How a promise from Sister Ardeth Kapp was fulfilled years after it was made

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It’s been 150 years since the founding of the Young Women organization. On May 25, 1870, President Brigham Young gathered his daughters in the Lion House in Salt Lake City, asking them to set an example to other young ladies and help reduce extravagance and bring about greater economic unity in the community. Two days later, on May 27, the Young Ladies’ Department of the Ladies' Cooperative Retrenchment Association was founded.

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Church News editor Sarah Jane Weaver reflects on a moment in the organization's history when Sister Ardeth Kapp was Young Women General President. By invitation from President Kapp and her counselors, Young Women all around the world recorded their testimony on a piece of paper, attached it to a balloon, and released it into the sky.

“The moment my balloon floated away 34 years ago is seared in my memory. I was filled with the knowledge that I was a part of something bigger than myself, something that mattered—a lot,” wrote Weaver.

► You may also like: What I Learned from Spending a Morning with Former Young Women General President Ardeth Kapp

Although no one found the message that Weaver attached to the balloon, she later had the opportunity to talk with Sister Kapp about her fond memories of the experience. Weaver had no children at the time, but Sister Kapp—who was never able to have children of her own—promised Weaver that her “daughters would one day deliver [her] message to the world as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ.”

One of Weaver’s daughters is now a returned missionary, while another daughter is preparing to serve a mission in the fall. 

READ MORE MEMORIES ABOUT SISTER KAPP’S INFLUENCE AT Church News.

Featured image: Deseret News file photograph 
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