Because nobody else wanted to live there, and it was rumored to be uninhabitable. The Mormons wanted somewhere where they could live and practice their religion in peace without anyone coming to bother them. They thought they could do this in Utah because nobody else wanted to go there.
The early Mormons and their beliefs were, at first, not well received in the places where they practiced their beliefs.
Modern Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith in New York in the 1820's. He quickly gained a following. Smith envisioned a "City of Zion" to the West in which Mormons could settle. They attempted to establish themselves in Missouri, but were thrown out by the Missouri government.
From this, the Mormons founded Nauvoo, Illinois, and made Nauvoo the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. However, the Mormons in Nauvoo did not have good relations with surrounding non-Mormon communities. Illinois police arrested Smith for treason. Smith was killed in prison when an angry mob stormed the compound.
Brigham Young succeeded Smith as leader of the LDS church, and they planned to leave Nauvoo in the Spring of 1846. However, Illinois authorities threw them out even earlier, during winter. Under Young's leadership, the Mormons traveled west, until reaching Utah. Upon reaching Utah, Brigham Young was quoted to have said "It is enough. This is the right place."
Mormons had been kicked out of their homes in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois through mob violence and government order. The federal government said that they could do nothing to protect them, so Mormons sought to leave the United States in order to find a place where they could practice their religion in peace. They moved to the Great Salt Lake Valley in what was then part of Mexico, with the first groups arriving in 1847. Only a few years later the area became a part of the United States as a consequence of the Mexican-American war.
In a country that has one of it's rights as 'Freedom of Religion'. In 1847 the Mormons were not provided that right. The federal government under President Polk refused to protect the Mormons and Mobs & terrorist's burned their homes and forced them to flee for their lives from the state of Illinois. Just because the Mormons had some different religious beliefs than their Christian neighbors.
In a country that has one of it's rights as 'Freedom of Religion'. In 1847 the Mormons were not provided that right. The federal government under President Polk refused to protect the Mormons and Mobs & terrorist's burned their homes and forced them to flee for their lives from the state of Illinois. Just because the Mormons had some different religious beliefs than their Christian neighbors.
In a country that has one of it's rights as 'Freedom of Religion'. In 1847 the Mormons were not provided that right. The federal government under President Polk refused to protect the Mormons and Mobs & terrorist's burned their homes and forced them to flee for their lives from the state of Illinois. Just because the Mormons had some different religious beliefs than their Christian neighbors.
In a country that has one of it's rights as 'Freedom of Religion'. In 1847 the Mormons were not provided that right. The federal government under President Polk refused to protect the Mormons and Mobs & terrorist's burned their homes and forced them to flee for their lives from the state of Illinois. Just because the Mormons had some different religious beliefs than their Christian neighbors.
July 24th 1847
The majority of Mormons moved to Utah in 1847 after being kicked out of Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois.
The first Mormons arrived to settle in the Great Salt Lake on July 24, 1847.
brigham young was the leader of the Mormon church in 1847
Salt Lake City, Utah
the Famine was from 1845 to 1850 - the worst year was 1847
In 1847, a large group of Mormon Pioneers travelled from their winter quarters in Nebraska to Salt Lake City Utah. Please note this was not ALL the Mormons, but the majority of the leadership and a large group of those living in the United States at the time.
About 2000 came to Utah in 1847 with Brigham Young.Entry: 1847: Aug. "Thurs. 26 - '...Between six and seven hundred wagons, with about two thousand souls enter the valley that fall." (LDS Church Chronology 1805-1914, page 34)But the Mormons kept coming and about 70,000 Mormons came to Salt Lake City between 1847 and 1867.