Still under Joseph Smiths leadership the Mormons settled in Independence, Missouri. Here the Mormons hoped they could worship in their own way. They were proved wrong. They were constantly attacked by mobs who believed the Mormons were fraudsters and just after money. Many of their people were murdered and day after day they had to live with the fear of what would happen next. The Mormons believed that the ‘gentiles’ were Sabbath-breakers and that they would pay for their antics. The Mormons did not believe in the other people’s form of entertainment such as horse-racing and gambling. Their wish for a peaceful life was not going to happen in Missouri. Eventually the governor of Missouri declared the Mormons public enemies and Joseph Smith was imprisoned. Rumours soon spread of how the Mormons were befriending Indians and trying to convert them to Mormonism. Also people started talking about how the Mormons apparently were freeing slaves. This caused public outburst and the Governor stated that the Mormons must be, “Exterminated or driven form the state if necessary for the public good”. Again the Mormons were driven out of another state.
In Nauvoo, Illinois things were looking up for the Mormons and by 1844 they had built one of the largest cities in Illinois. Missionaries were sent to Europe to gain converts. Over 35,000 people joined the Mormons in Nauvoo from Europe. However Joseph Smith made a statement that was to start his downfall. In 1844 he declared that only certain Mormons could practise Polygamy. His own people turned against him and had him imprisoned, declaring him a false prophet. Also non-Mormons were outraged at this knew knowledge that they practised polygamy and matters were made worse when Joseph Smith declared he was running for President. On 27 June 1845 a mob attacked the jail where Joseph Smith was and shot him dead. They roamed the countryside hunting down the Mormons. Except there was hope for the Mormons, this hope came in the form of Brigham Young.
Brigham Young believed that in order for the Mormons to have a civilised life they would have to move to a whole to part of America. He decided the Mormons would have a better chance of survival in Salt Lake City. He wanted all the Mormons to be free form persecution. The Mormons trusted Young as he was an extremely decisive and authoritive character. Although Young was a strong character it was his job to move over sixteen thousand people across the Rockies to Salt Lake City. However although this task was extremely hard, Brigham Young was extremely clever and thought up the easiest and safest ways of travelling. He divided the people into small groups and each group was taught how to travel successfully.
Once they reached Salt Lake City the Mormons were shocked to see what an empty and desolate piece of land Young and brought them to. The land could not be farmed on and the water was too salty to drink. However this did not stop Young to provide a safe country for his followers. He built a huge city and made sure that the Mormons were self-sufficient and completely independent. Within a few years he had created just what he wanted a safe, equal and fair environment for the Mormons to live in.
The Mormons suffered and un-easy life and their hard work just got them hated by the other people they were surrounded by. They were thought of as, ‘public enemies’, by many of the people in the various places they settled in. for over ten years they were persecuted for being, ‘different’. The truth is that they were misunderstood by the non-Mormans and that although he was a strong leader Joseph Smith made some fatal mistakes as a leader. He made statements about his religion which was prejudice against some Mormons. And after his statement on polygamy the ‘gentiles’ felt mistrusted on how the Mormons had kept this way of life to themselves; thus resulting in more trouble and hate.
The main reason why the Mormons moved to Salt Lake City was the fact that they had no other choice. They had tried living in four different states and they were forced out of each one. The suffered extreme prejudice and torment. They had no other choice but to move to Salt Lake City. It was not really out of choice that they moved but in order for them to have safety and security.
