Joseph Angell Young

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWJ4-NG7
• Initiatory (LDS): 31 Mar 1852, EHOUS

Family/Spouse: Helen Eldredge Armstrong. Helen (daughter of Henry William Bobbitt and Agnes Smith Parker) was born on 17 Jan 1856 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States; died on 22 Apr 1939 in Ephraim, Sanpete, Utah, United States; was buried on 23 Apr 1939 in Ephraim, Sanpete, Utah, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWJH-9QN
• Initiatory (LDS): 4 May 1842, OTHER

Notes:

2nd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second pr e sident of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church ) fr om 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as church president , You ng led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, west from Nauvoo, Illino is t o the Salt Lake Valley. He founded Salt Lake City and served as th e firs t governor of the Utah Territory. Young also worked to establish t he lear ning institutions which would later become the University of Uta h and Bri gham Young University. A polygamist, Young had at least 55 wive s and 56 c hildren. He instituted a ban prohibiting conferring the priest hood on me n of black African descent, and led the church in the Utah Wa r against th e United States.

Governor of Utah Territory

A beardless Brigham Young in 1853
The Utah Territory was created by Congress as part of the Compromise o f 1 850, and as colonizer and founder of Salt Lake City, Young was appoin te d the territory's first governor and superintendent of American India n af fairs by President Millard Fillmore on February 3, 1851. He was swor n i n by Justice Daniel H. Wells for a salary of $1,500 a year, and name d a s superintendent of Indian Affairs for an additional $1,000. During h is t ime as governor, Young directed the establishment of settlements thr ougho ut present-day Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, California and parts o f sout hern Colorado and northern Mexico. Under his direction, the Mormon s buil t roads and bridges, forts, irrigation projects; established publi c welfa re; organized a militia; issued a "selective extermination" orde r agains t male Timpanogos and after a series of wars eventually made pea ce with t he Native Americans. Young was also one of the first to subscri be to Unio n Pacific stock, for the construction of the First Transcontin ental Railr oad. He also authorized the construction of the Utah Centra l railroad lin e, which connected Salt Lake City to the Union Pacific tra nscontinental r ailroad. Young organized the first Utah Territorial Legis lature and estab lished Fillmore as the territory's first capital.

Young established a gold mint in 1849 and called for the minting of coi n s using gold dust which had been accumulated from travelers during th e Go ld Rush. The mint was closed in 1861 by Alfred Cumming, gubernatoria l suc cessor to Young. Young also organized a board of regents to establi sh a u niversity in the Salt Lake Valley. It was established on Februar y 28, 185 0, as the University of Deseret; its name was eventually change d to the U niversity of Utah. In 1849, Young arranged for a printing pres s to be bro ught to the Salt Lake Valley, and established the Deseret New s periodical .


Brigham Young photographed by Charles Roscoe Savage, 1855
In 1851, Young and several federal officials—including territorial Secre t ary Broughton Harris—became unable to work cooperatively. Within month s , Harris and the others departed their Utah appointments without replac em ents being named, and their posts remained unfilled for the next two y ear s. These individuals later became known as the Runaway Officials of 1 851.

Young supported slavery and its expansion into Utah, and led the effor t s to legalize and regulate slavery in the 1852 Act in Relation to Servi ce , based on his beliefs on slavery. Young said in an 1852 speech, "In a s m uch as we believe in the Bible... we must believe in slavery. This co lore d race have been subjected to severe curses... which they have broug ht up on themselves." Seven years later in 1859, Young stated in an inter view w ith the New York Tribune that he considered slavery a "divine inst itution ... not to be abolished".

In 1856, Young organized an efficient mail service. In 1858, following t h e events of the Utah War, he stepped down to his gubernatorial successo r , Alfred Cumming.

LDS Church president
Young is the longest-serving president of The Church of Jesus Christ o f L atter-day Saints to date, having served for 29 years.

Educational endeavors
During time as prophet and governor, Young encouraged each bishop to est a blish a grade school for his congregation, which would be supported b y vo lunteer work and tithing payments. Young viewed education as a proce ss o f learning how to make the Kingdom of God a reality on earth, and a t th e core of his "philosophy of education" was the belief that the chur ch ha d within itself all that was necessary to save mankind materially , spirit ually, and intellectually.

