July 24th 1847 the saints enter the S.L. Valley, revelation beforehand brought them there.

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kirtland r.m.
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July 24th 1847 the saints enter the S.L. Valley, revelation beforehand brought them there.

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Happy pioneer day again this year! I have posted this two other times, hope no one will mind.

On July 24th, Utah will celebrate another Pioneer Day. Here are some highlights of the saints as they moved into the Salt Lake Valley, including Ensign Peak.
The pioneer history of the peak began three years before the arrival of the Mormons in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. George A. Smith, a counselor to President Brigham Young, described how President Young first saw Ensign Peak while seeking divine guidance following the 1844 death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. "After the death of Joseph Smith, when it seemed as if every trouble and calamity had come upon the Saints, Brigham Young, who was President of the Twelve, then the presiding Quorum of the Church, sought the Lord to know what they should do, and where they should lead the people for safety, and while they were fasting and praying daily on this subject, President Young had a vision of Joseph Smith, who showed him the mountain that we now call Ensign Peak, immediately north of Salt Lake City, and there was an ensign fell upon that peak, and Joseph said, 'Build under the point where the colors fall and you will prosper and have peace.’” [2] Young understood that he was to lead the Church members west and that the peak he saw in vision would be a sign that they had reached their appointed destination.

On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young arrived at an overlook for his first view of the Salt Lake Valley. “While gazing upon the scene, . . . he was enwrapped in vision for several minutes. He had seen the valley before in vision and upon this occasion he saw the future glory of Zion and of Israel, as they would be, planted in the valleys of these mountains. When the vision had passed, he said: ‘It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on.’” [3]

Because the pioneers had no firsthand knowledge of the territory, they had relied on their prophet to determine the place of settlement in the West. [4] This happened when President Young viewed the valley for the first time and recognized Ensign Peak, which he had seen in the above-mentioned vision. In an 1866 interview with a visitor to Salt Lake City, Brigham reflected on this experience. The interviewer recorded the following: “When coming over the mountains, in search of a new home for his people, he [Brigham Young] saw in a vision of the night, an angel standing on a conical hill, pointing to a spot of ground on which the new temple must be built. Coming down into this basin of Salt Lake, he first sought for the cone which he had seen in his dream; and when he had found it, he noticed a stream of fresh hill-water flowing at its base, which he called City Creek.” [5] Because of his prior vision, Ensign Peak played an important role in helping the prophet recognize the place appointed as a home for the Saints.

Here is a more complete story, with above footnote references.https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/salt-lake- ... al-preview

Here are a few interesting quotes.

...he prophesied that the Saints would yet go to the Rocky Mountains; and, said he, 'this water tastes much like that of the crystal streams that are running from the snow capped mountains... I had before seen him in a vision and now saw while he was talking his countenance changed to white: not the deadly white of a bloodless face, but a living brilliant white.https://user.xmission.com/~plporter/lds/ansoncall.htm

On August 6, 1842, Joseph Smith wrote: "I had a conversation with a number of brethren in the shade of the building on the subject of our persecutions in Missouri and the constant annoyance which has followed us since we were driven from that state. I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives in consequence of exposure to disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains."

There are also recollections by other church members of Joseph mapping the path the pioneers would take to the Salt Lake Valley. For example, George H. Goddard, a Mormon Pioneer, testified that he was present in the Nauvoo Masonic Hall when Joseph Smith drew a map on the floor with a piece of chalk the Great Basin of western America, indicating the course they would follow across the plains and into the West.

Another church member, Hopkins C. Pendar, reported that "Joseph Smith just before he was killed, made a sketch of the future home of the Saints in the Rocky Mountains and their route or road to that country as he had seen [it] in vision; a map or drawing of it."

Mosiah Hancock wrote in his journal about Joseph Smith visiting his father, Levi's, home, just prior to his demise in Carthage. Mosiah writes, ". . . the Prophet came to our home and stopped in our carpenter shop and stood by the turning lathe I went and got my map for him. 'Now,' said he, 'I will show you the travels of this people.' He then showed our travels thru Iowa, and said, 'Here you will make a place for the winter; and here you will travel west until you come to the valley of the Great Salt Lake! You will build cities to the North and to the South, and to the East and to the West; and you will become a great and wealthy people in that land.'" Joseph Smith Looking Westward.
Teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith (Aug. 6, 1842.) (Millennial Star, Vol. xix., page 630)
"The Life Story of Mosiah Lyman Hancock"
E. Cecil McGavin, "Nauvoo the Beautiful" (Salt Lake City, 1946)
Hyrum L. Andrus, BYU Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, p.141
Oliver Huntington stated fur
Oliver Huntington stated further that Levi Hancock drew a copy of the map and four other copies were made from it. One was supposedly given to Brigham Young and one was carried by the Mormon Battalion by which they knew where to find the church or Salt Lake Valley.https://www.thechurchnews.com/archive/2 ... sion-32046

There are many more written revelations on this subject, I hope these will do for now.

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kirtland r.m.
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Re: July 24th 1847 the saints enter the S.L. Valley, revelation beforehand brought them there.

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Andrew J. Stewart
"The prophet said he was glad I had come, but he wanted to change my mission, and take me with him to find a place for the saints. “For,” he said, “the Saints could not build up a Church in the States.” They would have to go and find a place in the mountains, where they could find a place to live in peace, and in five years they would not be disturbed or driven away again. He said he had a company made up, but he wanted me, especially, as I had been west on the Indian Land to the Missouri River.” (They Knew The Prophet, Andrus, P. 173)

Oliver B. Huntington
"No," said the old Patriarch (Joseph Smith Sr.), his whole being seeming to be alive with animation. "The Lord has told Joseph that when we leave here we will go into the Rocky Mountains; right into the midst of the Lamanites."

“This information filled our hearts with unspeakable joy, for we knew that the Book of Mormon and this gospel had been brought to light more for the remnants of Jacob upon this continent than for the Gentiles.”(https://scottwoodward.org/josephsmith_p ... tains.html)

Bathsheba W. Smith
“Joseph, the Prophet, said we would come to the Rocky Mountains, and he had a company of young men selected to hunt a location for a home for the Saints. Samuel Richards was one of that company. I heard of it when we were in Illinois, and I remember an old lady coming in and talking to mother about what Joseph, the Prophet, had said that we would be in the Rocky Mountains sometime. I said I would like the time to come soon, I would like to get away from our enemies. She gave me a right good scolding, saying it was terrible to think of going to the Rocky Mountains.” https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Jose ... n_prophecy)

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