The Brigham Young Winter Home and Office is a historic residence and museum located in St. George, Utah. Brigham Young was the foremost Mormon pioneer and second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), who led its members to the Utah Territory. As Young grew older, his arthritis precluded him from spending winters in the Salt Lake City region, so a winter home in St. George, in the arid Dixie region of Utah, was built for him. Young seasonally occupied the home and office from 1873 to 1876. The building was eventually deeded to the division of Utah State Parks and Recreation; it is now open as a museum where missionaries of the Church provide guided tours. History Brigham Young was a tradesman from Whitingham, Vermont who converted to the LDS Church in 1830. He joined with Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, in 1832 and moved the church's headquarters to Kirtland, Ohio. After the church relocated to Nauvoo, Illinois, Smith named Young to the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and then, in 1839, as the quorum president. In 1844, the residents of Nauvoo were split over the issue of plural marriage, leading to the arrest of Smith. A mob of men killed Smith while he was in Carthage Jail, resulting in the succession crisis. By the time Young became church president, tensions between the Mormons in Nauvoo and non-Mormons in nearby settlements was at a peak. In early 1846, Young left with most of the Latter-day Saints and headed west to establish a new settlement, away from persecution. When he arrived at the base of the Salt Lake Valley, he decided to create a permanent settlement, Salt Lake City. Young assigned groups of Latter-day Saints to settle nearby territories and communities, convert the natives, and provide infrastructure. St. George was a commissioned settlement in Utah's Dixie. Intended to be a cotton-growing colony, the region was noted for its warm temperatures, even in winter. As Young aged, he found that warm weather helped his arthritis. St. George settlers built a home and office for Young in 1871, and he frequently spent his winters there after a front extension was added in 1873. Young's presence motivated the locals to complete the St. George Temple, which Young himself dedicated in 1877. Young died on August 29, 1877, and willed the land to Judd