The Mormons Come West

1
The Mormons Come West

• Why did they go west?

2
Where did they go?

• They followed what is today known as the Mormon
  Trail
• The trail passes through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming
  and Utah
• The trail later extended to California

3
Where did they come from?

• Many Mormons actually started in New York
• They moved to Ohio and Missouri
• Because of persecution, they went to Illinois and
  built the city of Nauvoo on the Mississippi River

4
Why leave Nauvoo then?

• Nauvoo was a great city
• The Mormons worked together to build
  homes,businesses, and a temple
• Many people didnt like the Mormons success and
  were afraid
• They persecuted the Mormons
• They killed the Mormon leader, Joseph Smith and
  his brother Hyrum Smith in June of 1844
• The Mormons were forced to leave their homes again

5
What did they do then?

• Brigham Young and other leaders decided to go
  west
• They felt that the Rocky Mountains might provide
  a safe place
• They gathered all the provisions they could and
  began leaving Nauvoo in 1846
• They only got to around Council Bluffs, Iowa
  before they stopped for the winter
• They named their camp Winter Quarters

6
Hardships

• There was a hard winter
• Many people died
• Also, 500 men said good bye to their families and
  were enlisted to fight in the War with Mexico
• This group became known as the Mormon Battalion

7
Moving out again

• In the Spring of 1847, Brigham Young and a group
  of mostly men left Winter Quarters heading west
• After a long journey, they arrived in the valley
  of the Great Salt Lake
• Brigham Young said, This is the right place.

8
Summary

• Mormons were pushed from place to place by
  persecution
• They went through many hardships
• They found a sanctuary in Utah where no one would
  bother them
• They felt they were doing the right thing