Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the western United States. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death and was the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of Utah Territory, United States. Brigham Young University was named in his honor.
Young had a variety of nicknames, among the most popular being "American Moses,"[2] (alternatively the "Modern Moses" or the "Mormon Moses")[3] because, like the Biblical figure, Young led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, in an exodus through a desert, to what they saw as a promised land. Young was also dubbed the "Lion of the Lord" for his bold personality, and was commonly called "Brother Brigham" by Latter-day Saints. However, Young's legacy is controversial, as he is perhaps best known outside of Mormon circles as the most prominent Mormon polygamist. He is also largely credited by historians for revoking the priesthood and the right to temple ordinances from black members of the church. Additionally, concerns persist about his role in the Utah War against the United States government and in the Mountain Meadows massacre.
Early life until Joseph Smith's successor
Young was born to a farming family in Whitingham, Vermont and worked as a traveling carpenter and blacksmith, among other trades.[4] Young first married in 1824 to Miriam Angeline Works. 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 Upper Canada as a missionary. After his first wife died in 1832, Young joined many Mormons in establishing a community in Kirtland, Ohio.
While in jail awaiting trial for alleged treason charges, Joseph Smith, president of the church, was killed by an armed mob in 1844. Several claimants to the role of church President emerged during the succession crisis that ensued. Before a large meeting convened to discuss the succession in Nauvoo, Illinois, Sidney Rigdon, the senior surviving member of the church's First Presidency, argued there could be no successor to the deceased prophet and that he should be made the "Protector" of the church.[5] Young opposed this reasoning and motion. Smith had earlier recorded a revelation which stated the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were "equal in authority and power" to the First Presidency,[6] so Young claimed that the leadership of the church fell to the Twelve Apostles.[7] Many of Young's followers would later reminisce that while Young spoke to the congregation, he looked or sounded similar to Joseph Smith, to which they attributed the power of God.[8] For many in attendance at this meeting, this occurrence was accepted as a sign Young was to lead the church as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Young was ordained President of the Church in December 1847, more than two and a half years after Smith's death. Rigdon became the president of a separate church organization based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and other potential successors emerged to lead what became other denominations of the movement...
Governor of Utah Territory
As colonizer and founder of Salt Lake City, Young was appointed the territory's first governor and superintendent of Indian affairs by President Millard Fillmore. During his time as governor Young directed the establishment of settlements throughout Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of southern Colorado and northern Mexico. Under his direction the pioneers built roads and bridges, forts, irrigation projects, and established public welfare, organized a militia, and pacified the Native Americans. Young organized the first legislature and established Fillmore as the territory's first capital. In 1856 he organized an efficient mail service. In 1858 he stepped down to his successor Alfred Cumming.
Brigham Young (seated near the middle, wearing a tall
beaver hat) and an exploring party camped at the
Colorado River in 1870
Church Presidency
Initial actions as church president
After three years of leading the church as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, in 1847 Young reorganized a new First Presidency and was declared president of the church on December 27, 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 the Salt Lake Valley. Young arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, a date now recognized as Pioneer Day in Utah.
Polygamy
The LDS church under Brigham Young is perhaps best known for its practice of polygamy. Though most historians think that polygamy among Latter Day Saints was taught and practiced by Joseph Smith, Young's predecessor, many adherents to other Latter Day Saint denominations such as the Community of Christ believe that polygamy in the Mormon church originated under Brigham Young. The church's first official statement on the subject was given by Brigham Young in 1853 after the church had arrived in Utah. Young's words came nine years after the purported original revelation by Joseph Smith, and five years after the Mormon Exodus to Utah following Smith's death in Illinois.
