This article written by Katie Lambert appeared in the 7 November 2016 online edition of LDS Living.com.

On the eve of Election Day, many are contemplating their vote and the results tomorrow will bring.

But among those who fought for this right to cast their say in elections and hold political offices were valiant Mormon women.

In 1870, well ahead of August 1920 when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, Utah—though not yet a state—became the second U.S. territory to pass an act allowing women to vote.

Two days after the act was signed, Sarah Young, grandniece to the Prophet Brigham Young, was the first woman to cast her vote in a municipal election, according to historytogo.utah.gov.

Though the act was repealed by congress in 1887, the right for women to vote was later added to Utah’s Constitution in 1895.

A year later, Utah yet again became the first state to carve out a milestone for women’s rights.

After a campaign trail of passionate speeches about women’s suffrage, Mary Elizabeth Woolley Chamberlain became the first woman in Utah to become a county clerk.

As Chamberlain wrote:

“I was nominated on the Republican ticket for county clerk of Kane County. . . . Women had never held office in Utah and the propriety of her doing so was a moot question which was thoroughly ‘mooted,’ I assure you” (Janelle M. Higbee, Women of Faith in the Latter Days, Vol. 3: 1846-1870, “A Strong and Abiding Testimony”).

But Chamberlain’s political career was not over.

On Nov. 7, 1911, Chamberlain became the first female mayor in U.S. history elected along with an all-female town council.

Unfortunately, this historic event was not taken as seriously as it should have been at the time.

“Our election was intended as a joke and no one thought seriously of it at the time. When election day dawned, there was no ticket in the field; no one seemed interested in the supervision of the town, so the loafers on the ditch bank (of which there were always plenty) proceeded to make up the above ticket as a burlesque, but there was no other ticket in opposition, so, of course, we were elected” (Janelle M. Higbee, Women of Faith in the Latter Days, Vol. 3: 1846-1870, “A Strong and Abiding Testimony”).

Initially disgusted by the “joke,” Chamberlain almost refused the nomination. But others talked her into keeping the position, and Chamberlain held the office of mayor of Kanab, Utah, from 1911 to 1913.

Her efforts as mayor inspired other women, including Susa Young Gates, daughter of Brigham Young. A strong women’s suffrage advocate and writer, Gates was especially enthusiastic about Chamberlain’s political achievements.

“Aunt Susa called me ‘Mayor’ and shouted it out wherever she met me, on the street, in meeting, at the temple, or elsewhere, much to my embarrassment at times, but she took great delight in it” (Janelle M. Higbee, Women of Faith in the Latter Days, Vol. 3: 1846-1870, “A Strong and Abiding Testimony”).

Though many women have worked valiantly to shape women’s rights, these Mormon women helped pave the way for women’s suffrage and women’s rights while leaving their mark on history.

Photo from deseretnews.com of the Kanab all-woman town council. From left to right: Luella McAllister, treasurer; Blanche Hamblin, councilor; Mary W. Chamberlain, mayor; Tamar Hamblin, clerk; Ada Seegmiller, councilor.

Guest Author

Excerpts taken from Susannah Washburn Bowles’ biography of her mother Tamer Washburn (1805–1886). Tamer joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often inadvertently called the “Mormon Church,” in 1838 and continued full of faith in the Church until the time of her death in 1886.

 

Tamer Washburn

Abraham and Tamer’s family consisted of Daniel born July 23, 1826 (died at age 9), Mary Ann born November 18, 1828, Emma Jane born July 28, 1830, Elizabeth Underhill born August 23, 1834 (died at age 3), Daniel Abraham born September 8, 1837, Sarah Elizabeth born August 16, 1839, John “E” born April 13, 1842, Susanna born June 23, 1843, Joseph Bates born July 20, 1845, Artmissa Minerva born June 17, 1847.

While living at Sing Sing, Tamer had the following dream: She went to heaven. Everything was beautiful and in perfect order. She visited many wonderful places. In beautiful parks, she saw many groups of happy children at play. They were in the charge of and their play was supervised by very fine, intelligent women. She came to one group where two of her own children were playing. She was surprised to see them there, and when she looked up inquiringly into the face of the lady who had them in charge, the lady said, “Sister Washburn, it is your privilege to see beforehand where your children will be, so that the parting will not be so hard.”

In a few weeks, the two children died. Tamer said that when they died, she could not shed a tear because the vision she had had was continually before her mind.

Delisa Hargrove

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have moved 64 times and have not tired of experiencing this beautiful earth! I love the people, languages, histories/anthropologies, & especially religious cultures of the world. My life long passion is the study & searching out of religious symbolism, specifically related to ancient & modern temples. My husband Anthony and I love our bulldog Stig, adventures, traveling, movies, motorcycling, and time with friends and family.

Women belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have always done remarkable things. Emma Smith, first president of the Latter-day Saint women’s organization, told the women working with her, “We are going to do something extraordinary” (Relief Society Minute Book, Nauvoo, Illinois, March 17, 1842, Church History Library, 12), and they haven’t stopped doing extraordinary things since their organization on March 17, 1842.

The Relief Society, which Emma Smith headed originally, is today a world-wide women’s organization—one of the world’s oldest and largest. Its female members strengthen families and homes and seek to provide relief to those in need, all while increasing personal faith and righteousness. Joseph Smith, first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ, said of the Relief Society’s organization, “The Church was never perfectly organized until the women were thus organized” (Quoted in Sarah M. Kimball, “Auto-biography,” Woman’s Exponent, Sept 1, 1883, 51). Mormon women have always been recognized and appreciated for their unique skills and potential.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon Church”) was organized on April 6, 1830. Historically, women have not had as many freedoms as men have had, even in the United States, which prides itself on its liberated view of individual rights. Women’s rights were long-awaited and long fought-for in being made law and in becoming more accepted in society. The Church of Jesus Christ has stood out as a champion of women since its restoration in 1830 and has been at the forefront of women’s rights in all that movement’s most positive goals.

Overcoming the Oppression of Women

It is hard for us to believe now, but even as late as 1830 and beyond, married women were not recognized, at least by the law, as more than mere possessions of their husbands. The English Common Law was accepted widely and stated:

By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, the legal existence of woman is merged in that of her husband. He is her baron or lord, bound to supply her with shelter, food, clothing and medicine, and is entitled to her earnings and the use and custody of her person, which he may seize wherever he may find it (History of Woman Suffrage, Vol. 6, p.961).

