| Description |
During the second half of the 20th century, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints underwent a massive global expansion both in structure and in membership. Prior to this time, the Church had been primary centered in Utah with relatively independent auxiliary organizations that functioned dynamically in the community. The Church's women's organization, the Relief Society, was highly influential and represented a formidable political, charitable, and social presence in both the state and nation. However, with the outbreak of World War II in the United States, the Relief Society underwent critical restructuring. This paper explores World War II as a catalyst and justification for male priesthood leader-directed reformation of the Relief Society. Conscious of wartime demands and fearful of its perverse effects, leaders implemented new policies that limited the Relief Society's independent activities and changed the rhetoric surrounding their responsibilities. These changes accelerated a monumental restructuring movement within the Church, called correlation, which brought auxiliary organizations under more direct male priesthood authority. My research identifies 1941-1945 as a crucial turning point in LDS leaders' attitudes regarding the Relief Society's autonomy and place in the structure of the Church. I examine the Relief Society under President Amy Brown Lyman to understand the early process of correlation and its effects on women. Ultimatley, this process challenged the vision and legacy of the early Relief Society and fundamentally changed its function and purpose in the postwar global era. |
