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While historians have given some attention to the fact that ideas
developed in the Mississippi Valley Area have influenced the colonization
of the West, they have failed to note that this particularly true in areas
settled by the Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Mormonism, as a socio-
economic, religious, and political system, was almost developed before its
westward exodus under the leadership of Brigham Young. It was Joseph
Smith, not Brigham Young, who set the mold of Mormon religious, social,
economic, and political doctrines and practices. The forms and practices
used in colonizing the Great Basin were largely developed in Ohio,
Missouri, and Illinois.