fbpx

KidsKonnect

Brigham Young (Mormon) Facts & Worksheets

Brigham Young, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was popularly called as “American Moses”.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /People /Brigham Young (Mormon) Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Brigham Young, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was popularly called as “American Moses”. For his service of 29 years, he was said to be the LDS Church president who served the longest.

See the fact file below for more information on Brigham Young or alternatively, you can download our 29-page Brigham Young worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Early Life

  • Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Vermont on June 1, 1801.
  • At the age of three, their family moved to Smyrna, New York, and to Aurelius, New York when he was twelve.
  • Brigham Young was a professional carpenter and painter. 
  • Apart from being called the “American Moses”, he was also called “Modern Moses”, “Mormon Moses”, or the Great Colonizer.
  • Brigham Young was the eighth child of John Young and Abigail Howe. 
  • His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 14 and moved with his father to Tyrone, New York.
  • When his father made him leave home at the age of 16, he worked various jobs until he became an apprentice of John C. Jeffries. 
  • The financial crisis in the United States known as the Panic of 1819 made John Jeffries remove Brigham Young as his apprentice. 
  • After that, Brigham Young moved to Port Byron.
  • In 1824, he was baptized by immersion and was converted into a member of the Reformed Methodist Church. 
  • Brigham Young met Miriam Angeline Works in Port Byron and was married in 1824. 
  • They lived in a small house near the workplace of Brigham Young. 
  • During their stay in Port Byron, he became a member of the debate society. 
  • In 1828, his family moved to Mendon, New York where he first became friends with Heber C. Kimball. 
  • When Miriam Angeline Works died in 1832, Brigham and his two daughters lived with the couple Heber Kimball and Vilate Murray.
  • Brigham Young became drawn to the new church after he was introduced by his brother Phineas Howe to the Book of Mormons. 
  • This convinced him to become an official member of the Church of Christ on April 14, 1832, and was baptized by Eleazer Miller. 
  • Brigham Young became a preacher on a branch of the church established in Mendon. 
  • Besides Mendon, he also shared the gospel in different areas. 
  • Brigham Young traveled with Kimball on November 1832 to visit Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Christ, in Kirtland, Ohio.
  • Brigham Young had continued traveling with Joseph Smith to fulfill their mission of spreading the gospel to various places. 
  • Brigham Young moved to Kirtland, Ohio in 1833. 
  • During his stay, he continued preaching the gospel and here met Mary Ann Angell. 
  • They got married on February 18, 1834, and had a son whom they named Joseph Young.
  • In May 1835, he was appointed to a position in the administrative body governing the church known as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
  • Four years later, Brigham Young became the quorum president. 
  • The church practice of polygamy was initially resisted by Brigham Young but had eventually accepted it as part of his duty. 
  • He had a total of 55 wives with around 56 or 57 children. 

The Move to Salt Lake Valley

  • Joseph Smith was assassinated by an armed mob in 1844. 
  • Various repeated conflicts forced Brigham Young to move the Mormons to Salt Lake Valley.
  • He led the Mormons west, traveled to the Rocky Mountains until he finally reached and founded the Salt Lake Valley. 
  • The group had arrived in Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, and declared the place to be the new home of the Mormons. 
  • His expedition was considered one of the largest and most organized treks and he was able to successfully move 12,000 Mormons.  
  • On December 27, 1847, Brigham Young became the church’s 2nd president. 

Brigham Young as a Governor of Utah Territory

  • As the founder of Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young became its first governor and superintendent on February 3, 1851. 
  • He governed with church doctrines becoming a priority over the law. 
  • Under his rule, several constructions such as the building of roads, bridges, irrigation projects, temples, and a university were built. 
  • There were also different projects such as the establishment of public welfare, telegraph, and organization of the militia.
  • Brigham Young also conducted the first Utah Territorial Legislature and set Fillmore as the first capital of the territory.
  • He also supported slavery and limited African American participation in the church, banning the Black men in the Mormon priesthood. 

The Mountain Meadows Massacre

  • Brigham Young being autocratic had brought frequent conflicts with the federal government. 
  • President James Buchanan, pressured by the different officials, had made a decision to replace Brigham Young with a non-Mormon in his position as a governor. 
  • James Buchanan declared Utah in a state of rebellion in the year 1857 to which he sent 2500 troops to Utah.
  • In September 1857, a large wagon train containing immigrants that passed the Mormon territory going to California was attacked by the Mormons. 
  • There were about 120 men and women and even young children that were killed. 
  • The attack was known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. 
  • It was said that Brigham Young knew of the attack but it was unclear if he had approved it. 
  • Although there were suspicions of Brigham Young, his adopted son, John Lee, was the only Mormon who was brought to trial and was executed in 1877.  
  • In 1858, the Utah War ended with Brigham Young stepping down on his position.
  • However, Brigham Young had secretly continued ruling until he died.

Death of Brigham Young

  • After about 30 years of serving as the church president, Brigham Young died on August 29, 1877, which was said to be caused by peritonitis from a ruptured appendix. 
  • He was able to successfully bring and share his religious, social, and economic practices when he was alive. 
  • He even left a fortune that he gained from his business skills.

It was said that his last words were:

“Joseph! Joseph! Joseph!”

  • Earnestly calling the name of the church’s founder.
  • His funeral was attended by around 12,000 to 15,000 people in Tabernacle on September 2, 1877. 
  • Brigham Young is buried on the grounds of the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument in Salt Lake City. 

Brigham Young Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Brigham Young across 29 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Brigham Young who served as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for 29 years.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Brigham Young Facts
  • Can You Remember?
  • Paint It Right
  • Crossword
  • Wear Your ID
  • Teachings
  • Story Time!
  • Polygamy
  • Brigham Young
  • B-R-I-G-H-A-M
  • What Do You Think?

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Brigham Young (Mormon) Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 20, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.