History of Primary

History of Primary

Aurelia Spencer Rogers, a 44-year-old mother of 12, felt strongly that something should be done about the behavior of the neighborhood boys who ran freely through the town day and night. She wrote, “I had reflected seriously upon the necessity of more strict discipline for our little boys.” Soon after, Sister Rogers expressed her concerns to Eliza R. Snow, the presiding officer of the Relief Society. Sister Rogers asked, “What will our girls do for good husbands, if this state of things continues? Could there not be an organization for little boys, and have them trained to make better men?”

Under the direction of the priesthood, the first Primary was held in the Farmington Rock Chapel on Sunday, August 25, 1878, with 215 children attending. Now, more than 125 years later, there is an organization for children with approximately one million attending.