Family life
Young was perhaps the most famous polygamist of the early American church, marrying a total of 55 wives, 54 of them after becoming a Latter Day Saint.[9] He stated that upon being taught about plural marriage, "It was the first time in my life that I desired the grave."[10] By the time of his death, Young had 56 children by 16 of his wives; 46 of his children reached adulthood.[11]
Sources have varied on the number of Young's wives due to differences in what observers have considered to be a "wife".[9] There were 55 women that Young was sealed to during his lifetime. While the majority of the sealings were "for eternity", some were "for time only". However, it is suspected that not all of the 55 marriages were conjugal,[9] and Young did not live with a number of his wives or publicly hold them out as wives, which has led to confusion on numbering.[9] This is in part due to the complexity of how wives were identified at the time. If a woman was married and her husband died, she was often remarried to someone else in proxy of her former husband so that all of the children she should have became her former husband's children. Furthermore, for a time women were having themselves sealed to men without a man even knowing about it.
Of his 55 wives, 21 had never been married before; 16 were widows; six were divorced; six had living husbands; and the marital status of six others are unknown.[9]
In 1856, Young built the Lion House to accommodate his sizable family. This building remains a Salt Lake City landmark, together with the Beehive House, another Brigham Young family home. A contemporary of Young wrote: "It was amusing to walk by Brigham Young's big house, a long rambling building with innumerable doors. Each wife has an establishment of her own, consisting of parlor, bedroom, and a front door, the key of which she keeps in her pocket".[12]
At the time of Young's death, 19 of his wives had predeceased him, he was divorced from ten, and 23 survived him, with the status of four unknown.[9] In his will, Young shared his estate with the 16 surviving wives who had lived with him; the six surviving non-conjugal wives were not mentioned in the will.[9]
Grave marker of Brigham Young.
Circumstances leading to banning the priesthood from black members
Brigham Young is generally credited with having been responsible for revoking the priesthood and temple blessings from black members of the LDS Church, who had been treated equally in this respect under Joseph Smith's presidency[13]
During the Mormon flight from Illinois towards Utah in 1847, Brigham Young received a letter informing him of an inter-racial marriage by the son of a prominent black member, Walker Lewis. The letter was written by William Ivers Appleby, a Mormon elder, who desired to know if interracial marriage was an acceptable practice. Appleby sent the letter to Young at Winter Quarters, Nebraska, but Young was actually in Utah, and therefore did not receive Appleby's missive until December 1, 1847, when he returned to Winter Quarters. Quite coincidentally, Appleby himself arrived in Winter Quarters on December 2. Young read Appleby's letter and then had him personally report to Young and the eight apostles who were then in Nebraska.[14] In 1863, Young reported that he said, "Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so" (Journal of Discourses, vol. 10, p. 110).[15]
After settling in Utah in 1848, Brigham Young announced a priesthood ban which prohibited all men of black African descent from holding the priesthood.[13] In connection, Mormons of African descent could not participate in Mormon temple rites such as the Endowment or sealing. These racial restrictions remained in place until 1978, when the policy was rescinded by President of the Church Spencer W. Kimball.[16]
Conflict with U.S. government
Shortly after the arrival of Young's pioneers, the new Mormon colonies were incorporated 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 church 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. Young's leadership style has been viewed as autocratic.[17]
When federal officials received reports of widespread and systematic obstruction of federal officials in Utah (most notably judges), U.S. President James Buchanan decided to install a non-Mormon governor. Buchanan accepted the reports of the judges without any further investigation, and the new non-sectarian governor was accompanied by troops sent to garrison forts in the new territory. The troops passed by the bloody Kansas–Missouri war without intervening in it, as it was not open warfare and only isolated sporadic incidents. When Young received word that federal troops were headed to Utah with his replacement, he called out his militia to ambush the federal column. During the defense of Deseret, now called the Utah War, Young held the U.S. Army at bay for a winter by taking their cattle and burning supply wagons. The Mormon forces were largely successful thanks to Lot Smith. Young 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 Buchanan. Relations between Young and future governors and U.S. Presidents were mixed.
