LDS Foremothers

Because readers of the Book of Mormon today often wrestle to make sense of its portrayal of women, an otherwise obscure figure from the Book of Alma has in recent years become an oft-celebrated heroine. Mormon recounts the story of Abish in Alma 19, and we’d do well to slow down and sift this particular scriptural text whenever we come to it.

Kay Moore was an eccentric member of my ward who I respected and loved but did not initially understand. Two years ago, in 2019, I felt a strong impression that I should take time to really listen to her. Kay and I arranged to meet weekly for a few hours, often at a local café, during which she would share her wisdom and her life stories. I wrote these things in a book that Kay titled, Observations of an Ordinary Woman. Here I record a shortened version of her influence on me

I think the word foremother can be a noun or a verb. A noun, as in a mother who is situated before others, and a verb–to be a foremother, to care and nurture for those in front of you. So often we talk of foremothers–mother Eve being the praiseworthy epitome of such. But how often do we think about the ways in which we are foremothers? What are we doing to forge the path for future generations?

In March of 1838, the newlyweds, Wilford and Phebe Woodruff, were in Maine where Phebe had accompanied Wilford on a mission, and where she was staying with her family in town. On an afternoon off from preaching and traveling, Wilford and Brother Cyrus Sterrett went with their wives for a visit to the shore.

The Latter-day Saint Women podcast shares the legacy of women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Get to know the faithful women who shaped our past, and hear from inspiring women of faith today as they address gospel topics.

Learn more about Lucy Mack Smith through historical documents.

In this episode, Jenny Reeder and Kate Holbrook join us to talk about women’s authority, titles, words, themes, and experiences across church history. They are the editors of At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Dicsourses of Latter-Day Saint Women, recently published by the Church Historian’s Press. The book has a dedicated webpage, including additional discourses which the editors were not able to include in the printed volume.

Janiece Johnson and Jenny Reeder joined us in March to discuss the experiences and distinct voices of women in the early days of the Restoration. They share anecdotes from church history you may never have heard before, and discuss the importance of knowing the stories of LDS women, and hearing their testimonies. Together, Johnson and Reeder recently authored The Witness of Women: Firsthand Experiences and Testimonies from the Restoration, which we discuss in this interview.

When we assume that history is only about institutions and male leaders, we miss a large part of the story. I love learning about the lives – recognizing the import of the lived religious experiences – of a variety of people. As a historian, I have discovered that the power and meaning of Mormonism is found within and woven throughout memoirs written by believers. Indeed, considering the experiences of women as well as men expands and completes an important narrative.

There are only a handful of articles currently on LDS.org’s section on women’s history, Women of Conviction. But each article moves me with its stories of our foremothers and their indomitable dedication to the gospel. There are all sorts of nuggets to learn and quote from and be inspired by in these articles. Did you know, for instance, that Inez Knight and her friend Jennie Brimhall served as sister missionaries to England in 1898 and the fact that there were “real live Mor

I enjoy learning about our Mormon foremothers in whichever place I can find it (because there is never enough!), be it academic conferences, women’s evenings, books, articles, and well-written blog posts. You’d be surprised how many wonderful online resources there are to be found.Blog posts are especially meaningful because I love the idea of women sitting to type about their ancestors or someone they admire without any agenda except to share what they find with the online w

What is one of my favorite resources for learning about Mormon foremothers is The Relief Society Magazine. The Relief Society Magazine contains primary accounts of all the thinking and doing of Relief Society members between 1915 and 1970. (Check out the RS Bulletin, too, for 1914.) Relief Society members kept terrific records and the content is engaging as well as useful.

One of my favorite resources for learning about Mormon women’s history is a book entitled 4 Zinas: A Story of Mothers and Daughters on the Mormon Frontier by Martha Sonntag Bradley and Mary Brown Firmage Woodward. It was published by Signature Books in 2000, and while it is sadly out of print, the entire text can be found at the publisher’s website, making it widely available. 4 Zinas is the matrilineal biography of four generations of Mormon women.

I can think of no better source than the Woman’s Exponent for the Relief Society sermons by general RS presidents, commentary by readers on women’s issues or their own experiences, statements from life sketches by various women, and editorials by two forward-thinking women, Louisa Greene Richards and Emmeline Wells. Certainly, it has been my primary source in writing about Emmeline Wells, but also in providing context and source material for nearly every other subject dealing

The Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book is a primary historical record containing minutes, recorded by scribe Eliza R. Snow, from the 1842–1844 meetings of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo. It documents the founding of the LDS women’s organization by Joseph Smith, with Emma Smith as president, covering sermons, charity work, and theology.

The Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team (MWHIT), founded in 2003, promotes research and networking in the field of Mormon women’s history. We highlight the lives and experiences of Latter-day Saint women across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by bringing them to diverse audiences in print and in person.

Woman's Exponent (1872–1914) was a prominent, independent, 42-year-long feminist newspaper in Utah created by and for Latter-day Saint (Mormon) women. Edited by Louise L. Greene and later Emmeline B. Wells, it supported women’s suffrage, education, and theology, acting as a key voice for the Relief Society.

The "LDS Women's History" blogspot (ldswomenshistory.blogspot.com) was created and maintained by independent researcher and author Emily W. (Emily) Missel. The blog focuses on compiling profiles and historical sketches of women from early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints history.

Eliza R. Snow, second general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was a prolific speaker and the most influential Latter-day Saint woman of her time. She taught religious doctrine, emphasized practical principles, shared her political opinions, and conveyed love and encouragement for church members in nearly twelve hundred discourses given from 1840 to 1887 in western Illinois and throughout Utah and Idaho territories.

The purpose of the Relief Society Magazine, which began in 1914, was to unite LDS women in a bond of common interest, to educate, and enlighten as well as to be an outlet for Mormon women’s own writing. It was the official publication of the Relief Society organization for 57 years until 1970.