Letter from William W. Phelps, 7 July 1837

Dear brother in the Lord,

Permit me to drop you a few lines to show you our progress temporally and spiritually. A multiplicity of business has prevented me from writing much the year past, but the greatness of our doings and the importance of the occasion require a recital to you for your consolation.— Monday the 3d of July, was a great and glorious day in ; more than fifteen hundred saints assembled in this place, and, at 1/2 past 8 in the morning, after a prayer, singing, and an address, proceeded to break the ground for the ; the day was beautiful, the Spirit of the Lord was with us, a cellar for this great edifice, 110 long by 80 broad was nearly finished: on Tuesday the fourth, we had a large meeting and several of the Missourians were : Our meetings, held in the open prairie, or, in fact larger than they were in when I was there. We have more or less to bless, confirm and, baptize every Sabath.

This same day our school section was sold at auction, and although entirely a prairie, it brought, on a years credit, from 3 ½ to $10,20 an acre, making our first school fund $5070!! Land can not be had round town now much less than $10 per acre.

Our numbers increase daily, and, notwithstanding the season has been cold and backward, no one has lacked a meal, or went hungry. Provisions to be sure have risen, but not as high as our accounts say they are abroad.

Public notice has been given by the mob in , north of us, for the Mormons to leave that county by the first of August, and go into . Our enemies will not slumber, till Satan knows the bigness of his lot.

Our town gains some, we have about one hundred buildings, 8 of which are stores. If the brethren abroad are wise, and will come on with means, and help enter the land and populate the and build the , we shall soon have one of the most precious spots on the Globe. God grant that it may be so. Of late we receive but little news from you: and we think much of that is exaggerated.

As ever,

N. B. Please say in your Messenger: “A Post office has been established at , Caldwell County, Missouri. Our brethren will now have a chance to write to their friends.” [p. [529]]