We All Must Be Crasy: The Correspondence of Sarah Peterson Lund to Her Missionary Husband, 1872-1894 - Hardcover

by Jennifer L. Lund (Editor), Elizabeth Oberdick Anderson (Editor)

A rare firsthand account of LDS mission history through the voice of a woman providing crucial support from home

While Latter-day Saint missionary work has been extensively studied, the experiences of the wives left behind remain relatively absent from the scholarship. We All Must Be Crasy helps fill this gap, offering a glimpse into the lived experiences of Mormon women and families during the late nineteenth century.

Through more than one hundred candid letters to her missionary husband, Sarah (Sanie) Peterson Lund reveals the private costs of missionization: strained marriages, economic hardship, shifting gender roles, and the constant need for community support. Sanie's correspondence conveys her frustrations, anxieties, and fears alongside her pride in her children, devotion to her family, and longing for her absent husband. Her letters also show daily life in Ephraim, Utah: town gossip, vulnerabilities and ethnic tensions among residents, and reflections on plural marriage. This collection illuminates experiences only previously sketched in broad strokes, enriching our understanding of women, faith, and community in the American West.

Author Biography

Jennifer L. Lund is an independent historian and museum consultant. She is the former director of the Historic Sites Division of the Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is the 2024 winner of the Leroy S. Axland Best Utah History Article Award from the Utah Historical Society.

Elizabeth Oberdick Anderson is an independent historian and editor. She is the author of Cowboy Apostle: The Diaries of Anthony W. Ivins, 1875-1932, recipient of the Mormon History Association's Best First Book Award and the Utah Division of State History Board's Best Documentary Book in Utah History Award.