Daughters of God Exhibit

Elise Reynolds, Reference Librarian
24 March 2017

Latter-day Saint women have made significant contributions throughout Church history. Elise Reynolds describes how a temporary exhibit uses documents and photos from the library’s collections to tell some of their inspiring stories.

There is a lot of discussion about women and womanhood in the world at present. This month, the Church History Library is hosting a temporary exhibit entitled Daughters of God, which explores how Latter-day Saints might answer the question of what it means to be a woman.

The heart of the exhibit is “The Relief Society Declaration.” This document, presented in the September 1999 general meeting for the Relief Society by Sister Mary Ellen Smoot, was intended to help women in the Church understand their identity as daughters of God.

Building on this, the exhibit uses documents and photographs to share the stories of women in the Church who characterize the traits identified in “The Relief Society Declaration.” From Lucy Mack Smith to Relief Society sisters in Jamaica, the stories span time and nationalities. The stories are told through journals, branch records, photographs, and publications. For example, anyone who has seen the recent videos about Julia Mavimbela, one of the first members of the Church in Soweto Township, South Africa, may be familiar with her commitment to service. But Julia also had a deep love of the temple, and this story is shared in the display, accompanied by photographs.

Visitors to the exhibit can learn about Tsune Nachie, a Japanese sister who mothered uncounted missionaries serving in Japan and Hawaii. You can see the Relief Society minutes of the Smithfield Branch, which recount how Drusilla Hendricks relied on prayer to endure her trials, or learn about another pioneer, Desideria Quintanar de Yañez, who followed the Spirit and joined the Church in Mexico after seeing a copy of Parley P. Pratt’s Una Voz de Amonestación (A Voice of Warning) in a dream.

The women featured in the accounts come from diverse and imperfect backgrounds. Despite this, they exemplified their divine nature as daughters of God, and this is the message of the exhibit: characteristics such as faith and charity matter most.

The exhibit will be on display from March 6 to April 8, 2017, during library hours. Along with this short-term exhibit, the library also offers a group presentation entitled “I Am a Woman in the Gospel,” which can be scheduled online year-round.