Come, Come Ye Saints: A Prelude to the Immigration Narrative of the Mormon Pioneers

Abstract

Introduction|Every year, on July 23rd, the streets of Salt Lake City transform into an itinerant campsite. Thousands of people throw down coolers, tents, and grills. All of this looks very much like a tailgating party for a professional football team, but this is not for a team, or a sport of any kind. These are the lengths individuals go to in order to obtain prime viewing spots for "The Days of ’47 Parade". This annual parade commemorates the afternoon in July 1847 when the Mormon pioneers emerged from Emigration Canyon and announced that, “this is the place.” |There is something very impressive about these early pioneers. We look to them as heroes with a measure of awe and admiration. Sadly, these early groups are indicative of just that, the early pioneers. While theses groups are important there are others who also made the arduous trek through, what was then, uncivilized territory. William Ajax was one of them, and his journals provide a unique glimpse into the life of the Mormon pioneers. The story of the later pioneers differs from the others who made this same journey, because they occur so late in the migration narrative. It is true that they were able to incorporate several decades of pioneering knowledge, and perhaps because of this perceived advantage we do not hold them in the same regard as the early groups who first blazed the trails. Despite the wealth of knowledge, and the rapid developments that these later groups were privileged to utilize, there was still enough risk inherent in migration that it is important to understand why they in fact decided to make these treacherous journeys. |<end of excerpt>