Brigham Young

Long before the burly Vermont farm boy Brigham Young would establish a Zion in Utah, where he would serve as Prophet to the Mormons and Governor, governments and religions had been intertwined. From ancient Egypt to the Protestant Reformation and from the Kingdom of Siam to the Holy Roman Empire, political rulers have claimed divine sanction if not actual divinity to justify even the most abhorrent behaviours. Some of the largest religions today, such as Catholicism and Islam have survived and grown as a direct result of religious control over government.

By about 1800, the Protestant Reformation focused on the idea that the ideal religion would precisely duplicate the doctrine and organization of the ancient church established by Jesus Christ and His apostles. Countless sects’ claims of most closely following the model made many wonder if any one brand of Christianity really were the one that Jesus Christ Himself established (Scriptures JS-H 1:2). In the spring of 1820, fourteen-year old Joseph Smith, an uneducated farm boy, went to the woods behind his Upstate New York home to pray. By his own account, God the Father and Jesus Christ visited him, constituting the first of many heavenly visitations that would lead to Joseph Smith’s call as a prophet (Scriptures JS-H 1:17). Through the office of prophet, he claimed to restore (re-establish the same church, rather than using reform to mimic) the ancient Church of Jesus Christ for the modern saints, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Scriptures D & C 1:30). Contrary to the popular image of American religious pluralism and tolerance, Mormons suffered greatly in the hands of their neighbours. After the murder of their leader, Joseph Smith, they had to flee to the edge of civilisation, just as the Puritans before them. The Mormons found a desert valley in Mexico on a lake saltier than the ocean isolated by towering rocky mountains. Brigham Young, the successor to Smith as President of the Church, envisioned a new Israel there and named the land “Deseret,” which means “honeybee,” a symbol of the prosperity and industry in Mormon theology (Scriptures Ether 2:3). Disliking the name Deseret once the United States won the land from Mexico in 1848, Congress renamed the territory, “Utah,” after the Yute Indians, and set about the business of establishing federal control over the region. When Church President Young, a savvy businessman and politician, was appointed governor by U. S. President Millard Fillmore, Young had such strong popular support Fillmore felt no other man in the territory could exercise effective control (Arrington 226). Later, when Utah held elections, Young won anyway. The results showed democratic support for a theocracy, which Young coined a “theodemocracy” (Young 354). Just as New England, from which many Mormons had come, Utah would ultimately flourish.

Modern Americans often share Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black’s notion that “a union of government and religion tends to destroy government and degrade religion” (Anti-Defamation League). Such a view is based on idealistic thinking that independent of special government protection, Americans naturally have sufficient respect for other faiths to allow their practice. However, neither the English contemporaries of the Puritans, nor fellow Americans of the early Mormons always had that respect. For Puritans and early Mormons, survival of their faiths required nothing short of governments led by men of their faiths. The intrinsic ties between the Church of Saints and colonial government led to a flourishing New England. Similarly, Young’s concurrent leadership as prophet to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as governor of Utah, as well as his insistence that public administration be directed by religious belief, helped create Utah’s diverse demographics, cohesive ideology, and worldly prosperity. By its very nature, the demographic appeal of Utah settlement was a religious sentiment which transcended diverse backgrounds, motivated settlers toward greater diligence than emigrants to other destinations, and aided new Latter-day Saint converts in their journeys west.

The Gospel that Mormon missionaries proclaimed throughout the world attracted followers among all classes it touched, creating a sociocultural diversity unparalleled in the American West. The Prophet Joseph Smith and his successor, Brigham Young sent hundreds of men to places as far flung as the Pacific Islands and Europe to bring in converts. During his presidency, Young, who himself had proselytized in Canada and England, sent future Church president John Taylor on a mission to France (Roberts 209). Young also sent another future Church president, Joseph Fielding Smith, Senior, the founding prophet’s nephew, to Hawaii (Church Education System xv). By the thousands, converts, mostly from the eastern seaboard, England, and Scandinavia, streamed toward Utah. By 1846, the year before the trek to Utah commenced, five thousand Englishmen had already joined the Church and gone as far as Nauvoo, Illinois (Landon & Slaughter 14). Unlike the predominately down-trodden agrarian class attracted by lure of gold to other territories, the Church message and its call to gather in Utah reached aristocracy and peasant alike, giving Utah the assortment of lawyers, doctors, artisans, and farmers needed to quickly develop a thriving society (Arrington 287). From its inception, therefore, Utah possessed an enabling diversity of homeland, wealth, and skills that ushered in its thriving future.

