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Show Page 229 for he had just suffered a sweating train trip through the isthmus . Almost nihilistic in his frustration, Brigham saw no reason why the contemptible U.S. government should not one day annex Central America just to harass the Saints: "If (you) were to sell me all the land for nothing, I would not go there. It sounds unhealthy," he said, and turned the discussion back to the propriety of burning Great Salt Lake 42 City. And so Orson waited in Fillmore for the issue of the crisis. His words of confidence were borne out, for the federal commisioners entered Salt Lake peacefully in June, the troops were quartered forty miles away from the city, and the new governor turned out to be an affable gentleman of mature judgment. The torches were put out. Tensions continued, naturally, and Orson tried to unruffle the people with the observation that it was necessary "for the iniquitous to be in our 43 midst" for the Saints to be purified, although he himself wore weapons 44 when escorting Brigham Young to sittings of the federal court. Orson 45 clearly hoped to be able to rest awhile, and took simple delight in his families and in the everyday tasks assigned to him. He preached in the old tabernacle almost every week, drawing most of his texts from Daniel and Isaiah, those apocalyptic prophets he preferred above others. With all the interest in agriculture and manufacturing, he admonished the people not to neglect "the interests of our future state" and to devote an appropriate 46 amount of time to study. Orson invariably appealed to the reasonable side of his hearers, often serving to dispel prejudice in visitors to the Mormon capital. One morning he preached for two hours, drawing solely on Bible texts - "...many transient persons were present, and were heard to say that they thought less of the Bible than ever, but that they were the 47 most sensible discourses they had ever heard." The most celebrated |