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Reflecting on the first public interview with Relief Society General President Elaine Jack regarding “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Dr. Barbara Morgan Gardner, professor of Church history and doctrine, and Olivia Osguthorpe uncover and clarify truths and perspectives never before documented and critical to historical accuracy.  In the months leading up to the general Relief Society meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, September 23, 1995, then-General Relief Society Presidency Elaine L. Jack, Aileen H. Clyde, and Chieko Okazaki likely had no idea this meeting would become one of the most impactful and memorable of the twentieth century. For it was in this meeting that President Gordon B. Hinckley presented “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” which outlines the Church’s doctrinal beliefs concerning the family, gender, and marriage. What was the Relief Society President’s role in this critical meeting and decision-making process?  Why was the family proclamation delivered at this time, in this meeting, and to this audience? In this episode Dr. Barbara Morgan Gardner and Olivia Osguthorpe discuss answers to these questions and more. Through analysis of the journals, personal writings, and interviews with President Jack, Gardner and Osguthorpe provide much needed clarity on the inception and presentation of The Family: A Proclamation to the World. 

Barbara Morgan Gardner Publications:

• “Delivering the Family Proclamation: Insights from Former Relief Society President Elaine L. Jack” (Religious Educator, 24.2, 2023)
• “Reanchoring Our Purpose to Jesus Christ” (Religious Educator, 23.2, 2022)
• “Using Section 84 to Emphasize the Priesthood Power of Women” (Religious Educator, 22.2, 2021)
• “‘Line upon Line’: Joseph Smith’s Growing Understanding of the Eternal Family” (in Raising the Standard of Truth, Religious Studies Center, 2020)  

Click to learn more about Barbara Morgan Gardner

Olivia Osguthorpe Publications:

• “Delivering the Family Proclamation: Insights from Former Relief Society President Elaine L. Jack” (Religious Educator, 24.2, 2023)
• “Mentoring: Covenant Women’s Leadership” (Review Magazine, Fall 2024)