Material Culture
Roll your mouse over the poster to find more information about the objects pictured.
The crown symbolizes the crowning approval of God.
The beehive represents industriousness. There are several important links to its symbolic meaning. The Book of Mormon defines Deseret as honeybee (Ether 2:3). The Deseret News described the beehive: “The hive and honey bees form our communal coat of arms. . . . It is a significant representation of the industry, harmony, order and frugality of the people, and of the sweet results of their toil, union and intelligent cooperation” (Desere News, 11 October 1881). The Mormon community was based on cooperation and integration of specialized talents and skills, similar to the activity of a beehive. See Richard Oman, “Beehive Symbol,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 1:99.
In the early days of the LDS Church, women participated in blessing by the laying on of hands. The scripture pictured here comes from Psalms 121:1, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.”
This scripture comes from the LDS Doctrine and Covenants 100:12 “Therefore, continue your journey and let your hearts rejoice; for behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end.” A similar version is found in the King James Version of the Bible, Matthew 28:20, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
Wheat is often referred to as the staff of life. In the bible, wheat is used in the parable of the wheat and the tares, the wheat symbolizing the harvest of the Lord. Wheat imagery represents the souls of men and women. The promised land of Israel was described as a “land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and honey” (Deuteronomy 8:8).
With increasing evidence that home care of the sick and injured was no longer adequate, the women of the Relief Society opened Deseret Hospital in Salt Lake City on 17 July 1882. Roman Catholics and Episcopalians already sponsored hospitals in Utah, but Mormons desired a place where their own spiritual ministrations could accompany medical treatment. They also wanted female doctors, midwives, and nurses to protect the modesty of their women. The Deseret Hospital specialized in obstetrics, both in providing care and in training midwives and nurses to serve throughout the Utah Territory. Deseret Hospital featured a homelike atmosphere with the latest surgical equipment from New York City. The staff included dedicated, well-trained, mostly female physicians, among the first women medical school graduates, such as Ellen B. Ferguson, Ellis R. Shipp, and Romania B. Pratt."
