a territorial organization. Later, a
petition was sent asking to be admitted into the Union under the name of
"The State of Deseret." Until Congress could act, a temporary government
was formed which existed for nearly two years. President Young was elected
governor, and there were the other officers usually found in a state.
September 9, 1850, Congress passed an act organizing Utah Territory.
President Millard Fillmore appointed Brigham Young as governor. Out of the
six other officers, three were "Mormons," and three non-"Mormons" from the
East.

At a conference held in Salt Lake City, October 6, 1849, a number of elders
were called to new mission fields. John Taylor, Curtis E. Bolton, and John
Pack were sent to France; Erastus Snow and Peter O. Hansen to Denmark; John
Forsgren to Sweden; Lorenzo Snow and Joseph Toronto to Italy; Addison
Pratt, James S. Brown, and Hiram H. Blackwell, to the Society Islands.
Brother Pratt had but recently returned from a five years mission to these
islands, where twelve hundred souls had been baptized into the Church.

At the April conference, 1851, Edward Hunter was chosen to succeed Newel K.
Whitney as bishop of the Church. There were at that time about thirty
thousand people in Utah.

President Young and the Apostles traveled much throughout the Territory,
locating settlements, organizing wards and putting the Church in order. At
the October conference, 1853, some of the leading brethren were called to
locate in different parts of the Territory. Among them were Elders George
A. Smith and Erastus Snow with fifty families who were called to strengthen
Iron county, and Elder Lorenzo Snow with fifty families to go to Box Elder.

In the summer of 1854 the grasshoppers did much damage to the crops, and
again in 1855 in many parts these insects took every green thing. This
brought on another scarcity. There was much suffering and again the people
were compelled to live on roots. A number of the brethren had stored up
some grain which they now shared with those who had none. In this way all
fared very much alike and the hardships were shared by all.

In the winter of 1856 a very sad thing happened. That year some emigrants
came to Utah in handcart companies. Small, two wheeled carts were made at
the place of starting in Iowa. On these carts were loaded baggage and
provisions, and the men and boys pulled them across the plains. Sometimes
the women and girls helped. A few ox teams usually h