Day in the Life

Jul 28, 1847

Journal Entry

July 28, 1847 ~ Wednesday

28th After having camped all night in the open air we arose refre[s]- [page cut off]
hed by sleep. I having lost my carriage whip the evening before 4 miles
back I started in the morning on Horsback to go back after it, as I
got near the place I discoverd two objects appear on A ridge before me
About 1/2 a mile distant I at first took them to be bears but after approac[h] [page cut off]
ing a little nearer I discoverd about 20 objects appearing over the Hill I
soon saw that they were Indians And as I was unarmed & over 3 mi
from camp I did not consider it prudent to go among them I wheeled m[y] [page cut off]
Horse & started on my return in a slow trot as soon as I started back
they called to me & one mounted his horse & came After me with all spe[ed] [page cut off]
when He got within 20 rods of me I stoped & met him the rest follow[ed]
on I found them to be Utahs & wanted to trade I informed him by
signs that our camp was near so he went on with me to camp, what we
have seen as yet of the Utahs they appeare friendly & not disposed to steal
from [us] though they have A bad name from some of the mountaineers. He
stoped in camp awhile & wanted to smoke the pipe of peace but we soon
started on & He waited for his company to come up, we travled about
10 miles south under the mountain on the west side of the valley
the land lies beautiful but we could not [illegible] [page covered]

soil as on the east, we then turned our course & returned toward
camp we had to travel 20 miles across the vale to get to the ford of the
Utah outlet we here stoped eat & drank & returned to camp quite weary
Having travled during the day about 30 miles

we saw on the west side of the valley about 75 or 100 mountain
goats, sheep, Antilope &c in flocks playing about the Hills & valley.

[FIGURES] After we Arived in camp President Young called a council of
the quorum of the Twelve there being present B Young
H. C. Kimball, O. Pratt, W. Richards W. Woodruff G. A. Smith
A Lyman & E. T. Benson. we walked from the north camp to about
the centre between the two creeks when Prest Young waved his
hands & said here is the forty Acres for the Temple (we had conve-
rsed upon the subject of the location for the Temple previous to this)
& the city can be laid out perfectly square North & South, east &
west. It was then moved & carried that the Temple lot contain
40 Acres on the ground whare we stood. It was also moved &
carried that the city be laid out into lots of 10 rods by 20 each
exclusive of the streets & into Blocks of 8 lots each, being 10
acres in each block & one acre & a quarter in each lot. It was also
moved & carried that each street be laid out 8 rods wide &
that there be a side walk on each side 20 feet wide & that each
House be built in the centre of the lot 20 feet from the front
line that there might be A uniformity through out the city &
President Young remarked that He wished but one house built upon
A lot & they being in the centre if they took fire they would not
burn up their neighbors And if any man wants A Market to hous
it upon his own lot & not lay out publick grounds for markets & let
every man cultivate his own lot & set out evry kind of fruit &
shade trees & beautify the city. It was Moved & carried that
there be four public squares of 10 Acres each be laid of in various
parts of the city for public grounds. This was in Lat 40º 45 44
At 8 oclok the whole camp came together on the same ground &
passed all of the above votes unanimously as they are recorded
& when the business part of the meeting was closed President
Young arose And addressed the assembly in a vary interesting mann[er] [page covered]
upon A variety of subjects. Previous to this the whole assembly voted
that there be a committee to superintend the laying out the city &
that the Twelve be that committee & that they manage the whole
Affair.

President Young in his address to the Saints remarked that
He was determined to have order in all things & righteousness should be
practized in this land. That we had come here according to the direction
& council of Br Joseph Smith before his death & that He would still have
been alive if the Twelve had been in Nauvoo when He recrossed the river
from Nauvoo Montrose to Nauvoo. He spoke of the Saints being driv[en] [page covered]
from place to place, And said the ownly way Boggs, Clark, Lucas,
Benton, & all the leaders of the mob could have been saved in the day
of the Lord Jesus would have been to have come forward voluntari[ly] [page covered]
& let their heads been cut off & let their blood run upon the ground
& gone up as A smokeing incens before the heavens as an atonement
but now they will be eternally damned. Also said all the governors
& Presidents of the U. S. A Had rejected all our petitions from first
to last, that when the Saints were driven from Illinois & perish
as it were on the Prairies then President Polk sends for a draft of
600 men to go into the Army what for, that they might be wasted
[page covered] [bottom of page cut off] be wasted away that we mi[ght be] [page covered]

