As Charisse has mentioned before, she’s a descendant of *Mormon Pioneers, who walked across the midwestern United States in the mid 1850s to escape religious persecution and “settle” the Salt Lake valley (spoiler alert: there were already people living there long before the Mormons arrived). In this episode, she dives into HOW early Mormons were received by the general public, WHY Mormons felt compelled to move their families to the then-wild west, and HOW life looked for all people living in the land we now know as Utah once the Mormons arrived. Whether you know anything about Mormon pioneers or Utah's history, this episode covers the basics along with some things even Charisse didn't know about her own heritage. This episode is not intended to be an expose on early Mormon Church history, but rather, an examination of the narrative Charisse was taught about her ancestors juxtaposed with other historical records. *The Mormon church is formally known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SaintsListener discretion is advised due to enjoyment of alcohol, adult language, and brief descriptions of historical violent events.Discover your own family history at https://www.familysearch.org/en/ (Please note that this domain is owned & operated by the Mormon Church)Find Charisse on the socials by searching for “The Existential Ginger.”View merch, checkout the new Patreon page, and listen to Charisse on other podcasts here: https://linktr.ee/theexistentialginger Brought to you by White Horse Media Grouphttps://therealwhmg.com/ -SOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE -http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/ny/miscNYC2.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_polygamy_in_the_United_States https://www.loc.gov/item/12020459/ https://utahcommhistory.com/2017/04/27/the-edmunds-act-of-1882/ https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/132?lang=eng http://ilovehistory.utah.gov/people/groups/immigrants/mormons/index.html https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/journey-martins-cove-mormon-handcart-tragedy-1856 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-utah/ https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/mountain-meadows-massacre?lang=eng&cid=14503511667&adlang=eng&source=google&network=x&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthM7TIUjz_JgEwBTaaXFLyLyzwmEE_MF4I7oZ02TA_Wd0_GGLwW9vCBoCVqYQAvD_BwE&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthM7TIUjz_JgEwBTaaXFLyLyzwmEE_MF4I7oZ02TA_Wd0_GGLwW9vCBoCVqYQAvD_BwE “The West: An Illustrated History” by Geoffrey C. Ward“An Indiginous Peoples’ History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz