Brigham Young

John G. Turner

Published by Harvard University Press 2012

Brigham Young

Pioneer Prophet

John G. Turner

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674067318

Overview
Contents

About this book

Brigham Young was a rough-hewn craftsman from New York whose impoverished and obscure life was electrified by the Mormon faith. He trudged around the United States and England to gain converts for Mormonism, spoke in spiritual tongues, married more than fifty women, and eventually transformed a barren desert into his vision of the Kingdom of God. While previous accounts of his life have been distorted by hagiography or polemical exposé, John Turner provides a fully realized portrait of a colossal figure in American religion, politics, and westward expansion.

After the 1844 murder of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, Young gathered those Latter-day Saints who would follow him and led them over the Rocky Mountains. In Utah, he styled himself after the patriarchs, judges, and prophets of ancient Israel. As charismatic as he was autocratic, he was viewed by his followers as an indispensable protector and by his opponents as a theocratic, treasonous heretic.

Under his fiery tutelage, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints defended plural marriage, restricted the place of African Americans within the church, fought the U.S. Army in 1857, and obstructed federal efforts to prosecute perpetrators of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. At the same time, Young’s tenacity and faith brought tens of thousands of Mormons to the American West, imbued their everyday lives with sacred purpose, and sustained his church against adversity. Turner reveals the complexity of this spiritual prophet, whose commitment made a deep imprint on his church and the American Mountain West.

Author information

John G. Turner is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at George Mason University.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Prologue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter one. A New Creature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
Chapter two. The Tongues of Angels Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
Chapter three. Acts of the Apostles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
Chapter four. New and Everlasting Covenant Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	80
Chapter five. Prophets and Pretenders Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	110
Chapter six. Word and Will Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
Chapter seven. A New Era of Things Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Chapter eight. One Family Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Chapter nine. Go Ahead Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	230
Chapter ten. The Whirlwind Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	265
Chapter eleven. Let Him Alone Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	301
Chapter twelve. The Monster in the Vale Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	338
Chapter thirteen. The Soul and Mainspring of the West Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	372
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	408
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	415
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	487
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	490

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Audience: Academics, Students, Libraries, Institutes
Pages
- Main content: 490
Illustrations
- Other: 42 halftones, 4 maps

eBook

Published: September 25, 2012
ISBN: 9780674067318