SALT LAKE CITY—The Church Historian’s Press today announced the publication of a new book, Rise Up and Speak: Selected Discourses of Eliza R. Snow. This book features fifty-two of Eliza R. Snow’s discourses and reveals the breadth of her service and leadership in the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served as a founder, secretary, and general president of the Relief Society, and as a friend, teacher, writer, temple worker, and supporter of organizations for children and young women.

During the mid-to late 1800s, Snow traveled throughout Utah and Idaho Territories, ministering to women and energizing her audiences with her gusto for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Relief Society secretaries and others recorded her discourses in minute books and newspapers. In 2018, researchers from the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began scouring those minute books and newspapers to find and transcribe Snow’s words. More than two thousand such records were examined and nearly thirteen hundred of Snow’s discourses were found, all of which have been published on the Church Historian’s Press website.

From those discourses, historians selected fifty-two of the most powerful and timeless to be featured in Rise Up and Speak. The discourses have been fully annotated and contextualized to give readers clear insights into Snow’s teachings and times. Additionally, punctuation, spelling, and grammar have been standardized to help modern readers understand Snow’s words more easily.

Snow’s discourses demonstrate her faith in Jesus Christ and her fervor for living and sharing the gospel. Her instruction includes admonitions for women to awaken to their divine potential, remain engaged in their faith, become politically involved and vote, and unite in support of each other. She frequently urged women to “rise up and speak”—to overcome fears in public speaking and to minister to each other and to their communities.

Dr. Jennifer Reeder, a historian from the Church History Department, led the project to gather and digitally publish all the discourses and served as the lead editor for the book. “It was a privilege to come to know Eliza R. Snow,” Reeder said, “to learn more about her life as she shared different stories with different congregations, to understand her gospel teachings, especially about the role of women, and to come to know some of the women she worked with in the widespread settlements of the church.”

A free exhibit will be hosted at the Church History Library to accompany the publication. The exhibit features photographs of Snow, souvenirs from her travels, and original manuscripts of her writings. Visitors can view the exhibit between February 27 and September 8, 2026. The library is located at 15 E. North Temple Street in Salt Lake City.

Rise Up and Speak demonstrates the continued commitment of the Church Historian’s Press to publish and share Latter-day Saint women’s history. It may be seen as a companion to earlier publications from the press such as The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History, At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women, and Carry On: The Latter-day Saint Young Women Organization, 1970–2024.

Rise Up and Speak: Selected Discourses of Eliza R. Snow is available at Deseret Book, Amazon, and other retail outlets. Visit the Church Historian’s Press website for more information.