Journal of Undergraduate Research
Keywords
women, Mormon studies, LDS Church, Eve, Protestant Americans
College
Religious Education
Department
Church History and Doctrine
Abstract
During fall semester 2000 I had the opportunity to study some of the ideas taught about Eve and the role of women among Protestant Americans in the 19th century. While doing this work I became curious about what the brethren of the LDS Church were saying to and about the women during that time. I also wanted to know how the statements they made changed over time, that is whether they followed cultural trends or not. I did my search in the Journal of Discourses, which is a compilation of many conference talks and other speeches by the brethren from 1852-1886. I put the entries I found about women, wives, sisters, and Eve into chronological order. Once I had created the list I began searching it for common themes or obvious changes over time. The results were amazing and intriguing. The common themes that were addressed were Eve, man’s right to preside, polygamy, Relief Society, and intelligence. There were also many entries about women’s fashions, which I included in my chronological list, but have not analyzed extensively.
Recommended Citation
Bitner, Katie Farnsworth and Derr, Jill Mulvay
(2014)
"The Brethren Speak – About the Women: 1850-1870,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2014:
Iss.
1, Article 1326.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2014/iss1/1326