Levi Edgar Young
Born: 2 February 1874
Called to Presidency of the Seventy: 6 October 1909
Died: 13 December 1963
Called to Presidency of the Seventy: 6 October 1909
Died: 13 December 1963
Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 3
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Young Woman's Journal, January 1917, Spirit in Which Tithing Should be Paid
Improvement Era, August 1952, Levi Edgar Young - President of the First Council of the Seventy
Improvement Era, October 1959, President Levi Edgar Young - Fifty Years of Service
Improvement Era, January 1964, A Scholar, A Gentle Man
Relief Society Magazine, February 1964, In Memoriam - President Levi Edgar Young
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Young Woman's Journal, January 1917, Spirit in Which Tithing Should be Paid
Improvement Era, August 1952, Levi Edgar Young - President of the First Council of the Seventy
Improvement Era, October 1959, President Levi Edgar Young - Fifty Years of Service
Improvement Era, January 1964, A Scholar, A Gentle Man
Relief Society Magazine, February 1964, In Memoriam - President Levi Edgar Young
Jenson, Andrew. "Young, Levi Edgar." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 3. pg. 798.
YOUNG, Levi Edgar, one of the first seven presidents of Seventies, was born Feb. 2, 1874, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Seymour B. Young and Elizabeth Riter. He was baptized in 1882 by Seymour B. Young and soon afterwards ordained to the lesser Priesthood. For several years he was prominently identified with educational work in the district and Church schools and also at the University of Utah. He was graduated from that university in 1895. The following two years he was engaged as a teacher in the Lowell school, Salt Lake City. He also taught two years in the L. D. S. College, and later went to the University of Utah, where he became instructor in history for two years. After being ordained a Seventy, June 18, 1897. by Seymour B. Young, he filled a mission to Europe in 1901-1904. He presided over the Swiss and Austrian Mission in 1902-1904. Soon after his return from Germany, in 1907, he married Valeria Brinton (daughter of Bishop David B. Brinton of Big Cottonwood and Susan Huffaker Brinton), who was born Dec. 13, 1878. This marriage has been blessed with three children, namely, Harriet Wollerton, Jane Seymour and Eleanor Brinton. After the death of George Reynolds Bro. Young was chosen and sustained as one of the first seven presidents of Seventies at the general conference held in Salt Lake City in October, 190 9. He was set apart to that position Jan. 23, 1910, by Apostle John Henry Smith in New York. Brother Young was educated in the public schools in Salt Lake City and in 1915 received his B. S. degree from the University of Utah. After that he spent two seasons in Harvard University and one year in Columbia, New York, doing graduate work in history. He holds the degree of M. A. from Columbia, and for his doctor's degree in philosophy his theses was the "Economic and social development of Utah under Brigham Young's leadership." He now holds the chair of American History at the University of Utah and is engaged in doing original research work in western American history. He is also spending much time in archeological work within the confines of the State. In 1916 he took charge of an exploring expedition in San Juan county, Utah, returning to Salt Lake City July 26,1916. Elder Young is president of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association (1919-20), is a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the American Historical Association, and the American Anthropological Association.
YOUNG, Levi Edgar, one of the first seven presidents of Seventies, was born Feb. 2, 1874, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Seymour B. Young and Elizabeth Riter. He was baptized in 1882 by Seymour B. Young and soon afterwards ordained to the lesser Priesthood. For several years he was prominently identified with educational work in the district and Church schools and also at the University of Utah. He was graduated from that university in 1895. The following two years he was engaged as a teacher in the Lowell school, Salt Lake City. He also taught two years in the L. D. S. College, and later went to the University of Utah, where he became instructor in history for two years. After being ordained a Seventy, June 18, 1897. by Seymour B. Young, he filled a mission to Europe in 1901-1904. He presided over the Swiss and Austrian Mission in 1902-1904. Soon after his return from Germany, in 1907, he married Valeria Brinton (daughter of Bishop David B. Brinton of Big Cottonwood and Susan Huffaker Brinton), who was born Dec. 13, 1878. This marriage has been blessed with three children, namely, Harriet Wollerton, Jane Seymour and Eleanor Brinton. After the death of George Reynolds Bro. Young was chosen and sustained as one of the first seven presidents of Seventies at the general conference held in Salt Lake City in October, 190 9. He was set apart to that position Jan. 23, 1910, by Apostle John Henry Smith in New York. Brother Young was educated in the public schools in Salt Lake City and in 1915 received his B. S. degree from the University of Utah. After that he spent two seasons in Harvard University and one year in Columbia, New York, doing graduate work in history. He holds the degree of M. A. from Columbia, and for his doctor's degree in philosophy his theses was the "Economic and social development of Utah under Brigham Young's leadership." He now holds the chair of American History at the University of Utah and is engaged in doing original research work in western American history. He is also spending much time in archeological work within the confines of the State. In 1916 he took charge of an exploring expedition in San Juan county, Utah, returning to Salt Lake City July 26,1916. Elder Young is president of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association (1919-20), is a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the American Historical Association, and the American Anthropological Association.
Jenson, Andrew. "Young, Levi Edgar." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 4. pg. 251, 385.
YOUNG, Levi Edgar, a member of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A. from 1913 to 1929. (See Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 798.)
YOUNG, Levi Edgar, president of the Swiss Mission from 1902 to 1904. (See Bio. Ency., Vol. 3, p. 798.)
YOUNG, Levi Edgar, a member of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A. from 1913 to 1929. (See Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 798.)
YOUNG, Levi Edgar, president of the Swiss Mission from 1902 to 1904. (See Bio. Ency., Vol. 3, p. 798.)
"Spirit in Which Tithing Should Be Paid." Young Woman's Journal. January 1917. pg. 57.
Spirit in Which Tithing Should be Paid.
Elder Levi Edgar Young says that while on a mission to Germany a few years ago, a certain sister came to him and laying some money on the table in a most disrespectful manner said: “Well here’s my tithing.” To which remark Elder Young replied, handing her back the money, “Sister, you haven’t paid your tithing.” The sister went her way, but a week later came back and again offered her tithing. “Sister, do you really wish to pay this for tithing?” With tears in her eyes she answered: “Yes, Brother Young.” The lesson had gone home—the sister realized that the Lord’s portion must be given with joy and gratitude for the privilege.
Spirit in Which Tithing Should be Paid.
Elder Levi Edgar Young says that while on a mission to Germany a few years ago, a certain sister came to him and laying some money on the table in a most disrespectful manner said: “Well here’s my tithing.” To which remark Elder Young replied, handing her back the money, “Sister, you haven’t paid your tithing.” The sister went her way, but a week later came back and again offered her tithing. “Sister, do you really wish to pay this for tithing?” With tears in her eyes she answered: “Yes, Brother Young.” The lesson had gone home—the sister realized that the Lord’s portion must be given with joy and gratitude for the privilege.
