Brigham Young

Mormon Father

One of the mysteries of this small village in southern Vermont, is who created the monument that stands on the site where Brigham Young was born.

If you can read the inscriptions you may wonder about the reference to his “superb equipment.”

(Hint: he had 57 children)

The town is quite proud of his tie to our village, brief though it was, and is also proud of the monument.

On the 100th anniversary of Brigham Young’s birth, the Mormons planned a pilgrimage to his birthplace. The week before the date, the monument disappeared. In its place was a generic historic monument mentioning nothing about his prowess as progenitor of early Mormonism.

A tough local Yankee had an inkling about who was behind the disappearance. She called someone in Salt Lake City and said the original monument must be restored so there would be no need of a public fuss by the town on Whitingham. She accused no one, merely said she wanted it back.

Two days later the generic monument was gone and the original was restored to the place where it had been since before anyone could remember. The Mormons had their gathering and I like to think they liked the monument as much as we do.

The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, prizes large families. Until recent years, bigamy was considered an acceptable way to bring more Mormons into being.

Brigham Young led the way for the new, uniquely American, expression of Mormonism.

It took courage and superb equipment to plant seeds that could grown into a brand new faith .