Women were so bound by the law that it was very difficult for them to work to obtain personal funds. It was also very difficult for them to gain higher education and to escape from unhappy, oppressive marriages. They had few rights and freedoms if they were unmarried and seemingly even fewer if they were married. They were trapped in a society which largely viewed them as cooks and housekeepers who were able and expected to provide children as heirs and workers. For the most part, women were not seen as having the capacity for higher intellectual pursuits or for being able to contribute to society in any way outside the home.

Negative Effects of the Feminist Movement

This mindset continued well into the 20th century until the feminist movement really took hold. It wasn’t until 1920 that an amendment was signed into law giving all adult women the right to vote in America, but there was still a long way to go in the fight for women’s rights. For several more decades it was common practice for a woman to lose her job when she married and, if not then, certainly when she became pregnant.

Great strides have been made in the last 100 years liberating women from being viewed as possessions. However, somewhere along the way, the true end goal of being valued equally was lost, and many pioneers in the quest for women’s rights began to look beyond the mark. The pendulum seems to have swung to the opposite extreme, telling women they are worthless unless they are treated exactly like men with the same contributions and expectations. This attitude is just as harmful as telling women they are worth less than men. The true spirit of feminism should be that women are just as valuable as men are in their own right. They have their own strengths and talents to offer and should be valued equally for what they bring to the table as men are for what they bring to the table.

I want to be valued for who I am and what I have to offer because I am human, I am a daughter of God, and I have worth. Telling me that because I am a woman I am worthless is just as harmful and hurtful as telling me that I must not be worth the same as a man unless I act exactly like him and am treated exactly like him. We as women need to be proud of our divine qualities. The world is in need of these qualities, but the harm of modern feminism is the idea that these qualities should be dropped by everyone because they are feminine. I am proud of being a woman and realize that many feminine qualities are just what the world needs more of today.

Mormon Feminism and Mormon Doctrine

Mormon doctrine teaches, however, that “gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World”). Society is fighting against this eternal truth.

Many people have fought for women to have the freedom to choose their own futures. Free will is also considered an eternal truth by Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”), and so women choose for themselves what they want to do with their lives. However, Mormon doctrine also teaches that men and women have complementary characteristics. Both a righteous man and a righteous woman are essential to God’s plan for families.

The Church of Jesus Christ has always recognized the eternal value that women have and the vast array of talents they have to offer in building up the kingdom of God on the earth. Still, it is part of Mormon doctrine that Mormon women have the most to offer the world in raising up righteous children. This does not make women less capable in the workplace than men; it simply means there is no more valuable or meaningful work they can perform than to raise up righteous children. Many extraordinary women have managed to raise children in righteousness and to also contribute to their communities in other very meaningful ways. Men and women are seen as being of equal value, but they do not have identical abilities and strengths.

Mormon Women Doing Extraordinary Things

When the early Saints were forced to move west, they set up their own community in the desert in what was then the Utah Territory, but getting there was a long, dangerous, arduous task. Many people died; everyone who made the journey suffered. Bathsheba W. Smith, the fourth Relief Society General President, recalled what helped them through this trial:

I will not try to describe how we traveled through storms of snow, wind, and rain; how roads had to be made, bridges built, and rafts constructed; how our poor animals had to drag on day after day with scanty feed; nor how our camps suffered from poverty, sickness, and death. We were consoled … by having our public and private meetings in peace, praying and singing the songs of Zion, and rejoicing that we were leaving our persecutors far behind. We were further consoled by seeing the power of God manifested through the laying on of the hands of the elders, causing the sick to be healed, and the lame to walk. The Lord was with us and his power was made manifest daily (Autobiography of Bathsheba W. Smith, typescript, Church History Library, 13; punctuation, spelling, and capitalization standardized).

It was the faith these women had in God that got them through this trial. They supported one another; they mourned with each other when their loved ones died; they shared what little they had; and they rejoiced together when they finally arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

When a large group of Saints were stranded on the plains in a blizzard, those who had struggled themselves to get to Salt Lake were exhorted by Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ, to help those who were in need. After President Young’s admonition, Lucy Meserve Smith recorded that women immediately took off all the warm clothing they could spare (e.g. petticoats and stockings) and piled them in wagons that left immediately to try and help the stranded people. This sense of immediacy in helping those in need has continued in the spirit of Relief Society.

Society Benefiting from Women’s Freedoms

From the earliest days in the Salt Lake Valley, Mormon women were encouraged to exercise a great deal of freedom. There was a whole city and community to build. Women were given the vote in all applicable matters. Many women gained higher education and served their communities as doctors, as teachers in universities, running hospitals, holding public office, and even publishing their own newspapers. However, before the United States would admit Utah into the Union as a state, the vote was taken away from Mormon women by the government, and they had to fight to get it back. This temporary setback did not deter women, though, and the first female Senator in the United States was Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon, a Mormon woman, who won the election by more than 3,000 votes—running against her own husband!

President Brigham Young urged many of the women of the church to become doctors. Zina D. H. Young was one who followed his counsel. She completed a course in obstetrics and helped deliver countless babies. She also encouraged other women to gain these skills. Many went east to obtain degrees and then came back, teaching what they had learned to others. One such woman, Emma Andersen Liljenquist, was given a blessing from a church leader that, “if [she] lived right [she] should always know what to do in case of any difficulties.” She recorded:

That promise has been fulfilled to the very letter. Many times when one of my patients was seriously ill, I have asked my Heavenly Father for assistance, and in every case it was given to me. One in particular was a lady who had just given birth to a baby and hemorrhage set in. The husband called the doctor, but he did not realize that it was so serious. I … asked the Lord to help us. The hemorrhage ceased and I did the necessary things for her. When the doctor arrived, he said he could hardly believe what had happened, but said I had done exactly what he would have done. …

… I have brought over one thousand babies [into the world]. Once again I give thanks to my Heavenly Father for His help and the strength the Lord has given me, for without it I could not have rendered this service to my sisters or our community (Our Pioneer Heritage, comp. Kate B. Carter (1963), 6:445–46).

