Elder Heber C. Kimball's dream of the rats and mice in Cincinnati

While on a steamboat approaching Cincinnati, Elder Heber C. Kimball dreamed he was hauling a wagon of wheat to a barn. Upon inspecting the field, he discovered the crop was actually oats infested with clusters of rats and mice that had eaten everything. He interpreted the rats and mice as the Elders and official members who had lived off the Church in Cincinnati instead of building up new branches, leaving the Twelve unable to collect funds for the Temple or Nauvoo House.

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

The night before arriving at Cincinnatti, I had a dream while on the steamboat. I dreamt that I had a waggon with a rack on it, and an individual with me. We were going to a field of wheat of mine that had been cut, bound, and shocked up, in order to haul it into the barn. When we came to the field, I jumped off the waggon, and got over the fence to examine it, pulled off the cap sheaf, and behold it was oats. Pulling the bundles apart, I found there were clusters of rats. On further examination, I found clusters of mice, and the oats were all eaten up. In my dream I was going to haul in wheat, but to my astouishment it was oats, and they were all eaten up by the rats and mice. I thought these rats and mice were the Elders and official members who had been in and lain on the Church at Cincinnatti—lived on the wheat—eaten them up, instead of building up new branches; so that when the Twelve came along, they could not get anything for the Temple or Nauvoo House, or hardly a place to stay. The rats had eaten up the wheat, so we had to go to the world for a home to stay while we were there. The interpretation of this dream was literally fulfilled. I felt to thank the Lord for this dream, I got to Cincinnati, then I had symptoms of chills.