Durham, G. Homer. "Levi Edgar Young - President of the First Council of the Seventy." Improvement Era. August 1952. pg. 570-573, 612-615.
LEVI EDGAR YOUNG—SENIOR PRESIDENT FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY by G. Homer Durham CONTRIBUTING EDITOR AND HEAD OF POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Levi Edgar Young, senior president of the First Council of the Seventy, is a true disciple of the Lord, a neighbor in every meaning of the word, and a servant, conscientiously devoted to the sacred office he bears. In an age in which mankind evinces a tendency to fall into extremes, President Young is a living reminder that the destiny of God and man, religious and practical affairs, theological discourse and humanistic learning, are inextricably bound together. To enter his home, his office, or merely to stand in his presence is to feel his serenity of spirit—a serenity that is the result of simple, direct faith in God combined with a deep and cultivated outlook, indicative of Matthew Arnold's injunction that we should see life "steadily, and see it whole." He has a passion for human detail within this perspective. But although patient and kind, he entertains little respect for trivial matters or things that fall short of human dignity when there is such little time granted men in this probation in which to plumb the fundamental issues. President Young purposefully selected the broad field of history for study and reflection, particularly in its great cultural settings—perhaps the most difficult of all fields because of the wide variety and complexity of the subject matter. And yet, the demand and urgency for generalization here is of equal, if not greater significance, for the welfare of mankind, than the generalizations of natural science. Not every modern historian has the wisdom to reconcile science with religion. But President Young's life, in large sense, has been a symphonic effort to unify the streams —in the interests of the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, that its chances of acceptance by suffering humanity might be enhanced thereby. To exemplify, or even to make the effort to exemplify, the combined end products of the university idea and the Church of Jesus Christ as ideal institutions is no mean task. Those who would understand President Young had better attempt to understand this noble, lifelong effort. Man does not live by bread alone. Such an effort and such a life do not emerge by accident. Elder Joseph Young, his grandfather and a brother of the Prophet Brigham, was a Methodist minister; later, Senior President of the First Council of the Seventy, an office held by his son, Dr. Seymour B. Young, and in turn, by his grandson, Levi Edgar. To Joseph Young, in a revival meeting one day came his brother, Brigham, saying: "Come, Joseph, have found the word of God." The Young brothers, five of them, went to Kirtland and found the Prophet of the new dispensation, Joseph Smith. Grandfather Joseph Young nurtured the spirit of education, as did Brigham. His proposed library for the great Seventy's Hall of Science, although never completed, remains an inspiration in the Church to this day. Levi's father, Dr. Seymour B. Young, was graduated, third in his class, in medicine at New York, and was awarded the Valentine Mott Memorial Medal for skill in surgery in the Empire State in 1874. A few years ago, Julian Street, the celebrated American journalist, tells of a visit to Salt Lake City in his book entitled Abroad at Home. He was escorted about the city and during his sightseeing, he asked to meet a typical Latter-day Saint family and to be in a Latter-day Saint home. He was taken by President Young to the home of his parents, Dr. Seymour B. and Sister Young. During his visit, he had a conversation with them, and saw the beautiful rooms of the old home. Impressed as he was, he wrote a description of his experience which he had with this interesting family group. Mr. Street wrote: Mr. Young, more than eighty years of age, was a professional man with a degree from a large eastern university. He was a gentleman of the old school, very fine, dignified, and gracious, and there was an air about him which somehow made me think of a sturdy, straight old tree. As for his wife, she was one of the most adorable old ladies I have ever met. Very simply, she told me of the early days. Her parents had been well-to-do Pennsylvania Dutch, and had left a prosperous home in the East and come out to the West, not to better themselves, but because of their religion. She herself was born in 1847, in a prairie schooner on the banks of the Missouri River, and in that vehicle she was carried across the plains and through the passes to where Salt Lake City was then in the first year of its settlement. Some families were living in tents, but log cabins were springing up. Fancy the fascination that there was in hearing that old lady tell, in her simple way, the story of the early Mormon settlement. For all her gentleness and the low voice in which she spoke, the tale was an epic in which she herself had figured. She was a pioneer herself. How much she had seen, how much she had endured, how much she had known of happiness and sorrow! And now in her old age, she had a nature like a distillation made of everything there is in life. I did not wish to leave the house, and when I did, and when she said she hoped I would come again, I was conscious of a lump in my throat. That kind of lump which, once in a long time, will rise up in one's throat when one sees a very lovely, very happy child. As a boy, Levi Edgar Young possessed the characteristics which are so fully portrayed in his manhood: sincerity, simplicity, and sympathy with a fine sense of humor. His love of books was a very early passion of his life, but the beauty of nature and his natural talent for living kept his reading from making him one-sided. He has never lost sight of humanity. His motto today is, "Don't look back in the hope of gaining complacent self-respect from the road you have traversed." He never knows how to refuse a kindly act no matter what the cost to himself. He has great ideals, among them the beautiful lines from Micah: "... to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." (Micah 6:8.) An early love for the scriptures and for the classics was engendered in Levi Edgar Young, fourth in his father's family of twelve children. With delight, President Young recalls his early study of Latin, inspired by his father's love of reading Caesar's Commentaries. A lifelong devotion to the pioneer American university west of the Missouri, the University of Utah, also found early inspiration in the fact that Seymour B. Young, as a lad of thirteen, attended the early sessions of the then "University of Deseret" in 1850. Levi Edgar Young was born at Salt Lake City, February 2, 1874, the son of Seymour B. and Ann Elizabeth Riter Young. His mother was the daughter of Levi Evans Riter and Rebecca Dilworth, the latter a sister of Mary Jane Dilworth, celebrated as Utah's first schoolteacher. The son, destined to extend the family tradition of leadership among the seventy into the third generation, was a child of promise. He was graduated from the University of Utah in 1895, and immediately upon graduation, began a career as professional scholar and teacher. First came a year of teaching at the Lowell School in Salt Lake City, 1895-96; then two years as professor of English at the L. D. S. University. In 1898 he entered Harvard University, and there followed a glorious season of study under three of the titans of American historical scholarship: Albert Busrmell Hart, Edward Channing, and Ephraim Emerton. Also, at Harvard, the young Latter-day Saint scholar came under the stimulating influence of one of the all-time American academic great men, Professor William James. James paid the Utahn the singular honor of inviting him to his seminar, to address the group on Mormonism. The great psychologist introduced him as "a friend" and as a "close relative of Brigham Young." Following a forty- minute presentation, Professor James and the Harvard graduate students kept the young man busy for nearly two hours, answering questions. Upon returning to Salt Lake City in 1899, President Young was appointed assistant in the department of history at the University of Utah. Thus began an association, extending over forty years, of professional service at his state university, and he has continued this service since his retirement as head of the department of history and political science in 1939. Meantime, the young man's life had been filled with busy Church activity. On June 18, 1897, he was ordained to the office of seventy under the hands of his father, President Seymour B. Young. After two years at the University, in 1901, he was called to the