Early in the year 1844, while the spirit of renewed persecution was
brooding in Hancock County, Illinois, Joseph was inspired to make
preparations for sending an expedition to the Rocky Mountains, to
seek out a new location for the Saints, as it had been revealed to
him that they would not be permitted to remain much longer in their
Illinois homes. On Sunday, Feb. 25, 1844, while the Prophet was engaged
in selecting brethren to go on this expedition, he gave them some
important instructions, and prophesied, "that within five years the
Saints should be out of the power of their old enemies, whether they
were apostates or of the world;" and the Prophet also told the brethren
to record it, that when it came to pass, they need not say they had
forgotten the saying. (_Historical Record_, page 542.)
Five years after this prediction was uttered the Saints had been driven
from Nauvoo; the noble band of Pioneers had, under the guidance of
Jehovah, been led to these valleys in 1847, about three years after the
prediction was made; and in 1849 (five years after) the bulk of the
exiles from Nauvoo had gathered here, thirteen hundred miles from their
Illinois persecutors.