On July 24, 1847, when the first wagon company of Latter-day Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, Church President Brigham Young declared it the “right place” for the Saints to establish themselves once more. Two days later, as they surveyed the valley, Young planted his cane in the fork of a small creek and said, “Here shall stand the temple of our God.” Salt Lake City quickly became the global headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By 1859, more than 60,000 Latter-day Saints, many of them recent converts from Europe, made the journey to Utah. These Latter-day Saints established more than 350 communities in Utah and the surrounding states.
Latter-day Saint communities, then as now, looked to the temple as a place of peace where sacred ordinances can be performed. The Salt Lake Temple, built at the location Brigham Young designated, took more than 40 years to complete. In the meantime, Temples were dedicated in St. George (1877), Logan (1884) and Manti (1888). The Salt Lake Temple, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark, was dedicated on April 6, 1893. There are now 31 temples in Utah.
In the nineteenth century, many Latter-day Saint women in Utah participated in the national campaign for women’s suffrage. The Woman’s Exponent, a Church-supported periodical edited by Latter-day Saint women, was among the leading voices in the fight to secure the right to vote for women in the United States. In 1870, Utah became the first territory in the United States in which women legally cast ballots.
As the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah is closely associated with the Church in the minds of most people. For generations, Saints have gathered to Utah to pursue education, serve in the Church or be near the state’s many temples. In 2002, the Church and Utah were on full display for all the world when Utah hosted the Winter Olympic Games.