A few settlers lived in Davis county, and some where Ogden now stands; also at Provo and its surroundings in Utah county. The country about Bountiful—now so rich and productive—then lay an open waste, covered only by a short, stunted growth of sage and greasewood, and to all human appearances seemed utterly worthless. As the writer rode over it in those days he would not have taken a mile square of it as a gift. What was it good for? It would produce nothing—not even grass—without water, and there was no water for it. "Yes," says the reader, "but there is water for it now; why not then?" I will tell you. When the Latter-day Saints settled Utah they blessed the land by authority of the Holy Priesthood, that it should be fertile; and they blessed the waters, that they should increase. The Almighty heard, approved and verified their words. That is the reason in a nutshell; that explains the great change that has taken place since Utah Was first settled; a change well known to all the old pioneers. I hear President Kimball, one day, when, in the spirit of prophecy, say: "As the need for water increases among the people, so shall the waters increase from this time forth. Write it down if you like, for it is true." I heard his words and recorded them, and now testify to their truth, as shown by almost forty years' experience since the words were spoken. The waters in Utah have increased. Small rivulets, dry in summer, have become steady streams, and much larger, and large streams have grown larger. Springs have broken out where they never existed before, as the writer knows by personal observation.
In the spring of 1851 I went to where Payson now stands, selected a farm and proposed to settle. At that time—March 10th—not a house had been erected, but some were being built of logs, by seven families lately arrived. Making known to them my intention, I was answered: "Oh, yes, you may have all the land you want, but not water. We claim all the water, and there is not enough for us." And so I went down to Iron county. Water at Payson was scarce; the whole stream would have run in a ditch two feet wide or less. How many people live in and around Payson now? Hundreds, if not thousands, and all have water. So it has been all through Utah. I remember on one occasion while traveling in southern Utah, in company with Apostles George A. Smith and Amasa Lyman, we stopped for lunch one day at a small spring which oozed from a bank, ran a few yards and disappeared in the sand—the only water for miles around. And this is how we got water to drink: One sat beside the spring with spoon and tin cup, dipping a spoonful at a time until the cup was full. Years afterwards, I passed that place again, and found to my astonishment, five families living there, all supplied from the same spring, with water enough for gardens and fruit trees. Many similar examples might be noted, had we space.
For years after Utah was settled the country was considered the very worst. President Young used to say it was a good country for the Saints to live in, "for," said he, "no one else would or could inhabit it." For years it required constant persuasion from the Presidency and Twelve to keep people from wandering away to more favored lands, and nothing but the wonderful faith of the people retained them. In spite of all, many did go away, each year, feeling as if their hardships were more than they could bear. But the great majority remained, sustained by faith without parallel in the history of any people.
More than a thousand miles from the Missouri river; surrounded on all sides by powerful, unconquered tribes of bloodthirsty savages; poor, plundered of their all by ruthless Christian foes in Missouri and Illinois; hated and despised by all the world; what but suffering and death could they expect in their isolated desert home? Their clothing would soon wear out, their ammunition needed for self-defense would soon be expended, and all this would require a year's journey to replace. But they could at least raise bread. "No," says
Col. Bridger and other long residents there, "you can't raise anything here. Frost every month in the year." He said he would give one thousand dollars for the first bushel of corn they could raise, and felt secure in his offer.
But the Saints did conquer the desert, by the blessing of Him who rules all things; and their achievements in founding a prosperous commonwealth as they did, in the face of almost insurmountable difficulties, will yet be pointed to as some of the most remarkable upon record. The silly babble indulged in by some of the enemies of the Mormons—that Utah was desirable in the beginning—fertile, abounding in water and verdant meadows—can only bring a smile to the pioneer who remembers things as they were then.
Today Utah is a garden; but it has become so by the blessing of the Almighty upon the untiring, Herculean toils of the Latter-day Saints, who had faith in God and trusted their leaders. Their faith, so steadfast and sublime, is called by the world fanaticism; but the Saints know in whom they trust, and have no fears as to the future of Zion. The fires of persecution and the blows of their enemies have the same effect upon them as the flame of the forge, the anvil and the blacksmith's sledge, upon the heated steel, solidifying and shaping and tempering it more perfectly. And if some cannot endure the ordeal, but fly off like the sparks under the hammer, it is only an evidence that the remainder, purified from dross, is more coherent and stronger than ever.
"Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive your brother on the first intimation of repentance."
—Joseph Smith, The Prophet.