PBS to Air Mormon Trail Documentary

The arrival of Latter-day Saint pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley 150 years ago will be memorialized in a documentary look at the Mormon Trail to be broadcast on Public Broadcasting System stations across the United States on 10 August.

The documentary, Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail, is a two-hour look at the trail’s place in U.S. history. The program tells stories of some of the 70,000 Latter-day Saints who followed the 1,300-mile trail across the Great Plains in their quest for religious freedom.

The pioneer story is told through poignant firsthand accounts from diaries and journals kept by some of the pioneers. The documentary features period photographs, sketches, and artwork, as well as reenactments of selected events. It not only focuses on the trail’s place in history but also looks at the story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from its beginnings. Filming took place in England, New York, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah.

Sponsored by KUED, the PBS television station associated with the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Trail of Hope will premiere nationally on 10 August at 8:00 P.M. mountain and central times and 9:00 P.M. eastern and Pacific times. It was produced and directed by Lee B. Groberg.