6 - The Kingdom of God in the West

Ben Finch

I thought the excerpt from the secondary source "Frontier Religion" was very interesting; particular the part about American Exceptionalism. Just as the saints were increasingly hostile towards America, this idea of American exceptionalism increased hostility towards the saints. This is made clear in the primary source "Remonstrance of William Smith", where, while he clearly has a personal vendetta against the Utah church, he definitely appeals to their ideals of American exceptionalism. It is interesting to think about how Utah (Deseret) would be if Brigham Young had been made governor.