The Extermination Committee

When the Saints first entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 they formed two extermination committees to rid the valley of what?

a.      Wild animals and birds of prey

b.      Crickets

c.       Seagulls

d.      Squatters

Yesterday’s answers:

1.                  Join the Church

The following event occurred while Jesse N. Smith was attending the Salt Lake Temple dedication:

While attending the dedicatory services of the Salt Lake Temple I had the pleasure of meeting my cousin, Caroline Smith Callister, who related a story that I have heard my mother relate as follows: When my mother came to Kirtland it was not with any intention of uniting with the Mormon Church, and she reported herself to the Presbyterian Church in the neighborhood of which she became a member. She had taken me, then a little over two years old, to this Church one Sunday. The services had not been interesting to her, and after the concluding services the front view of the Kirtland Temple was very vividly presented before her eyes and these words borne in upon her mind, “There thy best friends and kindred dwell; there Christ thy Savior reigns.” From the contemplation of which she was aroused by my shout, “Mother, get the dumbelly (umbrella) and let’s go home.”

Oliver R. Smith, ed., The Journal of Jesse Nathaniel Smith-1834-1906 (Provo: Jesse N. Smith Family Assn., 1970), 394.

2.                  (C) Joseph Smith

(From a talk given by Jesse N. Smith, a cousin of the Prophet, to the Church History class of Professor John Henry Evans in the L. D. S. College, Salt Lake City, April 11, 1905)

This talk was given one year prior to Jesse N. Smith’s death:

I may say I was never so impressed by any person. I am unable to fully describe my sensations when in the presence of this wonderful man. I only know that I rejoiced being in his presence. No voice that I had ever heard seemed to me to be such a voice. I have never heard any human voice, not even my mother’s, that was so attractive to me. Even his bitterest enemies, if they had the privilege of hearing him speak, became mollified, and forgot their anger. Now I believe even his murderers, at the last, if their passions could have been stilled, if their anger by which they were enraged and were no longer men, could have heard his voice, his impressive voice, and listened to his explanations, I do not believe they would have demanded his life. It was a sort of insanity. The powers of evil are abroad in the world. They obtain dominion sometimes of the children of men. It was under this circumstance that they were impelled to make that mad attack.

I will speak of the domestic life of the Prophet. My mother being a widow, he noticed her children. She had to sons. He asked them to his house, he made them welcome, they were at liberty to remain in his household. In this way we passed some time under his roof. I was intimate with his children, especially with the one that came into prominence and was known as young Joseph. I knew that queenly woman, his wife, Emma Smith. I may say that I was greatly impressed with her personality. She was the fitting helpmate of such a man. I stood in awe of this lady far more than I did of the Prophet himself, because he was so considerate of the feelings of the children.

His domestic animals seemed to love him. He was very fond of horses. He had a few very fine horses, one very remarkable dog, the housedog; they called him Major. The dog and the horses rejoiced when they saw this man because he took care of them, because he recognized them in their places as God’s creatures. He did not require unreasonable things of them; he was kindness itself to every human being, especially to his own household. His children rejoiced when he was present, and this was not so very remarkable; they could not do otherwise with so good and kind a father.

I was comparatively a poor and friendless child, my father having succumbed to the bitterness of the Missouri persecutions, my noble brother having fallen a victim also. I felt somewhat forlorn, for we were in poverty. They say poverty is not dishonorable, but a poor orphan feels it. Under this consideration, what wonder then that I feel justified in saying that this man was my friend; what wonder that he was almost deified in my mind. You probably will not enter into the enthusiasm for this matter altogether, yet I trust you will give me credit for sincerity. We perhaps, many of us, have received the witness of the Spirit of Truth, which testifies to us that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. I fully enter into this, with you and with everyone who has received this witness. I have received it and in a great degree also. I will say another thing, that I feel to be equally true, Joseph Smith was a gentleman in the very highest sense of the word. I never heard that said before, but I will stake my reputation on it that I know it was true.

He was especially neat in his appearance. He was unusually tidy—he was exceptionally tidy. When I have seen him almost at the best advantage was when he was attired in a military uniform. He was an officer of the military organization know as the “Nauvoo Legion. . .”