German Mission, laboring in Dresden and Leipzig for that year. In December 1901, President Francis M. Lyman, presiding officer of the European Mission, called a great missionary conference in Berlin. As a consequence, in June 1902, Elder Levi Edgar Young was called to serve as president of the Swiss Mission for the Church, with headquarters at Zurich, Switzerland. The mission area embraced the south of France and northern Italy in addition to Switzerland and Austria. Here, one of the youngest mission presidents of the restoration era, he conducted the affairs of the organized branches of the Church, including the activities of a contingency of missionaries, sixty or more in the field from time to time. It is of more than passing interest to recall that Elder Albert E. Bowen of the Council of the Twelve, and the Honorable Charles R. Mabey, former governor of the state of Utah, served as missionaries with President Young, the former as mission secretary. Seizing an opportunity afforded by the fact that Mr. Hayden Coffin of the Players' Club, London, had been a guest and friend of Dr. Seymour B. Young in Salt Lake City, President Young made an appearance before that interesting and distinguished group, during his mission days in Europe, addressing them on the subject of "The Salt Lake Theatre." Here he met the great Shakespearean artist, Sir Henry Irving, and Cyril Maude, with other great artists, who became lifelong friends and were often to visit in the Young home at 555 East South Temple Street, Salt Lake City. To mention the Levi Edgar Young home is to capture for our record a signal event and influence of his life. Returning from his mission in 1904, he resumed his work in the department of history at the University. June 12, 1907, he married Valeria Brinton. Sister Young has richly complemented her husband's talents and has made the Young home a place of serene and lovely memory to all who have crossed its threshold. In the home are refinement, culture, and exquisite taste, coupled with a gracious simplicity and manner of putting all comers at their ease, rich or poor, great or small. The Youngs have three lovely daughters, Harriet (Mrs. Mitchell Kline of Bluemont, Virginia), Jane Seymour (Mrs. Rulon Wells Rawson of New York City), and Eleanor (Mrs. Harris O. Van Orden of Smithfield, Utah). A life devoted to education and to Church service cannot be dissected into its component parts; all are part of the whole. Nevertheless, certain things are expected of college professors— such as answering unending calls for talks and appearances from clubs, women's circles, groups of all sorts, with little thought or concern on the part of the group for the time, labor, and routine sacrifices placed upon the speaker. The same types of demands are made upon the General Authorities of the Church. When the two roles converge, as in the experience of President Young, only those who have had to meet this sort of demand can appreciate the strain imposed. In addition to this busy routine, his daily lot beyond regular work, President Young has found time and means during his service to the University of Utah to entertain—on be- half of both church, state, and the Utah community—numerous persons who have visited Salt Lake City. During much of this time, from 1922 to 1934, he was president of the Temple Square Mission and directly in charge of the Bureau of Information and its museum, which he treasured with discriminating care. Thus, the scores of distinguished persons who annually came to Utah on behalf of university functions, plus the untold thousands who sought out Temple Square as a tourist's mecca, combined to make the Young household, or wherever the head of the house happened to be, a veritable beehive of activity. A splendid article, "The Ancient Inhabitants of Utah," volume XXVII of Art and Archaeology, (March 1929) beautifully illustrated, is among the testaments of this effort. In 1938 the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain released and published Warren Dawson's researches into mummification in America, studying its relationship with mummification in the eighteenth and twenty-first Egyptian dynasties. In the article, President Young is extensively quoted. In 1931 President Young was honored with an invitation to serve on the advisory committee of the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts, held in New York City, and in 1926 he was recommended for election to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, an honor generally reserved to workers in natural science. He is serving on the national advisory council of the American-Christian Palestine Committee, and he has given years of service to the Salt Lake council of religious groups. Twice he has served as president of the latter. Constantly he insists on the promotion of "goodwill toward men" through that group, which, in an earlier day in Utah history, occasioned some bitterness for our people, albeit the majority group. In addition to what has already been said in this short space, the following deserves attention in connection with his university service. Through his knowing efforts, appreciating the ultimate historical values, the knowledge of the first site of the university in its 1850 home has been preserved and, because of President Young's long and painstaking efforts, preserved in the artistic handiwork of Mahonri Young. The John R. Park Memorial Building, known to thousands of alumni, was dedicated by his father, President Seymour B. Young; and Kingsbury Hall, now the cultural home of thousands, was dedicated by President Levi Edgar Young. Such events are the spiritual framework, one might say, of the daily grind that goes on inside the structure to prepare youth for the tasks of life. To fulfil the latter, books are required. Joseph Smith sent Oliver Cowdery to New York City for a wagonload of books. It was a great day in Kirtland, Ohio (as recorded in the Prophet's journal), when those books arrived to effectuate the School of the Prophets! Brigham Young sent Dr. J. M. Bernhisel east in 1850 on a similar mission. The latter wrote to the authors, editors, and publishers of the United States—a great circular letter—and from these fountainheads of information secured the titles for the Utah Territorial Library. In the struggle for the University of Utah to acquire a competence worthy of the sons and daughters of these pioneers, the need for an expanded library has always been great, and never more keenly felt than some forty years ago when the young scholar returned to his faculty post from studies at Columbia. The Pierce collection, including source materials on Utah, had slipped through the fingers of the regents, almost without trace, and had been eagerly purchased by Harvard University. Then, moved by some of the chagrin, no doubt, which accompanied this loss, the Shepherd Book Store garnered a second collection, largely built around Utah sources rapidly being lost. Failing constructive action from the university authorities (the old story—"lack of funds!"), young Professor L. E. Young took the dilemma by its horns. With a determined vigor, which his intimates and audiences are occasionally privileged to see, he called the proprietor and ordered the books on his own authority. Upon delivery to the university, President Kingsbury called Professor Young to his office: "By what authority did you do a thing like this?" "By the authority of the necessity of the people of Utah!" replied the teacher. Gravely concerned, but inspired by the conviction of his faculty member, President Kingsbury called a meeting of the executive committee of the Board of Regents: W. W. Riter, General Richard W. Young, and the noted Utah attorney, Frank B. Stephens. Trembling, too, in the meeting, sat Levi Edgar Young, facing what he properly thought was his dismissal—and a bleak future in view of his dreams. As the facts of the case developed, the demeanor of the board members became stern and severe. Suddenly, Mr. Frank B. Stephens stood on his feet and said: "Gentlemen, I propose a vote of thanks to Professor Young. He has shown us our clear duty and obligation as regents of the university. I also move we consider for him a well-deserved promotion." Thus the meeting which began in serious vein, so far as the subject of this story is concerned, ended in triumph—triumph for the cause of knowledge and the people of the state of Utah, who deserve books for their young people as well as does the Harvard library. Needless to say, the funds, although with some trial and difficulty, were ultimately found to clear the purchase. The university library today in addition bears many books carrying the gift inscription of the former head of its western history, and history and political science departments. The same loving care and foresight has been