International Conference Attended by LDS Women

Two Latter-day Saint women attended the 60-nation International Council of Women conference held recently in Vienna, Austria.

Belle S. Spafford, general president of the Relief Society, and Florence S. Jacobsen, curator of the Church Historical Arts Committee and former president of the Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association, were among a group of 12 United States representatives at the conference, which was held from June 25 to July 4.

Sister Spafford, who is a member of the Health Committee and a past president of the National Council of Women in the United States, spoke and participated as a member of a panel at a session entitled “Partners in Development.” Her topic was “The Monetary Value of Household Work.”

Sister Jacobsen, a member of the Child and Family Committee, noted that the delegates from each nation meet together every three years as committees and as a whole to exchange ideas and help each other. The United States council is comprised of 32 organizations, representing approximately 32 million women. Sister Jacobsen said the Relief Society and the MIA are two of three remaining charter members.

When the Council of Women was organized in 1888, President Wilford Woodruff asked that the women of the Church be represented. “The Relief Society and MIA have been members of the council since that time,” said Sister Spafford.