Amy Brown Lyman

Family Background

1872. February 9: Born Amy Cassandra Brown in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Amy's father, John Brown, who had helped lead a group of Mississippi Mormons to Utah, was mayor and bishop of Pleasant Grove.

Of her mother, Margaret Zimmerman Brown, Amy said: "My mother was a partial invalid for a number of years due to childbirth complications, and during that time she directed the affairs of her household and in addition helped solve the social and economic problems of many of her friends We had more confidence in her ideas than we had in our own, and usually were willing to accept any plan she had for us without much argument. She was a woman's woman and always maintained that girls should have equal opportunities and privileges with boys."

Student and Teacher

1888. Amy left Pleasant Grove, where she "had plain living but high thinking," to attend the Brigham Young Academy, where Karl G. Maeser, George H. Brimhall, Alice Louise Reynolds, and Dr. George W. Middleton made lasting impressions.

Graduating in 1890 at the age of eighteen, she immediately took charge of the primary department under Dr. Maeser's supervision.

She boarded with the Maeser family, which had its disadvantages: "One great disappointment that I remember distinctly was when I was advised not to take part in a grand masquerade ball given in the Provo Theater by the society folk of the town. It was really the ball of the season, and all of my girlfriends dressed and masked for the occasion.

"I felt quite rebellious at being advised not to take part and argued the point with Brother Maeser. I told him that I had been held down all my life, and that I was tired of being a bishop's daughter and a Church school teacher. I think I even shed a few tears about it. But I finally gave in, and sat in the front row of the dress circle—we called it bald-head row—with the older people. I watched my friends enjoy all the fun that accompanies those masquerade balls."

She taught elementary school in Salt Lake City from 1894 to 1896, when she married Richard R. Lyman; they had one son and one daughter. Lyman succeeded his father, Francis M. Lyman, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve in 1918.

Advocate for the Needy

1901. While Richard pursued a graduate degree in engineering at the University of Chicago, Amy took a course in social work from Dr. George E. Vincent. "It was at this time that I first became interested in social work and social problems. … Through a former Michigan classmate of my husband, who was then working in the Chicago Charities, I was invited to do volunteer social work in this agency. These experiences … were all profitable and started me on my way as a social worker."

Eventually Amy Brown Lyman worked actively on behalf of the Salt Lake City Community Clinic, Utah State Welfare Commission, Colorado Conference of Social Work American Child Hygiene Association, Home Services Institute, National Conference of Social Workers, National Conference of Charities and Correction, National Tuberculosis Association, and the American Association for Mental Deficiency.

Relief Society Leader

While her husband taught civil engineering at the University of Utah, Lyman took courses in English and history, joined the Author's Club, and read widely in history, American literature, and philosophy.

1909. Called to the general board of the Relief Society. Concerned that she was too young for an "old women's organization," she "shed tears of anxiety because of the responsibility such an appointment involved."

1914. Named assistant business manager of the Relief Society Magazine, she became its editor seven years later. After [p.170] twenty-eight years with the magazine, she said, "It is a dearly-loved child to me."

The Relief Society sent Lyman and four other women to Denver in 1917 for welfare training with the Red Cross and the University of Colorado. Two years later she became director of the Relief Society's social services department.

1928. Named first counselor to newly selected Relief Society President Louise Y. Robinson.

1940. Called as general Relief Society president by Heber J. Grant.

Women's Advocate

1922. As a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives, Lyman chaired the Public Health Committee and was a member of the Labor and Appropriations Committees. "I called attention to the fact that since leadership is always scarce and since the supply had been increased by the emancipation of women, we should look among women's groups for new leaders, especially in certain fields; that women are a great asset to any humanitarian cause because they have a special and a different viewpoint which is based on their experience as mothers and homemakers; that their ability as directors and administrators is often apparent when they are left widows and therefore are required to manage their own business and family affairs; that they are especially needed in legislative bodies where the laws are made, because of their special knowledge of human needs and humanistic rights."

A member of the National Council of Women for many years, Lyman became a national executive committee member (1925), recording secretary (1925-1927), auditor (1927-1929), and third vice-president (1929-1934).

Personal Tragedy

Between 1933 and 1943, Amy Brown Lyman suffered [p.171] numerous personal tragedies, ranging from the loss of a kidney and her husband's bout with ulcers, to the death of a daughter-in-law who left an eight-month-old baby, to the suicide of her son.

After five years as general president of the Relief Society, she requested a release due to health problems and personal difficulties related to the 1943 excommunication of her husband, Richard R. Lyman, for "violation of the Christian Law of Chastity."

Death

1959. December 5: Died at her daughter's home at the age of eighty-seven while recovering from a fall. Her husband, who had been rebaptized in 1954, died in 1963. Both were buried in Wasatch Lawn Memorial Gardens in Salt Lake City.

Sources
Deseret News, 13 November 1943.
Hefner, Loretta L. "Amy B. Lyman." Sister Saints. Edited by Vicky Burgess-Olson. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1978.
Lyman, Amy Brown. In Retrospect. Salt Lake City: General Board of the Relief Society, 1945.
Provo, Utah. Brigham Young University. Harold B. Lee Library. Amy Brown Lyman Papers. Transcript of KSL Radio interview with Amy Brown Lyman.

