How Many Wives Did Brigham Young Have? | Plural Marriage History

LDS Perspective

# Brigham Young's Wives Brigham Young, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, practiced plural marriage during his lifetime. Historical records indicate that Brigham Young was married to approximately 55 women, though the exact number varies slightly depending on the source and how marriages are counted (some were sealed but not consummated, while others were formal unions). Of these wives, he had children with approximately 16 of them, fathering around 57 children total. The practice of plural marriage was part of the restored gospel during this period of Church history. Church leaders taught that this principle was revealed by the Lord and was practiced by faithful saints in Nauvoo and the Salt Lake Valley during the 1800s. In 1890, Church President Wi

Historical Perspective

Historical records and LDS Church sources confirm that Brigham Young, who succeeded Joseph Smith as prophet and led the Mormon migration to Utah, entered into plural marriage with approximately 55 women throughout his lifetime. While the provided context notes that many Mormons were "well aware that Smith's successor, Brigham Young, practiced polygamy when he led the flock in Salt Lake City," the scope of his marriages was extensive even by 19th-century Mormon standards. Of these 55 wives, 21 bore him children, resulting in 57 offspring. The marriages spanned from the 1840s until his death in 1877, with many occurring after the Mormon settlement in the Utah Territory in 1847, where the practice was publicly acknowledged and institutionalized, unlike the secrecy that characterized Joseph Sm