Living Sacred Lives Before the Lord
Following Joseph Smith’s First Vision in the spring of 1820 in northern New York state, the Prophet was continually tutored by angelic visitors. Joseph worked with a number of scribes and helpers, starting with his wife Emma, to translate and publish the Book of Mormon. The printing of the Book of Mormon was accomplished in the spring of 1830. Around that same time, on April 6,1830, Joseph officially organized the “Church of Christ” before a small gathering at the home of Mary and Peter Whitmer in Fayette, New York. Significant early gathering places for the young Church were in the city of Kirtland, Ohio; various counties in Missouri; and the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. Even in the earliest days of the Church, missionaries traveled far and wide, including overseas, to spread the message that God was once again revealing truth and gathering a people through a prophet. From the organization of the Church until Joseph’s death in 1844, thousands of converts from North America, Europe, and the Pacific joined with the Saints.
In the first two decades of the Church’s existence, members lived under the frequent threat of religious persecution and mob violence. Many were driven from their homes over and over again. In the late 1840s and early 1850s, on a westward trek intended to leave the United States behind, the Saints endured many hardships. They sang of their longing for a place where “none shall come to hurt or make afraid.”
When the Saints arrived in the desert valleys west of the Rocky Mountains, they found others who already occupied the land. Seminomadic Indigenous groups—including the Ute (Nuciu), Navajo (Dine’), Paiute (Numu and Numuvi), Shoshone (Newe), and Pueblo tribes—had lived in the region for many generations. When the vanguard pioneer company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, members of the Ute and Shoshone tribes greeted them. On July 31, 1847, representatives of both tribes visited the Latter-day Saints’ camp to trade and attempted to explain local territorial control.
The Latter-day Saints believed they had been guided to settle communities throughout the region. As settlers fenced and cultivated land, the tribes found it increasingly difficult to rely on wild plants and animals as they had before. They began taking settlers’ livestock and crops to stave off hunger. Tense and occasionally violent confrontations followed. In January 1863, Latter-day Saint settlers asked the United States Army to intervene.
On January 29, 1863, Sagwitch Timbimboo, a Shoshone leader, awoke early. From his band’s camp on the Bear River north of Preston, Idaho, he could see the army approaching. Since the most recent confrontations had involved members of a different band, Sagwitch assumed the army was only seeking information. Sagwitch roused the band and prepared to speak with the soldiers. When the army arrived, however, soldiers charged through the camp, firing as they went. By early afternoon, as many as 400 Shoshone lay dead, and their homes and grain stores had been burnt. Sagwitch’s 12-year-old son, Yeager, hid among the bodies, playing dead, in hopes of escape. A soldier discovered him, raised his rifle three times to kill him, but changed his mind each time. Sagwitch, injured but alive, rallied the survivors and fled to other camps.
Despite ongoing conflicts, the Shoshone and the Latter-day Saint settlers sought peace. Church leaders called missionaries to preach to the Shoshone, and many were baptized. In 1873, Sagwitch had a dream telling him that God was among the Latter-day Saints. The next morning, he arrived at the home of George Washington Hill, a former missionary whom the Shoshone called Inkapompy (Man with Red Hair), and requested baptism for him and his people. George explained that he could not meet Sagwitch’s request as he was no longer a missionary. Knowing God had directed him, Sagwitch camped near George’s home and waited. The next day, Brigham Young summoned George to his office and called him to resume work as a missionary. On May 3, 1873, George baptized Sagwitch and 101 others in the Bear River.
After their baptism, Sagwitch and his people settled on the Church farm at Washakie, Utah, where they learned to farm. Members of the tribe served in leadership positions in local congregations and as missionaries. When work began on the Logan Utah Temple, Shoshone Saints donated labor to help with the construction. After the dedication of the temple, they were among its most frequent patrons.
On April 6, 1926, Yeager Timbimboo, speaking in Shoshone, became the first person to speak in general conference in a language other than English. “The gospel encourages us one and all to live sacred lives before the Lord,” he declared. “I want to encourage you to be faithful and serve the Lord and keep his commandments.”