Woman's Exponent

Woman's Exponent was a newspaper published from 1872 until 1914 in Salt Lake City.[1] Its purposes were to uplift and strengthen women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)[2] and to educate those not of the Mormon faith about the women of Mormonism. Although it was not an official publication of the LDS Church, it was closely tied to the church, especially to the Relief Society. The number of women in the Relief Society that subscribed to the Exponent was approximately ten percent, but the influence of this paper reached more people than those who subscribed because it was used for discussion between women in venues such as Relief Society.[3]

Throughout the time of its publication, the newspaper covered many topics. It was a strong voice in support of woman's suffrage. It also actively supported plural marriage, which was a religious practice of the LDS Church.[4] Home and the overall role of women were also frequent topics.[5] In addition to these social and political topics, the Exponent included poems and stories, tidbits of humor or wisdom, current news, and other things. [6] Women of the Relief Society were actively encouraged to subscribe, as well as contribute to the paper. [7]

Contents

History

The original editor of the newspaper was Louisa Lula Greene, who accepted the position with the approval of her great uncle — Brigham Young, the president of the LDS Church. She was succeeded as editor in 1877 by Emmeline B. Wells, who would later become general president of the Relief Society. Wells served as the publication's editor for 37 years until it folded in 1914. Facing increasing financial pressures in the early 1900s, Wells unsuccessfully lobbied the Relief Society General Board to adopt the newspaper as its official publication. With their rejection, the paper was forced to close. The Relief Society Magazine, a separate publication, began publication in January 1915.

Exponent II

After the consolidation of the Relief Society Magazine into the Ensign in 1970, an independent publication calling itself Exponent II was started in 1974 by several Cambridge, Massachusetts-area women. Produced by a non-profit organization unrelated to the LDS Church, this newspaper focuses on the concerns and experiences of some Mormon women from a feminist perspective.[8]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Woman's Exponent." Digital Collections at BYU, Mormon Publications: 20th Century. accessed 11 February 2011. http://relarchive.byu.edu/mptc/descriptions/womans_exponent.html
  2. ^ Sherilyn Cox Bennion, "The Woman's Exponent: Forty-two Years of Speaking for Women," Utah Historical Quarterly Vol. 44, No. 3 (1976):226 accessed online at Utah Historical Society website [1]
  3. ^ Bennion, 224, 237
  4. ^ "Woman's Exponent." Digital Collections at BYU, Mormon Publications: 20th Century.
  5. ^ Bennion, 239
  6. ^ Bennion, 229-230
  7. ^ Bennion, 224
  8. ^ Barlow, Rich, "A Feminist Look at the Mormon Faith", Boston Globe, 2006-06-17; accessed on 2008-03-27.

External links

English-language periodicals of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Official
(published by the LDS Church
or its institutional predecessors)
Evening and Morning Star (1832–1834) • Messenger and Advocate (1834–1837) • The Elders' Journal (1837) • Times and Seasons (1839–1846) • Millennial Star (1840–1970) • The Prophet (1844–1845) • Young Woman's Journal (1897–1929) • Improvement Era (1897–1970) • Juvenile Instructor (1901–1930) • The Children's Friend (1902–1970) • Relief Society Magazine (1915–1970) • The Instructor (1930–1970) • Ensign (1971– ) • New Era (1971– ) • The Friend (1971– ) • Tambuli (1977–1995) • Liahona (1995– )
Semi-official
(published by an entity owned or controlled by the LDS Church
or informally adopted by a church auxiliary)
The Wasp (1842–1843) • Nauvoo Neighbor (1843–1845) • Deseret News (1850– ) • The Seer (1853–1854) • Journal of Discourses (1854–1886) • Juvenile Instructor (1866–1900) • Woman's Exponent (1872–1914) • The Contributor (1879–1896) • Church News (1931– ) • BYU Studies (1959– ) • Mormon Times (2008–)
Unaffiliated
(published by an entity unconnected to the LDS Church
and independent of church support)
Gospel Reflector (1841) • Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (1966– ) • Exponent II (1974– ) • Sunstone (1975– ) • Beehive Standard Weekly (1975– ) • Latter-day Trumpet (2003–)