Brigham Young: A Character Sketch

IMPROVEMENT ERA. Vol. VI. JUNE, 1903. No. 8.

BRIGHAM YOUNG. A CHARACTER SKETCH.

BY B. H. ROBERTS.

One hundred and two years ago, this first day of June, in the little town of Whitingham, Windham county, Vermont, a male child

was born in Israel who was among the very few of God's children born into this world whose names are destined to live in the pages of history; one of the few who was not born to die forgotten, nor to be rembered for the evil that he would do, but for the benefit he would be to humanity. "The evil that men do," said the great English poet, "lives after them; the good, is oft interred with their bones." Such, however, is not the case with Brigham Young. It

is the good he did which lives after him, and is destined to be more and still more appreciated as the years and centuries go by. His life'swork was of a character not to grow less in the estimation of men, but is destined to be more and still more appreciated aa generation succeeds generation. In its effects Brigham Young's life-work will be as some magnificent fountain sending forth a stream of living water. That stream constantly widens and deepens its channel, until great areas of country are made fruitful by its generous floods, and a pathway is opened to the ocean on which

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the commerce of nations may be carried in safety. So the fountain life-work of Brigham Young has sent forth a stream that will bless humanity; and not alone in time, but also in eternity. That this is true, let me a little show it.

Those who to-day do honor to his memory are more numerous than they were a decade ago. The number of those who shall revere his memory a hundred years hence will be many times larger than those who met to honor him at the first centennial anniversary of his birth. And thus through the centuries yet unborn will still increasing thousands, yea, millions, rise up to praise his name, revere his memory, and call him blessed. We could predict this for him if we held in view only the multiplication of those who shall be connected with him by the ties of consanguinity; for, in- deed, he was honored of God to leave in the earth a numerous posterity. But those who will do honor to the memory of Brigham Young are not confined to those who are and shall be hereafter his descendants. Added to these must be remembered those who re- ceived the gospel at his hands as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He filled six missions as a preacher of the new dispensa- tion of the gospel; and it is safe to say that thousands received the gospel under his direct administration. Among the faithful of that number, Brigham Young will ever be remembered in honor; and from generation to generation, as these people and their pos- terity in time and eternity rejoice in the griat blessings which the gospel brought to them, they will revere the memory of that apostle of the Lord, who first brought the message of salvation to their door. It will be remembered, also, by all Israel that for more than thirty years he presided over the Church of Christ; during which time the Church was called to pass through times that tried men's souls — times burdened with portents of dangers from seemingly all-powerful foes. In those days of trial, Brigham Young was God's chosen servant to hold the keys of power and divine authority; and clothed with that power, how like a giant he rose among men, the master spirit; and, under God, controlled the fierceness of the storms, and conducted his people to a haven of peace and safety There is yet another class vho will do honor to the memory of Brigham Young. They will not be found within the limits of

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the Church of which he was a leader. There are those in the world who will be sufficently broad-minded to brush aside the rubbish of misrepresentation with which bigots have tried to smother the honor of his fame; men who will discredit the half truths which so often are whole falsehoods, with which the weak- minded and prejudiced have sought to tarnish his glory; and they will recognize in Brigham Young one of the master minds of the age in which he lived; a statesman who, from the elements furnished by such society as existed among an expatriated people, founded a commonwealth based upon justice and recognized principles of civil polity. They will see in him the pioneer leader who directed the labors of his people io such manner as to subdue the wilderness, make fruitful the desert, and finally give to civilization and to the sisterhood of American states, the fairest and greatest of the in- termountain commonwealths. With this latter class, he will not be Brigham Young the apostle; nor Brigham Young, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the prac- tical man of affairs; the natural leader of men; the philanthropist; the statesman; and when the roll of America's greatest names shall be called, Brigham Young's name will not be far down the list from the highest. The story of Brigham Young's life has often been told; the achievements of his genius have been dwelt upon in eloquence which I cannot hope to match; his character analyzed by men who had the blessed advantage of life-long personal association with him. I only know him through the secondary means of what others have said of him; of what he himself in part has said; and the things, which he accomplished in his life. My personal remembrance of him is most vague, merely the outline of a memory, and only such a memory as a boy treasures up of a great man, whom he saw only at a distance, and with whom he never shook hands, or spoke a word; but who enshrined in his heart the few glimpses. he got of

him from afar, as only the quick spirit of a boy treasures up a few bright memories of his childhood days. It is only, then, from second- ary sources that I have formed such impressions as I possess of the life and character of Brigham Young. The Latter-day Saints have learned, in estimating character, to attach much importance to the doctrine of pre-existence of

