Why is there such a massive Mormon population concentrated in the state of Utah and surrounding states in the Mid-West. I read a lot about him trying to establish The LDS Church in Illinois but when did Utah come into focus?
One Response to “Why is there such a massive Mormon population concentrated i…”
Anonymous
2012-03-25 22:51:01
Joseph Smith had his first vision in up-state New York. The church eventually moved to Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. Joseph was killed in Carthage, Illinois in 1844. The members of the church eventually left Illinois in 1846 and went west to escape persecution. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24th of 1847, when Brigham Young declared "This is the Right Place".
At that time, transportation was very difficult. In addition, due to the persecution they experienced in Missouri and Illinois, the church worked very hard to be self-sustaining.
At that time, church members from all over the world would migrate to Utah to join the other members of the church.
As part of the effort to sustain the growing body of the church, Brigham Young sent members of the church through the surrounding areas to settle communities partially for economic reasons. For example, he sent members to southern Utah to try to grow cotton for clothing purposes.
So, the reason there are so many members of the Church in Utah is that they were the first settlers in the area and for many years were somewhat isolated from others moving into the area. Of course the headquarters of the church is there as well which draws some to live there.
The reason there are more members in the surrounding states is that in many cases, those areas were settled originally by members of the LDS church. Idaho is a good example; the communities in the Southeast part of the state were heavily settled by members. This is true of parts of Arizona and Nevada as well.
Finally, there is some general inertia to moving far away from family. For example, if you are LDS and your family is from Salt Lake, it is easier to get home to visit from Idaho, Nevada or Arizona than from Boston.
If you have further questions about this, please post them here as well.
At that time, transportation was very difficult. In addition, due to the persecution they experienced in Missouri and Illinois, the church worked very hard to be self-sustaining.
At that time, church members from all over the world would migrate to Utah to join the other members of the church.
As part of the effort to sustain the growing body of the church, Brigham Young sent members of the church through the surrounding areas to settle communities partially for economic reasons. For example, he sent members to southern Utah to try to grow cotton for clothing purposes.
So, the reason there are so many members of the Church in Utah is that they were the first settlers in the area and for many years were somewhat isolated from others moving into the area. Of course the headquarters of the church is there as well which draws some to live there.
The reason there are more members in the surrounding states is that in many cases, those areas were settled originally by members of the LDS church. Idaho is a good example; the communities in the Southeast part of the state were heavily settled by members. This is true of parts of Arizona and Nevada as well.
Finally, there is some general inertia to moving far away from family. For example, if you are LDS and your family is from Salt Lake, it is easier to get home to visit from Idaho, Nevada or Arizona than from Boston.
If you have further questions about this, please post them here as well.