On October 16, 1875, Young deeded buildings and land in Provo, Uta h t o a board of trustees for establishing an institution of learning, os tens ibly as part of the University of Deseret. Young said, "I hope to se e a n Academy established in Provo... at which the children of the Latter -da y Saints can receive a good education unmixed with the pernicious ath eist ic influences that are found in so many of the higher schools of th e coun try." The school broke off from the University of Deseret and beca me Brig ham Young Academy in 1876 under the leadership of Karl G. Maeser , and wa s the precursor to Brigham Young University.

Within the church, Young reorganized the Relief Society for women in 186 7 , and created organizations for young women in 1869 and young men in 18 75 . The Young Women organization was first called the Retrenchment Assoc iat ion, and was intended to promote the turning of young girls away fro m th e costly and extravagant ways of the world. It later became known a s th e Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association, and was a charter mem ber o f the National Council of Women and International Council of Women.

Young also organized a committee to refine the Deseret alphabet—a phonet i c alphabet which had been developed sometime between 1847 and 1854. Dur in g its heyday, the alphabet was used in two Deseret News articles, tw o ele mentary readers, and in a translation of the Book of Mormon. By 187 0, i t had all but disappeared from use.

Temple building
Young was involved in temple building throughout his membership in the L D S Church, making it a priority during his time as church president. Und e r Smith's leadership, Young participated in the building of the Kirtla n d and Nauvoo temples. Just four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Va ll ey, Young designated the location for the Salt Lake Temple; he preside d o ver its groundbreaking years later on April 6, 1853. During his tenur e, Y oung oversaw construction of the Salt Lake Tabernacle and announce d plan s to build the St. George (1871), Manti (1875), and Logan (1877) t emples . He also provisioned the building of the Endowment House, a "temp orary t emple" which began to be used in 1855 to provide temple ordinance s to chu rch members while the Salt Lake Temple was under construction.

Teachings
The majority of Young's teachings are contained in the 19 volumes of tra n scribed and edited sermons in the Journal of Discourses. The LDS Church ' s Doctrine and Covenants contains one section from Young that has bee n ca nonized as scripture, added in 1876.
Polygamy
Though polygamy was practiced by Young's predecessor Joseph Smith Jr., t h e practice is often associated with Young. Some Latter Day Saint denomi na tions, such as the Community of Christ, consider Young the "Father o f Mor mon Polygamy". In 1853, Young made the church's first official stat emen t on the subject since the church had arrived in Utah. Young acknowl edge d that the doctrine was challenging for many women, but stated its n ecess ity for creating large families, proclaiming: "But the first wife w ill sa y, 'It is hard, for I have lived with my husband twenty years, o r thirty , and have raised a family of children for him, and it is a grea t trial t o me for him to have more women;' then I say it is time that yo u gave hi m up to other women who will bear children."

Adam-God doctrine and blood atonement
One of the more controversial teachings of Young during the Mormon Refor m ation was the Adam–God doctrine. According to Young, he was taught by S mi th that Adam is "our Father and our God, and the only God with whom w e ha ve to do". According to the doctrine, Adam was once a mortal man wh o beca me resurrected and exalted. From another planet, Adam brought Eve , one o f his wives, with him to the earth, where they became mortal by e ating th e fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. After bearin g mortal c hildren and establishing the human race, Adam and Eve returne d to their h eavenly thrones where Adam acts as the god of this world. La ter, as Youn g is generally understood to have taught, Adam returned to t he earth to b ecome the biological father of Jesus. The LDS Church has si nce repudiate d the Adam–God doctrine.

Young also taught the doctrine of blood atonement, in which the atoneme n t of Jesus cannot redeem an eternal sin, which included apostasy, thef t , fornication (but not sodomy), or adultery. Instead, those who committ e d such sins could partially atone for their sin by sacrificing their li f e in a way that sheds blood. The LDS Church has formally repudiated th e d octrine as early as 1889, and multiple times since the days of Young.

