Eliza: The Life and Faith of Eliza R. Snow

Eliza R. Snow is one of the most revered women in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We hear stories of her faith and strength, and we sing her beloved hymns. She was fondly known as ''Zion's Poetess'' and also as ''Presidentess'' because of her leadership of Relief Society and her role in forming and directing organizations for young women and children. She has remained a legend for generations of Latter-day Saints, but we know less about her ''variegated life'' as she described it the personal joys and sorrows brought about by unfolding events in the young Church of which she was a part.

This intimate look at Eliza R. Snow, by authors Karen Lynn Davidson and Jill Mulvay Derr, reveals a more private side of this extraordinary woman. She emerges as a bright young poet in Ohio, a new convert to the restored Church, a seamstress, and a sharer in the persecutions and hardships of the early Saints. We see a member of the households of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, a dedicated temple worker, and a traveling Relief Society president with a zeal for teaching the gospel.

Her delight in nature, her love for family and friends, and her outlook of hope for the cause of Zion are reflected here through selections from some of her best poems. Photographs, artifacts, and personal letters add visual beauty to this inspiring introduction to her fascinating life.

Karen Lynn Davidson earned a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. At Brigham Young University she was a member of the English faculty and director of the Honors Program. She has served on the General Music Committee of the Church and plays violin with the Orchestra at Temple Square. She is the author of the popular classic Our Latter-day Hymns: The Stories and the Messages and coeditor of the Histories volumes of The Joseph Smith Papers series.

Jill Mulvay Derr holds an M.A.T. from Harvard University. She was a research historian at the Church History Department in Salt Lake City and at Brigham Young University, where she was also an associate professor of Church history. She is coauthor of Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society and coeditor of Women's Voices: An Untold History of the Latter-day Saints. Her many other publications include more than a dozen articles on the life and thought of Eliza R. Snow.