With Pioneer Day around the corner, let’s remember the role women have played in Church history—beyond entering the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.
A few years ago, I had never heard the names of Zina D. H. Young (third Relief Society General President and suffragette), Jennie Brimhall Knight (one of the first sister missionaries), or Belle S. Spafford (ninth Relief Society General President and member of the National Council of Women). It’s not hard to go your entire life without hearing of these women, despite the important roles they played in Church history. Yet as I’ve talked to my peers, we all seem eager to learn more about the role women played in the Restoration. So how do we go about bridging that gap?
Image by Todd Trapani
In an article from the BYU Religious Study Center, Jennifer Reeder proposes a relatively simple solution: read At the Pulpit—a collection of discourses given by women throughout Church history. It can be found on Gospel Library, and the information it contains is quite extensive, providing both the discourse and a short biography of the woman who delivered it. Each discourse was selected carefully to showcase the many valuable roles women played in building the kingdom of God. As Reeder says, “Women participated in nearly every event of the Restoration, and including their voices provides a second witness along with an additional perspective.”
A few years ago, I decided to read through At the Pulpit over the course of two months. As I read, I realized that the Relief Society has had a massive and significant impact on the Restoration of the gospel. Eliza R. Snow carried the minutes of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo across the plains to preserve it for future generations. Mattie Horne Tingey represented the Church on a panel at the World Columbian Exposition in 1893. Louise W. Madsen taught much-needed nursing skills to the women of the Church.
So often, the adversary tries to convince us that the Lord doesn’t value women as much as men, but as I read, I encountered a new witness each day who reminded me that the Lord doesn’t forget about his daughters or their power. This year as we celebrate our pioneer ancestors, we might take Jessop’s advice and read At the Pulpit to learn about the Lord’s daughters who paved the way for women today to lead, serve, and grow.
Read more about the publication of At the Pulpit and women’s contributions to Church history in Using Women’s Voices in Teaching History and Doctrine.
Source: BYU Religious Studies Center
—Phoebe English, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY JOHNSON STUDIO
Find more insights
For more thoughts on how to teach the history of the Relief Society, check out “How to Tap a Forgotten Female Power” by Jamie Kathryn LeSueur.
To learn about the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, read “Extraordinary Beginnings: The Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book” by Sam Lund.
For pioneer women’s perspectives on polygamy, read “‘Neither Dupes Nor Slaves of Men’: Witnesses from Women in Polygamous Marriages.”