From the beginning, the LDS church has actively promoted self-governance. This self-governance comes from a few places:

1.) Revelation. Personal revelation is a huge factor in what makes our church unique. We are to seek the Lord through our own doing and work out our own salvation.This means that, yes, we are responsible for ourselves! We can also receive revelation for those under our stewardship. Therefore, there are varying levels of revelation.

2.) Beliefs. Mormons are free to believe in whatever they choose. Again the gospel becomes very personal with this in mind. Our beliefs don't even have to go along with the official church doctrines if we so choose. Problems with church discipline will arise if you preach your own beliefs as church doctrine, of course, but overall it's up to you to believe or disbelieve what you will.

3.) Following the Brethren. We can follow what the "Brethren" (to my understanding this is the Prophet, his counselors, and the 12 Apostles) counsel us to do, or we can blow it off. Either way. It's up to us! Church leaders do not rule the LDS people with an iron fist; but at the same time it is very clear what is expected of faithful members.

4.) Agency. Of course, one of the most important aspects of the church.

In scholarly work about the church (which I've been reading a lot of lately for a class) and it's history, one thing is quite clear to me. The things listed above are not quite clear to a lot of scholars. Even folks who are faithful members of the church and are full-fledged temple-recommend carrying professors at BYU seem to forget this in their writing. The church is and always has been more than a group of people who can't think for themselves being led around by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jr.

In particular, a problem seems to be had when dealing with Brigham Young. I have yet to see him portrayed as the following things that I think of him as: 1. Prophet, Seer, and Revelator 2. Political leader of what became Utah 3. Human. When I read a scholarly article or book that includes President Young as part of the story, he is without fail portrayed as a larger-than-life tyrant who could not carry himself in all three of the major positions that he held.

Brigham is made out to be a man who ruled with an iron fist, dictating the every move of the defenseless Mormons who were being oppressed and more or less forced to live a certain way. Friends, these are the qualities of cattle. Sheep, cows, horses, and so forth are animals that have a specific purpose in the world: Eat, sleep, and be led by the bit. They don't get to think or act for themselves, and if they dare try there are repercussions. Much the same, Brigham Young is always made out to be a man who you dare not cross.

Now let us not forget that President Young was a man. The people that he led were human beings just as much as Young and just as much as you and I today. As a prophet, he had a duty and obligation to protect the church which was still in its youth. He had the charge of keeping the members active and faithful. Undoubtedly this had to lead to some restrictions being in place. But judging from the number of people who fell away from the church under Brigham Young's reign, and the number of people who thought for themselves so much that they broke off from the church and took hundreds with them, he was not the all-powerful dictator.

As the governor, he had to start and keep an economy from nothing while the rest of the United States was going through financial trouble itself. Don't forget that he did this all while the government of the country that the church revered was actively (both publicly and secretly) trying to pass laws that basically made it illegal for Brigham Young to be Brigham Young. Did he get his duties as religious and political leader mixed up in boycotting non-LDS businesses from being visited by LDS members? NO! I haven't studied this subject enough to refute it, but clearly members of the church could frequent these businesses without repercussion.

With his Prophet hat on, he said no to non-LDS owned businesses. With his Governor hat on, he did little to nothing to rid Utah of said businesses.

My opinion is that it is disturbing to hear so much negativity about Brigham Young and so many scholars failing to realize that he was a human being with a great responsibility, probably more than he even thought he would have when he was called to be the Prophet in Nauvoo. Even more importantly, the people who followed him were human beings. They were treated as such and acted as such. I highly doubt that Brigham Young was a power-hungry ego-maniac who tried his hardest to oppress. I doubt even more that the thousands who were living in Utah when he was the prophet at governor were so feeble and weak-minded, given the emphasis on individual thought in the church from before Young's leadership, that they would follow a wicked and violent man.

That's my opinion. What I KNOW is that President Brigham Young was a prophet of God. In a time of extreme persecution and trial, he held firm to the revelations that he received and that Joseph Smith received. I know that he had to make some difficult decisions that people looking back don't agree with. People who were there at the time didn't always agree. But clearly he was not oppressive. Clearly he did what the Lord was commanding him to. He deserves more credit and respect than he gets. I'm grateful that I've become part of a church that, from the start, has recognized and valued my individual worth. I'm grateful that I am able to think for myself and to work out my salvation.

Tags: Brigham Young Prophet Governor Human Free Thinking Oppression

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