“His wife had just given birth to a baby girl a few days before, but when she learned that Brigham was across the river and sick, she came across to care for him. Everyone in the home was so sick that Heber’s four-year-old son had to fetch the water for them. Four days later, the two brethren determined that they had to start. They were both still so weak they had to be helped up into the wagon. Just as they were driving out of the yard, Brother Heber turned to Brigham and said, ‘This is no way to leave our families. Let’s rise up and give them a cheer.’”
Now Will’s voice had gone very soft. “So they staggered to their feet, lifted their hats, and cried, ‘Hurrah! Hurrah for Israel!’ In a moment, their wives stumbled to the door. ‘Good-bye, and God bless you,’ they called out in return.” There was a long silence; then he tossed the stick into the river and turned to Alice. “They were gone for almost two years.”
“So Brigham knows what he’s asking, doesn’t he?” Alice said after a long moment.
“Yes. What we are facing is pretty tough, Alice. But the call didn’t come from someone who doesn’t understand.”
“Will, do you believe this call is from the Lord?”
“I do,” Will answered without hesitation.
“So do I. Then is there any question about whether or not we should do it?”
His head moved back and forth slowly.
She felt her chin drop until it touched her chest. Hot tears spilled over and scalded her cheeks as they trickled downward. “How are we ever going to tell my father?” she said mournfully. “Even if I were to write them and tell them that I had been baptized here, and that we got married here, that would be terrible enough. But then to tell them I’m going to California and may never see them again? How can I write that to them?”
“May I ask you some questions, Alice?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to postpone our marriage?”
Her head came up sharply. “No!”
“Do you want to get married and then stay with your folks while I go?”
“No!” It came out with equal force.
“Do you want to get married and have me go to New York while you go west with Brigham and the Church?”
“No, I want to be with you, Will.” Suddenly there was hurt in her eyes. “Do you want me with you?”
He reached over and seized her by the shoulders. “I have been sick to my stomach ever since we left Brigham’s house just thinking about having to leave you behind.”
Lifting a fist, she shook it beneath his nose. “It’s a good thing you answered that correctly,” she said. Then she sighed and slid closer to him, snuggling up against him. “Then the only question is what to do now.”
Will was thinking furiously, trying to sort it all out. Finally he voiced his first conclusion. “If we are determined to answer this call, then are we agreed that there is no way that we can make your parents happy?”
“None. But how can I write them—”
He shook his head firmly. “No, that would not be right. They will see this as betrayal enough. The least we can do is tell them in person.”
“But how?”
His mind was racing now. “We do have to leave immediately, but what if we went by way of St. Louis and not Chicago? I’ll bet we could stop there for a day or two, then go on up the Ohio a long ways before it freezes over. I think we could make New York by December first.”
“But Mother won’t have any warning. She’s planning on the wedding being November first. And we can’t wait that long.”
He took both of her hands and turned her toward him. “We’ll baptize you tomorrow morning, and be married tomorrow night. Then we’ll leave on Thursday morning for St. Louis.”
Her eyes flew open. “Tomorrow?” she echoed numbly.
“Yes. I know it’s soon, but it’s better to do it here than in St. Louis. Then we can just tell them that it’s done.” And then he started to shake his head. “No, I guess you’re right. It’s a crazy idea.”
Now it was Alice who was gripping his hands. “No, Will. You’re right. Peter and Kathryn will probably not want to do it so quickly, so it will be just us. But yes. I’ll become a member of the Church in the morning, and your wife in the afternoon.” She felt the tears well up. “Then when I see Mama and Papa . . .” She stopped, looking away.
Will pulled her into his arms. “We could go to St. Louis first and tell them. Then we could be married there. At least your mother could be there.” He reached out and wiped at the wet spot on her cheek. “And you would have your wedding dress.”
“Will, we are going to St. Louis for one reason and one reason only. I feel I owe it to my parents to tell them directly rather than writing a letter. But I have no illusions. It is going to be ugly. It will be—” Her voice caught and she bit her lip. “It will be the end for me and them.” Finally, she looked up at him. “No, Will, your family is the only family I have now. I want to be married here. Especially now that your grandparents are back.”