exercised by President Young as senior member of his Council, especially in his interest that the records of the quorums of the seventy of the Church might be carefully preserved. From these materials he is currently engaged in writing a history of the seventy. As one visits the Senior President of the First Council today, one is impressed with these many interests and accomplishments. His personal library of ancient and modern classics and Church works mirrors the same. Among them all, the memory of his mission presidency in the New England Mission, 1939-1942, burns exceedingly bright. Into this call he was able at once, and in a jurisdictionally- defined area, to direct the interests of his mature life. With the approval of the First Presidency, he obtained and purchased for the Church the famous Alice Longfellow home at Number 100 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Nearby is Harvard Yard; the Washington Oak; adjacent is the Henry W. Longfellow home. It was an ideal center for the mission headquarters. At the mission home there emanated each month from the president and his co-workers, "The New Englander," a house organ designed as means of communication. An ever-present need in organizational effort, the issue also was designed to convey the instructions of the presiding officer and, of great interest, a place (Letters from the Field,) where the techniques of actual missionary experience, of failure and success, could be reported and shared by all. It would be natural, too, for President Young to receive many invitations to speak at colleges during his stay in New England. Besides groups from next-door Harvard, he was able to meet with students from Mt. Holyoke, Tufts College, and many other institutions. Dinner with the Harvard history department was also a welcome occasion. But perhaps the item worthy of attention in these lines is the remarkable conference, planned and conducted by President Young in historic Plymouth, Massachusetts, during the week of July 24, 1941. This unusual affair was reported in the Boston papers. When the "mayor" — chairman of the board of selectmen — was approached, the municipal Memorial Hall was made available for the conference. With insight and good taste aimed at making lasting friendships, the leading Congregational minister of Plymouth was invited, and accepted the invitation, to be present at the afternoon session to offer the invocation. City officials and prominent women civic leaders were present on each of the four days. Thoughtful and kindly behavior characterized the entire proceedings. The result was that when the conference adjourned, the earlier preconference attitude of restraint and coldness had been replaced by warmth and friendships. Numerous invitations were presented for the conference to return. One of President Young's first acts, taken as mission president in New England, was in connection with the health of the members of the Church, and particularly of some of the children observed in the branches. From his father, man of medicine that he was, plus an interest of his own, sparked as a young mission president in Switzerland whence he attended the great Nuremberg conferences on health, President Young has always entertained much concern. The recognition of the Great Physician and the power of his servants to bless by administration was given unique outlet when one day a long distance telephone call, emergency in nature, came from Sir Gilbert Parker in New York City. The request was for President Young, an old friend, to come to New York to administer to Mrs. Parker, seriously ill. These are sacred occasions, intensely personal in nature. Reference is made here with the greatest respect for this fact, but with the knowledge that Sir Gilbert and President Young may not object to this testimony of a common faith in the power of God to bless. Not everything, obviously, can be told either about his life or the events of the New England Mission: Many a Utah youth, studying at Harvard, who came in for a blessing at crucial periods of study and examinations; the Baptist graduate students from Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, who came seeking help on Ph.D. dissertations on the Mormons; the prisoner in the Massachusetts State Reformatory, who was rehabilitated by visits in prison and by 614 preceding page) nurture at the mission home after being released in the custody of President Levi Edgar Young—this prisoner had no faith, no background, no inheritance; but he took a chance one day and wrote a letter to the mission office. This, when told, is one of the most thrilling of missionary experiences and reminds us of the great biblical allegory: "I was sick, and in prison, and ye visited me!" Since his return from New England, President Young has served as president of the Utah State Historical Society, his term extending over the great centennial year, 1947. A beautiful volume that makes the daily journals of some of the original pioneers of 1847 available to the reading public is only one evidence of his presidency of this society. His life and work as author, writer, Churchman, and loyal American citizen have continued to this day at quiet, dignified, but determined pace, supported faithfully by Sister Young. If the measure of a man can be roughly made from the effect he has on his fellows, this writer might offer the following evaluation. It is based, not on the most intimate acquaintance, but as one of his young fellow citizens and fellow Churchmen who has, at various times, received the "impact" of his personality; and who has, occasionally, received the compliment of a few moments of friendly communication—on the campus, after a meeting, in his home a time or two as a shy youngster in company with boys and girls, in the conference audience, in his office. It may add up to something approaching the stature and the contribution of President Levi Edgar Young: First of all, he has a profound faith that religion is the only thing which will hold this divided world to peace and justice, and accord salvation to our civilization. He fully senses, as a true historian, that all great creations of life whether political, social, or any other, cannot be made or built in a day or generation. Those great truths and principles of living which do not mean a lessening of the spiritual life but a clarification of it are of slow growth. Righteousness, to be made practical, takes a long time in the doing. He holds this profound thought: "That persons not intellectually bright, perhaps not even educated, are capable of living by something so advanced as the principles of the gospel. Yet that is a common phenomenon." "Faith and not wisdom is the key to the kingdom of heaven." He has stated his position repeatedly in the general conference sessions of the Church: "Joseph Smith is the most majestic figure of the modern age. He walked and talked with God and ushered in the new day which will bring the kingdom of God upon the earth. . . . "We have the age in which the Prophet Joseph Smith lived. He was undoubtedly the greatest character in history since the days of the Savior of the world. He re-established the divine principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the day in which we live. . . . "The supreme test of religion is revelation. No religion can be persuasive and convincing that does not rely upon and embody an authentic principle of revelation. Religion as a purely human product, valuable as it might be to human progress, has not the inner vigor to maintain a place of commanding power." Religion requires revelation. Next, he has an appreciation for men and for art in the broadest sense, and by means of it, an appreciation for our heritage. Who can ever hear him discourse on C. E. Dallin and the marvelous sculpture of the Angel Moroni, atop the pinnacle of the Salt Lake Temple, and ever view that monument of life in the same light again? And then, with more seeing eyes, to look deeper into the meaning of life, into man's sojourn in mortality and the ultimate significance of the gospel of Jesus Christ? One of Evan Stephens' hymns carries the title, "Sweet is the Peace the Gospel Brings." To a world in which the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life, in which serenity and assurance seem to be needed as never before, Levi Edgar Young is a solid, kindly example. For all of us who relish the ideal of eternal progress, and who require inspiration in the face of the illnesses and discouragements, physical and otherwise, of contemporary life, there is no better tonic than to hear this good man, in the rich experience of his years, declare in a firm voice and with an emphasis profound and reverent: "The Glory of God's Work!" |
President and Sister Young spend most of their free evenings at home in their library-living room.
