While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. He did, to my certain knowledge." 15. Young, himself, was subjected to house arrest for several weeks in 1872 and jailed briefly in March 1875. [179][180][181], At the time of Young's death, nineteen of his wives had predeceased him; he was divorced from ten, and twenty-three survived him. The Mormons were persecuted for several reasons: They didn't keep slaves, which was seen as a threat to the surrounding slave-owning culture at a time when the abolition of slavery was a big issue.. By 1830 he was living in Mendon, New York where he first came in contact with the teachings of the newly-formed Mormon Church. Image Brigham Young Portrait of Brigham Young in Utah, circa 1870. [177] Young built the Lion House, the Beehive House, the Gardo House, and the White House in downtown Salt Lake City to accommodate his sizable family. He joined the Nauvoo city council in 1841 and oversaw the first baptisms for the dead in the unfinished Nauvoo temple. James Buchanans decision to replace him, at which time (1857) an army was sent to establish the primacy of federal rule in Utah. He encouraged independence and self-sufficiency. It was God; though he . [115][116][117] The LDS Church has since repudiated the AdamGod doctrine. [42] Young and the other apostles directed the church's missionary work and the immigration of new converts from this point forward. "[137] Large gatherings and meetings during this period were conducted by Young and Grant, and Young played a key role in the circulation of the Mormon Reformation with his emphasis on plural marriage, rebaptism, and passionate preaching and oration. [171], On this topic, Young wrote: "They have not wisdom to act like white men. Brigham YoungAmerican Moses. His followers were called Mormon pioneers. . [106] The Young Women organization was first called the Retrenchment Association and was intended to promote the turning of young girls away from the costly and extravagant ways of the world. He also oversaw Mormon settlement in dozens of far-flung communities throughout Utah and also in Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, and California in the process becoming one of the foremost colonizers in American history. From another planet, Adam brought Eve, one of his wives, with him to the earth, where they became mortal by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A polygamist, Young had at least 56 wives and 57 children. During time as prophet and governor, Young encouraged each bishop to establish a grade school for his congregation, which would be supported by volunteer work and tithing payments. This was partly experienced when Young traveled with his wife, Miriam, and Heber C. Kimball to visit the branch of the church in Columbia. Brigham Young: Brigham Young was born in 1801 in Vermont. [178] In 1865, Karl Maeser began to privately tutor Young's fifty-six children and stopped when he was called on a mission to Germany in 1867. In 1840 Brigham Young traveled to England, where he took charge of missionary efforts, supervising the dramatic growth of Mormonism in that country. [146] Young's letter reportedly arrived on September 13, 1857, two days after the massacre. [39], Under Young's direction, the quorum organized the exodus of Latter Day Saints from Missouri to Illinois in 1838. While the majority of the sealings were "for eternity", some were "for time only", meaning that Young was sealed to these women as a proxy for their previous husbands who had passed away. Brigham Young was born June 1, 1801, in Whitingham, Vermont. A century after Young's death, historian Rodman W. Paul wrote,[161]. Young instructed victims of anti-Mormon violence on the outskirts of Nauvoo to move to Nauvoo. Young negotiated with Stephen A. Douglas and agreed to lead church members out of Nauvoo in the spring in exchange for peace. On this mission, he visited the family of his aunt, Rhoda Howe Richards. Here he became acquainted with Mary Ann Angell, a convert to the faith from Rhode Island, and the two were married in February 1834 and obtained a marriage certificate on March 31, 1834. However, his efforts were less than successful, particularly in light of larger forces that were bringing the economy of the Great Basin more and more into the mainstream of the larger American economy, a development beyond the control of any one man. Youngs commitment was underscored by his eventual marriage to a total of 55 wives (accounts differ) and fathering of fifty-seven children by sixteen of these women. Why was mail service so important to Brigham Young? By this time Young was the senior member of the Council of the Twelve. [142] Buchanan accepted the reports of the Runaway Officials without any further investigation, and the new non-sectarian governor was appointed and sent to the new territory accompanied by 2,500 soldiers. He instituted a ban prohibiting conferring the priesthood on men of black African descent, and led the church in the Utah War against the United States. Instead, this able, energetic, earthy man became the absolute ruler and the revered, genuinely loved father figure of all Mormons everywhere. By 1857 relations between Young and the federal government had deteriorated to the point that President James Buchanan dispatched United States Army troops to Utah to ensure the seating of a new territorial governor, resulting in a bloodless skirmish known as the Utah War. [90] Young also organized