On August 9, 1984, three thousand Young Women from 30 Stakes and Districts across eight Midwestern states arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois for a week-long regional encampment. The camp, themed “Rejoice in Womanhood,” centered around the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during its Nauvoo period from 1839 to 1846, with a focus on over a dozen significant women.  Unprecedented in its scope, planning, and logistics, the Nauvoo Encampment was a milestone of the Church’s organized regional encampments for youth. 

Planning for the Encampment had begun one year prior, during the last months of General Young Women’s President Elaine Cannon’s tenure. By the summer of 1984, under the leadership of newly-called general Young Women’s President Ardeth Kapp and her counselors, Sister Patricia Holland and Sister Maurine Johnson Turley, the Encampment included formal direction by Salt Lake leadership, even while it also enjoyed the planning and volunteerism of regional, stake, and ward Young Women’s presidencies and camp leadership.  

I will be presenting this topic at the Church History Symposium, to be held Thursday, October 24 at Brigham Young University, and Fri., October 25 at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. The conference program can be found at the link as a PDF document.

 Although this is a late call, I am looking for any of my fellow Encampment attendees and/or Young Women’s leaders from any of the following stakes or districts (See below.)  Please comment if you have memories, photographs, mementoes, or connections to those involved in attending or planning. Or, you may reach out to me directly at RadkeA@byui.edu I would love to hear from you! 

Of course, my own home stake of Davenport, Iowa 

Also: 

• Naperville, illinois
• Wausau, Wisconsin District
• St. Paul, Minnesota
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• Columbus, Missouri
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Appleton, Wisconsin District
• Schaumburg, Illinois
• Wichita, Kansas
• Kansas West District
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Nauvoo, Illinois
• Rockford, Illinois
• Topeka, Kansas
• Cedar Rapids, Iowa 
• Fairview Heights, Illinois
• Rochester, Minnesota
• Wilmette, Illinois
• Chicago Heights, Illinois
• Champaign, Illinois
• Independence, Missouri
• Bellevue, Nebraska
• Duluth, Minnesota District
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Marquette, Michigan District
• Liberty, Missouri
• Cape Girardeau, Missouri District
• Peoria, Illinois
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• St. Cloud, Minnesota
• Nebraska District 
• Minneapolis, Minnesota