18 September 1884


Nephi North Relief Society, Young Ladies, and Primary; Nephi Meetinghouse, Nephi, Utah Territory

Sisters E. R. Snow Smith and E. [Emmeline] B. Wells from Salt Lake and Sister Minerva [W.] Snow of St. George were present.

[. . .]

Sister Pitchforth then introduced Sister Minerva Snow who said [. . .] She had accompanied Sister Eliza R. Snow to Sanpete to attend the Sisters Conference and had had a lovely time. [. . .] Spoke in praise of Sister Eliza Snow, she felt thankful and grateful to have the privilege of traveling and being associated with her. [. . .]

Singing “O my Father Thou that dwellest”

Sister E. R. Snow Smith said:—my sisters of the Relief Society I am very thankful to God our Heavenly Father for the privilege of mingling my voice with yours. I am thankful to our Father for these organizations where the sisters can educate themselves, and learn valuable lessons. It is our duty to look after the poor, and to save souls. It used to be that men did all the preaching, it was thought if men were good and saved themselves they could save all that belonged to them. But women have to save themselves: work out [p. 158] your own salvation. God has plased within our reach the means to attain to the highest salvation, even a fulness, and it is our own fault if we do not attain to the highest Glory. It would be a hell of the bitterest kind to know that we had the means of salvation in our own hands and failed to attain to that salvation we had set out for. Spoke of con[s]cience, said it is not a true guide as it varies and all people’s concien◊s were not alike. As officers and members of the Relief Society we want to see eye to eye and we ought to cultivate concience in the Gospel so that we can see eye to eye. We have a Religeon that never wears out for which I am very thankful. Refered to her early training, and the experience she gained while in her youth with regard to the different sects of the day. Said she was taught to be upright and honest from her birth and had tried to live a pure life, but the sects of the day told her she ought to consider herself the meanest person in the world but she was to honest with herself to believe that so she could not get religeon in that way. She longed, in her youth, to see a Prophet of God and Apostles, to see the gifts of the Holy Spirit made manifest as they were in the days of the Apostles. When she went to the waters of baptisim she knew that the principles of the Gospel were true, and she had know it ever since and was thankful to God for His kindness to her. Said she would rather bury all her friends than have them apostize [apostatize]. We will receive just what we earn. I hope all my sisters belong to the Relief Society. I wonder how it is that some sisters never attend the R. [Relief] Society meetings; never receive those refreshing times that we receive by attending them. The Spirit of the Gospel tends upward, and we have to seek earnestly for the things of the Spirit. She heard the Prophet Joseph [Smith] say “that we are only saved just as far as we gain the victory,” and we want to gain the victory over evry evil. Spoke of the first organization of the Relief Society and the teachings of the Prophet to the sisters. He said that whenever the Church was organized in its fulness there was a Relief Society organized. If the sisters will cary [p. 159] out the counsels of the Priesthood, this will become the most glorious organization that was ever organized, it has brought us together and made us love each other. The most important duties of the sisters are to give character to the children. Mothers form the character of Statesmen and Congressmen; if we had mothers like Washington’s Adam’s and Jefferson’s we would have statesmen like Washington, but it seems as though the mothers of the statesmen, of the United States, are deterioated, judging from the men in Congress. mothers, see that your children attend the Primary Associations, and see to your daughters and to your sons, train them in honesty, rigid honesty. Be honest your self in dealing with the children and do not promise them any thing that you do not give. Teach them self government; it takes a great deal of watching and talking but when you have accomplished it you have accomplished a great thing. We must come to a standard, we must see eye to eye. We need a generation who have more faith. The judgements of the Lord are going to be poured out upon the nations of the earth, and are going to begin at the house of the Lo[r]d, and first upon those who profess to know the Lord. Sisters be one with your husbands, give them kind words and it will help them. The sisters who attend their meetings have more kind words for their husbands and children that [than] those who do not attend. Do all that we do with an eye single to the glory of God. When Father devides [divides] His inheritance and we receive a share it will reward us for all our labors. Father wanted noble spirits to come forth in this Dispensation and He kept us in reserve to come forth in this day. Told all who had the right to vote to go and vote but said under the circumstances she was glad she could not vote although she would <like> to vote and ought to have that privilege. Spoke of administering to the sick; said any sister who magnified her calling can officiate in the ordinances for the sick— washing, annointing and the laying on of hands. Told of some cases of healing where people had been healed under the hands of some of the sisters, through the blessing [p. 160] of God. If we live our Religeon we can do these things. We should so live that we may be proper recipients of the Faith and Spirit of God.

[. . .] [p. 161]

Source Note

Nephi North Ward, Juab Stake, Relief Society Minutes and Records (1882–1944), vol. 1 (1882–1885), pp. 158–161, CHL (LR 6003 14); Matilda E. Teasdale, Secretary.

See also “Visit to the Country,” Woman’s Exponent 13, no. 9 (1 Oct. 1884): 68.

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18 September 1884, Nephi North Relief Society, Young Ladies, and Primary; Nephi Meetinghouse, Nephi, Utah Territory, The Discourses of Eliza R. Snow, accessed March 19, 2024 https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/eliza-r-snow/1880s/1884/09/1884-09-18