Brigham Young was born to John and Nabby Young at Whitingham, Vermont, in 1801. At about age 16, Brigham was told by his father that he was old enough to go out on his own and provide for himself. His mother had just passed away.

His father, John Young, later moved to the area of Mendon, New York. Eventually, Brigham and his ailing wife, Miriam, also moved to Mendon on the back part of his father’s property. They were all practicing members of the Reformed Methodist Church.

In 1832, Brigham, Miriam, John and all of Brigham’s immediate family joined the Church of Christ, later The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All stayed active in the LDS Church throughout their lives.

According to Larry C. Porter, Brigham built a house for his father on his father’s property in Mendon. For some reason, that structure was subsequently divided in two. Half was moved across the street with each part facing the other from opposite sides of Cheese Factory Road. Over time, both portions were added on to, essentially creating two new homes. Both of those altered structures still stand. (See Larry C. Porter, “Brigham Young: The Man for the Hour Will Be Ready Whenever the Hour Strikes,” BYU Speeches, Jan. 27, 1998.)

They are owned by the LDS Church, but they are used as private residences.

Kenneth Mays is a board member of the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and a retired instructor in the LDS Church’s Department of Seminaries and Institutes.

Ashley Morales

Frequently whimsical and overly optimistic about how much time it will take to do things, Ashley Morales is deeply passionate about the gospel and all kinds of creativity. Her hobbies include philosophically analyzing nearly every book, play, video game, and movie that she consumes, writing music and short stories, promising herself that she will finish writing her novels, going to sleep too late, eating foods she’s never tried, putting off cleaning her house, browsing Zillow, spending as much quality time as possible with her wonderful husband, trying to be a good mother to her fantastic children, and never finding the balance between saying too much and too little. One day, she hopes to leave a positive mark on the world and visit every continent (except Antarctica) with her family.

The Erie Canal, which celebrates its 200^th birthday this year, provided many miracles—not the least of which included a means of travel and communication that allowed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to spread and thrive better than it would have otherwise.

How so, you ask?

For one thing, the rise of wealth in the area may have contributed to the Second Great Awakening, when interest in religion throughout the existing United States was revived with notable ardency, resulting in many denominations frequently butting heads over doctrine and wrestling to retain and increase their memberships. After all, as Nephi so eloquently related, opposition is necessary for progress, and in this case, finding earthly satisfaction in material goods urged the desire to find spiritual satisfaction in one’s relationship with God as well. Although it was not the only factor that ignited the religious fire of this time period, the Erie Canal was certainly an important spark.

The Erie Canal. Courtesy of Pexels.

Furthermore, the canal’s sheer reach across the continental United States let all kinds of people carry their ideas and causes to faraway places in record time. In fact, one of its many nicknames was the “psychic highway.” Of course, among the groups that took advantage of the canal’s accessibility were the Mormons, who were able to use it to travel around the country to build cities for themselves, transport the materials necessary for such cities, and even serve missions. On its waters were brought all the paper and equipment needed to publish the Book of Mormon as well. Even the likes of Charles Dickens himself was floating on it when he was first impressed by the Mormons he met there. Never before had the Lord’s commandment to baptize the world seemed more realistic.

Before the Erie Canal was built, getting around the country was difficult and exhausting. While it was undergoing construction, however, it brought many jobs; its completion ensured more wealth in nearby areas, promoted other sectors of economic growth by providing transportation for all kinds of goods, greatly helped U.S. citizens get wherever they needed to go, and served as a symbol of America’s engineering innovations. However, equally important is its role in the rise of the kingdom of God in the latter days, for God does work through the hands of man to accomplish His ends.

Ashley Morales

Frequently whimsical and overly optimistic about how much time it will take to do things, Ashley Morales is deeply passionate about the gospel and all kinds of creativity. Her hobbies include philosophically analyzing nearly every book, play, video game, and movie that she consumes, writing music and short stories, promising herself that she will finish writing her novels, going to sleep too late, eating foods she’s never tried, putting off cleaning her house, browsing Zillow, spending as much quality time as possible with her wonderful husband, trying to be a good mother to her fantastic children, and never finding the balance between saying too much and too little. One day, she hopes to leave a positive mark on the world and visit every continent (except Antarctica) with her family.

WASHINGTON — The National Park Foundation has received a grant from the Polaris Foundation to help expand access to the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area by enhancing the Arapeen OHV Trail System in the Manti-LaSal National Forest.

The improvements will begin this summer and will include the addition of road base to the upper 6.6 miles of Manti Canyon from the intersection of North Fork to Skyline Drive (Arapeen OHV Trail No. 1).

“The Arapeen OHV Trail System is one of Utah’s great high-mountain trails. It is open to side by sides, ATVs, 4×4 vehicles and motorcycles. The best time to ride is July through September,” Kevin Christensen, Sanpete County’s economic development director, said in a statement announcing the grant.

Other Arapeen Trail System projects completed or underway include work on trails No. 4 in Mt. Pleasant Canyon; No. 42 in New Canyon near Ephraim; No. 35 in 6-Mile Canyon near Sterling; and No. 37 in Manti Canyon. In addition to these trail improvement projects, the trail system is also investing in new facilities, adding a trailside restroom along trail No. 35.

