One Response to “Did mormons encounter any natives when moving west to Utah”
Grandpa Chet
2015-03-15 12:51:08
Yup.
For the most part, such meetings were peaceful, as the Latter-day Saints viewed the natives as a blessed people with a destiny, considering them descendents of surviving Lamanites/Nephites (names which ended up being more political than theological, sadly). I think there were some random incidents of natives stealing cattle or horses, but awfully few. Natives tended to like "Mormonees," distinguishing them from "white man," for whom they had more colorful names.
There are lots of funny stories between the Saints and my ancestors, though I'm sure they weren't quite so funny to the people involved at the time.
For the most part, such meetings were peaceful, as the Latter-day Saints viewed the natives as a blessed people with a destiny, considering them descendents of surviving Lamanites/Nephites (names which ended up being more political than theological, sadly). I think there were some random incidents of natives stealing cattle or horses, but awfully few. Natives tended to like "Mormonees," distinguishing them from "white man," for whom they had more colorful names.
There are lots of funny stories between the Saints and my ancestors, though I'm sure they weren't quite so funny to the people involved at the time.