Episode 11: An Episode Full of Females

**SPEAKER_2** (0:21)
I had a place that I went every day for secret prayers. It seemed to me as I prayed that a cloud rested upon my head, and I felt that if the cloud would break, there would be a message for me, or some new light.
I did not know that it concerned anyone but myself. But then one day, Hannah, one of my husband's sisters, came in, and after spending a short time in the house, asked me if I would take a walk with her. She had heard the gospel preached by a Mormon, and believed it, and had been baptized. She commenced and related the whole of Joseph's vision and what the angel Moron I had said, the mission he had called him to.
It came to my mind in a moment that this was the message that was behind the cloud for me, and not for me only, but for the whole world, and I considered it of more importance than anything I had ever heard before. For it brought back the ancient order of things, and laid a foundation that could be built upon that was permanent, a foundation made by him that laid the foundation of the earth, even the Almighty God. I read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and all the writings I could get from the Latter-day Saints. It was the Book of Doctrine and Covenants that confirmed my faith in the work. I knew that no man, nor set of men, could make such a book, or would dare try for many wisdom that man possessed. I knew it was the work of God, and a revelation from heaven, and received it as such. I sought with my whole heart a knowledge of the truth, and obtained a knowledge that never has, nor never will, leave me. Sarah's, Judevant Levitt.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:43)
Hi, this is Lindsay Hansen Park.

**Bryan Buchanan** (1:45)
And this is Bryan Buchanan.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (1:46)
Bringing you the story of Mormonism from the shadow of the Everlasting Hills, straight out of Zion, this isn't your grandpa's Mormon history.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:14)
This is the tale of Mormon saints and sinners from our roots until present day.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:19)
Gird your loins, lock your hearts, and pay your tithing, because we're bringing you the story of Mormonism in all its paradisiacal glory.

**Bryan Buchanan** (2:28)
The Sunstone History Podcast.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (2:49)
In modern times, when you think of church ladies, they're like this.

**SPEAKER_5** (2:53)
Hello, hello, once again, I'm the church lady, and this is Church Chat.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:57)
Hi, this is Sister Jensen. I was just wondering if we could come visit teach you this Wednesday night.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (3:12)
And I'm Sister Kirsten.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:13)
And I'm Sister Cook.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:14)
And we're your visiting teachers. I heard Sister Allred drinks hot drinks. Sister Allred? Oh, that's such a nice picture of Braden, Jaden and Hayden. I just love scrapbooking. Elder Oopdorf is so handsome. Oh, hi Sister Cook. This is Sister Jensen.
I was just calling to see what you're bringing to the Ward Potluck.
Popcorn popping on the African tree. That's a hot drink. We don't drink that.

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (3:50)
And I said, no, it's too low cut. Where's the shade shirt I bought you?

**SPEAKER_6** (3:54)
Did you see Bishop Kielpeck fall asleep during testimony meeting last Sunday?

**Lindsay Hansen Park** (4:01)
But what were they like in the early days of Mormonism? Think back to our Bad Girls episode. We talked about the religious culture at the time that Mormonism emerged. Historian Martha Sontag Bradley describes The Second Great Awakening as a coming out party for women and noted how revivals pulled women out of their houses into the public arena, onto a very public stage, in unprecedented numbers and in unprecedented dimensions. The Second Great Awakening changed the lives of many women, enhanced possibilities for others, and empowered women in a way unheard of in our country's history.
So with this background, she introduced a fantastic project in which she analyzed over 200 conversion narratives from early Mormons. Check out her summary of the five stages she identified in these stories. The first one, the narrative described the individual's life before conversion as a life of sin or at least as a time when she ignored the question of salvation.
So these women that she's talking about, these women telling their stories of how they converted, they almost always seem to say that first their life was empty or was full of sin or they had a question about salvation. The second thing she found from these narratives was, quote, this was a period of self-realization when narrators recognized their shortcomings and became aware of the need for change. So not only are they recognizing the sin, but they know that they want to change. They want to change their life for the better. Number three, the heart of the conversion came when the individual turned her life over to God. Many described a sense of relief when freed from one's sins. So again, now these women are redeemed from something. If they convert, then their old ways are put behind them.