Priesthood ban for black men
Young is generally considered to have instituted a church ban against co n ferring the priesthood on men of black African descent, who had been tr ea ted equally to white men in this respect under Smith's presidency. Aft e r settling in Utah in 1848, Young announced the ban, which also forbad e b lacks from participating in Mormon temple rites such as the endowmen t o r sealings. On many occasions, Young taught that blacks were denied t he p riesthood because they were "the seed of Cain." In 1863, Young state d: "S hall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If th e whit e man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the see d of Cai n, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. Thi s will alw ays be so." Young was also a vocal opponent of theories of hum an polygene sis, being a firm voice for stating that all humans were th e product of o ne creation.

Throughout his time as prophet, Young went to great lengths to deny th e a ssumption that he was the author of the practice of priesthood denia l t o black men, asserting instead that the Lord was. According to Young , th e matter was beyond his personal control, and was divinely determine d rat her than historically or personally as many assumed. Young taught t hat th e day would come when black men would again have the priesthood, s aying t hat after "all the other children of Adam have the privilege of r eceivin g the Priesthood, and of coming into the kingdom of God, and of b eing red eemed from the four-quarters of the earth, and have received the ir resurr ection from the dead, then it will be time enough to remove th e curse fro m Cain and his posterity."

These racial restrictions remained in place until 1978, when the polic y w as rescinded by President Spencer W. Kimball, and the church subseque ntl y "disavow[ed] theories advanced in the past" to explain this ban, th ereb y "plac[ing] the origins of black priesthood denial blame squarely o n Bri gham Young."

Mormon Reformation
Main article: Mormon Reformation
During 1856 and 1857, a period of renewed emphasis on spirituality with i n the church known as the Mormon Reformation took place under Young's d ir ection. The Mormon Reformation called for a spiritual reawakening amon g m embers of the church, and took place largely in the Utah Territory. J eded iah M. Grant, one of the key figures of the Reformation and one of Y oung' s counselors, traveled throughout the Territory preaching to Latter -day S aint communities and settlements with the goal of inspiring them t o rejec t sin and turn towards spiritual things. As part of the Reformati on, almo st all "active" or involved LDS Church members were rebaptized a s a symbo l of their commitment. At a church meeting on September 21, 185 6, Brigha m Young stated: “We need a reformation in the midst of this peo ple; we ne ed a thorough reform.” Large gatherings and meetings during th is period w ere conducted by Young and Grant, and Young played a key rol e in the circ ulation of the Mormon Reformation with his emphasis on plur al marriage, r ebaptism, and passionate preaching and oration. It was dur ing this perio d that the controversial doctrine of blood atonement was o ccasionally pre ached by Young, though it was repudiated in 1889 and neve r practiced by m embers of the church. The Reformation appeared to have e nded completely b y early 1858.

Conflicts
Shortly after the arrival of Young's pioneers, the new Latter-day Sain t c olonies were incorporated into the United States through the Mexica n Cess ion. Young petitioned the U.S. Congress to create the State of Des eret. T he Compromise of 1850 instead carved out Utah Territory and Youn g was app ointed governor. As governor and church president, Young direct ed both re ligious and economic matters. He encouraged independence and s elf-suffici ency. Many cities and towns in Utah, and some in neighborin g states, wer e founded under Young's direction. Young's leadership styl e has been view ed as autocratic.

Utah War
When federal officials received reports of widespread and systematic obs t ruction of federal officials in Utah (most notably judges), U.S. Presid en t James Buchanan decided in early 1857 to install a non-Mormon governo r . Buchanan accepted the reports of the Runaway Officials without any fu rt her investigation, and the new non-sectarian governor was appointed an d s ent to the new territory accompanied by 2,500 soldiers.: 200  When Yo un g received word in July that federal troops were headed to Utah with h i s replacement, he called out his militia to ambush the federal force us in g delaying tactics. During the defense of Utah, now called the Utah Wa r , Young held the U.S. Army at bay for a winter by taking their cattle a n d burning supply wagons. Young eventually reached a settlement with th e a id of a peace commission and agreed to step down as governor. He late r re ceived a pardon from Buchanan.

