William Lang — Divine Prompting to Join the Cotton Mission

During the October 1861 General Conference in Salt Lake City, William Lang was among those called to settle the 'Cotton Mission' in Southern Utah. While many viewed the call to the harsh, alkaline environment of 'Utah's Dixie' with dread, Lang recorded receiving a powerful spiritual manifestation—a direct prompting of the Holy Ghost—that this was a divine mandate for his family. Despite the financial hardship of selling his established property in Salt Lake City at a significant loss, he followed this spiritual guidance. He later testified that this divine direction provided him with a sense of peace and purpose that sustained his family through the extreme poverty and heat of the early St. George years.