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111-626: Theatre was a popular affair among the Mormon Pioneers and plans for a grand theatre were made in the years following their immigration to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. With regard to the planning of the Salt Lake Theatre, Church leader Brigham Young was enthusiastic about the project and styled himself as "designer and general dictator of the whole affair" but in fact the exterior was designed by William H. Folsom , who became architect of

222-796: A Jesuit missionary familiar with the Great Basin. The wary Young insisted the Mormons should settle in a location no other colonizers wanted, and felt the Salt Lake Valley met that requirement, but would provide the Saints with many advantages as well. The valley was then under the administration of Mexico , which had banned immigration from the United States with the Law of April 6, 1830 . The Mormon settlers entered Mexico without government authorization, and despite

333-524: A Mr. Allen (possibly the fourth man) were all indicted for the murder of the Smith brothers. Wills, Vorhease, and Gallaher, perhaps conscious that their wounds could prove that they were involved in the mob, fled the county after being indicted and were never brought to trial. Apart from Taylor's report of what he had heard, there is no evidence that Wills, Vorhease, Gallaher, or Allen died from their wounds. Joseph and Hyrum Smith's bodies were returned to Nauvoo

444-651: A body that had led the Latter Day Saint movement since 1832. At the time of Smith's death, he was estranged from Smith due to differences in doctrinal beliefs. Young, president of the Quorum of the Twelve , claimed authority was handed by Smith to the Quorum. Strang claimed that Smith designated him as the successor in a letter that was received a week before his death. Later, others came to believe that Smith's son, Joseph Smith III ,

555-409: A criminal indictment against Smith on the charges of perjury based on the statements of Joseph Jackson and Robert Foster. A second indictment, for “ fornication and adultery ”, was issued based on the statements of William and Wilson Law who swore Smith had been living with Maria Lawrence “in an open state of adultery” since the prior October 12. In 1844, in the city of Nauvoo, Illinois where Smith

666-463: A dead man!” After emptying his pistol towards the attackers, Joseph tried to escape from a second-story window, but was shot several times and fell to the ground, where he was again shot by the mob. Five men were indicted for the killings, but were acquitted at a jury trial. At the time of his death, Smith was also running for president of the United States , making him the first U.S. presidential candidate to be assassinated. Smith’s death marked

777-551: A local militia, were assigned to protect the brothers. Jones, who was present, relayed to Ford several threats against Joseph made by members of the Greys, all of which were dismissed by Ford. On Thursday morning, June 27, church leader Cyrus Wheelock , having obtained a pass from Ford, visited Smith in jail. The day was rainy, and Wheelock used the opportunity to hide a small pepper-box pistol in his bulky overcoat, which had belonged to Taylor. Most visitors were rigidly searched, but

888-420: A long walking stick in order to deflect the guns as they were thrust inside the room, from behind the door. Smith fired Wheelock's pistol. Three of the six barrels misfired, but the other three shots are believed to have wounded three of the attackers. Taylor was shot four or five times and was severely wounded, but survived. It has been popularly believed that his pocket watch stopped one shot. The watch

999-574: A messenger informed the group that the Governor had gone to Nauvoo and "there is nobody in Carthage [that] you can [depend on]". When the group approached the building, jailers became alarmed, but Smith, mistaking the mob for the Nauvoo Legion, told a jailer: "Don't trouble yourself ... they've come to rescue me." Smith did not know that Jonathan Dunham, major general of the Nauvoo Legion, had not dispatched

1110-592: A new settlement that he named Nauvoo . Smith, travelled to Washington, D.C. , to meet with President Martin Van Buren , seeking intervention and compensation for lost property. Van Buren said he could do nothing to help. Smith returned to Illinois and vowed to join the Whig Party . Most of his supporters switched with him to the Whig party, adding political tensions to the social suspicions in which Smith's followers were held by

1221-465: A prayer dedicating the land to the Lord. Ground was broken, irrigation ditches were dug, and the first fields of potatoes and turnips were planted. On July 24, Young first saw the valley from a "sick" wagon driven by his friend, Wilford Woodruff . According to Woodruff, Young expressed his satisfaction in the appearance of the valley and declared "This is the right place, drive on." Today a monument stands in

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1332-511: A principal owner of the ship Brooklyn . On February 4, 1846 (the same day the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo began), the ship Brooklyn cleared New York harbor and began its nearly 6-month voyage to the Pacific coast of the then-Mexican Territory of California . The ship weighed 445 short tons (404 t) and measured 125 ft x 28 ft × 14 ft (8.5 m × 4.3 m) x 4.3 m) and

1443-431: A shout of joy, which almost involuntarily escaped from our lips the moment this grand and lovely scenery was within our view. The two scouts undertook a twelve-mile (19 km) exploratory circuit into the valley before returning to the larger party. The next day, larger segments of the valley were explored, streams and hot springs investigated and the first camp established in the Salt Lake Valley. On July 23, Pratt offered

1554-591: A theocratic community under Smith's leadership, or 'Zion' , first in Kirtland, Ohio and later in Independence, Missouri . In 1833, a mob of settlers attacked a Mormon newspaper's printing office, destroyed the press, and tarred and feathered two Mormon leaders. Mormons were driven from Jackson county . After losing the 1838 Mormon War , Smith was jailed and his followers were forced out of Missouri. After Smith escaped custody , he fled to Illinois, where he founded

