Mormon Colonization of Utah

In 1830, Joseph Smith organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church) in Fayette, New York. Seventeen years later, the first Mormons entered present-day Salt Lake City, Utah, beginning what was one of the largest organized colonizing efforts in Western American history. Mormons believed that by establishing themselves in a new home away from other Anglo Americans, they could escape future conflicts with non-Mormon neighbors. The Mormon colonization effort consisted of several phases as the ever-increasing number of Mormons was able to better support more and more settlements. The different phases were mainly defined by outside events, including the Utah War in 1857, the coming of the railroad in 1869, and the death of Brigham Young in 1877. Although these events shaped the phases, there were also long-term influences that formed and directed the effort and length of colonization in Utah. These influences included the environment, non-Mormon settlers, Native American relations, economic strengths and weaknesses, the origins of the settlers, polygamy, and, of course, ecclesiastical dynamics. In short, although the Mormon colonization of Utah began as an escape from persecution, it was influenced by a variety of factors that resulted in hundreds of settlements throughout the West.

Soon after its establishment, the Mormon Church sought a place to gather, but as a result, their non-Mormon neighbors, who felt alarmed at the close-knit Mormon community, with its political and economic influence, often persecuted the Mormons as a whole. In 1844, after the church center had moved from New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois, the persecution reached its climax: Joseph Smith and his brother lay dead, shot by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. The Mormons, in the nearby city of Nauvoo (at that time the LDS center), were in shock. However, to escape further persecution, in 1847 Brigham Young, felt by most to be the successor of Joseph Smith, led a Biblical-style exodus across the Great Plains in search of a new haven away from the “gentile” population of America.

From 1847 to 1869, thousands of Mormons from several parts of the world crossed the plains to Utah in covered wagons, handcarts, or on their own power. Even after the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, the Mormon leaders continued to encourage the Mormon people to come to Utah, finally stopping in the 1890s when the need to gather was no longer stressed. However, before the 1890s, and especially [Page 468]before 1869, those who immigrated across the plains were prepared to colonize. As they reached Utah, Brigham Young set out an aggressive program of scattering the Mormons as far as he could so they would quickly take root in their “State of Deseret.”

The first Mormon colonization phase is considered to be between 1847 and 1857 and is characterized by a myriad of activities, including exploration, settlements reaching toward the Pacific Ocean, territorial government beginnings, and increased missionary and immigration activities. As the Mormons entered the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young knew that the best resources for expanding the Mormon influence were more Mormons. Therefore, the missionary effort, especially in the rich convert-producing countries of England and Scandinavia, was stepped up, and a systematic method of bringing the members to Utah, called the Perpetual Immigration Fund, began. As more and more members came from Europe, Young felt that a Pacific route to Utah, by way of California, was a needed solution. Thus Young set up a settlement in San Bernardino, California, for the purpose of outfitting Mormons headed to Salt Lake City. As a result, settlements were scattered from Salt Lake City southwest to San Bernardino, and by 1855, twenty significant communities were established between Salt Lake City and Cedar City, Utah.

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