There is a lot to admire in the Mormon “Errand into the Wilderness. I have read parts of the ‘Great Basin Kingdom,” by Arrington. In some ways it is like the Zionist enterprise. It is also like the Massachusetts Bay Colony in its approach. Except that the Puritans were 1)hard-nosed Trinitarians and 2) hard drinkers.:)
Read the other side of it, it is nowhere NEAR as rosy as Arrington (who wrote faith promoting history only) paints it. There is a dark side that the LDS ignore or flat out lie about.
I can give you some recommendations if you would like.