Did the Mormons have to pay for Utah?

Answer 1

No. When the Mormons first arrived in 1847, Utah was a part of Mexico, however only a year later Utah became a part of the United States as part of the Mexican American War. The United States actually encouraged people to move west so that they could cover and defend their vast land area. Utah was considered "uninhabitable" by many, but the US government didn't mind the Mormons attempting to settle the land - it meant there was an American presence in a place that their otherwise wouldn't be.

In 1887-1890, the United States government siezed all properties owned by the Mormon Church valued over $50,000. However,most of the land in Utah was owned by individuals and not the Church itself. The Church did not have to buy back their land, it was given back when they agreed to certain legal requirements imposed upon them by the government.

The Mormons and the Mormon church were able to aquire the land from the government for free, which was common practice for all western settlers at the time, but they did and do have to pay property taxes on the value of the land, based on the government's appraisal. Once Utah became an official territory and state of the United States, the land came under government control, and the government had the right to sell or give away the land as they pleased.

Additionally, the Mormons never owned nor sought to own Utah as a political entity (i.e. buying ownership of Utah, its assets, and it's government so as to declare it independent of the United States), only to own, develop, and live on the land in the region.