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spirits, believing that the nature of the spirit manifests itself through the veil of flesh it takes on in this our mortal life. While not overlooking the fact that human character is influenced both by parentage and by environment in this life, I think we have gone beyond the notion that parentage and invironment create character; that parentage and environment are everything. Influence char- acter they may, but create it, never. When the patriarch Abraham was blessed with a vision of the innumerable host of spirits that were appointed to pass through an earth-probation, he saw a few separated from the rest, bearing some evidence of a superiority, of a higher order of intelligence; and God stood in the midst of them, and said: "These I will make my rulers," and he said unto Abraham, "Thou art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born." From this it would appear that spirits suitable for leadership, at least are chosen before they are born for the labors they perform in this earth-life. This idea is most emphatically, and I may say beautifully, taught in a passage of the Book of Mormon, which, I

think, for the most part, has been overlooked by us. To the first Nephi it was given in a splendid vision to foresee the leading events in the career of the Messiah, some five hundred years before they actually occurred in Messiah's life on earth. In this vision, Nephi saw the gentle Jewish maiden with the infant Son of God in her arms, and heard the song of the shepherds upon the hills of Judea: "Glory to God in the highest: peace on earth to men of good will." He saw Messiah, when he had reached manhood's estate, approaching the strange prophet who had been appointed to be his messenger to prepare the way before him, and ask for- baptism at his hands: he saw him gather about him the rude fishermen of Galilee, and make them his special witnesses and messengers to the world; he saw him teaching the multitudes by the sea shore and upon the mountain; he saw him hailed before judges and rulers in Judea; he saw sentence passed upon him, and he saw him whipped through the streets of Jerusalem to the place of skulls where he was cru- cified; he saw him also after his glorious trumph over death; he

saw the establishment of his church under the ministry of the apostles. Here, there came a suspension of Nephi's vision; and while he was promised a further view of the things still then in the future, he was commanded to write no more of the vision; for

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the Lord God had ordained that one of the apostles of the Lamb of God should write the remainder of these things. "And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John" (I Nephi xiv). From this passage, it is evident that not only is the work chosen for those whom God has decreed shall be his leaders, but the limits of that work are known, and within the sphere assigned to one, others are not allowed to intrude. If such a man as John, the apostle, had his work assigned to him and reserved for him, it cannot be doubted that such a character as Brigham Young had also his appointed work to do, and that all its limit- ations were known and respected. We have many reasons for believing, too, that the circum- stances into which men are thrust in this life; the experiences that will best prepare them for the work they are appointed to accom- plish — all these things are ordained of God ; and most notably is this doctrine instanced in the career of Brigham Young. If one

could have seen him in his early manhood, say from twenty to thirty, the carpenter, painter and glazier of no very important centre of population in the state of New York, one could scarcely have recognized in him then, the man foreordained to do the mighty work which he afterwards accomplished. And yet, I cannot believe that his obscure parentage; his life, retired from the centres of population and a world's strife; his humble and toilsome manual — of which, be calling and said to honor, he never was it said, his

ashamed — cannot think that I was withoutall influence this its

upon his character, in the way of preparing him for his life's work. For one thing, this part of his career brought him into sympathy with the common people; with whom, hereafter, he must have so — much to do whom he loved, and whom God must love, else, to para- phrase the words of Lincoln, He would not have made so many of them. Henceforth, Brigham Young will know the common people. He will know their toils, their struggles, their limitations, their aspi- rations, the ideas by which they are impressed, the means by which they may be inspired to noblest achievements. This, together with a profound knowledge of the common, practical affairs of life, is the contribution of this first period of his career, to his character. But at this period of his history, God seems more visibly and especially to have taken Brigham Young's training in hand.

