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 28: “To See God Face To Face”
How did the early apostles’ expectation that they must personally see the Savior shape their understanding of what it means to be a “special witness”?
Why did the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society trigger such widespread doubt and apostasy, and how did Brigham Young’s response to the crisis reveal the difference between intellectual belief and deep spiritual conviction?
What does recent research reveal about the private, softer side of Brigham Young that is often missing from his public image as a fiery frontier leader?
Shortly after their calling in 1835, all twelve apostles undertook their first joint mission to the eastern United States. Oliver Cowdery challenged them to become special witnesses of Jesus Christ—urging them to never cease striving until they had seen God face to face, just as the original apostles had. Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball later reflected that some of the Twelve sought such manifestations with improper motives, treating them more as signs of personal status than as tools for testimony, which led to a lasting lesson in approaching sacred experiences with the right spirit. This episode also explores the turbulent mid-1830s, with the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society amid the national Panic of 1837, the first major wave of apostasy (including some of the original apostles), and the intense opposition Joseph Smith faced from both outside lawsuits and internal dissent. Brigham’s unwavering loyalty stands out—he publicly defended Joseph even when others turned away, distinguishing between Joseph’s imperfect business judgment and his prophetic calling.
Episode 29: “Inside the Lion House-Brigham Young and Women”
How did living in a household full of wives and daughters reshape Brigham Young’s understanding of women’s capabilities, even while he held traditional views of male roles in society? In what ways did plural marriage paradoxically expand Utah women’s legal rights (property ownership, etc.) compared with the rest of the United States?
Hosts Camrey Fox and Dan Peterson, joined by Jenessa Sheffield, visit the Daughters of Utah Pioneers museum to explore artifacts, letters, and documents from Brigham Young’s long presidency. The discussion highlights Brigham’s complex personality—forceful yet kind, practical yet philosophical, and described by visitors as industrious, sharp-eyed, and surprisingly jolly even in his sixties. The heart of the episode is an interview with Church History Department historians Brittany Chapman Nash and Lisa Olsen Tait about Brigham Young’s views on women. They place him firmly in the traditional 19th-century framework of male leadership, yet they also show how his views evolved. Living in a predominantly female household and managing the practical realities of plural marriage pushed women into greater responsibility for farms, households, and community life. This, in turn, contributed to expanded legal rights for women in Utah—property ownership and maternal custody after divorce—that were more progressive than many other parts of the United States at the time.
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.”