How Many Wives Did Brigham Young Have? Explaining Polygamy in Early Utah

Polygamy, or plural marriage, is one of the most debated and misunderstood aspects of Latter-day Saint history. Few figures in this history symbolize the practice more than Brigham Young, the second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the first governor of the Utah Territory. Young was known for his large, polygamous family. But how many wives did Brigham Young have, and why? To understand plural marriage as it was practiced by him and other early Latter-day Saints, it’s necessary to look at his life and choices in the wider context of 19th-century LDS society and belief.

Polygamy in Latter-day Saint Theology and Early Church History

The roots of Brigham Young wives and LDS plural marriage in general trace back to Joseph Smith reporting receiving divine revelation about it in the 1830s and early 1840s. Church members believe that through Joseph, God restored many ancient principles—including forms of marriage practiced in the Old Testament—for a period of time as part of the prophesied “restoration of all things.” The revelation now found in Doctrine and Covenants Section 132 provided the doctrinal foundation for Mormons and polygamy as a principle that would be practiced by some members during that era.

Polygamy was practiced privately by only a few members at first, as persecution was already threatening the Church. But by August 1852, plural marriage was publicly recognized as part of Church practice in Utah Territory, with even people outside of the LDS community knowing there was more than one Brigham Young spouse. While polygamy was not required for members, they were expected to acknowledge it as a divine principle.

Early Latter-day Saints saw polygamy within their faith as more than a social custom. They saw it as obedience to revelation and part of God’s plan to bless families and strengthen the Church.

Brigham Young’s Wives: Breaking Down The Numbers

One of the most common questions asked about this period of Church history is: How many wives did Brigham Young have?

Documented historical records show that Brigham Young was sealed to as many as 56 women during his lifetime. However, it’s important to note that Latter-day Saints at that time recognized different types of sealings that each had different expectations tied to them. Sealings “for time and eternity” are the same kind of sealings practiced by members in temples today, and entail a traditional marriage relationship in life that also continues after death. Sealings for “eternity alone” were practiced in the early Church, entailing connecting families in the afterlife, but usually with no traditional marital expectations during life. Other sealings in the early Church were sometimes performed to protect and provide for women whose first husbands had died. Brigham Young’s sealings fell into all these categories and were thus recognized differently depending on the source, so counting his exact number of wives can be complicated.

Young himself sometimes offered a more modest count when speaking to the media. For example, in 1859 he told the journalist Horace Greeley that he had 15 wives, adding that some of the women sealed to him were elderly and more like mothers than spouses.

Of the women he was sealed to, 16 wives bore him children, with around 57 children in total, though records vary slightly. Not all Mormon polygamy sealings involved conjugal relationships, and some were performed for reasons of protection rather than traditional marriage.

Polygamy as a Social and Religious Practice in Utah

While Brigham Young’s household was notable for its size, it was not representative of the typical Latter-day Saint family in the era of Mormons and polygamy. In fact:

• About two thirds of men who practiced plural marriage had only two wives at a time.
• At its peak, perhaps one-half of Utah Territory residents in 1857 experienced life in a polygamous household at some point as a husband, wife, or child. By 1870, that proportion declined to around 25–30 percent.

In practice, plural marriage shaped social life in several ways:

• It increased marriage opportunities for women in a frontier society where unmarried women might otherwise have faced economic hardship.
• It created extended family networks that helped strengthen communities that were geographically isolated and immigrant-rich.
• It also introduced emotional, financial, and logistical complexities for many families. Accounts from those who lived it show a mix of joy, sacrifice, and hardship.

Despite outside criticism—especially from the U.S. government, which passed laws against bigamy and plural marriage—many Latter-day Saints embraced the principle as part of their religious identity. 

The End of Polygamy and Its Legacy

The official end of Mormon polygamy came with the 1890 Manifesto issued by President Wilford Woodruff, which advised Latter-day Saints to comply with U.S. law and refrain from contracting plural marriages. After that, plural marriage was gradually discontinued and no longer condoned. By 1904, the Church fully prohibited new plural marriages anywhere, affirming that members who perform or enter into new plural marriages would be excommunicated. Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches monogamy as God’s standard for marriage.

Polygamy remains a sensitive and complex chapter in Church history—one that reflects both the faith convictions of early Saints and the challenges they faced in balancing religious obedience with broader societal norms.

Understanding Brigham Young in Context

The answer to how many wives did Brigham Young have, whether counted at 15, 56, or somewhere between, must be understood within the broader context of Latter-day Saint belief, the frontier society of 19th-century Utah, and the teachings of his time. Rather than seeing polygamy simply as a social oddity, many Saints treated it as an act of religious obedience—one that they believed brought blessings both in this life and the next.When viewed through that lens, polygamy in Utah becomes part of a larger story of faith, community building, and attempting to live what early Latter-day Saints regarded as divine instruction in difficult and often hostile circumstances.

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Mormonism Explained is a resource that was designed to provide objective and factual information about Mormonism, its history, doctrines, and policies. Our team of researchers consults experts and primary sources to present factual information on a variety of topics relevant to the Mormon Church.

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