Spiritual Gifts and Practices Among Early Latter-day Saint Women

How early LDS women exercised healing, prophecy, and other spiritual authority within a male-led church structure.

By Garret Merkley · Explainer · Jun 5, 2026

Branched from The Enduring Contributions of Women in Early Latter-day Saint History

Quick take

Early LDS women actively practiced spiritual gifts like healing, prophecy, and blessing—roles documented in journals and church records but often overshadowed by institutional history.
These practices existed in a tension: women held real spiritual authority in their communities while the formal priesthood structure remained male-only.
Understanding these gifts reveals how women created spiritual agency and leadership in spaces where formal positions were denied them.

In the early years of the Latter-day Saint movement (1830s–1880s), women exercised spiritual gifts—healing, prophecy, blessing, speaking in tongues, and interpretation—as direct expressions of divine power. These were not informal practices or symbolic acts. Women laid hands on the sick, received visions and revelations, and spoke authoritatively about spiritual matters in their homes, women's meetings, and even public gatherings. This happened in a church that officially reserved the priesthood for men, creating a paradox: women had genuine spiritual authority in daily practice, even as institutional structures limited their formal roles.

What Spiritual Gifts Early LDS Women Practiced

Healing was the most common and documented gift. Women blessed the sick with oil and prayer, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs or groups. These healings were recorded in diaries and letters as real events—illnesses cured, fevers broken, complications in childbirth resolved. Women also prophesied: they received visions of future events, warnings about danger, and spiritual guidance for themselves and others. Some spoke in tongues during meetings or in private prayer. Others gave blessings—formal pronouncements of spiritual direction or comfort—to family members and community members facing trials. These practices were grounded in early LDS theology: Joseph Smith taught that the Holy Ghost could manifest through any member, and the 1830 Book of Mormon explicitly mentioned spiritual gifts available to believers.

How These Gifts Operated Within Community Life

Spiritual gifts among early LDS women functioned in multiple contexts. In homes, mothers blessed their children and anointed the sick. In Relief Society meetings (the women's organization founded in 1842), women shared spiritual experiences and prayed for one another. Some women were known in their communities as healers or prophetesses, and people sought them out. Importantly, these practices were not secret or hidden—they were acknowledged by male leaders and sometimes encouraged. Church leaders like Brigham Young and John Taylor documented women's healings and spiritual experiences in their own writings. Women's spiritual authority was real enough that it shaped how others understood God's will in practical matters: a mother's blessing carried weight, a woman's prophecy about a family member's future was taken seriously.

However, there were limits. Women did not lead formal sacrament meetings or ordain others. They could not hold the priesthood office that men held. Their spiritual gifts were recognized as legitimate divine manifestations, but the institutional structure remained male-centered. This created a working arrangement: women exercised genuine spiritual power in their domains, and men held formal organizational authority. Over time, especially after the late 1800s, church leadership increasingly emphasized the priesthood as the primary channel of divine authority, and women's spiritual gifts became less publicly visible and less officially validated.

Why This Matters and When It Matters

Understanding early LDS women's spiritual gifts matters for several reasons. First, it shows how women created spiritual agency and leadership in institutional spaces that formally excluded them—a pattern relevant to many religious communities. Second, it reveals a gap between official history and lived experience: standard church narratives often emphasize priesthood authority, but women's diaries and letters tell a different story about how spiritual power actually moved through communities. Third, it illuminates a historical shift: the gradual narrowing of women's visible spiritual authority as the church professionalized and centralized its hierarchy. Finally, it matters for anyone studying early American religion, women's history, or the development of the LDS church itself. The practices documented in women's journals are primary sources for understanding how ordinary believers experienced faith and divine connection.

Key Distinctions

Spiritual gifts (healing, prophecy, blessing) = direct divine manifestations available to any believer, male or female
Priesthood = formal office and organizational authority, reserved for men in early LDS theology
These were not the same thing, though they overlapped in how people experienced divine power

Evidence in the Historical Record

The documentation is substantial. Women's diaries from the 1840s–1880s contain detailed accounts of healings, visions, and spiritual experiences. Relief Society minutes record women speaking about their spiritual gifts. Men's journals, including those of church leaders, reference women's healings and prophecies. Some women, like Eliza R. Snow and Bathsheba W. Smith, became known as spiritual authorities and their words were recorded and remembered. Missionary accounts mention women's spiritual power as a factor in conversion. Patriarchal blessings (formal blessings given by designated men) often acknowledged women's spiritual gifts and encouraged them. This evidence shows that women's spiritual practices were not marginal or private—they were part of the visible religious landscape of early LDS communities.

Did church leaders approve of women exercising spiritual gifts?

Generally yes, in the early period. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young both acknowledged women's healing and prophetic gifts as legitimate manifestations of the Holy Ghost. However, approval came with boundaries—women's gifts were recognized, but not placed on equal footing with priesthood authority. Over time, approval became more conditional and less public.

How did women's spiritual gifts differ from men's priesthood authority?

Spiritual gifts were understood as personal divine manifestations available to any believer. Priesthood was institutional authority to lead, ordain, and govern. A woman might heal through spiritual gift; a man with priesthood authority could also heal, but he also had authority to organize and direct. The two operated in different registers—one personal and charismatic, one institutional and hierarchical.

Are these practices still part of LDS faith today?

The LDS church still teaches that spiritual gifts exist and are available to all members. However, women's gifts are less publicly documented and emphasized than in the early period. The church's institutional focus remains on priesthood authority, which remains male-only. Some LDS women today practice healing and blessing privately, but it is not as visible or culturally prominent as it was in the 1800s.

What happened to women's spiritual authority as the church grew?

As the LDS church became more organized and centralized (especially after the late 1800s), institutional hierarchy and priesthood authority became the primary framework for understanding divine power. Women's spiritual gifts were not denied, but they became less central to how the church understood and taught about spiritual authority. The shift reflected broader trends in American Protestantism toward professionalized clergy and institutional authority.

Where can I read primary sources about this?

Women's diaries and letters from the 1840s–1880s are the best sources. Many are held at the LDS Church History Library or published in collections like 'Women's Voices' or individual biography projects. Relief Society minutes and patriarchal blessing records also contain relevant material. Academic works on early LDS women, particularly by historians like Jill Mulvay Derr and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, draw on and cite these sources.

Sources

Jill Mulvay Derr, 'Strength in Our Union: The Making of Mormon Sisterhood' (2015) — foundational work on LDS women's spiritual and organizational roles
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, 'A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and Women's Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835–1870' (2017) — documents women's spiritual practices and authority in diaries and letters
LDS Church History Library collections, including Relief Society minutes and patriarchal blessing records from the 1840s–1880s