His experiences over the next six months were described in nine letters written to the Oregonian. By turns humorous, sympathetic, bitter, ironic, and stinging, Goodell's letters opened a new window on a theocracy that saw itself destined to sweep the world. The letters reflect the militancy of the Latter-day Saint millennialist movement, especially toward the encroaching American republic. The time period covered is when the region underwent its transition from the State of Deseret—the independent nation-state created by Brigham Young in 1849—to a new territory of the United States with the unwanted name of Utah.

Also by David L. Bigler: The Gold Discovery Journal of Azariah Smith, Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896, and Army of Israel: Mormon Battalion Narratives.