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First and Last Time:

The Crossing of the Colorado River

In June 1846, when President Brigham Young called for men to join the Mormon Battalion, two brothers volunteered—Noah and John Brimhall. However, when the examinations were made, John was accepted into service and Noah was turned away because of fever and illness—likely it was malaria.

As his brother John marched away, Noah took up a different service for the Mormon Battalion. I quote Noah’s own account:

“I stayed with the Church in Council Bluffs and assisted to build houses for the 300 helpless women and children who were left exposed to the elements without shelter on the plains, their husbands and fathers in the army. With the help of the sisters and about five men and boys, it took us about two months or more to finish the job of building houses, but the Lord took care of His Saints, and they were all sheltered from the storms and cold for winter.”

And one more thing of note, when twenty-year-old Noah performed this remarkable service, he was not yet a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized about a year later in 1847.

Many years later, a call was extended to lead a group of Saints to Arizona and establish a colony. Noah was evidently called to lead the group of five families on this 700-mile journey.

In October 1877, they set out from Oxford, Idaho. The following is taken from the account of Lottie Brimhall, Noah’s daughter:

“The company toiled patiently…over hills, through deep gullies, over boulders, through tall slapping brush, and over miles of desert and cactus beds. The winter overtook us and for days we traveled through snow.”

They finally reached the Colorado River at Lee’s Ferry where they found the river flowing with ice. They could not cross. A man named Johnson, who was in charge of the ferry, told the emigrants they would need to stay there a week for the river to clear. Lottie said:

“A week of camping in the snow for ourselves or our stock was too long. The men talked it over and told Mr. Johnson that they would pray for the ice to thicken so that they could cross in the morning and be on their way. ‘The big Colorado doesn’t freeze over and has never been crossed that way,’ insisted Mr. Johnson.”

That night Noah and the members of his company prayed in faith that the Lord would open the way for them to fulfill the call they had been given. The next morning at first light, the men went to the river and discovered that indeed, it had frozen over. “The Lord is on our side; we shall cross over safely,” shouted Noah Brimhall.

They unloaded the wagons, cut timber and made sleds. Before the sun rose they were sledding their belongings across the river. It took more doing, but they finally managed to get all their animals across the river as well. Lottie said:

“Next, the white hooded wagons moved slowly across the ice. One by one, they landed safely. The last team had just stepped onto the firm ground when a breaking sound was heard and the hind wheels of the wagon went down, but the faithful team pulled it ashore. The pioneers went on their way, singing praises to the Lord, who had truly been with them.”

Faith is the moving cause of all action. It is not a feeling. It is a decision. As children of God and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, faith means turning to them for help when we are faced with obstacles and challenges we cannot overcome.

And by the way, Noah’s daughter, Lottie concluded: