How Mormon settlers left their mark on the Midwest, shaping communities, culture, and controversy across the heartland.

There’s a strong chance that the state of Utah or the Broadway show “The Book of Mormon” — if not both — are among the first things that come to mind when someone hears the word “Mormonism.” But what about the Midwest?

Before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) settled in Utah, they had to journey through America’s heartland on the Mormon Trail, where they experienced triumphs and setbacks on their way to find a safe place to settle permanently.

A Quick History 

The Mormon faith traces its history back to the early 19th century with Joseph Smith. According to Mormon teachings, Smith received a vision from God and was led by an angel to a set of golden plates buried near modern-day Palmyra and Manchester in upstate New York. 

The plates were allegedly inscribed with an ancient text that Smith translated into what is known as the Book of Mormon. In addition to the Bible, the Book of Mormon is accepted as the holy scripture in the LDS Church’s teachings.

In summary, the Book of Mormon tells the history of a group of Hebrews who migrated from Jerusalem to America around 600 B.C. There was a split among the group, and, after losing their faith, one side was labeled as “heathens.” 

According to the book, these “heathens” were the ancestors of the Native Americans. The group that kept their faith allegedly built great cities that were later destroyed, but Jesus rescued the residents after his resurrection. 

“[The Book of Mormon] is great. It helps round out the full history of the world. It touches on things the Bible doesn’t,” said Alyssa Ellis, a member of the LDS Church living in Minnesota. “It explains why and how [Native Americans] were here. It’s cool to know that Jesus was in America a thousand years before [Christopher] Columbus.”

Westward Expansion 

Smith started the LDS Church in New York and gained a large following, but according to former LDS Church member Jamie Lyman (who was raised in the church but left due to personal beliefs), competition was one of the factors that pushed him westward. 

“Smith wasn’t really able to convert [as many] people in New York as he wanted. There were a lot of different kinds of religions fighting over getting members. So Smith got out of town,” Lyman said.

Smith and his followers moved west, passing through Ohio, picking up new followers, and passing on their teachings as they traveled. In 1831, he established the new official LDS Church in Kirkland, Ohio, where construction began on a temple.

Smith then sent missionaries to Missouri, where they settled in Jackson County. This was the location, according to Smith’s visions, where he planned to build the city of Zion.

“Zion was basically Jerusalem 2.0. It was intended to be a grand holy city where all the Latter Day Saints could live peacefully,” Ellis said. “Smith had a vision from God that told him where to build the city. God told him the holy city was to be built in Missouri. This was where the second coming of Christ was supposed to happen.”

The intended location of Zion was the modern-day city of Independence, Missouri, about 20 minutes east of Kansas City. 

The Missouri-Mormon War

According to archives from the Missouri Secretary of State, the locals characterized the Mormon settlers as “fanatics whose clannish behavior made a mockery of republican institutions.” The Mormons, however, claimed they were living peacefully and were being attacked for their religious beliefs. 

“They don’t teach much about this at worship, but my understanding is that the locals in the area felt threatened and were unable to open themselves up to the missionaries’ teachings,” Ellis said.

Violence erupted in 1833, which pushed the Mormon settlers out of Jackson County.

“After the [Latter Day] Saints were kicked out of Zion, it was actually the Missouri legislature that created a new county, Caldwell,” Ellis said. “A bunch of politicians stepped in and decided all of us should be secluded to a single county for our protection. Not everyone was on board with that.”

According to the Missouri archives, Caldwell County was created in 1836 as a “separate but equal” solution to the rising Mormon conflict — about half a century before the same language was used to justify racially segregating public services in some southern states. All Mormons were told to move to Caldwell.

The solution didn’t last long, the Mormon population began to grow rapidly and spill across the border into neighboring counties. More violence and riots erupted in early 1838, and Missouri militias, local mobs, and Mormon paramilitary units began roaming the countryside, engaging in isolated skirmishes. 

“We went to Missouri because God quite literally led us there and promised us a peaceful life. We could’ve had that, too, but the locals wanted nothing to do with us,” Ellis said.

The boiling point of the conflict occurred in the fall of 1838 when a Mormon unit attacked an official Missouri militia unit at what became known as the Battle of Crooked River. As a result, Gov. Lilburn Boggs issued Executive Order 44, also known as the “Extermination Order.”

The order called for all Mormons in the state of Missouri to be “exterminated or driven from the state if necessary.” The order was officially rescinded in June of 1976.

On Oct. 30, 1838, an organized mob attacked the Mormon community of Haun’s Mill in eastern Caldwell County. This was the deadliest event of the Mormon War, with 18 Mormons being murdered execution-style. This became known as the Haun’s Mill Massacre.

Missouri archives estimate around 8,000 Mormons were driven from their Missouri homes and out of the state altogether. They moved back east and resettled in Illinois. 

Settling in Nauvoo

Due to widespread defections from the LDS Church in Ohio, Smith left and regrouped with the remaining Mormons in 1838 in Missouri before being driven out by Executive Order 44. The remaining Mormons established a new settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois. 

“Things went really well once they got settled in Nauvoo. The church grew, more people wanted to join, and things were looking up,” Ellis said. “But as you’d expect, there were still many people who just could not comprehend what the Latter-Day Saints were and wanted us gone even though we were living our lives peacefully.”

By 1844, tensions began to grow between the local Illinoisians and the Mormons. 

“It was the polygamy. The people in Illinois really, really hated Mormon polygamy,” Lyman said.

According to Lyman, Nauvoo is still preserved to this day.

“Nauvoo is a historical town. They keep it exactly how the Mormon community originally had it. It’s nearly perfectly preserved,” Lyman said.

The Mormon Trail

In June of 1844, Smith was arrested for inciting a riot. While awaiting his trial, the jail was attacked by a mob. He attempted to defend himself and tried to escape by jumping out of the second-story window of his cell.

“Smith’s last words were like a protection saying, [like a] prayer to God to defend [himself],” Lyman said. “After he said the words, he jumped out the window of the jailhouse and fell to his death where he was also shot multiple times by the angry mob.”

After Smith’s death, Brigham Young took control of the LDS Church. He claimed to be next in line of succession. 

“[Young] became the prophet. He realized the Midwest, frankly, was not a welcoming place, so he started leading the church members further west to find the holy land God had promised,” Ellis said. “That’s how we eventually ended up in Utah.”

The Mormon Trail officially begins in Nauvoo and encompasses the 1,300-mile journey the Mormons took from Illinois to ultimately settle in Utah territory. The trail passes through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah, ending near modern-day Salt Lake City. 

“They simply started walking and traveled as far as they could till they found a spot to settle and settled there,” Lyman said. “It just so happens to be where the capital of Utah now sits.”

According to Ellis, the LDS Church owns land in Jackson County, where Zion was supposed to be built. That location is sacred and still believed to be where the second coming of Christ will occur. 

Lyman said the Mormons don’t hold much of a grudge against the Midwest.

“They aren’t very understanding of why historically small Midwest mobs formed to push back against them, but that didn’t translate into any kind of grudge against the Midwest as a whole,” Lyman said. “Utah Mormons tend to have a different view of people outside of Utah, but they probably think of Las Vegas as more of a sin city than Kansas City.”