Comprehensive information and links about Brigham Young

Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was the second prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church; see also Mormonism).

Young had a variety of sobriquets, among the most popular of which is "The American Moses" [1], (sometimes "The Modern Moses" or "The Mormon Moses" [2]) because, like the biblical figure, he led his followers in an often arduous "exodus" through a desert, to what they saw as a "promised land". He was also dubbed "The Lion of the Lord" for his bold personality. He was also called "Brother Brigham".

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Life

Young was born to a farming family in Vermont and worked as a traveling carpenter and blacksmith, among other trades. Young first married in 1824.

Though he had converted to the Methodist faith in 1823, Young was drawn to Mormonism after reading the Book of Mormon shortly after its publication in 1830. He officially joined the new church in 1832 and traveled to Canada as a missionary. After his first wife died in 1833, Young joined many Mormons in establishing a community in Kirtland, Ohio.

Young was strongly committed to his new faith. He was ordained an apostle and joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as one of the first members on February 14, 1835. During the anti-Mormon persecutions in Missouri in the late 1830's, he suffered the loss of all his property, and other hardships. In 1840 and 1841, he went to England as a missionary for his church. Many of those Young converted moved to the United States to join Mormon communities there. In the 1840s Young was among those who established the city of Nauvoo, Illinois on the Mississippi River. It became the headquarters of the church and was comparable in size to the city of Chicago.

While in jail awaiting trial for treason charges, church president Joseph Smith was killed by an armed mob of vigilantes in 1844. Several claimants to his role as church president emerged during the succession crisis that ensued. Sidney Rigdon, the only surviving member of the First Presidency put himself forward as "guardian of the Church," but at a meeting of a congregation in Nauvoo, Young successfully counter-argued that the Quorum of the Twelve should instead lead the Church. This motion carried and Young, as president of the quorum, became the president of the church at Nauvoo. Rigdon became the president of a separate church organization based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and other potential successors emerged to lead what became separate denominations of the movement.

Actions as Church President

After three years under the Quorum of the Twelve, Young reorganized a new First Presidency and was declared President of the largest remaining schism in 1847. Repeated conflict led Young to relocate his group of Latter-day Saints to a territory in what is now Utah; then part of Mexico. Young organized the journey that would take the faithful to Winter Quarters, Nebraska, in 1846, then to Utah's Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, a date now recognized as a Utah state holiday and known as Pioneer Day.

Shortly after the new Mormon colonies were brought into the United States through Mexican Cession, Young petitioned the U.S. Congress to create the State of Deseret. The Compromise of 1850 instead carved out Utah Territory, and Young was installed as governor. As governor and LDS president, Young directed both religious and economic matters. He encouraged independence and self-sufficiency. Many cities and towns in Utah, and some in neighboring states, were founded under Young's direction. Some have accused Young of being an autocrat during his leadership in Utah [3]. Others disagree with this assessment, recognizing Young as a strong, inspiring leader during a challenging era, and further noting that his reputation and legacy are generally well-regarded.

When federal officials received reports of widespread and systematic obfuscation of federal officials in Utah (most notably judges), President Buchanan decided to install a non-mormon governor. When Young received word that federal troops led by Albert Sydney Johnston were headed to Utah with his replacement, he directed resistance, but insisted that no blood be shed. During this episode, now called the Utah War, Young successfully held the U.S. Army at bay for a winter. He made plans to burn Salt Lake City and move his followers to Mexico, but at the last minute he relented, and agreed to step down as governor. He later received a pardon from President Buchanan for his role in the episode. Relations between Young and future governors and U.S. Presidents were mixed. Abraham Lincoln, at the time the transcontinental telegram wire was laid across Utah, worked together with Brigham Young rather than with the federally-appointed governor of the territory.

A recurrent question is the nature or extent of Young's involvement in murders and other illegal activities in early Utah, particularly the Mountain Meadows Massacre, which took place in Washington County in 1857. Authorities in nearby Iron County had sent a messenger to Salt Lake City seeking direction from Young, but his response—directing them to leave the wagon party alone—arrived too late to avert the massacre. John D. Lee, the only person convicted for participation in the massacre, maintained Young's innocence until his death. This inspite of the fact that Lee was personally bitter toward Young for excommunicating him. The massacre at Mountain Meadows was primarily a reaction to the murders and other atrocities committed by the wagon-train migrants against the local Native American population. The Natives pressured the local Mormons to join them in a counter-attack against the violent invaders.

Young was actually indicted on murder charges in 1872, related to a separate incident. This indictment was based on the testimony of William Hickman, who also felt jilted when 8 of his 9 wives left him, after Young had him excommunicated. Hickman's credibility has always been considered questionable, at best. Young's murder indictment was thrown out, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the process used to select grand juries in Utah was unconstitutional, because it was designed to keep Mormons off juries.

In addition to founding the University of Utah, Young also organized the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Brigham Young University is named after him. In 1950, the state of Utah donated a marble statue of Young to the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection. For an overview of Brigham Young's philosophy and teachings, see the book "Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints," by Hugh Nibley.

Plural Wives

Young was perhaps the most famous polygamist of the early church. Young married some 50 women and had 57 known children. These marriages were not recognized as legally binding according to U.S. law, and in response to a suit for alimony from one of his "ex-wives", Young successfully argued in court that he owed no alimony because they were never legally married. In 1856 he built the Lion House to accommodate his sizable family. This remains a Salt Lake City landmark, together with the Beehive House, another Brigham Young Family home.

What follows is a listing of Brigham Young's wives. An asterisk indicates "a wife not recognized in traditional histories, even though there is evidence of at least one of the following: the ceremony, sexual cohabitation, or a formal divorce"; names in parenthesis are the surnames of previous husbands; "divorce" indicates a formal dissolution of the marriage through secular or ecclesiastical procedures; "remarried" indicates later marriage of the wife to another husband. See D. Michael Quinn, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, 1994, 685 pages, ISBN 1-56085-056-6; Appendix 6, "Biographical Sketches of Officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, 1830-47" pp. 607-608).

olLucy Augusta Adams (Cobb) 1843 (no children), requested cancellation of her sealing 1846, sealed by proxy to Joseph Smith 1848, from 1850 onward asked Brigham Young to give her to various men in civil marriage but still included in will.Emmeline Free 1845 (10 children), in will. (former fiance of John D. Lee, her sister Louisa married Lee).Mary E. Rollins (Lightner, Smith) 1845 (no children), remained with legal husband yet considered herself deserted by Brigham Young 1846.Mary E. de la Montague (Woodward) 1846 (no children), divorced and returned to legal husband 1847, then returned to Brigham Young 1851.Julia Foster (Hampton) 1846 (no children), separated 1846, married another man, returned to Brigham Young 1855 only to leave him bitterly later.Naamah K. J. Carter (Twiss) 1846 (no children), obtained cancellation of her sealing by 1871, anointed to deceased first husband but still included in will.Ann Eliza Webb (Dee) 1868 (no children), divorced 1875; her story was fictionalized in Irving Wallace's 1962 novel