entirely wasted away as A people, if the brethren had not gone
they would have made war upon us & the Govr. of Mo would have been
ordered not to have let us cross the Missouri & the raising of the Battalion
was our temporal salvation at the time & said Polk would be damned
for this act & that He with many of the goverment men had a hand
in the death of Joseph & Hyram & that they should be damned for
these things & if they ever sent any men to interfere with us here
they shall have there throats cut & sent to Hell, And with uplifted
hands to Heaven swore by the Gods of Eternity that He would never
cease His exhertion while He lived to make every preperation & avenge
the Blood of the Prophets & Saints, that He intended to have evry
hole & corner from the Bay of Francisco to Hudson bay known
to us And that our people bwould be connected with every tribe of
Indians throughout America & that our people would yet take their
squaws wash & dress them up teach them our language & learn them to
labour & learn them the gospel of there forefathers & raise up children
by them & teach the children & not many generations Hence they will
become A white & delightsome people & in no other way will it be done
& that the time was nigh at hand when the gospel must go to that peop-
le. He said He long spoken of giveing a lecture to the females & when He
got time He intended to do it. He spoke of the duty orf man to his God
that He should love him with all of his heart soul, mind, & strength serve
& obey him, And that the woman in like manner ought to obey her husba[nd] [page torn]
& not to have A woman every time A man steped out be A watching him
as uneasy as A fish out of water & as soon as he returns O whare have
you been, & what have you been about, & why did you not get back before
& many other things that was none of her business. Her business is to tak[e] [page covered]
care of her children keep herself clean & House & keep my close [clothes] clean
Instead of that the Husband asks whare is the children the wife will say
O dear I dont know I was so concerned about you I have not thought
about the children, they are probably to some of the neighbors. He remarked
that when we become settled here He intended to have A school for his
own family & all others might do the same if they chose or Join togeth
er And a tutor ought always to be with the children & not let them
get out of their sight & when they get weary of runing about in the
House & garding let the tutor go with them to the public walks & keep
them out of the streets & see that they do not sware & take the nam[e] [page torn]
of God in vain. He spoke upon the subject of raising children[,] spirits
taking A tabernacle He said that every spirit was pure when it first entered
the body, but many persons have been ruined in consequence of the
Mother giving way to temptation & fretfulness while in the state of child-
bearing And the Husband ought to be vary tender & kind to the woma[n] [page covered]
while in that state And the Mothers mind ought to be excercised i[n] [page covered]
good things during the whole time & be calm & composed that what
ever temptation the mother should give way to would effect the child
in after life. many other principles was spoken of By President Young of interest

People

Browse people Wilford Woodruff mentioned on this day in his journal. Click on the person's name to view a short bio and other pages they are mentioned on or click on "View in Family Search" to view their FamilySearch profile.

Lyman, Amasa Mason
30 Mar 1813 - 4 Feb 1877
295 mentions
Apostle
Young, Brigham
1 Jun 1801 - 29 Aug 1877
3409 mentions
Apostle, Family
Benson, Ezra Taft
22 Feb 1811 - 3 Sep 1869
375 mentions
Apostle
Smith, George Albert
26 Jun 1817 - 1 Sep 1875
1425 mentions
Apostle, Missionary
Kimball, Heber Chase
14 Jun 1801 - 22 Jun 1868
1445 mentions
Apostle
Smith, Hyrum
9 Feb 1800 - 27 Jun 1844
420 mentions
Apostle
Polk, James Knox
2 Nov 1795 - 15 Jun 1849
24 mentions
Historical Figure, Eminent Men and Woman
Clark, John Bullock
17 Apr 1802 - 29 Oct 1885
Smith, Joseph (Jr.)
23 Dec 1805 - 27 Jun 1844
Boggs, Lilburn Williams
14 Dec 1796 - 14 Mar 1860
Pratt, Orson
19 Sep 1811 - 3 Oct 1881
1082 mentions
Apostle
Lucas, Samuel D.
19 Jul 1799 - 23 Feb 1868
14 mentions
Historical Figure
Richards, Willard
24 Jun 1804 - 11 Mar 1854
538 mentions
Apostle

Quotes

View selected quotes from this page in Wilford Woodruff's journal.

After we arived in camp President Young called a Council of the quorum of the Twelve there being present B Young H. C. Kimball, O. Pratt, W. Richards, W. Woodruff G. A. Smith A Lyman & E. T. Benson. we walked from the north camp to about the centre between the two creeks when Prest. Young waved his hands & said here is the forty acres for the Temple (we had conve- rsed upon the subject of the location for the Temple previous to this) & the city can be laid out perfectly square North & South, east & west.
~ Brigham Young
President Young in his address to the Saints remarked that he was determined to have order in all things & righteousness should be practized in this land. That we had come here according to the direction & council of Br Joseph Smith before his death
~ Brigham Young

Related Documents

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Autobiography Volume 2 circa 1865
^^ After our return to the camp President Young called a council of the Quorum of the Twelve. There were present Brigham Young Heber C. Kimball Orson Pratt Willard Richards Wilford Woodruf George A Smith Amasa Lyman and E T. Benson We walked from the North camp to about the centre between the two creeks when President Young waved his hands and said here is the 40 acres for the Temple and the city can be laid out perfectly square North and South East and West. We had conversed upon the subject of the location for the Temple previous to this It was then moved and carried that the Temple lot contain 40 acres on the ground where we stood. It was also moved and carried that the city be laid out into lots of 10 rods by 20 each exclusive of the streets and into blocks of 8 lots each being 10 acres in each block and one and a quarter in each lot It was further moved and carried that each street be laid out 8 rods wide and that there be a side walk on each side 20 feet wide and that each house be built in the centre of the lot 20 feet from the front line that there might be a uniformity throughout the city

Events

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Jul 28, 1847