Some time before his death, Joseph had predicted that the Saints would yet move to the Rocky Mountains; and he had even begun the movement by holding councils and asking for volunteers from the brethren to go ahead and locate a place to which the Church might gather.  President Young and the Twelve now began preparing to carry this plan out.  They could plainly see that it was useless to try to live in peace in Illinois.  The mobs grew larger and fiercer.  The people living in the counties surrounding Hancock county, threatened to drive the “Mormons” from the state; and the officers whose duty it was to enforce the laws would not do so if it was to protect the “Mormons.”

So in August, 1845, it was decided to select three thousand men who, with their families, were to go to Upper California.  All this western country was then called Upper California.  The authorities of the Church promised the mob leaders that if they would not molest them they would all leave the state early the next spring.

But the mobbing did not cease at this; so the sheriff of the county, a Mr. Backenstos, organized a posse, that is, a company of men to help him enforce the laws and keep order.  The sheriff kept after the mob to prevent them from burning houses, etc., and this made the mobbers very angry.  One day some of them tried to kill the sheriff, but he was saved by two “Mormons” coming to his rescue.  Thus during the summer and fall of 1845 there was much trouble between the mobs, the “Mormons,” and the militia.

All this time the Saints had worked hard to finish the temple.  It had been decided to do this even if they had to work with the “trowel in one hand and a sword in the other.”  October 5th the temple was near enough finished that a conference was held in the building.  No general conference had been held for three years, as Joseph had said none should be convened until it could be held in the temple.

After this the work on the building still went on, and in a short time it was so far completed that it was dedicated, and a great many of the Saints received their endowments within its sacred walls.

All that winter, (1845-46) Nauvoo was like a big workshop.  Everybody that could was preparing for the great move westward.  Farms and houses were offered for sale.  Wagons were built, and as iron was scarce, many of them had wooden tires.  Horses and cattle were gathered.  It was to be the sixth move of the Saints from their homes, and it was no small undertaking now as there were many thousands of people, and they were to go to a wild, unknown land among the deserts and mountains of the West.

The move began on February 4, 1846, and from that date on there was a continuous stream of wagons crossing the Mississippi river to the Iowa side.  A camp was made on Sugar creek, nine miles from Nauvoo, where the Saints gathered.  Towards the last of the month the weather became very cold, the river froze over so that teams could be driven across on the ice.  It was a bad time of the year to begin such a move.  Many of the Saints were poorly clad, some had no tents or wagon covers, and in the snow and cold there was much suffering; but on the Saints went, looking with sad hearts on their deserted homes; but rather would they face the winter storms and cold than to live in constant dread of cruel mobs.