a board of regents to establish a university in the Salt Lake Valley. By 1830 he was living in Mendon, New York where he first came in contact with the teachings of the newly-formed Mormon church. [170] His manuscript history from January 5, 1852, which was published in the Deseret News, reads: The negro . Despite the influences of a strict, moralistic family and being exposed to the religious fervor that characterized the burned-over-district of upstate New York, he was slow to associate with a particular religious denomination until he formally joined the Methodist Church in 1824. Never a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In 1838 he took charge of the Mormon exodus to Illinois in the wake of the Churchs expulsion from Missouri. Instead, Young inspired his followers by his down-to-earth demeanor and through his skills as a pragmatic organizer and executive. His formal education was minimal and he was apprenticed to be a carpenter, painter, and glaziertrades which he used to support himself. He returned to Kirtland with members of the camp in August. His call was to preach to the "remnants of Joseph", a term people in the church used to refer to indigenous people. [123][124][125], Young is generally considered to have instituted a church ban against conferring the priesthood on men of black African descent, who had generally been treated equally to white men in this respect under Smith's presidency. They were from Arkansas." [175], Of Young's fifty-six wives, twenty-one had never been married before; seventeen were widows; six were divorced; six had living husbands; and the marital status of six others is unknown. Under Smith's leadership, Young participated in the building of the Kirtland and Nauvoo temples. Years later, in the anti-Emma atmosphere of Utah, Brigham Young spoke of a meeting where Joseph accused his wife of slipping poison into his coffee. Despite the influences of a strict, moralistic family and being exposed to the religious fervor that characterized the burned-over-district of upstate New York, he was slow to associate with a particular religious denomination until he formally joined the Methodist Church in 1824. Lucy and Young had seven children together. [62][63][64] Young began acting as the church's president afterwards, though he did not yet have a full presidency. [14], By the time Young moved to Mendon in 1828, he had effectively left the Reformed Methodist Church and become a Christian seeker, unconvinced that he had found a church possessing the true authority of Jesus Christ. Later, after taking up the mantle of Mormon leader following Smith's death from dysentery, Young is among those visited by Jesus and told to have as much sex as they possibly can, to ensure the propagation of the Mormon faith.[192]. This will always be so. Brigham led all the Saints from the Mendon area to Kirtland. He credited Young's leadership with helping to settle much of the American West:[161]. Brigham Young, (born June 1, 1801, Whitingham, Vermont, U.S.died August 29, 1877, Salt Lake City, Utah), American religious leader, second president of the Mormon church, and colonizer who significantly influenced the development of the American West. Doyle's daughter stated: "You know father would be the first to admit that his first Sherlock Holmes novel was full of errors about the Mormons. [86][87] He was sworn in by Justice Daniel H. Wells for a salary of $1,500 a year and named as superintendent of Indian Affairs for an additional $1,000. [87] During his time as governor, Young directed the establishment of settlements throughout present-day Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, California, and parts of southern Colorado and northern Mexico. Brigham Young and William Smith discredited Brotherton's character, and Brotherton herself did not associate with the church afterwards. [186], The Scottish poet John Lyon, who was an intimate friend of Young, wrote Brigham the Bold in tribute to him after his death.[187][188]. Brigham Young died in the midst of such developments on 29 August 1877 of complications resulting from apparent acute appendicitis. Brigham Young bears testimony of Jesus Christ. Young's siblings and their spouses were baptized that year or the year afterwards. [138] It was during this period that the controversial doctrine of blood atonement was occasionally preached by Young, though it was repudiated in 1889 and never practiced by members of the church. His pronouncements emphasizing blood atonement and the Adam-God theory had minimal impact on the long-range course of Mormon theological development. Under Brigham Young's direction, for example, President Woodruff and a few others first put the complete temple ordinances into written form, both for the living and the dead (282-85). Young supported her and her two children while they lived in their own home in Nauvoo. Thereby the Mormons became the most important single agency in colonizing that vast arid West between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. Upon joining the Methodists, he insisted on being baptized by immersion rather than by their normal practice of sprinkling. Suddenly, the people arise "en-masse to their feet astonished.". What the History Says Actually Happened The miraculous story of the transfiguration of Brigham Young suffers from the same problems that Joseph Smith's First Vision, priesthood restoration, 1831 polygamy revelation, and so many others do: