Letter to John Taylor and Council, 15 September 1879
President John Taylor and Council:
Dear Brethren:
I arrived on Saturday night, the 13th
inst., all well and in good spirits and found Brother Lake, of Brig-
ham City and Brother Btates, of pleasant Vallety, very sick. They had
been to the Verdie, baptizing some and administering to the sick.
Brother Lake has been looked upon as dangerous, but was some better
yesterday.
In my short communication of the 2nd inst., I promised to give
a more full account of my visit to the Islatus, which I will now en-
deavor to do. I view my visit amontg the Nephites one of the most
interesting missions of my life, although short. I say Nephites, be-
cause if there are any Nephites on this continent we have found them
among the Zunies, Lagoonies and Islatus, for they are a different
race of people altogether from the Lamanites. I class the Navajoe,
Moquie and Apaches with the Lamantiites, although they are in advance
of many Indian tribes of America. I class the Zunies, Lagoonies and
Islatus among the Nephites. (See Sec. 3, 17 verse, D. & C.). The
Zunies are in advance of the Navajoes, Apaches, or any other Laman-
ites. The Lagoonies are much above the Zunies, and the Islatus are
far above them all in wealth, in beauty, cleanliness and order of
their homes and persons, the adornment of their dwellings, their in-
dustry and indefatigable labors, the virtue and purity of their na-
tiojnal blood, their bearing and dignity in their intercourse with
strangers and, above all else, the expansion of their minds and cap-
ability of receiving any principle of the Gospel, lof endowments or
sealing powers, fully equal to the mind of any of the Anglo Saxon
