Who contributed more to the Mormon movement, Joseph Smith or Brigham Young?

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Who contributed more to the Mormon movement, Joseph Smith or Brigham Young?

Many settlers traveled east, but the most important religious group to travel east was the Mormons. The Mormon religion was started by a person called Joseph Smith.  A Smith grew up on his farm, angles appeared telling him there was a book (written upon golden plates) on a hillside near Manchester, New York.  Once dug up, the plates were published in a translated version, which contained statements of his father and brothers saying they had seen the plates. Smith started to preach his new religion. He started off with five settlers which then grew to several hundred by the end of 1830.  Smith prayed for more guidance and took the settlers to Kirtland, Ohio (to set up the “City of God”). The Mormons achieved a lot in Kirtland, but an economic crisis occurred, which lead to the Mormons being chased out of Kirtland by the Non Mormons. Next, Smith took his settlers to Missouri, where they left (due to the public hatred with the Mormons) to Nauvoo. The population of the Mormons increased rapidly in Nauvoo, which made them un-popular with the Non Mormons, as they did not mix in. Smith prayed for more guidance. He was told to allow Mormons to practice polygamy. The Non Mormons built more hatred in the Mormons. Smith was sent to jail and was later killed by a mob of Non Mormons.

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 After the death of the Mormon leader, a new leader called Brigham Young was introduced. Young was convinced that the Mormons would not live in peace anywhere in the east. He had guidebooks about the Oregon Trail, which contained the most reserved place in the entire west, which was near the Great Salt Lake.  Young was an excellent organizer (he organized the move to Nauvoo), a down to earth man, and was a determined man. He decided to move west and left Nauvoo in the spring of 1846. The Mormons prepared for the great journey. As they entered the South ...

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