Sunday, April 09, 2017 – Sarah Granger Kimball Home Tour, Guests

At the end of this morning’s Sunday Services at the Visitor’s Center, I noticed all of our tulip flowerbeds are in full bloom. They also have Daffodils that are color coordinated with the tulips. The flower beds are very pretty. Hopefully all six flower beds at the Visitor’s Center will last for a month.

In the afternoon Sis. Johnson and I served as tour guides in the historic home of Sarah Granger Kimball. We had several guest including a couple, Ferrin & Linda Leavitt, from Cardston, Alberta Canada. We had a nice visit after their tour because in the 1890’s my grandparents, Charles E. Watson & Amanda Irene Watson helped homestead “Mountain View” which is near Cardston.  

The historic site, “Sarah Granger Kimball Home” is significant because the beginnings of the Relief Society can be traced to this very home and its occupant Sarah Granger Kimball. Sarah lived in the home with her husband, a prosperous merchant who was not LDS. Sarah employed a maiden lady, Margaret Cook, as a seamstress and the subject of combining their efforts in assisting the Temple construction workers came up. Sarah told Margaret, “If I supply the material would you sew shirts for the temple workers.”

Sarah believed, “some of our neighbors might wish to combine means and efforts with ours, and we decided to invite a few to come and consult with us on the subject of forming a Ladies’ Society. The neighboring sisters met in my parlor [March 4, 1842] and decided to organize.” 

After a constitution was written for the Ladies’ Society, Joseph Smith said, “Tell the sisters their offering is accepted of the Lord, and He has something better for them than a written constitution.” He said, “I will organize the women under the priesthood after the patter of the priesthood.”

On March 17, 1842, twenty women, including Sarah Granger Kimball, met in the upper room of Joseph Smith’s “Red Brick Store.” On that day, Joseph organized the “Female Relief Society of Nauvoo.” Joseph said, “The Church was never perfectly organized until the women were thus organized.”

Today, the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the oldest and largest women’s organization in the world. The Relief Society reaches out to help the poor, the needy and all women and families to “Come unto Christ.”