Many prominent women who worked in the general women’s suffrage movement, including Susan B. Anthony, sought advice from Mormon women who had experience in the field.

This kind of influence continues in the world today. In 1992, the Relief Society celebrated its 150th anniversary. Local organizations were encouraged to look to their own communities for ways to serve them.

One of our Relief Society presidents went to the city council in a California city and said, “What are the things that you feel are needed in this community that we could do?” And the men said, “You mean 20,000 groups throughout this world are going to be doing this same thing?” And she said yes. And [one of the council members] said, “You’ll change the world.” And I think we did … for the better. That was one of the unifying things. And [there was] such a variety of service. … [Sisters] made lap rugs in South Africa for those elderly in the home. … They planted flowers around [a] clock tower in Samoa. And they did so many things with homeless shelters or providing books for children or painting homes for unwed mothers, that sort of thing. We felt that throughout the world these community service projects were a great thing, both for the sisters and for the community (Elaine L. Jack, interview by Julie B. Beck, Feb. 10, 2009, transcript, Church History Library).

Mormon Women Today

Mormon women are highly valued and respected. Mormon doctrine has always taught this principle. However, the Lord has created men and women as complementary to one another to help fulfill His purpose for all of us. We need each other to be complete and to reach a full level of joy. Men and women both have important things to offer and critical roles to fill, but they need to fill the roles the Lord has created for them.

Another observation Elder Christofferson made helps me to grasp the bigger picture of how we are meant to work together, “In blurring feminine and masculine differences, we lose the distinct, complementary gifts of women and men that together produce a greater whole.”

There is a lot of discussion among the few women who don’t clearly understand how God’s Church works about allowing women to hold the priesthood. Many other Christian denominations have made changes in their structure to allow for this. It surprises me when I hear Mormon women who say they felt left out by not being allowed to hold the priesthood. I have never felt this way.

One key difference between priesthood in the Mormon Church and other Christian denominations is that our clergy is unpaid. All who serve in any capacity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do so as volunteers. There are many, many areas in which women serve and do so very well. However, in Mormon doctrine, it is only worthy male members of the church who hold the priesthood. Men are the patriarchs of the family, and it is really on the family that the whole structure of the Church is based. Following God’s pattern,

Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.4

Thus, if we follow God’s plan, every home will have a worthy priesthood holder in it. There is no need for two to lead the home. This is not part of doctrine, this is my personal feeling. What it really boils down to is that God has declared this to be His will, but it is equally important to recognize that He has provided for all His children to have access to the blessings of the priesthood.

I understand that God loves me just as much as anyone else. I also understand that His plan is set up in His own way. Even if we may not understand everything all the time, there is a purpose for how He has decreed His gospel is to be organized on this earth. I do not feel in any way deprived of blessings because I cannot hold the priesthood. No man who holds the priesthood can use it to serve himself. I am able to receive all the blessings from the priesthood which any man may receive. My personal feeling is that I have enough responsibility on my plate as it is without worrying about priesthood responsibility on top of everything else.

I also recognize and am comforted by the fact that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, in fact, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. He is in charge. No movement in the church is going to change His eternal doctrine. The doctrine and principles of His gospel are unchanging. If He decides to make a change in practice, like allowing all worthy men to hold the priesthood,  then He will direct that change; no one can force it.

I am grateful to be a woman in The Church of Jesus Christ. I am grateful to be valued and to be shown my eternal potential. I know my Heavenly Father loves me and values me. That is enough to sustain me through others’ doubts and questions.

If you want to gain a better understanding of the Mormon doctrine regarding women, the family, and God’s plan for each of us, read, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Meet with Mormon missionaries to ask them questions and to learn more.

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The following is an account of the Haun’s Mill Massacre as told by Austin’s widow and their son John.

A Mob Attacks

In the fall of 1838, mobs in the area were threatening to burn down the mill because it ground corn for members of The Church of Jesus Christ. “All the mills in that part of the country refused to grind for them as they were owned by the mob parties, hoping to starve them out.” Because of the threats, a few of the brethren volunteered to guard the mill. This they did for several days and nights as the mob kept repeatedly threatening violence. Finally the mob leaders agreed to meet with some of the Mormons to see if they could work out a compromise. On the day appointed, a fixed number of brethren were at the mill, hoping to work out a settlement and anxious to restore peace.

The mob party, however, did not make their appearance, but as the day was drawing to a close, a company of some two or three hundred strong partly sheltered from observation by the heavy timber near by; our brethren immediately hoisted a white flag. When the mob saw the flag they knew they had been discovered, they rode rapidly on lead by Baregard and Comstock. On their arrival at the mill one of them, without saying a word to our men gave orders for the men to fire, which order was obeyed. Their leaders then said, “All who desire to save their lives and make peace run into the blacksmith shop,” which was immediately surrounded by the infernal assailants who commenced firing between the logs as there was no chinking between them. They also fired through an opening made by sawing out a log for light. Several were killed in the shop, my father being one of them.

Several bullets were shot into his body, breaking both thigh bones. Some of the brethren thus shot down were dragged out into the yard that their murderers might have a better chance and more room to st[r]ip them of their clothing. All who had boots and coats were rifted of the articles. My father had on a new pair of boots that fit him tightly and in an effort to get them off he was dragged in his mangled condition. This cruel treatment must have caused him excruciating pain.

The brethren seeing that the mob party was so numerous and blood thirsty were useless to make any defence [sic]. Their only safety was to make their escape as best they could, which they did by fleeing into the woods or brush or where ever they could conceal themselves. When the mob had murdered all they found and robbed them of their clothing they retreated.

After darkness had come on the brethren who were hiding began to make search of those who had been killed and wounded. My father was found and carried into Haun’s house, where he died about twelve o’clock that night. During the night they kept up the search as best they could for in the darkness the wounded were found only by their groans. All that were found were taken into Haun’s house as soon as possible to protect them from hogs, which the woods were full of.

Blood Red Mist Arises

 While the men had gone to meet with mob leaders, Nancy Elston Hammer was home, anxious about what was happening.