1665-542: A turning point for the religion he founded. In 1830, Joseph Smith, aged 24, published the Book of Mormon , which he described as an English translation of ancient golden plates he received from an angel . The same year he organized the Church of Christ, calling it a restoration of the early Christian Church. Members of the church were later called “Latter Day Saints” or “Mormons”. Smith and his followers sought to assemble together in

1776-473: Is carried by the Rocky Mountain wood tick ). Young himself became ill soon after meeting Goodyear. The small sick detachment lagged behind the larger group, and a scouting division was created to move ahead on the designated route. In July 1847, the first company reached the Salt Lake Valley, with scouts Erastus Snow and Orson Pratt entering the valley on July 21. Pratt wrote: ...we could not refrain from

1887-586: Is displayed in the LDS Church History Museum in Salt Lake City , Utah ; the watch was broken and was used to help identify the time of the attack. In 2010, forensic research by J. Lynn Lyon of the University of Utah and Mormon historian Glen M. Leonard suggested that Taylor's watch was not struck by a ball, but rather broke against a window ledge. Columbia University historian Richard Bushman ,

1998-455: The Nauvoo Neighbor printed an extensive list of suggested provisions for each family wagon. The provisions included two to three yoke of oxen, two milk cows, other livestock, arms and ammunition, 15 lb of iron, pulleys and ropes, fishing gear, farming and mechanical equipment, cooking equipment and at least 1000 pounds of flour plus assorted other foodstuffs. Some pioneers overestimated

2109-779: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) . In the 1860s, those who felt that Smith should have been succeeded by Joseph Smith III established the RLDS Church, which later changed its name to the Community of Christ . Modernly, Joseph Smith is known to have married women who were already married as well as girls as young as 14 . Some accounts say Smith may have had sexual relations with one wife, who later in her life stated that he fathered children by one or two of his wives, however DNA evidence does not support this . Some Mormons, especially those belonging to splinter groups such as

2220-416: The Community of Christ continue to deny that Joseph ever practiced polygamy in any sense. However, in 2014, LDS church spokesman Eric Hawkins said "(The church) publicly asserted Joseph Smith's practice of polygamy over a century and a half ago, especially in debate with other faith groups who traced their origin to Joseph Smith and who asserted that he did not practice plural marriage". Mainstream Mormons on

2331-594: The Expositor , the Nauvoo City Council passed an ordinance declaring the newspaper a public nuisance which had been designed to promote violence against Smith and his followers. They reached this decision after some discussion, including citation of William Blackstone ’s legal canon, which defined a libelous press as a public nuisance . According to the Council's minutes, Smith said he “would rather die tomorrow and have

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2442-613: The Latter Day Saint movement , and his brother, Hyrum Smith , were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois , United States, on June 27, 1844, while awaiting trial in the town jail on charges of treason . The Nauvoo Expositor was a newly-established newspaper published by anti-polygamist ex-Mormons who had recently been excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints . The newspaper's first (and only) issue criticized Smith and other church leaders, reporting that Smith

2553-581: The Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah . At the time of the planning of the exodus in 1846, the territory comprising present-day Utah was part of the Republic of Mexico , with which the U.S. soon went to war over a border dispute left unresolved after the annexation of Texas . The Salt Lake Valley became American territory as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , which ended

2664-523: The Mormon Battalion were also important in establishing new communities. On their journey west, the Mormon soldiers had identified dependable rivers and fertile river valleys in Colorado, Arizona and southern California. In addition, as the discharged men traveled to rejoin their families in the Salt Lake Valley, they moved through southern Nevada and southern Utah. Jefferson Hunt , senior Mormon officer of

2775-534: The New York Messenger ), was directed by church elders to charter a ship that would carry its passengers away from the eastern United States to California, which was then part of Mexico. Over the course of two months, Brannan managed to recruit 70 men, 68 women, and 100 children—238 persons total. Brannan negotiated a fare of $ 75 for adults and half-fare for children with the Captain Abel W. Richardson, master and

2886-612: The State of Utah , known as Pioneer Day . Salt Lake City also has the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument , where Young, Eliza R. Snow , and other Mormon pioneers are buried and where a memorial exists dedicated to all who crossed the plains to the Salt Lake Valley. Additionally, the "Pioneer" (characterized as " Pioneer Pete ") is Lehi High School 's mascot. In some places, Mormons hold an event called "Pioneer Trek" for people who are ages fourteen to eighteen. In participating in

2997-488: The far west continued sporadically until the 20th century. Since its founding in 1830, members of the LDS Church frequently had conflicts and difficult relations with non-members, due to both their unorthodox religious beliefs and the conduct of the church leaders and members. These and other reasons caused the body of the church to move from one place to another—to Ohio , Missouri , and then to Illinois , where they built

3108-583: The American stage appeared there including Sarah Bernhardt , Ethel, John, and Lionel Barrymore , P.T. Barnum , Maude Adams , Edwin Booth , "Buffalo Bill" Cody , Al Jolson , and Lillian Russell ." With the rise of the motion picture business after World War I , the theatre's popularity waned and it accumulated substantial debt. Heber J. Grant eventually sold the theatre to Mountain States Telephone and it