The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area was established in 2006 for the purpose of commemorating the efforts and sacrifices made by Mormon pioneers in the early years of their settlement across central and southern Utah.

Original Content Link can be found here.

Megan Finley

In between writing short stories she’ll never finish and marathoning Marvel movies, Megan Finley is often found missing the loves of her life, her two cats Leia and Loki. Her passion for “geek culture” extends into her passion for academics, as she is an optimistic MA student with plans to be the next Professor X (with hair). Her life’s dream is a simple one—to drink a hot chocolate in every Disney park in the world.

Although the Mormon Battalion never engaged in an actual battle, it earned a rightful place in the history of the West. The march and the service rendered was instrumental in helping the U.S. secure much of the American Southwest to include new territory in several Western states. Of particular noteworthiness was the Gadsden Purchase of much of southern Arizona in 1853. The march also opened a southern wagon route to California, and veterans of the battalion played significant roles in the westward expansion of California, Utah, Arizona, and other parts of the West.

The Longest Historical Infantry March

In 1846, the United States was actively engaged in the Mexican-American War. James K. Polk, then President of the United States, called for 500 to 1,000 Mormon volunteers to march to Fort Leavenworth (present-day Kansas) and then to California on a one-year U.S. Army enlistment. On Saturday, 18 July 1846, muster was held for the Mormon recruits, and on Monday, 20 July 1846, on the Little Pony River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the Mormon Battalion began their trek, which would cover approximately 1,850 miles by the time they reached San Diego, California.

The battalion arrived at Fort Leavenworth (Kansas) on 1 August 1846, where they were outfitted with the necessary accoutrements, and received a military clothing allowance of forty-two dollars. As military uniforms were not required, many of the recruits sent their clothing allowances to their families who were back in the camps in Iowa. Members of the battalion honored their military assignment – some served for one to three years, while others served for nearly a decade.

A Call to Arms

Susan Easton Black, a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, in her article about the Mormon Battalion in the Utah History Encyclopedia recounts the beginning days of the battalion:

In July 1846, under the authority of U.S. Army Captain James Allen and with the encouragement of Mormon leader Brigham Young, the Mormon Battalion was mustered in at Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory. The battalion was the direct result of Brigham Young’s correspondence on 26 January 1846 to Jesse C. Little, presiding elder over the New England and Middle States Mission. Young instructed Little to meet with national leaders in Washington, D.C., and to seek aid for the migrating Latter-day Saints, the majority of whom were then in the Iowa Territory. In response to Young’s letter, Little journeyed to Washington, arriving on 21 May 1846, just eight days after Congress had declared war on Mexico.

Little met with President James K. Polk on 5 June 1846 and urged him to aid migrating Mormon pioneers by employing them to fortify and defend the West. The president offered to aid the pioneers by permitting them to raise a battalion of five hundred men, who were to join Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, Commander of the Army of the West, and fight for the United States in the Mexican War. Little accepted this offer.

Colonel Kearny designated Captain James Allen, later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, to raise five companies of volunteer soldiers from the able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in the Mormon encampments in Iowa. On 26 June 1846 Allen arrived at the encampment of Mt. Pisgah. He was treated with suspicion as many believed that the raising of a battalion was a plot to bring trouble to the migrating Saints.

Allen journeyed from Mt. Pisgah to Council Bluffs, where on 1 July 1846 he allayed Mormon fears by giving permission for the Saints to encamp on United States lands if the Mormons would raise the desired battalion. Brigham Young accepted this, recognizing that the enlistment of the battalion was the first time the government had stretched forth its arm to aid the Mormons.

On 16 July 1846 some 543 men enlisted in the Mormon Battalion. From among these men Brigham Young selected the commissioned officers; they included Jefferson Hunt, Captain of Company A; Jesse D. Hunter, Captain of Company B; James Brown, Captain of Company C; Nelson Higgins, Captain of Company D; and Daniel C. Davis, Captain of Company E. Among the most prominent non-Mormon military officers immediately associated with the battalion march were Lt. Col. James Allen, First Lt. Andrew Jackson Smith, Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke, and Dr. George Sanderson. Also accompanying the battalion were approximately thirty-three women, twenty of whom served as laundresses, and fifty-one children.

A Fulfilment of Prophecy

Brigham Young, then President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the “Mormon” Church by the media and others), prophesied that not a single battalion member would be lost to hostile action. However, twenty members died due to the privations they suffered, with the first being Samuel Boly who died only twenty-eight miles from Council Bluffs.  It is also reported that not a single shot was fired by the Mormon Battalion except at a herd of rampaging bulls. The battalion arrived in San Diego, California on Friday, 29 January 1847.

