Zina was an American social activist and religious leader who served as the third general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1888 until her death. During the years of her presidency, the construction of the Salt Lake Temple was completed, women in Utah regained the right to vote, and the Relief Society was featured in the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. She served for a total of 32 years on the Relief Society General Board.
She practiced polyandry as the wife of Joseph Smith, and later Brigham Young, each of whom she married while she was still married to her first husband, Henry Jacobs.
She is among the most well-documented healers in LDS Church history (male or female), at one point performing hundreds of washing, anointing, and sealing healing rituals every year. Young was also known for speaking in tongues and prophesying.
She learned midwifery as a young girl and later made contributions to the healthcare industry in Utah Territory, including assisting in the organization of the Deseret Hospital and establishing a nursing school.
Young was also involved in the women's suffrage movement, attending the National Woman Suffrage Association and serving as the vice president of the Utah chapter of the National Council of Women.
Baptized by Hyrum Smith during the Kirtland Era of the Church, she was sealed to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, and functioned in the organization of the first Relief Society. After Joseph's murder she married Brigham Young. She trekked west staying for brief periods in both Mt. Pisgah and Winter Quarters, IA.
In Utah, served as a counselor to Eliza R. Snow in the newly reorganized Relief Society, after Eliza's death Zina was called as President. She worked in the Endowment House, then became the first matron of the Salt Lake Temple from 1893, a position she held until her death.
She only bore one child with Brigham but took on four of his other children and is known to have had a great love for teaching them. She spent the last two months of her life in Canada with her daughter and grandchildren. She died at the age of eighty.
Her tender nature towards Utah women led many to call her "Aunt Zina." Of her, Susa Young Gates wrote: "There have been many noble women, some great women and a multitude of good women associated, past and present, with the Latter-Day work. But of them all none was so lovely, so lovable, and so passionately beloved as was 'Aunt Zina.'"] Above all, her legacy is the strength she found in communities of women where she found "the Spirit of God is, and when we speak to one another, it is like oil going from vessel to vessel."
She practiced polyandry as the wife of Joseph Smith, and later Brigham Young, each of whom she married while she was still married to her first husband, Henry Jacobs.
She is among the most well-documented healers in LDS Church history (male or female), at one point performing hundreds of washing, anointing, and sealing healing rituals every year. Young was also known for speaking in tongues and prophesying.
She learned midwifery as a young girl and later made contributions to the healthcare industry in Utah Territory, including assisting in the organization of the Deseret Hospital and establishing a nursing school.
Young was also involved in the women's suffrage movement, attending the National Woman Suffrage Association and serving as the vice president of the Utah chapter of the National Council of Women.
Baptized by Hyrum Smith during the Kirtland Era of the Church, she was sealed to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, and functioned in the organization of the first Relief Society. After Joseph's murder she married Brigham Young. She trekked west staying for brief periods in both Mt. Pisgah and Winter Quarters, IA.
In Utah, served as a counselor to Eliza R. Snow in the newly reorganized Relief Society, after Eliza's death Zina was called as President. She worked in the Endowment House, then became the first matron of the Salt Lake Temple from 1893, a position she held until her death.
She only bore one child with Brigham but took on four of his other children and is known to have had a great love for teaching them. She spent the last two months of her life in Canada with her daughter and grandchildren. She died at the age of eighty.
Her tender nature towards Utah women led many to call her "Aunt Zina." Of her, Susa Young Gates wrote: "There have been many noble women, some great women and a multitude of good women associated, past and present, with the Latter-Day work. But of them all none was so lovely, so lovable, and so passionately beloved as was 'Aunt Zina.'"] Above all, her legacy is the strength she found in communities of women where she found "the Spirit of God is, and when we speak to one another, it is like oil going from vessel to vessel."
Zina was an American social activist and religious leader who served as the third general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1888 until her death. During the years of her presidency, the construction of the Salt Lake Temple was completed, women in Utah regained the right to vote, and the Relief Society was featured in the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. She served for a total of 32 years on the Relief Society General Board.
She practiced polyandry as the wife of Joseph Smith, and later Brigham Young, each of whom she married while she was still married to her first husband, Henry Jacobs.