3219-638: The Battalion, actively searched for settlement sites, minerals and other resources. His report encouraged 1851 settlement efforts in Iron Country, near present-day Cedar City . These southern explorations eventually led to Mormon settlements in St. George, Utah , Las Vegas and San Bernardino, California , as well as communities in southern Arizona. By 1885, Mormon communities were being established in northern Mexico . The Mormon pioneers are celebrated annually on July 24 in

3330-621: The British mission. John Taylor , Parley P. Pratt and Orson Hyde brought money contributed by the English Saints, a map based on John C. Fremont 's recent western expedition, and instruments for calculating latitude, elevation, temperature and barometric pressure. Chosen members of the vanguard group were gathered together, final supplies were packed, and the group was organized into military companies. The group consisted of 143 men, including three enslaved African-American men, and eight members of

3441-540: The Latter Day Saint movement. Hyrum Smith, the Assistant President of the Church , was intended to succeed Joseph as President of the Church , but because he was killed alongside his brother, the proper succession procedure became unclear. Initially, the primary contenders to succeed Smith were Sidney Rigdon , Brigham Young , and James Strang . Rigdon was the senior surviving member of the First Presidency ,

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3552-573: The Latter-day Saint temple in Nauvoo . According to church belief, God inspired Brigham Young (Joseph Smith's successor as church president ) to call for the Saints (as church members call themselves) to organize and head West, beyond the western frontier of the United States. During the winter of 1846–1847, Latter-day Saint leaders in Winter Quarters and Iowa laid plans for the migration of

3663-510: The Legion to Carthage and stage a jailbreak. Smith and the other prisoners were guarded only by six members of the Carthage Grays, led by Sgt. Frank Worrell. A division of militia began marching away from Carthage, but soon received orders from the Governor to disband. Learning that the Governor had dismissed the troops, a group from Warsaw set out to Carthage to see the Governor. Enroute,

3774-400: The Mormon trek west. Clayton made his notes and measurements available to other emigrants in his The Latter-Day Saints' Emigrants' Guide . Women of the company also performed vital tasks along the way. While much time was spent on traditional activities such as cooking, sewing, and tending children, several women served as scribes and diary keepers. Harriet Page Young, wife of Lorenzo Young,

3885-599: The Pioneer Memorial Theatre at the University of Utah bears some resemblance to the original Salt Lake Theatre building. The Pioneer Memorial Museum building in downtown Salt Lake City is also an outward facsimile of the Salt Lake Theatre. In the 1960s, a musical was written about the Salt Lake Theatre called Papa and the Playhouse , authored by Albert Mitchell and L. Clair Likes. Crawford Gates directed composers such as Ardean Watts and Rowan Taylor in writing

3996-468: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, three women, and two children. The train contained 73 wagons, one cannon, 93 horses, 52 mules, 66 oxen, 19 cows, 17 dogs and some chickens, and carried enough supplies to fully provision the group for one year. Young divided this group into 14 companies, each with a designated captain. Apprehensive of possible danger posed by Native Americans , a militia and night guard

4107-434: The Salt Lake Valley. Several later companies were largely made up of people with fewer resources, who pulled or pushed handcarts (similar to wheelbarrows ) holding all of their provisions and personal belongings. Many of these pioneers walked much of the way as family members rode in the carts. Due to the weather in the American heartland, the best time to travel was April–September. Some companies, however, started late in

4218-499: The Smith brothers were charged with treason against the State of Illinois for declaring martial law in Nauvoo, by a warrant founded upon the oaths of A. O. Norton and Augustine Spencer. At a preliminary hearing that afternoon, the Council members were released on $ 500 bonds , pending later trial. The judge ordered the Smith brothers to be held in jail until they could be tried for treason, which

4329-591: The Smith homestead. In 1928, Frederick M. Smith , president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) and grandson of Joseph Smith, feared that rising water from the Mississippi River would destroy the gravesite. He authorized civil engineer William O. Hands to conduct an excavation to find the Smiths' bodies. Hands conducted extensive digging on the Smith homestead and located

4440-515: The State of Illinois with inciting a riot. Joseph Smith was apprehended, but freed by the Nauvoo municipal court. Smith declared martial law and called out the Nauvoo Legion . After briefly fleeing Illinois, Smith received a personal statement from Governor Ford , who “pledged his faith and the faith of the state (Illinois) to protect him while he underwent a legal and fair trial”, convincing Joseph Smith along with Hyrum to return voluntarily. When

4551-524: The announcement of the United States naval officer, who boarded the Brooklyn as she came to anchor, that the emigrants "were in the United States of America," three hearty cheers were given in reply... Three weeks previous to the arrival of the Saints, the United States flag had been raised and the country taken possession of in the name of the government which the flag represented. This dangerous trek of nearly 24,000 miles (39,000 km) would claim 10 lives of