Mountain Meadows massacre
A controversial issue is the extent of Young's involvement in the Mountain Meadows massacre,[18] which took place in Washington County in 1857. Leonard J. Arrington reports that Brigham Young received a rider at his office on the same day. When he learned what was contemplated by the members of the Mormon Church in Parowan and Cedar City, he sent back a letter that the Fancher party be allowed to pass through the territory unmolested.[19] Young's letter supposedly arrived two days too late, on September 13, 1857. As governor, Young had promised the federal government he would protect immigrants passing through Utah Territory. But he had also allegedly told local Native American leaders that they had his permission to steal cattle from these wagon trains.[citation needed] Over 120 men, women and children were killed by the Mormons and their Native American allies. It is clear that local Mormons were the principal perpetrators. United States Army officer James Henry Carleton was sent to investigate the massacre and was convinced that the Mormons were the perpetrators. Only children survived, the murdered members of the wagon train (known as the Fancher Party) were left unburied, and the surviving children were cared for by local Mormon families. The remains of about forty people were found and buried and Carleton had a large cross made from local trees, the transverse beam bearing the engraving, "Vengeance Is Mine, Saith The Lord: I Will Repay" and erected a cairn of rocks at the site. A large slab of granite was put up on which he had the following words engraved: "HERE 120 MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WERE MASSACRED IN COLD BLOOD EARLY IN SEPTEMBER, 1857. THEY WERE FROM ARKANSAS." For two years the monument stood as a warning to those travelling the Spanish Trail through Mountain Meadow. Some claim that, In 1861, Young brought an entourage to Mountain Meadows and had the cairn and cross destroyed, while exclaiming, "Vengeance is mine and I have taken a little".[20] However, others claim it was torn down and then re-built in 1864 by the U.S. military[21]
Other notable actions
Young organized the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and in 1850 founded the University of Deseret, which is now the University of Utah. In 1875, just two years before his death, he founded Brigham Young Academy, which later became Brigham Young University. In 1950, the state of Utah donated a marble statue of Young to the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol.[22]
Works
- Young, Brigham (1952). The Best from Brigham Young: Statements from His Sermons on Religion, Education, and Community Building. selected by Alice K. Chase. Deseret Book Company.
- Everett L. Cooley, ed (1980). Diary of Brigham Young, 1857. Tanner Trust Fund, University of Utah Library. http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/tanner,2124.
- —— (1925). Discourses of Brigham Young. selected by John A. Widtsoe. Deseret Book. http://www.archive.org/details/discoursesofbrig028407mbp.
- Dean C. Jessee., ed (1974). Letters of Brigham Young to His Sons. Deseret Book Company.
- Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1801-1844. Eldon J. Watson. 1969.
- Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1846-1847. Eldon J. Watson. 1971.
- Teachings of President Brigham Young: Salvation for the Dead, the Spirit World, and Kindred Subjects. Seagull Press. 1922.
- Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1997. LDS Church publication number 35554.
Reference in literature
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, on Mormon history, mentioning Young by name. When asked to comment on the story, which had "provoked the animosity of the Mormon faithful", Conan Doyle noted, "all I said about the Danite Band and the murders is historical so I cannot withdraw that though it is likely that in a work of fiction it is stated more luridly than in a work of history." However, Doyle's daughter stated that "You know father would be the first to admit that his first Sherlock Holmes novel was full of errors about the Mormons." [23]
Mark Twain devoted a chapter and much of an appendix to Brigham Young in his book Roughing It.
Notable descendants
Brigham Young has several noteworthy descendants:
- Brigham Young, Jr., LDS Church apostle[24]
- John Willard Young, LDS Church apostle[24]
- Joseph Angell Young, LDS Church apostle[24]
- Leah D. Widtsoe, wife of apostle John A. Widtsoe, and a leading expert in Home Economics. She coauthored the book The Word of Wisdom: A Modern Interpretation with her husband and wrote a biography of Brigham Young with her mother, Susa Young Gates, listed below.[25][26]
- Mahonri Young, sculptor/artist[27]
- Orson Scott Card, novelist[28]
- Richard Whitehead Young,[29] U.S. Army general and justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
- Sandra Tanner, critic of the LDS Church[30]
- Susa Young Gates, Utah suffragist and women's rights activist[25][26]
- Steve Young, professional American football player[31]
- William Hooper Young, early 20th-century convicted murderer[32]
See also
Notes
- ^ A year after Young's death, Orson Hyde died and Moses Thatcher was ordained an apostle. The First Presidency was not reorganized until 1880-10-10, after which Francis M. Lyman and John Henry Smith were ordained. Orson Pratt died in 1881, and the Quorum of the Twelve did not have twelve members again until 1882-10-16, when George Teasdale and Heber J. Grant were ordained.
