Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young

Teachings of Presidents of the Church

by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (editor), Brigham Young

This is the first in a series of books of the teachings of Presidents of the Church. It was used for personal study and for Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society instruction in 1998 and 1999. It should be part of every adult member's gospel library.

Genres: Religion, Lds, Nonfiction, Church, Biography, History, Reference

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Book2Dragon]

It was slow reading but a good introduction to the man for whom BYU is named, and the first Presisdent and Prophet to follow Joseph Smith. He was the one that led members out of hostile states for the trek to Utah, a great hardship for all, but Zion for those who made it.
There's a historical look at the church at this time as well. And lots of doctrine.
Worth the time.

[Jimmy Lee]

I found this book to be an interesting and informative biography of the religious leader. It was not a heavily detailed biography, at 219 pages. You learn about his background, and his deeply religious upbringing. You get an idea of the major bumps in the road, the key controversies. You hear about the impetus for Young's various relocations, and because of that, the background of the church. There are a number of details provided about the evolution of the church - hot liquid versus caffeine, for example, and Young's liquor-serving restaurant - that readers unfamiliar with the Mormon Church background may find interesting.

But because only so much can fit in this book, you just don't get everything - there's no complete list of the Young children by name (but there are plenty of numbers provided), wives by name (numbers are provided but Young divorced regularly so I'm not sure what the final count was), or details on the inner church battles he faced and resulting excommunications (some are mentioned; more detail is available from LDS genealogy archives accessible via Ancestry), to mention a few gaps. And the handcart migration - both a tragic and an epic effort involving starvation on a scale far beyond the Donner party, a burden Young should have shouldered - gets just a few paragraphs.

And most importantly, you don't get editorial opinion; you must form your own. You get an idea of Young's character as he matured, but there's no real judgement imposed. I don't envy the author attempting to write an impartial biography of a man who tried to shape not only his own destiny but that of an entire people - under the guise of carving a religious nation - out of a hostile wilderness.

Considering this biography reviews the life and actions of a religious leader, who is at times violently opposed to the United States, I found it to be remarkably fair. Very interesting book.

[Isaac Blake]

I read this book in Spanish across many short and long bus trips throughout northwest Argentina in the 2nd year of my mission. It has profoundly shaped my life and the decisions I’ve made and continue to make. I cherish that physical copy I got from a chapel in Jujuy, symbolic of the truths and impressions its words have distilled on my soul.

Brigham Young was a complicated person, certainly not perfect, unequivocally the author of some decisions that in hindsight are easy for us in the 21st century to condemn or question. But he was also a prophet of God, a generational leader in many spheres, a founder of the state of Utah, and a builder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a visionary teacher. So many of the things he taught, as recorded in this book, have deepened my conviction in the plan of salvation, inspired me to strive to control my thoughts and appetites, and filled me with hope.

[Anna Mock]

The thing that impressed me most about the character of Brigham Young (that I hadn't thought of before) was how able he was and how he always encouraged the saints to not expect anyone - God included - to do anything for them that they could do for themselves, even if it was really, really hard. He said that once you got to where you coudln't do what needed to be done, then to definitely expect miracles. But it wasn't appropriate to expect God to do for you anything you had the power within you to do already. I really loved that. In many ways, I think we actually are a LOT more capable and have a LOT more "power" than we realize we do. This attitude helps you gain confidence and strength, which in turn help you serve others.

[Juan]

Las enseñanzas del Presidente Young podrán parecer en un principio muy anacrónicas pero mirando desde la perspectiva personal, familiar, eclesiástica y por sobre todo la perspectiva eterna que los miembros de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de Los Últimos Días tenemos, son importantes y merecen una reflexión y meditación al respecto.
Además de las enseñanzas a nivel doctrinal, existen otras que podemos replicar en nuestra administración y trabajo diario, siempre centrado u orientado a las enseñanzas de Jesucristo en las Santas Escrituras, incluso abarcando temas políticos de filosofias y/o ideologías que en esa época ni siquiera existían en radar norteamericano.

[Tyler]

This book contains a veritable flood of revealed light and truth taught by the power of the Holy Ghost in the plainest language imaginable by President Brigham Young. Each chapter is a different gospel topic containing a sampling of some of President Young's best quotations on that subject during his thirty years presiding over the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I learned a great deal from reading this book and found it extremely edifying. I know that Brigham Young was a prophet of God and I am grateful for the truths God revealed through him to me as I read this book.