At the time of this occurrence I was in my ninth year of age. I wish here to relate a circumstance which occurred at the time of this bloody deed was being enacted. I stood in the yard with my mother and Aunt York, my cousin, Isiah York and some of the smaller children of our two families. Our anxiety, of course, was great [as] to the fate of the brethren at the mill, knowing that Father and Uncle John had gone to assist in its protection, and to help those of our friends who lived there.

Looking eagerly in the direction of the mill, a crimson colored vapor like mist, or thin cloud ascended up into the sky, apparently as high as our eyes could see. Precisely from the place where we knew the mill to be. This angular Phenomenon like a transparent pillar of blood remained there for a long time, just how long I am unable to state, but it was to be seen by us far into the night. At that hour we had not heard of what had happened at the mill.

As quickly as Mother & Aunt York saw this blood-like token they commenced to wrong their hands and moan, declaring that they knew their husbands had been killed. Our uneasiness through that night was too great to describe. When daylight came my cousin rode to the mill to find out the facts of what had happened. On arriving he learned concerning the massacre and brought back word as quickly as possible. The following morning my cousin and myself went to the mill and found that the dead had been buried in the well. We found the hat of Uncle York with bullet holes in both sides showing he had been shot in the head.

Faith Endures Through Tragedy

Mob persecution continued after this tragic day. Eventually, the members of The Church of Jesus Christ were forced to leave the area—with only ten days’ notice. The family had one wagon and a blind horse to move them to Illinois. Most of the Church members were barefoot or wrapped their feet in rags to protect them from the frozen ground. John writes:

There was scarcely a day while we were on the road, that it did not either snow or rain. The nights and mornings were very cold for our unsheltered and exposed condition. It is a marvel to me to this day how we endured such fatigue without being disabled by sickness, if not death. But that merciful being who sheltered us, and gave us courage took us to our destination.

My mother seemed to be endowed with fortitude and resolution and appeared to be inspired to devise ways and means whereby she could administer comfort to her suffering children, and keep them in good spirits. Her faith and confidence had ever been great in the Lord, but now when all this weight and responsibility had fallen upon her, with no husband to lean upon, she felt indeed that God was her greatest and best friend. She realized that He, and He alone must be the deliverer of herself and her family. …

During the last years of her life her mind was much occupied in reviewing her long and useful life. In conversation with her children and friends, she expressed much satisfaction that she had acted her part so well and that the Lord had been merciful in giving her the light of His Holy Spirit, which had been a lamp at her feet, to direct her course safely through the dark perils of life.

Lisa M.

I am a wife and mother of 4 beautiful children in a small town in the mountains of Idaho. We ski as a family in the winter and camp, fish, and go to the beach in the summer. I’m a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I am grateful for the Savior and the blessings of the gospel in my life.

Emma Smith was born in 1804 in Pennsylvania and had unusual opportunities for a girl in her time. She was well-educated and taught school. She even owned cows and other items, possibly given as payment from students. Her family had a fair amount of money. Imagine, then, her family’s concern when she developed a fondness for Joseph Smith, who was from a poor farm family and had almost no formal education—just that which his father had given him at home with a small amount of traditional schooling. He had no steady occupation and was involved intensely with religion. He was not, however, a member of her family’s faith and in fact, had received a vision at age fourteen telling him not to join any existing church because none were completely right.

Emma saw in him what her family missed. She, like others who knew him well, saw an innate intelligence, a willingness to work very hard, and great integrity. Those who hired him found him to be the best employee they’d ever hired. He attended school as they courted, trying to live up to her. Despite her parents’ disapproval, she eventually eloped. They lived with his family and then with hers for a time.

She worked hard to support his mission. When the time came for Joseph Smith to retrieve the golden plates hidden in ancient times by an angel—a book today called the Book of Mormon—she went with him, praying at the wagon while he went to open the box. She joined in his efforts to protect them from thieves and acted on occasion as his scribe. He was not sufficiently educated to write the translation of the plates, so while he translated through the Holy Ghost, she wrote his words. Other scribes would do the majority of the translation, but she filled in as needed.

She had sufficient faith to avoid looking at the plates even when they were in her bedroom or kitchen, although she frequently felt them and moved them out of her way as she worked. Later witnesses would be permitted to view the plates, but God asked Emma to accept them on faith, a testimony that God recognized her as a woman of great faith.

Emma Smith would make tremendous sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for her husband, and for the church. She was not perfect and made choices that seem hard for us to understand today. There can be no question, though, that she made sacrifices far beyond what most Mormons would be asked to make, and that she experienced more than her fair share of suffering.

She would lose many of her children. Her first three died so quickly they were not even named. After losing twins, she adopted a set of twins, but one died after being exposed to the cold when a mob invaded their home while the children were ill. One child died at the age of fourteen months and another died less than a year later.

She would leave her parents in 1830, never to see them again as she and her family were forced to move from place to place to avoid persecution and violence. Her husband was arrested, essentially for being Mormon, leaving her alone to care for her children. She wrote to him that only God knew how hard it was for her to flee her home with her children, abandoning all her possessions and leaving her husband to endure whatever was to come.

Time and again, she was uprooted, often without warning and frequently without time to pack her belongings. She endured the jeering and insults of mobs. The comfortable and peaceful life she had led as a girl had done little to prepare her for this new life, but she faced it with faith. She comforted other women, instructed them, and helped them to build their own faith. She frequently found herself living in the homes of others and just as frequently took complete strangers into her own home. When a group of black Mormons arrived after a very difficult and painful journey fraught with danger and racial prejudice, their feet bleeding because they no longer had shoes, she sat them at her own dinner table and took them all into her home as guests until they could find work. When one was unable to find employment, she hired Jane Manning herself.

She led the Relief Society, an auxiliary for the women of the church that was organized to educate the women and to allow them to serve others. She compiled the first hymnbook.

She handled nearly every trial with grace. She was often anxious and sad, but she coped. Eventually, however, she encountered a trial that became more than she thought she could handle. It is possible that polygamy would have come more easily if it had not been added to an already extraordinary number of other trials and if she had not been the first wife to face it in the Church. She had no example to follow and no real support group, as later women would have.