Mountain Meadows massacre

Brigham Young (seated near the middle, wearing a tall beaver hat) an d a n exploring party camped at the Colorado River in 1870
The degree of Young's involvement in the Mountain Meadows massacre, whi c h took place in Washington County in 1857, is disputed. Leonard J. Arri ng ton reports that Young received a rider at his office on the day of th e m assacre, and that when he learned of the contemplated attack by membe rs o f the church in Parowan and Cedar City, he sent back a letter direct ing t hat the Fancher party be allowed to pass through the territory unmo lested . Young's letter reportedly arrived on September 13, 1857, two day s afte r the massacre. As governor, Young had promised the federal govern ment h e would protect immigrants passing through Utah Territory, but ove r 120 m en, women and children were killed in this incident. There is n o debate c oncerning the involvement of individual Mormons from the surro unding comm unities by scholars. Only children under the age of seven, wh o were care d for by local Mormon families, survived, and the murdered me mbers of th e wagon train were left unburied. The remains of about 40 peo ple were lat er found and buried, and Union Army officer James Henry Carl eton had a la rge cross made from local trees, the transverse beam bearin g the engravin g, "Vengeance Is Mine, Saith The Lord: I Will Repay" and e rected a cair n of rocks at the site. A large slab of granite was put u p on which he ha d the following words engraved: "Here 120 men, women an d children were ma ssacred in cold blood early in September, 1857. They w ere from Arkansas. " For two years, the monument stood as a memorial to t hose travelling th e Spanish Trail through Mountain Meadow. According t o Wilford Woodruff, i n 1861 Young brought an entourage to Mountain Meado ws and suggested tha t the monument read "Vengeance is mine and I have ta ken a little".

Death

Young is buried on the grounds of the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monumen t i n Salt Lake City.

Before his death in Salt Lake City on August 29, 1877, Young was sufferi n g from cholera morbus and inflammation of the bowels. It is believed th a t he died of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix. His last words wer e "J oseph! Joseph! Joseph!", invoking the name of the late Joseph Smit h Jr, f ounder of the Latter Day Saint movement. On September 2, 1877, Yo ung's fu neral was held in the Tabernacle with an estimated 12,000 to 15, 000 peopl e in attendance. He is buried on the grounds of the Mormon Pion eer Memori al Monument in the heart of Salt Lake City. A bronze marker wa s placed a t the grave site June 10, 1938, by members of the Young Men an d Young Wom en organizations, which he founded.

Brigham married Mary Ann Angell on 18 Feb 1834 in Kirtland, Lake, Ohio, United States. Mary (daughter of James Williams Angell and Phoebe Ann Morton) was born on 8 Jun 1808 in Seneca, Ontario, New York, United States; died on 27 Jun 1882 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States; was buried in Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWJJ-ZL9
• Initiatory (LDS): 10 Dec 1845, NAUVO

Notes:

She was the second woman married to Latter Day Saint leader Brigham Youn g . They were married on March 31, 1834. Young's first wife, Miriam Ange l i n e Works, had died on September 8, 1832. With the permission of Mary , Yo ung began practicing plural marriage in 1842 when he married Lucy An n Dec ker.

The daughter of James and Phoebe Morton Angell, she was born in Seneca , O ntario County, New York. When she was quite young, her parents mov e d t o Providence, Rhode Island. Mary Ann became a Free Will Baptist an d was a lso a Sunday School teacher. Deeply religious and studious of th e Hebre w and Christian scriptures, she vowed never to marry until she me t "a ma n of God" in whom she could confide her spirituality and with who m her he art could unite in the active duties of a Christian life.

In 1831, because of her abusive father, Mary Ann, her mother Phoebe, a n d brother Truman O. Angell left Providence, and moved to China, New Yor k , where Truman was baptized a Mormon in January 1832; Mary Ann was soo n b aptized thereafter by Elder John P. Greene. Mary Ann then set out alo ne f or Kirtland, Ohio, then the gathering place of the early Mormons. Th er e he met and married Brigham Young and remained a devoted wife to hi m fo r the next 45 years. She survived him by nearly five years.

