I should presume there is." How are the mountains
situated? "Similar to other mountains in other countries." That is
about all I have ever been able to learn of the country, previous to
my late journey.
When we began to approach Fort Hall, we learned that we could see over
it and all around it to a great distance; and, if our eyes had been
good enough, we might have seen the little Fort some 30 miles before
we reached it. It is located on Shanghi Plains. From the Rocky
Mountains, at the source of Snake River, this plain extends some 150
miles to 200 miles in a westerly and southwesterly direction: and
from the mountains south of Snake River to those north is a distance
of some 90 miles. I never had this idea before, nor could I get it
from any man I had conversed with. It is a vast, desert plain, and we
called it Shanghi Plain. I think it is as desert a country as ever was
brought together to aid in holding the earth from parting asunder.
Upon the banks of Snake River, when it does not overflow, there is a
lengthy, narrow strip of good soil, varying from a quarter of a mile
to ten rods wide, and in some places not six inches wide. It is a
sterile, barren, desert country, filled with belts of rock and sand.
As we passed over some portions of Shanghi Plain, the brethren
undertook to remove the stones, so that we might drive our wagons
with a little more ease to ourselves and less danger to our vehi cles.
I begged of them not to take all the rock out of the road; for, if
they did, there would be nothing to travel on.
Much of the track in that region was a perfect bed of rock covered
with occasional strips of sand, which much retarded the progress of
our teams. I wished the sand and the rock to lie there, for I was
confident that, if they were taken away, California and Oregon would
be separated from the States by a vast gulf.
Malad Valley, north of Bear River, has been considered a pretty
desolate, cold, hard, sterile valley; it was so looked upon by us, as
we passed through it on our way North. At the same time, we considered
it a tolerably good grazing country, and thought that people could
possibly live there. But after we had traveled over the Basin rim
into Bannack Valley, descending a mountain, beside which the one we
call the Big Mountain is a mole hill, down through the little Bannack
Valley on to Shanghi Plain; and traveled northeasterly and
northwesterly, almost in a semicircle, to Spring Creek; then up Spring
Creek over to Salmon River; and wended our way down that stream,
through swamps and willows, and climbed over points of bluffs to keep
from being mired; and had paid our brethren a visit, and returned
again to Malad Valley. It looked to us like one of the most beautiful
valleys that any person had ever beheld; while, before this
experience, we thought that nobody could live there; and I expect
that, if we had gone a few hundred miles north, it would have looked
still better to us; for the further we went north, the further we found
ourselves in the northern country. And if the Malad is a good valley,
we can go further north to those not quite so good; and the further we
go north, the less good characteristics are connected with the valleys, except in the articles of fish, water, and, in some
instances, timber; and when people are obliged to live in the north
country, that will be high time for them to go there. That is about
the amount of the geographical part of our journey that we shall now
present, though I think that I am pretty correct in my observations,
and could mark out the road, the mountains, the valleys, and streams,
and could sketch a tolerably good map of the country.
I have accomplished what I designed to accomplish, and I believe the
brethren will join with me, at least, on one point, viz., that we
started from here to rest the mind and weary the body; and so far as
the body is concerned, I believe all parties will agree with me in
saying that we have done that most effectually. I see one man that
went for his health—brother East. I expect that it will prove a
benefit to him. Others also went for their health. It is a hard
medicine to take, but the result will be beneficial.
I rested my mind. From the time I left this city until my return, I do
not think that this valley, this Tabernacle, my own house, or any of
my family scarcely ever came before me to reflect upon. We spent part
of the first Sabbath at Box Elder, and on the next we were camping
away up Snake River, where we held meeting in the forenoon.
