The Church Historian’s Press of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently released a history of the Church’s Young Women’s Organization from 1870-2024. The book is a significant milestone for many reasons, not least that the LDS Church is addressing the history of its youth adherents in an official capacity for the first time. Recognizing the contributions, power, and experiences of young women highlights the Church History Department’s (and thus, the LDS Church’s) decade-long commitment to understanding and celebrating the experiences of a broader swath of its membership than it ever has before. Addressing and celebrating young women’s experiences and their ecclesiastical leaders at the global level shines a new light on what it meant to be a Latter-day Saint growing up in the Church in the United States as well as across the world.

The book, in and of itself, is a delightful read. It’s incredible what happens when talented researchers and writers are given resources in time and primary sources to tell an important story. In this way, the book is similar to the Saints Histories of the Church published over the previous half-decade, more than the First Fifty Years of Relief Society, which was more akin to Joseph Smith Papers Project volumes. As an educator, I believe this is a positive move. I love documentary histories and regularly assign documents from First Fifty Years and the Smith Papers to my university classes, but they require a fair amount of table setting to engage non-specialists. It’s worth the effort! But I also think Carry On will reach a broader cover-to-cover, intelligent-but-not-expert audience. It takes all types of resources to reach students—I’m glad to have more books at my disposal to do so.

At the release event, several authors and two Church leaders commented and were made available to the Press. Lisa Tait, who led the project after the too-early death of Kate Holbrook, informed those present that the project had been approved in 2016. She emphasized how much primary sources had to be read, contextualized, and synthesized to write a book that achieved what it was meant to do. The “first scholarly” history of the Young Women’s organizations, she said, reveals just how much more work there is to be done. There are many more “unplowed fields” left for scholars to engage with in the history of youth, women, and young women in Latter-day Saint history.

James Goldberg remarked that studying “sacred or religious history” involves bringing together different worlds, interests, and motivations for historical actors. He underscored that the young women and their leaders followed a “fundamental religious impulse” as they shaped and were shaped by the world around them. He underscored that institutions and individuals shape the experiences of all those interacting with them. Whether intentionally or not, Goldberg’s framing reminded me of Robert Orsi’s work in History & Presence, wherein the American Catholic scholar explains that studying religion is to examine the moments where the sacred and the mundane meet (Orsi says “where God breaks into time”).

I also appreciated that Goldberg said this book deserves a wide readership by men. Women’s history is not for women alone. Men must do more to understand women’s experiences, choices, and experiences as they participate in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Amber Taylor remarked, “The idea of young women is a nexus point for many significant events in our history.” Societies project their hopes and anxieties onto their youth, fearful of their failure but confident in their eventual success given the appropriate resources and support. As I read the book, I agree with Taylor’s statement that young Saints and their leaders navigate difficult circumstances “with love and sincerity and purpose.”

President Emily Belle Freeman, Young Women’s President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stressed that young women have made a difference and continue to make a difference in the world. As she read about the “roots” of the organization she leads, she saw the goodness she had not been aware of. She borrows ideas from earlier leaders, including inviting young people to sit in council with the LDS Church’s youth leaders and including them in decision-making processes.

Freeman remarked that there is a history of “bold leaders” among young women who sought to (and did) part the heavens and talk with God on behalf of young women. She shared a touching story about how her grandmother became involved in the Young Women’s organization before her baptism and how participating helped her see the Church in a new way and eventually led to her baptism.

Other Notes and Observations

• One question asked about budgets between the young women’s and young men’s organizations. It was acknowledged that there has been heavy discussion about budgets, beginning with all local budgets coming under the control of local and global Church leaders. Ardeth Kapp, the Young Women’s President in the 1980s, saw these inequities and worked to change funding structures to make them more equitable. It took time, but they remain in place.
• Young women were prepared for the temple differently over time, with a primary emphasis on marriage, eventually including other practices like baptisms for the dead, initiatory and endowment, and preparation for missionary service.
• This note is my own thought, but I’m blown away by how many bright minds worked as research assistants on this project. It was a beautiful, if somewhat painful, reminder of how Kate Holbrook’s legacy is still felt in Latter-day Saint and Mormon history. She saw talent, helped those with fewer resources develop it, and remained a source of courage, hope, and help after their immediate contact ended.