Sunday, Dec. 20, 1846:

During the morning, the members of the Quorum of the Twelve visited various ward meetings in Winter Quarters. Elder George A. Smith spoke to the Winter Quarters 14th Ward. He spoke reprovingly to them for not helping Elder Wilford Woodruff build his house while he was recovering from his recent accident. He prophesied that there would be a time when another temple would be built and they would "be pulling the bottoms off" Elder Woodruff's coat to get into the temple to receive their blessings. (In later years, while president of the Church, President Woodruff would dedicate the Salt Lake and Manti temples.)In the afternoon, the Nauvoo Temple bell (now in Winter Quarters) rang, signaling the Saints to gather together for a meeting. Brigham Young preached a powerful sermon calling the Saints to repentance, asking them to cease murmuring, keep the Sabbath Day holy, stop swearing, refrain from stealing, and to pay their tithing to help the poor. He promised: "If the Saints would reform and act upon the knowledge revealed to them, flood gates of knowledge would be opened to them and they would be filled with light and intelligence. . . . Notwithstanding I have thus reproved you, I consider you the best people as a body there is on the earth. . . ."

Monday, Dec. 21:

The bishops of the Winter Quarters wards finished compiling a report for the Twelve. This report showed there were 3,483 souls in Winter Quarters, 334 sick, 502 well men, 117 sick men, 138 absent men, 75 widows, 53 battalion wives, 814 wagons, 145 horses, 29 mules, 777 oxen and 463 cows. In addition to the members in Winter Quarters, there were about 3,500 more Saints at other settlements along the Missouri River.

The third sick detachment of the Mormon Battalion reached Pueblo,

ColoT, after a long and difficult journey. James Scott commented about a joyful reunion with those who had arrived earlier in the other sick detachments. "The hearty looks of those who were sick & pale when we parted, assured us of the healthiness of the place. My heart rejoiced that kind providence had at last brought us there." More than 200 Saints would spend the winter at Pueblo, on the Arkansas River.

Tuesday, Dec. 22:

In the morning, many of the brethren laid the foundation of the Winter Quarters Council House. This building was 22 feet by 32 feet. It would serve as a place for council meetings, public meetings, socials and dances.

The Mormon Battalion marched nine miles down the Gila River to the Pima Indian Village, inhabited by more than 2,000 people living in straw-thatched huts. The Mormon Battalion officers were so impressed with the location that Jefferson Hunt asked permission from Col. Cooke to speak with the chief regarding a possible future settlement in this area. In 1877, a Latter-day Saint settlement would be established nearby in the Salt River Valley, at present-day Mesa, Ariz.

Wednesday, Dec. 23:

Wonderful joy came to the family of Lorenzo Dow Young. Sister Harriet Young was at work on her spinning wheel when her 9-year-old son, John R. Young, ran into the house, announcing that he and his father had returned from their trading expedition to Missouri. They had been away for almost three weeks. Brother Young brought back from Missouri 1,000 hogs and much corn.

Thursday, Dec. 24:

The weather was seasonably warm and pleasant in Winter Quarters. Many brethren continued to work on the Council House. Willard Richards covered the roof of his office with straw and dirt. This office was an extension of his octagon house.

Friday, Dec. 25:

Christmas Day in Winter Quarters started off with a bang. John Scott, captain of the artillery, fired the cannon three times at sunrise, from the hill above the city, to recognize this important day. It was a day for joy, a day to count many blessings. Harriet Young wrote, "This morning we were saluted from every quarter with `Happy Christmas' or `Christmas Gift.' " (See article on Christmas in Winter Quarters in Dec. 21, 1996 Church News.)

Saturday, Dec. 26:

A General Council meeting was held, attended by many of the Church leaders in Winter Quarters. It lasted much of the day and into the evening. They participated in important discussions and made plans for the "gathering of Israel to the mountains."

At Ponca, about 150 miles up the Missouri River, the winter home for about 400 Saints, a devastating prairie fire threatened to destroy the settlement. "Mountain high" flames swept down on the fort. The Saints desperately formed a bucket brigade to save their community. As the fire burned within a few hundred yards of the fort, the cattle and horses panicked and ran in all directions. Smoke became "intensely suffocating" and the Saints had to retreat to the river. Thankfully, the fire soon passed and the fort was saved.

Sources: Manuscript History of Brigham Young, pp. 479-84; The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1:219-21; Wilford Woodruff's Journal, 3:99-104; Journals of John D. Lee pp. 44-5; Exploring Southwestern Trails 1846-1854, pp. 164-77; The Life Writings of Mary Haskin Parker Richards, pp. 102-03; The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, pp. 150-51, 284; Exodus to Greatness, pp. 293-95; Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young, Utah Historical Quarterly, 14:153; Memoirs of John R. Young, p. 43; My Best for the Kingdom, pp. 222-23; Mormons at the Missouri, p. 90; A Ram in the Thicket: The Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War, pp. 288, 435-36; Journal of Henry Standage, p. 199.