. . .His career was short. He had but a little time to realize the sorrows of this world. Although he was termed by those who knew him by the familiar term of Old Joe Smith, yet he was not old. He had scarcely reached the meridian of his life when he was called away. The people never felt comforted when they thought of his loss until the revelation was given to Brigham Young at Winter Quarters. I think I am correct in saying that the people never were comforted. In that revelation it was said that the Lord had taken Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, and that it was for a wise purpose and when these words came to the people they felt somewhat reconciled. Why, it isn’t much to say, for my poor life was little valued, but child that I was, I felt that I would cheerfully pay my life for his if by so doing I could hope to preserve him for the people. My young brothers and sisters, the name of this man has been sacred to me. It has been next to that of the Blessed Redeemer in my estimation. I knew him at home, I knew him in his public ministry. I listened to him in his house and also in the congregation of the people, and at every walk of life he stood at the head.

President Daniel H. Wells did not join the Church until after the Prophet’s death. He was very intimate with him although he had not subscribed to the faith of the Latter-day Saints. They were associated together in legal affairs, yet he knew a man when he saw him. President Wells had a strong legal training and a strong legal education likewise, and was a man who held a very responsible position. At that time he was Justice of the Peace. I will say for Pres. Wells that the path of promotion was before him. There was every possibility that he would be a very prominent man in the history of the nation, but casting his lot with the Latter-day Saints took away the hopes in that direction. He had a strong legal mind. It seems to me now that when I look back that Pres. Wells had just as good a chance as did Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Pres. Wells was of the same party as Abraham Lincoln. It seems to me that his chance for the presidential chair was fully equal to the chance of Abraham Lincoln. I believe that he was just as good a man legally and politically. Pres. Wells said: “I have known legal men all my life. Joseph Smith was the best lawyer that I have ever known in all my life.”

That is a wonderful tribute to the legal attainments of this wonderful man. I do not know whether a greater tribute could be obtained, for Pres. Wells knew whereof he was speaking. I do not expect that you will ever become as enthusiastic as I am about Joseph Smith. I never said a word in my life that seemed to bless me so as when I have said a good word for Joseph smith. 

Oliver R. Smith, ed., The Journal of Jesse Nathaniel Smith-1834-1906 (Provo: Jesse N. Smith Family Assn., 1970), 455-456.

3.                  (A) Inspector of liquors

Bullock continued his labors in behalf of the Church and community in the Salt Lake Valley. He drew plats of the city for the land office, assisted in the establishment of the monetary system used in the valley, was the first proofreader for the Deseret News, served as recorder for the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, chief clerk of the Territorial House of Representatives, census taker, Salt Lake County recorder, inspector of liquors for the territory, clerk for Brigham Young’s exploration parties, and secretary of the Nauvoo Legion of Utah (rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel prior to his mission call to England in 1856). In addition, he wrote an Emigrant’s Guide, was president of the Twenty-Seventh Quorum of Seventies, helped divide the valley into wards, was instrumental in copying and creating maps of the region, and continued clerking for Brigham Young and the Council of the Twelve. He also helped organize the first Utah library and was a member of the Deseret Theological Institute and home secretary of the Desert Horticultural Society. He was frequently consulted on horticultural matters. He was also involve with the pioneer theater as a prompter, was an ardent reader, served on the Board of Regents of the University of Deseret, and was appointed by the board to examine schoolteachers.

Most of the appointments can be found in the Tomas Bullock Collection, LDS Church Archives; C. Ward Despain, “Thomas Bullock: Early Mormon Pioneer” (Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1956), 61-72, 91-98.

4.                  (D) Doing Clayton’s laundry

Other leading diarists on the trek benefited from Bullock’s journal-keeping assignment. William Clayton wrote that he had “the privilege of copying from Brother Bullock’s journal. Clayton in turn allowed Howard Egan to copy from his journal in trade for doing Clayton’s laundry.

William Clayton, William Clayton’s Journal (Salt Lake City: Clayton Family Association, 1921), 114; Ibid., 176, 343 (23 May and 10 August 1847. It is evident in the Journal History that the history for the 1846-1848 treks was compiled after 1915, when Egan’s journal was printed, but before 1921, when Clayton’s was typeset. Egan was quoted every day, Clayton hardly ever, and Bullock’s official records were used to some extent. It appears that Egan copied from Clayton for the duration of the vanguard trek.