Ports to Posts - by Fred E Woods (Paperback)

About the Book

Fred E. Woods augments the traditional overland history of Latter-day Saint migrations to Salt Lake City via handcart and wagon by detailing the arduous migrations of religious converts by ships and trains.

Book Synopsis

Ports to Posts is the result of more than a quarter century of research in Latter-day Saint migration narratives from the nineteenth century. Fred E. Woods takes the reader from early church beginnings in upstate New York to ecclesiastical gathering places in Kirtland, Ohio, and Jackson County, Missouri. The journey then incorporates international European ports to Latter-day Saint gathering locations in Nauvoo, Illinois, and later in the Salt Lake Valley during the peak of this emigrant era.

Through these stories, the reader will learn about the missionary proselyting process and how it led converts to Liverpool, the primary place of embarkation, across the Atlantic, and into harbors at New Orleans, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. Authentic voices describe the challenges church members faced as they left their homelands and endured storms and the efforts of enemies who tried to dissuade them from their destinations. Ports to Posts captures not only the emigrants' journeys but also how Americans perceived these often unwanted pilgrims. Woods's research reveals the purpose and process by which Latter-day Saints gathered to create their American Zion and converts' solemn obligation to assemble in American gathering places.

Review Quotes

"A very good overview of a religious subject suitable for non-religious scholars and collections."--R. L. Saunders, Choice

"Decades in the making, this book knits together the labor of a life's work. Having literally visited every pertinent seaport, outfitting post, and repository in quest of the Mormon maritime past, Fred Woods has filled a void in Mormon emigration history."--Melvin Bashore, retired curator of historic sites for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

"Fred E. Woods's Ports to Posts incorporates first-person accounts to examine the international emigration of one hundred thousand Latter-day Saints to Utah Territory between 1847 and 1900. He expertly chronicles how emigrants overcame considerable challenges to gather to Zion by sail, trail, and rail."--Jay H. Buckley, author of Great Plains Forts and William Clark: Indian Diplomat

"Ports to Posts is a valuable contribution to the study of Latter-day Saint history. Fred E. Woods brings to life the faith, determination, and organization that characterized nineteenth-century Mormon emigration."--Chad Nielsen, timesandseasons.org

-- (9/20/2025 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Fred E. Woods is a professor of religious education at Brigham Young University. He is the author or coauthor of many books, including most recently Bright Lights in the Desert: The Latter-day Saints of Las Vegas and (with Malcolm Adcock) The Latter-day Saint Image in the British Mind.