President Young confers on worldwide mission problems with the members of the First Council of the Seventy. They are front row, left to right, Richard L. Evans, President Young, Antoine R. Ivins; back row, left to right, S. Dilworth Young, Oscar A. Kirkham, Bruce R. McConkie, and Milton R. Hunter.
The Salt Lake City Council of Jews, Catholics and Protestants, of which President Young is a member, holds meetings in Brother Young's office. Here he is shown with (left to right) Rabbi Adolph H. Fink of the B'nai Israel Temple, and Reverend W. F. Bulkley and Bishop Stephen Cutler Clark (deceased) of the Episcopal Church.
President Levi Edgar Young. The photograph was taken about 1940 when he was president of the New England States Mission.
President Young inspects one of his many rare books. His library contains upwards of five thousand volumes.
President Joseph Young, grandfather of Levi Edgar, who was senior president of the Council of the Seventy from the days of Kirtland
Ann Elizabeth Riter Young, mother of President Young, and daughter of Levi Evans Riter and Rebecca Dilworth.
Dr. Seymour B. Young, father of President Young, who for many years was also Senior President of the First Council of the Seventy.
Levi Edgar at the age of five.
Levi Edgar Young about 1898, when he was a teacher at the
L. D. S. University. Valeria Brinton Young, wife of President Young, at play with two of their daughters.
President and Sister Young's three daughters in their early childhood; left to right, Harriet, Jane, and Eleanor.
|
Zobell, Albert L., Jr. "President Levi Edgar Young - Fifty Years of Service." Improvement Era. October 1959. pg. 742-743.
President Levi Edgar Young Fifty years of Service by Albert L. Zobell, Jr., Research Editor Five decades, a full half-century, is a long span in a man's life. This October conference time, President Levi Edgar Young, senior president of the First Council of the Seventy, completes that length of service as a member of the presiding councils of the Church. He was called a member of the First Council of the Seventy on October 6, 1909. He was in the East at the time, on sabbatical leave from the University of Utah, pursuing his own academic studies, and he was not set apart for his office until January 23, 1910, when Elder John Henry Smith of the Council of the Twelve was in New York City. President Young's has been a lifetime of study, a lifetime of aiding others with their studies. He was born in Salt Lake City, February 2, 1874. As a youth, he remembers establishing a lending library in the old Twelfth Ward School, where he lent books to his friends at a flat fee of five cents a volume. He was graduated from the University of Utah in June 1895, and taught in Salt Lake City. In 1897 and 1898- 99 he studied at Harvard University. (It was the practice for the Church in those days to set apart selected young people as missionaries before they went away to study, and so Elder Young was called as a missionary.) In 1899 he joined the faculty of the University of Utah as an Assistant in the Department of History, beginning an association at that university extending forty years. He closed his academic teaching career in 1939 as professor of Western History and head of the Department of History and Political Science at the University of Utah. He holds the title of professor emeritus of history there. He was called to labor in the German Mission in 1901. The following year he was appointed president of the Swiss Mission which then included part of France, northern Italy, and all of Switzerland and Austria. Of his early experiences as a member of the General Authorities, President Young has said: "I remember many times when I hurried from my last class on Friday afternoon to catch a train. I would travel to a stake conference assignment, get on a train for the return trip Sunday evening, and arrive just in time to teach my first class on Monday morning." For twelve years, from 1922 to 1934, he presided at the Temple Square Mission. During that time he selected several beautiful quotations that are lettered on the walls at the Bureau of Information. "The glory of God is intelligence" and "Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom" are two taken from the Doctrine and Covenants. During the summer of 1924, he studied at McGill University, Montreal; and at Laval University, Quebec. He spent many weeks making a study of the old French manuscripts pertaining to early American history. He served as president of the New England Mission of the Church from 1939 to 1942. Serving as a churchman he accomplished much good by making himself at home with the scholars amid the institutions of higher learning in New England. President Young possesses one of Utah's largest collections of books. He loves to study books; he loves to write them; and his books will eventually be shared with the Church Historian's office, the State Historical Society, and the University of Utah. All of these—and many more—have been recipients of his generosity with books over the years. He is widely known and respected as the author of numerous writings on western Americana. Presently, he is serving as a member of the National Advisory Council of the American Christian Palestine committee. For a near lifetime he has joined with the religious leaders of the nation in their efforts to understand each others' purposes and goals. This is a brief word picture of a scholar who daily studies and writes and learns. Fifty years is a long time for a man to give of himself in one of the great leadership positions of the Church. Still, it is but a tradition in the Young family. President Levi Edgar Young's grandfather, President Joseph Young, was one of the first of the brethren to be chosen as president of the First Council of Seventy by the Prophet Joseph Smith, February 28, 1835, at Kirtland, Ohio. President Joseph Young served as senior member of that Council beginning in April 1837, until his death in Salt Lake City, July 16, 1881. President Seymour B. Young, the son of President Joseph Young, was called as a member of the First Council of the Seventy at the October 1882 general conference. In April 1892 he became the senior member of the Council, serving until his death at Salt Lake City, December 15, 1924. His son, President Levi Edgar Young has served in that same capacity since May 1941. President S. Dilworth Young, a grandson of President Seymour B. Young and a nephew of President Levi Edgar Young, was called as a member of the First Council of the Seventy at the April 1945 general conference. Four men of one family have given more than 152 years of service as members of the First Council of the Seventy of the Church in a period extending back to the time when the seventies were first organized in this dispensation by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Three of those men, grandfather, father, and son, served as the senior member of the First Council for a total of more than ninety-four years! And that is not all. Another son of President Seymour B. Young was Elder Clifford E. Young who served as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve from April 1941 until his death, August 1958. President Levi Edgar Young lives quietly on East South Temple with Mrs. Young, his companion of more than fifty-two years. Together they share many happy hours, various interests and activities. Three daughters make their family circle: Harriet (Mrs. Mitchell Kline); Jane (Mrs. Rulon Rawson); and Eleanor (Mrs. Harris Van Orden). |
President Levi Edgar Young finds work, study, and reflection at his office.
|
Young, S. Dilworth. "A Scholar, A Gentle Man." Improvement Era. January 1964. pg. 16-20, 39-42.
