History of Mormonism- Latter-day Prophets, Part I

The history of Mormonism is a long and storied one, and one that has been influenced by the hands of many amazing men and women. Since the official founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830, there has been a total of sixteen Prophets who have headed the Church. Below is a handy list of each of these great men, along with a brief bio and some major accomplishments they made in their ministry. (More to follow)

1.Joseph Smith Jr. Joseph Smith was the first and founding president of the Church. In 1820, he was appeared to by God the Father and Jesus Christ. He was told during this experience, known as "The First Vision", that the Lord's true Church was no longer upon the earth, because of a great apostasy long ago. He was instructed to restore God's Church to the earth, and to translate an ancient record which would become the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible, which supplements the Bible as a second witness of Jesus Christ. During his life, he faced extreme persecution for his beliefs and claims, and in 1844, he was killed by an assassin's bullet, when an angry mob stormed the jail where he and his brother Hyrum were wrongly imprisoned. Joseph Smith was an extremely hard worker, and a man who gave everything to get the Church off the ground,and to further the work of God.

2. Brigham Young Following the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young was ordained as the Prophet. Perhaps his most famous accomplishments were his strong leadership and his instrumental role in leading the Saints west. On July 24, 1847, he and the first wave of Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley, when he famously said, "It is enough, this is the right place. Drive on." In 1853, Brigham Young broke ground and began the fourty-year construction of the Salt Lake Temple. Under the direction of President Young, the Saints would take the Salt Lake Valley--originally a desert wasteland--and cultivate the land allowing for fertile crops and thriving agriculture, a tremendous undertaking to say the least.

3.John Taylor Born in England in 1808, Taylor was originally Christened into the Church of England, but converted to Methodism at age sixteen. In the early 1830's, he and his family emigrated to what is now Toronto, Canada. In 1836, he was introduced to the Mormon Church, and converted soon after. He held several leadership roles throughout the Church, and eventually succeeded Brigham Young as President in 1880. As Prophet of the Church, he was instrumental in promoting the Church-wide institution of the Primary Association, a curriculum of Sunday school classes for grade-school age children. He also helped the Quorum of the Seventy become more organized and streamlined.

4.Wilford Woodruff President Woodruff was well-known for keeping diaries, and his extensive journal-keeping was and is a great asset for historians of Mormonism. Without his writings, much of that which was said by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and many other Church leaders might have been lost forever. During Wilford Woodruff's ministry as Prophet of the Church, the Salt Lake Temple was finally completed in 1893, solidifying a spiritual beacon for the Saints and beautiful example of American architecture. Woodruff also organized the Genealogical Society of Utah, a major leap forward in the Church's family history efforts, and a group which still benefits the Church and its members' genealogical pursuits to this day.

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Other Articles in this Series:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV