Mormon History, Jul 28, 1847

[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 28th After having Camped all night in the open air we arose refreshed 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 approaching 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 my 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 speed. When He got within 20 rods of me I stoped & met him. The rest followed 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 appear friendly & not disposed to steal from [others] 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. [One line illegible] 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.
+ * 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 conversed 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 <[long?]> 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 have it upon his own lot & not lay out publick grounds for market. And 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 40°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 interest manner 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 Montrose to Nauvoo.
He spoke of the saints being driven 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 voluntarily & let their heads been cut off & let their blood run upon the ground & gone up as A smokeing incens before the heavens as an antonement but now they will be eternally damned.
Also said all the govornors & Presidents of the U.S.A Had rejected all our petitions from first to last. That when the Saints were driven from Illinois & perrish as it were on the Prairies then President Polk sends for a draft of 500 men to go into the Army. What for? That they might be wasted [one line of text illegible] entirely wasted away as A people.
If the Brethren had not gone they would have made war upon us & the Gov 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 hand 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 would 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 people to.
He Said Be long spoken of giving a lecture to the females & when Be got time He intended to do it. He spoke of the duty of 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 husband & 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 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 take care of her Children keep herself Clean & House & keep my Close clean. Instead of that the Husband asks whare is the Children? The wife will say 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.
Be 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 together. 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 name of God in vain.
He spoke upon the Subject of raising Children spirits building A tabernacle. He said that every spirit was pure when it first entered a body, but many persons have been ruined in consequence of the mother giving way to temptation & fretfulness while in the state of [-] And the Husband ought to be vary tender & kind to them when in that State. And the Mothers mind ought to be excercised [-] things during the whole time & be calm & composed that what temptation the mother should give way to would effect the Child [in la?]ter life. Many other principles was spoken of By President Young of interest.

[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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