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History of the Mormons

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) was severely persecuted in its early days in the eastern and midwestern United States. The heart of the Mormon Church's response to persecution was to form communities in which its members could freely practice their religion and create the kind of social, cultural, economic and political climate they desired. The Mormons were looking for a place where they could build a kingdom of God on earth. It was in the drive to find and create that place that "the Mormons became a genuine people, a covenant folk like ancient Israel with a shared history and at last a homeland" (Mulder, quoted in Meinig, 1965, p. 197). The Mormon mission was carried out in the Western United States with far greater success than most other recent religions have achieved. Here they established what cultural geographers call a distinct "region," an area in which the Mormons "constitute a highly self-conscious subculture whose chief bond is religion and one which has long established its mark upon the life and landscape of a particular area" (Meinig, 1965, p. 191). Homogeneity was the protection that Mormons sought and, at the center of the Domain in Utah they achieved it after extensive struggles. In other parts of the region the struggle was made more difficult by the presence of so many Gentiles, or non-Mormons. Idaho, as the strongest center of Mormonism outside Utah proved to be a focal point for anti-Mormon feelings and the site of a long battle to suppress the Church and its influence.

The Western center of the Mormon domain is in the state of Utah. From there the Mormons expanded, carrying their program of settlement and community outward. Southeastern Idaho was one of several outposts of Mormonism that was established after the Western center in Utah was stable. Because Mormons in Idaho were not a clear majority, as they were in much of Utah, the persecution of the Church was very inte...

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History of the Mormons. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 17:26, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1690336.html