Brigham Young

Brigham Young
Young c. 1870
2nd President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
December 27, 1847 (1847-12-27) – August 29, 1877 (1877-08-29)
Predecessor	Joseph Smith
Successor	John Taylor
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 14, 1840 (1840-04-14) – December 27, 1847 (1847-12-27)
Predecessor	Thomas B. Marsh
Successor	Orson Hyde
End reason	Became President of the Church
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
February 14, 1835 (1835-02-14) – December 27, 1847 (1847-12-27)
Called by	Three Witnesses
End reason	Became President of the Church
LDS Church Apostle
February 14, 1835 (1835-02-14) – August 29, 1877 (1877-08-29)
Called by	Three Witnesses
Reason	Initial organization of Quorum of the Twelve
Reorganization at end of term	No apostles immediately ordained[a]
1st Governor of Utah Territory
In office
February 3, 1851 – April 12, 1858
Predecessor	Position established
Successor	Alfred Cumming
Personal details
Born	(1801-06-01)June 1, 1801 Whitingham, Vermont, U.S.
Died	August 29, 1877(1877-08-29) (aged 76) Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, U.S.
Cause of death	Ruptured appendix
Resting place	Brigham Young Cemetery 40°46′13″N 111°53′08″W / 40.7703°N 111.8856°W / 40.7703; -111.8856 (Brigham Young Cemetery)
Spouse(s)	56[1] (See List of Brigham Young's wives)[b]
Children	57[1]
Signature

Brigham Young (/ˈbrɪɡəm/ BRIG-əm; June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877)^[2] 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. He also served as the first governor of the Utah Territory from 1851 until his resignation in 1858.

Young was born in 1801 in Vermont and raised in Upstate New York. After working as a painter and carpenter, he became a full-time LDS Church leader in 1835. Following a short period of service as a missionary, he moved to Missouri in 1838. Later that year, Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs signed the Mormon Extermination Order and Young organized the migration of the Latter Day Saints from Missouri to Illinois, where he became an inaugural member of the Council of Fifty. In 1844, while he was traveling to gain support for Joseph Smith's presidential campaign, Smith was assassinated; igniting the Illinois Mormon War and triggering a succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement. After negotiating a ceasefire, Young was unanimously elected as the second president of the church in 1847. During the Mormon exodus, Young led his followers west from Nauvoo, Illinois, via the Mormon Trail, to the Salt Lake Valley. Once settled in Utah, he ordered the construction of numerous temples, including the Salt Lake Temple. He also formalized the prohibition of black men attaining priesthood and directed the Mormon Reformation. A supporter of education, Young worked to establish the learning institutions that would later become the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.

After arriving in Utah, Young founded Salt Lake City and established the State of Deseret before being appointed Utah's first territorial governor by President Millard Fillmore in 1850. As governor, Young allowed polygamy, supported slavery and its expansion into Utah, and led the efforts to legalize and regulate slavery in the 1852 Act in Relation to Service, based on his beliefs on slavery. He exerted considerable power over the territory through his theocratic political system, theodemocracy. After President James Buchanan appointed a new governor of the territory, Young declared martial law and re-activated the Nauvoo Legion; beginning the Utah War. During the conflict, the Utah Territorial Militia committed a series of attacks that resulted in the mass murder of at least 120 members of the Baker–Fancher immigrant wagon train, known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The following month, the Aiken massacre was perpetrated on Young's orders. In 1858, the war ended when Young agreed to resign as governor and allow federal troops to enter the Utah Territory in exchange for a pardon granted to Mormon settlers from President Buchanan.^[3]

A polygamist, Young had 56 wives^[b] and 57 children.^[1] His teachings are contained in the 19 volumes of transcribed and edited sermons in the Journal of Discourses. His legacy and impact are seen throughout the American West, including numerous memorials, temples, and schools named in his honor. In 2016, Young was estimated to have around 30,000 descendants.

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