Resistance to Change

The story of the Mormons' resistance against the US federal goverment's anti-polygyny campaign is a classic tale of what can happen when people battle changes that are being forced upon them. When the railroad arrives in 1869 Utah, the Mormons want to believe that they can keep following the same lifestyle that they have known since 1847, the year they founded Salt Lake City. However, with the railroad now connecting them to the outside world, they find a US federal government anxious to force them to give up practicing polygyny, the practice of having more than one wife. Even though they don't take up extra wives, half-brothers Kemp Lewis and Ebenezer Griffith experience personal impacts from the Mormon Church's long struggle with the federal government. The impacts involve the pain of seeing family members go into hiding and having relations with kin and acquaintances ruined. The painful experiences leave Kemp and Ebenezer wondering if their church should adapt to the changes Washington is imposing on it.