Initially, when Joseph admitted to her that he had received a revelation about polygamy and was told he absolutely must carry it out, she accepted it. Later, when Brigham Young was the prophet, the practice would be refined so that the first wife had to approve each subsequent wife, but as we also see in the Bible, refinements of new practices often come over time as prophets continue to pray for guidance. Emma did, from time to time, offer approval of specific marriages. At other times, she found she could not handle the choices she had made, much as Sarah in the Old Testament first encouraged her husband to marry her handmaiden and then discovered it was more than she was prepared to handle.

According to historian Richard Bushman, Joseph saw polygamy simply as a way to join families together for eternity. Mormons believe family life continues after death. When eternal marriage was first introduced, many families carried out “sealings” with friends and those they wanted to be eternally associated with, not entirely understanding what the revelation meant. Many wished to be associated with the prophet for the eternal blessings they felt this would bring. He did not court the women or put his proposals in romantic terms. In fact, he generally took another man with him or even asked a father or brother to approach the woman. He instructed them to have the women pray about the request.

Modern DNA has ruled out all children Fran Brodie had proposed were his through other marriages. Since he did father many children with Emma, parenthood was possible, but there is, at this time, no biological proof of traditional marriage relationships and the only accounts came from others, not the women or Joseph. For him, it appears the marriages were fairly impersonal and meant to fulfill the requirement given him by an angel and to join certain families together in the eternities.

Whatever the situation, Emma eventually found herself unable to cope with polygamy. Bushman reports that Emma and Joseph had many intense discussions about his polygamy and their relationship was periodically strained.

All the same, she continued to have a testimony of his role as a prophet and she carried out her duties faithfully. She became the first woman to receive the temple endowment involving the making of sacred covenants with the Savior. She then became a temple worker, helping others with their first temple experiences. During this time, their relationship improved and Joseph may have agreed to stop taking on additional wives.

Although their marriage was often troubled following the introduction of polygamy, Emma continued to care for Joseph. When he was murdered, she bent over him and expressed her sorrow that they had taken him from her. She had a lock of his hair cut and given to her. She wore it in a locket the rest of her life, even after she remarried.

She was left alone with her five children, including her adopted daughter and four sons. Her financial state was precarious because there had not been a clear line between the family money and the church money, with Joseph often going into debt to help support the church. She made an understandable effort to keep some of the property and this put her at odds with Brigham Young, since it was unclear which of those properties belonged to the church and which to her. Some church members inappropriately rejected her because of her rejection of polygamy and her outspokenness on the subject. The Church was already in a period of great stress and grief as people struggled to decide who the next prophet would be and they faced the realization that they were again in great danger with an uncertain future. This most likely caused people to behave differently than they might have in gentler circumstances. With discomfort on both sides, she soon found herself outside the mainstream of the church.

When the Mormons left for Utah, she elected to remain behind. She moved away from Nauvoo for a while to avoid danger, but eventually returned to her former home. She was able to utilize the properties she owned to support her family, but with difficulty, particularly since she was left to cover Joseph’s many debts. She later married Major Lewis Bidamon, who had supported the Mormons during the trials, but was not a member. He had one illegitimate child and after marrying Emma had another, which she raised, making her a most extraordinary woman. They had a reasonably good relationship despite these challenges.

When her son became an adult and headed up the Reorganized Church, as it was then known, she joined. However, she was never really an active member of that church, nor did she become active in any other church. She admitted that she had been reluctant to give her children any formal religious life—just personal reading of the Bible and Book of Mormon—because she was afraid of a return to the many trials she had faced. She helped to care for Joseph’s mother and her mother-in-law noted that few women had endured as many trials as she had with so much grace.

Emma’s life was a complex one. Her refined childhood and girlhood was not designed to give her the skills she needed in adulthood, and yet she managed nearly everything thrown at her. She held on to her faith in God, in the gospel, and in Joseph Smith as a prophet throughout it all. She was not perfect, but what is amazing is that she was as perfect as she was given the powerful trials and persecutions she experienced. Her heartaches were very real and would have been a challenge to any woman, particularly without the lens of understanding time brings. They were enough to wear out any woman and if she, in the end, was tired of fighting her way through life, that can be understood.

Modern Mormons are beginning to come to terms with Emma as the elect lady God declared her to be in a revelation, but a very real and human one at the same time who fought for God as long as she had to before choosing the calmer life she longed for. She stood by her husband even when they faced strains in their marriage. After his death she resisted encouragement to deny his role as a prophet. Since she left no journal, we don’t really know what the entire truth about Emma Smith is…but we do know she was remarkable.

Sources:

Turley, Richard E., and Brittany A. Chapman. “A Comfort unto My Servant, Joseph.” Women of faith in the latter days. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 2011. 343-362. Print.

Bushman, Richard L., and Jed Woodworth. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Print.

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Margaret Romney Jackson Judd was the first Hispanic Mormon woman leader in the Young Women’s presidency for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called the “Mormon Church” by some). As an LDS woman leader, Margaret was asked by the living prophet David O. McKay to lead Mormon youth as a counselor in the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association (YWMIA), which is presently called the LDS Young Women’s organization. (Caroline H. Benzley, “134 Years Young!”, New Era, November, 2003). The Young Women’s organization today still invites Mormon youth worldwide to participate in the program’s weekly activities, frequent service opportunities, annual girls camp, and Sunday services. I have attended in Mexico, the USA, and Europe and know that regardless of location, the same opportunities and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ are taught to Mormon women.

Mormon Women Leads the Young Women’s Organization

For 11 years, Margaret served as the Young Women’s first counselor with several Mormon women leaders such as Florence Smith Jacobsen (sixth YWMIA president) and Dorothy Porter Holt (second counselor) (Florence Smith Jacobsen). Margaret was the first Mexican Mormon woman to serve in the YWMIA presidency. During her presidency service from 1961-1972, she blessed the lives of many Mormon women. Important milestones included youth conferences held worldwide, the 1969 YWMIA centennial celebration, the annual Promised Valley presentations, the restoration of the Beehive House and Lion House, and the publication of the New Era (magazine for youth) (Florence Smith Jacobsen). Elder Neil L. Andersen (modern apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ) said in an issue of The New Era magazine:

Our spiritual journey is the process of a lifetime. We do not know everything in the beginning or even along the way. Our conversion comes step by step, line upon line. We first build a foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We treasure the principles and ordinances of repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We include a continuing commitment to prayer, a willingness to be obedient, and an ongoing witness of the Book of Mormon (“You Know Enough,” June 2012).

