Brigham Young lead the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah. They left February 2, 1846 and arrived July 24, 1847, staying several months in Winter Quarters, Nebraska.
The first leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) was Joseph Smith, Jr. However, by the time the Mormon pioneers moved west, he had been killed. The first group of Mormons to travel west was lead by Brigham Young. He remained the leader of the church while later groups were lead across the plains by various trail guides.
The Mormon Trail and the Oregon Trail followed nearly the same route until the Mormon trail turned down toward Utah in modern day Wyoming. The original group of Mormon pioneers, already having the Great Basin/Rocky Mountain area in mind, forged the trail under the direction of Brigham Young in 1846/47. Subsequent groups of pioneers traveled the trail each year under the direction of various trail bosses until 1870, when it became more practical to travel by railroad.
Joseph Smith told the Church members that they would eventually have to move west to escape persecution, but was killed before they did so. Brigham Young then became the leader and lead the first group of Mormon Pioneers west.
Brigham Young is generally attributed as the leader of the Mormon exodus from the midwest to what is now Utah. He didn't personally lead every company but he is largely responsible for choosing where they ended, appointing trail leaders, and organizing assistance for those in need.
Nobody. The Mormon Pioneers traveled on the Mormon Trail, not the Oregon Trail. In many places these trails closely followed each other, but they were not the same trail.
Brigham Young, whom Mormons believe was lead by God.
Brigham Young lead the first group of Mormon Pioneers to Salt Lake City. He then appoined experienced trail guides to lead later groups.
Brigham Young lead the first group of Mormon pioneers along the Mormon Trail to Utah in 1846-47. Subsequent groups came over the next 25 years lead by various experienced trail guides. The Mormon Trail followed a similar route to the Oregon Trail until Wyoming, when it went south to Utah rather than north to Oregon.
Obviously it's because the Mormons traveled the trail.
Mormon Trail to Utah
The Mormon Trail and the Oregon trail followed the same route through much of the Midwest, until the Mormon Trail split off into Utah through Wyoming. No doubt the two groups exchanged help and supplies. It's also likely that some Oregon Trail travelers may have taken a detour through Mormon settlements in Utah to rest, wait out winter weather, or gather supplies.
Because the Mormons used the Oregon trail as far as it went in the direction they wanted to go. The Oregon trail was a well-established trail that had plenty of good drinking water all along the way. From Nebraska to Wyoming, the Oregon trail was the best route. The Mormon trail turns south in Wyoming and enters Utah, while the Oregon trail continues on to Oregon.
Most Mormons followed the Mormon Trail, which was roughly the same as the Oregon trail until the Mormon trail split off to Utah in Wyoming. Some Mormon pioneers took a boat around South America, docked in California, and travelled to Utah through Nevada.
The first permanent white settlement in Oregon was at Fort Astoria in 1811. The Mormons arrived in Utah in 1847, 36 years later.
The Mormon pioneers took the Mormon Pioneer Trail to Utah.
They founded Salt Lake City and pretty much all of Utah. They made the Oregon trail famous and they contributed mostly to the Donner party incident.
The trail followed by Mormon pioneers mostly paralleled the Oregon Trail, at times merged with it, and at a few points diverged completely from it. The reason for following the general course of the Oregon trail was primarily because it had been mapped out by traders and trappers several years prior to their own exodus from Nauvoo, Ill. However, because of the adversarial relationship between the Mormons and many immigrants from both Illinois and Missouri (where an "extermination order" was still in effect at that time), the Mormon immigrants opted to follow a course that also followed the Platte river, but on the opposite side from most Oregon-bound parties.
Mormons travelled the Mormon trail to Utah in wagon trains from 1845 to 1869. In 1869 the transcontinental railroad was completed and many Mormons going to Utah began taking the train.
The trail from Nauvoo, Illinios to Salt Lake City, Utah was approximately 1300 miles. The Oregon Trail was around 2100 miles.