The sense of the divine mission and heavenly rewards felt by early Utahns motivated them to a greater sense of endurance and shared responsibility than settlers motivated by personal or earthly treasure. Young taught, “We have been gathered to the valleys of these mountains for the express purpose of purifying ourselves, that we may become polished stones in the temple of God. We are here for the express purpose of establishing the Kingdom of God on earth” (121). Among the celestial joys Mormon settlers could expect to find in building God’s kingdom in Deseret was a greatly simplified lifestyle, where only God, family, and hard work received the priority that money, pleasure, and idleness found in the East. A vibrant community assisted individuals and families in their quest for happiness. Church sponsored dances, sporting events, dramatic presentations, concerts, and combined labour were essential to the culture of the blossoming Utah town. As one of many measures to promote culture, Young commissioned, in 1860, the construction of a theatre in Salt Lake with seating for seventy-five hundred (Arrington 288). The greatest appeal to many was the guarantee that those who endured the trek, faithful to God and the Church, would enjoy all they found in Utah—peaceful living, fellowship with other believers, and especially closely knit families—forever (Scriptures 3 Nephi 15:9). Such confidence that all work, all suffering, and all faith would lead to perfect everlasting joy served as a motivating force for Utah settlement with which even Californian gold could not compete.

Finally, Latter-day Saints never viewed growth and progression—for the Church, for Utah, or for themselves—as competitive, but rather, as a collective effort in which the participation of more souls would only help all. The early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could not have survived as a disjointed collection of congregations spread across the globe. Persecution, as well as practicality, dictated the gathering in which seventy thousand would venture west. The journey cost most convert families, like the Dane Christian Nielsen, everything they owned (Landon & Slaughter 112). They sacrificed their homelands, families, and earthly goods to start the journey. All too often, they lost loved ones on the journey as well. Yet, Zion called and no sacrifice seemed too much for many saints. Young taught them: “[Riches are] for blessings, to do good,” and encouraged them, saying, “…Let us dispense that which the Lord gives us for the building up of His kingdom” (307).

Religion aside, it was clear that there were those who wished to gather into Zion but simply did not have enough to sacrifice to come. Therefore, the ever practical Young established the Perpetual Emigration Fund, a revolving mechanism by which well-to-do Saints already established in Utah would fund the trek for poorer families who would, in turn, repay the Church so more Mormons could find their way west. The success and genius of the Perpetual Emigration fund remains a hallmark of Young’s presidency of the Church and governorship of Utah. Through perseverance and mutual aid, the early Mormons, under President Young’s leadership, did not merely encourage territorial settlement, they guaranteed it.

Through the combination of the wide appeal of the Latter-day Saint Gospel, the happiness and motivation new converts found in it, and the manner by which continued settlement was arranged, Utah grew to meet any challenges in the territory. The diverse backgrounds of the Utah settlers contrasted sharply with their ideological unity. For the Mormons led by Young, an uncommon cohesion emerged among the Utah settlers who shared a common past of persecution, a peculiar theology and economic cooperation.

From the moment of its inception on 6 April 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, fierce persecutions followed church members. Such turmoil fostered a rigid sense of group identity, zeal among members, and often an experience-based deep fear of outsiders.

