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Conclusion

Brigham knew, as well as anyone did, how intrusive journalists and writers cound be, since he found himself time and time again the focus of critical reviews of almost everything he did, said, wrote, or tried to accomplish. On 10 April 1873 Brigham responded to an opportunity to answer a series of questions from the New York Herald. In concluding his reply, his optimism surfaced as he contemplated future generations: "My whole life is devoted to the Almighty's service, and while I regret that my mission is not better understood by the world, the time will come when I will be understood, and I leave to futurity the judgment of my labors and their result as they shall become manifest."

In our day Elder Neal A. Maxwell has reflected: "Many think of President Brigham Young as primarily a great colonizer and governor, and excellent he was in those roles. But President Young, much more than being a colonizer and a governor, was a seer and a profound teacher of gospel doctrines and principles. The more one encounters his key teachings, the larger he looms." Certainly Brigham is being evaluated more fairly today, and in some cases appreciated more than in the past.

Brigham Young, possibly John Willard Clawson. Courtesy Museum of Church History and Art, Salt Lake City.

While vilified repeatedly in the press during his life, Brigham nevertheless willingly met with almost all who came to Salt Lake City. Many came away from brief encounters with Brigham with a reverent respect if not downright admiration for him, his people, and what they had accomplished. What they subsequently wrote about these visits gives us a glimpse of Brother Brigham from a non-Mormon perspective. These recollections, the reminiscences and diary accounts of members of the Church, and Brigham's own words added to the visual images and help give us both a physical and a character reference point that makes Brigham real and personal. His comments were often candid, his pronouncements insightful, his spirituality deep, and his humor delightful. Many observed the depth of the man's intellect and sincerity in his eyes, his determination in his chin, and his love for the Saints in his words of exhortation, counsel, and direction.

When asked why we are sometimes left alone and often sad, Brigham told the small gathering at the President's office in January 1857: "Man is destined to be a God and has to act as an independent being-and is left without aid to see what he will do, whether he will be for God and to practice him to depend on his own resources, and try his independency-to be righteous in the dark-to be the friend of God and do the best I can when left to myself-act on my agency as the independent Gods, and show our capacity."