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In 1832, he was brought in contact with the gospel, then being preached in the vicinity where he lived, by men of very limited education and humble character; for the message of God in the new dispensation^ then coming forth, as in former ages, stood not upon the excellence of the learning and eloquence and wisdom of men, but in the power of God, and the demonstration of his spirit. The quick mind of the future prophet found sweet spiritual music in the doctrines he heard; and soon aftei wards formally accepted them by joining the church, and he himself became a missionary. Under the spirit that came to him, through the gospel he had embraced, his life was turned into new channels. By the several missions he performed, he was brought out of the quiet of his rural environment, and minded in the world's busy throngs. He visited the chief centres of population in his own country and Canada; New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto; the prominent cities of the middle states, and afterwards spent nearly two years in England. Coming in contact with the world in its busiest centres, and seeing men undoubtedly at their best, and at their worst, he obtained enlarged views of human life, and of humanity itself. His horizon was extended. His mind was broadened. Henceforth his judg- ment will be sounder, his compassion deeper, his quality of mercy unstrained, his sense of justice truer, his soul loftier, and in every way he was better fitted for the great things which still lay before him. Nor was it in missionary experience alone that he was trained. In the practical government of men, and in camp life, he must be drilled. This training he received in the expedition of Zion's camp.

The expulsion of the "Mormons" from Jackson county, in the early thirties of the last century, is too well remembered to require detailing here; as also the expedition organized by the Church in Ohio for their relief, and called Zion's camp. That camp marched under the leadership of Joseph Smith, the prophet, through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, to the western borders of Missouri, to the relief of their exiled brethren. In that journey, the elders of the Church to the number of upwards of two hundred, in their march of more than a thousand miles, passed through a varied experience. There were dissensions and rebellions within the camp; there were threatening portents and hostile demonstrations from without.

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There were fatigues to endure, hardships to encounter, disappoint- ments to sustain. For Zion was not redeemed at that time, and this expedition was organized for the purpose of redeeming Zion. Instead of triumphantly marching into Jackson county, re-instating the exiled Saints in their homes, and holding the land of Zion against the efforts of the Jackson county mob to expel them, cholera broke out in Zion's camp, when it reached the borders of the land where the enemies of the Saints dwelt, the camp was dis- banded, and apparently nothing came of it, except some ineffectual negotiations with leaders of the mob, which only disclosed how impossible any settlement of the Jackson county difficulty was with the occupancy of that county by the Saints as a basis of that set- tlement. So the camp disbanded, and, for the most part, in small companies, or one by one, returned to Ohio. A man in Kirtland meeting Brigham Young after his return from this expedition, said to him: "Well, what did you gain on this useless journey to Missouri with Joseph Smith?" It is needless to say that the man was a member of the Church who did not have the faith necessary to make the journey. — "What did you gain?" "All we went for," promptly replied Brigham Young. "I would not exchange the experience I gained in that expedition for all the wealth of Geauga — county" the county in which Kirtland was located. The remark is an exhibit of the fact that Brigham Young had a keen insight

into the purpose of the Zion's camp movement. Experience,training for still greater things. 'Past question," says the author of Ben Hur, "every experience is serviceable to us." Later it proved that this Zion's camp experience was serviceable to Brigham Young, and, judging from the remark just quoted, he seems unconsciously aware of the fact that it would be so. And yet another lesson is given him, ere he is made ready for that masterful exodus of an expatriated people which he shall conduct from the Mississippi valley to the Rocky mountains. Five years after the Zion's camp expedition, the Saints are expelled from Missouri. The prophet, and his brother Hyrum, and Sidney Eigdon, the prophet's counselors, are incarcerated in prison. The man who first held the honored position of President of the Quo- rum of the Twelve has denied the faith, become a traitor, departed from Israel, and stands identified with the enemies of his people.

