The purpose of The Relief Society Magazine, which began in 1914, was to
unite women in a bond of common interest, to educate, and enlighten as
well as to be an outlet for Mormon women’s own writing. It was the
official publication of the Relief Society organization for 56 years.
Prior to 1914, the Woman’s Exponent had been the “unofficial”
voice of the Relief Society and included lessons developed by local officers
or teachers. In the early 1900s, the Church developed the correlation
program and in 1913 the Relief Society decided to have their lessons correspond
to Melchizedek Priesthood lessons and be uniform throughout the Church.
In 1914, the Relief Society
published the RS monthly Guides and additional Bulletins containing the
uniform lessons. Emmeline B. Wells who had been the editor of the Woman’s
Exponent for many years, was called as the General Relief Society President
in 1910 and with the new publication, the Woman’s Exponent was terminated
in February 1914. The leaders then decided that the courses would be presented
in a new monthly medium - The Relief Society Magazine which began in January
1915. The guides and bulletins of 1914 were bound as volume one of the
magazine.
The Relief Society Minutes of October 1, 1914 state that
the magazine will consist of literary, artistic, and practical articles,
designed to improve our minds and beautify our homes. It mentions sections
on genealogy, health, cooking, clothing, books, arts, and amusements.
The contents were modified over time to meet changing circumstances. It
also published fiction, poetry, and plays written by Mormon women. The
magazine ceased in 1970 when the Church-produced magazines were
combined into the three current ones for various age groups. The Relief
Society Magazine is a treasure for historical and social research. It
is hoped that the Index will assist scholars and others to access the
wealth contained in the Relief Society Magazines.
This Index includes the major standard categories of material: Lessons, Articles, Fiction, Poetry, Plays, Recipes, Notes from the Field (ward and stake Relief Societies), and Happenings (individuals). During some years, the section of notations on individuals was called “Woman’s Sphere”. The Index does not include editorials, birthday congratulations, pictures, advertisements, letters and notes from the general presidencies, letters to the editor, very short articles/notes, or hobby features. Because there is a published index for the time period of 1914-1932, this online index includes only 1933-1970. Currently the older issues are being indexed in the same depth and format as the current index. This material will be added to the database at a future date.
The Relief Society Magazine Index was created by students working at the History/Religion Reference Desk of the Harold B. Lee Library during the early 1990s under the supervision of Connie Lamb, Reference Specialist and Women’s Studies Librarian. Jacob Jenson, a BYU Library programmer, created the computer database.
If you have questions or comments, please contact Connie Lamb, 1202 HBLL, (801) 422- 6196, connie_lamb@byu.edu.
