Brigham Young Builds a $3,600 Mill at Winter Quarters on Faith Alone — Brother Neff's $2,600 Preserves Thousands from Starving (1846)

At Winter Quarters during the winter of 1846–47, Brigham Young faced the task of sustaining thousands of displaced Saints with almost nothing. 'I had not five dollars in money to start with,' he later recalled — 'but I went to work and built a mill... that cost 3,600 dollars,' promising to employ every man and pay him for his labor. 'If I had a sixpence, I turned it into 25 cents; and a half-bushel of potatoes I turned into half-a-bushel of wheat. How did I do that? By faith.' He went to Brother Neff, newly arrived from Pennsylvania, and received $2,600 from him — though Neff did not know where the money was going. Brigham blessed him forever for it, testifying that it was the money Neff brought from Pennsylvania 'that preserved thousands of men, women, and children from starving' through the winter before the westward trek.