[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 26th We Started this morning at 8 oclok & travled untill 1 oclok & nooned again on the branch of the Sweet. Much larger than [the] original Stream in consequence of the melting of the vast body of Snow on the wind river range & the Hills that surround us. The watter run into many of our waggons, whare we camped at noon there was A large quantity of strabury vines in bloom & white Clover.
We travled in the forenoon 11 miles & in the Afternoon 7 3/4 miles & camped Again upon the branch of the sweet water that we nooned upon. We camped opposit the table rock & near the summit of the South pass or dividing ridge And I was quite asstonished at the road & country to day considering that we were crossing what is called the South pass of the rocky mountains. It was the best road we had had for many days & had it not have been for the wind river range of mountains full in view on our right & the table coverd with eternal snow, & some snow banks 10 feet deep by the side of the road as we passed along & the table rock on the left I should have thought myself traveling over the beautiful prairies of Illinois & Missouri except the country was coverd with more sage that prairie grass the road for many miles & Also the valley or plain of beautiful grass lying North of table rock was perfectly strewn with vary handsom Cornelian stones. I saw more in one hour this evening than I ever saw during my whole life either in the rude state or polished & set in breast pins in all the Jewellers shops I ever saw in my travels in the world from the sice of a goose egg to A pea. Distance of the day 18 3/4.
Elders Kimball Pratt G. A. Smith & Brown continued on to take in observations with the Barrom-eter on the dividing ridge & they continued on to the waters of the green river 7 miles from us that run into the pacific while we were on the Sweet water that runs into the Atlantic; they supposed we should come on to them And As they did not return several of us mounted our Horses to go in search of them. Soon After we started we met Br Kimball on his return after us. He informed us that the Brethren were camped with about one dozen men from Oregon on their way, to the States & they would stay together over night.
+ During our travels to day I walked most of the way with Professors Pratt, & Carrington And our conversation turned upon the subject of the original formation of God, Angels, men, & Devils the beget-ting of Spirits in the eternal world, & who by, the begetting of Children on the earth, the Death of men & children & the resurrection of All. Each one gave his views, opinions, & reasoning & many interesting remarks were truly made And Any person who should chance to read these lines I wish them to understand that the Ideas given upon these points were not given as doctrin but opinion untill sum thing better should present itself or be decided by revelation.
One of the most important Items If true was presented by Professor Pratt upon A Subject that Heretofore has been entirely out of the reach of All mankind from the days of Adam to the present time As far as is revealed to us. It was upon the subject of the original formation of the first God. We all admitted in the first place that which we believed to be an important truth ie the eternal formation of matter spirit, intelligence in some form or other. We also Agreed in the opinion that Neither God nor man Always had from all eternity the same formation that they now have but did exhist in some form for if we Admitted the fact that one being exhisted in the present form all might have exhisted in the same form as well as one.
Then the question arose how did God recieve his present formation? The Answer given by Professor Pratt was sumthing in the following language:
He sayes I throw out my Ideas not as doctrin but for you to look at. You know when A Chemist goes to work to Analize or try new experiments they often have to try many times before they put a thing perfect & take certain processes which are unnecessary and are afterward laid aside And pursue the most perfect Course that can be [pursu]ed. It may reasonably have been the case with the first being [form]ed which may be Called God. As eternity was filled as it were with particles of intelligence who had there Agency, two of these particles in process of time might have joined their interest together exchanged ideas found by persueing this course that they gained [double?] strength to what one particle of intelligence would have & afterwards were joined by other particles & continued untill they formed A combination or body though through a long process.
Yet they had power over other intelligences in consequence of their combination, organization & strength And in process of time this being body or God seeing the the Advantage of such an organization desires company or A companion And Having some experiance goes to work & organizes other beings by prevailing intelligences to come to gether & may form sumthing better than at the first. And After trials of this kind & the most perfect way sought ought it was found to be the most expeditious & best way to recieve there formations or bodies either spiritual or temporal through a womb.
[source: Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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