Louise Y. Robison Correspondence Now Available from the Church History Library
As Relief Society President during the Great Depression, Louise Y. Robison provided tremendous support for Church members. Her correspondence with Church leaders and members of local Relief Societies are now available in the Church History Catalog.
“The First Presidency has shown wisdom and inspiration in choosing you,” Elder David O. McKay reassured a humbled Louise Y. Robison after she accepted a call to serve as the seventh Relief Society General President (1928–1939). Robison felt she did not match the expected profile of one called to lead a global charitable and religious organization with more than 64,000 members worldwide by 1930. She boasted little formal education, wealth, and status but nurtured a vision of the potential and power of Latter-day Saint women united in a singular religious cause. Her presidency replied to Elder McKay: “The faith of our friends in us is a source of great strength, and enable us to give the best that is in us to the cause of the Gospel work we all have so much at heart.” Her correspondence with members and Church leaders are now available in a digital collection of correspondence from Robison’s service as Relief Society General President.
Louise Y. Robison Papers, 1928–1939 (CR 11 30)
About Louise Y. Robison
Born as Sarah Louisa Yates, Louise Robison grew up among hardscrabble frontier conditions in Scipio, Utah. Her parents were early colonizers of Round Valley in Millard County, which gave Robison the opportunity to learn hard work and applicable homemaking skills. Her hard-won self-sufficiency later informed her ministry and compassion towards Latter-day Saints mired in the economic downturn of the Great Depression.
Louise’s Service During the Great Depression
The Relief Society board received many requests for aid or employment during the early depression years. Amid a shrinking budget and office staff, Robison and her counselors did their best to advise Relief Societies on how to minister to the needs of their members. “Our chief work consists in giving help to those in need,” Robison testified during one of her visits to a local Relief Society. However, the work of the Relief Society included a much broader scope. She also taught, “Our activities now include theology, literature, other educational material and work beautifying the home, as well as social service aids.”1
At times, Robison’s health impeded her ability to travel among the organization’s expanding ranks. An automobile accident forced her to recuperate in early 1934 as the Relief Society prepared for its spring conference and birthday celebration. Well wishes poured into her office. “The Relief Society work and workers need you, you are the inspiration for us all,” Sister Nina Hansen wrote to Robison. Robison’s replies, occasionally drafted by her general secretary, reflected a deep personal gratitude for the kindness of others. “The Lord has been kind to me during my life to give me such friends as you, a blessing which I prize highly,” she replied to Sister Hansen. “Your kind words of encouragement . . . will help tied [sic] over many trying experiences.”
From Correspondence to Connections
Robison’s correspondence showcases a growing network of connections forged through a gospel sisterhood developing around the globe. As one example, Robison corresponded with Sister Mary M. Hoapili from Honolulu, Hawaii. Sister Hoapili sent Robison a hat made of blue and gold sugarcane flowers patterned after the official Relief Society colors selected by Robison and her counselors in 1931. “I remember that you were my dancing teacher, although I am sorry to say that I am not showing what a fine teacher you are in my dancing here at home,” Robison wrote to Sister Hoapili. “Gifts are so beautiful,” she continued, “but the memory of your friendship will linger with me even when these things are gone.”
The material and social connections present in Louise Robison’s correspondence reflect a growing Relief Society organization united in service, friendship, and the covenants of the restored gospel. Her collection offers readers a rich glimpse into the administration and discipleship of a devoted General President of the Relief Society.