Brigham Young and the Expansion of the Mormon Faith

The Oklahoma Western Biographies

By: Thomas G. Alexander

Narrated by: Charles Henderson Norman

As president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Utah’s first territorial governor, Brigham Young (1801-77) shaped a religion, a migration, and the American West. He led the Saints to Utah, guided the establishment of 350 settlements, and inspired the Mormons as they weathered unimaginable trials and hardships. In this new biography, historian Thomas G. Alexander draws on a lifetime of research to provide an evenhanded view of Young and his leadership.

Following the murder in 1844 of church founder Joseph Smith, Young bore a heavy responsibility: ensuring the survival and expansion of the church and its people. Alexander focuses on Young’s leadership, his financial dealings, his relations with non-Mormons, his families, and his own deep religious conviction. Brigham Young and the Expansion of the Mormon Faith addresses such controversial issues as the practice of polygamy (Young himself had 55 wives), relations and conflicts between Mormons and Indians, and the circumstances and aftermath of the horrific events of Mountain Meadows in 1857. Young relied on the counsel of his associates, and at times, the Mormon people pushed back to prevent him from implementing changes. In some cases, such as polygamy and the doctrine of blood atonement, the church leadership eventually rejected his views. Yet on the whole, Brigham Young emerges as a multifaceted human figure, and as a prophet revered by millions of LDS members, an inspired leader who successfully led his people to a distant land where their community expanded and flourished.

The book is published by University of Oklahoma Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2019 University of Oklahoma Press (P)2019 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"An eloquent and judicious portrait of one of nineteenth-century America’s most controversial religious and political figures." (John Turner, author of Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet)

An interesting view point

Brigham Young and the Expansion of the Mormon Faith. ...
This is a history of the early Mormon church - Well researched and laid out chronologically it is very interesting and informative about the man.
Sympathetic to Brigham Young but not sycophantic about him. A really good well balanced book, that is an excellent source of facts.
Narration is clear and concise and the quality is excellent.
I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this honest review.

A Good Biography of Brigham Young

This book is very comprehensive. His early years were extremely interesting to me. What made the Man, and brought about his decisions. The trip across the Country and the development of their Settlement in Utah. Thank You!

I am LDS and enjoyed the book

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I am always trying to have a better perspective of my church history and I found this book very compelling and balanced. The author did a great job sharing facts about Brigham Young and describing a more realistic character from what we read in other books. The quality of the research and the performance of the narrator is great too.
I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this honest review.

Most Excellant

As an active LDS, I appreciated this well researched and very readable book. The audience is not intended for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints necessarily; it is a more scholarly work. A wee history based on research and not just tales handed down by unbelievers. There is a lot of controversy surrounding Brigham Young, both in the Church and outside of it. I too began to doubt his leadership as a prophet of God; however, I have spent time reading books like this (aka not non-Mormon propaganda) and I have come to truly appreciate the man and his leadership. He not only led thousands of the Saints across the plains, but also started cities like Las Vegas and San Bernardino. He was human and I appreciate seeing that. His mistakes were not minor. My own ancestors were victims of The Muddy River debacle and then settled Orderville where they lived the United Order for many years. This is not a spiritually upbeat book— it is a book of historical facts. And some of those facts paint a picture of how human we all are. But many more facts give us an idea of how very stalwart and Christ centered these people were. Worth the read if you want to know more of the truth than just biased stories from people who hate.

A truthful history!

Thomas G. Alexander really did his homework. The extensive research that went into writing these biographies makes you feel you are right in the midst of these events.

Charles Henderson Norman narrated this audiobook well.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.