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4662-430: The attackers died when Smith shot them with his pistol. Most accounts seem to agree that at least three attackers were wounded by Smith's gunfire, but there is no other evidence that any of them died as a result. John Wills was shot in the arm, William Vorhease was shot in the shoulder, and William Gallaher was shot in the face. Others claimed that a fourth, unnamed man was also wounded. Wills, Vorhease, Gallaher, and

4773-416: The author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling , also supports this view. Richards, physically the largest of Smith's party, escaped unscathed; Lyon speculates that after the door opened, Smith was in the line of sight and Richards was not targeted. After using all of the shots in his pistol, Smith made his way towards the window. As he prepared to jump down, Richards reported that he was shot twice in

4884-427: The back and that a third bullet, fired from a musket on the ground outside, hit him in the chest. Taylor and Richards' accounts both report that as Smith fell from the window, he called out, “Oh Lord, my God!” Some have alleged that the context of this statement was an attempt by Smith to use a Masonic distress signal. There are varying accounts of what happened next. Taylor and Richards’ accounts state that Smith

4995-440: The bodies, as well as the remains of Joseph's wife, Emma , who was buried in the same place. The remains—which were badly decomposed —were examined and photographed, and then reinterred close by in Nauvoo. After the killings, there was speculation about who was responsible. Ford denied accusations that he knew about the plot to kill Smith beforehand, but later wrote that it was good for Smith's followers to have been driven out of

5106-424: The brothers arrived at the county seat of Carthage to surrender to authorities, they were charged with treason against Illinois for declaring martial law . The Smith brothers were detained at Carthage Jail awaiting trial when an armed mob of 150–200 men stormed the building, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder. Hyrum was killed almost immediately when he was shot in the face, shouting as he fell, “I am

5217-499: The camp's hunters for being wasteful of flesh ... killing more than was really needed. Camp was awakened by a bugle at 5 a.m. and the company was expected to be prepared for travel by 7 a.m. Each day's travel ended at 8:30 p.m. and the camp was in bed by 9 p.m. The company traveled six days during the week, but generally stayed in camp on Sunday to observe the Sabbath . Some camp members were assigned specific tasks. William Clayton

5328-484: The central gathering point in the Great Basin. The initial company would select and break the primary trail with the expectation that later pioneers would maintain and improve it. It was hoped that the group could, wherever possible, establish fords and ferries and plant crops for later harvest. In late February, plans were made to gather portable boats, maps, scientific instruments, farm implements and seeds. Techniques for irrigating crops were investigated. A new route on

5439-534: The charge of riot. On June 12, Smith was arrested by David Bettinger, constable of Carthage. Bettinger sought to convey Smith to the Hancock County Court that issued the warrant, Smith was freed when the charges were dismissed in Nauvoo municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus . Smith declared martial law on June 18 and called out the Nauvoo Legion , an organized city militia of about 5,000 men, to protect Nauvoo from outside violence. In response to

5550-411: The church, thunder and lightning frightened off the mob. Mob members fled, shouting, “The Mormons are coming,” although there was no such force nearby. After the attack was over, Richards, who was trained as a medical doctor, went back to see if anyone besides himself had survived, and found Taylor lying on the floor. Richards dragged Taylor into the jail cell (they had not been held in the cell, but in

5661-617: The city of Nauvoo. Sidney Rigdon was the First Counselor in the church's First Presidency , and as its spokesman, Rigdon preached several controversial sermons in Missouri, including the Salt Sermon and the July 4th Oration . These speeches have sometimes been seen as contributing to the conflict known as the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. As a result of the conflict, the Mormons were expelled from

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5772-417: The company in which an ancestor traveled across the plains to get to Utah. This covers known and unknown wagon trains from 1847 to 1868. It contains lists of passengers in companies as well as genealogical information about ancestors. It is the most comprehensive list of Mormon immigrants and the wagon trains that brought them to Utah. Death of Joseph Smith Joseph Smith , the founder and leader of

5883-410: The company near Green River, Wyoming . He reported to Young about his group's successful journey and their settlement in what is today San Francisco, California . He urged the vanguard company to continue on to California but was unable to shift the leader's focus away from the Great Basin. Young also met mountain man Jim Bridger on June 28. They discussed possible routes into the Salt Lake Valley, and

5994-598: The constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1849. Along with the Danish translation of the Book of Mormon, this opened the area to great success in attaining converts. At that time the LDS Church was urging new members to gather to Utah, which led these early converts to make emigration plans. Box Elder , Cache , Salt Lake , Utah , and Sevier counties had large numbers of Danes listed in 19th Century Utah census totals but Sanpete County

6105-640: The crisis, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford traveled to Hancock County, and on June 21 he arrived at the county seat in Carthage . On June 22, Ford wrote to Smith and the Nauvoo City Council, proposing a trial by a non-Mormon jury in Carthage and guaranteeing Smith's safety. Smith fled the jurisdiction to avoid arrest, crossing the Mississippi River into the Iowa Territory . On June 23, a posse under Ford's command entered Nauvoo to execute an arrest warrant, but they were unable to locate Smith. After he

6216-415: The deck and even reached the staterooms... Children's voices were crying in the darkness, mother's voices soothing or scolding, men's voices rising above the others, all mingled with the distressing groans and cries of the sick for help, and, above all, the roaring of the wind and howling of the tempest made a scene and feeling indescribable. The passengers of the ship Brooklyn left the United States with

