Women of Power - The Influence of Mother & Daughter

by. Susan Evans McCloud

In 1847, seventeen-year-old Lucy Bigelow became Brigham Young's forty-third wife, a decision that would alter her fate and cement her story in Church history forever. Known for her sweet temperament and strong spiritual insights, Lucy determined that if she was going to be happy in circumstances where she was surrounded by wives and responsibilities of this complex family, she would have to make herself useful.

And so she did. During her lifetime of faithful service, and using the gifts of the Spirit with which she had been blessed, Lucy became the first matron of the St. George Temple and was the first woman to perform endowments for the dead in this dispensation.

The second of Lucy's three children, Susa, saw her mother's strength and character and built upon her legacy. At only thirteen, Susa entered the University of Deseret and edited a school newspaper. Her skills as a writer and poet, and her adeptness as a stenographer, led her to the sacred opportunity of recording both the St. George and Salt Lake City temple dedications. She founded the Relief Society Magazine and the Young Woman's Journal, which was an intimate and amazingly eclectic publication.

Facing some of the most intense trials mortality has to offer, and dealing with their own weaknesses and errors, Lucy and Susa grew by choice and commitment, developing faith, obedience, and love as the touchstones of their lives.

Thus, the amazing stories of these two remarkable women, who were instrumental in the progress and spirit of the early years of the Church, testify of the importance of virtues they embraced, and have become an inspiration to women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for all generations to come.