A thousand questions tumbled through his mind, but he knew they were of no consequence. Where would the marriage take place? What would his mother say? His father! What would Alice wear? Whom would they invite? What about food? Those were the luxuries that time provided. They seemed so trivial all of a sudden. “Yes. Tomorrow. It will be a new life for you, and a new life for the both of us.”
She slumped against him and began to cry softly. They sat that way for almost five minutes, he holding her, she weeping quietly, neither of them speaking further. Finally, Alice pulled free of him and stood up. She took him by both hands and helped him to his feet. “Let’s go tell Brother Brigham,” she said. “I think he’s waiting for our answer. And then we’d better go tell your family.”
Brigham Young gave Alice and Will an hour with Will’s family before he came to the house to see what he could do to help lessen the damage. Evidently, Will had told his parents that Brigham would be coming, because when he knocked, Joshua came to the door, nodded curtly, and stepped back without a word but motioned him in. Brigham took a deep breath, took off his hat, and entered. Will and Alice were not there, and Brigham decided that was good. Just he and the parents. It would be best that way. He took out his watch and glanced at it as he followed Joshua down the hallway. It was barely six o’clock in the evening.
Joshua listened to it all without comment—Brigham’s explanation of how the call had come, why the timing of it was so urgent, and how he fully understood the implications of what he was asking of this young couple. It took most of the willpower he had, but Joshua said nothing through it all. Caroline nodded and murmured in two or three places, but said nothing else either. She looked very tired. However, Joshua sensed that she felt weary because she knew how upset he was, not because Will and Alice’s decision terribly upset her.
When Brigham finally finished, he sat back, sobered and waiting.
“I suppose you’re not here to ask our permission?” Joshua asked evenly, after a moment.
“Will is twenty-one years old,” Caroline whispered.
There was a quick flash of irritation; then his face went blank again. “I know that,” he said without looking at her. On the surface his patience was seemingly endless, but underneath, he felt like a rope that was stretched to the point that each strand was breaking and unraveling with increasing speed. “But I want to hear it from him.”
Brigham didn’t move.
“Are you asking my permission?” Joshua demanded.
There was a slow shake of his head. “Joshua, I know this is very difficult, but this is a call from the Lord and—”
One hand shot up. “Let’s just leave the Lord out of this. I know what you believe. I know that Will and most of the rest of my family believe it too. But I don’t, and there’s no point in trying to convince me.”
Caroline cleared her throat. “Joshua, I know you’re upset, but—”
“No, Caroline! I’m sick and tired of the Church always taking and taking from my family. And each time they do, they have the gall to suggest that I have no say in the matter at all. So don’t talk religion. Don’t talk God. Let’s just talk about what’s right and what’s fair.”
“Good enough,” Brigham said tartly. “You want it straight. Here it is. I and the other members of the Twelve have been given a task to do, Joshua Steed. It’s the task of moving thousands of people into the wilderness to a place we’ve never been or never seen. I didn’t ask for this task. Neither did any other members of the Twelve. No one has checked with me to see if it happens to be a convenient time for my family to leave our home and go into exile.” He sat back, his chest rising and falling. “You want to swap stories about what’s fair and what’s not? Fine. I’m ready when you are.”
Joshua was clearly caught off guard by the suddenness of Brigham’s offensive.
“You don’t want to talk about the Lord? All right. I happen to believe that we are doing God’s will in this matter, and I am hoping for his blessing. But I’ll tell you this, Joshua. I don’t plan to waltz out there into the wilderness and wait for the Lord to rain down manna upon us. I believe the Lord expects us to prepare ourselves, and that is what I mean to do.”
Caroline watched him with wide eyes, a touch of awe showing on her face. This was a Brigham none of them had seen before.
“You find Will’s call a personal inconvenience? Well, I beg your pardon. Why don’t you go complain to Colonel Levi Williams or Thomas Sharp? Why don’t you tell them that their plundering and looting has created a situation that is causing you problems? Why don’t you lodge a complaint with those fine citizens down in Quincy or Governor Ford, who refuses to lift one hand to protect us?”