Youth can read more in the New Era about these messages from modern Mormon leaders, scriptural stories of Christ, and examples of Mormon youth living their beliefs globally. (See this link to read this month’s issue.)

Mormon Women: Margaret Romney Jackson Judd

Margaret Romney was born on September 7, 1909, in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, to Junius and Gertrude Stowell Romney. She was the fourth child among two sisters (Olive, and Kathleen) and two brothers (Junius, and Eldon). At a young age, her family fled their country during the Mexican Revolution of 1912, and she became one of the Mormon Exodus refugees. Despite the challenges of living in a foreign country and learning another language, she graduated from LDS High School and the University of Utah (Obituary: Margaret Romney Jackson Judd, Deseret News, April 4, 1999).

Margaret was baptized a member of the LDS Church, and she was among righteous individuals who were

…desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life” (Mosiah 18:8-10).

Margaret was married in a Mormon temple (or House of the Lord) where couples can be married for time and all eternity. “Margaret married Junius M. Jackson September 15, 1931, in the Salt Lake Temple. He died February 4, 1981. She later married Dr. George E. Judd. He predeceased her.” At the time of her death, on April 1, 1999, Margaret had 5 children, 28 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren, and one great great-grandchild. [1] She believed she could live with her family forever and would agree with the modern prophet’s teachings (1995) in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” which states, “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”

Margaret followed the example of the Lord Jesus Christ by serving her family and community. An ancient prophet king recorded in The Book of Mormon, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). Margaret helped “her husband Junius while he presided over the New England States Mission. She also served as a member of the YWMIA General Board and as a hostess at the Church Office Building. Her community involvement, among other things, included terms as president of the PTA, the Classics Club and the Sigma Chi Mothers Club” (Obituary: Margaret Romney Jackson Judd, Deseret News, April 4, 1999).

Mormon Women Today

As a young Mormon woman, I was taught to follow the teachings of modern prophets:

Service to others is an important characteristic of a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple is willing to bear other people’s burdens and to comfort those who need comfort. Often Heavenly Father will meet the needs of others through you (Service, For Strength of the Youth).

I know that serving those around me is important and I have felt touched by others who have reached out to me and lifted me up. I invite you to follow our Savior’s example, obey the prophets, and do something nice for another person today.

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

of-common-sense.site123.me/

Mormon Women Leading the Young Women’s Organization

From 1948-1961, Bertha served as the fifth Young Women’s president with several LDS women leaders such as Emily H. Bennett (first counselor) and LaRue C. Longden (second counselor). Bertha succeeded Lucy Grant Cannon as president, and when her second husband died in 1961, Florence S. Jacobsen took her place as the subsequent young women’s president (Bertha S. Reeder, Wikipedia.org).

During her presidency, she accomplished a lot and blessed the lives of many Mormon women. Bertha began individual awards, a series of posters titled “Be Honest with Yourself”, and an “Era of Youth” section in the Improvement Era. During the beginning of Bertha’s presidency, the young women groups were realigned as the Beehives (ages 12–13), Mia Maids (ages 14–15), Junior Gleaners (ages 16–17), and Gleaners (ages 18–24). Toward the end of her presidency, in 1959, the Gleaners class was renamed Laurels and young women classes are still known today as the Beehive class (ages 12-13), Mia Maid class (ages 14-15), and Laurel class (ages 16-17) (Bertha S. Reeder, Wikipedia.org). Bertha was humble and credited her success to others:

I can’t say enough for the counselors who worked with me and the general boards… We worked together thirteen and a half years and we never had a cross word. Never [did] any of the workers ever [feel] like they were criticized; we never felt we had to get after anybody. They all seemed to want to do everything they could do and we just loved each other.

A president never works alone, and she’s only as good as her counselors and the workers she’s with. The general president isn’t good unless she gets the support of the wards and stakes. We felt we had the support of the wards and stakes because they were allowed to work on their own and a lot of them would come and ask to initiate a program (Janet Peterson, “Lessons from the Lives of the Auxiliary Leaders-The Priciple of Presidency,” Meridian Magazine, August 14, 2008).

Biography of Mormon Woman Bertha S. Reeder

Bertha Julia Stone was born on October 28, 1892, in Ogden, Utah. She attended Weber Academy. In 1912, she married Christopher Aadnesen and bore two children. In 1934 (four years after Aadnesen died in a hunting accident), she married William Henry Reeder, Jr., whose previous wife had left him with a son. She was a church missionary for seven years in Massachusetts and her husband the president of the New England States Mission. William died in 1961, and she married I. L. (Lee) Richards, who died in 1981. Because of her several marriages, her name is unusually long: Bertha Julia Stone Aadnesen Reeder Richards. She died at the age of 90, in Pocatello, Idaho, where her daughter lived (Bertha S. Reeder, Wikipedia.org).

Bertha had a love for nature and God’s creations. She said:

Nature does indeed renew those who keep close to her. . . . If I were in my teens, I would take time to come close to nature. . . . I would realize again more fully the infinite variety in God’s creation. I would learn to feel the difference in the seasons and to love each for what it gives to me. I would know that rain and sunshine are both important in God’s plan (“If I Were in My Teens,” Improvement Era, June 1954, 470) (“Presidents of the Young Women Organization through the Years,” Ensign, June 2008, 40–45).

Mormon Women Leading Today

As a Mormon youth, I attended Young Women’s camp and learned for myself about God, His majestic creations, and my identity as a child of God. I still love escaping busy life to witness the quiet and calming peace found outdoors. A modern apostle of Christ said, “Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Matter to Him,” Ensign, October 2011).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR0pd4DSTqw

Additional Resources:

Read another article about other LDS women leaders: LaRue Carr Longden

Visit the LDS website about “God’s Plan for You”

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

of-common-sense.site123.me/

Mormon Woman Influenced Young Women & Church History

For eleven years, Florence served as the sixth Young Women organization’s president with several other LDS women leaders who were called of God. Florence worked closely with her counselors Margaret Romney Jackson Judd (first counselor) and Dorothy Porter Holt (second counselor). Although Lucy Grant Cannon (previous Young Women organization’s president) was no longer the president, Florence looked up to her next door neighbor and her aunt as a role model. (Lavina Fielding, “Florence Smith Jacobsen: In Love with Excellence,” Ensign, June 1977, 25–26). Florence was guided by God to reach out to every girl and remind them of their identity as daughters of God:

It is my prayer that we can be so dedicated that not one single girl in this great Church will be forgotten (“Women, This Is Our Time,” Ensign, Mar. 1972, 39) (Florence Smith Jacobsen).

