Exploring Why the Mormons Settled in Salt Lake City

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Exploring Why the Mormons Settled in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is located in the west of North America. It was a

desolate wilderness, dry, and a place where many people assumed was

uninhabitable. So why did the Mormons ‘relocate’ to such an

unattractive and diverse place?

Brigham Young, in 1845 organised the mass movement of 15000 men, women

and children travelling on a journey of over 2250km from the USA to

Salt Lake City. But why do this?

Both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young believed that it was God’s will to

send the Mormons west, and because other Mormons believed that Young

was inspired by God they felt that they should fulfil God’s will.

Another reason why the Mormons emigrated west was to escape religious

persecution from other white Americans. Polygamy in America was seen

widely to be wrong in the eyes of most people. The Mormons practiced

this freely within their own homes, this angered a large proportion of

America, and as a result it wasn’t uncommon for Mormons homes to be

attacked and set on fire on a regular basis.

Furthermore, it was Young’s dream to establish ‘the holy city’

otherwise known as Zion. Which he also believed was God’s will. He

hoped that Mormons could eventually become self-sufficient, and live

in peace within Zion.

Finally, it was the Mormons’ intention to live independently of

Central America, and to establish their own state (now known as Utah).

By doing this it would allow them to create their own laws, and

practice what they believed in peace and harmony.

In my opinion the main reason for the Mormon’s migration was to escape

religious persecution from the rest of America, as they were unable to

lead normal lives in Central America.

What was the non-Mormons attitude towards Polygamy?

Polygamy (in a large proportion of American’s opinions) was seen to be

wrong in the eyes of God. This was because the bible says that a man

should only have one wife, so the attitude of most Americans was

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