Brigham Young was a rough-hewn transient from New York whose life was electrified by the Mormon faith. He married more than 50 women, and transformed a barren desert into his vision of the Kingdom of God. In his new biography Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, John Turner (George Mason University) explores Young’s thirty-year battle with the U.S Government for the control of Utah, his polygamous marriages, and his role in the massacre of settlers who came out west. Also featured: Since 1950, the South has undergone the most dramatic political transformation of any region in the United States. In their new book Quentin Kidd (Christopher Newport University) and co-author Irwin Morris show how the once solid Democratic-South is now overwhelmingly Republican, and African Americans are now voting at levels comparable to those of whites.
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Shout out to John Turner for writing an incredibly intriguing book. I found his Brigham Young to be a more multi-faceted and evolving man than the Brigham Young I was taught about living here in Utah. Well done.
Thank you for your interest in Brigham Young. He is certainly an intriguing figure! I have not yet read the book, but I found the interview disappointing. Issues of revelation, such as polygamy, were treated with smirks from a smug 21st century view. The idea that any of the church leaders who were asked to participate in plural marriage during this short period were eager to do so is unfounded. Complex situations such as the Mountain Meadows massacre (which have been more extensively researched than indicated in this interview, and perhaps in the book) were treated with a dust of the surface, as well as leading questions and judgmental comments by Ms. McConnell.