The Mormon Beginnings

Nauvoo, Illinois After they left Missouri, the Mormons were looking for a new place to settle Many got sick and died of malaria from swamp mosquitoes They called their new settlement Nauvoo It was located on the Mississippi River Missionaries kept bringing new converts to Nauvoo The city at one time was the largest city in Illinois For many years the Mormons lived in Nauvoo in peace

Trouble in Nauvoo Many of their neighbors began to grow uncomfortable with the Mormons Some people from within the church began to disagree with Joseph Smith and left the church Some of the men started a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor They printed stories saying that Smith would force young girls into polygamous marriages Smith accused the paper of libel, or the malicious reporting of untruths to cause damage to a person or groups A group of Mormons asked Smith for something to be done about the newspaper That night, the press was destroyed and thrown in the streets and all the papers in the building were burned

Trouble in Nauvoo cont. Nearby towns heard of the incident and accused the Mormons of going against America’s freedom of the press Angry mobs started to threaten the town of Nauvoo They would burn homes and haystacks Cause other violence to the Mormons Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested for treason and sent to a jail in the town of Carthage The Governor Ford promised protection for the Smiths Other church leaders, John Taylor and Dr. Willard Richards stayed in the jail with the Smiths An angry mob stormed the jail and killed Joseph and Hyrum Smith The Mormons were devastated and considered the Smiths martyrs, someone unjustly killed for their beliefs

Exodus from Illinois Under new leadership, Brigham Young, the Mormons decided they needed to leave their homes They decided on somewhere in the West It was outside of the United States They studied maps and reports by Fremont and Hastings They learned how to survive in the Great Basin with irrigation The 15,000 Mormons decided they needed to leave as soon as possible They left in the middle of the winter The traveled across the frozen Mississippi River with their carts and animals Joseph Smiths family stayed in Nauvoo

Brigham Young Brigham Young was selected as the new LDS leader Young grew up poor and uneducated He quickly rose through the ranks of the church leaders Young was the one who led the Mormons to the Great Basin Many historians consider him the single most important person in the colonization of the west

Moving West Young led the Mormons to the Missouri River in Nebraska There they established a little settlement to give the Mormons some rest on their journey They named this place Winter Quarters Many suffered from disease while at Winter Quarters Sam Brannon goes by sea Mormons who had stayed in the East wanted to gather with the others in the West Many of them took ship led by Sam Brannon The ship left New York City, stopped off in the Hawaiian Islands, and finally made it to what is now San Francisco Some in this group stayed in California and started a Mormon Settlement

The Mormon Battalion In 1846, the US declared war on Mexico The US Army asked the Mormons if they provide some soldiers The Mormons saw this as an opportunity to gain some money that will help them on their journey west They never fought in any battles, because the war ended before they reached Mexico They were still assigned to protect California Some stayed with Same Brannon, some joined the gold rush, many returned back to Utah with the other Mormons