History of Latter-day Saint Young Women Organization Available in New Book

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The first extended scholarly history of the Young Women organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is available now from the Church Historian’s Press. Titled “Carry On: The Latter-day Saint Young Women Organization, 1870–2024,” this volume advances the growing body of scholarship on Latter-day Saint women’s history and on women, religion, youth and childhood generally.

Lisa Olsen Tait, one of the book’s authors and the department’s managing historian for women’s history, described “Carry On” as a landmark publication for the Church History Department.

“Joining the department’s growing body of work on the Relief Society and the diaries and sermons of women over time, ‘Carry On’ deepens and extends our commitment to women’s history,” she said.

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This book is the first to address and contextualize the place of young women within the organization of the Church, tracing the growth of Young Women from a small group of Brigham Young’s daughters into today’s global organization.

“This is an organization for young women all over the world, between the ages of 11 and 18, to come together to strengthen belief, to find belonging, and to discover who they can become,” explained Emily Belle Freeman, Young Women General President.

According to Tait, the book “provides a new perspective on Church history through lenses such as generational dynamics, female leadership, institutional development and cultural change,” drawing on the Church History Library’s wealth of correspondence, minutes, oral histories and other records.

Readers will follow leaders like Ruth May Fox, Ardeth G. Kapp and Emily Belle Freeman as they shape familiar programs to engage young women in an increasingly global Church. Personal stories from individual young women complement the institutional narrative beyond North America, showing the organization’s influence in the lives of Latter-day Saint women throughout its history.

President Freeman said a meaningful aspect of the book for her was encountering women “who have led this organization through all of [Church history] and to watch what they learned about receiving revelation, working in council, overcoming obstacles and hurdles and being able to make important decisions.”

“No matter the era, the place or the circumstances,” the book’s dust jacket reads, “leaders throughout the organization’s history have displayed a steadfast commitment to shepherding the young women in their care and strengthening their discipleship within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

“Carry On: The Latter-day Saint Young Women Organization, 1870–2024,” is available at Deseret Book, Amazon and other retail outlets. Visit the Church Historian’s Press website for more information, including excerpts from the volume.