Utah Facts
What is the State Nickname
Beehive State
What on the trail east of the Rocky Mountains were so numerous that the pioneers had to send advance parties ahead to clear the trail so the teams could pass?
Bison
For leading the migration across the United States, what biblical prophet is Brigham Young often compared to?
Moses
Which governor made an extermination order against the pioneers?
Lilburn Boggs
True or false: Babies were more likely to die on the trail to Zion than they were staying put in their place of birth.
False. The infant mortality rate on the plains was 9 percent, while the general infant mortality rate in 1850 was above 15 percent. From 1847 to 1868, Mormon pioneer babies traveling across the Plains were safer—yes, more likely to live—than infants in the general U.S. population,
When Utah became a state, what number was it?
45th State
When the first Mormon pioneer company set out west from Winter Quarters in 1847, it soon became apparent that a trail guide, including mileage between campsites, would be useful for future immigrants. A wooden odometer with gear wheels was designed and attached to a wagon box. Name the odometer’s designer and builder:
William Clayton gets the lion’s share of credit, though it was undoubtedly a team effort. The first odometer design was suggested by Orson Pratt, but it was too complex. A simpler version was developed. It was constructed by craftsman Appleton Harmon.
When did the parties begin to migrate?
After embarking on March 1, the plan was to reach and cross the Missouri River by mid-April. A “swift company” of select men would ride hard over the Rocky Mountains to their final destination to make preparations for a new life in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in July 1847.
Who said of the local Indian tribes, “It is better to feed them than to fight them.”
Brigham Young
How many pioneers were under the age of 20?
45% of the pioneers were youngsters under the age of 20.
What is the State Motto
Industry
How long is the Mormon Trail usually considered to be?
It’s about 1,300 miles from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah.
What is the common label for a street down which pioneers walked following mob oppression, forcing them to leave a city they had built?
"Trail of Hope." On Feb. 4, 1846, the Saints were driven from their homes in Nauvoo. The day was so cold that the Mississippi River froze over, which allowed them to cross, though in severe weather.
Who said: “I never killed anyone who didn’t need killing.”
Orrin Porter Rockwell, the colorful former bodyguard of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith and an early Utah lawman. Rockwell also ran Utah’s first beer distillery. He was accused of the attempted murder of Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs, who had ordered the extermination of Mormons, but the charges were never proved.
Which famous outdoorsman did Brigham Young get a few tips from?
Jim Bridger. Brigham Young met Bridger and talked with him about the best ways to travel and what they would need to settle the land. Bridger was so convinced that the land couldn’t be settled that he offered to pay $1,000 for the first bushel of corn.
What year did the Pioneers enter Utah?
1847
George A. Smith, John Brown, Joseph Mathews, John Pack, Orrin Porter Rockwell, J. C. Little or all of the above
All of the above. George A. Smith, John Brown, Joseph Mathews, John Pack, Orrin Porter Rockwell, J. C. Little were asked to ride ahead and scope out the Salt Lake Valley territory before Brigham Young arrived in the valley on July 24, 1847.
Who was the first convert to travel to America?
William Garner as an English heavyweight champion when he met the first Mormon missionaries to the British Isles in 1837. Having sufficient means to migrate immediately after conversion, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the United States before the first boatload of converts who later came on the ship Brittania.
A large open-air meeting hall was constructed for gatherings on Temple Square before the Tabernacle was built. What was this structure called?
The Bowery
What was the name of the ship Samuel Brannan was commissioned by church elders to charter from the eastern United States to California, in an attempt to avert much of the persecution the pioneers encountered?
Brooklyn
Name two things found on the State Flag
beehive, sego lilies, "Industry," two American flags flank the beehive, bald eagle, banner with the state motto, "E Pluribus Unum," meaning "Out of many, one." This phrase highlights the unity and diversity found within the state.
What was the number-one killer along the plains?
Cholera. This disease accounted for 40 percent of the deaths of those for whom a death cause was listed.
How many estimated pioneers traveled overall?
The pioneers were among 500,000 emigrants during the 1800s that crossed the Western plains hoping to find a new and better life, for a variety of reasons.
Did Congress admit the Territory of Deseret to the Union?
No. Congress would not admit Deseret to the Union and instead created the Territory of Utah, a vast area encompassing, until the 1860s, most of present Nevada and part of present Wyoming and Colorado.
What was the first Mormon colony in Utah outside of the Salt Lake Valley?
Provo.