Stung, Joshua finally reacted. “Look, I’m not saying I don’t understand the challenges you have but—”
“No, you look, Joshua. I’m sorry about having to call Will at a time like this. You don’t believe that, but I truly am. I wept this afternoon thinking about the choice I just laid on the shoulders of those two young people. Oh, how I wish to heaven they could have their marriage and go to St. Louis and keep Alice’s father smiling through it all. I wish I could tell them to run along and wait until spring so everything could work out more smoothly. But I don’t have a choice in the matter, Joshua. If I can establish an outpost in California, I can save lives. If I can get food and tools and equipment on site before we arrive, then I stand a chance of making this work. And like it or not, that means calling on you and your family to sacrifice.”
He sat back, his mouth tight, his eyes hard with challenge. No one spoke. Caroline watched Joshua closely. She knew she was on precarious ground, but she had something that had been on her mind now for several days. She leaned forward. “Just before the martyrdom, you were ready to go west with Joseph, Joshua. Why?”
Brigham reared back a little. “Is that true?”
Caroline nodded. “Joseph felt that if he could escape, it would solve the problem.”
“Yes, yes,” Brigham said impatiently. “I know all that.”
“Well, Joseph asked Nathan and Joshua to go with him.”
“And you were ready to go?” Brigham asked Joshua.
“Yes,” Joshua admitted.
“Why?” Caroline asked, thoroughly puzzled. “Why were you ready then, and yet now you are so against it?”
“You know why.”
“Because you felt that you owed Joseph a great debt when he came for us at Warsaw.”
He looked down at the floor. “I did,” he said softly.
“But it was more than that, Joshua. When you told me, I couldn’t believe it. Remember? I asked you if that meant that when Joseph found a place for us, you meant to go with him permanently.” She was pinning him tightly with her eyes now. “You didn’t say no, Joshua.”
“That was then. This is now.”
Now Brigham stirred. “You are a man of plainness and honesty, Joshua Steed. I have always admired that in you. So I’m going to ask you straight out. If Joseph were still alive and leading this exodus, would you go with him?”
Joshua shot a look at Caroline, then turned back to Brigham. “I . . . I honestly don’t know,” he said after a moment.
Brigham smiled sadly. “Can’t say as I blame you. I’d go with Joseph in the blink of an eye. But following Brigham Young? It gives one cause to think, doesn’t it?”
“It’s not that, Brigham,” Joshua said. “This is not about you.”
“I know,” he shot right back. “That’s what I wish I could make you see. It’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s about something so great, so grand, so incredibly wonderful, that even I can scarcely believe we’re part of it. Doesn’t that fire your blood, Joshua? Think of it! You’ve been a pioneer. You went to Independence, a godless place if ever there was one,” he added with a quick grin, “and you made a business for yourself. You made a difference.
“Well, think about this. We’re going into the wilderness to start a new civilization. We’re not talking about just moving into some frontier town here and turning it civilized. We’re talking about scratching a civilization from the dust, yanking it out of the sagebrush by its ears and setting it on its feet. Doesn’t that do anything for you, Joshua? To be part of something like that? Something that will really make a difference? For you? For your family?”
After a moment, Joshua shook his head begrudgingly. “I’ve got to hand it to you, Brigham. I’m the one who’s losing a son here, and not only will you not offer me even the thinnest slice of an apology, but the next thing I know, you’re recruiting me to go along with him.”
That broke the tension and Brigham and Caroline laughed, relieved that Joshua had not exploded.
“Brother Heber always said I should have been a snake oil salesman.” Then the grin died away again. “Joshua, three years ago, Joseph got a letter from the editor of the
Chicago Democrat,
a Mr. John Wentworth by name, asking for information about the Church. Joseph wrote back to him, told him all about the Church. But one of the things he said was this. ‘The standard of truth has been erected, and no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Armies may rage, persecution may follow, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly and nobly until it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear. It will not stop until the purposes of God are accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say to us, the work is done!’”