6327-399: The door open to fire into the room, though Smith and the other prisoners pushed back and prevented this. A member of the mob fired a shot through the door. Hyrum was shot in the face, just to the left of his nose, which threw him to the floor. He cried out, “I am a dead man!” and collapsed. He died instantly. Smith, Taylor, and Richards attempted to defend themselves. Taylor and Richards used

6438-493: The feasibility of viable settlements in the mountain valleys of the Great Basin. Bridger was enthusiastic about settlement near Utah Lake, reporting fish, wild fruit, timber and good grazing. He told Young that local Indians raised good crops, including corn and pumpkins, but that there was ever-present danger of frost. The company pushed on through South Pass, rafted across the Green River and arrived at Fort Bridger on July 7. About

6549-502: The first company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, the community of Bountiful was established to the north. In 1848, pioneers moved into lands purchased from trapper Miles Goodyear in present-day Ogden . In 1849, Tooele and Fort Utah (also known as Fort Provo, in modern-day Provo ) were founded. The settlement of Provo was particularly troubling to the Utes, since it was at the heart of their territory. Ute chief Wakara suggested

6660-458: The group met trapper Miles Goodyear , who owned a trading post at the mouth of the Weber River. He was enthusiastic about the agricultural potential of the large Weber Valley. During the trip through the rugged mountains, the vanguard company divided into three sections. After crossing the Green River, several members of the party suffered from "mountain fever" (probably Colorado tick fever , which

6771-449: The guards forgot to check Wheelock's overcoat, and he was able to smuggle the gun to Smith. Smith took Wheelock's gun and gave Fullmer's gun to his brother Hyrum. Before a trial could be held, a mob of about 200 armed men, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder , stormed Carthage Jail in the late afternoon of June 27, 1844. Early on June 27, Smith authored an order to Nauvoo Legion commander Jonathan Dunham instructing him to bring

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6882-462: The guard’s room across the hallway). He dragged Taylor under some of the straw mattress to put pressure on his wounds and slow the bleeding and then went to get help. Both Richards and Taylor survived. Taylor eventually became the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Richards had escaped all harm except for a bullet grazing his ear. Joseph and Hyrum’s younger brother Samuel Harrison Smith had come to visit

6993-704: The hope of finding religious freedom. However, they arrived in Mexican Alta California just weeks after its occupation by the United States Navy at the outset of the Mexican–American War . Despite the tensions that drove them from their homes in the Eastern States, the crew and passengers "felt more cheerful and secure." Mormon historian B. H. Roberts noted in his work A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints : On

7104-468: The journey to the Salt Lake Valley. Several hundred, including Young, returned east to gather and organize the companies scheduled for following years. Demographic estimates place 1,611 pioneers in the valley of the Great Salt Lake during the winter of 1847. The adult labor force, however, was quite small as a high percentage of the group, 53.2 percent were under the age of nineteen. Twenty five percent of

7215-465: The large number of Saints, their equipment, and their livestock. It was here that Young first met Thomas L. Kane , a non-Mormon from Philadelphia with deep personal connections to the administration of U.S. president James K. Polk administration. Kane obtained permission for the Mormons to winter on Indian territory, and the site was originally called Kanesville. Young continued to trust Kane throughout his own lifetime, particularly as an intermediary with

7326-503: The local populace. Despite public denials of polygamy, Joseph Smith had a practice of secretly marrying his female followers. As early as 1838, Smith had faced accusations of polygamy. On April 18, anti-polygamists William Law, Wilson Law, Jane Law, and Robert Foster were excommunicated . On May 10, a prospectus announcing the Expositor was circulated. On May 23, a grand jury from the Hancock County Circuit Court issued

7437-491: The main party at Laramie, Wyoming . The first segment of the journey, from Winter Quarters to Fort Laramie , took six weeks, with the company arriving at the fort on June 1. The company halted for repairs and to reshoe the draft animals. While at Fort Laramie, the vanguard company was joined by members of the Mormon Battalion who had been excused from service due to illness and sent to winter in Pueblo, Colorado . Also traveling in

7548-413: The murders of the Smith brothers. All five defendants were acquitted by a jury, which was composed exclusively of non-Mormon members after the defense counsel convinced the judge to dismiss the initial jury, which did include Mormon members. The defense was led by Orville Hickman Browning , later a United States senator and cabinet member. After the killing of Smith, a succession crisis occurred in

7659-473: The musical scores for the production. 40°46′03″N 111°53′19″W  /  40.76750°N 111.88861°W  / 40.76750; -111.88861 Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints , who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from

7770-617: The nearby Salt Lake Temple soon after completing this project, and the interior by E. L. T. Harrison based on the Drury Lane Theatre in London. Upon completion in 1862 at a cost of $ 100,000, it was the largest building in Utah. In his dedication speech, Henry Miller stated that the Salt Lake Theatre was “the cathedral in the desert.” For many years, it held performances from successful local and traveling theatre companies. "Virtually every star of

7881-410: The new group were church members from Mississippi who had taken a more southern route toward the Great Basin. At this point, the now larger company took the established Oregon Trail toward the trading post at Ft. Bridger . At a difficult crossing of the Platte, just before encountering the Sweetwater River , the company made use of their portable boat and were able to cross with comparative ease. Seizing