Stanley B. Kimball, a professor of history at Southern Illinois University, in the conclusion to his article “The Mormon Battalion March, 1846–47” states:

The battalion filled its enlistment term with performed routine garrison duty in San Diego, San Louis Rey, and Los Angeles, until being discharged 16 July 1847. Some reenlisted for six months, but most made preparation for joining the pioneers in the Great Basin. They pushed north and picked up the Old California Trail east of San Francisco. Some decided to winter at Sutter’s Fort—and were present when gold was discovered in January 1848. Those who had gone on arrived in Salt Lake Valley 16 October 1847.

Historic Sites and Monuments

There are several historic sites associated with the Mormon Battalion. These include the Mormon Battalion Memorial Visitor’s Center in San Diego, California; Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial in Los Angeles, California; and the Mormon Battalion Monument in Memory Grove, Salt Lake City, Utah. Monuments have also been built in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, and trail markers have been placed on segments of the battalion route.

The Mormon Battalion Historic Site of San Diego which was established in 2009 has been chosen to receive the California Historian of the Year Commercial Award which will be presented at the Conference of California Historical Societies on Saturday, 21 June 2014 in Los Angeles, California. The newly restored facility includes interactive displays, hands on activities, and entertaining presentations for people of all ages. Those who visit the site are also able to relive the trials and accomplishments of the Mormon Battalion through journals of members of the battalion.

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

of-common-sense.site123.me/

Haun’s Mill was a small settlement 12 miles east of Far West, Missouri, and was founded by Jacob Haun, who some sources say was a convert to the Church from Green Bay, Wisconsin, though recent research from Brigham Young University professor Alex Baugh seems to show he was not a member of the Church. Baugh’s research also indicates that this man’s name has been misspelled for many years and his last name is actually spelled Hawn, as his headstone in Yamhill, Oregon, records.

Hawn had moved to Shoal Creek in 1835. Hawn’s Mill (which is named after its founder, Jacob Hawn, so its spelling has been recently changed to reflect the discovered correction in Hawn’s name) consisted of a mill, a blacksmith shop, a few houses, and a population of about twenty to thirty families at the mill itself and one hundred families in the greater neighborhood. Tragically for the people in the wagon train, on October 30, nine wagons with immigrants from Kirtland arrived at Hawn’s Mill and decided to rest there before continuing onto Far West. Tensions in the area had been rising between the Mormons and non-Mormons for quite some time. Several misunderstandings and prejudices led the governor of Missouri, Lilburn W. Boggs, to issue what became known as the infamous Extermination Order, stating, “The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary for the public good. Their outrages are beyond all description” (See History of the Church, 3:175). After a small battle between the Saints and the non-Mormons at Crooked River, Joseph Smith, prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, advised everyone in the area where tensions were highest (which included the settlement of Hawn’s Mill) to relocate to Far West, Missouri, or to Adam-ondi-Ahman (also in Missouri) for safety. Records seem to indicate that Jacob Hawn did not want to leave his property, so he stayed and instructed the people of the settlement to stay as well.

Despite a so-called peace settlement on October 28, in which both parties signed an agreement to not attack the other, the non-Mormon party did not disband. On the afternoon of October 30, about 240 armed men approached and attacked Hawn’s Mill.

Joseph Young, Sr., a recent arrival at Hawn’s Mill, described the late afternoon setting: “The banks of Shoal creek on either side teemed with children sporting and playing, while their mothers were engaged in domestic employments, and their fathers employed in guarding the mills and other property, while others were engaged in gathering in their crops for their winter consumption. The weather was very pleasant, the sun shone clear, all was tranquil, and no one expressed any apprehension of the awful crisis that was near us—even at our doors” (In History of the Church, 3:184). While there was no indication for the settlers that danger was so near, they did have some men on lookout and an emergency plan of using the blacksmith shop as a fort if necessary. With only minimal warning, the mob attacked at about 4:00 p.m. Many women and children ran to the woods to hide while the men fortified themselves in the blacksmith shop. Though David Evans, the military leader of the small group of Saints, cried for peace, the mob opened fire on everyone, pitilessly attacking women, children, and even elderly men. Two of the women, Amanda Smith and Mary Stedwell, grabbed Amanda’s two daughters and ran across the millpond walkway while the mob continued to fire at them. The mob quickly forced its way into the blacksmith shop and one man shot a ten-year-old boy, Sardius Smith, in the head, reportedly saying later, “Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon” (In Jenson, Historical Record, Dec. 1888, p. 673; see also Allen and Leonard, Story of the Latter-day Saints, pp. 127–28). Sardius’ younger brother, Alma, who was only seven, saw both his father and brother killed. Alma was shot in the hip, which shattered his bone, but he was miraculously healed (see story below). Even with the people who were able to run to safety in the woods and hills, at least 17 people were killed in the massacre, and 13 were wounded. Jacob Hawn was wounded, but he survived. Looking back on the tragedy a few years later, Joseph Smith said, “At Hauns’ Mill [sic] the brethren went contrary to my counsel; if they had not, their lives would have been spared” (History of the Church, 5:137). This is a tragic story in the history of the Saints, and the people who died were all innocent and undeserving of their fate, but the story is a testament that we need to follow the prophet of God whose counsel will protect us and guide us. We can also learn from this sad experience to work harder to develop peaceful relationships with those who do not believe as we do. Violence and anger will only bring more violence and anger. Here is the miraculous story of Amanda Smith’s faith which helped to heal her son Alma after his hip was shattered in the Hawn’s Mill massacre.

