Personal (and Global) Progress: History of the Young Women Organization

March 14, 2025

Ever wondered what it was like to be a young Latter-day Saint woman in the 1880s? Or how about during World War II?

When it comes to the Church's Young Women program, there is a rich history. What started as a small gathering in Brigham Young's parlor has evolved into a global program that has shaped the spiritual identity of millions of young Latter-day Saint women.

A large group of young women stand on an ornate metal bridge, releasing colorful helium-filled balloons into the sky. They are dressed in jackets and dresses, and some hold brightly colored signs with Spanish words such as "Buenas Obras" (Good Works) and "Naturaleza Divina" (Divine Nature). The background features trees and an overcast sky. — The 1986 Rising Generation Young Women celebration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was part of a global event where young women released helium balloons with messages of love and testimony (*Carry On*, The Church Historian's Press; image courtesy Church History Library, Salt Lake City).

From Brigham's Daughters to a Global Sisterhood

You might not know this, but the Young Women program started as small gathering of Brigham Young’s daughters, who called their group the "Young Ladies' Department of the Ladies' Cooperative Retrenchment Association." The name marks this group as an offshoot of the Ladies' Cooperative Retrenchment Association, a retrenchment organization for women that was distinct from, but still connected to, the Relief Society.

In those days, "retrenchment" meant cutting back on extravagance and worldly influences. Brigham's daughters—under the leadership of Ella Young Empey—took this directive and ran with it, signing the original resolutions of the Young Ladies' Department. Soon, the new movement had spread to several Salt Lake wards, according to Carry On: The Latter-day Saint Young Women Organization, 1870–2024, a new book from the Church History Department.

A vintage black-and-white photograph of nine young women posing formally in two rows, with four seated in the front and five standing in the back. They are dressed in 19th-century gowns with various patterns, including plaid and intricate designs, and have their hair neatly styled. The women have serious expressions and are looking directly at the camera. The bottom left corner of the image contains faint text that reads "Brigham Young's Daughters." The background is plain. — This photo of 10 of Brigham Young's daughters shows Ella Young Empey—who served as the first president of the Young Ladies’ Department of the Ladies’ Cooperative Retrenchment Association—in the center front (*Carry On*, The Church Historian's Press; image courtesy Church History Library, Salt Lake City).

Though it started small, the organization quickly grew. According to Carry On: "By the mid-1870s, however, these local associations had expanded their focus to intergenerational mentoring, practical work and service, and development of skills in reading, writing, and public speaking."

A few years later, the organization was renamed the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association, and in 1880, the Church officially organized a general presidency for the association. According to Carry On, "At the close of the nineteenth century, YLMIA leaders worked to meet the needs of the church’s young women through greater centralization and unification, including the advent of standardized lessons and programs overseen by an expanding and ambitious general board."

By the 1930s, the organization was once again renamed (only swapping out one word) to the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association—a name your grandparents might recognize—and in the 1960s, the name became what it still is today, the Young Women organization.

The program has continued to evolve—from the organization of the Bee-Hive Girls in 1915 to the introduction of Mia Maids (around 1951) and Laurels (1959). Starting around 2018, the general Church and the Young Women Presidency shifted the focus of the organization to creating "a more uniform, simplified, and gospel-centered youth program that would better meet the needs of a diverse global membership," according to Carry On. Some of the changes included advancing to Young Women as a primary group (instead of when you turned 12), introducing a new Children and Youth program (discontinuing Personal Progress) that encourages setting spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual goals, and removing the three-class division (no more Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laurel).

The Women Who Shaped the Organization

What's fascinating about this history is seeing the consistent thread running through generations of young Latter-day Saint women, even as the organization evolved with changing times and how the Young Women program has played a central role in fostering faith, identity, and leadership in lives and congregations.

Take M. A. Willie back in 1885, who saw her participation as part of building Zion. According to the introduction of Carry On, this young woman wrote:

There has never been a better time for woman to improve her talents than at the present time. We have oportunities that our mothers were deprived of for the improvement of our minds. Then let us as wives, as mothers and as daughters of parents that we have reasons to be proud of, improve every oportunity that is afforded us, that we may be honored instruments in the kingdom of God.”

