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.)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Sweet Is the Work from the generous folks at Covenant Communications. Thank you!

Interested in more opinions about Sweet Is the Work? Follow along on the book's blog tour:

Schedule:

*March 27th: http://heidi-reads.blogspot.com/

*March 28th: http://mybookaday.blogspot.com/, http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/

*March 29th: http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/, http://sweetlymadejustforyou.com/

*March 30th: http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/, http://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/, http://thethingsilovemost.com/, http://fireandicereads.com/

*March 31st: http://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/

For a chance to win your own copy of Sweet Is the Work, plus a $25 Amazon gift card, fill out the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Books Read in 2026 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Such a Clever Girl by Darby Kane (Jan)
2. When No One Else Will by Amanda Skenandore (Jan)
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear* [re-read] (Jan)
4. Murder on the Farm by Kate Wells (Jan)
5. Murder at Ochre Court by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
6. Not Dead Yet: The Memoir by Phil Collins* [audio] (Feb))
7. The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen (Feb)
8. The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers (Feb)
9. One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day (Feb)
10. A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard (Feb)
11. Bluebird by Sharon Cameron* [re-read] (Feb)
12. The Lake Escape by Jamie Day (Feb)
13. Treacherous is the Night by Anna Lee Huber [audio] (Feb)
14. The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly (Feb)
15. The Missing by Kristen Landon (Feb)
16. Dark and Bright by Catherine Lyon (Feb)
17. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown* [audio] (Feb)
18. Boiled Over by Barbara Ross (Feb)
19. Some of Us Are Looking by Carlene O'Connor (Feb)
20. Coach by Jason Reynolds* [audio] (Feb)
21. The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (Feb)
22. The Claiming by Jasmine Warga (Feb)
23. Dark and Deep by Catherine Lyon (Feb)
24. Ours is a Tale of Murder by Nora Murphy (Feb)
25. Zoom With a View by Jess Cannon (Feb)
26. The Nowhere Child by Christian White (Feb)
27. An Ordinary Kind of Evil by Kelley Armstrong* (Feb)
28. Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater (Feb)
29. Murder at 30,000 Feet by Susan Walter (Feb)
30. Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong (Feb)
31. You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart [audio] (Feb)
32. In Case I Go Missing by R.N. Swann (Mar)
33. A Lie for a Lie by Ren DeStefano (Mar)
34. Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton [audio] (Mar)
35. Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns [audio] (Mar)
36. Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon (Mar)
37. Death at the Dinner Party by Ellie Alexander [audio] (Mar)
38. The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives by Elizabeth Arnott (Mar)
39. A Holiday Homicide by Elile Alexander [audio] (Mar)
40. Summer's Never Over by Darby Bozeman (Mar)
41. The Body in the Woods by April Henry [audio] (Mar)
42. Every Borrowed Beat by Erin Stewart (Mar)
43. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston (Mar)
44. Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen (Mar)
45. This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone by Catherine Mack (Mar)
46. A Victim at Valentine's by Ellie Alexander [audio] (Mar)
47. Rock-Solid Relationships: Strengthening Personal Relationships With Wisdom from the Scriptures by Wendy Watson (Apr)
48. A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander [audio] (Apr)
49. Our Marriage is Murder by Carol Goodman (Apr)
50. A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee (Apr)
51. Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce [re-read] [audio] (Apr)
52. Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker (Apr)

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

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2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge

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2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

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Books Read in 2026 (asterisks denote favorites)