Along the way, Bouton met Joseph Felt and after they married they were sent to live in Muddy River in an effort to settle the area.

The settlement was not successful and they returned to live in Salt Lake City, where Felt was a stake young women's organization officer and ward Primary president.

Felt received training in Progressive education and used her knowledge to make changes to Primary curricula.

Two Mormon historians speculate that their relationship may have been romantic, an argument partially based on florid descriptions of their love for one another published in The Children's Friend.

Her parents had become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints several years before her birth.

[2] In 1864, the Bouton family started to travel to Utah Territory to join other Latter-day Saints there, but postponed their journey after all their possessions were destroyed in a baggage car fire on the way to Nebraska.

During that time Joseph Felt courted Louise, and they were married in Salt Lake City on December 24, 1866.

They made their own adobe home, but due to severe weather and the remoteness of the area, they returned to Salt Lake City in 1869.

Mary Ann Freeze called Felt as the first counselor in the stake young women's organization and she became her ward's Primary president in 1878.

[1]: 8 During the government attempts to prosecute polygamists, Felt twice left Utah Territory to avoid testifying in court against Joseph.

"[6][7] Eliza R. Snow, Presendia Kimball and Zina Young asked Felt to be the first general president of the Primary in May 1880.

She was officially appointed at the June 1880 jubilee celebration at a meeting of the associations presided over by Eliza R. Snow, which at the time included the Primary and young women's organization as well as the Relief Society.

[1]: 16 [2] Informed by this experience, they divided Primary classes in their local eleventh ward into three groups based on age, which increased attendance and decreased the number of children acting out.

The Primary general board did not hold a conference in 1903 because of the cost, but held them annually in subsequent years.

[2] In 1921, Anderson and Felt visited convalescent hospitals in the eastern part of the United States to learn best practices.

[9]: 193–194  On October 6, 1925, Felt stepped down as general president of the Primary due to failing health.

[11]: 231  Writing for BYU Studies Quarterly, RoseAnn Benson noted that "florid expressions of love were part of Victorian prose and did not have the sexual overtones placed upon them by some today.

In 1881, when Joseph married Elizabeth Liddell, Louise Felt "opened her home and shared her life and her love.

"[13] Though acknowledging a lack of direct proof, Quinn and O'Donovan speculate that Felt and Anderson could have been romantic partners.

[11][14] At the FARMS Review of Books, George L. Mitton and Rhett S. James argue that Quinn inaccurately classifies Felt's relationships with other women as romantic.