The Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument (also known as the Brigham Young Family Cemetery) is a private

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

and memorial. It is the burial site 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 ...

, and his legal, non-plural wife, Mary Ann Angell, along with other wives and family members. Part of the property was dedicated to the Mormon pioneers who died making the journey to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and other parts of the world between 1847 and 1869.

Burial site

The majority of graves in the cemetery are unmarked and prior to restoration work that began in the early 2020s, ground-penetrating radar was used, and 40-plus graves were discovered. The marked graves include: #

— an American leader 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 a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded

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 ...

, and he served as the first governor of the

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 ...

, United States. Young also led the founding of the precursors to the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

and

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. # Mary Ann Angell Young — the sister of Salt Lake Temple architect Truman O. Angell. Brigham's first wife died before he joined the Church. Mary was his second wife. She bore him six children. Brigham's first wife, Miriam Works, bore him two children before she died in 1832. # Eliza R. Snow — was sealed to

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, ...

. Following his death, she was sealed to Brigham Young for time. It was believed she did not have a connubial relationship with either prophet. She was one of the most celebrated Latter-day Saint women of the nineteenth century. A renowned poet, she chronicled history, celebrated nature and relationships, and expounded scripture and doctrine. #

Joseph Angell Young Joseph Angell Young (October 14, 1834 – August 5, 1875) was an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Young is one of the few Latter-day Saints in history to have been ordained to the office of apostle withou ...

— the first son of Brigham and Mary Angell # Alice Young Clawson — Alice Young Clawson was the 4th child of Brigham and Mary Ann Angell. # Lucy Ann Decker — Lucy Ann Decker was 20 when she became Brigham's first polygamous wife on June 14, 1842. She was previously married to and divorced from William Seeley. She was well organized and efficiently ran the Lion House. Her younger sister, Clarissa (Clara) Decker, became Brigham's 4th polygamous wife two years later, at age 16, and crossed the plains with him and her mother, Harriet Wheeler Decker # Mary Van Cott Young — wife number 51. She married her first husband, James Cobb, three months before being married to Brigham. Her father, John Van Cott, was well known and respected # Emeline Free Young — wife number 21.

Memorial park

An upper portion of the property was dedicated by N. Eldon Tanner as a memorial park to the Mormon pioneers on June 1, 1974, which was the 173rd anniversary of Brigham Young’s birth. The park was redesigned and restored in 2000. An additional redesign was done beginning in the early 2020s, and the park and cemetery was rededicated on October 22, 2022. The monument is open to the public daily. The sculpture '' All Is Well'' is installed on the site.

References

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External links

* {{Coord, 40, 46, 13, N, 111, 53, 8, W, display=title 1974 establishments in Utah Brigham Young Cemeteries in Utah Monuments and memorials in Utah Mormon cemeteries *Memorial Monument Properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Tourist attractions in Salt Lake City