Brigham Young, the Prophet
Brigham Young, the great pioneer and colonizer—but greater still the prophet of the Lord—was sincerely loved by the righteous and equally hated by the wicked. His life was one of trials and tribulations. Few were the days he spent in peace; many were the days he suffered and labored for the love of his fellow-men. He died misunderstood, save by the little band of devoted Saints who suffered with him and shared his hopes, his aspirations, and the assurance which was his of eternal life in our Father’s Kingdom.
Chapter 48
Church Colonization and Progress
1847–1877
A Great People in the Mountains
By the time President Brigham Young’s administration came to a close, the Latter-day Saints had become a great people in the Rocky Mountains. They were destined still to grow in numbers, spread over greater territory, conquer more deserts, and develop spiritually and temporally in keeping with the progress of the times; but even then (1877) they had built up many settlements, spread over a vast area, and accomplished a wonderful work in the reclamation of the arid west.
The Planting of Colonies
Before the Saints had been in the Salt Lake Valley a year many parties were sent out, principally to the north and to the south, to form new settlements. Within two years from the time Salt Lake City was founded colonies had been planted in the uttermost parts of the territory. Exploring parties were sent out in advance, and when a site was selected a large company of volunteers followed to make the permanent settlement. In these colonies care was taken to have a proper representation of craftsmen, that the needs of the settlers might be supplied. Skilled carpenters, masons, millwrights, blacksmiths, cobblers, as well as tillers of the soil, went into these unbroken wastes and made them blossom by their industry. Each individual was given a specific duty to perform, and did it unselfishly, according to the plan which had been arranged. Ploughs, seeds and the required animals for ploughing, ditch building and other labor, were provided, and the labor was done on the co-operative plan. All shared alike, according to their individual needs. They were happy, notwithstanding the rigorous toil required to subdue the desert places.