- ^ Newsroom — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- ^ Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters, 1846–1869 - Maps: Their Use by Overlanders
- ^ Sheret, John G.: Brigham Young: Carpenter and Cabinet Maker
- ^ Roberts, B. H. (ed.) History of the Church, vol. 7, ch. XVIII.
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 107:23-24.
- ^ Roberts, B. H. (ed.) History of the Church, vol. 7, ch. XIX.
- ^ Harper 1996; Lynne Watkins Jorgensen, "The Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Smith Passes to Brother Brigham: One Hundred Twenty-one Testimonies of a Collective Spiritual Witness" in John W. Welch (ed.), 2005. Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844, Provo, Utah: BYU Press, pp. 374-480; Eugene English, "George Laub Nauvoo Diary," BYU Studies, 18 [Winter 1978]: 167 ("Now when President Young arose to address the congregation his voice was the voice of Bro[ther] Joseph and his face appeared as Joseph's face & should I have not seen his face but heard his voice I should have declared that it was Joseph"); William Burton Diary, May 1845. LDS Church Archives ("But their [Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith's] places were filed by others much better than I once supposed they could have been, the spirit of Joseph appeared to rest upon Brigham"); Benjamin F. Johnson, My Life's Review [Independence, 1928], p. 103-104 ("But as soon as he spoke I jumped upon my feet, for in every possible degree it was Joseph's voice, and his person, in look, attitude, dress and appearance; [it] was Joseph himself, personified and I knew in a moment the spirit and mantle of Joseph was upon him"); Life Story of Mosiah Hancock, p. 23, BYU Library ("Although only a boy, I saw the mantle of the Prophet Joseph rest upon Brigham Young; and he arose lion-like to the occasion and led the people forth"); Wilford Woodruff, Deseret News, March 15, 1892 ("If I had not seen him with my own eyes, there is no one that could have convinced me that it was not Joseph Smith"); George Q. Cannon, Juvenile Instructor, 22 [29 October 1870]: 174-175 ("When Brigham Young spoke it was with the voice of Joseph himself; and not only was it the voice of Joseph which was heard, but it seemed in the eyes of the people as though it was the every person of Joseph which stood before them").
- ^ a b c d e f g Jeffrey Odgen Johnson, “Determining and Defining ‘Wife’ — The Brigham Young Households”, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, vol. 20, no. 3 (Fall 1987) pp. 57-70.
- ^ "Polygamy and the Church: A History". The Mormons: People & Events. WGBH Educational Foundation. 2007-04-30. http://www.pbs.org/mormons/peopleevents/e_polygamy.html. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- ^ "= brigham7 Brigham Young Biography". Brigham Young University. http://unicomm.byu.edu/about/brigham.aspx?content = brigham7. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
- ^ DeHegermann-Lindencrone, Lillie. "The Sunny Side of Diplomatic Life, 1875–1912". Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13955/13955-h/13955-h.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
- ^ a b Bush, Jr, Lester E; Armand L. Mauss (1984). Neither White nor Black: Mormon Scholars Confront the Race Issue in a Universal Church. Midvale, Utah: Signature Books. pp. 54-65, 70. ISBN 978-0941214223. http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/neither/neither3.htm#Chapter3.
- ^ Lewis, Elder Q. Walker; Connell O'Donovan (2006). ""An example for his more whiter brethren to follow"". John Whitmer Historical Association Journal]. http://people.ucsc.edu/~odonovan/elder_walker_lewis.html#_ftnref110. Information obtain threw a letter in the LDS Church Archives titled “William I. Appleby to Brigham Young”, May 31, 1847
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ "Brigham Young", MSN Encarta. Archived 2009-10-31.
- ^ Eakin, Emily (2002-10-12). "Reopening a Mormon Murder Mystery; New Accusations That Brigham Young Himself Ordered an 1857 Massacre of Pioneers". New York Times: p. Section B, Page 9, Column 2. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10E17F6395E0C718DDDA90994DA404482&showabstract=1.
