Mormon Reformation

The Mormon Reformation was a period of renewed emphasis on spirituality within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It took place in 1856 and 1857 and was under the direction of President of the Church Brigham Young. During the Reformation, Young sent his counselor Jedediah M. Grant and other church leaders to preach to the people throughout Utah Territory and surrounding Mormon communities with the goal of inspiring them to reject sin and turn towards spiritual things. The most conservative, and even reactionary, elements of LDS Church doctrine dominated the public discussions during the Reformation. As a result of the Reformation, almost all "active" or involved LDS Church members were rebaptized as a symbol of their commitment.

All pioneers who gathered to Utah Territory under the direction of Young, whether members of the LDS Church or sympathetic non-members, were welcome as long as they helped in efforts to build up Zion. The undeveloped area required labor for the cutting of timber, road development, the creation of farms and pastures for cattle and other livestock; and the construction of homes, meetinghouses, mills, businesses, and irrigation systems. Church members who were willing to physically strengthen the Mormon settlements were so valued that "problems they might have with smoking, drinking, profaning, Sabbath breaking, and even immoral living did not normally cost them their standing in the community and the Church." Consequently, by the early 1850s, communities within the Mormon settlement region were prospering and secure but contained a segment whose personal practices were not within the exacting standards of the LDS Church.

In 1852, Young felt the church in Utah was secure enough to announce the practice of plural marriage to the world. Shortly after the announcement, however, the Latter-day Saints in Utah experienced a period of trial. The population of the new territory was increasing at a rapid rate as Mormon converts from Europe joined the American Saints in their migration across the Great Plains. In 1855, a drought struck the flourishing but still largely undeveloped territory. Very little rain fell, and even the normally dependable mountain streams ran very low. In addition to the damage caused by drought, an infestation of grasshoppers and crickets destroyed whatever crops the Mormons had managed to salvage. During the winter of 1855–56, flour and other basic necessities were suddenly very scarce and very costly. Heber C. Kimball wrote his son, "Dollars and cents do not count now, in these times, for they are the tightest that I have ever seen in the territory of Utah."

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