A number of the brethren spoke, and I told them that I would say a few
words, and relate some of my feelings, especially those pertaining to
the journey and myself; but I could not have told, from my sensations,
whether I had been from home a week, a month, or a year; and I could
not fully realize whether I ever had a house or lived in it, or ever
had any family, only those that were with me. This was a blessing to
me. My mind was so taken from the cares that surround me here, that it
was perfectly relaxed into an easy state of rest; and I had no
anxiety, not in the least, about one care that had formerly been upon
me; or whether I ever saw this valley, this congregation, or say
family again; or ever saw any other country than the one where I was
at the time. All my home reflections, desires, and cares were as far
from me as the east is from the west.
Whether this was the case with others I cannot tell, but I believe
they are all joined in saying that their bodies were most thoroughly
tired. I feel that I am renewed, though my body has been very tired
since I returned. But I am becoming rested, and I now feel just about
right. I feel that I have renewed my strength, renewed the vigor of
my body and mind; and I believe that I am as ready to act in any
capacity now as ever I have been in my life, and a little more so; for
I hope, as I grow old, to grow wise. As I advance in years, I hope to
advance in the true knowledge of God and godliness. I hope to increase
in the power of the Almighty, and in influence to establish peace and
righteousness upon the earth, and to bring all the sons and daughters
of Adam and Eve, even all who will hearken to the principles of
righteousness, to a true sense of the knowledge of God and godliness,
of themselves, and the relation they sustain to heaven and heavenly
beings. I hope to increase and advance, as I do in days and years, in
the wisdom and the knowledge of God, and in the power of God; and I
pray that this may be the case, not only with myself, but with all the
Saints, that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth,
and be made perfect before Him.
There never has been a day for ages and ages, not since the true
church was destroyed after the days of the Apostles, that
required the faith and the energy of godly men and godly women, and
the skill, wisdom, and power of the Almighty to be with them, so much
as this people require it at the present time. There never was that
necessity; there never has been a time on the face of the earth, from
the time that the church went to destruction, and the Priesthood was
taken from the earth, that the powers of darkness and the powers of
earth and hell were so embittered, and enraged, and incensed against
God and godliness on the earth, as they are at the present. And when
the spirit of persecution, the spirit of hatred, of wrath, and malice
ceases in the world against this people, it will be the time that this
people have apostatized and joined hands with the wicked, and never
until then; which I pray may never come.
I feel thankful for the privilege of lifting up my voice before you
this day, my brethren; I feel that it is a great privilege. There is
no other people on the earth that are blessed like this people, though
some of them say they are not blessed, because they have trials—that
they are not blessed as they wish to be, because they have cares upon
them, because they are persecuted and hated. But I say that in all
this you are blessed, if the words of the Savior are correct, which
you and I believe. He said to his disciples formerly, which will also
correctly apply to the Saints in our day, "Blessed are ye, when men
shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven: for so perse cuted they the prophets
which were before you." If this is not now done to perfection by the
world, wait a little while, and it will be. The world will hate us to
perfection; and if they have not spoken all manner of evil against us,
falsely, it is because they have not knowledge enough to do it. At
this time there is no falsehood which they can invent, but what they
are active in their service to their father the devil against the
Saints; consequently, according to the words of the Savior, "Blessed
are ye."
We know that we are blessed, and God knows it, if we love the Lord our
God; and our works prove that we do. Blessed are the Latter-day
Saints, if they love God and keep His commandments. And, let the world
revile them, and do what they will, we are blessed, because we have
the words of eternal life, and know how to perform, and are actually
performing the works, to secure to ourselves an eternal salvation and
an existence in the presence of our Father and God, while they will be
wasted away, and be destroyed from the earth, and from every kingdom
where there is peace and righteousness.
We are blessed, and we may never expect our happiness and heaven until
we gain a perfect victory over the devil, hell, and the grave; and
that we cannot do in this mortality; but we can conquer to a certain
degree, and gain admission into the favor of our Father and God, and
receive His promise to be received into His celestial kingdom, when we
shall have a perfect victory and power over everything that is evil. I
will give way for others. May God bless you. Amen.