The Women of Mormondom

In Short

This narrative history traces the spiritual, social, and physical trials of Latter-day Saint women from the founding of the church in 1830 to their settlement in Utah during the 1870s. The author frames these women not as silent victims of a patriarchal frontier, but as heroic, inspired architects of a new Christian dispensation. Blending chronicled events with personal autobiographies, visions, and public addresses, the book documents their early spiritual awakenings, violent expulsions from Ohio and Missouri, the trek across the Great Plains, the practice of plural marriage, and their ultimate emergence as a powerful political force exercising female suffrage in the American West.

The Story

The chronicle opens by presenting the rise of Mormonism as an epic spiritual movement built upon the faith and innate spiritual capacities of women. Identifying women as the true guardians of faith and inspiration, the text traces the prophetic genius of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young back to their mothers, Lucy Smith and Abigail Young. In Kirtland, Ohio, early female converts experience a restoration of apostolic gifts, receiving visions, speaking in tongues, and experiencing miraculous healings. They labor alongside men with "brain, bone and sinew" to build the first Mormon temple, sacrificing their meager resources to clothe and feed workers until the structure is dedicated amid signs, angels, and heavenly manifestations.

As the church grows, it meets fierce hostility from surrounding communities. The narrative follows the saints to Missouri, where peaceful settlements rapidly devolve into bloodshed and mob violence. Through personal testimonies—such as Amanda Smith’s harrowing account of the Haun’s Mill massacre and Mary Fielding Smith’s ordeal following the betrayal of her husband Hyrum—the text paints a vivid portrait of physical terror and resilience. Women witness their husbands beaten, dragged, and imprisoned, yet they nurse wounded children, survive harsh winter prairie conditions, and lead their families out of Missouri under Governor Boggs's extermination order.

Rebuilding in Nauvoo, Illinois, Joseph Smith formally organizes the Female Relief Society, elevating women into official administrative and spiritual roles within the church hierarchy. Here, the doctrine of the "trinity of motherhood" (Eve, Sarah, and Zion) takes root, alongside the controversial implementation of plural marriage. The book defends polygamy as an ancient Hebraic mandate designed to elevate womanhood, refine family life, and restore patriarchal order. Following the assassination of Joseph Smith, the sisterhood joins the historic exodus west. Transforming icy plains into temporary towns with cloth houses and log fires, thousands of women drive ox teams across the wilderness to the Salt Lake Valley.

In Utah, the narrative broadens into a survey of institutional growth and political mobilization. The Female Relief Society is reorganized into a vast, self-governing network of over two hundred local branches, completely eliminating the need for municipal poorhouses by managing community welfare directly. Women found their own newspaper, The Woman's Exponent, establishing a distinct literary voice. When federal anti-polygamy legislation threatens their community in the 1870s, the women of Utah organize mass mass meetings, invoking their rights under the U.S. Constitution and casting their ballots through newly granted territorial female suffrage. Ultimately, the story culminates in a vision of these exiled women emerging as apostolic leaders destined to shape a new American civilization.

How It Unfolds

The prophetic origin The spiritual movement begins with mothers like Lucy Smith, whose innate spiritual gifts and prophetic vision lay the foundation for her son Joseph's revelations. Early female converts in Ohio immediately embrace miraculous gifts, viewing the new gospel as a restoration of Pentecostal power specifically designed to exalt womanhood.

Building the sanctuary In Kirtland, women labor abstemiously to support the construction of the temple, providing clothing and food for workmen while enduring poverty and hostile mobs. The work culminates in the 1836 dedication, where hundreds of church leaders assemble and heavenly manifestations fill the house.

Night of the celestial army Believers observe an extraordinary vision of an army marching across the starlight sky in strict formation, complete with clashing weapons and firing muskets. The sign occurs the exact evening Joseph Smith retrieves the ancient records of the Book of Mormon, serving as an omen of impending conflict.

Bloodshed on the frontier Hostilities escalate in Missouri, leading to brutal mob attacks, the death of Apostle David Patten in battle, and terrible atrocities against defenseless families. Disarmed and driven by armed militias, women like Amanda Smith and Mary Fielding Smith survive trauma, imprisonment of their spouses, and mid-winter exile.

