WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
but his community defended him against the officers of the law, and a serious conflict was prevented by his surrender to stand for trial. While Smith and a coreligionist were awaiting trial, a mob broke into the gaol and shot the two men. The new leader was the notorious Brigham Young, a mechanic, who was already a prominent figure in the sect. Young was a great organiser, a fluent and persuasive speaker, and extremely tactful and astute. He died worth several hundred thousand pounds. He had seventeen wives and over fifty children. To Amelia, his favourite wife, he left property and a handsome legacy, and all his wives were well provided for on his decease. Under the autocratic and, in some respects, wise rule of Brigham Young, the Latterday Saints grew into one of the finest communities of agriculturists and artisans that the modern world has seen. The early Mormons sent out missionaries into all parts of the globe. In Great Britain they secured many converts. There are now eighty-two Mormon churches in the United Kingdom. Settlers came from Germany, France, and other European countries, and a flourishing settlement was established in Utah. Young elected himself governor of the state, in spite of the Federal Government. A force was sent against the Mormons, led by an official governor appointed by the United States legislation. But the Mormons stoutly resisted the intervention.
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