Madsen, Brigham D.

Brigham Dwaine Madsen was born in Magna, Utah, on October 21, 1914, to Brigham Andrew and Lydia Cushing Madsen. In 1919, the family, which now included sisters Ann and Phyllis, moved to Pocatello, Idaho, where Dwaine, as he was then called, attended public schools, graduating from Pocatello High School in 1932. He remained in Pocatello and attended the University of Idaho, Southern Branch, from which he graduated with a Junior College Certificate in 1934. Shortly after receiving this certificate, Madsen served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to the East Central States, which included Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. He was appointed district president over the East North Carolina District in 1935.

In 1936 Madsen returned from his mission and entered the University of Utah, where he majored in history and minored in sociology. Harold Dalgliesh became a mentor, as did Andrew Love Neff, a former student of Herbert Eugene Bolton. While at the university he registered for a philosophy class taught by Waldemar Read, whom he remembered as "a wise and provocative liberal teacher" who "helped reduce some of the stuffed-shirt and superior inclinations" garnered from his missionary experience. In the spring of 1937, Madsen met Betty McAllister in a class in educational studies. By winter they had become engaged. In 1938, Madsen graduated from the University of Utah with a teacher's certificate. He returned to southeastern Idaho, where he accepted a position as both teacher and principal of the combined grade and high school in Pingree. In addition to teaching English, World History, Business Methods, Public Speaking, Algebra, and Geometry, Madsen coached the school basketball team and worked weekends in his father's construction business in Idaho Falls.

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