History Commons^™

Beyond The Exodus: Nauvoo After 1849, Rebecca A. Wiederhold, Dainan Skeem

Faculty Publications

Nauvoo, the City Beautiful, was named by Joseph Smith in 1839 when the Mormons began settling the area. After seven short years, the Saints had built a city to rival Chicago at the time. In 1844, Joseph was martyred and in 1847 the Mormons fled the city, changing the makeup of the town’s population and the direction of its growth. Emma Smith eventually returned with the remainder of her family and was beloved of the neighborhood children. Many other families not associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continued to farm the land and raise families. As …

Old Testament Costume Resource Guide, Rory R. Scanlon

Faculty Publications

This report offers visual costume research support for artists working on Old Testament Bible projects, with an historical overview of Mesopotamia and how to understand its historical clothing pieces, an annotated listing of the best research sources, a list of garment and fabric terms for the 4000 BC to 0 AD period, and sample sketches from historical artifacts to suggest how to interpret the original research images the artist will encounter.

Book Of Mormon Costume Resource Guide, Rory R. Scanlon

Faculty Publications

This report offers visual costume research support for artists working on Book of Mormon projects, with an historical overview of Mesoamerica and how to understand its historical clothing pieces, an annotated listing of the best research sources, a list of garment and fabric terms for the 2000 BC to 600 AD period, and sample sketches from historical artifacts to suggest how to interpret the original research images the artist will encounter.

The Lord’S Micro-Managing Ways In East Africa: The Remarkable Beginnings Of The Church In Mozambique, Frederick G. Williams

Faculty Publications

This presentation talks about growth of the LDS Church in Mozambique, East Africa.

Utah’S Role In Protecting The Mormon Trail During The Civil War, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This chapter (from the 2015 book “Far Away in the West: Reflections on the Mormon Pioneer Trail” published by the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center) sets the stage for Utah Territory’s role protecting the Mormon Trail during the Civil War by outlining the Utah War (1857-1858). This essay begins by comparing and contracting Washington, DC’s wartime interest in the trail with that of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Utah Territory. The essay then outlines the changing parties who were responsible for the trail between 1861 and 1865 – the U.S. Army (spring-summer 1861), no one …

The Beginnings Of The Church In Peru: A Personal History, Frederick G. Williams

Faculty Publications

This presentation describes growth of the LDS Church in Peru.

From Acorn To Oak Tree: The Beginnings Of The Remarkable Growth Of The Church In Brazil, Frederick G. Williams

Faculty Publications

This presentation talks about the beginnings of LDS Church growth in Brazil.

“The Frontier Thesis In Transnational Migration: The U.S. West In The Making Of Italy Abroad,” In Immigrants In The Far West: Historical Identities And Experiences, Edited By Jessie L. Embry And Brian Q. Cannon (Salt Lake City: University Of Utah Press, 2014), 363-381., Mark I. Choate

Faculty Publications

In 1879, a young postal worker in the small town of Lendinara, Italy, decided to emigrate. Adolfo Rossi, twenty-two years old, was discouraged with his prospects in his small town near Venice. Adolfo lived at home with his mother in the heavily populated Polesine valley. Although he had a steady job, he wanted to become a journalist. In Adolfo’s words, while taking a walk along the Adige river one night, a strange idea struck my mind like a bolt of lightning. I reflected only a moment and committed myself to an audacious resolution. “No, I will not stay vegetating here,” …

"The Brave Men, Living And Dead, Who Struggled Here": Utah Veterans And The Gettysburg Reunion Of 1913, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D., Ken Nelson

Faculty Publications

Gettysburg was the defining battle of the American Civil War as Union and CSA soldiers clashed in Pennsylvania. This Utah Historical Quarterly article from Summer 2013 explains how Union and Confederate veterans of the Civil War, who were living in Utah, traveled to and participated in the 1913 50th Anniversary Reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg (which took place July 1-3, 1863). The article also includes lists of the Utah veterans who attended and additionally notes which veterans participated in the battle of Gettysburg.

Joseph F. Smith And The First World War: Eventual Support And Latter-Day Saint Chaplains, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of the calling of three Latter-day Saint (Mormon) U.S. Army chaplains who served during World War I and support for the war from President Joseph F. Smith, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Profiles Of Selected Mormon Athletes In Professional Sports, J. Michael Hunter

Faculty Publications

“Profiles of Selected Mormon Athletes in Professional Sports” provides profiles with career highlights of over 200 Mormon athletes in professional sports, including baseball, basketball, bodybuilding, boxing, football, golf, hockey, racing, running, volleyball, and wrestling. This chapter appears in the second volume of Mormons and Popular Culture: The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon (Praeger 2013), a comprehensive treatment of Mormons and popular culture, providing an introduction and wide-ranging overview of the topic.

