A biographical overview of the life of Brigham Young,
the second President of the Church of Jesus Christ
Following is a brief
summary of some major events in the life of Brigham Young, a member of the
original
Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles and the 2nd President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints
- Brigham Young was born on June 1, 1801 in Whitingham, Vermont
to John Young and Abigail Howe. He was the 9th of 11 children.
- He had only 11 days of formal
schooling.
- By training and by trade, he
was a carpenter, painter, and glassmaker.
- He was baptized a member of
the Church in April of 1832.
- On at least two occasions in
November of 1832, the Prophet Joseph prophesied that Brigham Young would
eventually preside over the Church. (see "My Servant Brigham",
by Richard N. Holzapfel, pages 1-2)
- He participated in Zion's
Camp in May, June, and July of 1834, marching from Kirtland,
Ohio to western Missouri
under the direction of Joseph Smith.
- He was ordained an apostle on
February 14, 1835 by
Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer. He was the third oldest member of the
original Quorum of the Twelve, at age 35 years and 3 months.
- He served many missions
during his lifetime, including the following: Canada
in 1833, eastern United States
in 1833, New England in 1836, New
York in 1837, the British Isles
in 1838, and the eastern United States
in 1844.
- He was nicknamed "the
Lion of the Lord" by W. W. Phelps.
- He received his temple
endowments on May 4, 1842
in Nauvoo, Illinois,
under the hands of the prophet Joseph Smith.
- He supervised the
administration of temple ordinances to over 6000 Saints in the Nauvoo
Temple before the Saints were
expelled from Illinois.
- He led, supervised, and
oversaw the migration of 1000's of Saints from western Illinois
to the valley of the Great Salt Lake. For this
monumental and overwhelming achievement he has been called "The
American Moses"
- On September 20, 1850, he was appointed the
first Governor of the Territory
of Utah by President Millard
Fillmore
- He officially announced the
practice of plural marriage in 1852.
- Brigham fathered 56 children
during his lifetime. Also, 146 of his grandchildren and 22 of his
great-grandchildren were born during his lifetime. Sixteen of his wives
gave birth to all of his children.
- He is mentioned prominently
in four sections of the Doctrine and Covenants (124, 126, 136, 138)
- He played a significant role
in the plans for, construction of, or dedication of the following temples:
Kirtland, Nauvoo, Salt Lake,
St. George, Logan, and Manti.
- He asked nothing of the
Saints that he was not willing to do or give himself.
- He was one of the most
persuasive, dynamic, powerful, and inspiring orators in the Church, then
or since. Over 1000 of Brigham's sermons and talks were recorded.
- He broke ground for the Salt
Lake Temple
on February 14, 1853.
- In October of 1856, he
movingly implored the Saints to hasten to the rescue of the Martin and
Willie handcart pioneers who were stranded in eastern Wyoming
by early winter storms.
- In the fall of 1857, he
placed the Utah Territory
on full military alert in anticipation of the arrival of a large army to
purportedly quell a Mormon uprising.
- He had his 5 remaining teeth
pulled on April 28, 1862,
and he wore dentures from that point on.
- On February 4, 1864, he ordained three of his
sons to the apostleship. These three were Brigham Young, Jr, Joseph Angell Young, and
John Willard Young.
- Brigham Young died on August 29, 1877. The last words
he spoke in mortality were "Joseph, Joseph, Joseph!"
- President Hinckley paid this
wonderful tribute to Brigham Young: "...To me, he stands as a leader
whose equal I do not know. He was a man who had great vision, who pondered
grand designs, who built nobly and solidly, and who at the same time
mingled among the people as their prophet, seer, and revelator. Great was
his wisdom, tremendous his accomplishments." (Church News, 3 May
1997, page 6)
Click
here to return to the Prophets' Biographies Menu page
Click here to
return to the Prophets Menu page
Click here to
return to the Main Menu page