	A Book of Mormons Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker Copyright 1982, Signature Books Salt Lake City, Utah Contents


	Amy Brown Lyman (1872-1959)

			Amy Brown Lyman was an advocate for the needy, General Relief Society President, and a women's advocate. Photograph courtesy LDS Church Archives.

	Family Background 1872. February 9: Born Amy Cassandra Brown in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Amy's father, John Brown, who had helped lead a group of Mississippi Mormons to Utah, was mayor and bishop of Pleasant Grove. Of her mother, Margaret Zimmerman Brown, Amy said: "My mother was a partial invalid for a number of years due to childbirth complications, and during that time she directed the affairs of her household and in addition helped solve the social and economic problems of many of her friends We had more confidence in her ideas than we had in our own, and usually were willing to accept any plan she had for us without much argument. She was a woman's woman and always maintained that girls should have equal opportunities and privileges with boys." Student and Teacher 1888. Amy left Pleasant Grove, where she "had plain living but high thinking," to attend the Brigham Young Academy, where Karl G. Maeser, George H. Brimhall, Alice Louise Reynolds, and Dr. George W. Middleton made lasting impressions. Graduating in 1890 at the age of eighteen, she immediately took charge of the primary department under Dr. Maeser's supervision. She boarded with the Maeser family, which had its disadvantages: "One great disappointment that I remember distinctly was when I was advised not to take part in a grand masquerade ball given in the Provo Theater by the society folk of the town. It was really the ball of the season, and all of my girlfriends dressed and masked for the occasion. "I felt quite rebellious at being advised not to take part and argued the point with Brother Maeser. I told him that I had been held down all my life, and that I was tired of being a bishop's daughter and a Church school teacher. I think I even shed a few tears about it. But I finally gave in, and sat in the front row of the dress circle—we called it bald-head row—with the older people. I watched my friends enjoy all the fun that accompanies those masquerade balls." She taught elementary school in Salt Lake City from 1894 to 1896, when she married Richard R. Lyman; they had one son and one daughter. Lyman succeeded his father, Francis M. Lyman, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve in 1918. Advocate for the Needy 1901. While Richard pursued a graduate degree in engineering at the University of Chicago, Amy took a course in social work from Dr. George E. Vincent. "It was at this time that I first became interested in social work and social problems. … Through a former Michigan classmate of my husband, who was then working in the Chicago Charities, I was invited to do volunteer social work in this agency. These experiences … were all profitable and started me on my way as a social worker." Eventually Amy Brown Lyman worked actively on behalf of the Salt Lake City Community Clinic, Utah State Welfare Commission, Colorado Conference of Social Work American Child Hygiene Association, Home Services Institute, National Conference of Social Workers, National Conference of Charities and Correction, National Tuberculosis Association, and the American Association for Mental Deficiency. Relief Society Leader While her husband taught civil engineering at the University of Utah, Lyman took courses in English and history, joined the Author's Club, and read widely in history, American literature, and philosophy. 1909. Called to the general board of the Relief Society. Concerned that she was too young for an "old women's organization," she "shed tears of anxiety because of the responsibility such an appointment involved." 1914. Named assistant business manager of the Relief Society Magazine, she became its editor seven years later. After [p.170] twenty-eight years with the magazine, she said, "It is a dearly-loved child to me." The Relief Society sent Lyman and four other women to Denver in 1917 for welfare training with the Red Cross and the University of Colorado. Two years later she became director of the Relief Society's social services department. 1928. Named first counselor to newly selected Relief Society President Louise Y. Robinson. 1940. Called as general Relief Society president by Heber J. Grant. Women's Advocate 1922. As a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives, Lyman chaired the Public Health Committee and was a member of the Labor and Appropriations Committees. "I called attention to the fact that since leadership is always scarce and since the supply had been increased by the emancipation of women, we should look among women's groups for new leaders, especially in certain fields; that women are a great asset to any humanitarian cause because they have a special and a different viewpoint which is based on their experience as mothers and homemakers; that their ability as directors and administrators is often apparent when they are left widows and therefore are required to manage their own business and family affairs; that they are especially needed in legislative bodies where the laws are made, because of their special knowledge of human needs and humanistic rights." A member of the National Council of Women for many years, Lyman became a national executive committee member (1925), recording secretary (1925-1927), auditor (1927-1929), and third vice-president (1929-1934). Personal Tragedy Between 1933 and 1943, Amy Brown Lyman suffered [p.171] numerous personal tragedies, ranging from the loss of a kidney and her husband's bout with ulcers, to the death of a daughter-in-law who left an eight-month-old baby, to the suicide of her son. After five years as general president of the Relief Society, she requested a release due to health problems and personal difficulties related to the 1943 excommunication of her husband, Richard R. Lyman, for "violation of the Christian Law of Chastity." Death 1959. December 5: Died at her daughter's home at the age of eighty-seven while recovering from a fall. Her husband, who had been rebaptized in 1954, died in 1963. Both were buried in Wasatch Lawn Memorial Gardens in Salt Lake City. Sources Deseret News, 13 November 1943. Hefner, Loretta L. "Amy B. Lyman." Sister Saints. Edited by Vicky Burgess-Olson. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1978. Lyman, Amy Brown. In Retrospect. Salt Lake City: General Board of the Relief Society, 1945. Provo, Utah. Brigham Young University. Harold B. Lee Library. Amy Brown Lyman Papers. Transcript of KSL Radio interview with Amy Brown Lyman.