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These circumstances brought Brigham Young to the presidency of the quorum of the Twelve, and to the position of temporary leader in Israel. Not only is the prophet and some of his imme- diate associates imprisoned, but the Saints by perfidy are disarmed, and, under an exterminating order to leave the State, an order issued by the governor of Missouri; mobs are in possession of the lands and homes of the Saints, and exile and poverty con- front them. It was under these circumstances that the master

spirit of Brigham Young asserted itself; that his marvelous ex- ecutive ability for the first time attracted attention. He appealed to those in possession of means to assist those who were without them; he gathered into a common fund the means possessed by the Saints, by intuition, apparently, knowing the economy there is in concentration of means. He sent out agents to establish provision stations, along the several lines of exodus to be followed; and stocked them with corn and flour for the people, and proven- der for teams. The same agents made contracts for ferriage, over such rivers as could not be forded, and every provision was made for the comfort and security of the exiled Saints. The exo- dus thus provided for, he was compelled to leave the execution of it to a most worthy lieutenant; one destined to be as his right hand in many a trying experience —Heber C. Kimball. For when the mob-forces of Missouri, after imprisoning the Prophet Joseph, saw this second leader managing with such consummate skill the affairs of the Church, it began to half dawn upon their minds that

"Mormonism" might possibly survive the supposedly fatal blow they had dealt it in the imprisonment of the prophet; and the commanded expulsion or extermination of the Saints. They, there- fore, attacked this new leader with all the hatred they had assailed the first; and to preserve his life, he yielded the execution of his plans to another, and sought safety by flight from Missouri. But his lesson was learned; his experience gained, his wisdom is hived for future service. Yet other experiences must be secured— the training is not yet completed. Commerce, the sickly, malaria-stricken lowland on the banks of the Mississippi, has been transformed into Nau- — voo the beautiful. The Twelve have fulfilled their mission to England, and have returned to Nauvoo. The great prophet of the

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dispensation of the fullness of times is rapidly ascending to the finis of his The burdens of the Church weigh earth-career. heavily upon him. The Saints, both from the surrounding States and from Europe, are flocking into Nauvoo and vicinity. The great doctrines of the kingdom are yet to be unfolded; the Saints must be settled; new stakes of Zion must be organized; the tem- ple must be built, the Nauvoo House completed. It was at this

point that President Joseph Smith called upon the Twelve to take their place beside the Presidency of the Church, and assist in these material duties and responsibilities that pressed so heavily upon him; and he made it clear to all Israel that the place of the Twelve was next to the First Presidency, and that when the First. Presidency was absent for any cause, the responsibility of presid- ing over the Church rested upon the Twelve. This was magnifi- cent training, a splendid educational provision for the future prophet-president of the Church; and he learned his lessons well in the activities of those days. There is one other thought that should be expressed in rela- tion to the preparation of the servants of God for the great climaxes in their careers. The training that comes from self-

suppression. In the theory of the gospel, God is the motive f jrce of all achievements, man but his instrument. In the Church,, recognition of the authority of God is of chief importance, submission to it, as submission to God, is a primary virtue. This is a lesson all must learn. This is a lesson Brigham Young learned. In connection with the administrative duties which devolved upon the Twelve, it was proposed to hold them to a rather strict ac- counting of the things committed to their jurisdiction. Where- upon Brigham Young demurred, saying it was written in scripture that the ox that treadeth out the corn shall not be muzzled. To which the Prophet Joseph Smith immediately replied, rising beside Brigham Young in the stand,— "I will answer Brother Brigham," 'said he. "I tell him we will muzzle the ox; and we will make him tread out the corn. Then we will unmuzzle him and feed him." Will Brigham Young submit to this assertion of mastery over him? Most assuredly. It is the authority of God that speaks through Joseph Smith, and Brigham Young, as well as all true servants of God, will submit to God, and to his authority. Only