During her presidency from 1961-1972, Florence was guided by God to bless the lives of many young Mormon women with stronger testimonies of Jesus Christ. Important accomplishments included youth conferences held worldwide, the 1969 YWMIA centennial celebration, the annual Promised Valley presentations and festivals, the restoration of the Beehive House and Lion House, and the publication of the New Era (magazine for youth) (Florence Smith Jacobsen). The New Era magazine is still available worldwide in many languages for youth. This magazine contains messages from modern Mormon leaders written to the audience of youth and uplifting examples of youth worldwide who live and stand up for their beliefs. (See this link to read this month’s issue.)

In the June 1977 Ensign, Lavina Fielding wrote that Florence:

…helped shape the program of social and cultural activities, spiritual lessons, community service, and camping and homemaking skills. With emphasis on individual achievement, the girls kept personal historical journals; planned, prepared, and conducted annual leadership conferences; set personal goals; met in youth councils with the bishops; were called and set apart to serve in class presidencies; and planned their own activities—all part of the new program for Young Women as well.

At least 150,000 girls, about 30,000 leaders, and no-one-knows-how-many… have awards signed personally by Sister Jacobsen. They will also remember the Parent and Youth Nights, which were among the earliest programs to focus attention on the family.

One of her secretaries during that time comments, “Those were difficult years to preside over that organization. Loud rock music, modern dancing, miniskirts, long hair, blue jeans—all of them seemed to happen then and there wasn’t a day when she didn’t answer a letter or a phone call on standards. This was in addition to reviewing manuals, festivals, lessons, and activities personally to be sure that everything was presented with the highest standard of excellence. The Personal Record Books won an award for excellent design and were the first step toward personal histories for many women who are now raising their own families” (“Florence Smith Jacobsen: In Love with Excellence”).

In 1972, Ruth H. Funk took her place as the young women’s president and the following year, the prophet Harold B. Lee asked Florence to serve as the LDS church curator (Florence S. Jacobsen, Wikipedia).

By collecting, preserving, and displaying the art and artifacts of Church history, she… nourish[ed] and strengthen[ed] testimonies and inspire[d] some to investigate the restored gospel of Jesus Christ (Lavina Fielding, “Florence Smith Jacobsen: In Love with Excellence,” Ensign, June 1977, 25–26).

Florence also served as a member of the Church’s Arts and Sites Committee. Florence asked the prophet Spencer W. Kimball for construction of the Church History Museum which displays historical artifacts. She received the Junius F. Wells Award from the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation for her work rescuing, restoring, and preserving historic LDS sites and artifacts such as the Lion House, Beehive House, Manti Utah temple, Brigham Young home, Wilford Woodruff home, EB Grandin Building, and Newell K. Whitney home.

President Packer said…”There’s a saying that excellence does not call attention to itself, and that’s Florence Jacobsen,” he said. “When the Lion House was being renovated, the Florence you see tonight… was scrubbing the floors. And that part of her, in all this time, I think has not been understood.” (See R. Scott Lloyd, “Life of building,” Church News, May 1, 2010.)

Florence not only preserved important church history but she also made her personal home a clean and beautiful place. Florence helped her parents and seven siblings by dusting and making them lunches daily. Quotes by Mormon woman Florence include:

I’ve noticed that my four little grandchildren can tell the difference… When we do not properly set the table or eat in the kitchen they carelessly seem to forget their table manners. When we eat in the dining room with place mats or a linen tablecloth, they carefully display their best manners. I feel the same way. By treating myself and others as worthy of the best that is possible, I find that people become better. And I feel that this principle carries over into every area, including the way we dress. By making our environment as beautiful and as excellent as possible, we become a more excellent people, mentally, visually, physically, and spiritually.

…No woman—and no man either—can fulfill herself by focusing first on her own needs. Serving others fulfills you by making a bond between you and them that you can’t duplicate any other way (Lavina Fielding, “Florence Smith Jacobsen: In Love with Excellence,” Ensign, June 1977, 25–26).

Biography of Mormon woman: Florence S. Jacobsen

Florence grew up in a family that taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ, and from a young age she began following her Savior’s example. Florence Smith Jacobsen was born on April 7, 1913, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Willard Richards Smith and Florance Grant. Both her maternal and paternal grandfathers were prophets of God: Joseph F. Smith and Heber J. Grant (R. Scott Lloyd, “Life of Building,” Church News, May 1, 2010).

In 1935, she started her own family when she married Ted Jacobsen in the Salt Lake City Mormon Temple (a House of God, where couples can be married for eternity by someone who has God’s authority). She raised three boys and later moved to New York, where she was a motherly influence to the missionaries in the Eastern States Mission as her husband served as the mission president (R. Scott Lloyd, “Life of Building,” Church News, May 1, 2010).

Although she graduated from the University of Utah in 1934, Florence remained involved in its community. She served on the advisory council of the Family Living and Consumer Studies department and wrote “vigorous letters protesting television programs and magazine articles she doesn’t approve of.” (Lavina Fielding, “Florence Smith Jacobsen: In Love with Excellence,” Ensign, June 1977, 25–26). The College of Social Work currently bestows students with the Florence Smith Jacobsen Scholarship which focuses on women issues and strengthening families. Lavina Fielding wrote:

There’s more! Sister Jacobsen also serves on the governor’s committee for cultural and historical sites, and has just finished a two-year term as third vice-president for the National Council of Women and is now chairman of the Child and Family Committee. She’s also adviser to the executive committee, adviser to the financial committee, and is serving a three-year term as vice-treasurer of the International Council of Women—an organization that has great impact on social and community action programs through its influence on legislatures and state boards of education. As chairman of the National Council of Women’s Child and Family Committee from 1965 to 1972, she represented the United States at four international conferences. These conferences have, in turn, presented plans to national councils, and she recalls that one of her greatest thrills was “putting a fence at the top of the cliff instead of an ambulance down in the valley.” The majority of the delegates seemed to be in favor of recommending paid-maternity leave and full day-care facilities for working mothers. She opted for a program of teaching responsible parenthood that would begin in the home and be carried on in elementary school and throughout a person’s educational life. Here was a clear choice between a long-range program that would demand years in the interests of excellence rather than a short-term program that would demand an influx of funds for its immediate results. Her program passed. The United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has already implemented trial programs on responsible parenthood in selected grade schools—“with great success” ( “Florence Smith Jacobsen: In Love with Excellence,” Ensign, June 1977, 25–26).