A scholar, a gentle man President Levi Edgar Young, senior member of the First Council of the Seventy, completes his earthly service in his ninetieth year. FEBRUARY 2, 1874 - DECEMBER 13, 1963 BY PRESIDENT S. DILWORTH YOUNG OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY On the second day of February, 1874, at two o'clock in the morning, the fourth child and second son was born to Dr. Seymour B. and Ann Elizabeth .Riter Young. Dr. Young, not having finished his medical training at New York University Medical School, was not at home. The newborn son was three weeks old before his father held him in his arms, just after his arrival home on February 28. With childhood pride the infant's brothers and sisters, Seymour B., Jr., Lillie, and Florence crowded around him, vying to attract attention and tell what they knew of the new arrival, soon to be blessed and given the name of Levi Edgar, after his maternal grandfather Levi E. Riter. Dr. Seymour B. Young, who had already had his share of adventure, was born in Kirtland, Ohio, October 3, 1837. In Missouri he was carried as an infant in his mother's arms to safety, hiding in the hazel brush at Haim's Mill where seventeen were massacred. As a boy he crossed the plains with the pioneers of 1850, having endured the privations at Nauvoo and Winter Quarters. Later as an active, wiry young man, he pushed a handcart east across the plains to Winter Quarters on his way to England as a missionary (this was the return journey of the first handcarts used in the westward trek) in the spring of 1857. On this journey the murderer of Parley P. Pratt was pointed out to him in St. Louis. During the Civil War he served with Lot Smith's cavalry, guarding the telegraph lines against Indian attack. In 1870 he accompanied his father Joseph Young on a missionary journey to England, which lasted several months. And at the birth of Levi Edgar he had just completed two school years at New York University, where he was awarded his medical degree with honors. Meanwhile, Ann Elizabeth Riter had many adventures to occupy her while she was growing up. Her birth had taken place in 1847 in a wagon box on the journey to Utah. She grew up amid the pioneer conditions of the day. The old cabin in which she lived as a child was still standing in the yard of her brother W. W. Riter as late as 1930. After her marriage to Seymour B. Young she was the support of her growing family while her husband was in England with his father, and later attending school in New York. It is true that he went hungry much of the time while in college and lived in a garret without heat, keeping warm by sitting in bed, wearing a fur coat, fur cap, and mittens, while studying. Although he had only one mouth to feed, she had four, and she did it by taking boarders and making buckskin gloves to sell to emigrants, passing through the Salt Lake Valley. Dr. Young hung out his shingle at an office located directly in front of the old Seventies Hall, 155 South State Street, and for another six months had so little practice that he was no support to his family. His first case was a severed artery caused from a fall on the ice. He sutured the wound and charged $1.00 as a fee. Six months later he was doing better, having been appointed city physician to the insane asylum and hospital and further as a personal physician to President Brigham Young. The little adobe home in which Dr. Young settled his family stood on a lot at 48 South 4th East, Salt Lake City. Before the birth of Levi, plans had been made and work started on the large two-story adobe house on the same lot which was the family home for the next fifty-two years. Levi Edgar's chief memories center in the big house. From Levi's childhood, standards were held high in his home. As she could, Elizabeth Riter Young acquired walnut furniture of fine quality. She added silver plate and sterling, matching these with linen tablecloths of purest sheen. Since she knew quality, she meant to see that her children were reared in quality surroundings. Much of this was done with her own savings from household expense, for she was a financial genius and managed to create an estate that served the family for many years. Dr. Young meanwhile, his income increasing until after his call to the First Council of the Seventy, aided and abetted the enterprise. The books, the pictures on the walls, the evenings of family entertainment and discussion were happy affairs for him, when he could be home. The first twenty years of the life of Levi Edgar Young occurred during the troublous times of the difficulties with the government—territorial and national. Dr. Young was away from home most of the time, and it was a good thing Levi Edgar had a mother of strong character and determination, having the ability to create the means to back her decisions. One of her strongest desires was to see that Lee, as the family called him, had the education he desired. Early he had shown a propensity for study and books, and his mother fostered this tendency. During the maturing period of his life while she was rearing a family which totaled by 1895, twelve children, Elizabeth centered the family discipline around the proposition that nothing must interfere with the education of Levi Edgar. Not that each child didn't receive education, but Lee must not be disturbed in his efforts. Levi Edgar attended the old Twelfth Ward School. Later, after his graduation from the university, he was made a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, one of two men in the nation to be so honored. ( The other was Grover Cleveland.) For a year he taught school at the old Lowell School and then went to Harvard University for a summer, followed the next season by a year at that university. He taught for a season at the LDS University. While employed as an instructor at the University of Utah, he obtained a leave of absence to accept a mission to Germany. He sailed from Boston on the SS New England, July 17, 1901, as a second cabin passenger. His mission was one of the greatest "schools" he could have attended. In the eastern part of the United States, people of means sent their newly graduated children for a season in Europe, varying from a few months to a year or two. A person was not considered educated until he had seen Europe's great works of art and architecture, learned a foreign language, and mingled with its people. The missions of the Church have given this opportunity to its missionaries, rich and poor alike. While the purpose has not been personal cultural improvement, yet one could not fail to absorb a great deal of European culture by dwelling in a country for the period of a mission. Actually he saw more of how the common people lived than by any other means. The mission of Levi Edgar Young came at a time when there was much persecution in Europe. Many missionaries were arrested and imprisoned. All were badgered and irritated by the authorities. Permission had to be obtained to go tracting. There were few meetings held that did not have as attendants either known detectives or officers posing as civilians. Much of the time permission was withheld to go tracting, to proselyte publicly or privately. Meetings could be held only by permission, and permission was often withheld. Elders violating these regulations were jailed and sometimes expelled from the country. President Levi Edgar Young was jailed in his turn, and but for the efforts of Bishop Glass of the Catholic Diocese of Utah, would have been in jail longer than he was. At Berlin President Francis M. Lyman gave Elder Young a powerful blessing, which President Young reports: "I was to learn the German language quickly and fluently; and I was to become remarkable in it. He afterwards told me to study hard and become a good interpreter in order to become a help to him." During the period of his intense study of German in Gotha, he found time to remember his sister Elma's birthday. His love for his sisters could not be restrained as in homesick eloquence he reminded himself of his affection. "I wish I could go to her and tell her how much I love her. God bless her with the happiest of lives." In 1964, of the sisters now living, Elma, the eldest, is in her eighties. When asked what she remembered best about her brother, she said that his constant, kind consideration and anxiety for her as a young girl was her best remembrance. "Lee was the best of brothers. He was ever thoughtful of us and went out of his way to make us happy with gifts and by sharing all of his pleasures with us." Another reminder from home came in the shape of his trunk. "My trunk came this afternoon and everything in it was o.k. It hadn't been opened since I left