Food and Supplies Prophesied and Provided by the Coming of the Gold Rush Travelers

In the early years of settlement in the Salt Lake Valley (c. 1848–1849), the pioneer Saints endured extreme shortages of food, clothing, and tools. Church leaders prophesied that relief would come in an unexpected way. The prophecy was dramatically fulfilled when large numbers of California-bound gold rush travelers began passing through Salt Lake, trading their surplus provisions and supplies with the Saints at favorable terms. This providential influx of goods relieved the Saints' desperate shortages exactly as foretold, and Benjamin Brown recorded it as a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy and evidence of God's care for His people.