Latter-day Saints prided themselves in their peculiarities, citing the scripture that the followers of God are “a peculiar people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation” (Scriptures 1 Peter 2:9). The theological and lifestyle differences between Mormonism and the orthodox Christianity of contemporary America created tensions between Mormon and Gentiles and between the governments of Utah and the United States. One noticeable distinction from Protestants and Catholics was the belief in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, a volume of scripture recording the history of the followers of God in ancient America. The Latter-day Saints did not end the canon there; they instead recognized President Joseph Smith as a prophet and all his successors as prophets as well, “in the same sense that Abraham, Moses, and Isaiah were prophets” (Temple 13). The idea of an open canon, a principle also held by despised Catholics, was considered bordering heresy; the idea of a living prophet, unique to Mormons among large bodies, was regarded as lunacy. The 1852 announcement stating that God never abolished the Old Testament laws of polygamy would come to send anti-Mormons into passion. The fiery new-born Republican Party called it (along with slavery, which Mormons adamantly opposed) one of the “twins relic of barbarism”; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called it “celestial marriage.” Brigham Young, husband to twenty-seven women, regarded it as a mixed blessing between a strong family life and tormented political career.

The most apparently un-American trait of Utah culture proved to be its most effective in setting the foundation for a strong state: its emphasis on the common good above individual ambition. Early Utah settlements were characterized by suspicious, if not completely intentional, overlaps in local ecclesiastical and municipal power. The locations to which its pioneers settled were determined by Church leaders, rather than by individual preference, in order to spread the kingdom of Mormondom and keep its faithful organized. Salt Lake City’s first mayor simultaneously served as Brigham Young’s second counsellor in the First Presidency of the Church, further evidence that political institutions were committed to building God’s Kingdom. Most annoying to industry was the well-earned fear that outsiders instilled in Mormons. This fear led to an environment in which Mormons viewed Gentiles with constant suspicion and values vigorously guarded their values in law and culture.

Equipped with the diverse skills and backgrounds and the motivating united ideology of his Church members and state citizens, Young was prepared to bring both The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Utah to compliment its abstract heavenly aspirations with tangible earthly prosperity. Mormon settlers were therefore asked to consecrate all their worldly goods to build the kingdom. Young taught, “It is the duty of all people who go to Zion to consecrate all their property to the Church” (179). With such a commitment, the settlers’ resources were organized through the Church and government, fuelling rapid economic development. From barren desert arose miles of stretching green farms, from a group of varied education arose two impressive universities, and from mostly impoverished pioneers has arisen an economic miracle. In 1997 journalist David Van Biema wrote, “There is no major church in the U. S. as active as the Latter-day Saints in economic life, nor, per capita, as successful at it” (Time).

The thriving farmlands of Utah grew because of Governor Young’s remarkable ability to organize a complex public irrigation system and use the local pulpit to disseminate farming advice to the settlers.

Other business pursuits quickly began to establish themselves in Utah. The Church directly oversaw the organization of three of Utah’s most successful businesses, which continue to prosper today. Zion’s Bank, in which the Church still owns much stock, remains the dominant Utah bank. ZCMI, a department store that Brigham Young established in Salt Lake City, now operates twelve stores in Utah and Idaho, and it is affiliated with chains nation-wide, like Filene's and Lord & Taylor in New England (May). The omnipresent contribution of Brigham Young’s business leadership visible in Utah today is its daily afternoon paper, The Deseret News. The paper is a western parallel to Boston’s Christian Science Monitor, publishing movie reviews and news of presidential races alongside church news and religious guidance.

The message of the Church, especially as taught by Young, was focused on an ethic of diligent labour. Latter-day Saint hymns such as “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel” urged early Mormons that “the world has need of willing hands who wear the worker’s zeal” (Hymns 252). Young himself was completely clear in stating, “Everything connected with the building up of Zion requires actual, severe labour. It is nonsense to talk about [any accomplishment] except by labour” (291). Initial necessity drove the Mormons to a strong work ethic; prosperity motivated them to continue. The same work ethic that led early Mormon settlement under Brigham Young, brings present-day Mormon-led businesses like Freeservers, Black & Decker, Ryder, Franklin Covey, and Marriott Hotels to success (Time).

