The Interpreter Foundation and Redbrick Filmworks continues to release a new episode of their not-for-profit series of mini-documentaries titled Becoming Brigham each Monday.
Over the past few weeks, they have released the following episodes:
Episode 21: “Saints and Complainers?”
Why did ordinary men like Brigham Young leave everything behind to walk over 1,000 miles under brutal conditions to help the Saints in Missouri? How did Joseph Smith demonstrate remarkable leadership and patience while leading a group of exhausted, complaining men on Zion’s Camp? What can we learn from the extreme sacrifices of the early Saints—and the women left behind—when facing trials that don’t turn out as expected?
This episode continues the story of the 1833–1834 Missouri persecutions. Joseph receives a revelation and calls for Zion’s Camp, an expedition of volunteers to aid the displaced Saints. Brigham Young is among the first to step forward, along with others like Wilford Woodruff. The episode vividly describes the immense challenges of Zion’s Camp: volunteers walking 30–40 miles a day for nearly 2,000 total miles, enduring extreme heat, mosquitoes, bad water, blistered and bleeding feet, minimal sleep, and scarce supplies. The discussion emphasizes the true purpose of the camp—a defensive and relief mission seeking legal redress and militia protection, not armed conquest—and the powerful leadership lessons Joseph Smith taught through patience and meekness.
Episode 22: “How Did They Survive an Almighty Hail?”
How did God dramatically protect Zion’s Camp from a violent mob? Why did the Lord call Zion’s Camp a success even though they didn’t redeem Zion or fight any battles? How did the hardships of Zion’s Camp transform Brigham Young and prepare him to lead the Saints westward?
This episode concludes the story of Zion’s Camp, the 2,000-mile journey undertaken by Brigham Young, Joseph Smith, and roughly 200 others to aid the persecuted Saints in Missouri. Upon arrival, the group faced disappointment when Governor Dunklin refused to help restore their lands. As tensions rose and mobs threatened to attack, a sudden, violent storm with hail and flooding miraculously protected the camp. Despite the hardships and apparent failure to redeem Zion, the Lord revealed in Doctrine and Covenants Section 105 that their sacrifices were accepted. The episode explores the deeper spiritual purpose of the journey: it served as a refining experience and training ground for future Church leadership.
Watch all the episodes on the Becoming Brigham YouTube channel. If you want to be notified when new episodes are published, just click Subscribe on the Becoming Brigham YouTube channel.
The episodes are hosted by Camrey Bagley Fox (who portrayed Emma Smith in the Interpreter Foundation’s films Witnesses and Six Days in August), John Wilson (who played Brigham Young in Six Days in August), and Daniel C. Peterson (president of the Interpreter Foundation and retired BYU professor of Islamic studies and Arabic). Each episode features footage shot on location in New York, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Utah, as well as extensive interviews with Latter-day Saint historians who are experts on the subjects being discussed. The series is rooted in scholarship. The list of contributors includes historians trusted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Why this docuseries? Many people are aware of Brigham Young as a pivotal figure in American religious and frontier history, but Brigham is also often misunderstood, seen as a larger-than-life caricature rather than as a man. Who actually was Brigham as a man, a father, a husband, and a prophet? The video web series Becoming Brigham debunks fictions and provides surprising new insights into the real Brigham Young. Learn more in the article “Becoming Brigham: The Video Series Premieres.”