Learn more about Brigham Young, the second leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the successor to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young led the greatest exodus in American history and acted as a temporal and spiritual leader to thousands of Latter-day Saints in the 1800s.
George D. Watt was the first Latter-day Saint convert baptized in the British Isles. He kept a diary as he crossed the ocean and traveled the pioneer trails on his way to Salt Lake. Watt became indispensable thanks to his expertise with Pitman shorthand, and created the Journal of Discourses. You can now read his 1851 journal, thanks to the efforts of LaJean Purcell Carruth and Ronald G. Watt.
Historian John Turner reflects on his biography of Brigham Young nearly 10 years after its publication. He is currently working on a biography of Joseph Smith that many expect to be the most significant contribution since Richard Bushman wrote Rough Stone Rolling.
Christopher Blythe’s archival research ended up contributing to scholarship about Brigham Young. Blythe was researching 19th century dreams and visions when he stumbled across an unexpected find: a previously unrecorded revelation given to Brigham Young.
Thomas Alexander is the author Brigham Young and the Expansion of the Mormon Faith (University of Oklahoma University Press, 2019). His book precedes another contribution from the press about the relationship between Brigham Young and Jim Bridger.
Matt Godfrey is editor of Zion’s Camp: 1834 March of Faith. In this Q&A, he discusses his new book on the 185th anniversary of Zion’s Camp and the lessons that can be learned today.
Matt Godfrey is the managing historian and general editor of the Joseph Smith Papers. The scholar has frequently written about the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith, including the Church founder’s relationship with Brigham Young. Additionally, Godfrey has contributed to research about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 20th century.