Leaders of the Exodus
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards, who were acting as a presidency over the affairs of the Church in the United States, directed the exodus from Nauvoo. They were not yet the Church’s First Presidency. It was not until after the 1847 trek that they were sustained by the Church membership as the First Presidency of the Church.
Brigham
Young
Brigham Young used this trunk during the vanguard trek of 1847. 
Brigham Young was Joseph Smith’s successor. Along with Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, he led the Saints to the Rocky Mountains and founded Salt Lake City, Utah.
Heber C. Kimball
The first group of Saints to leave Nauvoo with the Church leaders, known as the Camp of Israel, was the decision-making group for the entire exodus.
Heber C. Kimball
Willard Richards
Willard Richards was a missionary in England, secretary to Joseph Smith, Apostle, Church Historian, and later a counselor to Brigham Young.
Willard Richards
The Evacuation of Nauvoo
In early February 1846, the first members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints crossed the Mississippi River and began their journey west. They were forced to start several months earlier than planned due to threats of harassment and interference.
Town Plat of Nauvoo, Illinois Over the next eight months, between 12 and 15 thousand Latter-day Saints left Nauvoo and its surrounding settlements.
“Crossing the Mississippi on the Ice,” by C. C. A. Christensen
This Nauvoo Temple plate was created in 1846 to commemorate the temple that the Saints had worked so hard to build and that they had been forced to abandon. 
A young English girl, Ann Eckford, created this cross-stitch sampler of the Nauvoo Temple, using the Twigg plate as a pattern for her design. 
Just two years after its dedication, the Nauvoo Temple was gutted by arson fire. In 1850, a tornado leveled some of the walls, leaving the remaining walls so weakened that they had to be razed.
Many of the Saints shared their musical talents to inspire and uplift their fellow pioneers. While on the trail, William Clayton penned “Come, Come, Ye Saints.” 
“Come, Come, Ye Saints” and “Hail to the 12 and Pioneers” 
George Wardle’s Cello and Bow
Drawings on the inside cover of Heber C. Kimball’s diary depict pioneer travels to Mt. Pisgah, Iowa. They were drawn by Kimball’s adopted son Peter O. Hansen. The Saints established two way stations, Garden Grove and Mount Pisgah, midway across Iowa. These temporary settlements provided a place to rest and renew provisions. In Nauvoo, the Saints had pledged that none who wanted to come would be left behind because of need. The creation of these way stations fulfilled that promise.
The formation of the Mormon Battalion secured much-needed financial support for the Saints.
“Mormon Battalion Ball,” by C. C. A. Christensen 
Daniel C. Davis’s Bullet Pouch 
Levi W. Hancock’s Journal, 1846–47
Months of arduous travel and the harsh living conditions of the frontier took their toll. Illness ravaged the camps and many, especially children, died—a story memorialized in this sculpture by Avard Tennyson Fairbanks. 
The tight organization of the wagon trains and the obedience and cooperation of the emigrants created small communities on the move. 
Replica of Orson Pratt’s Odometer
The very week of the departure of the vanguard company, Orson Pratt had regretfully observed that the Saints lacked high-quality scientific tools to measure, plot, and record their pioneering trek. John Taylor had already resolved that dilemma by purchasing state-of-the-art astronomical and surveying equipment in England. April 13, 1847
“Elder John Taylor . . . arrived in the city . . . on his return from England. . . . He brought the following instruments for our use on this pioneer journey: two [sextants], two barometers, two artificial horizons, one circle of reflection, one telescope . . . all of which were exhibited to us in the evening and boxed up so that we could take them along.”
—Wilford Woodruff
Cistern Barometer 
Circle Protractor 
Astronomical Telescope Using the equipment John Taylor brought from England, Orson Pratt contributed his skills to the first pioneer trek west as a scout, natural scientist, and surveyor.
James Craig, company bugler, sounded this bugle to direct the movements of the vanguard company. 
Thomas Bullock, a native of England and a former clerk to Joseph Smith, was appointed clerk of the vanguard company and kept a detailed diary of the journey. 
Pioneer Company Journal
April 17, 1847
“Orders from Gen. Young was for the whole regiment to journey in a copacked body as we were in an Indian country for every man to carry his gun loaded . . . And for every man to walk beside his wagon and not leave it except he is sent away.”
—Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff’s Pepperbox Pistol
Luke Johnson's Knife 
Luke Johnson April 20, 1847
“After Brother Luke Johnson had got through distributing fish, I went and asked him to draw my tooth. He willingly agreed and getting his instruments, I sat down in a chair, he lanced the gum, then took his nippers and jerked it out. The whole operation did not take more than one minute.” —William Clayton
The vanguard trek used this 1845 map of the American West by Captain John C. Frémont to plot their route. 
Appleton M. Harmon’s journal showing sketches and descriptions of Chimney Rock and Scott’s Bluff, two important landmarks.
July 8, 1847
“As soon as I got my breakfast I rigged up my trout rod that I had brought with me from Liverpool, fixed by reel, line, and artificial fly, and went to one of the brooks close by camp to try my luck catching trout.”
—Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff’s Fly-Fishing Rod
Arrival in Zion
July 23, 1847
“I ascended and crossed over the Big Mountain . . . so that I could have a view of a portion of Salt Lake Valley. The Spirit of Light rested upon me and hovered over the valley, and I felt that there the Saints would find protection and safety.”
—Brigham Young