Latter-Day Saints And The Civil War, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

An introduction to "Civil War Saints" published in 2012 by the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book, Kenneth L. Alford, editor.

Mormon Motivation For Enlisting In The Civil War, Brant Ellsworth, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of several Latter-day Saint (Mormon) Union and Confederate soldiers who served in the American Civil War.

Utah And The Civil War Press, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of how Mormons were treated in the national press during the American Civil War with an emphasis on polygamy, statehood requests, loyalty, and Brigham Young.

This chapter was originally published (and reprinted in "Civil War Saints" with permission):

Kenneth L. Alford, “Utah and the Civil War Press.” Utah Historical Quarterly 80, no. 1 (Winter 2012): 75–92.

What's In A Name? The Establishment Of Camp Douglas, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D., William P. Mackinnon

Faculty Publications

A discussion of the establishment (1862) of Camp Douglas, Utah Territory -- named by Col. Patrick Edward Connor after U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas.

Camp Douglas: Keeping A Watchful Eye On The Saints, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of the establishment (1862) and early years of Camp Douglas, Utah Territory. Discusses the tense relationship between Brigham Young and Colonel (later Brigadier General) Patrick Edward Connor, U.S. Army commander of Camp Douglas.

We Know No North, No South, No East, No West: Mormon Interpretations Of The Civil War, 1861-1865, Richard Bennett

Faculty Publications

While peace reigns in Utah, civil war, with all its horrors, prevails among those who earnestly desired to see the soil of these valleys crimsoned with the blood of the Saints, and, if we are mistaken in the signs of the times, before the conflict between the North and South shall have ended, all they unitedly desired to see meted out to the Mormons, will be poured out without measure upon those who have initiated the war of extermination, and are now carrying it on with all the energy they severally possess. So read the lead editorial in the Salt …

California Saints: A Readers Theater, J. Michael Hunter

Faculty Publications

California Saints: A Readers Theater was performed at the Mormon History Association Devotional, Emanuel Church, Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, Coloma, California, Sunday May 25, 2008, 8:30-9:30 AM. Through excerpts from diaries and letters, the story of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in California from 1846 to 1857 is recounted. Readers were all descendants of Mormons associated with California’s early history. Readers included Richard Bushman, John Huntington, Leo Lyman, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Musical vocalists included John Huntington and Rachel Thatcher Loveridge.

Pronounced Clean, Comfortable, And Good Looking: The Passage Of Mormon Immigrants Through The Port Of Philadelphia, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

We were pronounced clean, comfortable, and good looking. So wrote LDS voyage leader Matthias Cowley after arriving in Philadelphia with a company of foreign Saints in the mid-nineteenth century. At this time, Latter-day Saint European immigrants, obeying the call to come to Zion, were gathering to America by the thousands on the way to their Mormon Mecca in Salt Lake City. They were obeying the call to come to Zion. In 1852, the First Presidency issued the following counsel: "When a people, or individuals, hear the Gospel, obey its first principles, are baptized for the remission of sins, and receive …

The "Tabernacle Post Office" Petition For The Saints Of Kanesville, Iowa, Fred E. Woods, Maurine Carr Ward

Faculty Publications

As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Thus spoke wise King Solomon a millennium before the birth of Christ. As America labored to give birth to a new nation, the United States Post Office Department was born when the Second Continental Congress met in 1775 at Philadelphia and agreed to appoint Benjamin Franklin as the country's first postmaster general. During the nineteenth century, America continued to grow in population as children were born and as immigrants crossed the Atlantic to the land of promise. This growth not only caused America to lengthen …

From Liverpool To Keokuk: The Mormon Maritime Migration Experience Of 1853, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

In January, Fifty-three, we left our English home, Determined for the Gospel's sake, to Zion's land to come. Our family was very small, its members numbered three, Yet strong in faith of Israel's God, and full of hope were we. 'Twas not to us an easy task to bid old friends adieu, To take a long farewell of those who always had been true, To leave for aye, the cozy home we made but just before, And take a last fond look of things we should behold no more; The wind blew keen, as out we went into the cold …

The 1853 Mormon Migration Through Keokuk, Fred E. Woods, Douglas Atterberg

Faculty Publications

In May 1853, William W. Belknap, who would later serve as a major general in the Civil War and as secretary of war to President Grant, wrote to his sister, Clara, about the Mormon emigrants who were outfitting in Keokuk, Iowa, that spring and summer: "Yesterday was Sunday and I wish you had been here to go up to the Mormon Camp with me. They had preaching at three stands in three languages--English, German, and Danish. They sing --especially the Danes--very sincerely and are perfectly enthusiastic. It is a strange, strange mystery and if you were here you'd be astonished. …

