Brigham Young, by John G. Turner

Brigham Young, unlike Joseph Smith, played no role in the translation of the Book of Mormon. He never ran for president of the United States, as Smith did in 1844. And Young was not dramatically martyred, as Smith was when a mob shot him in his prison cell. But without Young, we might not remember Smith. Without Young, Mitt Romney’s Mormonism might not exist to be an issue for some voters in the current presidential election.

Although best known today for the university that bears his name, this rough-and-tumble 19th-century man was one of the most pivotal figures of his century. As the primary leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after Smith’s assassination in 1844, Young saw thousands of followers across the frontier, helped establish the Mormon community in Utah and throughout the West and challenged the federal government at just about every level. Now, thanks to historian John Turner, we have a comprehensive biography of Young and his times.

Several years ago, Turner wrote a biography of Bill Bright, the 20th-century founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. With Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, Turner turns to another century. It is an exceptional work. In the space it would take Robert Caro to narrate two years of Lyndon Johnson’s life, Turner carries Young from a Vermont cradle in 1801 to a Utah grave in 1877. He traces Young’s frustrations with the Protestant churches around him in upstate New York and tells how he turned to Joseph Smith’s new church in 1832. Then Turner examines Young’s ascension to power after Smith’s assassination, his decision to lead the fragile church to the frontier West and his building of the kingdom in the Great Salt Basin.