California Saints: A 150-Year Legacy in the Golden State

The LDS Church has a long and interesting history in California, beginning with the arrival of the Ship Brooklyn from the east coast in 1846. That group was led by Sam Brannan, who later became California's first millionaire, yet fulfilled Brigham Young's prophecy that he would die a pauper if he did repent and change his ways. Members of the Mormon Battalion were involved in the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on the American River east of Sacramento. San Bernardino was founded by an LDS group who later returned to Utah in 1857, only to see many of the original settlers return after the Utah War. As an example of more recent insights, the purchase of the ground for the Los Angeles from silent comedian Harold Lloyd took place many years before the building was actually begun. Land for the Oakland Temple was decided upon, yet seemed to be totally out of reach until some years later. For anyone who is LDS, this book brings together all the many LDS Church stories and personalities, and puts them in an excellent, well researched historical context. For anyone interested in how the LDS Church was involved in the growth and development of California, this volume is definitely worth reading! David C. Hobson, DDS

This is one phenomenal book about the history of California, and how the Mormons intervened on several fronts, to make the state, for better or worse, what it is today. Originally, there were two fronts to the Mormon invasion: one was a boatload of LDS (THE BROOKLYN) that assisted in the takeover and conquest of Monterey from the Mexican Government, while on their journey northward to settle in Buena Vista (now San Francisco). The other was the incursion of the Mormon Army Battalion, sent to battle the Mexicans in San Diego. The fight was settled the day they came into San Diego, though their garrison was stationed at the Mission San Luis del Rey, in Oceanside. Fortunate for all of California, because most of the Mormons on both fronts were accomplished tradesmen, with wives equally knowledgeable in farming, cooking, mid-wifery, and domestic skills. Such were given all the work they could take on, such as building the first fired brick kiln in CA, at San Diego; restoration of the Mission San Luis del Rey; millwright and machine adaptations; building trades; fort erections at Los Angeles (Fort Moore), and ultimately, the discovery of placer gold in the Sierras. These original pioneers became embedded and involved in many facets of California life and society, and almost allowed California to be the 'promised land', instead of Utah. The book profiles many facts and facets of Mormon life in California, including colonies, land, genealogies, pioneers, miners, trade routes established by the saints that later became interstate highways in and out of the state. Indeed, anything of any historical importance in California, after the conquest, likely had an LDS hand or relationship in the process. An interesting book and very enlightening.