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Brigham Young ( / ˈbrɪɡəm /; June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) [3] was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death in 1877.
- Early Years and Rise in The Church
- Journey West to The Great Salt Lake
- Growth of The Mormon Community in Utah
- Mountain Meadows Massacre
- Young's Final Years
- Sources
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Born into poverty in Vermont in 1801, Young later moved with his family to western New York, where he worked as a carpenter and craftsman. In 1832, he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religion founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 based on the Book of Mormon, a scripture that Smith claimed to have translated from gol...
An armed mob assassinated Smith in 1844, and Young and the other apostles took charge of leading the Mormon church. Seeking a place where they could avoid the persecution that had driven them from Ohio and Missouri, Young and the other apostles planned a westward exodusof thousands of Mormons from the settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois to the Great Sal...
Young returned east to lead a second company of Mormons to the region in late 1847, and in 1848 was officially selected as the church’s new president. Over the next few decades, as thousands of Mormons arrived in Salt Lake City, the charismatic Young styled himself after the great prophets and leaders of ancient Israel, earning nicknames like “Lion...
Young’s defiant stance toward outside authority meant frequent clashes with the federal government, especially after the church’s public embrace of plural marriage in 1852. In 1857, President James Buchanandeclared Utah to be in a state of rebellion, and sent some 2,500 federal troops to help replace Young as territorial governor. The Utah War was ...
With Congress repeatedly rejecting proposals for Utah statehood, Young firmly resisted the territory’s involvement in the Civil War, especially after passage of the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act in 1862, which effectively outlawed plural marriage in U.S. territories. Several church leaders, including Young, were later charged under the law; Young was not...
Matthew Bowman, The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith (Random House, 2012) David Roberts. “The Brink of War.” Smithsonian Magazine, June 2008. John G. Turner. “Polygamy, Brigham Young and His 55 Wives.” HuffPost, August 27, 2012. The Mormons: Brigham Young. PBS: American Experience.
Learn about Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon church and the founder of Salt Lake City. Explore his life, achievements, controversies and legacy in this article from HISTORY.
BYU is a private university in Provo, Utah, named after Mormon leader Brigham Young. Learn about its academics, athletics, events, news and more.
May 28, 2024 · Brigham Young was an American religious leader, second president of the Mormon church, and colonizer who significantly influenced the development of the American West. A carpenter, joiner, painter, and glazier, Young settled in 1829 at Mendon, New York, near where the Book of Mormon was published.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn about Brigham Young's life, conversion, apostleship, and role in leading the Saints to the West. Explore his vision for building Zion, his challenges and achievements as a frontier governor, and his family and plural marriage.
Learn about Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who led the Mormon pioneers west and founded Salt Lake City. Watch videos, read revelations, and explore his office files.
Learn about Brigham Young, the American Moses who led thousands of Latter-day Saints across the western frontier and founded many settlements. He also served as the first governor of Utah, built the Salt Lake Temple, and practiced plural marriage.
