The Untold Story of the Church’s Young Women Organization - Lisa Olsen Tait and James Goldberg

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Jun 30, 2025

Join historians Lisa Olsen Tait and James Goldberg as they explore the fascinating history of the Church's Young Women organization, tracing its origins from a small group in Brigham Young's Lion House to a vital entity shaping young women's lives today. They discuss the essential skills taught through the organization, the impact of societal pressures, and how past struggles with modesty and worthiness influence current experiences. Their insights reveal a rich tapestry of empowerment, leadership, and evolving identities that have guided generations of young women.

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INSIGHT

Origins and Evolution of Young Women

The Young Women Organization began in 1870 focused on retrenchment, promoting economic self-sufficiency and dress reform.
It evolved from a dependent subdivision of women’s groups into a parallel youth organization working closely with young men.

INSIGHT

Generational Dynamics Shape Youth

Generational gaps between pioneer parents and their railroad generation children created anxiety about youth identity.
This dynamic of adjusting to new cultural contexts has continually shaped the organization’s approach to youth.

INSIGHT

Young Women as Community's Focus of Fear

The community’s fears about modesty and appearance were frequently projected onto young women.
Latter-day Saints navigated tension between creating a distinct identity and seeking respectability in wider society.

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Today we’re so excited to share a conversation about the new book Carry On, a rich and thoughtful history of the church’s Young Women organization. This project has been ten years in the making, created by historians Lisa Olsen Tait, James Goldberg, Amber C. Taylor, and the late Kate Holbrook. Joining us today to talk about the project are Lisa and James.

In this conversation, they trace the arc of the organization’s beginnings and evolution—from a small association founded among Brigham Young’s teenage daughters in the Lion House, through decades of change that continually adapted to meet the evolving spiritual and cultural needs of young women of the church

Over the years, sixteen general presidents—along with their counselors, boards, and local leaders—used their gifts to create programs that nourished the young women in their care. These programs taught not just spiritual values, but also public speaking, leadership, drama, music, recreation, and practical life skills. For many, the organization became a gateway to confidence, connection, and a sense of divine purpose.

Lisa and James also address some of the more difficult parts of our past, including the ways young women have often carried the weight of the community’s fears—especially around modesty and worthiness and the way this sometimes played out in the Young Women Organization. They reflect on the effects of the Correlation movement and the changes that came as the organization was placed more directly under a priesthood line of authority. But through it all, they highlight how young women and their Young Women leaders have responded with courage, creativity, and spiritual initiative.

We hope this conversation serves as an invitation to reflect on what we might want to reclaim or reimagine for this global and spiritually hungry generation today—and to ask, with real intention, how each of us, in the spirit of the legacy of this organization’s, use our own gifts, to carry on what matters most. We’re so grateful to James and Lisa for offering their insight, scholarship, and heart to this important story.