think about how it turned out and that is the reason. it was a good place and it was time to escape persecution. they were able to grow crops and had a source of water.
And it was extremely private without any pesky US Law being around, and, being rimmed by tough mountain ranges it was convenient for them to practice polgamy "openly". It's why they went.
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Why did brigham young choose the great salt lake valley as the new home for the mormons?3 reasons (that I know of).
1. No one else wanted it. Whenever people heard about the idea of the early church members moving there, they were looked at as being crazy. Thus by settling there, they would not have worry about other people chasing them out.
2. He was following revelation that he had originally been told about by Joseph Smith. He also received the same revelation, that what would later became known as Utah, is where God wanted them to move to.
3. The United States government effectively told the Church as a whole to get out of the country, and at the time the Salt Lake Valley was part of Mexico. So they were also obeying the government.
It was outside the US at the time he got there. Ironically, Mexico gave it the US almost immediately after. He wanted to evade US polygamy laws. Most of his followers didn't know about the polygamy. Although there were 200 men and 700 women in polygamy in the midwest, it was kept secret from the other 10-20,000 members. They didn't find out until they'd given up everything and walked all the way across the country and it was too late to leave. The polygamy was the main reason they were asked to leave where ever they'd settled before. People were very revolted by the idea.
The Salt Lake valley is actually pretty green around the edges. The canyons have year round streams that flow in from all directions, and there are many springs. There are forests in the canyons and wildlife was very plentiful. There is a myth that it was a desert and very harsh, but that simply isn't true. There was more than enough good agricultural land for the first 20,000 to arrive. It's only now that it has grown so much that people have to live in the dry areas.
Did you ever see the movie, The 300 ?
There was only one way to get to the Spartans. And it was via a narrow road. The same is true about Salt Lake. The region is very Mountainous.
Brigham Young was trying to prevent a genocide against Mormons by Anti-Mormons and their willing partners in the U.S. Military Industrial complex.
Truth be told, had Brigham Young decided to completely wipe out the U.S. Army that later attempted to attack the Mormons, none of them would have survived had that been his intentions. Any other Army that attacked the Salt Lake area would have been similarly destroyed.
The area around Salt Lake is kind of like the Swiss Alps. Properly defended, the Salt Lake Areas is completely militarily impenetrable.
Preventing genocide is a good thing, and you have to give Brigham Young credit for that, certainly.
"This is the place". Was his famous words. As a kid I stood on the ground where it is claimed he said those words I wondered that too. It is a poor, desert looking country, nothing special.
But there was a huge beautiful lake. I said to myself "he saw that lake and said those words before he ever knew it was salt water." The great Salt Lake.
I couldn't tell you the mormon mantra for that decision. But that is how I saw it.
As has been noted, both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young knew the Lord had a place for the Church to go to, and the Lord verified it to Brigham Young when he arrived there.
it wasnt, so much, that "he chose" it, it was more like HE was given a "vision" and where he stood He claimed he already seen it. as it was.
just like those who originally travelled to the americas - he was looking for a place where religious freedom was a possibility.
He would rather put up with the savages that lived in Utah, than with the savages that lived in the United States.
He didn't choose it, it was predetermined by God for the Pioneers to come here.
religious freedom.
I think the extermination order placed on them by governor boggs played a big part.
He liked the seagulls from the Salt Lake.
They were trying to find a place that people wouldn't kick them out.
It was seen in a vision.
He just needed a place that was isolated from other communities so he could brainwash and rape his flock of stupid people without being disturbed.
Because they got kicked out of Nevada
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