“He said we should go and build many cities, and we should become a [mighty] people in the midst of the mountains” — Anson Call¹

On August 6, 1842, while attending a Masonic event in Montrose, Iowa, Joseph Smith prophesied that the Saints would endure continued persecution and affliction.² He predicted they would eventually be driven to the Rocky Mountains, where many would apostatize and some would die from persecution, exposure, or disease. Despite these hardships, he foretold that others would survive to help establish settlements and cities, with the Saints becoming a powerful people in the Rocky Mountains. This prophecy came amid escalating tensions and growing threats against the Saints in Nauvoo from local populations and authorities.³ For Latter-day Saints, this prophecy mirrors one found within the Bible, in Isaiah 2, which states that in the last days, "the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains".⁴ The settlement of the Intermountain West by Latter-day Saint pioneers, and the resulting Church growth and temple construction that has occurred, is viewed as fulfillment of these prophecies.

1. Anson Call Statement, 1854

2. Joseph Smith History, 1838–1856, volume D-1

3. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Chapter 45

4. Isaiah 2