Bloggin' 'bout Books: 03/28/17

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

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Sweet Is the Work Offers Inspiring Lessons from Early Sister Missionaries (With a Giveaway!)

1:00 AM

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is well known for sending missionaries to all corners of the globe to teach people the Gospel. The majority of these missionaries have—historically—been young men. However, many "senior" couples also serve as do thousands of young women. When did the Church start extending official mission calls to women? Although many women served as unofficial missionaries (most as companions to their husbands) before then, the first female called to be a full-time proselyting missionary was set apart all the way back in 1898. I had never heard of Amanda "Inez" Knight, who earned a place in LDS history by accepting this historical call.

When Breanna Olaveson heard about Knight and other early sister missionaries, she knew she wanted to write about these courageous and faithful women. Her new book, Sweet Is the Work: Lessons From the First Sister Missionaries, tells the stories of twelve women who left their homes to serve the Lord in the mission field. They endured sickness, mob violence, anxiety, the deaths of children, and many other afflictions in order to bring the Gospel to far-flung nations. Their tales are fascinating as well as inspiring. Sweet Is the Work is a slim volume, so Olaveson doesn't go into a lot of depth on any of the women, which is unfortunate. While I always appreciate a nice, quick read, I did want a little more substance out of this book. Still, it provides an interesting peek into a piece of Church history that I knew little about. Anyone with an interest in LDS missionary work will find it a worthwhile read. I know I did.

(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women by Jennifer Reeder and Kate Holbrook, eds.)

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