The Mormons had just arrived in Utah after their 1,300-mile exodus across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains. Food was scarce, the climate shocking in its extremes, and local Indian bands uneasy. Despite the challenges, Brigham Young and his counselors in the First Presidency sent church members out to establish footholds throughout the Great Basin. But the church leaders felt they had a commission to do more than simply establish Zion in the wilderness; they had to invite the nations to come up to "the mountain of the Lord's house." In these critical early years, when survival in Utah was precarious, missionaries were sent to every inhabited continent.The 14 general epistles, sent out from the First Presidency from 1849 to 1856, provide invaluable perspectives on the events of Mormon history as they unfolded during this complex transitional time. Woven into each epistle are missionary calls and reports from the field, giving the Mormons a glimpse of the wider world far beyond their isolated home. At times, the epistles are a surprising mixture of soaring doctrinal expositions and mundane lists of items needed in Salt Lake City, such as shoe leather and nails.Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel collects the 14 general epistles, with introductions that provide historical, religious, and environmental contexts for the letters, including how they fit into the Christian epistolary tradition by which they were inspired.

List of IllustrationsForeword by Peter CrawleyEditors' Preface"Settling the Valley, Proclaiming the Gospel: Major Themes of the First Presidency's General Epistles, 1849-1856" by Nathan N. Waite and Reid L. Neilson"To the Saints Scattered Throughout the Earth: The Tradition of Mormon Apostolic Epistles" by Reid L. Neilson and Nathan N. WaiteGeneral Epistles of the First Presidency1. First General Epistle, April 18492. Second General Epistle, October 18493. Third General Epistle, April 18504. Fourth General Epistle, September 18505. Fifth General Epistle and Addenda, April 18516. Sixth General Epistle, September 18517. Seventh General Epistle, April 18528. Eighth General Epistle, October 18529. Ninth General Epistle, April 185310. Tenth General Epistle, October 185311. Eleventh General Epistle, April 185412. Twelfth General Epistle, April 185513. Thirteenth General Epistle, October 185514. Fourteenth General Epistle, December 1856Appendixes1. General Epistle of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, December 18472. Biographical Register3. Geographical RegisterBibliographyIndex