The exodus of the Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo, led by President Brigham Young, has come to symbolize the spirit of resourcefulness, sacrifice, determination and faith that characterizes committed Church members in all locales and time periods.

In the aftermath of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum at the jail in Carthage, Ill., on June 27, 1844, a crisis beset the Church. Many Latter-day Saints were uncertain who should succeed the Prophet as leader: Sidney Rigdon, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles led by Brigham Young, or someone else.At the time, most members of the Twelve were on missions in the East. Sidney Rigdon, who was in Pittsburgh, arrived home on Aug. 3; three days later several of the Twelve arrived, including Brigham Young, in time for an Aug. 8 meeting regarding who should lead the Church. Rigdon spoke first, asserting his claim to lead as "Guardian." He was followed by Brigham Young, who taught that the Twelve should lead the Church in Joseph's absence, according to the foundation the Prophet had laid.

The great majority of the Church voted to sustain the Twelve, and many claimed that Brigham Young was transfigured before them, speaking with the voice and manner of Joseph Smith.

The Twelve then set to work completing the Nauvoo Temple while privately preparing for the westward exodus, which they delayed until the Saints received temple ordinances.

By May 1845, the temple capstone was in place, and the sacred structure was ready for ordinance work by December. Nearly 6,000 Church members received temple ordinances before the exodus began.

In September 1845, after mob violence against Church members erupted in outlying settlements around Nauvoo, the Twelve publicly announced that the Saints would all depart.

The exodus began in February 1846, and through the spring and summer, Nauvoo was evacuated, with wagons moving out across the Iowa prairie.

While in Iowa, the Saints were visited by a U.S. military officer with a requisition for 500 volunteers to serve in the military campaign against Mexico. The volunteers, called the Mormon Battalion, were enlisted from among the Saints. They brought in a much-needed income of $70,000 that helped fund the exodus and support the families of the men.

The evacuation of Nauvoo and trek across Iowa largely exhausted the travel season in 1846. The Church members built temporary settlements at Winter Quarters (now Florence, Neb.) on the west bank of the Missouri River and at Kanesville (later Council Bluffs, Iowa), on the east bank.

While at Winter Quarters, on Jan. 14, 1847, Brigham Young announced the revelation now recorded as D&C 136, providing that the Saints should be organized into companies of hundreds, fifties and tens with a covenant and promise to keep the commandments of God.

On April 5, 1847, President Young led the first pioneer company westward from Winter Quarters.

The three-month trek followed a route which, including the Iowa portion, is approximately 1,300 miles long. It stretches across Nebraska, following the Platte and North Platte rivers much of the way and extends through Wyoming, passing through Fort Bridger before descending into Utah and ending near the shore of the Great Salt Lake.

The Mormon Trail was certified by the National Trails Act of 1986 as a National Historic Trail. Although it was named after them, the Saints did very little trail blazing along the way. They followed territorial roads and Indian trails across Iowa, various segments of the Oregon Trail from the Missouri River to Fort Bridger, and the year-old trail blazed by the ill-fated Reed-Donner party from Fort Bridger into the Salt Lake Valley.

At the conclusion of the trek, advance scouts entered the valley of the Great Salt Lake, and three days later, on July 24, 1847, Brigham Young entered the valley.

Two days later, President Young with others climbed what is today called Ensign Peak, north of Salt Lake City. There, he figuratively raised an "ensign to the nations" (See Isa. 5:26) signaling the gathering to Zion of saints from many parts of the world. (One of the local events during the Pioneer Sesquicentennial will be a cooperative effort between a group of volunteers and the city to improve the site at the peak and the trail leading to it.)

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For 23 years thereafter, Latter-day Saints from Europe and elsewhere followed a portion of the Mormon trail and streamed into the Salt Lake Valley, from which they were sent by the Church president to colonize many parts of the west and to spread the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. All endured some degree of deprivation and hardship, and some, such as members of the ill-fated Martin and Willey handcart companies, suffered starvation, exposure and death.

Their sacrifice is a legacy to today's Church members, who, as the sesquicentennial guidelines note, are "latter-day pioneers."

"Everyone who strives to stand up for what is right, keep the commandments, share the gospel, testify of Christ and act as an example of Christian living is a pioneer."

Information for this article was drawn largely from Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pages 613-616 and 942-946.

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