Brigham Young — The Untended Nauvoo Cornfield Yields the Greatest Crop in Hancock County (1846)
Published September 28, 2026 at 7:49 AM
During the final year in Nauvoo, Brigham Young planted ten to twelve acres of corn but was unable to spend any time tending to the crop because his teams were required for work on the Temple. Despite this complete lack of human labor or maintenance, he harvested a crop considered larger than any other in Hancock County.
In Their Own Words
“The last year we stayed in Nauvoo, I planted from ten to twelve acres of corn, and I never saw one day, from the time it was planted until it was harvested, in which to spend an hour amongst it. My teams were wanted at the Temple, and, said I, “Let the corn go.” If they had the teams ready to attend to the corn, the word was, “Go to the Temple,” and I do not suppose there was a greater crop of corn raised in all Hancock County. I said to the brethren who plowed and planted the land, “Paul plants and Apollos waters, and if God does not give the increase I can do without it.””
— Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 2:266
Sources & References
Journal of Discourses, Volume 2 (pages 266-271), discourse 42. https://journalofdiscourses.com/2/42 (extracted verbatim from source text; research confidence: high) Full first-person account: Journal of Discourses, Volume 2, page 266 https://jod.mrm.org/2/266
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