USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The first members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (historically known as Mormons) arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. They immigrated to what is now Utah, which was then a part of Mexico, to plant fields, build homes, open businesses, and establish a religious community.

Detailed explanation-2: -Completing a treacherous thousand-mile exodus, an ill and exhausted Brigham Young and fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints arrived in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. The Mormon pioneers viewed their arrival as the founding of a Mormon homeland, hence Pioneer Day.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Mormons, as they were commonly known, had moved west to escape religious discrimination. After the murder of founder and prophet Joseph Smith, they knew they had to leave their old settlement in Illinois. Many Mormons died in the cold, harsh winter months as they made their way over the Rocky Mountains to Utah.

Detailed explanation-4: -Over the next two decades more than 60, 000 Mormons would journey to the Utah Territory; thousands came by wagon, and thousands more pulled handcarts across the harsh terrain. Many died along the way, and the survivors found the country they sought to escape would soon expand its borders to encompass them.