Mary Ann Angell and Brigham Young had six children. One of these Childr e n was Brigham Young, Jr., who was ordained an apostle by his father i n 18 64, but was not placed in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The C hurc h of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until 1868. John Willard Youn g, an other one of her sons, was also an ordained apostle and was the fir st cou nselor in the First Presidency of the church at the end of Brigha m Young ' s administration as church president. Another son was Joseph An gell You ng, who was ordained an apostle in 1864 but never became a membe r of eith er the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or the First Presidency. O ne of thei r daughters, Eunice "Luna" Caroline Young (Thatcher) who marri ed George W ashington Thatcher, became the matriarch of the wealthy Thatc her-Young fa mily of Logan, Utah. George was a prominent Utah pioneer wh o at one time , managed a number of Brigham Young's business interests an d was instrume ntal in developing political, business and church interest s in Cache Vall ey, (Logan, Utah) on behalf of Brigham Young and the LD S church.

Mary Ann was also a skilled herbalist and folk doctor. During her trek a c ross the plains to the Salt Lake Valley in 1848, she used these skill s t o treat many fellow pioneers. She also brought many seeds with her an d i s credited with planting the beautiful trees that grow along the east er n end of South Temple Street in Salt Lake City, which was once known a s B righam Street. LDS Church historian Andrew Jenson wrote of her, "Sh e wa s a very gifted and intelligent woman, highly cultured, yet humble a nd me ek, ever Ready to help the poor and needy, or ease the suffering o f the a fflicted. She passed through great trials and privation but throu gh it al l she was a faithful wife, model mother, and Latter-day Saint, i n whose h eart native goodness and benevolence abounded."

Mary Ann Angell was the sister of Salt Lake Temple architect Truman Ange l l.

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWJT-JPP
• Initiatory (LDS): 29 Mar 1877, SGEOR

John married Abigail "Nabby" Howe on 31 Oct 1785 in Hopkinton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. Abigail (daughter of Phineas Howe and Susannah Goddard) was born on 3 May 1766 in Hopkinton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died on 11 Jun 1815 in Genoa, Cayuga, New York, United States; was buried on 12 Jun 1815 in White Settlement Cemetery, Lansing, Tompkins, New York, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: L8QG-KTG
• Initiatory (LDS): 29 Mar 1877, SGEOR

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KNCY-TQM
• Initiatory (LDS): 6 Jun 1894, SLAKE

James married Phoebe Ann Morton on 21 Mar 1804 in Camden, Oneida, New York, United States. Phoebe (daughter of Abraham Morton and Phebe Langford) was born on 28 Mar 1786 in Utica, Oneida, New York, United States; died on 14 Nov 1854 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KWV9-RVH
• Initiatory (LDS): 24 Dec 1845, NAUVO

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: L8SG-D9F
• Initiatory (LDS): 19 Jun 1884, LOGAN

Joseph married Elizabeth Hayden on 21 Aug 1759 in Hopkinton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. Elizabeth was born on 1 Feb 1727 in Hopkinton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died on 23 Jun 1810 in Upton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: L87V-8P3
• Initiatory (LDS): 31 May 1895

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: L8Q2-349
• Initiatory (LDS): 27 Jun 1890

Phineas married Susannah Goddard on 23 Apr 1761 in Hopkinton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. Susannah (daughter of Ebenezer Goddard and Sybil Brigham) was born on 25 Sep 1742 in Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; was christened on 30 Oct 1742 in Hopkinton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died on 5 Jan 1837 in Hopkinton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: LYC5-K3X
• Initiatory (LDS): 27 Jun 1890, LOGAN

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: LZLL-J32
• Initiatory (LDS): 24 May 1905

Solomon married Mary Tripp on 17 Aug 1767 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Mary was born about 1746 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States; died on 16 Jun 1819 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: LZF5-9FG
• Initiatory (LDS): 25 Jun 1908, SLAKE

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KP42-HQY
• Initiatory (LDS): 6 Jun 1894, SLAKE

Abraham married Phebe Langford on 20 Aug 1782 in Guilford, Windham, Vermont, United States. Phebe (daughter of Northrup Holderbee Langford and Mary Sanford) was born on 15 Oct 1761 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States; died on 20 Dec 1845 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: KNDB-6B2
• Initiatory (LDS): 6 Jun 1894, SLAKE