Polygamy and Mormon Church Leaders Lorenzo Dow Young

Lorenzo Dow Young

October 19, 1807 – November 21, 1895

In our ongoing look at the early leaders of Mormonism we’re posting a look at Lorenzo Dow Young, Brigham’s youngest brother.

This man’s life wasn’t all that remarkable except for two things.  He served as a missionary and then a bishop throughout his Mormon life but what stood out was a dream he had as a child that warned him of impending doom for the family.  Not long after his dream everyone in his family started joining the ranks of Joseph Smith’s new gospel.

The other thing that stood out was the timeline of his life and the life of his youngest child.  Lorenzo was born in 1807 and his youngest kid died in 1963.  Think about that for a moment – 156 years for two generations.  Why was he having kids at the age of 63?  I know that pregnancies can happen late in life for some women (my grandmother had my uncle at 51 yrs of age), but this isn’t what happened as you might expect.

This took place because of polygamy.

Lorenzo wasn’t doing anything outside the “norm” for other polygamists.  He married teenagers when he was old enough to be their father and/or grandfather which obviously meant he was marrying girls younger than his own children.  You can read about his eight wives and 25 kids here.