On that terrible day in 1838, as the firing ceased and the mobsters left, [Amanda Smith] returned to the mill and saw her eldest son, Willard, carrying his seven-year-old brother, Alma. She cried, “Oh! my Alma is dead!”

“No, mother,” he said, “I think Alma is not dead. But father and brother Sardius are [dead]!” But there was no time for tears now. Alma’s entire hipbone was shot away. Amanda later recalled:

“Flesh, hip bone, joint and all had been ploughed out. . . . We laid little Alma on a bed in our tent and I examined the wound. It was a ghastly sight. I knew not what to do. . . . Yet was I there, all that long, dreadful night, with my dead and my wounded, and none but God as our physician and help. ‘Oh my Heavenly Father,’ I cried, ‘what shall I do? Thou seest my poor wounded boy and knowest my inexperience. Oh, Heavenly Father, direct me what to do!’ And then I was directed as by a voice speaking to me.

“ . . . Our fire was still smouldering. . . . I was directed to take . . . ashes and make a lye and put a cloth saturated with it right into the wound. . . . Again and again I saturated the cloth and put it into the hole . . . , and each time mashed flesh and splinters of bone came away with the cloth; and the wound became as white as chicken’s flesh.

“Having done as directed I again prayed to the Lord and was again instructed as distinctly as though a physician had been standing by speaking to me. Near by was a slippery-elm tree. From this I was told to make a . . . poultice and fill the wound with it. . . . The poultice was made, and the wound, which took fully a quarter of a yard of linen to cover, . . . was properly dressed. . . .

“I removed the wounded boy to a house . . . and dressed his hip; the Lord directing me as before. I was reminded that in my husband’s trunk there was a bottle of balsam. This I poured into the wound, greatly soothing Alma’s pain.

“‘Alma my child,’ I said, ‘you believe that the Lord made your hip?’

“‘Yes, mother.’

“‘Well, the Lord can make something there in the place of your hip, don’t you believe he can, Alma?’

“‘Do you think that the Lord can, mother?’ inquired the child, in his simplicity.

“‘Yes, my son,’ I replied, ‘he has showed it all to me in a vision.’

“Then I laid him comfortably on his face, and said: ‘Now you lay like that, and don’t move, and the Lord will make you another hip.’

“So Alma laid on his face for five weeks, until he was entirely recovered—a flexible gristle having grown in place of the missing joint and socket, which remains to this day a marvel to physicians. …

“It is now nearly forty years ago, but Alma has never been the least crippled during his life, and he has traveled quite a long period of the time as a missionary of the gospel and [is] a living miracle of the power of God” (“Amanda Smith,” in Andrew Jenson, comp., Historical Record, 9 vols. [1882–90], 5:84–86; paragraphing and punctuation altered).

Sources:

Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual, 2003, 193–210

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765642730/Picturing-history-Hawns-Mill-and-Thomas-McBride.html

“The Shield of Faith,” James E. Faust, General Conference, April 2000

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Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Reasons for the Original Exodus

In a bone-chilling temperature of -12°Fahrenheit, 1,000 people gathered in Nauvoo, Illinois, on February 3, 1996, to remember the original Mormon Exodus from the Saints’ beloved city. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently referred to as “Mormons”) had been forced from their homes many times before, but this occasion in 1846 was the last time. Then president of the Church, Brigham Young, said:

We could have remained sheltered in our homes had it not been for the threats and hostile demonstrations of our enemies. Our only means of avoiding a rupture was by starting in midwinter. Our homes, gardens, orchards, farms, streets, bridges, mills, public halls, magnificent Temple . . .  we leave as a monument of our patriotism, industry, economy, uprightness of purpose and integrity of heart (History of the Church, 7:603).

The Saints were, this time, leaving not only their homes and city behind, but (as they thought), their country. Heading for the unsettled West, they intended to leave the United States, where they had endured so much persecution. However, the Utah Territory, where they settled, soon became part of the United States after the war with Mexico.

Bathsheba W. Smith, who had already been driven from her home in Missouri, recalled her feelings and actions when leaving Nauvoo:

My last act in that precious spot was to tidy the rooms, sweep up the floor, and set the broom in its accustomed place behind the door. Then with emotions in my heart…I gently closed the door and faced an unknown future, faced it with faith in God and with no less assurance of the ultimate establishment of the Gospel in the West and of its true, enduring principles, than I had felt in those trying scenes in Missouri.

Joseph Smith, first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had been martyred on June 27, 1844, and since that time, tensions had steadily mounted between the Saints and their neighbors. Despite efforts at peace and resolving differences, Brigham Young (Joseph Smith’s successor as prophet) realized the Saints would have to leave if they hoped to be left alone. Tensions were so high, they couldn’t even wait for the spring. As temperatures plummeted, the Saints gathered what they could bring with them and prepared to leave in the middle of winter for an as-yet-unknown destination.

