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Show 134 the church historian, "to a man who had a family of fifty blind persons to lead over rough bad roads, bridged along and planks out of the bridges, and had to cross on the string pieces. He exclaimed, '0 how thankful I would be if the people could all see better than I. • "^5 Brigham Young was walking a tight rope and he knew it. The clerk of the American Fork ward recorded additional remarks of the prophet. In one interesting comment on blood atonement, Young displayed his supreme contempt for the army that threatened him. The clerk wrote: "Pres. Br. Young said it was not his wish to shed the blood of our enemies, but that they might stay one another & go to hell together, for if we shed their Blood that would atone for their sins. Heber C. Kimball also spoke to the people. His thoughts were of "cutting the Gentile thread," apparently still believing the conflict was. about to liberate the kingdom.^7 Young deposited his family in Provo on the 2nd and headed back to Salt Lake to direct the mobilization and prepare for the church's annual general conference on April 6. On Sunday the 4th, Brigham Young admitted to his followers that perhaps the promised hour of deliverance was not as near as had been thought. He "alluded to the ancient prophets being mistaken about the second advent of the Messiah, and to the possibility of this people being mistaken also."^ Clearly, the prophet's confidence was fading. The boldness of his early "war sermons" was nowhere to be found. Tuesday, the day of general conference, found the Tabernacle only partially full, as hundreds of families had now evacuated the city. Wilford Woodruff wrote under that date that "the rodes are lined with men women and children and waggons all moving south." Conference speeches dealt largely with the necessity of moving south and advice on how this was to be done. The people of Great Salt Lake, Davis, and Tooele Counties were to move into Utah County. The people of Ogden were to move into Salt lake, and the |