“OUR UTAH GIRLS”: GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN IN THE TRANSITIONAL MORMON CHURCH By Natalie Kaye Rose A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of History – Doctor of Philosophy 2016 ABSTRACT “OUR UTAH GIRLS”: GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN IN THE TRANSITIONAL MORMON CHURCH By Natalie Kaye Rose How the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) transitioned from practicing the most unconventional marriage system in the nation to representing a model of family stability has surfaced as one of the most riveting and perplexing questions in the field of American religious history. A common explanation for this remarkable transition centers upon the assumption that church members were eager to be welcomed into and prove their allegiance to the United States after contending with intense persecution and ostracism. However, this dissertation complicates this narrative and explores how acclimation into the mainstream United States was not a swift process for the church’s youngest female members. My dissertation examines how the church’s young women contended with and pushed back against the leadership’s expectations during this transition. The LDS church leadership and influential membership exercised their expectations and anxieties for the future of Mormonism through attitudes and actions directed toward adolescent female church members. Mormon girls embodied multiple possibilities for the future of the religion in the minds of the church leaders and the wider community. In the most literal sense, they represented the continuation of the religion through their desire to marry and have children. The leadership envisioned that adolescent Mormon women held the ability to push the religion into the twentieth century while still maintaining sacred religious traditions. Young women could impede the leadership’s desires by choosing intermarriage, not marrying at all, and failing to want children. To counteract these possibilities, the leadership looked to methods such as the organization of youth groups and the development of prescriptive literature to outline their expectations of how girls should act as proper Mormon women. An exploration of young women’s diaries, letters, school notebooks, memoir, and other life- writings illuminates how young women used a variety of methods and spaces to assert their agency within Mormonism. While some young women developed autonomy within church structures like the auxiliary female groups, others depended on secular higher education and professional opportunities to embrace their agency outside of the church. Their acts of agency were not necessarily directed against the church, but a way for young women to grapple with changes in their church, families, and personal lives. Copyright by NATALIE KAYE ROSE 2016 For David T. Bailey, thank you. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I must thank my professors at Sarah Lawrence College where I earned my undergraduate and master’s degrees. Eileen Cheng, Lyde Cullen Sizer, and Priscilla Murolo revealed the possibilities of studying women’s history. As a young woman and feminist in their classrooms, my preconceived ideas of gender, sexuality, race, class, and gender were regularly challenged. I admit that at first, I left seminars and meetings very confused about terms like postcolonialism, postmodernism, and queer theory. However, I kept taking these classes desiring more knowledge and ways to think about these categories of analysis. Because of them, I changed from a student who assumed she knew all about gender history to realizing that there will never be enough time to learn it all. They championed my early interests in pursuing a master’s degree and supported me as I started the process of applying to doctoral programs. Before I started my doctoral education at Michigan State, I received a piece of advice that did not resonate until years later: find a department that felt like a home. In a bittersweet turn of events, I realized the weight of this advice when my beloved advisor David T. Bailey passed away after a very quick illness during the fall of 2015. What ensued in the midst of shock and heartbreak was also the outpouring of support that I received from members of my committee and the faculty, who were all contending with their grief. Kirsten Fermaglich and Lisa Fine, both already active members of committee, took me further under their wings and finished the work of co-directing my dissertation. Emily Conroy-Krutz read a chapter that I had been struggling with for some time. Her advice and support came at a crucial time in helping me keep the process of writing and revising going. The graduate director Michael Stamm (who came onto my committee) helped me figure out how to proceed with the dissertation following David’s death. My department chair Walter Hawthorne kept me up to date about David’s condition toward the end. His friendly smile and our brief chats in hallways remind of his close friendship with David. David’s passing finally allowed me vi to get briefly to know Mark Kornbluth, who was chair of the department my first year at MSU, also another dear friend of David’s. My committee members have been continuously supportive of my work and pushed me to think and approach my project in new ways. Amy DeRogatis’ expertise in the field of American Religions, gender, and sexuality proved to be crucial for my development as a scholar and instructor. She regularly motivated me to apply for fellowships and conferences that I would never have considered. From the first day she commented on a seminar paper to reading early drafts of my dissertation chapter, her feedback has enabled me to refine my arguments and leave me an altogether more compelling writer. Studying with Lisa Fine was a natural step after earning my M.A. degree in women’s history. I entered MSU thinking I knew a lot about women’s history and historiography. While I probably did know quite a bit, working with Lisa in her graduate seminar and our one-on-one meetings allowed me to consider aspects of women’s historical experience I had not yet thought about studying. For example, her interests in young women’s transition as they entered the workplace influenced my research questions. Her support and general concern for my well-being was very welcomed as I finished the dissertation. The opportunity to work with Kirsten Fermaglich has left me a much better scholar and teacher. Kirsten’s close reading of and thoughtful feedback of seminar papers and drafts of my dissertation chapters pushed me to more clearly articulate my arguments. I always left our meetings thinking about my work in new and exciting ways. Through working as her teaching assistant one semester to sitting in on her American Jewish History seminar, I find myself recalling successful methods she used when teaching my own classes. Those outside of my committee were also crucial to my completion of the degree. The former director of graduate studies Pero Dagbovie always offered a warm smile, words of encouragement, and advice during one-on-one meetings and when we ran into each other near the department. Helen Veit and Mindy Smith always inquired about my work long after I took seminars with them vii and were always happy to answer specific questions I had. Working several times under LaShawn Harris made me a better teacher and scholar. Her simultaneous dedication to teaching and getting her research and writing done served as an important example to me while completing the degree. In addition to offering moral support during the fall and winter of 2015 and 2016, the department has helped me immensely throughout my time at MSU. Financial assistance that came from summer funding and awards allowed me to immerse myself in the archives in Utah. A dissertation completion fellowship from the graduate school gave me precious time away from other responsibilities so I could focus on finishing the last chapters of my dissertation. I also received generous support in the form of grants from the Charles Redd Fellowship in Western American History at Brigham Young University. These grants allowed me to immerse myself in the Brigham Young University Archives. Research completed there was crucial to the direction of my dissertation. The opportunity to attend the 2014 Summer Seminar in Mormon Culture, “The History of the Mormon Family,” at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute and study under Doctors Richard Bushman and Claudia Bushman was an honor and a highlight of my graduate career. They both provided invaluable help not only on the piece I wrote for the seminar but also in modeling how to mentor younger scholars. My experiences in the archives were made better by working with the outstanding staff at the following facilities: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints History Library, L. Tom Perry Special Collections at the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University, Special Collections at the J. Willard Library at the University of Utah, Special Collections at Merrill-Cazier Library at Utah State University, and Utah State Historical Society. Jessie Embry, Brian Cannon, John Murphy, and Connie Lamb all provided crucial advice for my many research trips to Brigham Young. A special word of thanks and gratitude goes to Brittany Chapman Nash, who was indispensable in guiding me through the extensive collections at the CHL, giving me pointers on materials I may have viii overlooked, and navigating the process of requesting materials. A common question I receive from non-Mormon scholars is how I am accepted in the Mormon studies community. I am happy to say that my experience in this academic community has only been one of warmth and feeling welcomed. My following colleagues have aided me with hospitality, crucial feedback at conferences, and general friendship: Christopher Jones, Barbara Jones-Brown, Sharon Harris, JB Haws, Edje Jeter, Robin Jensen, Ben Park, Andrea Radke-Moss, Jonathan Stapley, Rachel Hunt Steenblik, Heather Stone, and Jared Tamez.