- ^ Brigham Young to Isaac C. Haight, Sept. 10, 1857, Letterpress Copybook 3:827–28, Brigham Young Office Files, LDS Church Archives
- ^ Sally Denton (2003). American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857 (New York: Vintage Books, ISBN 0375726365) p. 210.
- ^ "Mountain Meadows Monument, Salt Lake Tribune, May 27, 1874.
- ^ Brigham Young
- ^ Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle impressed by Mormons
- ^ a b c Jenson, Andrew. Biographical Encyclopedia of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book and A. Jenson Historical Co., 1901–1936) 1:42, 121, & 518
- ^ a b Gates, Susa Young Gates; Leah D. Widtsoe (1930). Life Story of Brigham Young. New York: Macmillan. pp. 388. ISBN 0836958861.
- ^ a b Cracroft, R. Paul. "Susa Young Gates: Her Life and Literary Work." Master's thesis, University of Utah, 1951.
- ^ Reviews for Mahonri Young: His Life and Art — contains many biographical details
- ^ "Who Is Orson Scott Card?". Hatrack River – The official web site of Orson Scott Card. Hatrack River Enterprises Inc. 2009. http://www.hatrack.com/osc/about-more.shtml. Retrieved 25 August 2009. paragraph 9
- ^ Reeve, W. Paul; Utah History to Go! (February 1995). "Captain Richard W. Young and Spanish-American War". History Blazer. State of Utah. http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/captainrichardwyoungandspanish-americanwar.html. Retrieved 25 August 2009. paragraph 2
- ^ Tanner, Sandra; Jerald Tanner. "About Us". Utah Lighthouse Ministry. http://www.utlm.org/navaboutus.htm. Retrieved 25 August 2009. paragraph 3
- ^ "Steve Young Profile". espn.go.com. 1999-09-27. http://static.espn.go.com/nfl/profiles/profile/0128.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
- ^ The Pulitzer Murder Case, The Virtual Dime Museum, 2008-05-29, accessed 2009-04-30 paragraph 5
References
- Arrington, Leonard J., Brigham Young: American Moses; University of Illinois Press; ISBN 0-252-01296-8, (1985; Paperback, 1986).
- Nibley, Hugh W. (1994), Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, vol. 13), Salt Lake City, Utah: Shadow Mountain Pub., ISBN 0875798187 , republished online at Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints by Hugh W. Nibley, FARMS, http://farms.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=49, retrieved 2009-04-28 .
- Bergera, Gary James, Conflict in the Quorum: Orson Pratt, Brigham Young, Joseph Smith
- Cannon, Frank J.; Knapp, George L. (1913), Brigham Young and His Mormon Empire, New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., http://www.archive.org/details/brighamyoungandh003273mbp
- Tullidge, Edward W. (1877), Life of Brigham Young: Or, Utah and Her Founders, New York: Tullidge & Crandall, http://books.google.com/books?id=mEcOAAAAIAAJ
- Waite, C.V. (Catherine Van Valkenburg) (1868), The Mormon prophet and his harem: or, An authentic history of Brigham Young, his numerous wives and children, Chicago: J.S. Goodman & Co., http://www.archive.org/details/mormonprophetand00waitiala
- Young, Brigham (April 9, 1852), "Self-Government — Mysteries — Recreation and Amusements, not in Themselves Sinful — Tithing — Adam, Our Father and Our God", in Watt, G.D., Journal of Discourses by Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others, 1, Liverpool: F.D. & S.W. Richards, 1854, pp. 46–53, http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/docviewer.exe?CISOROOT=/JournalOfDiscourses3&CISOPTR=9599
- Young, Brigham (March 2, 1856), "The Necessity of the Saints Living up to the Light Which Has Been Given Them", in Watt, G.D., Journal of Discourses Delivered by President Brigham Young, His Two Counsellors, and the Twelve Apostles, and Others, 3, Liverpool: Daniel H. Wells, 1856, pp. 221–226
External links
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