Brigham Young recognized early that education was essential to the success of the new Church and the new state. During his gubernatorial term he again followed the precedent of Joseph Smith, who had established the municipal college in America in Illinois. Young organized Deseret University in Salt Lake City and Brigham Young Academy in Provo. Deseret University has since been renamed the University of Utah and is the state Department of Education’s flagship school. Brigham Young Academy has grown into Brigham Young University, which, at thirty-five thousand students, is the largest private university in the world and with its mission “to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life” is perhaps the most ambitious (BYU). The Church Education System has grown to operate other colleges in Idaho and Hawaii, high schools throughout the Pacific Islands, weekly religion classes at colleges world-wide, and daily religion classes for high school students. Young taught that “not even the alphabet or multiplication tables should be taught without the Spirit of God” (BYU). Armed with that unwavering philosophy, Young established both Utah’s education system but also the second largest system of religious education (rivalled only by the far larger and older Catholic Church).

To this day, Utah and Mormons are indelibly connected in most minds. Today, Utah is more religiously diverse than ever before. Mormons today only constitute seventy percent of total Utah population, a smaller proportion than ever before. However, today there are numerically more Mormons in Utah than ever before. Worldwide, at eleven million members, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the fastest growing religion on earth, which sociologists, like Rodney Stark of the University of Washington, attribute to three Mormon characteristics emphasized by Young, first, a massive force of 60,000 eager missionaries, mostly college-aged men and women, secondly, a longer life-expectancy based on the Church’s rigid health codes and its members even more rigid interpretations, and finally large family sizes (Intellectual Reserve). The affects of Mormonism on Utah prosperity linger obviously today. Though blessed with beautiful natural wonders, towering ski mountains, and the world-renowned Sundance Film Festival, the Temple Square in Salt City is Utah’s single greatest tourist attraction. The federal government, military, and large corporations like Fidelity Investments, have all chosen Utah to house western headquarters, bluntly stating Mormon work ethic and honesty as their reasons, creating jobs for Mormons and non-Mormons alike in Utah (Time).

In retrospect, Brigham Young’s combined leadership of church and state institutions, and his insistence that economic development be an essential element is building God’s Kingdom, has left a permanent positive impact on both The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the State of Utah. It is unlikely that such extraordinary growth and prosperity could have been reached if religion and politics stayed in separate spheres.

Works Cited

Anti-Defamation League. "Separation: Good for Government, Good for Religion." New York: Anti-Defamation League, 2000. [Online.] Arrington, Leonard J. Brigham Young: An American Moses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. Brigham Young University Admissions Office. “About BYU.” Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 2000. [Online.] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Boston, MA Temple Committee. Announces an Open House for the Public to Celebrate the Completion of the Temple. Belmont, MA: Boston, MA Mission, 2000. Faith in Every Footstep (1847-1997): 150 Years of Mormon Pioneers. CD-ROM. Salt Lake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Intellectual Reserve, 1997. Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake: Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985. Landon, Michael, and William W. Slaughter. Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail. Salt Lake: Shadow Mountain, 1997. May Department Stores. “About the May Companies.” [Online.] Roberts, B. H. The Life of John Taylor, Third President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake: Bookcraft, 1980. Scriptures. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Trans. Joseph Smith, Jr. Salt Lake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. [Online.] Scriptures. The Holy Bible. Trans. Authorized King James Version. Salt Lake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979. [Online.] Scriptures. The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. [Online.] Scriptures. Pearl of Great Price. Ed. Joseph Smith, Jr. Salt Lake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. [Online.] Smith, Joseph Fielding, Sr. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith. Salt Lake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church Education System, 1998. Van Biema, David. “Kingdom Come: Salt Lake City Was Just for Starters—The Mormons’ True Great Trek Has Been to Social Acceptance and a \$30 Billion Church Empire.” Time 4 Aug. 1997: n. pag. [Online.] Young, Brigham. The Discourses of Brigham Young. Ed. John A. Widtsoe. Salt Lake: Deseret, 1973.