Phineas Howe Young (also found as Phinehas) (February 16, 1799 – October 10, 1879) was a prominent early convert in the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

and was later a

Mormon pioneer The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...

and a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). Phineas Young was an older brother of

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

, who was the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the LDS Church and the first governor of the

Territory of Utah The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

Life

Young was born in Hopkinton,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, the seventh child of John Young and Abigail Howe. Early in his life, Phineas was a Methodist preacher. In 1830, Young was contacted by Samuel H. Smith, a missionary in the recently established Latter Day Saint movement. Smith sold Young a copy of the ''

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...

'' and told him that it had been translated from ancient records by his brother

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

. Young undertook a careful study of the book and eventually passed it on to others in his family, including his brothers Brigham,

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and John.

On April 15, 1832, Young and his brother John were baptized into the Latter Day Saint Church of Christ. His brother Joseph was baptized the next day and Brigham Young was baptized approximately one week later. Phineas' wife Clarissa was also baptized about this same time. Shortly after their baptisms, Phineas Young and Joseph Young became ordained elders in the church began preaching as missionaries in New York and

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

. While not on missions, Young lived with the

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...

s in Kirtland,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and Far West,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. In 1835, the

Three Witnesses The Three Witnesses is the collective name for three men connected with the early Latter Day Saint movement who stated that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon; they also stated tha ...

selected Young as one of the inaugural members of the

Quorum of the Twelve In the Latter Day Saint movement, the Quorum of the Twelve (also known as the Council of the Twelve, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Council of the Twelve Apostles, or the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies or ( quorums) of the church hie ...

. However, church president

insisted that his brother William Smith be selected in place of Young. In 1840, Young moved to

Scott County, Illinois Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 5,355, making it the fourth-least populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Winchester. Scott County is part of the Ja ...

when the Latter Day Saints were expelled from Missouri. By 1841 he had relocated to Nauvoo. Later in 1841, Young served a mission to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and its environs with Franklin D. Richards. Young was married to Lucy, the half-sister of

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...

. After Cowdery was excommunicated from the church in 1838, Young wrote him several letters pleading with him to come back into the church. Young was present in

Richmond, Missouri Richmond is a city in Ray County, Missouri, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 6,013 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ray County. History Richmond was platted in 1828. The comm ...

when Cowdery died. Young testified that Cowdery's last statements were on the truth of

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

as revealed through Joseph Smith. After Joseph Smith was killed in 1844, Young joined the majority of Latter Day Saints in accepting the leadership of Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Phineas Young was among the first Mormon pioneer company to reach the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. In this company, Young served as a captain of ten. Young settled in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

. He went on to become a

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1853, he became the second counselor to David Fullmer in the presidency of the Salt Lake Stake of the church. From 1864 through 1871 Young served as the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Salt Lake City 2nd

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. In

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

, Young worked as a printer, saddler and contractor.Jenson. ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'', vol. 4, p. 725 Young died in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory at the age of 80.

Notes

References

* Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon & Richard O. Cowan (eds.) (2000). ''Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...

) p. 1383 * *Mackay, Eleanor White
Phineas Howe Young Biograph
y. MSS SC 1073; Phineas Howe Young biography; 20th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts; L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Phineas 1799 births 1879 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Canada American Mormon missionaries in England American Mormon missionaries in the United States American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Converts to Mormonism from Methodism Latter Day Saints from Illinois Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Latter Day Saints from Ohio Latter Day Saints from Utah Mormon pioneers Religious leaders from Massachusetts Richards–Young family