KSL Newsradio reporter Mary Richards traveled to St Louis, Missouri, to hear stories going back generations, and to tour the Gateway Arch Museum, which tells the story of the westward expansion including the Mormon Trail.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has always received welcome, peace and support in St. Louis, even in the early days of the Church in the 1830s. When mobs tossed Church members from their homes in areas like Jackson and Davies counties, St. Louis welcomed the Saints.

St. Louis had one of the only stakes outside of Utah in the 1850s. The city was even designated by Brigham Young as the trailhead for the trek west for a time.

The St. Louis Stake was reorganized in the 1950s, and Mary Richards interviewed members of the Lochheed and Oscarson families, which have been instrumental in the growth of the Church in the present day.

Finally, the St. Louis Temple was dedicated in 1997 after unprecedented community and inter-faith support. Its first president, Menlo Smith, spoke about those blessings.

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