Welcome to the Cottonwood Second Ward Relief Society website. Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1842, in Nauvoo, Illinois. Emma Hale Smith was called as president. In the first Relief Society meeting, she said "We are going to do "something extraordinary". She was right! Extraordinary things have, and will continue to take place because of the Relief Society. Let’s get busy, write some things down, and take our place in history.
The Relief Society Wheat Project
Do you know that the wheat on the Relief Society Logo is more than a reminder of the virtues of preparedness and plenty? It also represents the 100 years the Relief Society collected and stored wheat; then used the wheat and its proceeds to help the poor. It’s a fascinating story so let’s get started.
After settling in the Salt Lake Valley, President Brigham Young wanted to store wheat. He assigned men the job but they never followed through. As a result, in 1876, Brigham Young asked President Emmeline B. Wells of the Relief Society to organize a wheat storage program among the women of the Church. The women stepped up and resourcefully gathered wheat. They gleaned it themselves, they had parties where a bushel of wheat was the price of admission, and organized benefits. On and on they went until their creativity raised enough money to buy wheat as well as purchase their own fields for growing wheat. The woman brilliantly watched the wheat market; buying when prices were low and selling when they were high. Eventually, granaries had to be built to store the vast amounts of wheat they were accumulating.
When President Young first asked the Relief Society to take on this enormous project, he prophesied that people would come west looking for food and the church would have it. He was correct! In 1906 the Relief Society sent train loads of wheat flour to both the survivors of the San Francisco earthquake, and to those suffering from famine in China. In 1918 the United States was struggling with food shortages caused by World War I. Government officials contacted the Relief Society and bought 200,000 bushels of wheat from them. By the way, the proceeds from the wheat sale were used to help support the maternity hospitals in the Salt Lake Valley.
It wasn’t until 1978, that Sister Barbara B. Smith and President Spencer W. Kimball incorporated the approximately $3 million dollars in wheat and money from the Relief Society wheat storage project into the Welfare Department to be managed with the rest of the Church’s strategic grain reserves. That ended the century-long project the Relief Society had so successfully managed.
Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency posted an amazing detailed article about the "Power of Wheat" on August 17, 2018 and can be read by clicking here.
Cottonwood Relief Society Maternity Home, Cottonwood Hospital, and the Intermountain Medical Center
Cottonwood Stake was organized November 14, 1914 and consisted of nine wards; Bennion, Brinton (now Cottonwood), Grant, Mill Creek, Murray 1st, Murray 2nd, South Cottonwood, Taylorsville (formerly North Jordan), and Winder. It was a vast community of church members. Amanda N. Bagley was called as the first Stake Relief Society President. She lived at 5601 Highland Drive which was in our ward at that time. Her counselors were Mary S. Cornwall and Rena M. Wheeler.
Shortly after the close of the First World War, two women in a Murray neighborhood died during childbirth from conditions which could have been prevented had they received proper care. This double tragedy motivated Sister Bagley to do something to prevent more fatalities. As a result, she and her counselors constructed a plan for a maternity hospital. They fine-tuned the details; then presented the idea to Clarissa S. Williams, general president of the Relief Society, who gave her hearty approval.
Subsequently, in 1924 under the direction of priesthood leaders and Sister Williams, the Cottonwood Stake Relief Society established the Cottonwood Maternity Hospital at 404 East, 5600 South, Murray, Utah. The two story building had once been a home owned by Neil McMillan. It was renovated and furnished by the Relief Society. Finally, the 10 bed facility and dedicated on December 10, 1924 by Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
By December 1927, Henry D. Moyle was called to preside over the Cottonwood Stake. There were ten wards in the stake then; Bennion, Brinton (now Cottonwood), Grant, Holladay, Mill Creek, Murray First, Murray Second, South Cottonwood, Taylorsville, and Winder. President Moyle’s family lived in the Brinton Ward (now Cottonwood).
President Moyle quickly found himself immersed in a major financial project for the expansion of Cottonwood Stake Maternity Home. The Cottonwood facility was dated and needed capital improvements to modernize the hospital and meet new patient demands. After exhaustive planning meetings with the Stake Relief Society Presidency and the general authorities of the church, preparations were made for an expansion in 1930 and some additional expenditure during the Depression years. Cottonwood Maternity Hospital became a critical center for health services in Salt Lake Valley.
Then on May 7, 1963, the LDS Church opened the Cottonwood Maternity Home’s descendant, Cottonwood Hospital. The new hospital at 5770 S. 300 E, was just south of the old "Maternity Home" in Murray, Utah. The outstanding 120 bed facility was staffed with 200 physicians and employees, and was among the first in the nation to offer a full-service women’s center.
The LDS church eventually opened other hospitals. By 1974 the church was operating 15 hospitals. One of those was Primary Children’s Hospital. It was then that the First Presidency announced the hospitals would be donated to Intermountain Health Care, Inc., a non-profit corporation. Finally, on April 1, 1975, the Presiding Bishopric transferred ownership and management of LDS Hospital, Primary Children's Hospital, and thirteen other facilities to IHC.
