For two years after Joseph Smith's death, conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents. To prevent war, Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (constituting most of the Latter Day Saints) to a temporary winter quarters in Nebraska and then, eventually (beginning in 1847), to what became the Utah Territory.In 2004, the State of Illinois recognized the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints as the "largest forced migration in American history" and stated in the adopted resolution that, "WHEREAS, The biases and prejudices of a less enlightened age in the history of the State of Illinois caused unmeasurable hardship and trauma for the community of Latter-day Saints by the distrust, violence, and inhospitable actions of a dark time in our past; therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we acknowledge the disparity of those past actions and suspicions, regretting the expulsion of the community of Latter-day Saints, a people of faith and hard work." ; "The great Mormon migration of 1846–1847 was but one step in the Mormons' quest for religious freedom and growth." . Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Mormons began to construct a society in isolation based on their beliefs and values. ("Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society, the Latter-day Saints found in the Great Basin the isolation that would enable them to establish a distinctive community based upon their own beliefs and values"). The cooperative ethic that Mormons had developed over the last decade and a half became important as settlers branched out and colonized a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor. (From 1847 to 1857 ninety-five Mormon communities were established, most of them clustering around Salt Lake City); . Colonizing efforts were seen as religious duties, and the new villages were governed by the Mormon bishops (local lay religious leaders).. The Mormons viewed land as a commonwealth, devising and maintaining a cooperative system of irrigation that allowed them to build a farming community in the desert..
For two years after Joseph Smith's death conflicts escalated between Mormons and other Illinois residents To prevent war Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers (constituting most of the Latter Day Saints) to a temporary winter quarters in Nebraska and then eventually (beginning in 1847) to what became the Utah TerritoryIn 2004 the State of Illinois recognized the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints as the "largest forced migration in American history" and stated in the adopted resolution that "WHEREAS The biases and prejudices of a less enlightened age in the history of the State of Illinois caused unmeasurable hardship and trauma for the community of Latter-day Saints by the distrust violence and inhospitable actions of a dark time in our past; therefore be it RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS that we acknowledge the disparity of those past actions and suspicions regretting the expulsion of the community of Latter-day Saints a people of faith and hard work" ; "The great Mormon migration of 1846–1847 was but one step in the Mormons' quest for religious freedom and growth"  Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society the Mormons began to construct a society in isolation based on their beliefs and values ("Having failed to build Zion within the confines of American society the Latter-day Saints found in the Great Basin the isolation that would enable them to establish a distinctive community based upon their own beliefs and values") The cooperative ethic that Mormons had developed over the last decade and a half became important as settlers branched out and colonized a large desert region now known as the Mormon Corridor (From 1847 to 1857 ninety-five Mormon communities were established most of them clustering around Salt Lake City);  Colonizing efforts were seen as religious duties and the new villages were governed by the Mormon bishops (local lay religious leaders) The Mormons viewed land as a commonwealth devising and maintaining a cooperative system of irrigation that allowed them to build a farming community in the desert