Mormonism is a version of the religion and its followers are called Mormons. The , Joseph Smith, believed he saw an angel in a vision who told him how to find a buried 'book' made of metal plates. These plates were covered with strange which said that one of the lost tribes of Israel had travelled to America before Christ was born. Joseph Smith said he was told to set up the rule of on earth. He wrote all this down in the then re-buried the By 1830 he had many followers. Mormons gave part of their income to their church. This was then used to build churches and support those Mormons who were in need of help. These things created strong because the Mormons worked together. The Mormon community soon owned a mill, a bank, a store and . They were richer than the non-Mormon groups around them.

The success of the Mormons attracted more people to so their numbers increased . Non-Mormons were jealous of the Mormons’ success and attacked the Mormons. Mormons were driven out from several places in the East where they tried to settle. In 1844 Joseph Smith declared that Mormons could have more than one wife (). This led to further hostility from non-Mormons and Smith was killed. After the of Joseph Smith, the Mormons’ new leader was . In 1845 he decided to go west, to settle in the remote and area by the Great Salt Lake.