Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association.

Under the direction of Brigham Young and Eliza R. Snow, the LDS Church organized the Young Ladies Retrenchment Society on November 28, 1869, for young women ages 12-25. First organized within the family of President Brigham Young, the group sought to improve "order, thrift, industry, and charity," and to "retrench from extravagance in dress, in eating, and in speech." Ella Young Empey presided over the first chapter, directing activities among Brigham Young's daughters. The organization subsequently was extended into the larger Utah Mormon population in the 1880s. Eliza R. Snow organized the first stake board in Salt Lake City on September 14, 1878 which lead to the development of associations within several local wards and stakes throughout Utah, eventually becoming a general feature of the Church's organization.

With the formation of a general M.I.A. board in June 1880, activity rapidly increased. Weekly events were organized which centered on arts, literature, and entertainment. In 1889, Susan Young Gates issued the Young Women's Journal which focused on literary development, health, hygiene, and home management. Sales of the journal raised funds which contributed to book acquisitions for the M.I.A library located in the Church's headquarters. These funds helped to cover the expense of sending a representative from the Y.L.M.I.A to the National Women's Council meeting held March 25, 1888, in Washington, D.C. Even further, monies from the journal sales and general Church funds provided for the printing of study manuals which were distributed annually and focused on theology, history, human physiology, and hygiene.

...