Woman’s Exponent

The Woman’s Exponent (1872–1914) was a bimonthly newspaper created and operated by members of the Relief Society. Having the support of Eliza R. Snow gave the newspaper validity and credibility in Latter-day Saint communities. She promoted the newspaper, encouraged women to subscribe, and regularly contributed material to the periodical. Poems, speeches, and other content created by Eliza can be found within its pages.

In addition to the Church History Catalog, digital copies of the Woman’s Exponent can be found on several websites. Utah Digital Newspapers offers a word-searchable edition of the Woman’s Exponent. The Digital Collections section on Brigham Young University’s library website also offers digital copies of the newspaper. The individual newspaper editions on the BYU library site are also word searchable. When doing searches in these databases, it is best to leave out initials. For example, a search for “Eliza Snow” or “Eliza Roxcy Snow” will yield better search results than “Eliza R. Snow.”

Using the Woman’s Exponent index may also be beneficial when searching for content created by Eliza. This index is comprised of two books and organized alphabetically according to periodical volume and year. For the years 1872–1874, under “Snow, Eliza R.,” researchers will find numbers such as 1:6. The first number represents the periodical volume number, and the second is the page number. Hence, 1:6 translates to volume 1, page 6.

Eliza created content that was published in other newspapers as well. Periodicals such as the Deseret News and Salt Lake Herald also featured poetry, articles, and speeches by Eliza R. Snow.

The Church History Library blog published a series of articles about the Woman’s Exponent that describes its social influence and impact from 1872 until 1914.