Home missionaries were also called, to strengthen the Saints as attested to by a conference involving both of the wards. The conference was held in Peterson and presided over by Bishop William Cluff. At the conference, which was convened on 13 November 1875, the following brethren were called to labor as home missionaries in Morgan County: from Mountain Green, John Robinson; from Enterprise, Joseph L Card; from Peterson, Lars Anderson and F. G. Nielsen; from Morgan City, Charles Turner and John Wells; from Porterville, Alma Porter; and from Milton, Jens Hansen.32 Another important visitor to the Valley in March 1870 was Joseph F. Smith, a member of the Quorum of Twelve. After visiting with the Saints at Croydon, Elder Smith traveled down the canyon by sleigh because of the deep snow. He stated, "We had one breakdown (running against a stump) and two upsets in the snow, on the way down, occasioning many sallies of good humor and considerable mirth." Arriving an hour late for their appointment at Morgan, they found Bishop Willard G. Smith speaking to a large congregation. He was followed by Elder Joseph F. Smith, who bore "an earnest and fervent testimony of the wisdom and power of God manifested in the deliverance of the Saints from bondage and oppression."33 On 15 November 1874 a conference convened in Morgan City for the Saints of Morgan County and the Saints who lived in the northern half of Summit County. Bishop William Cluff presided. The conference lasted two days with two meetings being held each day. Reports on the various branches were given by the elders presiding over them. This included such information as donations toward the building of the Salt Lake Temple and the spiritual condition of each branch. Home missionaries were called and assigned, and Bishop Cluff encouraged the young men to devote agood deal of their time to "intellectual pursuits, instead of so much dancing."34 Under the direction of Presiding Bishop William Cluff and Bishops Charles Peterson and Willard G. Smith, the Saints in Morgan received priesthood direction and counsel until the organization of the stake in 1877. Endnotes 1. Andrew Jensari, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, (Salt LakeCity: Western Epics, 1971),3:269. 2. HuldaCordeliaThurston Smith, "Sketch of the Life of Thomas Jefferson Thurston," July 1921, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, pp. 14-15. 3. Ibid, p. 15. 4. Jesse Carter Little served as second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric of the Church from 1856 to 1874. Littleton was named after him. 5. Smith. "Sketch of Thomas Jefferson Thurston," p. 19. 6. AndrewJenson, comp., Milton Ward History, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 7. See Mountains Conquered for more information on these settlements and the pioneers who settled them. 8. The FineArtsStudy Group, comp., Mountains Conquered(Motgm: Morgan County News, 1959), p. 80. 9. Andrew Jenson, comp., Peterson Ward History, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City. 12