Mormons established Zion in Missouri in 1831. The government thought that so many Mormons in one place with non-Mormons would cause unrest, so they were relocated to a new area called Caldwell by 1838. In the years that followed, the Mormons were displaced and ended up in Illinois.
The founder, Joseph Smith, had run-ins with the law multiple times. He was arrested for treason in 1838 in Missouri and charged with destroying the non-Mormon press in 1844 in Illinois. After Smith died, the church split into five branches with the largest one moving to Salt Lake City with Brigham Young, where they still are today.
The main gallery tells the history of the religion while the underground gallery displays the paths taken to get from the eastern US to Salt Lake City. There were European converts from Germany and the UK who traveled by sea to New England before reaching Utah by rail.
