Featured on my Facebook page, and posted here for archiving.

She Shall Be an Ensign is a history of the Church told through the actions and lives of women who were present at every step and contributed immeasurably to the development of the Church, but whose names and stories are omitted from earlier histories in favor of the stories of men. I do not mean at all to say that men’s contributions are small or less important than what women did – SSBAE is simply an alternate way of telling our history, with the focus on the other half of Latter-day Saints.

This morning, I’m a little frustrated by the difficulty in finding personal history for Pearl Card Sloan (1884-1965) who, late in 1926, was called to Portland, Oregon with her husband, who would serve as president of the Northwestern States Mission. For instance: The booklet published by the family on the occasion of this couple’s 50th wedding anniversary includes a biography of Pearl that does not provide. One. Single. Personal. Detail about her life. It’s all about her father, and her husband, and her children. Nothing about her but her name and date of birth. It’s a striking illustration of the erasure of our mothers and grandmothers, even from their own biographies.

I was looking for Pearl, because John A. Widtsoe, making one of those regular visits that apostles made and make to missions around the world, went to the Northwestern States Mission early in 1927, just a few weeks after the Sloans arrived. The report Elder Widtsoe made of that visit is mostly about the health of the branches and the number of missionaries and what the mission needed in the way of tracts and teaching materials.

But Elder Widtsoe also saw Pearl, and he wrote this paragraph that tells us more about Pearl Card Sloan and her talents and contributions to the progress of missionary work than you will see elsewhere. He wrote:

“Sister Sloan is an admirable helpmeet. Her pleasant personality, wisdom, devotion and experience in Church matters will enable her to make improvements in the branches, through the Relief Society, which will benefit the mission greatly. She accompanied us to Vancouver, where a difficult human problem existed, which she helped solve in an excellent manner. She will also be a splendid mission mother to the elders and sister missionaries. She must be protected against overdoing, for her health in the past has not been the best.”

Here is Pearl standing next to her husband in the midst of a large group of elder and sister missionaries in about 1930, after three years of making improvements, benefitting the mission, solving human problems, and splendidly mothering the young folks under her care.