The 1830s saw the initial migration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Missouri’s western border, settling in eastern Jackson County. This preceded the move of tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints from Europe and the Eastern United States to Utah Territory between 1847 and the end of the 19th century.

In a discussion of his new book Ports to Posts: Latter-day Saint Gathering in the Nineteenth Century, historian Fred E. Woods details the Mormon journey by sail and trail to and through America, including the Missouri-Kansas transmigration border experience at Westport, Missouri, and Mormon Grove, Kansas, fewer than five miles west of Atchison. Drawing from personal accounts, Woods chronicles the challenges that church members faced as they left their homelands, enduring numerous hardships and enemies en route to their destinations.

Woods is a professor of religious education at Brigham Young University and has authored numerous articles and books on LDS history. He specializes in Latter-day Saints emigration studies and is the editor of the Saints by Sea website, which documents LDS maritime immigration to America in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.