50 years ago
A statue of Brigham Young was unveiled and dedicated in the U.S. Capitol rotunda at Washington, D.C., in ceremonies June 1, 1950, according to the June 11, 1950, Church News.The article reported that prior to offering the dedicatory prayer, President George Albert Smith said: "The statue that has been unveiled, of Brigham Young, is being placed here to honor him and to honor the section of country that he helped to develop."
He continued: "It is a strange thing that he should be placed between two statues of Abraham Lincoln, a man that he knew in the State of Illinois before he led the people through the wilderness and the desert into the mountains and the valley of the Great Salt Lake."
The previous Sunday, President Smith also presided over the unveiling of a 12-foot granite monument to Brigham Young at Whittingham, Vermont, the birthplace of the second president of the Church. More than 1,000 people attended the ceremonies.