Utah Centennial County History Series - Morgan County 1999

S i n c e their arrival in 1847, health care had been a major concern for early Utah settlers. Medical science was in its infancy. A common practice in the world of medicine was to bleed a person to rid him of impure blood believed to cause disease; however, this treatment was often much worse for the patient than the illness, and the practice wasn't commonly used by the Utah pioneers.

In 1849 Mormon doctors formed a Council of Health to promote botanic medicine, and the region was searched for native medical plants. In the early years of Morgan's settlement, home remedies made up the major medical practices of the day. Brigham Young advised LDS members to "know their own systems, understand the diseases of their country, understand medicine and [he continued] they ought to treat themselves and their neighbors in that way. . .'"

He also counseled members, "when your children are sick, instead of calling for a doctor, you should administer to them by laying on of hands and anointing with oil, and give them mild food, and herbs and medicines that you ~nderstand."~ For the early pioneers who had faced many hardships crossing