Feb 15^th 18489
[FIGURE] To President Young
And Council 2 sheets
on Territorial Bills
And Government 1 sheet
To Historian 1 sheet

I wrote A letter to President
Young And Council containing
two full sheets of fools cap writi[ng]
in my Journal Hand giving an
account of my leaving Conuncil Bl[uffs]
my meetings at Mount Pisgah & Garden Grove, My providential
delivery from Death, visit at the Temple & Nauvoo, meeting at St
Louis, Death our child on the journey, Arival at Boston, Burning
of Albany, stay of my family in Maine & return to Cambridgepor
my travels Among the churches, Represented the branches as
808, the capacity of the Saints to gather, the course I have
persued in teaching, the report of the Elders that the world have
no interest in hearing the gospel in this land, the No we have bapti[zed]
the cause why this people are Hardened And do not hear, interview
with Capt Joseph Russel, price of his property, & help &c. I spoke
lentgthy of Elder A Badlams case gave cause for his going to Calafor
spoke of the benefits of going to the valley instead of the Sacramento. I
rejoiced in the News from the valley & of the progress of the work
in Europe. spoke of Elder Barnes going to Zion, Little & Hardy traiding
Appleby sickness. Requested letters, council, praysers &&c &c.

I rwrote Another letter to President Young & council filled A shee[t]
of letter paper spoke upon the visit of A. W. Babbitt his doings in wash-
ington He wished me to go there, the post offices at Garden Grove
Pisdgah Salt Lake valley &c sspoke upon the various bills concerning thact contry
the cause of my not going to washington; my views on goverment
of that country, T. H. Benton course & views on Calafornia, Babbitt car
rying the Mail, His future intentions, difficulties between him & O
Hyde. spoke of the visit of Mr Shed, W^m Smith Appearance &
teaching, gold fever excitement, 200 ships gone there, end of the excitem[ent]
be a tale for the Recorder, Railroad discussed via Pannama, Mexico, Santi f[e]
Salt Lake, Oregon &c. I am called upon for information to go by land to
gold digings via Salt Lake I oppose the route do not dthink the Saints would
wish it. would it not be well for soldiers to plant some claims in the
salt Lake valley to secure it against land speculaters. I closed this let[ter]
with the following. Notice to the inhabitants of the Salt Lake valley
As the inhabitants of Boston Are about preparing A light train of
cars, engins, Baloons &c to Navigate the air to carry passengers And good
to the gold digings, should they come over the valley And burst
there boiler & run off the track, and it shoiuld rain hot water, boilers
engins, cars, Baloons, sails, dry goods & men, Be not alarmed as it
will ownly be a shower of the march of intellect, internal improvement
ingenuity, and yankee Notions.

I Also filled A sheet of letter paper to the Historian of the Church on
the signs of the times. I spoke of forwarding the Herald to him, made
An extract from my Journal concerning the leading features of the
signs of the times of 1848. Spoke of the revolutions of France, Jermany
Prusia, Austria Russia, the fall of the papal crown & power, the restorati
n of the Jews, opening the way for the speread of the gospel, progress
of the work in the British Isles, the situation of the American Gover
ment, foundation for dissolving the Union, the blindness of the
people And increase of crime. I closed by making An address concern[ing]
Zion in the following words

I cannot close my record upon the signs of the times witof 1848
without turning my eye towards Zion, yes Zion, which is not
now merely a phantom of the brain or a name, but actually a
living thing. Truly she is yet but a babe just born. Yet she has
A Tabernacle, the Mountains of Isreal. Her bed is in the cham-
bers of the rocks. Her garden one of the rich valleys of Ephraim
She speaks and Her voice is as the voice of God. She has A spirit
which burns like flames of fire. She has power, And has started
A little stone rolling from the mountain her habitation, which
increases as it goes: it is causing the Earth to quake & tremble.
take care ye Nations it will grind you to dust. She has messengers
who go & come at her bidding. one of them can chase A thousand
and two put ten thousand to flight. [Deuteronomy 32:30] they command the element
& they obey them. She has An ensign for the Nations to flee
to. She has A law which will soon govern the Earth. She is
born in the generation that David had A view of. O praise
the LORD I am a witness that mine eyes have beheld her.
She has keys to open & no man can shut, And shut And no man
can open. Her power is from Heaven whare she hath Noble
senators who plead her cause both day & night. This is the
Zion I seek After. this is the Zion I speak off. Her Church
is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her city
was sought in 1847 And the Lord has favored her from that
that time. And During the year 1848 the Church has been
organized with A first Presidency of three persons viz Brigham
Young, Heber C. Kimball & Willard Richards, who have gatherd
to the mountains of Israel, in the valley of the Great Salt
lake, Great Basin North America, And taken with them
some three thousand souls with their flocks & Herds, which
makes A population of about seven thousand souls in the
city of the Great Salt lake. The Lord has also blest their
land which has brought forth in abundance. And while the Lord
has been multiplying blessing upon Zion in her quiete Habitation
Her messengers have been crying aloud to the Nations of
the Earth & the Isles of the sea preaching the gospel unto them
And uttering their testimony in the power of God And the
gift of the Holy Ghost untill they have gatherd their thousands
together untill one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb (Orson
Pratt) estimates that it will take three hundred ships to remove
the Saints from the British Isles Alone to Zion. The Saints who
were gather into the valley of the Sacramento have discoverd
such vast mines of gold silver copper & other precious ores that
the report of it is creating great excitement throughout the world
esspecially in the United States untill tens of thousands are rushing to
the gold regions to try to obtain the precious mettal. And as the hand
of God has been so visible in all the signs of 1848 May He continue his work
through 1849 and all following years untill His arm shall be made bare
in the eyes of all Nations, untill Zion shall arive to her full strength of Manhood
for Brass may she have gold for Iron silver for wood Brass for stones Iron.
May her execters & peace officers be righteous men. [Isaiah 60:17] May her Nobles be of Ephraim
And her Govournor procede out of the midst of Him. [Jeremiah 30:21] May all of her Messengers be armed
with righteousness in the power of God in great glory. May all of the Nations of the Earth
fear & tremble because of her law. May the wicked find her sons terrible when they go to
battle against her & not have power to stand before them. May her dwelling places
be distinguished by a pillar of fire by night & cloud by day, & in fine may she arise
& shine forth And spread herself abroad with all that perfection of beauty power
& glory which has ever been spoken concerning her even to the full expectation of God Angels & man
Wilford Woodruff