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he who knows how to submit to law, should administer the law. Only he who has learned to serve, is prepared to rule. Only he who has been taught to respect authority, can rightly exercise dominion. Brigham Young is noble here. Immeasurably strong and clear-visioned as he was, and naturally a leader of men, Brig- ham Young submitted his judgment to that of the Prophet Joseph Smith; not always because convinced that the course proposed by the prophet was wisest or best, but because he recognized the authority of God in the prophet; and saw at the same time his duty to submit to that authority. Not only did this principle guide him in the lifetime of Joseph, but also after the prophet's demise. One of the things for which I love Brigham Young most both when living and when dead. "From is his fidelity to his chief,

the first day I knew Brother Joseph," he repeatedly said, "to the day of his death, a better man never lived upon the face of the earth. * * * Joseph Smith was not killed because he was deserving of it, nor because he was a wicked man; but because he was a virtuous man. * * * j jj^ow that

to be so, as well as I know that the sun shines. * * He was pure, just and holy as to the keeping of the law." Moreover, Brigham Young never sought to eclipse his great leader, living or dead. He ever accorded to the prophet the Presidency of the dispensation of the fullness of times, himself the place of an apostle in "Whoever heard that dispensation. Brother Brigham claim more?" And as the Lord he often said. lives, I believe that to be the relation of these men to each other

when immortality comes; when the general assembly and Church of the First Born in heaven, and the Church of Christ on earth shall become united — one, Joseph Smith the Prophet, shall stand as president of the dispensation he introduced, Brigham Young the chief apostle — and president of the apostles of that dispensation. But now the training is completed. The limits are reached that must be reserved for Brigham Young. The Prophet Joseph Smith finishes his work, and seals his testimony with his blood. Loud clamors rise among those who would be leaders. Israel stands for a moment as a flock without its shepherd. Brigham Young returns from the East where he has been temporarily absent on a mission. The Saints are assembled, his — "Hear, 0,

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Israel," rings out over the assembly, and in his voice, his form, and movement, the assembled host recognized the voice, the per- son, and the action of the late departed martyr leader; and they, know that the mantle of Joseph has fallen upon the shoulders of President Brigham Young. After the preparation, if thorough, as it was in the case of Brigham Young, the rest is easy. Well and truly begun is always more than half done. The exodus of the Church from Nauvoo committed into the hands of the right man, is already an assured success. The .journey across the plains will not end in disaster. The selection of a suitable abiding place for the Church is bound to follow. The adoption of right regulations for the government of God's people, we cannot doubt. All is foreordained of God; all that has happened was known from the beginning; the "rulers" were chosen before they were born; their metes and bounds were fixed the labors of each leader in Israel were known, and his ;

sphere of activity preserved to him. No wonder, then, that the exodus of an expatriated people through a thousand miles of wil- derness and desert was successful. No wonder that in their bat-

tles with the sterile elements they conquered, and founded a great commonwealth. No wonder that, as each crisis arose in the history of the Saints, a man of clear vision, of sound judgment, of almost prescient instincts arose to meet every issue; for he was chosen before he was born; and his training, under the very discipline of God, was such as to prepare him for the work as- signed him in the unfolding of God's great purposes. It is not necessary for me on this occasion to traverse the well-beaten track of history, and relate the well-known story of the settlement of Utah's valleys; the wisdom displayed in the choice of the sites of our chief settlements; the profound states- manship exhibited in holding his people to the cultivation of the soil and the founding of homes based upon the possession of the

land. All that, time has vindicated the wisdom of, and taken from the sphere of discussion. One thing, however, I think should be mentioned, and that by way of correcting an erroneous impres- sion. It was not the purpose of Brigham Young in bringing his people to this intermountain region to permanently isolate them from the world, or establish a separate and independent govern-