home. It takes mother to pack a trunk; and father to rope one." Elder Young was appointed to preside over the Swiss Mission, June 1, 1902, and from then until his return home date he was busily engaged in the work of supervision of Saints and elders. One of the highlights of his mission was a visit to a conference at Copenhagen at the call of President Francis M. Lyman of the European Mission. Here he met many friends, received valuable instruction from President Lyman, and returned to his field refreshed. Among other elders, he was closely associated with Albert E. Bowen, later of the Council of the Twelve, who acted as mission secretary during Elder Young's presidency of the Swiss Mission from 1902 to 1904. Another valuable experience while in Europe was an appointment to represent the State of Utah at the first International Congress on School Hygiene held at Nurnberg, Germany, April 4-9, 1904. His return home signaled the resumption of an acquaintance with Valeria Brinton. They were married June 12, 1907. Three children were born to them: Harriet (Mrs. Mitchell Cline), Jane (Mrs. Rulon W. Rawson), and Eleanor (Mrs. Harris Van Orden), all are living today. The year 1910 saw the Young family in New York on sabbatical leave from the University of Utah. At Columbia that year Professor Young received his master's degree in history. His specialty was western history, and he pursued it vigorously, becoming an articulate authority on the subject. In 1924 he spent a season at McGill University and Laval University in Montreal, reading and studying old French manuscripts dealing with the settlements of North America. His stay in New York was highlighted by his appointment as a member of the First Council of the Seventy. After the sustaining vote in the October 1909 conference, Elder John Henry Smith, of the Council of the Twelve, journeyed east and set him apart in New York on January 23, 1910. On his return he was instructed by President Joseph F. Smith to continue his teaching position at the University of Utah. This he did until 1938, when he was called to be president of the New England Mission. His pattern while at the university was to teach his classes, spend the late afternoon with seventies work, and go to quarterly conferences on weekends. This was interspersed in later years with tours of the various missions in the United States. He became the head of the Department of Western History at the university in 1927. In addition to this assignment he took over the archaeological work of this department. He was instrumental in cementing friendly and happy relations with many who had opposed the Church. This work resulted in an invitation to write on the history of Utah and of the Church for the LDS Church centennial edition of the Salt Lake Tribune. Following the publication of the article in a special edition at the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Church, President Young became an adviser to the Tribune on the LDS viewpoint, and he had a large influence in shaping editorial writing. He wrote many articles for this newspaper, interpreting the Church and building goodwill. During this time he presided over the Temple Square Mission from 1922 until 1935, improving its museum and serving the strangers within our gates. The list of famous people who enjoyed the hospitality of his home and dinner table is a formidable one. A visitor who became one of his closest friends was Admiral Richard E. Byrd, who told him of his plans for exploring the South Pole. In his list were politicians, ministers, statesmen, authors, historians, each with his place in the sun but willing to obtain a more accurate idea of the Latter-day Saints. Elder Young was appointed to represent the Church on the local ministerial association of the Protestants and Jews. His conciliatory attitude during these years gained many friends and served to reduce prejudice. This friendship led indirectly to the opportunity to purchase the mission home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 100 Brattle Street, bordering Longfellow Park. There was distinct opposition from the ministerial association there, but his connection with the Utah group gave him entree to that rather austere, conservative, and formal Cambridge association, and the members there became his friends. He was able to persuade them to withdraw their opposition, after which the purchase was consummated. While presiding over the mission in New England he attended Harvard, was given special invitation to all lectures and programs and was provided with a special reading room at the Widener Library of the university. He was also successful in making friendship with influential men which aided to erase prejudice. While presiding over this mission, he gained an almost reverential attitude toward New England, for here was the place where much of the history of this country was made. He felt that this call to serve the Church as mission president in 1938 was a fitting climax to his years of service at the University of Utah. His ancestors came from Massachusetts, and his paternal great-grandfather had been a revolutionary soldier. The historical sites of great events were visited, noted, commented upon, and their lessons taught to all who came within his influence. To him the ground was hallowed by the patriots in much the same way that the trials and the struggles of the Utah pioneers hallowed and made sacred forever the scenes of their struggles. Nothing would disturb him more than to hear someone accuse the early Utah settlers of being uncouth and uncultured. Forced to give up their cultural attainments on being driven from their homes three separate times, he loved to tell how under such circumstances their dignity was maintained, education sought, manners taught, and the things which fed the mind, soul, heart, and spirit were practised in spite of almost insurmountable obstacles. A log cabin did not mean to him that its builders were uncouth. Levi Edgar Young is a defender of this viewpoint and with good reason. One had but to leave the dignified family library with its walnut bookcases filled with great books of all time, its cheerful hardcoal burner in the center of the room, and walk through the dining room with its walnut sideboard gleaming with a silver service, out into the yard; thence, through the back gate into Uncle Billy's yard where one could skirt a log cabin 10 x 16 with a slab roof. In this cabin Levi Riter had lived with Grandma Rebecca Dilworth Riter, and here Elizabeth had been reared in the primitive poverty of the pioneer; yet with the dignity of the civilized and cultured convert. This was his theme, and he played it, spoke it, loved it, proved it. All of us are more keenly aware of the quality of the Utah Pioneers because Levi Edgar Young raised his voice and lifted his pen in defense of them as he knew them. He was proof of it—he had been raised by pioneers from poverty to cultural life. As the researcher reviews the seemingly endless stream of articles, essays, and doctrinal dissertations which this man has produced, he comes to realize that here is an artist who paints the joys and sorrows of his people with words—and their ideals too. Reading his textbook, The Founding of Utah, lifts one to want, almost, to be a pioneer. Browsing through the many articles he wrote for The Deseret News Seventy page, one is enriched by historical background for our way of life which he learned from extensive reading and wide travel. He took pride in declaring that he had read more good books than any man on the university campus. Though a prolific reader, he was equally prolific in sharing his knowledge. The writer has talked to many who were his students and has yet to hear one say that the classes Elder Young taught were stale or lacking in interest. It wasn't a matter of Custer being outnumbered and rubbed out on the Little Big Horn. One was present at the war dance the previous night and got the feel of Gall and Crazy Horse, as Sitting Bull built up the fervor to stand up to the "long swords" who would destroy them and their families. One was made to feel sad for Little Hair when Rain in the Face cut out his heart, but, too, he was half glad that the doughty Sioux got his revenge. One reads, too, in his articles and responds equally to the song of the Ute mother to her little one, or the cradle hymn of the pioneer woman; of the crossing, too, of the Colorado on the piebald ponies to meet Jacob Hamblin, or the turning over of the state government to Alfred Cumming by Brigham Young in 1858. He wrote ward teaching lessons for Ensign Stake. He wrote textbooks on the Old and New Testaments for the Seventy. But he wrote best about the