7992-484: The next day. The bodies were cleaned and examined, and death masks were made, preserving their facial features and structures. A public viewing was held on June 29, 1844, after which empty coffins weighted with sandbags were used at the public burial to prevent theft or mutilation of the bodies. The coffins bearing the actual bodies of the Smith brothers were initially buried under the unfinished Nauvoo House , then disinterred and reburied deep under an out-building on

8103-758: The north bank of the Platte River and North Platte River and over the continental divide climbing up to South Pass and Pacific Springs from Fort John along the valley of the Sweetwater River, then down to Fort Bridger and from there down to the Great Salt Lake became known as the Mormon Trail . Financial resources of the church members varied, with many families suffering from the loss of land and personal possessions in Missouri , and Illinois . This impacted

8214-439: The north side of the Platte River was chosen to avoid major interaction with travelers using the established Oregon Trail on the river's south side. Given the needs of the large volume of Saints who would travel west, church leaders decided to avoid potential conflicts over grazing rights, water access and campsites. In April 1847, Young consulted with members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who had recently returned from

8325-537: The number of goods they could haul on the long journey. As the oxen weakened under the strain, wagons were lightened by discarding prized possessions, including book collections, family china, and furniture. In 1847, just east of the Rocky Mountains, the Kimball family dug a large hole, wrapped their piano in buffalo skins and carefully buried it. An ox team retrieved the instrument the following spring and transported it to

8436-585: The often hostile federal government of the United States . This major undertaking was a significant test of leadership capability and the existing administrative network of the recently restructured church. For his role in the migration, Brigham Young is sometimes referred to as the "American Moses ." Young personally reviewed all available information on the Salt Lake Valley and the Great Basin , consulted with mountain men and trappers who traveled through Winter Quarters, and met with Father Pierre-Jean De Smet ,

8547-475: The opportunity to both help future travelers and increase the cash available to the migration, nine men under the direction of Thomas Grover were left behind to construct and operate a ferry at that location. Missourians and other travellers at the river paid the Saints $ 1.50 or more per wagon to help them cross. During the last week of June, Sam Brannan , leader of the voyage of the Brooklyn Saints , met

8658-468: The period (including the flight from Missouri in 1838 to Nauvoo), known as the Mormon Exodus is, by convention among social scientists, traditionally assumed to have ended with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Not everyone could afford to transport a family by railroad, and the transcontinental railroad network only serviced limited main routes, so wagon train migrations to

8769-899: The pioneers instead move into the Sanpete Valley in central Utah, where they established the community of Manti . Tensions in Fort Utah mounted after Mormons murdered Old Bishop, and Young ordered an attack on Utes, called the Battle at Fort Utah . This was shortly followed by the Walker War . Fillmore, Utah , intended to be the capital of the new territory, was established in 1851. In 1855, efforts to subdue and evangelize to local Native people led to outposts in Fort Lemhi on Idaho's Salmon River , Las Vegas, Nevada and Elk Mountain in east-central of present-day Utah. The experiences of returning members of

8880-776: The press, including charges of treason and inciting a riot . Violent threats were made against Smith and the Latter Day Saints. On June 12, Thomas C. Sharp , editor of the Warsaw Signal in Warsaw, Illinois , a newspaper hostile to the church, editorialized: War and extermination is inevitable! Citizens ARISE, ONE and ALL!!!—Can you stand by, and suffer such INFERNAL DEVILS! To ROB men of their property and RIGHTS, without avenging them. We have no time for comment, every man will make his own. LET IT BE MADE WITH POWDER AND BALL!!! Warrants from outside Nauvoo were brought in against Smith for

8991-469: The resources and supplies each family could draw upon as they covered the more than 1,000 miles (2,000 km) to the Great Basin. Church funds were also limited at this time, but church leaders provided what funding and other material assistance they could to families and companies which were undersupplied. Covered wagons pulled by oxen were common, particularly in the early American companies. In October 1845, as church members were preparing to leave Nauvoo,

9102-448: The same day and, after evading capture from a group of attackers, is said to have been the first Latter Day Saint to arrive and helped attend the bodies back to Nauvoo. He died thirty days later, possibly as a result of injuries sustained avoiding the mob. There have been conflicting reports about injuries to members of the mob during the attack, and whether any died. Shortly after the events occurred, Taylor wrote that he heard that two of

9213-550: The same time, they were joined by thirteen more members of the sick detachment of the Mormon Battalion. The vanguard company now faced a more rugged and hazardous journey, and were concerned about negotiating the passes of the Rocky Mountains. They had received conflicting advice, but Young chose to follow the trail used by the Donner–Reed party on their journey to California the previous year. Shortly after leaving Fort Bridger,

9324-481: The sea voyage in five months and twenty-seven days. Augusta Joyce Crocheron , a passenger on the ship Brooklyn , described the voyage: As for the pleasure of the trip, we met disappointment, for we once lay becalmed in the tropics, and at another time we were "hatched below" during a terrific storm. Women and children were at night lashed to their berths, for in no other way could they keep in. Furniture rolled back and forth endangering limb and life. The waves swept

