Utah statehood, in some regards, symbolized the end of the Church's isolation and the beginning of its acceptance in the world, said William G. Hartley, a historian with the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History at BYU.

With statehood - which was gained Jan. 4, 1896 - citizens, the majority of whom were Church members, not only could elect their own governor and appoint their own judges, but they also could send more than one representative to Congress.Men like Reed Smoot, an apostle who served in the Senate from 1903-1933, helped the Church gain respect in Washington D.C. and in the federal government. He, and other men like him, also opened doors for Utahns wanting to attend school and work in the East, Brother Hartley explained.

"Statehood was the beginning for us to be able to make our mark outside of Church circles," Brother Hartley said. "The world started to stop treating us as a stereotype."

Brother Hartley said statehood also gave Utahns more political autonomy and protection than was offered by a territorial government - whose federally appointed officials had little sympathy for the LDS way of life.

Members of a territory could not elect their own governors or appoint their own judges and the U.S. Congress had more control over territories than it did over states.

Therefore, from the time the Mormon pioneers settled the West, they fervently sought statehood and self-government. In 1850, 1856, 1862, 1867, 1872 and 1882 the U.S. Congress rejected their appeals, mainly over the issue of plural marriage.

Brother Hartley called it "terribly offensive" to have the United States government turn down repeated appeals for Utah statehood - especially during the Civil War. "When the South was trying to secede, we were trying to get in," he said.

The territory had enough people to qualify for statehood, he continued, and Utahns wanted "just to have the basic rights of the rest of America. We had people out here directing the local government that were not always accommodating and sometimes hostile," he explained.

Brother Hartley added that other western states, such as California, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada and Idaho gained statehood before Utah.

Brian Cannon, a BYU Utah History professor, explained that statehood brought Church members far more control than they enjoyed in the territorial era.

"With statehood, citizens could now elect their own governor and members of the executive branch," Brother Cannon said. "This was very important for them given the antagonism that they had felt from the federal government for several years."

Brother Cannon also said statehood cemented ties between Utah and the nation. "It allowed Utahns an opportunity to participate fully in the Union," he explained. "The Church always had a strong belief in the importance of the Constitution."