Canute Peterson led a group of men to Utah Valley to find a place to settle in 1850. They ended up finding a suitable place on the northern end of Utah Lake at Sulphur Spring. During the early spring of 1851, most of the settlers at Sulphur Spring and surrounding areas moved their homes to Dry Creek (near the present-day rodeo grounds.) In March 1851, Canute brought his wife Sarah and their baby boy to live in the Dry Creek settlement.

They were eager to make a new start in their new home. They built a log house and their new land for farming. Canute and Sarah enjoyed their new life. Their second year’s crops were growing, and Sarah was expecting another child. This all changed in August 1852 when Canute was called on a mission to Norway. Canute knew this would be difficult for Sarah but they both had faith that the Lord would take care of them during his absence, so he left for his mission on 12 September 1852.

Life was not easy for Sarah while her husband was gone, she delivered a baby girl in January 1853, and her friends and neighbors helped her as much as they could. That year tensions between the settlers in Utah and Native Americans began to escalate requiring the settlers to “fort up.” The citizens of Lehi moved their homes end to end forming a hollow square. Though the fort looked formidable, it was not very practical for defensive purposes so the next year, (1854) a larger fort wall made of mud was started.

That same year another enemy fell upon Sarah and the other citizens. In August 1854 a plague of grasshoppers swarmed into the community. Thankfully, most of the harvest was complete by then so the damage was minimal. Unfortunately, that was just a precursor of the devastation that was coming. The harvest had been good the past few years, so the people planted for the next year on a more extensive scale than ever.  

Sarah had no one to help her that year so had a late start and attempted to plant her crop herself. The only tool that was available to her was a hoe, so she set to work planting an acre of wheat. Unsure of what she was doing, she covered the kernels deeply with soil. This mistake turned out to be a blessing for her. When spring came, the fields around Lehi were covered in green growth and the farmers were anticipating a bountiful harvest. Sarah’s field was still barren.

When the weather warmed up tragedy struck when swarms of grasshoppers descended on the fields devouring every growing plant in their path. The farmers did everything they could to stop them, but it was useless. By the time the grasshoppers moved on in June, there was nothing left but a desolate wasteland. 

In desperation, the farmers planted their devastated fields in corn and potatoes to hopefully have something to eat through the winter. It was then when Sarah’s wheat began to show itself above the ground. It wasn’t ready to harvest until well into October. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and the snow and frost waited until their crops matured. Sarah’s efforts rewarded her with 60 bushels of wheat, along with 60 bushels of corn and some potatoes. With it she took care of five orphans and was able to give aid to several neighbors throughout the winter.

When Canute returned in 1856, Sarah related the story of the “Salvation Wheat” and presented him with some of the wheat in a jar. Canute was called to serve as bishop of Ephraim in 1869 and lived there the rest of his life. He kept the jar of wheat throughout his life as a reminder of the goodness of God and spoke of it often. Per his request, the jar of wheat was buried with him.