At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women, a new book by the Church Historian’s Press, is a collection of discourses by Latter-day Saint Women.

The book features 54 talks given by Latter-day Saint women from 1831 to 2016, with selections from every decade since the Church’s restoration. Each talk includes an introduction and annotated notes that provide bibliographical information about the author as well as cultural, historical, and theological context to their talk. In addition to being a scholarly history, the book provides a resource for today’s Latter-day Saints as they study, speak, teach, and lead.

The talks as engaging and well-written. They show Mormon women speaking up and shaping doctrinal discussions. The talks were given in a variety of settings (or “pulpits”) ranging from homes and local Relief Society halls to the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C., and the World’s Congress of Representative Women in Chicago.

The history of women preaching in the Church can be traced back to July 1830, when Emma Hale Smith received a revelation through her husband, Joseph Smith about her position and role in the church. That revelation described Emma Smith as an “elect lady” and charged her “to expound scriptures and exhort the church according as it shall be given thee by my spirit” (D&C 25:7).

You can access the book in the following ways:

• Online at ChurchHistoriansPress.org/at-the-pulpit. Today, several of the talks, photographs, and other resources are available. In time, the entire volume will be published online.
• In print at Amazon, Deseret Book, Store.LDS.org, and at other retail outlets.

Visit the Publications section of the Church Historian’s Press website for more information.