Crossing the Mississippi

Most of the Saints travelled to the Utah Territory, but some, like the Prophet Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, were too old to make the journey. One of her granddaughters remembered saying goodbye to her grandmother:

I was five years old when we started from Nauvoo. We crossed over the Mississippi in the skiff in the dusk of the evening. We bid goodbye to our dear old feeble grandmother, Lucy Mack Smith. I can never forget the bitter tears she shed when she bid us goodbye for the last time in this life. She knew it would be the last time she would see her son’s family (Martha Ann Smith).

It was with astounding faith that so many left behind their homes in the dead of winter for a completely unknown future. This is why their courage is still so inspiring today and why it is important to remember their sacrifices.

Flags of Different Nations Represented in the Nauvoo Exodus

Nauvoo Celebration

Celebrating the sesquicentennial of the original Saints’ departure from Nauvoo, more Saints gathered in Nauvoo to remember the trials and sacrifices of those who had gone before. The weather in 1846 was even colder than normal, finally allowing the covered wagons to cross a frozen river rather than taking a precarious ferry ride dodging ice flows.

George Q. Cannon, who later became an apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ, recalled the trials of the Saints’ departure in the frigid winter.

Those of us who can remember when we were compelled to abandon Nauvoo, when the winter was so inclement, know how dark and gloomy the circumstances of the Saints were, with the mob surrounding our outer settlements and threatening to destroy us and how trying it was to the faith of the people of God. The word was to cross the Mississippi and to launch out into an unknown wilderness–to go where, no one knew. Who knew anything of the terrors of the journey thither, or of the dangers that might have to be met and contended with? Who knew anything about the country to be traversed? Moving out with faith that was undisturbed by its unknown terrors. It was by faith that this was accomplished.

Since the sesquicentennial in 1996, an annual commemoration has been held in Nauvoo. Those who wish to participate gather and walk through the town down to the river. In 2013, many Latter-day Saint senior missionary couples participated in the walk. Many carried flags of countries where many of the original Saints had immigrated from. While singing hymns and being able to feel personally at least a part of what the original Saints must have felt, participants carried the American flag down to the river and raised it there.

Nauvoo Commemoration Includes Whole Community

Beginning in 2011, another annual event has been held in conjunction with the Exodus walk. The Untold Nauvoo Stories Symposium (sponsored by the City of Nauvoo, the Nauvoo Tourism Office, the Joseph Smith Historic Site, and the Historic Nauvoo Visitors’ Center) is growing larger every year with participants from the community. Historians and residents share stories of many of Nauvoo’s past inhabitants—Mormon and non-Mormon alike—to learn more about Nauvoo’s past through stories, photos, and music.

Participating in events like these help us to remember and learn from our past — not only remembering sacrifices great people made in order to make life easier for the rest of us, but also remembering the injustices that others helped perpetuate out of ignorance. We need to be aware of others’ beliefs and try to understand them. We need to remember that it is not right to act in fear and anger to the harm of those around us.

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When most people think of Latter-day Saint or Mormon pioneers, they think of settlers from the Eastern United States or immigrants from Europe.  However, other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently called the Mormon Church) left their homelands to follow the Lord and His prophet as well. Polynesians responded to the prophet’s call to gather to Zion in the late 1800’s.

Mormon Missionary Serving in Hawaii

Brigham Young, then president of the Church, called my great, great uncle John Anderson West to leave Parowan, Utah, to preach the gospel in the Hawaiian islands in the late 1850’s and again 14 years later.  In his journal, John recorded his initial difficulty in communicating with the islanders.  With divine help, he slowly learned Hawaiian.  He loved the humble, hospitable people. During his first mission, missionary work progressed slowly.  When he returned again in 1870, many locals converted to Mormonism.

One convert gave John a horse to use while he traversed the vast Big Island. John recorded how a recent volcanic eruption had totally wiped out villages where he had once taught the gospel and he mourned the loss of friends who perished. The converts were faithful and endured great hardship as they converted to Christianity.

Pacific Islander Emigration to Utah

Converts left the Pacific Islands and emigrated to Utah. The leaders of the Church found a place in Utah’s Skull Valley, about 75 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, for the Pacific Islanders to settle. They named the settlement Iosepa (Yo-see-pa) honoring President Joseph F. Smith who was one of the first missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands, and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Though many parts of the Pacific Island’s leeward shores are desert-like, the Islanders had never experienced jarring winters which compromised the settlers’ health. Outbreaks of smallpox, diphtheria, pneumonia, and leprosy took a heavy toll. The emigrants creatively tried to adapt their traditional food to Utah food options, even substituting flour and cornstarch for poi. They tried to grow seaweed, as well as other more traditional mainland crops. However, crop failures forced many men to seek work as gold and silver miners. They created Kanaka Lake, a small reservoir, for swimming and recreational activities. Iosepa’s grid pattern streets were lined with yellow roses.