It’s interesting to note that in 2007 the Cottonwood Hospital was closed down and replaced with a new hospital, Intermountain Medical Center. Today the original hospital system started by the Relief Society is still run by Intermountain Health Care (IHC) and is one of the finest hospital systems in the United States.
The Relief Society Wheat Project
Do you know that the wheat on the Relief Society Logo is more than a reminder of the virtues of preparedness and plenty? It also represents the 100 years the Relief Society collected and stored wheat; then used the wheat and its proceeds to help the poor. It’s a fascinating story so let’s get started.
After settling in the Salt Lake Valley, President Brigham Young wanted to store wheat. He assigned men the job but they never followed through. As a result, in 1876, Brigham Young asked President Emmeline B. Wells of the Relief Society to organize a wheat storage program among the women of the Church. The women stepped up and resourcefully gathered wheat. They gleaned it themselves, they had parties where a bushel of wheat was the price of admission, and organized benefits. On and on they went until their creativity raised enough money to buy wheat as well as purchase their own fields for growing wheat. The woman brilliantly watched the wheat market; buying when prices were low and selling when they were high. Eventually, granaries had to be built to store the vast amounts of wheat they were accumulating.
When President Young first asked the Relief Society to take on this enormous project, he prophesied that people would come west looking for food and the church would have it. He was correct! In 1906 the Relief Society sent train loads of wheat flour to both the survivors of the San Francisco earthquake, and to those suffering from famine in China. In 1918 the United States was struggling with food shortages caused by World War I. Government officials contacted the Relief Society and bought 200,000 bushels of wheat from them. By the way, the proceeds from the wheat sale were used to help support the maternity hospitals in the Salt Lake Valley.
It wasn’t until 1978, that Sister Barbara B. Smith and President Spencer W. Kimball incorporated the approximately $3 million dollars in wheat and money from the Relief Society wheat storage project into the Welfare Department to be managed with the rest of the Church’s strategic grain reserves. That ended the century-long project the Relief Society had so successfully managed.
Sharon Eubank, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency posted an amazing detailed article about the "Power of Wheat" on August 17, 2018 and can be read by clicking here.
Cottonwood Relief Society Maternity Home, Cottonwood Hospital, and the Intermountain Medical Center
Cottonwood Stake was organized November 14, 1914 and consisted of nine wards; Bennion, Brinton (now Cottonwood), Grant, Mill Creek, Murray 1st, Murray 2nd, South Cottonwood, Taylorsville (formerly North Jordan), and Winder. It was a vast community of church members. Amanda N. Bagley was called as the first Stake Relief Society President. She lived at 5601 Highland Drive which was in our ward at that time. Her counselors were Mary S. Cornwall and Rena M. Wheeler.
Shortly after the close of the First World War, two women in a Murray neighborhood died during childbirth from conditions which could have been prevented had they received proper care. This double tragedy motivated Sister Bagley to do something to prevent more fatalities. As a result, she and her counselors constructed a plan for a maternity hospital. They fine-tuned the details; then presented the idea to Clarissa S. Williams, general president of the Relief Society, who gave her hearty approval.
Subsequently, in 1924 under the direction of priesthood leaders and Sister Williams, the Cottonwood Stake Relief Society established the Cottonwood Maternity Hospital at 404 East, 5600 South, Murray, Utah. The two story building had once been a home owned by Neil McMillan. It was renovated and furnished by the Relief Society. Finally, the 10 bed facility and dedicated on December 10, 1924 by Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
By December 1927, Henry D. Moyle was called to preside over the Cottonwood Stake. There were ten wards in the stake then; Bennion, Brinton (now Cottonwood), Grant, Holladay, Mill Creek, Murray First, Murray Second, South Cottonwood, Taylorsville, and Winder. President Moyle’s family lived in the Brinton Ward (now Cottonwood).
President Moyle quickly found himself immersed in a major financial project for the expansion of Cottonwood Stake Maternity Home. The Cottonwood facility was dated and needed capital improvements to modernize the hospital and meet new patient demands. After exhaustive planning meetings with the Stake Relief Society Presidency and the general authorities of the church, preparations were made for an expansion in 1930 and some additional expenditure during the Depression years. Cottonwood Maternity Hospital became a critical center for health services in Salt Lake Valley.
Then on May 7, 1963, the LDS Church opened the Cottonwood Maternity Home’s descendant, Cottonwood Hospital. The new hospital at 5770 S. 300 E, was just south of the old "Maternity Home" in Murray, Utah. The outstanding 120 bed facility was staffed with 200 physicians and employees, and was among the first in the nation to offer a full-service women’s center.
The LDS church eventually opened other hospitals. By 1974 the church was operating 15 hospitals. One of those was Primary Children’s Hospital. It was then that the First Presidency announced the hospitals would be donated to Intermountain Health Care, Inc., a non-profit corporation. Finally, on April 1, 1975, the Presiding Bishopric transferred ownership and management of LDS Hospital, Primary Children's Hospital, and thirteen other facilities to IHC.
It’s interesting to note that in 2007 the Cottonwood Hospital was closed down and replaced with a new hospital, Intermountain Medical Center. Today the original hospital system started by the Relief Society is still run by Intermountain Health Care (IHC) and is one of the finest hospital systems in the United States.