Aurelia Read Spencer Rogers (October 4, 1834 – August 19, 1922) was the founder of

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

, the children's organization and official auxiliary of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. Rogers was also a women's rights activist and

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

Early life

Aurelia Read Spencer was born at Deep River, Middlesex County,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, the eldest child of

Orson Spencer Orson Spencer (March 14, 1802 – October 15, 1855) was a prolific writer and prominent member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in several highly visible positions within the church and left an extensive legacy of ...

and Catherine Cannon Curtis. When Aurelia was 12 years old, her mother died at Sugar Creek,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. A few months later, her father was asked by

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

to become the new

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on ...

for the church in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. As the second eldest child, Aurelia and her elder sister were made responsible for assisting the other four siblings in the

move Move may refer to: People *Daniil Move (born 1985), a Russian auto racing driver Brands and enterprises * Move (company), an online real estate company * Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer * Daihatsu Move Gov ...

to the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total po ...

, which the Spencer children completed in 1848. Orson Spencer returned from Europe in September 1849 and joined the family in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Marriage and family

On March 27, 1851, Aurelia married Thomas Rogers in

. The Rogers moved to

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

, where Rogers would raise seven children.

Founding the Primary Association

In 1878, Rogers had become concerned that younger

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

children had too much unsupervised time. In particular, Rogers felt that the younger boys in the community were becoming unruly and mischievous. While praying for guidance, Rogers said she heard a voice say "that there was an auxiliary organization n the churchfor all ages except the children". Rogers met with the LDS Church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

John Taylor and received permission to operate a church organization for children. With the assistance of general

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

president Eliza R. Snow, Rogers organized a Primary Association for her local Farmington ward on August 11, 1878. Two weeks later, the first meeting was held on August 25, with 115 children in attendance. That day, boys were specifically taught not to steal fruit from orchards and girls were taught not to hang on wagons. In addition, they were given lessons on faith, manners, obedience, and other principles. Snow assisted the church in spreading Primary to other church congregations. In 1880, Primary was adopted churchwide as the official organization for children in the LDS Church. From 1893 until her death, Rogers served on the general board of the Primary organization.

Suffragette

Rogers was a delegate to the Woman's Suffrage Convention in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1895. That same year, she was a delegate to the meeting of Susan B. Anthony's National Council of Women in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Death

Rogers died in Farmington, Utah at the age of 87.State of Utah Death Certificate

Notes

References

* Church Educational System, ''Church History in the Fulness of Times'', rev. ed., Salt Lake City: LDS Church, 1993

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Aurelia Spencer 1834 births 1922 deaths American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American suffragists American women's rights activists People from New Haven, Connecticut Primary (LDS Church) people Mormon pioneers Young people and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints People from Farmington, Utah Latter Day Saints from Connecticut Latter Day Saints from Iowa Latter Day Saints from Utah