Exodus into the wilderness Following their expulsion from Illinois, thousands of saints form vast wagon camps along the Mississippi River and set out across the frozen plains. Women drive teams, haul baggage, sing evening hymns around campfires, and maintain order under the leadership of Brigham Young as they march toward the Rocky Mountains.

Building the desert Zion In the Salt Lake Valley, women establish self-sufficient homes, launch agricultural projects, and organize the Female Relief Society across hundreds of settlements. They establish The Woman's Exponent to represent their public voice and mobilize en masse using female suffrage to defend their religious practices against federal legislation.

The People

• Lucy Mack Smith: Mother of the prophet Joseph Smith. She possesses an innate genius for inspiration and spiritual gifts, serving as the foundational ancestral source for the entire Latter-day Saint spiritual dispensation.
• Eliza R. Snow: Prominent Hebraic poetess, visionary, and early secretary of the Relief Society. She acts as an intellectual leader and spiritual voice for the sisterhood, composing hymns and poetry that define the movement's destiny.
• Amanda Smith: A survivor of the Haun's Mill massacre in Missouri. After losing family members to mob violence, her unyielding faith enables her to pray through tragedy and miraculously treat her son's severe wounds.
• Mary Fielding Smith: Wife of Hyrum Smith. She endures intense physical hardship, mob invasions, and winter travel on a sickbed with a newborn child while her husband remains imprisoned in Liberty Jail.
• Phoebe Woodruff: An early church member who lived through the Nauvoo era. She emerges as a prominent public speaker in Utah, passionately invoking the U.S. Constitution to defend her community's civil and religious rights against congressional interference.
• Patriarchal Mothers (Eve, Sarah, Zion): The central archetypal figures of Mormon theology. They represent the eternal "trinity of motherhood," validating female authority and the celestial necessity of generating eternal offspring.

In Its Own Voice

When defending their spiritual calling, early church chroniclers emphasize the distinct nature of female faith:

"Woman is child of faith. Indeed she is faith. Man is reason. His mood is skepticism."

In the midst of violent Missouri expulsions, women faced armed intruders with quiet conviction:

"My husband replied: 'I profess to belong to the Church of Christ.'"

Refusing to accept external political interference, leaders like Phoebe Woodruff invoked the founding charter of the nation:

"This glorious legacy of our fathers, the constitution of the United States, guarantees unto all the citizens of this great republic the right to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences..."

What It's Really About

At its core, the text is an apologetic defense of Mormon womanhood designed to overturn Eastern nineteenth-century prejudices. It argues that Mormonism, far from subjugating women through plural marriage, actually exalts them into essential partners in the divine order. The narrative constructs a counter-history where female spiritual intuition is the true engine driving religious dispensations, contrasting women’s natural faith against male skepticism and priestcraft.

Beyond religious defense, the book addresses the broader question of woman's place in modern civilization. By linking patriarchal theology with practical self-governance, social welfare, and voting rights, the author presents the Utah sisterhood as the vanguard of a new social era. The fundamental claim is that true female liberation requires complete spiritual authority and collective unity rather than passive conformity to Gentile social standards.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers interested in American history, nineteenth-century religious movements, and the history of Western women will find this text a fascinating, primary-flavored document. It offers a rare, unabashedly insider perspective on early Latter-day Saint history, presenting female figures not as passive followers, but as articulate, fierce participants in their own destiny. Reading these accounts provides a direct window into the spiritual fervor, apocalyptic mindset, and sheer physical endurance required to build frontier communities out of absolute wilderness.

The reading experience requires navigating distinct period difficulties. The prose is heavy with nineteenth-century religious rhetoric, formal Hebraic phrasing, and dramatic romanticism. Readers must also engage with lengthy biographical sketches, theological digressions on patriarchal marriage, and explicit political polemics against federal legislation. Yet, despite its dense period style and overt bias, the book remains deeply compelling. The raw accounts of survival—such as winter camping in snow-covered tents, enduring violent raids, and constructing autonomous networks of care—leave a lasting impression of extraordinary human resilience.