Mormon Women Leading Today

I am grateful for the values I was taught as a Mormon youth and the many service opportunities I’ve been involved in. I remember the majority of Young Women activities were service oriented, whether we assembled hygiene kits, quilted, babysat, or cooked meals. I know that we are all children of God and that we each have great potential to bless our families and communities. I’m grateful to Florence’s Christ-like example and feel like I truly relate to her—I also have 7 siblings and am a social worker.

Additional Resources:

Attend services and free Young Women activities at your local church

Visit the LDS website about “Service to Others”.

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

of-common-sense.site123.me/

Mormon Women Leading the Young Women’s Organization

Within the Church of Jesus Christ, women leaders have equal but complimentary roles. Lucy T. Andersen served as a counselor in the young women’s organization. She interacted with various Mormon women leaders such as Lucy Grant Cannon (the fourth young women’s president from 1937-1948), and Helen S. Williams (first counselor until Verna W. Goddard replaced her in 1944). Lucy replaced Verna W. Goddard as second counselor from 1944-1948 (Timeline of Young Women General Presidents).

During her presidency service from 1944-1948, she blessed the lives of many Mormon youth. Verna helped organize the Big Sister program (1944, for young women and mothers who needed work during the war) and the “100th anniversary celebration of pioneers entering Salt Lake Valley observed by YWMIA members through festivals, music, parades, and square dancing” in 1947 (“Presidents of the Young Women Organization Through the Years,” Ensign, June 2008, 40–45). Around the time Lucy served in YWMIA, the young women were split into classes by age which are known today as the Beehives’ class (ages 12-13), Mia Maids’ class (ages 14-15), and Laurels’ class (ages 16-18) (Young Women, Lucy Grant Cannon).

Lucy encouraged the young women to recite an annual theme at each YWMIA meeting worldwide (Young Women, The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992). Today this practice continues as young women recite the Young Women theme:

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith
Divine Nature
Individual Worth
Knowledge
Choice and Accountability
Good Works
Integrity and
Virtue.

We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation (Young Women: Theme and Logo).

Mormon Women: Biography of Lucy T. Andersen

Lucy was born on August 26, 1900, and in June, 1978, she died at the age of 77. She lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Lucy Andersen, Ancientfaces.com). She married Waldo McKinley Andersen.  On February 14, 1929, Lucy gave birth to one child named John Waldo Andersen who was an active LDS member in Salt Lake City, Utah. She taught him that “family was his first priority” (Obituary: John Waldo Andersen, Deseret News, November 5, 2006).

Mormon Women Leading Today

As an LDS youth, I learned the importance of families in God’s plan of happiness. Every single one of the happiest times in my life have been with my family. Modern prophets still teach that families should be founded upon the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ:

Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” 1995).

Additional Resources:

Find activities for young women at your local Mormon meetinghouse

Visit the LDS website about Jesus Christ

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

of-common-sense.site123.me/

Mormon Women Leading the Young Women’s Organization

Within the LDS Church, Mormon women leaders have equal but complimentary roles. Verna served as a counselor in the young women’s organization. She interacted with various LDS women leaders such as Lucy Grant Cannon (the fourth young women’s president from 1937-1948), Helen S. Williams (first counselor until Verna replaced her in 1944), and Lucy T. Andersen (who replaced Verna as second counselor from 1944-1948) (Timeline of Young Women General Presidents).

During her presidency service from 1937-1944, she blessed the lives of many Mormon youth. Verna helped organize the Golden Gleaner awards, Sunday evening firesides (1940), and the Big Sister program (1944, for young women and mothers who needed work during the war) (“Presidents of the Young Women Organization Through the Years,” Ensign, June 2008, 40–45). During this presidency, the young women were split into classes by age which are known today as the Beehives’ class (ages 12-13), Mia Maids’ class (ages 14-15), and Laurels’ class (ages 16-18) (Young Women, Lucy Grant Cannon). During Verna’s service, the young women recited an annual theme at each YWMIA meeting worldwide:

For example, in 1941 the theme was, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10). (Young Women, The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992).

Mormon Women: Biography of Verna Wright Goddard

Verna W. Goddard was born in 1889 and died on November 29, 1949, in Salt Lake City, Utah (Deceased Page: Verna Wright Goddard, Nameinstone.com). She married Joshua Percy and gave birth to at least two boys (Orson and Harold) and 3 daughters (Norma, in 1913, and Alice, were two) (“Death: Norma Goddard Hobson”, Deseret News, April 12, 1992). Norma taught her children the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and also influenced other children in her community. Elder G. Homer Durham spoke of Verna’s example:

There were many senior friends among the great women of my circles. They were examples during my growing-up years. There was Verna W. Goddard, neighbor, wife of one of our stake presidents. She was the Gleaner leader in the ward (young women 17 to 25). Her home was open to us, and we took advantage of it. By the time we were adults she was a member of the General Presidency of the YWMIA. We were grateful that her leadership was now extending throughout the Church (“Friends”, New Era, June 1984).

Mormon Women Leading Today

As a Mormon youth, I learned the importance of preparing to become a better mother by developing faith in Jesus Christ, recognizing my worth as a daughter of God, and developing important skills/talents. I know that as I follow the counsel of living prophets and leaders, I will be a better daughter, future mother, and able to serve my community:

Each [person] is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny… The family is ordained of God… Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” 1995).

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

of-common-sense.site123.me/