It is so amazing to me that the sisters who helped settle the Salt Lake Valley, and organize the Relief Society, which we all benefit from, were so strong, determined, progressive, pro-active, and innovative.   Mormon women were judged unfairly by women of the world.  Polygamy was misconstrued.  It was assumed that Mormon women needed to be taken care of because they were helpless, mindless, and manipulated into female slavery.  Nothing could be further from the truth and the Mormon women set out to prove it.

Brigham Young believed in women.  He knew how capable woman could be.  He encouraged his wives to delve into any interest they had, and they were very diverse in their abilities.  Many of them pursued education, either by learning, or by teaching.  Many were leaders in the church, as well as the community.

Eliza R. Snow was called an “Elect Lady” by her peers.  She had a quick mind and could organize anything.  What I love best about her is that she understood the gospel thoroughly, and she accepted the godly position of the Priesthood without question.  Eliza was adamantly opposed to strong-minded women.  She was not interested in creating war between the sexes.  She never crossed a Priesthood leader, always preferring to honor that authoritative role set by God.  However, she was spirited enough to organize a wide variety of programs for women allowing them to improve, educate, and stretch themselves.  Eliza organized the Relief Society in Utah after the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo.  She became President of this organization.  As the Young Women Retrenchment Association developed, and the youngsters organized into the Primary, Eliza became the overseer, or Presidentess, of all these organizations.

Having to create a city from scratch, being a part of a polygamist family, and having a husband gone serving a mission, put the women in a position of having to invent, provide, and operate.  The women of this time did just that.  They organized themselves, laid out a plan, and moved forward.  Brigham Young was very much in favor of this enterprising attitude.  He asked Eliza to overseer much of this activity.  Eliza saw to it that all programs were approved by local male authorities.  She reminded women of their duty as wives and mothers and of the importance of obedience.  Relief Society provided a setting for domestic and commercial enterprises, commitment to self-improvement, and a constant affirmation of their own spiritual powers producing a vibrant sense of sisterhood and a setting to discuss women’s rights and responsibilities.

Women’s Press Clubs were popping up all over the nation, and so, Utah developed its own.  This was a club where women could discuss professional issues and career strategies; all this in a world where women were largely excluded from male-dominated institutions.  Utah women were in the thick of things, planning, organizing, causing change, accepting assignments to bolster, campaign, and set an example of equality.  Politics would of course become center stage as women demanded to be heard and represented well.  Women’s rights became the rage throughout the nation.  But only in Utah, were the rights desired to equal men, not surpass them.