A Brief History
On June 9, 1856, 500 Mormons left Iowa and headed for Salt Lake City, Utah. So eager to leave the religious persecution behind them, they started their trek on foot pulling 2 wheeled handcarts!
Digging Deeper
If you are familiar with the stories of Mormons walking to Utah and pulling handcarts, you might not know that only about 10 percent of the Latter Day Saints (what Mormons actually are called, or LDS) that traveled to Utah before 1868 made the trip on foot with handcarts. The other 90 percent had horse, mule, or oxen drawn wagons.
Although some people today have referred to the LDS as a cult, they have 15 million members and 85,000 missionaries world wide, enough members to be a religious force although not one of the biggest. Especially in the United States, and extra especially in Utah, the LDS has an influence greater than their numbers would indicate.
The Mormons, founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 (the story of the founding is parodied by the South Park cartoon on Comedy Central in an unflattering way), were persecuted pretty much everywhere they tried to settle, and Smith was killed by a mob in Illinois in 1844. A few years before that, Smith related to associates that God had told him to institute polygamy into the LDS. Starting with Joseph Smith, the leader (called President) of the LDS gets orders or revelations directly from Jesus Christ, and this belief continues to the present president.
Joseph Smith, no stranger to controversy as someone convicted of fraud back in New York, weathered a storm of scandal in Ohio in 1838 over financial irregularities. This scandal cost the membership many defectors at that time.
The Mormon settlers in Utah were not about to be slaughtered (the governor of Missouri had ordered they all be killed or driven out of Missouri) and a war raged in 1857-1858 between the LDS members and other settlers. The US Army had to be dispatched to end the violence. Brigham Young, who had taken over when Joseph Smith died, died himself in 1877, and the US Supreme Court ruled against the LDS on “plural marriage” (polygamy). Government persecution included seizing church assets and un-incorporating the church. The pressure on the LDS was great, and the president of the church declared an end to polygamy in 1890. The so called Mormons or LDS that practice polygamy today are not part of the official LDS church and are considered by the church as being excommunicated.
If you do not know any Mormons personally, here are a few that you are likely to “know” as famous people that happen to be Mormon: Mitt Romney (former Governor of Massachusetts and presidential candidate), Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader, Senator from Nevada), John Huntsman, Jr. (former Governor of Utah, Ambassador to China, and presidential candidate), Steve Young (football star), The Osmonds (Donny and Marie and the gang, singers and entertainers), Jon Heder, Aaron Eckhart and Katherine Heigl (actors), Ken Jennings (superstar of television game show, Jeopardy), and Stephanie Meyers (author of the Twilight vampire stories). Of course, many more politicians, actors, business people, and other celebrities are in the LDS, too many to list.
As far as theology, you can read The Book of Mormon (LDS holy book) or perhaps a future article here.
Question for students (and subscribers): Did you already know any of the above facts? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Lopez, Robert, Trey Parker, et al. The Book of Mormon: The Testament of a Broadway Musical. Newmarket Press, 2012.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2013.
