“Now we want about a hundred good sturdy fellows that feel themselves able to go to work to raise wheat and cattle, and to do all that is necessary for the beautifying and building up of Zion. It is a good place to raise flax, hemp, and vegetables. To be sure the altitude is considerably greater than it is in many other parts of the Territory, but this should not prevent us from performing our duties. If we are called to labor there that is the place for us to exert ourselves. It is sometimes argued that there is too much water there, and others will urge that there are too many Indians there; but, my feeling and the feeling of the brethren up there is to follow the counsel of our President and leader, and to labor in concert with all those who are set to guide our footsteps in the building up of Zion.”

– Ezra T. Benson, 3/8/1862