The Mormon Trail is the 1,300-mile (2,100 km) long route from Illinois to Utah on which Mormon pioneers traveled from 1846–47. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.
The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah. At the time of the planning of the exodus in 1846, the territory comprising present-day Utah was part of the Republic of Mexico, with which the U.S. soon went to war over a border dispute left unresolved after the annexation of Texas. The Salt Lake Valley became American territory as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war.
Brigham Young Jr. served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1899 until his death. His tenure was interrupted for one week in 1901 when Joseph F. Smith was the president of the Quorum.
The Mormon corridor are the areas of western North America that were settled between 1850 and approximately 1890 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are commonly called "Mormons".
The Mormon handcart pioneers were participants in the migration of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City, Utah, who used handcarts to transport their belongings. The Mormon handcart movement began in 1856 and continued until 1860.
Ephraim Knowlton Hanks was a prominent member of the 19th-Century Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer and a well known leader in the early settlement of Utah.
John Riggs Murdock was a Mormon pioneer, Utah politician, and leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Beaver, Utah. He is sometimes credited as the leader of the most down-and-back companies in Latter-day Saint history, as he directed multiple ox-drawn wagon trains sent from Utah to bring back both merchandise and emigrating church members from back East. Murdock also served several missions in the eastern United States.
Joseph Stacy Murdock was an American colonizer, leader, and Latter-day Saint hymn writer. He wrote the words to "Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice."
Lehi is a community within Mesa, Arizona. Lehi existed prior to the founding of Mesa, and was annexed by its much larger former neighbor in 1970. It is now the northern limit of central Mesa.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second-largest religious denomination in Arizona, behind the Roman Catholic Church. In 2022, the church reported 439,411 members in Arizona, about 6% of the state's population. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, roughly 5% of Arizonans self-identify most closely with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wyoming refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Wyoming. The church's first congregation in Wyoming was organized in 1877. It has since grown to 67,797 members in 172 congregations.
Samuel George Ellsworth (1916–1997) was an American historian specializing in Western United States history and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a founding editor of the Western Political Quarterly.
Edmund Lovell Ellsworth was a noteworthy early "pioneer" member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was noted for his membership in the initial pioneer company, and later for acting as Captain of the First Handcart company of Mormon Pioneers during their emigration from Liverpool, England to the Salt Lake Valley in 1856.
Heber Robert McBride was an autobiographer who immigrated to the United States from England in 1856 at the age of thirteen. He was a Mormon pioneer who migrated to Utah with the Martin Handcart Company. McBride was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The City of Mesa Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 1212 N. Center Street in the city of Mesa, Arizona. It is the final resting place of various notable early citizens of Mesa. Among those who are interred in the cemetery are early pioneers, mayors, businessman, criminals and veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
The Willie and Martin handcart companies were two companies of LDS handcart pioneers that were participating in the migration of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City, Utah and used handcarts to transport their belongings. The LDS handcart movement began in 1856 and continued until 1860. The trek was disastrous for these two companies, which started their journey dangerously late in 1856 and were caught by heavy snow and severe temperatures in central Wyoming. Despite a dramatic rescue effort, more than 210 of the 980 pioneers in these two companies died along the way. John Chislett, a survivor, wrote, "Many a father pulled his cart, with his little children on it, until the day preceding his death."
Edward Martin was born in 1818 and died in 1882. After joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Britain, he immigrated to the United States and spent much of his life serving in various positions within the church. He is most prominently known for his role as captain of the Martin Handcart Company, a Mormon Handcart Pioneer company that suffered heavy losses when they encountered harsh winter conditions while traveling through Wyoming. He is one of many figures that played a prominent role in the Westward Expansion of the 19th century.
Charles Crismon was a miller, most notable for helping establish the city of Mesa, Arizona. He was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of 32 and went on to contribute much to the growth and development of the church. Crismon died on March 23, 1890, when he was 84 years old in Lehi, Arizona.
