nauvoo , wednesday , january 22 brigham young met with the high council and read a letter he had received this day from bishop george miller : congressman william p. richards macomb , mcdonough county , illinois dear bishop miller : i have petitioned congress for a grant of land twenty-four miles square in the pineries of wisconsin or other uninhabited portions of public domain , to be set apart as a reserve for the latter-day saints , granting you power to make your own local arrangements , and enact laws not repugnant to the constitution of the united states .