The Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company, commonly referred to as the Perpetual Emigration Fund (PEF), was a corporation established by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

(LDS Church) in 1849. The purpose of the corporation was to provide economic assistance to more than 30,000 individuals who sought to emigrate to the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total p ...

and surrounding regions. The PEF used both church assets and private contributions to aid impoverished converts to the LDS faith when they moved west. As funds were limited, converts seeking aid were ranked by their useful skills and by the duration of their membership in the church. Limits on funds led to innovative preparations and travel methods, including the establishment of handcart companies, to reduce expenses. Once established in their new homes, the converts were expected to repay the funds to the company in cash, commodities, or labor, with minor interest, so others could receive help. In 1887, during a period of disenfranchisement for the LDS Church, the

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enacted the

Edmunds–Tucker Act The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 was an Act of Congress that focused on restricting some practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). An amendment to the earlier Edmunds Act, it was passed in response to the dispute ...

, which disincorporated the LDS Church and the PEF company.

Perpetual Education Fund

In 2001, the LDS Church established a modern variant of the PEF, dubbing it the

Perpetual Education Fund The Perpetual Education Fund (PEF) is a program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), first announced by church president Gordon B. Hinckley on March 31, 2001. The mission of the PEF, as stated in that address, is to pr ...

. This new fund helps church members in mostly

third-world The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the "First W ...

countries gain an education. Again, once established in a new profession, church members are expected to repay the funds, with minor interest, so others can receive help. Unlike the original PEF, the Perpetual Education Fund is not an incorporated company that is separate from the LDS Church.

References

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External links

Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company records, MSS 843

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Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gra ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

. Records are digitized; click on individual items under "Box/folder" to see them. Mormon migration to Utah History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United Kingdom Religious organizations established in 1849 1887 disestablishments in the United States Defunct organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1849 establishments in the State of Deseret 20th-century Mormonism {{LDS-stub