Who was Brigham Young?

from the old testament

• Deuteronomy 18:20-22 warns that false prophets arise and their words must be tested against God’s truth.
• Jeremiah 23:16-–22 also condemns those who claim divine authority but lead people astray.
• While Young taught that polygamy was acceptable, this is not a biblical teaching. God created one man and one woman, commanding them to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:27-28). That command would be more quickly accomplished with more than one woman, but God did not set up the ideal male-female union that way, which is evidence against polygamy as biblical. God also commanded His people not to “acquire many wives” (Deuteronomy 17:17). Solomon didn’t follow that advice, and it damaged His relationship with the Lord (1 Kings 11). Though many of the patriarchs had more than one wife—e.g., Jacob and David—those passages describe their lives; that shouldn’t be taken as a proscription for how believers are to lead their lives.

from the new testament

• Galatians 1:6-9 emphasizes that any teaching contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ is a perversion of the truth.
• First John 4:1-3 teaches believers to test the spirits, recognizing that denying Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh is from the spirit of error.
• Mormons elevate Brigham Young as a prophet on par with biblical prophets, claiming he received direct revelation from God. They teach additional scriptures and doctrines (like the “Book of Mormon” as equal to the Bible) that distort the gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:4). They falsely claim that salvation and priesthood authority can come through lineage and ordinances given by men like Young, rather than through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).

implications for today

Brigham Young was born into humble circumstances. His parents were farmers in Vermont and from a young age he understood the meaning of hard work. As a young man Young worked as a carpenter, painter, and blacksmith. He married his first wife, Miriam Angeline Works, in 1824 and was a Methodist. While living in New York Brigham Young read the Book of Mormon and became interested in joining the new church. After his wife's death in 1832, he officially converted to Mormonism.

From the onset, Young poured his heart into serving the Mormon church, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Upon conversion he served as a missionary in Canada and Europe. Young helped to establish the Mormon communities in the US states of Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. Joseph Smith was impressed with his commitment and made him president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which was the governing body of the church. Following Smith's death in 1844, Young was elected president of the Mormon church. Although some groups broke into settlements in Missouri and elsewhere, the majority of the Mormon community followed Young on an exodus from Illinois to Utah. There they founded Salt Lake City on July 24th, 1847, which became a sort of promised land to all the Mormons fleeing religious persecution.

After settling in Salt Lake City, he organized the development of over a hundred settlements in and around the territory of Utah. He was elected governor and superintendent of Indian affairs.

As president of the Mormon church, Young built upon Smith's legacy, expanding and adding new doctrine and practices to the Mormon beliefs. He strongly advocated polygamy and had fifty-five wives and fifty-seven children during his lifetime. Young also is known for his teaching that God was once a mortal man and eventually became exalted, therefore presenting the idea that all Mormon men had the potential to reach god status in the afterlife.

Just as his predecessor Joseph Smith, Young was a false prophet. The thousands who followed him physically to Salt Lake City and the millions who follow him spiritually today are pursuing a mirage. For those who follow the teachings of Mormonism the promised land will remain elusive as they continue to wander the desert. Only those who trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior will enter the promised land of eternity with God. For Jesus Himself declared, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).