Brigham Young’s Vision of the Salt Lake Valley

During the pioneer trek into the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847, Brigham Young, ill and riding in Wilford Woodruff’s carriage or wagon, asked Woodruff to turn or stop so he could look over the valley from a ridge near the mouth of Emigration Canyon; one account places the stop on Big Mountain and another gives the time as approximately 11:45 a.m. Young recognized the valley as a place he had previously seen in vision and said, “This is the right place, drive on.” Woodruff recalled Young saying, “Here is our home. This is the place God has pointed out for us to plant our feet. I have seen this place before.” Accounts describe the spirit of light resting over the valley and Young beginning to recover from his illness. The pioneer company continued into the valley, where earlier arrivals were plowing, planting, and beginning irrigation and construction. The recollections name Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, and Ezra T. Benson; one record also lists Joseph Smith in connection with the account.