31^st I attended the Legislature in the fore part of the day
I spent the afternoon at the Historians office, the Presidents
office, at home & atthe Sevening at S M Blairs

The Eastern Mail arived last night brought but little news

Thus ends the year of 1858 It has been an eventful
year a year in which the hand of God has been made
more visible than in any other period during the present
Generation. Some of the greatest events have transpired
during the past year ever manifest among men. th[e] [page torn]
successful laying of the submarene Atlantic Telegraph
by which communication has been made betwen two
continents by means of an electrict wire on the bottom
of the Atlantic Ocean is the most steupendious work ever
achieved by man. Europe & America have made liberal
treaties with China & Jappan which have opened their
ports to the trade, commerce & intercourse with the whole
whorld which have been heretofore entirely closed up
for thousands of Generations. The Emperor of Russia
has laid the foundation for the liberation of millions of
surfs from a species of slavery which has existed
for scentauries. The inhabitants of British India have
risen in their wrath to throw off the British yoke and
rivers of Blood as it were has been caused to flow in that
land and the spirit of war has been poured out upon
all Nations and France & other Nations have been
arming & preparing for a Deadly conflict. The whole
Earth is becoming corrupt before God. wickedness and
abominations are rapidly increasing throughout all Nations
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has beeen offered to all Nations
By the Elders of Israel whareever they could get access
to the people and the world in a great measure have rejected
the Gospel and the Lord is withholding his spirit from the

inhabitants of the Earth and the people are waxing worse &
worse and are becomeing filled with all manner of lying
deceavings robing owhoredoms, murders Blasphemies & wicked-
ness of evry kind. Yea Emperors, Kings, Princes, Lords
Presidents Govornors Judges and all the Ruellers of the whole
Earth as well as the people have become so corrupt before
God that He is angry with them and the Lord is begining
to visit them with war & bloodshed & with pestilence tempest
thunder lightning & great hail, whirelwinds & devouring fire
this is plainly manifest in our own Nation even the
United States which is corrupt above all other Nations. they
have sought the destruction of the Saints of God in this land
but the Lord has faught the battles & preserved his Saints
The Lord hath done ^it^ his work has been visible before our eyes
and we will acknowled[ge] his hand therein. The United States
Govorment sent fourteen thousand men including souldiers
& teamsters to Utah to put to death Brigham Young Heber
C. Kimball Daniel H. Wells The Twelve Apostle & other leaders
of the Church. they travelled One thousand Miles & expended
some thirty Millions of Dollars to accomplis hedthis evil design
even to shed the Blood of the Lords aniointed. But the Lord
Hedged up their way they had to spend the winter in the
snows of the everlasting rocky mountains and live upon
the flesh of their animals and when they did enter our
valies and cities it was by the permission of the prophets
& Saints of God for whom they had come one thousand
miles to slay, and instead of haveing the privilege of sheding
the Blood of the Prophets in Utah but vary few of them
have been permitted to behold their faces. President
Buchannan also sent Judges & officers to this territory
who are filled with wickedness, madness and abominations
of evry kind. they have also laid secret plans to destroy
the prophets & bring distress upon the people by their
decrees from the Judgment seat but the saints have called
upon the Lord in mighty prayer & the Lord has heard &
answered them & he has taken away the wisdom of the
Judges and their power and their folley is manifest in
the eyes of the people and the power of God is manifest in
all these things and he has preserved his prophets Church
& Kingdom, against all the wrath of the President, Congress,
their armies, Judges and all the Devils who enter into
the tabernacles of men to fight against God & his saints
Judge Sinclair has held an open United States Distrit
Court tofrom the 4^th day of Oct. up to the last of Dec
being 88 days and tried all in their power to get
up some action against Brigham Young & the leaders
of the Church but have accomplished a solumn Nothing
ownly tried to persecute James Furgerson & have not
been enabled to do much of that for the Lord has held
them so fast that they have not been enabled to accom-
plish any evil plan which they have laid The God
of Israel hath laid the foundation of his church and kingdom
upon the Earth in these last days & he has guided it by
his Almighty power up to the present day he has preserved
his Saints in the midst of all the ware fare against them

of wicked men and Devils He is bringing to pass daily
the fulfillment of the Holy scriptures & the Book of
Mormon, the fullness of the Gentiles is fast coming in
and the Lord is fast preparing the way for the salva-
tion of the House of Israel he is withdrawing his spirit
from the inhabitants of the Earth and at the same time
inspiring his Prophets with wisdom Knowledge
& understanding that they have been enabled through the
Mercy of God to thwart all the evil designs of the wicked
and ungodly who have laid snares for the feet of the right-
eous. The signs of the Times clearly indicate that the
gentile Nations are ripened in iniquity and that God
is about to sit in Judgment upon the^m^ Nations

[rest of page blank]

A synopsis of my labors in 1858

I moved all my Family and Effects to provo
amounting to thirty tons with my flocks & herds
with all the inhabitants of the north country
to prepare our cities for the burning, when
peace was made we returned again.

I spent the remainder of my time
in the Historians office compileing the
History of the Church & of the Twelve Apostles.