Mormon Church

Read about Brigham Young’s early life

Brigham Young was in Boston when Joseph Smith was murdered, but as soon as he received word, he rushed home. He found church members preparing to turn over church leadership to Sidney Rigdon, who had volunteered for the job. However, God doesn’t turn over the role of the prophet to anyone who volunteers. There is a clear pattern of succession, so there need never be campaigning or voting. Brigham Young reminded the leaders—and the people—that Joseph Smith had put the keys into the hands of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and that he was the head of that body. Some people later testified that as Brigham Young spoke, he looked and sounded suddenly like Joseph Smith. He assumed leadership of the Mormons, although some chose other leaders and apostatized. Most, however, honored the plan that had been put forth by God and taught by Joseph Smith.

Brigham Young oversaw the

Even though Brigham Young was grieving the death of his friend, he had little time to focus on his grief. Persecution was growing. Joseph Smith had been killed in hopes of ending the church and now the enemies were working hard to finish their goal. He knew they needed to quickly finish the temple and have the people become endowed (to make covenants with God to keep His commandments) and then they needed to go west, a plan that had been discussed for some time. He was concerned about staying long enough to finish the temple, but prayer revealed to him that was what God wanted, so they did. Brigham Young spent many hours fasting and praying to be certain they went to the right place, so they would not continue to be chased around the continent. Eventually he was shown the place in a vision and was sure he would recognize it when he saw it again. The first stop, however, was Iowa. The Mormons were forced to leave Nauvoo sooner than planned and thousands of Mormons had to be moved in safety and with little money, since local non-Mormons took advantage of the persecution to purchase homes and lands for almost nothing from the Mormon people.  There was a great deal of mud that bogged down wagons. The challenges of this move caused Brigham Young to lose a great deal of weight and to become ill. Young had attempted to find a home in the United States, writing to many governors requesting asylum but was ignored or threatened by each. Eventually, he determined to move them to the Salt Lake Valley, then part of Mexico. Moving such a large group of people was a task unequaled in American history and it sealed Brigham Young’s place in history. He created innovative plans, including the famed handcarts, to move thousands to the Salt Lake Valley as inexpensively as possible. In time 80,000 Mormons would arrive in the Valley before the arrival of train travel into the area in 1869. Brigham Young would serve as the governor until the United States forcibly replaced him with an imported and appointed non-Mormon governor, an act that would be shocking today. During the Civil War, the Mormons had their repeated requests for statehood denied. Despite this, and despite the refusal of the United States to protect the Mormons before they came to Utah, Mormons remained loyal to their country. Although some felt the United States was enduring the war as punishment for the way Mormons had been treated—Joseph Smith had prophesied the war, even naming the state where it would start—others simply focused on the Constitution. Utah paid a tax to support the war and sent soldiers to guard telegraph lines and transportation routes from the South. There continued to be problems as antagonistic leaders were sent to Utah and military occupation continued. However, the Mormons continued to colonize the Utah territory and also sent missionaries to Europe, even though American missionary work largely stopped during the war. The famous Mormon Tabernacle began to be built during this time. Utah, despite its challenges, was a surprisingly calm and growing place during the Civil War. Brigham Young strongly supported bringing rail travel to Utah. The government did as well, believing it would allow Mormons to “escape” Utah. They mistakenly believed Brigham Young held them against their will. Brigham Young knew the railway would bring outsiders in, so he set out to develop programs that would strengthen the testimonies of the people. He reorganized the Relief Society, an auxiliary forMormon women that had been discontinued during the challenging years of persecution. A variety of other auxiliaries, including the Sunday School and a program for children, were also developed. Private schools were popular in Utah, but as more non-Mormons arrived, there was a greater call for federally-funded schools. The government tried to remove the Bible from the schools as well, but Brigham Young refused, as did leaders of other religions in Utah. Several temples were begun during Brigham Young’s time as president and the church moved into other states, as well. Although the practice of Mormon polygamy created intense challenges for the Mormons, they persevered, and were not forced from their homeland again. Brigham Young died on August 23, 1877.