The Wives of Brigham Young in the Mormon Exodus (1846-1848)
Abstract
Department of History-ETSU Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), relocated his followers to the Utah Territory in the mid-1840s, following their prophet, Joseph Smith’s, death. Young married a total of 56 wives during his lifetime, and had acquired at least 43 wives by the time he and his followers reached Utah. This undergraduate research honors thesis will attempt to examine the lives of Brigham Young’s wives during the Mormon exodus (1846-1848) – Young’s journey west to Utah via the Mormon Trail. It particularly asks how these women understood their roles as family members and also in Joseph Smith’s and Brigham Young’s theological and physical construction of “Zion.” Research will draw on primary sources from this time including diaries, journals, letters, photographs, autobiographies, and church records, as well as select secondary sources. Through historical analysis of these sources, this project will show that plural wives contributed to the construction of Zion through their labor, spirituality, and efforts to build community. Preliminary research suggests that plural marriage gave these women the opportunity to play an active and important role in the LDS church’s religious and social formations. This research contributes to broader historical conversations about gender, marriage, religious authority, and migration in nineteenth-century America.
Start Time
15-4-2026 9:00 AM
End Time
15-4-2026 10:00 AM
Room Number
272
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Presentation Subtype
Research-in-Progress
Presentation Category
Arts and Humanities
Faculty Mentor
Adler Jennifer
The Wives of Brigham Young in the Mormon Exodus (1846-1848)
272
Department of History-ETSU Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), relocated his followers to the Utah Territory in the mid-1840s, following their prophet, Joseph Smith’s, death. Young married a total of 56 wives during his lifetime, and had acquired at least 43 wives by the time he and his followers reached Utah. This undergraduate research honors thesis will attempt to examine the lives of Brigham Young’s wives during the Mormon exodus (1846-1848) – Young’s journey west to Utah via the Mormon Trail. It particularly asks how these women understood their roles as family members and also in Joseph Smith’s and Brigham Young’s theological and physical construction of “Zion.” Research will draw on primary sources from this time including diaries, journals, letters, photographs, autobiographies, and church records, as well as select secondary sources. Through historical analysis of these sources, this project will show that plural wives contributed to the construction of Zion through their labor, spirituality, and efforts to build community. Preliminary research suggests that plural marriage gave these women the opportunity to play an active and important role in the LDS church’s religious and social formations. This research contributes to broader historical conversations about gender, marriage, religious authority, and migration in nineteenth-century America.
