Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home

In the Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home, visitors hear stories about Brigham Young’s leadership in Nauvoo as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They also learn details about the family’s home life in Nauvoo, their decision to leave their home and city behind, and their efforts to prepare for a new life in the West.

This brick home was the Young family’s second home in Nauvoo. The first Nauvoo home was an unfinished log cabin. Mary Ann and their children moved there from Montrose, Iowa, in September 1840, while Brigham was abroad serving a mission in England. When Brigham returned home in 1841, he worked to finish the structure. Meanwhile, construction was in progress on the family’s brick home. The Youngs moved into this new home on May 31, 1843, and they lived there until they left Nauvoo in February 1846.

Brigham Young’s Church responsibilities expanded while the Saints lived in Nauvoo. On April 14, 1840, while still in England, he was sustained as president of the Quorum of the Twelve

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. After finishing this home, Brigham met with other members of his quorum here, as well as civil authorities, new converts, and returned missionaries. Following Joseph Smith’s martyrdom on June 27, 1844, the First Presidency dissolved, and Brigham Young became the senior Church leader. As tensions escalated in Nauvoo the following year, and Church leaders prepared to move the Saints to what is now Utah, Brigham and Mary Ann’s duties in and out of the home increased. Their preparations included not only providing for their own family but also meeting the temporal needs of others, including wagons, livestock, and supplies. The community also worked quickly to finish the Nauvoo Temple so that Church members could receive their temple ordinances. Mary Ann worked alongside her husband in the temple. Before the Saints left Nauvoo, Brigham and other apostles performed endowments and sealings for thousands of people in the House of the Lord.

Read about Brigham Young’s role in preparing the Saints to move to the Salt Lake Valley in Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, volume 2, Chapter 1.

What to Expect

The Pioneer Trail tour is a guided tour that begins at the Seventies Hall and concludes at the Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home. The Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home is a multi-room guided tour that includes the kitchen and bedroom. After the tour of the Young Home, you are free to explore the rest of Nauvoo. You might be interested in other Pioneer Trail experiences, such as the Trail of Hope or the Pioneer Memorial and Exodus to Greatness.