[William Clayton Writings] The philosophical roots for the organization of the Council of Fifty reached back many years, and were directly related to the millennial expectations of the church. The immediate impetus, however, came from two letters signed by Lyman Wight and four other brethern who were working in the church's lumber camps in Black River Falls, Wisconsin Territory. These were read at a special meeting of the Twelve, Bishop George Miller, and the Nauvoo Temple Committee on the evening of 10 March 1844. The letters proposed a grandiose plan for Mormon colonization in the Southwest, and led to an important discussion where, according to Clayton, ``many great and glorious ideas were advanced.''
[Source: Fillerup, Robert C., compiler; William Clayton Nauvoo Diaries and Personal Writings, A chronological compilation of the personal writings of William Clayton while he was a resident of Nauvoo, Illinois. http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/clayton-diaries]
The letters and meeting concerning the letters are included in HC 6:255-261.
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