175 years ago today - Mar 11, 1845 • Tuesday

[Council of Fifty]
The chairman [Brigham Young] said his feelings were that the brethren go till they can find a suitable place for a location and when they have done that let them immediately send word back. His mind would be for them to go to the Camanche Indians and negotiate with them and if we can get their consent we will go and tarry among them for a season. His feelings are that our time is short among the gentiles, and the judgment of God will soon come on them like whirlwind. He dont care about preaching to the gentiles any longer. Some of the brethren say they can convert many of the gentiles and baptise them, but what are they good for when we get them. They are not bold enough to come out in defence of the truth, nor do any thing, and he feels as Lyman Wight said let the damned scoundrels be killed, let them be swept off from the earth, and then we can go and be baptized for them, easier than we can convert them. ... This is the last call we will make to them and if they dont listen to it we will sweep them out of existance. ...

Coun. Kimball ... agreed with the chairman in regard to preaching the gospel any longer to the gentiles. ... There are a great many men in this City who have neither natural wives nor spiritual wives

The chairman said in regard to going beyond the rocky mountains, he dont feel like it, it is so far to go there, and have to come back to kill off these cursed scoundrels. As to going by revelation he defys any man to go out of revelation, if he keep in the United States. ... We can go to Texas [which had just been annexed by the U.S.] and set up the standard and maintain ourselves there. If ever we get the City of Zion once organized the idea of men going and telling tales to our enemies will be put an end to. Let us get by ourselves and in a little while the Indians will join in with us, and as soon as we get cousin Lemuel converted I dont fear. ...

The chairman said ... He feels as though if he was drawn before his enemies and it was not wisdom for him to die, he could pick up men and throw them out of the window as easy as he could potatoes, and that is the power of the priesthood. ...

The chairman continued and said he wanted when the brethren leave the council chamber not to talk in the streets about any thing that is said here. ... We want to tarry here this season if possible and if one man is killed there will have to be many killed. He is not easily excited, but he is just determined that we will not endure any more from these cursed scoundrels. He would rather the Temple would stop, and we go to the wilderness to get our endowment than that another innocent man should be killed. If the time was come for the Saints to go forth and avenge the blood of our prophets and redeem Zion he would take one hundred men and sweep the State of Illinois so that there should not be a man left to tell the tale and he would not lose ten men....

[Joseph Smith Papers: Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844-January 1846]

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