9435-547: The season which resulted in hardship and sometimes disaster. The most famous of these are the Willie and the Martin handcart companies. Leaving Iowa in July 1856, they did not reach Utah until November, suffering many deaths due to winter weather and the lack of adequate supplies. In November 1845, Samuel Brannan , newspaperman and small-scale publisher of the Mormon paper The Prophet (later

9546-933: The ship's 238 passengers, nine of whom were buried at sea . Brooklyn Place, in Chinatown, San Francisco , is named for the ship, as was the erstwhile Brooklyn, California . After the initial departure of the Latter-day Saints living in Illinois and Missouri, converts to the church from other areas in the United States and from Europe followed the initial trail to join the main body of the church in Salt Lake City. Every year from 1847 until 1869, church members making this journey were formed into organized companies. Migration continued until about 1890, but those who came by railroad are not generally considered to be "Mormon pioneers." Mormon pioneers emigrated from many countries. Denmark

9657-662: The sovereignty rights held by the Shoshone , Utes , and the Goshutes . The U.S. Army captured Santa Fe de Nuevo México and the colonized parts of Alta California in late 1846, but the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo would not cede northern Mexico to the United States until February, 1848. Young organized a vanguard company to break the trail west to the Rocky Mountains , gather information about trail conditions, including water sources and Native American tribes, and to ultimately select

9768-460: The spot where he made this declaration. Young later reported that he had seen the valley, including Ensign Peak , in a vision and recognized the spot. On July 28, Young established a location for the future Salt Lake Temple and presented a city plan to the larger group for their approval. In August 1847, Young and other selected members of the vanguard company returned to Winter Quarters. By December 1847, more than two thousand Mormons had completed

9879-433: The state and said that their beliefs and actions were too different to have survived in Illinois. He said Smith was "the most successful impostor in modern times," and that some people "expect more protection from the laws than the laws are able to furnish in the face of popular excitement." Ultimately, five defendants— Thomas C. Sharp , Mark Aldrich , William N. Grover , Jacob C. Davis and Levi Williams —were tried for

9990-483: The state by Governor Boggs , and Rigdon and Smith were arrested and imprisoned in Liberty Jail . Rigdon was released on a writ of habeas corpus and made his way to Illinois , where he joined the main body of Mormon refugees in 1839. In 1844, Smith, and his brother, Hyrum , were killed by a mob while in custody in the city of Carthage, Illinois . In 1846, religious tensions reached their peak, and in 1848 mobs burned

10101-413: The thing smashed, than live and have it go on, for it was exciting the spirit of mobocracy among the people, and bringing death and destruction upon us.” Under the Council's new ordinance, Smith, as Nauvoo's mayor, in conjunction with the Council, ordered the city marshal to destroy the Expositor and its printing press on June 10, 1844. By the city marshal's account, the destruction of the press type

10212-485: The total were children under the age of eight. Each year during the Mormon migration, people continued to be organized into "companies", each company bearing the name of its leader. The company was further divided into groups of 10 and 50 with authority and responsibility delegated downward. The pioneers traveled to the Salt Lake Valley in the Great Basin using mainly large farm wagons, handcarts , and, in some cases, personally carrying their belongings. Their trail along

10323-482: The trek, the youth dress as pioneers and pack a few things to carry in handcarts. They go on a hike for a couple of days so they can experience what the pioneers had. During this multi-day event, camp organizers sometimes require youth to avoid the use of technology or anything that the pioneers did not have on their journeys, to enhance the experience. The Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel gathers information from journals, church history records, and other materials to locate

10434-411: The unit to Carthage to protect him. Allen Joseph Stout later contended that by remaining inactive, Dunham disobeyed an official order written by Smith after he was jailed in Carthage. The Carthage Greys reportedly feigned defense of the jail by firing shots or blanks over the attackers’ heads, and some of the Greys even reportedly joined the mob, who rushed up the stairs. The mob first attempted to push

10545-706: The war. The journey was taken by about 70,000 people, beginning with advance parties sent out by church leaders in March 1846 after the 1844 death of the church's leader Joseph Smith made it clear that the group could not remain in Nauvoo, Illinois —which the church had recently purchased, improved, renamed, and developed, because of the Missouri Mormon War , setting off the Illinois Mormon War . The well-organized wagon train migration began in earnest in April 1847, and

10656-463: Was a capital offense . The Smith brothers were detained at Carthage Jail , and were soon joined by Willard Richards , John Taylor and John Solomon Fullmer . Six other associates accompanied the Smiths: John P. Greene , Stephen Markham, Dan Jones , John S. Fullmer , Dr. Southwick, and Lorenzo D. Wasson. Ford left for Nauvoo not long after Smith was jailed. The anti-Mormon “Carthage Greys”,

10767-660: Was appointed company scribe and was expected to record an accurate description of their journey and the distance they traveled each day. Clayton collaborated with Orson Pratt , a mathematician, and Appleton Harmon, a carpenter, to create a wagon-wheel odometer, or roadometer . It showed that the company averaged between fourteen and twenty miles per day. Apostle Orson Pratt was named the company's scientific observer. He made regular readings on scientific instruments, took notes on geological formations and mineral resources, and described plants and animals. Journals kept by both Clayton and Pratt have become valuable resources for historians of

