Page 143 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

INTRODUCING SOUTHERN UT AH  141

Salt Lake City was
painstakingly laid out
in a grid system over
the unpromising, and
previously unsettled,
landscape of Utah’s Salt
Lake Basin. The grid
ensured wide streets,
decent-sized houses,
and enough land that
each family could be self-
sufficient. By 1900, many
farms and more than
300 towns had been
founded across the West
and Southwest.

Brigham Young
Born in Vermont in 1801 of a
Protestant family, Brigham
Young, carpenter, painter,
and glazier, joined the
Mormons in Ohio in 1832.
He took charge of the
great migration west
from Illinois in 1846,
arriving in Salt Lake City
in 1847. In 1849 he
established the territory Brigham Young in
of Deseret, which middle-age
encompassed present-
day Utah. “Deseret” means “Honeybee” in the
Book of Mormon and symbolizes industry.
Young’s vision and organizational skills helped
the settlers turn the desert into fruitful
farmland. During his long life, he had several
disputes with the federal government, whose
authority he both resisted and recognized.
Despite being removed from political office in
1857, Young was head of the Mormon church
until his death in 1877.

Mormon missionaries
preach their faith throughout
the world, placing great
emphasis on their social and
philosophical concerns.
The church enjoys a high
rate of conversion, and
church membership
continues to grow.
The St. George Mormon Temple was constructed
under the aegis of Brigham Young. For the fifteen
million Mormons worldwide, it is a potent symbol
of a faith based on work, sobriety, and cooperation,
with the emphasis on humanitarian service.

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