May 6, 1847 – along the Platte River on the Oregon Trail:

29-year-old Erastus Snow was given the responsibility to watch over the cattle belonging to the Mormon Vanguard Company as they journeyed west. The reason why – they were in buffalo country, and if those valuable cattle were not carefully guarded, they would wander into the immense herds of the Buffalo making it very difficult to retrieve them. Young Snow though neglected his duty, and some of the cattle did indeed wander off, compelling men of the camp to ride hard to get them back, including the commander-in-chief.

The next day in front of the entire company, the commander scolded Erastus. Now, it began as a slight reproof for neglect of duty, but when Snow stood up to the leader and attempted to excuse himself, the reproof became a scathing rebuke. One eye-witness recorded it this way:

“Brother Erastus Snow received a severe reprimand…for not attending to his duty when it was his turn to drive the cows, and for trying to excuse himself.” [The Commander] “told him he was a lazy man and had neglected his duty and called on the people for a vote whether Snow was to blame to which they said he was.” [He was] then told to “hold his tongue, say no more about it, and tend to his business.”

Wow! It’s one thing to be rebuked, but to be chastised publicly, even when we deserve it, ah, that’s another matter entirely. How would you react? It’s interesting how this young pioneer reacted. His own diary records that day as follows:

“In attempting to exonerate myself from blame, I drew from him a severer chastisement; it is the first I have had since I have been in this Church, which is nearly 15 years, and I hope it may last me 15 years to come.”

Well, it appears that it did last. Erastus Snow accepted that correction, and became one of the great pioneers and colonizers of the West. As a matter of fact, it was he and Orson Pratt who were the first two Latter-day Saints to enter the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

And by the way, the man who so soundly rebuked him that day on the trail was President Brigham Young. And I found this most interesting: Less than two years later, President Brigham Young himself would ordain Erastus Snow an Apostle, and set him apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.