Richard Poulsens’ A History of Iosepa, Utah, reminisced that

The Polynesians were especially proud of their luaus, where they dressed in traditional costumes and performed the songs and dances of the islands along with their Gosh Ute Indian neighbors from the adjoining Reservation. On these occasions large feasts were prepared consisting of pigs and sheep cooked in an imu (underground oven), along with the making of laulau by wrapping carp (raised in their reservoir) inside corn husks. The traditional island poi was replaced with a substitute concoction that used cornstarch and flour.

In 1911, Utah historian J. Cecil Alter wrote,

Iosepa is perhaps the most successful individual colonization proposition that has been attempted by the Mormon people in the United States… There are 1,120 acres practically all in use and half as much more is being brought under the magic wand of the Hawaiian irrigator.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “As many as 200 [residents] lived [in Iosepa] from 1889 until 1917. Many then returned to their homeland, drawn by the LDS temple going up in Laie, Hawaii.”  Iosepa was deserted in 1917.

Remembering Iosepa’s Polynesian Mormon Pioneers

Vermin Hawes, a descendant of Iosepa settlers, coordinated a Memorial Day event in 1980 at Iosepa to repair and beautify the area. Polynesians now gather annually on Memorial Day at Iosepa for a three-day festival celebrating the pioneers’ history with memorial services, games, and a luau.

Late LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated a bronze bust Polynesian warrior monument to the memory of the settlers of Iosepa on August, 28, 1989.

Visitors continue to pay tribute to the Polynesian converts’ memories in Iosepa. Celebrating Utah’s 2013 Pioneer Day at Iosepa, Jacob Fitisemanu from Taylorsville, Utah, imagined being part of the original settlement and reflected,

There is a spiritual connection whenever we come here. We try to be reverent when we come here. We understand it.

They made it work. They were very spiritual people who managed to survive. They brought water to town from the top of the mountain four or five miles away for an irrigation system. They were an industrial people.

The converts of Iosepa settled their portion of Utah’s barren wilderness to be closer to the Salt Lake City Temple so they could participate in sacred Mormon temple rituals. The courage born of their faith enabled them to overcome the challenges of bitter winters and unusual food and culture. When a temple was built in the Hawaiian Islands, they returned to worship and build up the Church in Hawaii.

Having lived in Hawaii, I know that the Polynesians’ incredible faith in Jesus Christ and His Church continues today. They diligently spread the Savior’s love and aloha to others through food, friendship, and a constant invitation to learn of and worship the Savior in His holy temples throughout the Pacific Islands.

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It wasn’t until the latter part of the 20th century that The Church of Jesus Christ began to take a more proactive interest in historical sites. Since early Latter-day Saints migrated west, many historical sites, such as homes and businesses in Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, Illinois, had fallen into disrepair or been demolished completely. When Church leaders began to organize the reconstruction of such sites, there was a lot of research and restorative work to be done. In many cases, property had to be purchased from current owners, as early Latter-day Saints had sold it when they moved west. The Church organized the restoration of many of these historic sites, and erected monuments at other locations, carefully choosing sites where significant events had occurred. Mormon Newsroom reports that “exhibits and guides at each location tell the story of [The Church of Jesus Christ] and its people to thousands of visitors from around the world each year, encouraging a broader understanding of the time, the culture, and the religious significance of each location.”

Historical Accuracy

A great deal of research goes into developing an historical site. Don Enders, a recently retired historian for The Church of Jesus Christ, told Mormon Newsroom that before beginning any restoration, extensive research is conducted. He said:

We work with local historians to cover the details in the time period; then we examine the present construction [of the building]. And regardless of condition, the building offers us clues. The type of glass, nails, moldings, construction methods or size of windows that were used, even saw marks in the wood, are all telltale signs of how a building is put together.

Researchers also examine official government records, such as tax and real estate documents to ensure the correct location or building is being restored. Researchers value the historical accuracy of finished projects, and work to ensure that the site is as accurate as possible. Steven L. Olsen, a member of the Church Historic Sites Committee, told Mormon Newsroom:

We try to make the finished product look real, but it’s kind of hybrid between modern and historic technologies. We hope that it’s engaging enough from a historical perspective that people will suspend their disbelief and look past the modern elements of the site to learn about the real history.

Types of Historical Sites

Under the umbrella of the Church History Department and the Historic Sites Committee, there are several types of sites for members and friends of other faiths alike to visit.

• Historic Sites: These include restored buildings and tours in places of historical significance, such as Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, Illinois.
• Historic Landmarks: These exist primarily to emphasize the Latter-day Saints’ focus on worship, and include historic churches, tabernacles, and temples, such as the St. George Tabernacle in St. George, Utah.
• Historic Markers: These exist in sites where no restoration was possible, but where important pieces of Latter-day Saint history occurred, such as the temple site at Far West, Missouri.
• Visitors’ Centers: There are 10 Visitors’ Centers in the United States, most of them near temples. They are staffed by volunteer missionaries and intend to teach visitors about the doctrines and beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ.

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  Hill Cumorah Pageant

• Pageants: These outdoor, large-scale plays depict important events from Church history and the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Some of the more well-known include the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra, NY, and the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, UT.

