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Chapter 10, A New Beginning
Brigham, the Dictator
The Quote
One Nation under Gods, page 220
Young, although officially a governor, acted more like a dictator than anything else. He
proudly admitted as much during an 1871 sermon, saying: "'I have been your dictator for
twenty-seven years--over a quarter of a century I have dictated this people.'"77
The Reference
Endnote 77, page 553
77. Brigham Young, August 13, 1871, JOD (Liverpool: George Q. Cannon, 1862;
lithographed reprint of original edition, 1966), vol. 14, 205.
The Problems
In an attempted to show that Brigham Young was the political dictator of the
Territory of Utah, Abanes has quoted from a speech of Brigham Young recorded in the Journal
of Discourses. Does the context of the quote indicate that President Young "proudly admitted"
to being a political dictator? The full quote, in context, is reproduced here. (The portion in bold
is the quote used by Abanes.)
But to return to my question to the Saints, "How are you going to know about the
will and commands of heaven?" By the Spirit of revelation; that is the only way you can know. How
do I know but what I am doing wrong? How do I know but what we will take a course for our utter
ruin? I sometimes say to my brethren, "I have been your dictator for twenty-seven years-over
a quarter of a century I have dictated this people; that ought to be some evidence that my
course is onward and upward. But how do you know that I may not yet do wrong? How do you know but
I will bring in false doctrine and teach the people lies that they may be damned? Sisters can you
tell the difference? I can say this for the Latter-day Saints, and I will say it to their praise
and my satisfaction, if I were to preach false doctrine here, it would not be an hour after the
people got out, before it would begin to fly from one to another, and they would remark, "I do
not quite like that! It does not look exactly right! What did Brother Brigham mean? That did not
sound quite right, it was not exactly the thing!" All these observations would be made by the
people, yes, even by the sisters. It would not sit well on the stomach, that is, on the
spiritual stomach, if you think you have one. It would not sit well on the mind, for you are
seeking after the things of God; you have started out for life and salvation, and with all
their ignorance, wickedness and failings, the majority of this people are doing just as well
as they know how; and I will defy any man to preach false doctrine without being detected.
In other words, President Young was speaking about spiritual matters, not
political matters. Yet, Abanes tries to equate President Young's quote with political
dictatorship--a clear misuse of his source.
In today's society, the common definition of "dictator" carries a pejorative connotation.
This is a direct outgrowth of twentieth-century world politics, particularly World War II, where
the United States, with her allies, faced down dictatorial regimes. Consider, if you will, the primary
definition of dictator as found in Webster's 1828 dictionary:
One who dictates; one who prescribes rules and maxims for the direction of others.
This, of course, is the definition that Brigham Young would have been familiar with. He
would not have been familiar with the pejorative use of the word that we associated with it today. This
definition is also consistent with the way that religious prophets lead their people. Yet,
Abanes tries to capitalize on our negative understanding of dictator, and somehow assert that
President Young was a political dictator. His use is not consistent with the then-common definition
of the word, or with the context in which the quote was used.
Written by Allen L. Wyatt
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