What You Didn't Know About Brigham Young

Brigham Young became the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the death of Joseph Smith. He lead the exodus of the pioneers to Utah, exclaimed "this is the place", and now has several universities of education named after him. However, there are probably things you did not know about this leader of the Church. Here are two stories you might not have heard before.

Brigham Young was born June 1st, 1801 in Whitingham, Vermont. Three years later his family moved to Upstate New York. When Brigham was fourteen years old, his mother lost her struggle with tuberculosis and passed away. Her death, combined with the rigors of a life so dependent upon the land, helped the boy grow quickly into a man. The children were left in the care of their father who, though a good man, was often very strict. Brigham would later say of his father that “it used to be a word and a blow, with him, but the blow came first.” His father would sometimes have to leave the children on their own for days while he worked or got supplies.

One time Brigham and his brother were so hungry, with nothing but maple sugar in the house, that he resorted to shooting a robin so the two boys could have something to eat. It was not long after his mother’s death that his father told him it was time for him to leave home.

“When I was sixteen years of age, my father said to me, ‘You can now have your time; go and provide for yourself;’ and a year had not passed away before I stopped running, jumping, wrestling and the laying out of my strength for naught; but when I was seventeen years of age, I laid out my strength in planing a board, or in cultivating the ground to raise something from it to benefit myself.”

Brigham left home and went to Auburn, New York and became an apprentice carpenter, painter, and glazier. Over the next five years he gained a reputation for being a capable and hardworking man.

Brigham and his wife, Miriam Angeline Works joined the Reformed Methodist Church in 1824, shortly after their marriage, with Young insisting on baptism by immersion. He left this church around 1828.

Brigham moved to Mendon, a burgeoning rural community in Upstate New York around 1828, where he operated a carpentry shop. He was converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1832, after reading a copy of the Book of Mormon. He was baptized in a local millstream.

As a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles, he spent his time doing missionary work and being with family. He was also part of the building of the Kirtland Temple. Despite the great blessings that flowed from having the temple in Kirtland, a troubling spirit of fierce contention spread throughout the village. Many members of the Church believed that the Joseph was unwisely combining the spiritual with the secular and should not allow the Church to be involved in temporal affairs.

They blamed him for “meddling” with a financial institution (the Kirtland Safety Society Anti- Banking Association) that ultimately failed. Always loyal to the prophet Joseph Smith, Brigham Young defended him and his inspired role as head of the Church against all critics—even certain members of the Twelve.

He knew Joseph was not perfect, but he also knew he was a prophet. The unrest and resentment toward the Prophet and those who supported him became so severe, in fact, that Elder Young had to leave Kirtland under the cover of night for his own safety.

Following the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, Brigham helped stabilize the Saints and directed their difficult exodus west, earning the nickname "American Moses" for guiding a persecuted people toward a new home.

That journey included the harsh months at Winter Quarters, where the Saints endured hunger and sickness, while preparing for their journey accross the plains.

From there, Brigham organized companies and they headed west. On July 24th, 1847 Brigham entered the salt lake valley. One of Brigham's first acts upon arriving in the valley was to name it "The City of the Great Salt Lake" and to organize the city into blocks of ten acres, each divided into eight equal-sized lots. Under Brigham's leadership, the pioneers went to work, turning an isolated landscape into a growing community with farms, roads, and settlements, which eventually spread throughout the West.

As the president of jesus christ of latter day saints, Brigham Young also navigated intense political pressure. Tensions with the federal government grew as Utah developed, and during the administration of President James Buchanan, misunderstandings and conflict escalated into what is often called the Utah War.

To learn more cool information on President Brigham Young and all the other Presidents of the Church, check out the hardcover book Presidents of the Church.