After a careful examination of the Book of Mormon, Brigham Young entered a period of a year and a half with no opportunity of contact with the new religion that had produced it.
In the fall of 1831, some Mormon missionaries passed through Mendon, New York, where the Brigham Young family was living. His attitude toward their message was “watch and see.” They came back several months later and he found himself praying about the message they presented.
He subsequently traveled to Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada, to observe Mormon worship services and discuss this new religion. On Sunday, April 15, 1832, Brigham Young was baptized in his own mill stream, which was covered with ice. He was baptized by Eleazer Miller, a convert of only four months. His wife, Miriam, was baptized about three weeks later. Miriam passed away in September of that same year.
These images show the approximate site of the baptism on land once occupied by the Brigham Young home, shop and mill.