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ment within the territory of the United States. The organization of the provisional government of the state of Deseret, and appli- cation for admission into the Union, as early as 1849, is the com- plete refutation of the charge that it was the intention of the people to sever their connection with the United States; the charge of designing complete isolation from the world is refuted by the petition of the Utah-"Mormon" legislature, in 1852, asking for the construction of a transcontinental railway and telegraph line, in which it was pointed out that by the construction of such railway and telegraph line, the commerce of the Pacific coast would be developed, and the wealth of the orient be poured into the lap of the nation —a prophetic glance into the future, the realization and truth of which is now being demonstrated after the lapse of over half a century. I have reserved the consideration of the most important ques- tion to the last. Was Brigham Young a great man? *'Yes;" you answer without hesitation, "How foolish to ask the question T Judged in the light of what he achieved, of course he was great. Nothing short of greatness could have met the issues which con- fronted him, and successfully disposed of them. True, perhaps; but let us get right views Remember, I pray of the matter. you, that God is a factor to be accounted for in this work of the last days. How much shall we accredit to God's inspiration? How much to the inherent qualities of Brigham Young, in placing an estimate on his life work, and his character? Go back a few centuries in thought, and see two armies confronting each other in mortal combat. It is the day when personal courage, skill, and prowess often decide the issue of battle, the fate of emf ires and the course of history. The battle has raged a long time, the forces are well matched, the soldiers equally brave, the issue of the con- flict trembles in the balance —when lo! from an unexpected quar- ter there rushes a mighty leader into the conflict. He cheers with voice and action the side he has championed. With consummate skill he rushes upon the serried ranks of the enemy; by cut and thrust of his good blade, he forces his way into the enemy's lines where others rush in and spread confusion death dismay — — — panic and the victory is won. How much shall we accredit to this magnificent leader? How much to the instrument he used

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when dealing death and dismay to the enemy the good blade of— Damascus steel, that neither bent, when thrust through coats of mail, nor broke when cleaving through helmets of steel; but was ever true to the hand that wielded it. Is the illustration unwor- thy the theme? "Yes," you say; and I feel that, too; but does it convey my thought? Does it help you understand what I would say? If so, never mind its falling below somewhat the dignity of the subject. In this work of the last days, men are but instru- ments; God is the grand architect and builder of the structure human hands seemingly uprear. And yet God is a master-builder, a wise architect; he uses means suitable to the purpose he would accomplish. When he draws a sword to execute his divine pur- pose, you may be assured it will not prove false to his hand in the conflict. It will neither bend in the thrust, nor break when it falls

upon the crests of the enemy. So when God chooses a man for his prophet, to whom he entrusts for the time the issues of his kingdom on knows his instrument. He earth, be assured God will not fail.And he will possess not only the qualities, but the combination of qualities that will make him servicable to the Mas- ter's use. The instrument will be adequate to the Master's pur- pose; the prophet will possess the qualities of mind and heart that fit him for God's work. And if the work to be done is a great work; if the achievement is mighty; if the issues concern the souls of men; the salvation of a people, or the perpetuity of — God's Church in the earth then rest assured the man equal to such an occasion —great in mind, pure of spirit, lofty of purpose, possessed of every mental, moral and spiritual endowment — will be chosen for that work. Brigham Young was chosen of God for the work he accomplished. It was a noble work. It was a great work. It was an epoch-making work. It affected large numbers of God's children. It concerned the welfare of God's purposes in the earth. And the fact that Brigham Young was chosen of God to do that work, is the best assurance of his greatness. Brigham Young was great. A master spirit. And though he might have passed through life unknown to fame but for the call of God to his life's work, yet the elements of greatness, the infinite possi- bilities of his nature, would still have been with him. He was great of mind and soul, even as men count greatness. But to all

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that, he added still another quality of greatness. The quality that linked him to God; that added in a large measure the strength and wisdom of God to his own strength and wisdom. To possess such a quality as this is to be great indeed. And if the proud of spirit shall say that such a quality leads but to a borrowed great-

ness —a shining not by reason of an innate luminous spirit, but by — a borrowed light the answer is that the man who so walks in the light and wisdom and power of God, will at the last, by the very force of association, make the light and wisdom and power of God his own —weaving those bright rays into a chain divine, linking himself forever to God and God to him. This the sum of Messiah's mystic words, "Thou, Father, in me, and I in thee" —beyond this human greatness cannot achieve.

HEAVEN.

Clouds ne'er make dark that summer land, Heart ne'er is severed there from heart; We see we failed to understand Revealed by vision was a part. The why's and wherefore's now are plain, The way so dark made clearest light; So best and noblest they attain.

Who journeyed through the deepest night. 0, troubled hearts, press eager on To gain the steepest, farthest height; Who scales it, must the armor don. Or sink below the goal in sight. Fair worlds there are, where trials end, All that was yearned for there is given; The fast-closed portals angels tend, But enter in, and lo! 'tis heaven. —Lydia D. Alder,