He also served as the first governor of the Utah Territory from until his resignation in Young was born in in Vermont and raised in Upstate New York. After working as a painter and carpenter, he became a full-time LDS Church leader in Following a short period of service as a missionary , he moved to Missouri in In , while he was traveling to gain support for Joseph Smith's presidential campaign , Smith was assassinated ; igniting the Illinois Mormon War and triggering a succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement.
After negotiating a ceasefire, Young was unanimously elected as the second president of the church in Once settled in Utah, he ordered the construction of numerous temples , including the Salt Lake Temple. He also formalized the prohibition of black men attaining priesthood and directed the Mormon Reformation. A supporter of education, Young worked to establish the learning institutions that would later become the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.
As governor, Young allowed polygamy , supported slavery and its expansion into Utah , and led the efforts to legalize and regulate slavery in the Act in Relation to Service , based on his beliefs on slavery.
He exerted considerable power over the territory through his semi- theocratic political system, theodemocracy. After President James Buchanan appointed a new governor of the territory, Young declared martial law and re-activated the Nauvoo Legion ; beginning the Utah War. During the conflict, the Utah Territorial Militia committed a series of attacks that resulted in the mass murder of at least members of the BakerβFancher immigrant wagon train, known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
The following month, the Aiken massacre was perpetrated on Young's orders. In , the war ended when Young agreed to resign as governor and allow federal troops to enter the Utah Territory in exchange for a pardon granted to Mormon settlers from President Buchanan. A polygamist , Young had 56 wives [ b ] and 57 children. His legacy and impact are seen throughout the American West , including numerous memorials, temples, and schools named in his honor.
