This is another in a weekly series of day-by-day summaries of what transpired 150 years ago during the Saints' 1846-47 trek from Nauvoo, Ill., to the Salt Lake Valley. The compiler, Alexander L. Baugh, is an assistant professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU. This installment covers two weeks, since the series was not published in last week's special Church News edition on the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History.

Sunday, Jan. 3, 1847:

Members of the Quorum of the Twelve preached in a number of wards in Winter Quarters. In one meeting, Heber C. Kimball exhorted the men to watch over their wives and children and not govern them with severity but with meekness and forbearance. Later in the day seven of the apostles met with the high council in a special meeting in Willard Richards' octagon-shaped home. In the course of their meeting the council voted to complete the construction of the Council House.

Monday, Jan 4:

Willard Richards dictated a letter to Charles C. Rich at Mt. Pisgah informing him that he had been selected to be in the vanguard company that would leave in the early spring and that in order to make preparations he should move to Winter Quarters.

Tuesday, Jan. 5:

The Saints experienced their first significant snowfall of the season, with snow falling most of the afternoon and evening. Wilford Woodruff spent the day hauling hay. In the evening the Twelve held a meeting.

Wednesday, Jan. 6:

At Winter Quarters the temperature fell to 2 degrees below zero. Hosea Stout reported: "This was the coldest day that we have had this year and seems to scorch everything which comes in contact with the cold North wind. We were very uncomfortable all day . . . despite our best fires and passed the day to the best advantage to be comfortable." John D. Lee noted that the temperatures were so extreme that it would have been unsafe to venture away from a fire. Eight of the Twelve spent much of the evening at Ezra T. Benson's home in pleasant conversation.

Thursday, Jan. 7:

Due to the bitter cold, most of the Saints remained in their cabins and shelters. Hosea Stout wrote that it was "one of those intolerable cold clear days that bids the most industerous to cease his labours & keep within. There was no stir[r]ing only by those who were either out of wood or hay or compelled by some means to meet the `chilling blast.' " Mary Richards wrote that the wood for her fire lasted only until noon and upon being "froze out" went to the home of Jane Snyder Richards, her sister-in law. "When I got there, my hands & feet ached severely."

The high council met in the evening, and under the direction of Brigham Young the council drafted a lengthy letter to Elders Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor in England. The letter informed the three apostles that Winter Quarters consisted of upwards of 700 cabins, "composed mostly of logs . . . covered with puncheon, straw and dirt, which are warm and wholesome; a few are composed of Turf, willows, straws, etc." However, the leaders clearly recognized many dwellings would only serve as temporary shelters. "

The cabinsT are very comfortable this winter, but will not endure the thaws, rain and sunshine of spring."

Friday, Jan. 8:

At Winter Quarters the weather was warmer but the temperature remained in the teens. In the evening President Young met with George A. Smith, Wilford Woodruff, Ezra T. Benson, his brother Joseph Young, and Willard Richards in Elder Richards' "octagon."

The Mormon Battalion traveled sixteen miles and camped on the mouth of the Gila River (situated near the present-day Sacaton, Ariz.) where they were in destitute circumstances in regards to food. "The men are nearly starving for bread," wrote William Coray. "The beef which was the only means for sustainence at this time was of the poorest quality. . . . Notwithstanding the intense suffering of the men there was not much grumbling."

Saturday, Jan. 9:

At Winter Quarters, the temperature dipped to 9 degrees below zero. President Young discussed several matters of business with Elders Kimball, Woodruff and others.

The Mormon Battalion reached the crossing of the Colorado situated about 12 miles south of the mouth of the Gila River. Their successful arrival at the Colorado marked the first time that wagons had successfully traversed the area between the Santa Cruz River and the Colorado. The company still had nothing to eat except unhealthy meat that was so poor that "it is jelly-like and the hide full of grubs," noted Henry Bigler.

Sunday, Jan. 10, 1847:

The Saints in Winter Quarters continued to experience freezing winter conditions with the temperature hitting 13 degrees below zero. In spite of the cold, they met in various homes for worship services, and members of the Twelve preached in a number of wards.

Monday, Jan. 11:

A council meeting was held at Ezra T. Benson's home. The brethren conversed freely about the best manner of organizing companies for emigration.

Tuesday, Jan. 12:

Due to the sub-zero conditions, ice covered the Missouri River, enabling the Saints in Winter Quarters to transport large quantities of wood from the Iowa side of the river. Mary Richards attended an evening meeting in which Elder Wilford Woodruff spoke and gave an interesting discourse on the resurrection of the dead.

Wednesday, Jan. 13:

Having crossed the Colorado River three days earlier, the Mormon Battalion marched over an area previously traversed by Gen. Stephen Watts Kearney and his army. Finding enough water to sustain both the men and animals was of paramount importance. On this date the battalion camped by a well that had been dug by Kearney's men.

Thursday, Jan. 14:

During an afternoon meeting at Heber C. Kimball's home, Brigham Young "commenced to give the Word and Will of God concerning the emigration of the Saints and those who journey with them." The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. the Twelve met again, during which time President Young "continued to dictate the Word and Will of the Lord." At the close of the meeting, Brigham and Willard Richards went to Elder Richards' octagon, where the two men finished writing the document. This inspired revelation, now canonized as D&C 136, clearly revealed to the Latter-day Saints that the journey to the West would be done "under the direction of the Twelve." (D&C 136:3.) (See separate article on page 7.)

Friday, Jan. 15:

At a meeting held at Ezra T. Benson's cabin, Brigham Young and the Twelve decided that "The Word and Will of the Lord" revelation, received the day previously, should be presented to the other councils of the Church.

Saturday, Jan.16:

In the early afternoon, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards met with the high council, and Elder Richards read "The Word and Will of the Lord" revelation. Each member of the council was then invited to express his views concerning the document.

Sources: "Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young," Utah Historical Quarterly 14:153-54; Journals of John D. Lee, pp. 47-49; Richard E. Bennett, " `A Samaritan Had Passed By': George Miller - Mormon Bishop, Trailblazer, and Brigham Young Antagonist," Illinois Historical Journal 82 (Spring 1989): 2-16; Bennett, "Mormon Renegade: James Emmett at the Vermillion, 1846," South Dakota History 15 (Fall, 1985): 217-33; A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War, pp. 238-246; The Diary of Hosea Stout, pp. 223-29; Exploring Southwestern Trails, pp. 189-217; "Extracts From the Journal of Henry Bigler," Utah Historical Quarterly 5:52-54; Journal History of the Church; "The Journal of Robert S. Bliss, With the Mormon Battalion," Utah Historical Quarterly 4:82-84; Manuscript History of Brigham Young, pp. 491-505; Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, p. 152; Mormons at the Missouri, 148-57; Winter Quarters: The 1846-1848 Life Writings of Mary Haskin Parker Richards, pp. 104-06; and Wilford Woodruff's Journal 3:115-18.