How Long, Oh Lord, How Long? James E. Talmage And The Great War, Richard Bennett

Faculty Publications

What is it that is happening? A war greater in area and scale and more fearful in carnage, than any that has ever been since life on the round world began. Five months--no more--have passed since the first gun was fired, and already the list of men who were strong, healthy, capable, keen, five short months ago, and who are now stark in death, outnumbers anything of its kind in human history. And to reckon up the load of sheer blank sorrow in innumerable homes, and the actual but incidental war sufferings, short of death, or possibly worse than death, …

The Youngs At West Point, J. Michael Hunter

Faculty Publications

In 1871, Willard Young, eleventh son of Brigham Young, was the first Mormon to receive an appointment to West Point Academy. His attendance at the military academy drew national attention and criticism from opponents of polygamy. Despite the opposition, he soon gained the respect of his classmates and graduated fourth in his class. He returned to teach engineering in 1879, served in the Spanish-American War, earning a commendation from President McKinley, and during World War I was supervisor of army engineering work on the Missouri River. In 1877, one of Brigham's grandsons, Richard W. Young, was the second Mormon to …

Two Sides Of A River: Mormon Transmigration Through Quincy, Illinois, And Hannibal, Missouri, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

The infamous extermination order issued 27 October 1838 by Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs caused thousands of Latter-day Saints to flee the state and seek refuge in Illinois across the Mississippi River. Illinois, established in 1817, had high hopes for its future, but just two decades later it was smitten, like the rest of America, with the economic depression of 1837. In such a needy condition, the people Illinois welcomed the Mormon migrants for three central reasons. Financially motivated, the state viewed the Latter-day Saint influx as an opportunity to raise its population to boost the economy through the collection …

Gathering To Nauvoo: Mormon Immigration 1840-46, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

The gathering of the Mormon pioneers to Utah (commencing in 1847) has received extensive attention; however, the earlier LDS immigration to Nauvoo has not been adequately treated. This paper is the inspiring story of the British Saints who traveled to Nauvoo between June 1840 and February 1846. The international call to gather was received by the Prophet Joseph Smith during the second presentation of the Restored Church, less than six months after its organization in 1830.

More Precious Than Gold: The Journey To And Through Zion In 1849-50, Fred E. Woods

Faculty Publications

The California gold rush, the first international gold rush in history, turned the world upside down, reaching its zenith in the years 1849-50. As a result of the rush during these two climactic years, the population swelled our nation's Pacific coast, entitling California to receive statehood in the fall of 1850. During these catalytic years, Latter-day Saints were journeying to the American West for a different kind of treasure. They gathered from afar to their Mormon mecca nestled in the Salt Lake Valley to fulfill their dreams of establishing Zion. Yet the California gold rush had a significant impact on …

The Star-Spangled Banner Forever Be Furled: The Mormon Exodus As Liberty, Richard Bennett

Faculty Publications

You wanted to know what we waited to move for, wrote Sidney Tanner, an early Mormon pioneer, to his family in the East. "It was to go to a land of freedom where we could enjoy the peace of society and our liberty. We did not want to live in a country where there was no peace, no liberty and its citizens [were] not allowed their rights." So much has been written about the Mormon Trail that one wonders if there is anything of consequence to be said. Surely all the prominent details are well known. And were it not …

Some Reflections At Winter Quarters, Richard E. Bennett

Faculty Publications

On this Memorial Day weekend, it is altogether fitting and appropriate that we gather today at this sacred place to remember the lives of our progenitors everywhere. From Gettysburg to Hiroshima, from Arlington to Flanders Field, and from the city cemetery to the family plot, we honor our dead ancestors and friends long since stilled. Whether they died on the battle fields of war or perished in the labor of giving birth, we honor them. Whether on the trail to a new life in Oregon or a new chance in Ukraine, they all were the lifeline to our present bright …

Cousin Laman In The Wilderness: The Beginnings Of Brigham Young's Indian Policy, Richard E. Bennett

Faculty Publications

Historians of the American West have observed that compared with most other mid-19th century American overlanders, whether Oregon-bound farmers or California Agronauts, the Mormons enjoyed a relatively more amicable, more peaceful relationship with the American Indian. Furthermore several contend with cause that Brigham Young was the principal architect of peace with the Ute, Shoshoni, Navaho, Hopi, and other tribes in the deserts and valleys of "Deseret," the Mormon Zion in the Great Basin Kingdom. Leonard Arrington, Davis Bitton, James Allen, and other modern writers have argued that Young pursued a conciliatory (if not self protective and condescending) policy toward the …