Brigham Young was ambitious and very shrewd; and standing very high in the estimation of his people, he was now unanimously elected to the presidency of the church, and maintained a despotic sway. In the course of a year or two, the people of Illinois determined to drive the whole tribe from the state; and seeing the necessity, Young and his counsel decided to send a company to seek a new home in the West. The emigration commenced in February, 1846, and in August they arrived at a selected place upon the unoccupied prairies near Council Bluffs. Here they remained in tents during the next winter. Here the news of the Mexican War reached them; and Young apprehending ultimate conflict with the Mexican authorities, deemed it essential to be on good terms with the United States. Quick to perceive his opportunity, he sent an agent to Washington to tender a battalion to the Government. It was accepted, and Young received twenty thousand dollars from the Government for his services. Young, with a company of followers, then went upon another exploring expedition; and selecting Salt Lake valley for the location of their future Zion, the saints were all informed, and in the year 1847 four thousand Mormons arrived in the valley. Young had not yet been accepted by the church as prophet, seer, and revelator, in the full celestial sense, as was the martyr Smith; and as soon as re-organization was secured, he called a meeting to consider the matter. He arose and solemnly professed communication with the spirit of Prophet Joseph; and going through with a series of impressive mimicries of his predecessor in his peculiar style of adroitness, he completely convinced his audience, and ever since this successful experiment it is believed that the mantle of Joseph fell upon Brigham; and by a vote he was declared the “Prophet of the Lord.” Utah Territory was organized by act of Congress in the year 1850, and Young received the United States appointment of territorial governor for Utah. Large accessions of emigrants, sent forward by missionaries, rapidly increased the Mormon numbers in Salt Lake; and in the year 1853, the corner-stone of the temple at Salt Lake City was laid. About two thousand people were present, and the ceremonies were in the highest style of Mormon grandeur. Governor Young made the leading address on the occasion, saying that the saints were about to make their third attempt to build a temple to the Lord, and asking his followers to pay their tithes in cheerful promptitude, promising God’s blessing on them who do his will. He declared that the very ground where he stood had been revealed to him for seven years past as the place where the temple should stand. The building is an immense structure, and is calculated to seat eighteen thousand people. It is being built of granite taken from the mountain at the side of the valley, and is yet unfinished. It is a magnificent structure, of which the saints are very proud.