Orson Hyde's Witness of the Voice of God Confirming Brigham Young's Presidency

During a meeting of the Twelve Apostles at Hyde Park, Iowa, in February 1848, the members were in prayer and council when a divine manifestation occurred. The voice of God spoke to the Council, declaring that Brigham Young should receive the full power of the presiding priesthood. Attendees reported that their houses shook and the ground trembled as if by an earthquake, and people from the neighborhood ran to the council house in alarm, though those inside felt only the overwhelming power of God.

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

In the month of February, 1848, the Twelve Apostles met at Hyde Park, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where a small Branch of the Church was established. I was there, and some others of the Twelve. We were in prayer and council, communing together; and what took place on that occasion? The voice of God came from on high, and spake to the Council. Every latent feeling was aroused, and every heart melted. What did it say unto us? 'Let my servant Brigham step forth and receive the full power of the presiding Priesthood in my Church and kingdom.' This was the voice of the Almighty unto us at Council Bluffs, before I removed to what was called Kanesville. It has been said by some that Brigham was appointed by the people, and not by the voice of God. I do not know what the people may have done, but I know what the voice of God said to us. Men, women and children came running together where we were and asked us what was the matter. They said that their houses shook, and the ground trembled, and they did not know but that there was an earthquake. We told them that there was nothing the matter—not to be alarmed: the Lord was only whispering to us a little, and that He was probably not very far off. We felt no shaking of the earth, or of the house, but were filled with the exceeding power and goodness of God.

In his remarks at the October 1860 General Conference, Orson Hyde explicitly states that he held a personal sense of pride and gratitude that this manifestation occurred within his own "little retired and sequestered hamlet" of Hyde Park. Hyde also clarified that the Council kept the matter private at the time, and he noted that on April 6, 1848, at the Annual Conference in Kanesville, Brigham Young was chosen to preside without a dissenting voice, with the congregants unknowingly seconding the Lord's revelation.