Minutes of the October 1856 General Conference

Minutes of the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Great Salt Lake City, October 5-7, 1856. President Brigham Young presiding. Reporter: J. V. Long (and others). ¶

On October 5 (pre-conference meeting), President Brigham Young addressed congregation conduct and then issued his famous call to rescue the Willie and Martin handcart companies stranded on the plains (discourse filed separately). Elder Franklin D. Richards reported on the handcart emigration and the approximately 1,000 emigrants with handcarts still seven hundred miles distant. President Heber C. Kimball emphasized Brigham Young's prophetic authority and called for volunteer teams; 114 teams were immediately volunteered. Brigham Young specified his requirements: forty experienced teamsters, sixty to sixty-five spans of horses or mules with equipment, twelve tons of flour and wagons, and time for returning missionaries. ¶

The main conference sessions convened October 6-7. Elder Wilford Woodruff delivered a discourse on "The Facilities Afforded By the Handcart Movement for the Gathering of Israel" (filed separately), framing the handcart system within prophecy and calling for reformation among the Saints. Other speakers included Elder Lorenzo Snow, Elder C. H. Wheelock, Elder James Ferguson, and Patriarch John Young. Returned missionaries reported on their labors. ¶

The General Authorities were sustained unanimously. The creation of the 20th ward was approved with John Sharp as bishop. Missionaries were proposed to strengthen the brethren throughout Utah Territory. ¶