This descriptive study examined the nursing and health care activities of Mormon women in the pre-depression period of 1914 through 1930 through analysis of the official voice of the Relief Society, the Relief Society Magazine. Entries from the Relief Society Magazine that dealt with any nursing or health care topic were coded according to the themes they addressed. Five themes emerged: Nursing, faith, healing, women's health, children's health, and public health.In each of the themes, the Relief Society Magazine showed that the members of the Relief Society recognized the health care problems of their communities and claimed responsibility for addressing those challenges. Mormon women developed programs and cooperated with existing government and private organizations to achieve their health care goals. The existence of the Relief Society Magazine gave Mormon women a vehicle for communicating their nursing and health care plans, goals, and successes with each other and provided an instrument for exploring the nursing and health work of Mormon women in the 1914 to 1930 period.

This project uses a qualitative research approach to understanding Mormon women's uses and gratifications of magazines. The first study provides a retrospective look at the uses and gratifications of readers of the Relief Society Magazine (1915–1970) in order to understand where media targeted to Mormon women has been. Through interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, the study finds the main reasons Mormon women read the Relief Society Magazine was to provide (a) a handbook for daily life, (b) a community, (c) intellectual stimulation, (d) an aspirational ideal, and (e) an escape from daily life. When the magazine ceased publication, readers felt a sense of loss and recognized a need to move on. The second study researches Mormon women's current uses and gratifications of media, with a focus on magazine use. Through focus groups and questionnaires, the main uses and gratifications of current media among Mormon women include (a) interaction, (b) cognition, (c) and diversion. Mormon women's media use is also influenced by warnings from others about the dangers of particular media or too much media use. This project then presents the concept and design for a new magazine targeted to Mormon women and seeks to fulfill the needs and gratifications found in the research discussed here.

In January, 1914, the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brought out the first issue of what was to become the Relief Society Magazine. Before this, the women of the Church had been served by the Women's Exponent, founded in 1872 as the second women's publication in the west. During 1914, the Exponent's successor was a monthly guide to the Relief Society's coursework, known as the Bulletin. In January, 1915, it became the Relief Society Magazine.The magazine became a leader in the Relief Society work as a forum for idea exchange, a medium for administration, an outlet for creative talents, and a lesson guide.In December, 1970, the last Magazine appeared. The end came for the publication in an effort on the part of the Church to strengthen the family unit through combining magazines it published. New eras come, bringing change, but for the women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their past includes a Magazine which reflected their interests, strivings, and work.