Or you can fast forward to Jantje Copier in the Netherlands in the early twentieth century, who found community in the Bee-Hive Girls program. According to Carry On, Copier was excited for the "great privilege of being a Bee-Hive Girl" in her little village in Holland, writing: "It has brought me that for which my soul seeks. It has brought me faith in life, in love, in joy, and in helpful work."

A vintage black-and-white photograph of a group of thirteen young women standing outdoors in a line, each placing their hands on the waist or back of the person in front of them. They are dressed in matching knee-length dresses with long sleeves, likely from the early 20th century, paired with stockings and various styles of heeled shoes. The background features trees, a wooden fence, and part of a brick building. Some of the women are smiling, while others have more serious expressions. The photograph shows signs of age, with visible stains and spots. — Bee-Hive Girls of the Zwickau Branch in Germany in 1924 (*Carry On*, The Church Historian's Press; image courtesy Church History Library, Salt Lake City).

Then, there are the leaders, remarkable women behind every activity, camp, and lesson manual.

At a high level, we have women like Ruth May Fox, who served as Young Women president from 1929 to 1937. She actively championed woman suffrage, serving as the treasurer when the Utah Territorial Woman Suffrage Association was organized in 1893, all while raising twelve children. During her presidency, she penned the lyrics to "Carry On," the hymn that would become a youth anthem. When she celebrated her 100th birthday in 1953, she could look back on a century that had transformed women's lives and an organization she had helped guide through the Great Depression.

Or there's Ardeth G. Kapp, who served as Young Women general president from 1984 to 1992. She introduced the Personal Progress program, and in an era when society increasingly measured young women by external appearances, Kapp emphasized their divine nature, individual worth, and other values. According to a Church News article, Kapp said, “Goals can change, but values never change. Values are the lodestar, they are anchors. If you have your values in place, then you have a basis to make decisions.”

Ardeth Greene Kapp with Young Women logo and Personal Progress booklet in 1989 (Carry On, The Church Historian's Press; image courtesy Church History Library, Salt Lake City).

Today, the Young Women general president is Emily Belle Freeman, who was called November 2022 and confirmed in the April 2023 General Conference. According to Carry On, “From day one, it was my intent to go back to our roots,” Freeman said. “What could we learn that would strengthen us now?”

And let's not forget the thousands of ward and stake Young Women leaders who translated these programs into weekly activities, camps, and personal mentoring. These local women—from the earliest retrenchment society counselors to today's advisors—have been the ones sitting on cabin floors, fitting in late-night hospital visits, and starting testimony meetings, all while creating the face-to-face connections that make the organization meaningful in individual lives.

More Than Just Activities and Achievements

If you've ever spent a weekday night making crafts that wouldn't quite fit on Pinterest or sung "As Sisters in Zion" while trying not to cry at camp, the history of the Young Women program can offer context for those experiences. It shows how your Personal Progress journal or new Youth Program booklet (depending on your generation) connects you to a long line of young women who were figuring out their faith.

A group of young girls gathers around a table as a woman with long dark hair and glasses demonstrates a gardening activity. The table is covered with biodegradable pots, seed packets, a large decorative planter, and other gardening supplies. The girls, dressed in casual clothing including hoodies and jackets, watch attentively, some holding small pots. The setting appears to be an indoor classroom or community center with wooden paneling on the walls and a beige table. — Young Women service activity in Guatemala City, Guatemala, in 2024 (*Carry On*, The Church Historian's Press; image courtesy Church History Library, Salt Lake City).

One way to feel that connection is through Carry On: The Latter-day Saint Young Women Organization, 1870–2024, which according to Lisa Olsen Tait, one of the book's authors and managing historian for women's history in the Church History Department, "provides a new perspective on church history through lenses such as generational dynamics, female leadership, institutional development, and cultural change."

Or you could check out other important works from the Church Historian's Press focusing on women's history, including The First Fifty Years of Relief Society and At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women. Together, these volumes are helping to fill significant gaps in our understanding of women's contributions to Church history.

Regardless, diving into the history of the Young Women program can offer a window into how an organization within the Church can evolve while maintaining its core purpose. For former Young Women, it's a chance to see your own experiences reflected in a broader historical context. And for anyone interested in Latter-day Saint history, it's an essential piece of the puzzle that helps complete our understanding of the Church's past.

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