Nothing was written down about it happening this way at the time. :200 When Young received word in July that federal troops were headed to Utah with his replacement, he called out his militia to ambush the federal force using delaying tactics. In the second of three posts about the massive Brigham Young Office Files collection, Jay Burrup shares useful suggestions for exploring its fascinating contents through the Church History Catalog. [6] At age twelve, he moved with his parents to the township of Genoa, close to Cayuga Lake. In his will, Young shared his estate with the sixteen surviving wives who had lived with him; the six surviving non-conjugal wives were not mentioned in the will. He returned to Nauvoo and took command of the church. He was sustained as President of the Church on December 27, 1847. Brigham Young was responsible for planning the Mormons ' journey to the Great Salt Lake . [17][18] He was baptized by Eleazer Miller. [69] Some Mormons counterfeited American and Mexican money, and a grand jury indicted Young and other church leaders in 1845. At the north end of the Beehive House was a family store, at which Young's wives and children had running accounts and could buy what they needed. Young himself condemned the counterfeiting. Utah Territory's newly established borders stretched from California . [110], Though polygamy was practiced by Young's predecessor, Joseph Smith,[111] the practice is often associated with Young. He returned to Utah with the Mormon emigration of 1848 and remained there for the rest of his life. People call Young in various names. [93] These individuals later became known as the Runaway Officials of 1851. John Lyon: the life of a pioneer poet. God has shown me that this is the spot to locate his people, and here is where they will prosper. By the time of his death, his personal fortune was calculated at $600,000 making him the most successful Utah businessman up to that time. [95][96] Young said in an 1852 speech, "In as much as we believe in the Bible we must believe in slavery. See: Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young: American Moses (1985); Newell G. Bringhurst, Brigham Young and the Expanding American Frontier (1986); Dean C. Jessee, ed., Letters of Brigham Young to his Sons (1974); Richard F. Palmer and Karl D. Butler, Brigham Young: The New York Years (1982); Eugene England, Brother Brigham (1980); M. R. Werner, Brigham Young (1925); and Ray B. [24] In May 1834, Young became a member of Zion's Camp and traveled to Missouri. [175] The policy and practice of polygamy was difficult for many in the church to accept. [175], Sources have varied on the number of Young's wives, as well as their ages. Many cities and towns in Utah, and some in neighboring states, were founded under Young's direction. For two years, the monument stood as a memorial to those traveling the Spanish Trail through Mountain Meadow. [23] Young continued to preach in eastern Canada in the spring and accompanied two Canadian converts to Kirtland in July 1833. However, his efforts were less than successful, particularly in light of larger forces that were bringing the economy of the Great Basin more and more into the mainstream of the larger American economy, a development beyond the control of any one man. [47] Young married Lucy Ann Decker in June 1842, making her his first plural wife. After the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Some People Claim the Right to Lead the Church Young had a somewhat mixed view of slavery which historian John G. Turner called a "bundle of contradictions". [13] Young worked as a carpenter and joiner, and built and operated a saw mill. The reconstructed Kanesville Tabernacle and the visitors center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, are a historic site that commemorates thereorganization of the First Presidency in 1847. The followers of Young called him as the Lion of the Lord because he had bold character. [141], When federal officials received reports of widespread and systematic obstruction of federal officials in Utah (most notably judges), U.S. President James Buchanan decided in early 1857 to install a non-Mormon governor. (2:08), Teachings of Brigham Young: Hard Work, Sacrifice, Obedience, Brigham Young describes the blessings that come from faithfully facing lifes challenges. [145] Leonard J. Arrington reports that Young received a rider at his office on the day of the massacre, and that when he learned of the contemplated attack by members of the church in Parowan and Cedar City, he sent back a letter directing that the Fancher party be allowed to pass through the territory unmolested. [22] During the visit, Brigham spoke in a tongue that Smith identified as the "Adamic language". [143] Young eventually reached a settlement with the aid of a peace commission and agreed to step down as governor. In the process he fulfilled several Church missions and other assignments including participation in the Zions Camp expedition of 1834. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. But relations between Young and the federal government were less than ideal, particularly in wake of the Mormon Churchs public acknowledgment of polygamy in 1852. [36] He then returned to Kirtland where he remained until dissenters, unhappy with the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society, forced him to flee the community in December 1837.
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