She is among the most well-documented healers in LDS Church history (male or female), at one point performing hundreds of washing, anointing, and sealing healing rituals every year. Young was also known for speaking in tongues and prophesying.
She learned midwifery as a young girl and later made contributions to the healthcare industry in Utah Territory, including assisting in the organization of the Deseret Hospital and establishing a nursing school.
Young was also involved in the women's suffrage movement, attending the National Woman Suffrage Association and serving as the vice president of the Utah chapter of the National Council of Women.
Baptized by Hyrum Smith during the Kirtland Era of the Church, she was sealed to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, and functioned in the organization of the first Relief Society. After Joseph's murder she married Brigham Young. She trekked west staying for brief periods in both Mt. Pisgah and Winter Quarters, IA.
In Utah, served as a counselor to Eliza R. Snow in the newly reorganized Relief Society, after Eliza's death Zina was called as President. She worked in the Endowment House, then became the first matron of the Salt Lake Temple from 1893, a position she held until her death.
She only bore one child with Brigham but took on four of his other children and is known to have had a great love for teaching them. She spent the last two months of her life in Canada with her daughter and grandchildren. She died at the age of eighty.
Her tender nature towards Utah women led many to call her "Aunt Zina." Of her, Susa Young Gates wrote: "There have been many noble women, some great women and a multitude of good women associated, past and present, with the Latter-Day work. But of them all none was so lovely, so lovable, and so passionately beloved as was 'Aunt Zina.'"] Above all, her legacy is the strength she found in communities of women where she found "the Spirit of God is, and when we speak to one another, it is like oil going from vessel to vessel."
She practiced polyandry as the wife of Joseph Smith, and later Brigham Young, each of whom she married while she was still married to her first husband, Henry Jacobs.
She is among the most well-documented healers in LDS Church history (male or female), at one point performing hundreds of washing, anointing, and sealing healing rituals every year. Young was also known for speaking in tongues and prophesying.
She learned midwifery as a young girl and later made contributions to the healthcare industry in Utah Territory, including assisting in the organization of the Deseret Hospital and establishing a nursing school.
Young was also involved in the women's suffrage movement, attending the National Woman Suffrage Association and serving as the vice president of the Utah chapter of the National Council of Women.
Baptized by Hyrum Smith during the Kirtland Era of the Church, she was sealed to Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, and functioned in the organization of the first Relief Society. After Joseph's murder she married Brigham Young. She trekked west staying for brief periods in both Mt. Pisgah and Winter Quarters, IA.
In Utah, served as a counselor to Eliza R. Snow in the newly reorganized Relief Society, after Eliza's death Zina was called as President. She worked in the Endowment House, then became the first matron of the Salt Lake Temple from 1893, a position she held until her death.
She only bore one child with Brigham but took on four of his other children and is known to have had a great love for teaching them. She spent the last two months of her life in Canada with her daughter and grandchildren. She died at the age of eighty.
Her tender nature towards Utah women led many to call her "Aunt Zina." Of her, Susa Young Gates wrote: "There have been many noble women, some great women and a multitude of good women associated, past and present, with the Latter-Day work. But of them all none was so lovely, so lovable, and so passionately beloved as was 'Aunt Zina.'"] Above all, her legacy is the strength she found in communities of women where she found "the Spirit of God is, and when we speak to one another, it is like oil going from vessel to vessel."
Family Members
Siblings
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Nancy Dorcas Huntington
1806–1807
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Chancy Dyer Huntington
1806–1875
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Dimick Baker Huntington
1808–1879
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Presendia Lathrop Huntington Kimball
1810–1892
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Infant Huntington
1813–1813
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Adaline Elizabeth Huntington
1815–1826
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William Dresser Huntington
1818–1887
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Oliver Boardman Huntington
1823–1907
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Dr John Dickenson Huntington
1827–1900
See more Young or Huntington memorials in:
- Salt Lake City Cemetery Young or Huntington
- Salt Lake City Young or Huntington
- Salt Lake County Young or Huntington
- Utah Young or Huntington
- USA Young or Huntington
- Find a Grave Young or Huntington
