Zina D. H. Young - Church Service and Leadership

Church Service and Leadership

After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr., Zina Young joined the Mormon Exodus to the Rocky Mountains, arriving in Utah in September 1848. After migrating to the Salt Lake Valley, Zina Young became involved in a number of public service activities. She became a school teacher and studied obstetrics under Dr. Willard Richards. As a midwife, she "...helped deliver the babies of many women, including those of the plural wives of Brigham Young. At their request, she anointed and blessed many of these sisters before their deliveries. Other women in need of physical and emotional comfort also received blessings under her hands." (Ludlow, p. 654) In 1872, she helped establish Deseret Hospital in Salt Lake City and served on its board of directors and for twelve years as president. She also organized a nursing school, with courses in obstetrics. In 1876, Zina was appointed president of the Deseret Silk Association, Utah's Silk Industry, a group which for 30 years attempted to cultivate silk worms and mulberry trees for the local production of cloth. She was also involved in LDS temple work, acting as matron to female temple workers.

When the LDS Relief Society was reorganized in 1880, Zina was selected as first counselor by President Eliza R. Snow. The new presidency was active in refining the society's organization and functions, and helped develop additional church auxiliaries, including the Young Ladies' Retrenchment Association and the Primary Association for Children. Zina was active in the temperance and women's suffrage movements, and, in the winter of 1881-82, attended the Women's Conference in Buffalo and a National Woman Suffrage Association convention in New York. In addition to Snow, Zina counted other prominent women in the Relief Society as her friends, including Bathsheba Smith and Emmeline B. Wells. (Bradley and Woodward, p. 197)

In 1888, following the death of Eliza R. Snow, Zina succeeded her as the Relief Society's third general president and served as president until her death in 1901. In 1891, she was a vice president for the Utah National Council for Women. Zina died on August 28, 1901 at age 80.