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`Fort Zion` to Premiere in December

A huge piece of history, which remains unknown to many, will be revealed to the masses in December. `Fort Zion`, a new film based on the book by Rober L. Foster, is a historical motion picture which tells the story of the Mormon religion and the struggle its followers faced as they practiced their newly-formed faith. This film will take viewers back to the Western frontier, and it will draw them in to the lives of these brave people.

In the mid-nineteenth century, members of the Mormon Church in New York suffered religious persecution, which forced them to seek refuge on the frontier, first Ohio, then Missouri, and finally, Nauvoo, Illinois. But, with every passing day it was evident that to live in safety and to have religious freedom, they would have to keep moving westward. These hardy pioneers eventually migrated across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains to the Great Basin, present day Salt Lake City, Utah. The history of the first part of this migration is captured in Robert Foster`s historical novel, `Fort Zion`.

In `Fort Zion`, the author gives the reader an accurate portrayal of Mormon life in the 1840s and the issues surrounding the Mormon migration to Utah. He also adds conflict and adventure to the story as the first Mormon Wagon Train, led by a non-Mormon ex-army officer and Mountain Man, travels across the Plains on what would later become known as the Mormon Trail.

On December 23rd, 2005, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Church`s founder, Joseph Smith Jr. (1805-1844). Church members across the globe will celebrate Smith as an American prophet whose vision and message from God started the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and ultimately one of the biggest religious migrations in history.