Mission of Historical Sites

While some of the historic sites are merely signs and landmarks, many sites have full- and part-time volunteer missionaries staffing them. These missionaries are well-equipped to give tours, answer questions, and teach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Steven L. Olsen explained: “We preserve site to help provide an experience that opens a person’s heart and soul to the message. Many have found the beginnings of their testimonies when they have gone to the historic sites and had the Spirit bear witness to them”. The purpose of Church historic sites is to provide a window to the past, an opportunity for people to learn more about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ, and an environment for visitors to feel the peace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

All historic sites are free and open to the public. Find an historical site near you: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/historic-sites

This article was written by Megan McDaniel

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Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

By Doris White.

The early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently referred to as “Mormons”) suffered a great deal at the hands of mobs and misguided government officials. Looking at the places where they have left their mark teaches us a great deal about the importance of faith and upholding the spirit of the laws of freedom we enjoy in this country.

Kenneth Mays, an institute teacher at Salt Lake University, is a history enthusiast for anything to do with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most Mormon historical sites are located in upstate New York; Nauvoo, Illinois; Utah; Kirtland, Ohio; and near Independence, Missouri. However, Mays has made a hobby of visiting some Latter-day Saint (“Mormon”) sites off the beaten path.

Mays recently made his top-ten list of less-popular Mormon historical sites he recommends to other curious history buffs.

Thomas L. Kane Chapel

Thomas Kane was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he was one of the very few friends the early Saints had. Many Mormons were driven from their homes several times and even driven out of Missouri on an extermination order from the governor. Kane was well-connected politically and tried to use his influence on behalf of the Saints. He also worked closely with Brigham Young after the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith when the Mormons fled to the Utah desert.

Kane resided in Kane, Pennsylvania, where he built a Presbyterian chapel in 1878 at the request of his aunt Ann Gray Thomas. He requested to be buried between the stone entrances of the chapel!

In 1970, this chapel was purchased by The Church of Jesus Christ. Usually The Church of Jesus Christ builds its own facilities, but nothing has been altered in the Kane Chapel, and in honor of Thomas Kane, it still bears his name. The Church also erected a statue of Major General Kane on the premises.

John Young Cabin

This cabin, barely still standing, was owned by John Young, son of Brigham Young, and is located near Flagstaff, Arizona. Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ, once received a revelation while camped in these woods.

There have been ranger-guided walks to see this cabin as well as Little Leroux Spring which talk about the history of the Flagstaff settlement.

Honeymoon Trail

The Honeymoon Trail goes from Winslow, Arizona, to St. George, Utah. It got its name for some of its most frequent travelers. Mormon doctrine emphasizes the importance of keeping the law of chastity (meaning no sexual relations outside of marriage and complete fidelity within marriage), but it also stresses the importance of getting married in a Mormon temple so the marriage is sealed for eternity, not just for this life.

In early Mormon history in Utah, there was only one temple for many years: the St. George Temple. Because it was considered inappropriate for an engaged couple to take the many-day trek to the temple without first being married, couples were married civilly before traveling to St. George to be sealed in God’s holy temple.

Many couples left their names in graffiti along the way! Some scratched their names into the sandstone cliffs while others painted their names in axle grease along the trail.

Middle Spring

Located nine miles north of Elkhart in Morton County in northeast Kansas, Middle Spring marks an important stop along the route taken by members of the Mormon Battalion. The Mormon Battalion was made up of about 500 Latter-day Saints who were “invited” by the U.S. Government to help fight in the Mexican War in 1846. Many of them left their families who were travelling to the Utah Territory in order to be part of the Mormon Battalion. They were led by Colonel James Allen until he died on the way, in Leavenworth, Kansas.

The Mormon Battalion pushed on, following the Cimarron Route of the Santa Fe Trail. This was a treacherous trail notorious for its lack of water. Middle Spring marked a very important stop for the Mormon Battalion on its way, offering the first fresh water for 50 or 60 miles through heat and sand. Not a journey I would like to take! Being that hot and sweaty it would be hard to not use it to clean up a bit.

Wagon Ruts

Guernsey State Park in Wyoming helps preserve some of the original ruts from the Oregon Trail, a part of which is the same route the Mormon pioneers took.  While most ruts from the original trails have been lost to development or erosion, many ruts here are almost perfectly preserved.

Mays said of his own visit, “The wagons and wheels of the carts engraved the rock. These trails are amazing. Some spots are about 4–5 feet deep. Other sites in the area may be only a foot deep with grass on either side.” A half-mile stretch in the parks preserves these ruts. That is some kind of determination to etch ruts that deep into rock. The pioneers truly had iron wills.

Also, only half a mile away is Register Cliff, where many pioneers carved their names into the rocks.

Scotts Bluff

Another stop on the trail for the Mormon pioneers was Scotts Bluff in Nebraska, which overlooks miles of rolling prairie. When Brigham Young was leading the first group of Saints through here in 1847, he became tired of the light-minded behavior and foul language of some of his companions. Near Scotts Bluff, he said, “I am about to revolt,” and proceeded to chastise the group for their behavior.

The Saints accepted Brigham Young’s rebuke and apparently reformed their behavior on the way to the Salt Lake Valley.

