[5] After Lyman graduated in 1896,[7] the couple was married in the Salt Lake Temple in a ceremony performed by Joseph F. Smith.

[7] Prior to the Second World War, Lyman accompanied her husband to England where he was president of the church's European Mission from 1936 to 1938.

In this role, she collected historical documents, while promoting the use of modern office machinery and practices, such as filing systems.

[citation needed] While on the general board, she established Social Service Department under Joseph F. Smith's authorization.

[10]: 197 Lyman received numerous honors including election to the Social Science Honor Society of America, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Brigham Young University (BYU), honorary membership in the American Association of Mental Deficiency, and the Honorary Life Membership Award from the Utah State Conference of Social Work.

[11] In 1943, the First Presidency discovered that Richard Lyman had carried on a relationship with another woman since 1925, for which he was excommunicated on November 12, 1943, for violations of the law of chastity.

"[12]: 195 The incident proved to be too much of a distraction, however, and Lyman requested to be released as Relief Society general president.

[14] Part of Lyman's work in the Relief Society included her contributions to the LDS Church's social welfare department.

In 1973, the organization became a corporation separate from the church's Relief Society and was renamed LDS Social Services.

)[15] As head of the Social Service Department, Lyman created a training program in which stake delegates attended classes in family welfare work.

[5] As a representative, she pushed for statewide support of the federal Sheppard–Towner Act,[7] which provided for federally financed instruction in maternal and infant health care and gave matching funds to individual U.S. states to build women's health care clinics.

[7] She attended a Red Cross training seminar on welfare work in Colorado in 1917, and by 1918 she was a trustee and vice-president of her community clinic, organizer of the Municipal Department of Health and Charity, chairperson of the Family Consultation Committee of the Red Cross and the vice-president of the Utah State Welfare Commission.