This book has been many years in the making. In 2010, Brittany Chapman Nash, then a reference librarian in the Church History Library, and Jill Mulvay Derr, a senior research historian in the Church History Department, worked on a committee at the request of Young Women general president Elaine S. Dalton to begin exploring the possibility of preparing a history of the organization. That effort did not come to fruition at the time but resulted in much groundbreaking research. In 2016, historians Kate Holbrook and Lisa Olsen Tait proposed that the Church History Department’s Publications Division produce a one-volume history of the Young Women. Department executives approved that proposal, and a team assembled to begin work. As it turned out, the need for extensive original research, coupled with changes in assignments and availability of various team members, meant that it took the better part of a decade to see the project through to publication. In the course of that process, many people have made significant contributions.

We give special thanks to administrators and officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for sponsoring the project and to the management and staff of the Church History Library, where the majority of the documents cited in this volume are located. Leaders of the Young Women organization, including Bonnie H. Cordon and Emily Belle Freeman, their counselors, advisory councils, and administrative staff, gave feedback and enthusiastic support.

We acknowledge with appreciation the contributions of many individuals from the Church History Department. Jennifer Reeder provided formative research that shaped the opening chapter of the story. Mary Frances Rich, a service missionary, gave extensive research support and added valuable perspective from her broad experience in church service. Alison Kitchen Gainer, Kaytee R. Johnson, Jessica Anne Lawrence, Catherine Reese Newton, R. Eric Smith, Stephanie Steed, and Nathan N. Waite of the editorial staff also contributed. McKinsey Kemeny and Brenda Homer managed the huge task of securing intellectual property and privacy clearances. Ashley Woodworth Skinner skillfully typeset the volume.

Many research assistants, interns, and others helped with the enormous task of completing and managing research for the book. Katie Clark Blakesley, Jessica M. Nelson, and Charlotte Hansen Terry performed yeoman’s work as research assistants. Charlotte Hansen Terry also took on the enormous task of preparing the appendixes for both the print book and the online version. Nicole Wechsler and Zachary Osborn worked as interns.

Jill Mulvay Derr, Colleen McDannell, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich provided invaluable peer review of an early version of the manuscript.

We also wish to thank the management and staff at Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, for the professional help and advice they provided regarding the design, printing, and distribution of this volume. We especially appreciate the contributions of Sheri L. Dew, Laurel Christensen Day, Janiece L. Johnson, Garth Bruner, Heather Ward, Rachael Ward, Rebecca Datwyler, Derk Koldewyn, and Breanna Anderl.

Finally, we wish to remember with love and affection our beloved colleague Kate Holbrook, who passed away in 2022 as the book was nearing its last round of revision. Kate’s leadership left countless indelible marks on the book and on our hearts, as she brought us together around good food and rigorous thinking.