Scotts Bluff is preserved today as a national monument.

Outfitting Station

A few years after the Saints first entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, missionary work brought many converts from Europe to the United States, where these humble people hoped to join the rest of The Church of Jesus Christ. Many who sailed to New Orleans journeyed up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and then began their trek west. First, though, they needed to be outfitted. One outfitting station was located in Wyoming, Nebraska. This particular station was established in 1864 and ran for about three years.

Today the only thing that remains is a small placard, marking the location of the old store. It is on private property today. Mays said he spoke to the landowner who recognized a special spirit in the area, which Mays himself also felt when he visited.

This area held some of the last shreds of civilization the Saints would see until they established their own settlement in the Utah Territory.

Brigham Young’s Birthplace

On the southern border of Vermont, in a small town called Whitingham, there are several markers of the birthplace of Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Brigham Young is the man who led the Saints to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 after the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. The Saints had been turned out of their homes many times and finally fled the country in hopes of finding some place desolate enough to be left alone. Soon after they left, though, their new land became part of the United States as a territory.

The land Brigham Young was born on is not owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and nothing remains of the original home, but the marker is on private property, and the current owner has left the marker untouched.

Mormon Temple

Though the “Mormon Temple” is just its nickname and, in fact, has nothing to do with The Church of Jesus Christ, this building in Geneva, Illinois, was at least started by Latter-day Saints. When many Saints were settling in Nauvoo, Illinois, some of them settled in Geneva. They laid a sturdy foundation for a tabernacle there, but all of them ended up going west with Brigham Young before the building was completed.

Later settlers, finding a solid foundation, decided to put a building on top. The “Mormon Temple” still stands today, a beautiful red brick home which retains its nickname.

Chatburn Baptismal Site

In 1837, a few missionaries were sent to England from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heber C. Kimball was one of these missionaries. He and his companion found great success in the towns of Chatburn and Downham, near Preston.

Hidden behind a renovated church in Chatburn, England, is a small pool of water where Heber C. Kimball baptized 100–200 new members. The area is seemingly unchanged since that time. Missionaries today sometimes visit this site to remember those who have gone before them.

Mormon History

The lessons we can learn from visiting these and other Mormon historical sites are invaluable. It is good to learn from the past, both from mistakes and from things that were done right. It is inspiring to look at the sacrifices others made in the name of faith and their God. Learn more about what Mormons believe today and how they live their lives by visiting Mormon.org.

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Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The wonderful Crandall Historical Printing Museum in Provo, Utah, undertook in January 2013 to re-enact the original printing of the Book of Mormon. The Crandall museum has a working copy of the printing press used to print the original 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon, and it was on this that they tried to duplicate the original process.

The original press was capable of printing 16 pages at a time. The Grandin Building in New York is set up today as the original shop was set up. It allows visitors the chance to see how the printing process worked. The wonderful thing about the Crandall museum (275 East Center Street in Provo) is that it allows visitors to see the same process all the way across the country and gives them a historical lesson on printing in general and how its history still affects us today.

The first step in the printing process was for the printer to look at the manuscript and begin to take individual metal letters and recreate the text in what was called a composing stick. This held a few lines’ worth of text in the width of a printed column. The letters placed in the composing stick were pulled from their storage places. The capital letters were held in the upper case and the small letters were held in the lower case, which is where the term “upper- and lower-case letters” comes from. The text (including punctuation) in the composing stick was the mirror image of the printed page. Once it was full, the letters were transferred to the printing press.

The printing press would hold 16 pages’ worth of text. Once they were all filled, workers would ink the press, lay the paper down, and run it through the press. Once folded and cut according to directions, these stacks of paper were compiled into signatures. Signatures can be thought of as mini books. It takes a stack of signatures to make a whole book. Once all the necessary signatures were completed, they were stacked and trimmed to make the pages even. They were then sewn together and compressed very tightly to reduce their size. Finally they were glued and bound.

I have had the opportunity to visit both the Grandin Building and the Crandall Historical Printing Museum. Each place holds a special spirit which testifies of the hand of the Lord being in the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon. The Crandall museum follows the hand of the Lord through history, through the invention of the printing press and how the chain of events came down through time to make all Holy Scripture available to everyone. The Grandin Building gives visitors the opportunity to put into context the publication of the Book of Mormon and the miracles that were involved in getting it to the world.

It is a wonderful experience to be reminded that the hand of the Lord is in all things and that nothing can stop His work from being accomplished. Sometimes in today’s world it seems the adversary is attacking us on all sides. It can be overwhelming and sometimes cause us to despair, but he will not come off conqueror. We are promised that God will win (and in effect, has already won) this battle. While evil and wickedness seems to prevail around us now, God has already conquered him and we can put our faith in God.

The blessings of Holy Scripture in our life, including the Book of Mormon, reveal to us God’s will. When we read scripture, we read the voice of the Lord and are told exactly what we need to do to return to Him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdGI1_F0Gmk&feature=share&list=PLupv77S9HWjVHXP2WUofa9KeJOFt6bHOM

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.