What Happened to Beards?

June 16, 2025

Picture this: you're flipping through old Church history books and suddenly you're face-to-face with some seriously impressive facial hair. Brigham Young's legendary whiskers. Joseph F. Smith's magnificent beard that could probably house a small bird. Heber J. Grant's distinguished mustache.

Alt text: A digitally altered painting featuring three older men with long white beards and serious expressions, all wearing suits and glasses. In the center figure’s beard, there is a small cartoon character, Woody Woodpecker, humorously embedded into the image. The background is a traditional oil painting style with muted tones.

Despite modern perceptions, American Latter-day Saints have not always been characterized as clean-shaven suburbanites. In fact, the seven Church Presidents after Joseph Smith all had facial hair! So what happened to beards?

When Beards Were Biblical (And Presidential)

The prevalence of facial hair seems deeply connected to cultural trends. Abraham, Noah, Moses, Lehi, and other ancient prophets are often depicted rockin’ some mighty beards, as that was common in ancient Israel. The biblical book of Leviticus instructed Israelite men not to “shave off the corner of their beard.” Today, many Haredi and Orthodox Jews continue this practice.

If we fast-forward in time, it seems early America was also having a beard moment. The first 15 U.S. presidents were all clean-shaven, unless you count unruly sideburns (looking at you, Martin Van Buren). But in the 1860s, Abraham Lincoln became the first President to sport a beard, ushering in the Golden Age of Beards. Then, from Ulysses S. Grant in 1869 to Grover Cleveland in the 1890s, every president had facial hair, with the popularity of beards in the United States peaking towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Big beards were out of style in the United States by the twentieth century. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft rocked some sizeable mustaches, but since 1913, the U.S. presidents have all been as smooth-faced as a new deacon.

A black-and-white collage of official portrait photographs of twelve U.S. Presidents from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. All are dressed in formal attire, with various facial hair styles typical of the era. — 16th to 27th U.S. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland (again), William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft.

The Church's Beard Days

President Brigham Young appears to have begun his bearded days sometime in the 1850s (so, before Lincoln made it cool). Perhaps Brigham started growing his beard to better fit his reputation as an “American Moses!” or maybe he just got tired of shaving. Either way, his successors followed suit.

While American culture was moving away from beards, Church leadership stayed true to their whiskers a bit longer. Joseph F. Smith, the prophet from 1901 to 1918, rocked one of the best beards of this dispensation.

As the son of Hyrum Smith, Joseph F. Smith was seen as one of the last “old school” leaders of the church, and his beard could be seen as following in the footsteps of his prophetic predecessors. He never shaved his beard, and national news coverage of President Smith led many to associate overgrown beards with Latter-day Saint men in general, the style even becoming a stock representation for Mormons in period political cartoons.

The next two prophets, Heber J. Grant and George Albert Smith, also maintained beards.

A sepia-toned historical photograph of three elderly men in formal 19th-century attire, standing side by side. All three have facial hair: the man on the left has a white beard and glasses, the man in the center has a long, full white beard and glasses, and the man on the right has short white hair and no beard. The background is a simple studio backdrop with soft lighting and a neutral tone. — The First Presidency in 1905: John Rex Winder, President Joseph Fielding Smith, and Anthon Hendrik Lund.

The Clean-Shaven Change

In 1951, the Church sustained its first clean-shaven prophet since Joseph Smith, President David O. McKay. Ever since then, every President of the Church has been clean-shaven.

Richard L. Evans was the last apostle with facial hair until he shaved his mustache in the mid-1960s. There is no known Church policy that prohibits Church leaders from having facial hair, but the clean-cut look has remained the norm.

A composite image featuring portraits of the presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, arranged in three rows in chronological order. The top row begins with Joseph Smith, the founding prophet, followed by Brigham Young and other early leaders in black-and-white or sepia-toned images. The second row continues with mid-20th-century leaders, transitioning from black-and-white to early color photography. The bottom row displays more recent church presidents in full-color photographs, ending with the current president, Russell M. Nelson. — Church Presidents: Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, Heber J. Grant, George Albert Smith, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson, Howard W. Hunter, Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, and Russell M. Nelson.

The BYU Factor

You may be familiar with Brigham Young University’s Dress and Grooming standards that require men to be clean-shaven, but this has not always been the case. As late as 1969, beards were acceptable on the Church school’s campus and even relatively common.

However, BYU President Ernest L. Wilkinson wasn’t a fan. In the 1960s, beards were seen as countercultural and often associated with the hippie movement and drug culture. In July 1969, beards got the boot.

The next BYU President was Dallin H. Oaks. In 1971, President Oaks said that the “rules against beards and long hair are contemporary and pragmatic.” He continued:

There is nothing inherently wrong about long hair or beards, any more than there is anything inherently wrong with possessing an empty liquor bottle. But a person with a beard or an empty liquor bottle is susceptible of being misunderstood.

The BYU beard ban has continued up to today, though mustaches (properly trimmed) are allowed.

A Bearded Future?

Beards aren’t bad, and no, your neighbor isn’t bad for not shaving. The official logo of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints depicts our Savior with a beard, and He’s perfect! What we're really seeing is how tradition, history, and culture shape everything from our grooming habits to our Sunday best.

What does the future hold for Latter-day Saint facial hair? Will we ever see Cosmo the Cougar with whiskers and a soul patch? Maybe a Gerrit Gong goatee at General Conference? While Church leaders are all clean-shaven now, perhaps it’ll grow on them.