Why did Utah attract the lds Mormon settlers?

Answer 1

Because members of the LDS Church back then were persecuted so much for their religious beliefs that they just wanted to cause as little trouble as possible. There is also a scripture in Isaiah in The Bible that is prophesy. In Isaiah 2:2 it reads,

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it."

When Utah was first purposed to be a state, it was going to be called the State of Deseret. 'Deseret' means honeybee in Hebrew. So the state has been purposed to congress several times. When Utah finally became Utah, a congressman named the state Utah because he thought he was mocking the Mormons that lived there by giving the state a Native American name. Utah in the language of the Ute Indians means "The top of the Mountain."

What the congressman was really doing was fulfilling prophecy that is given in the Bible.

But before all the above happened, a revelation given to Brigham Young (the Prophet of the LDS Church after Joseph Smith) by Jesus Christ Himself told Brigham to go and settle in the West. Which is why so many people traveled in handcarts and wagons is because they knew that the revelation given to Brigham was what God wanted them to do.

Answer 2

The Mormons were looking for a place where they could be left alone to practice their religion in peace. The Utah territory was at the time a land mostly unwanted by white people, and many even believed it was uninhabitable or unable to support a city, so they felt that nobody would want to come take it from them. The Mormons had not had a positive experience with the US government, and Utah was under Mexican control. Additionally, the Salt Lake Valley is surrounded by huge mountains that were very treacherous to pass over, which would discourage or slow anyone coming to bother them.