Historians
have grappled over Brigham Young’s deep-seated hatred for Lucy Mack Smith’s
book and have sought to find answers for why its existence angered him so much.
In one instance, Brigham ranted against a section in the book that seemed to laud
William Smith, Joseph’s younger brother, as a virtuous and saintly man. Young
scoffed at the notion and recounted a time when he heard William speak ill of
Joseph and wish death upon him (Joseph). William had also left the Church
following the death of Joseph and set himself up as the true successor to his
brother . Another possible reason for Young’s dislike of the book stems from its
alternative history of the Church that places the Smith family at the center of
the saga and deemphasizes the authority of the Twelve Apostles, and the
importance of temple ordinances, and plural marriage. It appeared that the
history would align nicely with the claims of the Reorganized Church,
spearheaded by Joseph Smith III, and could thwart Young’s prophetic claims. Because
Young was literally written out of Lucy’s history (except for noting his
conversion) and the doctrines promulgated by the Church in Utah were minimized,
the book could not continue its current course of publication without severe
modifications.
Brigham
Young was keenly aware of his place and importance in the Latter-day Saint
movement. From the beginning, he controlled the Church’s official histories and
worried about competing accounts of events. Many of his worries were justified
due to the explosion of schismatic groups that began cropping up almost
immediately after Joseph Smith’s death. Young desired for the Saints to know
that he had been chosen as God’s rightful heir to Smith’s prophetic enterprise.
One major way that he could assure that was to remind the Saints of his loyalty
and faith since the earliest days of the Church. This was accomplished by means
of one of Joseph Smith’s revelations that he received on Young’s behalf. (Brian C. Passantino, “Orson Pratt and the Expansion of the Doctrine and
Covenants” [MA Thesis; Utah State University,
2020], 47-48)