[Brian]

I love the stories from the history of the church and the remarkable things that come to us through letters, journals, and notes to and from the people close to the prophet and sometimes those at a distance. I'm nearing the end of my backwards tour through the Teachings of the Presidents of the church. They are great sources for a brief history of each prophet and the stories are just awesome.

[Ashley]

Really solid, as far as study manuals go. It is nice to have so many quotations from Brigham Young in one place and organized by topic. The sources cited can also provide additional resources for further study.

Obviously, as a church manual, these quotes were all carefully selected and did not include any of his more controversial teachings/opinions. This is also, clearly, not a comprehensive or exhaustive resource but it’s a decent starting point.

I read this all the way through, treating it like a novel, as part of my Restoration study regime. I wouldn’t say it is a page-turner but...not many manuals can be described that way anyway haha

[Bruce]

Great spiritual wisdom & understanding.

[Layne]

Another great study guide.

[C L]

there are many amazing quotes and insights to be gained from reading this book. It has teachings meant for both temporal and spiritual success.

[Jeff Crosby]

Subject Themed Quotations.

[Cannon Sharp]

Hard to find in Brazil

[David Barney]

Wonderful quotes!

[Ranee]

Such a fascinating life, directly affected my ancestry and beyond.

[Jaxon Larsen]

My boy Brigham gets too much hate. He's wise, witty, and passionate about teaching others to live like Christ. A lot of perspective-changing quotes in here.

[Mark]

Somehow when you don't think of this as a lesson book - it gets so much better. Amazing how when I study something because I want to, instead because I should, I get so much more out of it.

[Aaron]

This man said a lot of great things (and also some wacky things, but those aren't in this book because, really, that's not the point of this book). I was surprised at the "progressive" view point that we often don't recognize Brother Brigham had. He taught that all saints, men and women, should be educated and that women would benefit from learning subjects that traditionally had been viewed as man's work (accounting, law, medicine, etc.) He also taught that the saints should cherish all truth, no matter the worldly source, and in particular, science and geology. Of course, as he also taught, all truth ultimately comes from God, even if the "discoverer" of the truth is an athiest scientist.

[Dad]

This was a good priesthood manual. This was certainly a good book to start off the Teaching of Presidents of the Church series.
Brigham Young has always been one of my heroes. He led the colonization of the Intermountain West and did an inspired job. He lead out with some great strategies like developing the Deseret alphabet and using the United Order to protect against Gentile influences to name a couple. Not all the things he did worked but he worked hard to preserve the Church and the Saints.
One thing he was able to do was keep the Church in the Utah area, something the Church was not previously allowed to do anywhere else. That was even in question with the invasion of Johnson's Army.
Brigham always had a lot of common sense and loyalty in the things he did.

[Daniel Clark]

This man speaks as one having authority. Even if you don't subscribe to Mormon beliefs, you have to admire a guy that speaks sooooo plainly. I love his stuff. You can tell by how he describes things that he has been there, he has seen it, he knows, and he loves it. Just as an example, people talk about how heaven will have streets paved with gold. He says, "We will have to go to work and get the gold out of the mountains to lay down, if we ever walk in streets paved with gold. When we have streets paved with gold, we will have placed it there ourselves." This type of no-nonsense logical Christianity is what he preaches. Great book.

[Shawnie]

This is my all-time favorite manual. I love Brigham Young's style and stong, no fear, personality. This is a bit funny, but you only see this picture of him when he is in his seventy's with an old beard, but photos of him when he is younger make it very clear why he had that many wives. He is like "poster boy", not kidding.

[Heidi-Marie]

I didn't get to read much of this because the Church was already in the middle of it (or maybe even already done with it) by the time I joined the Relief Society. I'm sure it is fantastic. Pres. Young had that straight-forward style that I like--and a great, ironic sense of humor.

[Lisa]

Love Brigham Young's straight forward manner of speaking. Clear, straight to the point, no nonsense, politically incorrect. Gospel Doctrine before all the white washing, watering down, church policies and handbooks took over.

[Shad]

It's awesome!

[Brandie]

This book played a huge role in my getting active in the church again. It helped a lot of things "click" that hadn't clicked before.

[Marilyn]

Brigham Young had such a hard job bringing the Saints to Utah and following in Joseph Smith's footsteps after he was martyred. I believe in the teachings of the LDS faith so it was a great read!

[Kimberly]

Probably my favorite of the series. He had incredible vision/ perspective and did amazing things during his watch.

[Kristen Stone]

I decided I was going to read through all the manuals again starting with the first one they gave us.

[Elaine]

This was a wonderful collection of Brigham Young's teachings. I loved that it caught his humor and directness.

[Doug]

Truth