Editing Perpetual Emigration Fund (section)

{{Short description|LDS Church emigration program}}
The '''Perpetual Emigration Fund''' ('''PEF''') was a 19th-century program of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) that provided economic assistance to emigrants seeking to join the main church community in the [[Salt Lake Valley]] and surrounding regions. The fund concept was launched in 1849, two years after the first [[Mormon pioneers]] arrived in Utah. In September 1850, based on proposals made in the church's [[General Conference (LDS Church)|general conference]], the provisional government of the [[State of Deseret]] formally incorporated the fund as the Perpetual Emigrating Company.<ref name="Ordinance">{{cite news |title=An Ordinance, Incorporating the Perpetual Emigrating Company |newspaper=[[Deseret News]] |date=September 21, 1850 |url=https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=2568848 |page=7 |access-date=November 26, 2023}} Technically, the region had just been made part of [[Utah Territory]], but while reports of imminent congressional action were beginning to reach Salt Lake City, no new governing bodies had yet been constituted.</ref> Ultimately the fund and corporation operated under the name '''Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company''' ('''PEFC''').