10878-656: Was built in 1834 by Joseph H. Russell at Newcastle, Maine. The voyage is the longest passage made by a Mormon emigrant company. The ship Brooklyn sailed from Brooklyn Harbor, New York, and traveled south across the Atlantic equator, around Cape Horn , stopping at the Juan Fernández Islands , then to the Sandwich Islands ( Hawaii ), finally docking in Yerba Buena (now San Francisco ) on July 29, 1846, having made

10989-408: Was carried out orderly and peaceably. However, Charles A. Foster , a co-publisher of the Expositor, reported on June 12 that not only was the printing press destroyed, but that “several hundred minions ... injured the building very materially”. Smith’s critics said that the action of destroying the press violated freedom of the press . Some sought legal charges against Smith for the destruction of

11100-416: Was criticized by some followers, Smith returned and was reported to have said, “If my life is of no value to my friends it is of none to myself.” He reluctantly submitted to arrest. He was quoted as saying, “I am going like a lamb to the slaughter ; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me—he

11211-559: Was crucial. Almost immediately, Young sent out scouting parties to identify and settle additional community sites. While it was difficult to find large areas in the Great Basin where water sources were dependable and growing seasons long enough to raise vitally important subsistence crops, satellite communities began to be formed in all directions. Church members eventually headed south into present-day Arizona and Mexico, west into California, north into Idaho and Canada, and east into Wyoming, settling many communities in those areas. Shortly after

11322-432: Was dead when he hit the ground. Eyewitness William Daniels wrote in his 1845 account that Smith was still alive when members of the mob propped his body against a nearby well, assembled a makeshift firing squad , and shot him before fleeing. Daniels’ account also states that one man tried to decapitate Smith for a bounty but was prevented by divine intervention an affirmation later denied. According to modern leaders of

11433-524: Was formed under the direction of Stephen Markham . On April 5, 1847, at 2 p.m., the wagon train moved west from Winter Quarters toward the Great Basin. With the afternoon start, they made three miles (5 km) and camped in a line a few hundred yards from a stand of timber. Journal records show that Young actively managed the journey, supervising details and occasionally giving reprimands when evening and Sunday recreation became rowdy or group members failed to complete their tasks. On one occasion, he chastised

11544-522: Was mayor, several anti-polygamist Mormons, recently excommunicated from Smith's church, joined together to publish a newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor . It put out its first and only issue on June 7, 1844. Based on sworn statements, the Expositor revealed that Smith practiced polygamy , marrying at least eight other men’s wives, and he had tried to marry the wives of some of the Expositor' s publishers. In response to public outrage generated by

11655-442: Was murdered in cold blood.” During the trip to Carthage, Smith reportedly recounted a dream in which he and Hyrum escaped a burning ship, walked on water , and arrived at a great heavenly city . On June 25, 1844, Smith and his brother Hyrum , along with the other fifteen Council members and some friends, surrendered to Carthage constable William Bettisworth on the original charge of riot. Upon arrival in Carthage, almost immediately

11766-409: Was one of those countries, with a large number of Mormon emigrants coming to Utah between 1850 and 1910. The migration of Danes was initiated when missionaries from the LDS Church, including Erastus Snow , Peter O. Hansen and two others, were sent to Denmark in 1850. Hansen made the first translation of the Book of Mormon from English, by translating it into Danish. Religious freedom was written into

11877-434: Was practicing polygamy , marrying the wives of other men, teaching a “ plurality of Gods ”, and intended to set himself up as a theocratic king . After a vote of the Nauvoo City Council , mayor Joseph Smith ordered the Expositor 's press destroyed. The destruction of the press led to broader public outrage in the surroundings of the city, and the Smith brothers and other members of the Nauvoo City Council were charged by

11988-539: Was razed in 1928. A few years later, the Mountain States Telephone Building was built on the site and subsequently expanded into the building that sits there today. A plaque, visible on the State Street frontage of the building, commemorates the Salt Lake Theatre. The Pioneer Theatre Company traces its educational lineage back to the groups who performed and instructed at the Salt Lake Theatre, and

12099-515: Was the area where the largest number settled. The Mormons settled in the Salt Lake Valley, which at that time was used as a buffer zone between the Shoshones and the Utes , who were at war. Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormons developed and cultivated the arid terrain to make it more suitable. They created irrigation systems, laid out farms, built houses, churches and schools. Access to water

12210-467: Was the first woman selected for the company. She was in ill health and Lorenzo Young feared to leave her and their young children behind. The other original women of the company, Ellen Sanders Kimball, wife of Heber C. Kimball, and Clarissa Decker Young, wife of Brigham Young, were asked to accompany the group to look after Harriet Young and keep her company. The three women were joined by a larger group of women church members from Mississippi who merged with

12321-435: Was the rightful successor under the doctrine of lineal succession . A schism resulted, with each claimant attracting followers. The majority of Latter Day Saints followed Young; these adherents later emigrated to what became Utah Territory and continued as the LDS Church. Rigdon's followers were known as Rigdonites , some of which later established The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) . Strang's followers established

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