Brigham Young

Brigham Young was a pivotal American religious leader, colonizer, and politician who led the Latter Day Saint movement following the 1844 assassination of its founder, Joseph Smith. As the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he directed the epic westward migration of thousands of Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley, founding Salt Lake City and serving as the first governor of the Utah Territory. His forceful leadership and expansive vision shaped the religious, political, and physical landscape of the American West.

Early life and background

Born in Whitingham, Vermont, to a farming family, he received minimal formal education and worked as a traveling craftsman, including as a carpenter and glazier. His early life was marked by frequent moves, including to New York and later Mendon, New York, where he was first introduced to the Book of Mormon in 1830. Deeply affected by the new scripture, he was baptized into the nascent Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) in 1832 by Eleazer Miller, quickly becoming a devoted disciple and missionary. He relocated to Kirtland, Ohio, the church's early headquarters, and joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835, participating in crucial early missions to the United Kingdom and helping manage the turbulent exodus from Missouri during the period of the Missouri Mormon War.

Leadership in the Latter Day Saint movement

Following the murder of Joseph Smith in Carthage, Illinois, a succession crisis ensued, which he ultimately navigated successfully, being sustained as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and later as church president in 1847. Facing intense persecution in Nauvoo, Illinois, he organized and directed the monumental exodus of Latter-day Saints westward, famously declaring upon seeing the Great Salt Lake Valley, "This is the right place." Under his direction, settlers established hundreds of communities across a vast Mormon Corridor stretching from Idaho to San Bernardino, California. He oversaw the construction of the Salt Lake Temple and other key buildings, managed complex economic projects like the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, and dispatched missions worldwide, including to Scandinavia and the Pacific Islands.

Governor of Utah Territory

After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo made the region part of the United States, President Millard Fillmore appointed him the first governor of the newly created Utah Territory in 1851. His administration focused on surveying, creating infrastructure, and negotiating with Native American tribes, though tensions with federal officials over the practice of plural marriage and perceptions of theocratic control led to the Utah War of 1857–1858. This conflict, involving the dispatch of the United States Army under Albert Sidney Johnston, resulted in his replacement by federal appointee Alfred Cumming and the establishment of Fort Douglas.

Teachings and legacy

His sermons, compiled in the multi-volume Journal of Discourses, emphasized practical theology, theocratic governance, economic self-sufficiency, and the controversial principle of plural marriage. He was a staunch advocate for cooperative economics, exemplified by institutions like Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution. His legacy is physically embodied in the settlement of the Intermountain West, the establishment of Brigham Young University, and the enduring cultural footprint of the Latter-day Saints. Critical assessments of his tenure often focus on confrontations like the Mountain Meadows massacre and harsh policies toward dissidents, while admirers credit him with the miraculous survival and flourishing of a persecuted religious community.

Family and personal life

A practitioner of plural marriage, he was married to at least 55 women and fathered 56 children. Notable wives included Mary Ann Angell, Eliza R. Snow, and Zina D. H. Young. He managed his large household through a system of assigned residences, including the Beehive House and Lion House in Salt Lake City. Known for his pragmatism and formidable will, he died in 1877 from complications of a ruptured appendix and was interred on the grounds of the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument. His descendants have played prominent roles in the leadership of the LDS Church, business, and politics, including former United States Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson.

Category:1801 births Category:1877 deaths Category:American religious leaders Category:Governors of Utah Territory Category:19th-century American politicians