President Brigham Young's inspiration in locating Salt Lake Valley

“I wish to make a few remarks only, to this congregation, as the time allotted to us this morning, is far spent. The remarks which have been made previous to my rising are very good, as they are also true. They are things not fresh to the majority of this assembly, though there may be some present who are perhaps ignorant of them. Suffice it to say, that five years ago this day, the Pioneers approached this valley, with their implements of husbandry, &c., which were represented by them in the procession today. We came for the purpose of finding a place to set our feet, where we could dwell in peace. That place we have found. When we first approached this valley, there was not a man upon the face of the earth whoever had beheld these valleys of the mountains, or knew anything of the Great Basin, who knew that corn, or any other kind of grain could be raised here. We came here and planted our garden seeds of various kinds, five years ago this day; they grew, but they did not ripen. We had to learn the nature of the soil, and of the climate, and to find out what we could raise, and what we could not. We have had to learn by experience, and that is a hard school, but it is a good one. We have learned that we can raise grain here, and that this is a good country. We have had to contend with the crickets, and with the frost, and with the drought, and with various other things, to prove the country. We have proved it, and we know it is a good country. Shall I say by faith? Yes, partially so; for had they not had faith, they certainly never would have come to this place: it is the faith of the Latter-day Saints that brought them here. It is the faith of the Latter-day Saints that has sustained them here, and it is the faith of the Latter-day Saints that will sustain them here, and enable them to build up the kingdom of God, and to spread it abroad, until the knowledge of the truth shall cover the earth as the waters cover the mighty deep. We have been driven from our homes, and from our lands, and from our possessions, and we have been brought to this place, and we have been sustained here by the power of the Almighty. We have been sustained here, and we have been blessed, and we have been prospered, and we have been enabled to build up a city, and to make ourselves comfortable, and to provide for our families, and to lay the foundation of a great and glorious work, which shall continue to grow and increase, until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ.”

— Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 1:144-145