Kief

“Mormons turned a swamp into a metropolis. Then they turned a desert into an empire. It’s the most American story.” Their religious beliefs take them to Missouri. Neighbors learn they are anti-slavery and violently drive them out. They go to Illinois and turn a swamp into a city that rivals Chicago. Only to have violent mobs run them out. They walk toward Utah. Hoping to find a safe place to gather. Jim Bridger mocks them. He bets $1,000 they can’t grow crops in Utah. They continue anyway. The Utah soil is so hard it breaks their plows. So they engineer a way to water a desert. Their crops grow. Salt Lake City sprawls. They expand. Latter-day Saints settle 500 towns across the West. A network of farms, commerce, and faith. Their women become the first women to vote. They elect America’s first female state senator. Their women organize themselves. With very little training, they create a system that lowers infant mortality to among the lowest rates in the country. When the Depression hits, Latter-day Saints implement the most effective welfare program in the country. Decades later, Ronald Reagan studies it and calls it a model for the country. Its impact is seen today as Utah has the lowest usage of federal food assistance in the country. The pursuit of knowledge and science becomes a hallmark. They start universities. They send their smartest men and women back east to learn the latest ideas and bring them back. They are innovative. Technology that changes the world emerges from their culture. The television. The artificial heart. The weapons that won WWII. The beginnings of the internet. The work ethic and cooperation that propelled them to develop the American West continues today. Their outsized influence on the world is famous. They know religious persecution better than most. So they champion religious freedom for all, even those they disagree with. Sociologists are obsessed with their outcomes. A Princeton researcher studied teens in America. She concluded that “Mormon teens are faring best.” Harvard data recently found that kids who grow up in Latter-day Saint homes are the most likely to say they feel loved by both parents. Other national studies consistently find them to be the happiest people in the country. Gallup finds they are the most observant Christians in the country, a dedication to their faith that is unrivaled. Pew Research finds they know many Bible stories better than any other Christians. A swamp became a metropolis. A desert became an empire. A persecuted people became the happiest in America. That’s the most American story ever told.