This thesis examines the experience of the Mormon Battalion, a group of five hundred Mormon soldiers commissioned by President James K. Polk to enlist in the U.S. military and aid in the newly declared war against Mexico in 1846. The war was a result of a belligerent and aggressive form of territorial expansion justified by the ideology of Manifest Destiny. Polk and many other Americans believed it was their Manifest Destiny to dominate a continental nation, and the Mormon Battalion was assigned to march to California to conquer Mexican territory for the United States. An examination of the Mormon soldiers' journals and letters, as well as official Mormon Church records and correspondence, reveals that, despite participating in a war that promoted aggressive expansion, the Mormons' understanding of Manifest Destiny contained unique perspectives regarding racial hierarchies and displays of masculinity, key elements of that popular ideology. The peculiar approach that the Mormons' had to Manifest Destiny was directly influenced by their history as a persecuted body of believers. Ultimately, the Mormon soldiers agreed to volunteer for the war not because they wanted to express patriotism, but because they had a firm dedication to their church and resolved obedience to their leader, Brigham Young. Additionally, an examination of popular contemporary media outlets and their responses to the enlistment of the Mormon Battalion, as well as the relevant historiography, is included to demonstrate the evolution of the Mormon Battalion in historical memory, both inside and outside the Mormon Church. The treatment of the battalion by popular media outlets reflected changing attitudes regarding the implications of promoting a martial and aggressive society, while the role of the battalion in Mormon history evolved in tandem with Mormons' fluctuating identities as U.S. citizens.

This thesis addresses the presentation of the Mormon Battalion's history in three interactive forms. The Battalion served in the U.S.-Mexican War between 1846 and 1847. In 2008 a group known as Battalion Trek chose to rehike the original trail as closely as possible. The three chapters of this thesis address the reenactors who planned and completed the rehike, the blog they kept as they did so, and a program which allows those interested to learn more about the trail. Analyzing what such presentations have to offer is important as history moves into the hands of the public and as the world moves deeper into the technological realm.

Prominent in the pioneering and settlement of early Utah were many men of great ability. Among them was Levi Ward Hancock. He became a dedicated spiritual leader in the Mormon Church.The life of Levi Hancock began in Springfield, Massachusetts, on April 7, 1803. His father moved about quite often in his attempts to provide a better livelihood for his family. Each move took them farther west. It was while they were living in Ohio that the Hancock family heard the Mormon missionaries preach their new gospel. Levi joined this frontier religion.Joining the Mormon Church changed the whole course of Hancock's life. He immediately became active and was sent to several missions. Some were preaching and proselyting missions; others were for other purposes. One such mission, known as Zion's Camp, was sent to Missouri to relieve what the Mormons believed to be the oppression of their members living there. The intended purpose of the mission failed, but from this group of tried and tested men came the future leaders of the Church. Levi Hancock was selected to be a member of the First Council of the Seventy. This group of seven men presided over the affairs of the Seventy, one of the lay groups of Priesthood in the Mormon Church.

Zadok's membership in the church directed the course of his life, and he contributed to the success of those movements of the church in which he participated.