heart of his people and the things which made hearts beat faster with pride and love for this place of refuge in the mountains. He didn't say it as tersely as did Isaiah, but the theme was the same: "And it shall come to pass that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains . . . and all nations shall flow unto it . . . "And we shall learn of his ways." (See Isa. 2:2-3.) It would not be just to pass by his relationship to his family. One and all, his brothers and sisters speak of his concern for them, which he constantly exhibited. And, one and all, his nieces and nephews would shout with joy whenever he appeared among them. He was a prime entertainer. Has anyone ever heard him imitate various well-known characters who lived in our childhood, or in recent times for that matter. He was a great mimic. He caught the chief characteristics of those he saw and delineated these strong points with happy imitation. We have laughed ourselves breathless at his theatrical antics. We have been seated in subdued attention, our throats aching while he told of the great monuments, shrines, literature, and art of Europe. He could take a painting and make the viewer feel the emotions of those who were painted as well as those of the painter. The canvas would spring to life, and many things we thought of hardly at all became beautiful because he showed us their beauty. "Beautiful" had special meaning for him. There are those of us today who thank him for inspiring us to read better books than we could digest and raising us to ever higher levels. Yet, he never spoke above us. He assumed we were his age and took us into his confidence as though, actually, we were. In a family gathering with the conversation hitting high on cultural things, if a six-year-old interrupted with a question or a comment, it was treated by Uncle Lee as though the child were an adult. This is a common trait of all of our aunts and uncles, but Uncle Lee had it better developed, perhaps, because he was better informed. Every child felt important to the family—and equally important to Uncle Lee. The writer of this article when at age 10, shortly after the marriage of Uncle Lee to Valeria Brinton, decided to go calling on them for supper. So about 4:00 pm he walked to the Young house. He was admitted without a question, a case of books called his attention, and when Uncle Lee came home, supper was had with the conversation carefully geared to his level. Uncle Lee discussed Horatio Alger as seriously as Dickens, Poe, or Goethe. There was no feeling of being not wanted, but rather one of "You grace our home by your presence." The author has never forgotten the occasion. What did President Young think in his 90th year? He came to his office two or three times a week, opened his mail, revived old memories with old friends at the Lion House, told stories of his association with famous men, saw the picture of President J. Golden Kimball on the wall and remembered an anecdote of this famous seventy and humorist. These were the outward appearing things. But inwardly? How does one measure the good done in fifty-four years as a member of the First Council of the Seventy, twenty or so of them as its senior president? What memory can conjure up the quarterly conferences he attended, the spread of time covering from a slow trip in a white top wagon or a buggy, to recently a trip to New York by fast airplane? He may have mused over the fact that only two of his living brethren have served longer, President David O. McKay and President Joseph Fielding Smith. He had known each President of the Church since Brigham Young and knew him by association with those who did. He had known every apostle appointed since 1870, and some who lived before. He had known every senior president of the Seventy, for he remembered well his Grandfather Joseph Young, who in 1835 became the first senior president. He had the satisfaction of having been given honors from men in abundance and to have been a member of educational, religious, and scientific societies, and had a hand in the committee to establish the Jews in their homeland. He looked with satisfaction over his work in the Utah Historical Society and its recognition of his contributions with a life membership. He was interested, not so much in the facts of the gospel—the day by day occurrences—as he was in the lift of the gospel to the human spirit. Theology to him was not a science, it was an art, with all of the spiritual feeding which comes to an artist. Each of us who has known him may try to place a value on what he has meant to us-. It can't be done, for just as we think we have balanced the sheet some new memory forces us to see further his influence on us. His Alma Mater, the University of Utah, tried to put into words and action that influence when it bestowed on him the degree of Doctor of Humanities in 1960. He accepted the accolade with humility and grateful dignity. Dr. Young! His father had been Dr. Young. He kept the title to his breast against the day when he would meet his father once more, gentle smile meeting gentle smile. They were much alike, these too, each in his way, pioneering the good things, eschewing the evil, trying not to harm any man, loving the gospel, practising its precepts, and presenting to the world the gentle smile of the born gentle man. |
Dr. Seymour B. Young, father,
Ann Elizabeth Young, mother
Office force of Swiss and German Missions, 1904-
German Mission—Hugh J. Cannon, president; Joseph Keeler, secretary; Quayle Cannon, assistant secretary. Swiss Mission—Levi Edgar Young, president; Albert E. Bowen, secretary; Richard Andrew, assistant secretary. President Levi Edgar Young about the time of his return from the mission field.
Valeria Brinton Young, June 1895, graduate and valedictorian, University of Utah.
Title page of The Founding of Utah, a favorite
among President Young's published works. This textbook was well-received, largely because of the number of human interest stories which he included within its pages. The Young home at 555 East South Temple, taken in December 1963. President and Mrs. Young have made this their home for many years. In this gracious dwelling, they have entertained their many friends. In addition to the spacious rooms, President Young had a remarkable library, which, in addition to his innumerable volumes in his office at the Church headquarters, assisted him in his historical and religious research.
|
"In Memoriam - President Levi Edgar Young." Relief Society Magazine. February 1964. pg. 90.
IN MEMORIAM President Levi Edgar Young of the First Council of Seventy February 2, 1874 — December 13, 1963 President Levi Edgar Young, senior President of the First Council of Seventy, died December 13, 1963. Well loved and much respected, President Young had been a member of the Council since 1910, carrying forward a legacy of service received from his faithful forebears. Both his father, Seymour B. Young, a noted physician, and h i s grandfather, Joseph Young, a brother of President Brigham Young, lived to be senior presidents of the First Council of Seventy. Throughout his life President Young was devoted to scholarship and education. He was graduated from the University of Utah in 1895, and immediately began a teaching career that continued, alternately with mission calls, for most of his life. He served as professor of English at the Latter-day Saints University in Salt Lake City, and later, while attending Harvard University, he became deeply interested in history and was a noted scholar and authority, particularly in the field of western history. He taught history at the University of Utah for forty years. He was president of the Utah State Historical Society for many years, and in recognition of his contributions to research, and writing and teaching of history, he was given the signal honor of membership in the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a distinction usually reserved for natural scientists. He labored as a missionary in Germany, and in 1902 was named President of the Swiss Mission, becoming one of the youngest mission presidents to serve in the Church. From 1922 to 1934 he was President of the Temple Square Mission and for three years he presided over the New England Mission. The General Board and members of Relief Society in all the stakes and missions of the Church extend sympathy and sisterly love to President Young's family — his wife Valeria Brinton Young, and his three daughters: Harriet Y. Kline, Jane Y. Rawson, and Eleanor Y. Van Orden, and to the grandchildren and other relatives and friends. President Young has left a resplendent heritage of faith and good works to his family and to the Church. |