Brigham Young's Promise of Rain in Sanpete County

During a visit to Sanpete County in June 1865, Brigham Young and his traveling party observed that the local Saints were anxious about the state of their wheat crops, which were suffering from a lack of water. An Elder in Mount Pleasant wished to issue a notice for the brethren to immediately attend to irrigating their fields. President Young requested the privilege of giving the notice himself. He told the Saints that if they would leave their crops in the hands of the Lord and prioritize attending the church meetings—leaving only a sufficient number of men behind to guard their homes and settlements against potential Indian depredations or fire—he would promise them, in the name of Israel's God, that they would receive better crops than if they neglected their spiritual duties to focus on watering. The Saints complied with this request. That same Wednesday night, rain began to descend. The precipitation continued intermittently throughout the remainder of the party’s stay. By the time they reached Manti the following Sunday, the rain was so persistent that the congregation had to move their meeting from the outdoor bowery into a meetinghouse for shelter. The earth was thoroughly soaked, the vegetation was refreshed, and the Saints were left satisfied, serving as a testament to the result of prioritizing spiritual obligations.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

I will now give you a brief account of our trip. We left this city on the 12th of June, and traveled through Utah, Juab, and Sanpete counties. We found the people generally in good spirits, and the crops, where they had water, looked well. In some places, however, the people were very anxious about their wheat, fearing that it would fail for the want of water. At Mount Pleasant, in San Pete County, an Elder wished to give out a notice for the brethren to water their wheat immediately, for it was suffering. I requested him to allow me to give out the notice for him, which he did; and I gave out the appointment, informing the saints that if they would place guards sufficient to keep their homes from Indian depredations, fires, &c., and the rest of the men, women, and children attend our meetings, I would promise them, in the name of Israel's God, better crops than if they did otherwise. This was on Wednesday, and in the night there came a beautiful shower, and we continued to have showers, until at Manti, on Sunday, we were under the necessity of suspending our meeting in the Bowery, and repairing to the meetinghouse; the earth was thoroughly soaked, and vegetation was refreshed, and the people were satisfied.