Why were the Mormons able to make a success of settling in the West in the years 1846-1890?

Answer 1

Mainly because no other group of people wanted to live in the Salt Lake basin area. Most settlers went to California or Oregon. The Salt Lake area was considered a inhabitable desert. Therefore, left to themselves they thrived.

Answer 2

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) are often successful in business and politics. While many Mormons would say that they are being blessed for their obedience to God, other sources have attributed Mormon success in temporal affairs to Mormon culture. Mormons are taught from a young age how to be effective public speakers, how to talk to strangers, how to handle rejection, how to follow leaders, how to take care of their needs, and how to work in and effectively lead large groups. Mormons also advocate healthy lifestyle choices and many Mormon families also place an emphasis on the arts and music, which studies show can influence a person's abilities in many areas of life.

The success of the Mormon church itself is also an interesting thing to look at. The Church has been steadily increasing in size since it's foundation and now boasts over 15 million members worldwide, despite it's being perceived as a strict religion with unusual beliefs. Mormonism certainly isn't for everyone, but it's uniqueness within the religious sphere strikes a chord with many people who simply can't find common beliefs anywhere else. The structure and organization of the Church also helps it to be very successful - congregations are kept small so people feel a sense of family, everyone shares preaching and teaching responsibilities so they feel needed, teaching and curriculum is the same church-wide and worldwide conferences are held so that everyone feels a sense of unity.

Answer 3

They were very industrious and overcame many obstacles that other settlers avoided. With the mix of cultures from around the world brought new ideas and inventions. Cooperatives and mining resulted in massive Immigration. One of the largest construction projects was the building of canals along the rivers in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, etc. Which opened up millions of acres of land to farming and ranching. The creation of factories to produce sugar from sugar beets.

Answer 4

The Mormons as a whole have been successful at many things. One of the most well known is the settling of cities and towns. The Mormons established many cities and towns throughout the western US that are still very successful today. The Mormons successfully established many of these settlements in the harsh desert climates with very few supplies. This is largely because of the emphasis on organization, community support, hard work, and self-reliance in Mormon culture.

In general, individual Mormons tend to be very successful in business and politics. This has been attributed not only to their hard work but to their friendly demeanor, honesty, and emphasis on education.

Answer 5

The Mormons were successful because of their valued principles of industry and thrift, and also (at least in the opinion of some) because they had God on their side.