Relief Society (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Corporate History
The Relief Society is the women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which was initially led by Emma Hale Smith in Nauvoo, IL in 1842. During the group's existance, it has been an organization dedicated to providing lessons, activities, and service opportunities for the women of the Church in both a ward and stake setting.
The Relief Society was established by various women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sarah M. Kimball's house in Nauvoo, IL in 1842. After giving their constitution to Joseph Smith, they set up various presidencies within their wards/stakes and selected Joseph Smith's wife Emma to serve as the overall president of the Society.
Between Joseph Smith's martyrdom in 1842 and 1866, the Society fell into disarray under Brigham Young's leadership of the Church. While he did allow various female-led societies to assist in the Church's exodus to Utah to assist in midwifrey (The Female Council of Health) and in developing bonds with the Native Americans, the general involvement of the Relief Society in the Church was weak.
From 1866 on, Brigham Young and later leaders of the Church made more of a concerted effort to make sure that the Relief Society would play a more predominant role in the Church. Not only did he call a new General President of the Society to lead the group (starting with Eliza Snow), but he permitted the Society to create magazines, be more actively involved in the ward, etc. Through the group's involvement of the Church, they contributed to the Church's welfare program, strengthen homes during times of war, and became Red Cross units in wartorn nations in World War I and World War II. They also worked to prevent the passage of the Equal Rights Ammendment, established the Women's Research Center at BYU, and so on.
Citation:
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, via WWW, August 19, 2016 (Relief Society)Found in 30 Collections and/or Records:
Alice Louise Reynolds collection of travel literature, 1898-1937
Contains travel guides, pamphlets, maps, and other literature related to Reynolds's travels in Europe and the Middle East. Materials were published between 1898 and 1937.
Alice Louise Reynolds diaries and notes, 1894-1938
Contains diaries, lecture notes, correspondence, and autobiographical materials produced by Reynolds. Includes information on her teaching and travels. Materials dated between 1894 and 1938.
Emmeline B. Wells and Annie Wells Cannon papers, approximately 1877-1963
Papers of Emmeline B. Wells and Annie Wells Cannon, including biographies, a pedigree chart, a medal of service, letters, poetry, and a geography coursebook. Materials dated approximately 1877 to 1963.
Emmeline B. Wells and Annie Wells Cannon photographs, approximately 1877-1963
Contains photographs of the family of Emmeline B. Wells and Annie Cannon Wells. Photographs are of family members, some unidentified. Also contains scrapbooks with photographs and clippings, and loose ephemera from scrapbooks. Date dapproximately 1877 to 1963.
Emmeline B. Wells ledger book, 1892-1895
Ledger book used by Emmeline B. Wells to record membership in the Utah Suffrage Association between December 23, 1892 and May 20, 1895 (pages 6-18); and a verbatim handwritten copy of the minutes of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, Illinois, taken from the original record created from March 17, 1842 to March 16, 1844.
Joseph Field Smith Institute administrative records, 1984-2005
Contains corporate minutes, reports, schedules, agendas, photographs, letters, memoranda, suget forms, programs and clippings concerning the administrative files of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History. These administrative files deal with faculty reports, symposiums, lectures, grants, and projects of the various programs and researches of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, 1984-2005.
Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History digital media, 2004
Contains four DVDs of lectures that were part of a 2004 lecture series entitled To Tell the Tale: Preserving the Lives of Mormon Women. Includes lectures on Relief Society, Mormon women's history, and women newspaper editors.
Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History manuscripts on Latter-day Saint women, 1921-1986
Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History manuscripts on Social Services, 1949-1984
Contains oral histories and manuscripts for a book on the history of social services in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1949-1984.