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We assure the young sisters of the Church that they make a valuable contribution as missionaries, and we welcome their service.

Today we have about 20,000 single sisters serving as missionaries in the Church. And to put that into perspective, there are more women serving missions right now than the number of women in the Church in 1847, when the pioneers crossed the plains. So, most of us know at least some single sister missionaries, and many of us have grandmothers, great grandmothers, mothers who served as missionaries. Not very many of us, though, know the story of how the first full-time single sister missionaries were called to serve in the 1890s. There have been instances where our sisters cheerfully arose in our meetings and bore a testimony to the truth of the gospel. Their very presence does a great deal toward removing prejudice from the minds of people. Elizabeth Claridge McCune is my fifth great-grandmother. I grew up hearing stories about her from my dad. And back then they didn't call women on preaching missions. So she found other ways to serve. In 1897, she planned a trip to go to England so that she could gather family history information. Before Elizabeth went to England, she wanted a blessing from Elder Lorenzo Snow to help guide her and her family history work. And he gave her a promise that surprised her. Thy mind shall be as clear as an angel's when explaining the principles of the gospel. Her family went over to England, and her son was actually serving a mission there too. So when she wasn't looking for family records in England, she spent time with her son. She invited the elders to hold discussions at the house where she was staying. And sometimes she would go with them, helping pass out tracts and singing with the elders at their street meetings. [MUSIC - "NOW LET US REJOICE"] (SINGING) Earth will appear as the Garden of Eden, and Jesus will say to all Israel come home. This was a tough time to be a missionary in England. There was a lot of anti-Mormon literature going around at the time. And there was this perception of Mormon women as being degraded human beings who had no thoughts of their own. This is an example of one of the many pamphlets and street tracts that were handed out. A man named William Jarman wrote this one. Jarman would interrupt street meetings with his views. Yes. Thousands of Mormon women in the territory of Utah are living in a condition of abject slavery. Many of them would proclaim their wrongs to the world if only they dared. Of course, you can imagine the effect that that would have on curious listeners who were trying to understand Mormonism from Mormons. I sometimes had an ardent desire to speak myself, feeling that as a woman I might be able to do some good. Though I worried that if I had this privilege, I might fail entirely. She wanted to say, "That's not right. That's not how it really is. I'm one of those women in the Church, and it's nothing like that." LDS women had always heard these types of accusations with disbelief and with frustration. They knew that this did not represent the reality of their lives. But these terrible allegations posed a huge problem for the mission president, for the missionaries themselves. Many of you are no doubt aware that William Jarman is about again, spreading his slanders and promoting his pernicious book. We all know better than to pay him any heed. But the lies he is circulating concerning the condition of women in Utah have persuaded many to disregard our message. We have with us, just now, a lady from Utah. We're going to ask Sister McCune to speak this evening and tell you of her experience in Utah. We hope you will help us fill this hall with your friends and neighbors. I said in my heart, Oh, if we only had one of our good women speakers from Utah to take advantage of this grand opportunity. Elizabeth McCune knew that there were some very accomplished women and women speakers in Utah at this time. In fact, she knew many of them personally and was friends with them--women like Susa Young Gates, Emmeline Wells, women who had addressed national conventions. There were other women that better at public speaking. She didn't feel like she was very qualified to do that, but she went anyway. I was nearly frightened to death. And now Sister McCune. I just returned home from my mission. I definitely know what it's like to get nervous when you have to stand up in front of a crowd and share your testimony. But she knew, just as I knew, that she needed to speak in front of these people.

Brothers and sisters, I was raised in Utah, and I know almost every foot of the country and most of the people. I have traveled throughout the United States and Europe, but nowhere have I found women held in such esteem as among the Mormons of Utah. Our religion teaches us-- She was the opposite of the Mormon woman depicted in these tracts. She was respectable. She was well-spoken. And she represented the true Mormon woman. Whenever I had the opportunity to converse with the people, I would lead up to this, the uppermost topic in my mind. I could have gone into every house and entered into a quiet religious chat with the people, leaving with each one my earnest testimony. She left England without even really knowing what an impact she had--probably didn't even have an idea that she did much. But after she got back to the US, the mission president over in England wrote to the First Presidency asking if they could have sister missionaries. There have been instances where our sisters cheerfully arose in our meetings and bore testimony to the truth of the gospel.

Their very presence does a great deal toward removing prejudice from the minds of people. I believe that if a number of bright and intelligent women were called to missions to England, the results would be excellent. [MUSIC PLAYING] It has been decided to call some of our wise and prudent women into the missionary field. Our sisters can bear testimony. They can teach. They can do a great many things that would assist in the propagation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Inez Knight and Jenny Brimhall were the first single, young sisters to be called as full-time missionaries. And that began a tradition that was a turning point that has continued down to this day. The work of the Lord is accomplished as his gospel is preached unto every nation and kindred and tongue and people. Though we may see ourselves as weak and simple, we all share a noble heritage, and can develop a faith that is equal to that of remarkable faith-filled women who have gone before us. We have a vital role to play in helping build the kingdom of God. [MUSIC PLAYING]