Mormon historians see the book as Utah women's attempt to assimilate to cultural expectations of citizens of the United States of America.

[1][2] The Church History entry for Alice Smith Merrill lists her as the publisher for Songs and Flowers of the Wasatch.

[5][Note 1] In her journal entry for June 8, 1893, she said that she "found the 2 copies of Poems Edna had left for me" and that she took one to use in the Liberal Arts building.

[9] In her dissertation chapter on Songs and Flowers of the Wasatch, Jennifer Reeder, a women's history specialist at the LDS Church History Department wrote that the hand-painted watercolors of flowers and nature scenes that accompanied sentimental poetry appear at first like many other poetry compilations of the Victorian era.

Unlike other poetry compilations, however, the content in Songs and Flowers draws on Utah's landscapes and Mormon theology.

[13] Also at the Herald, Frances praised the book's thick paper and "unique designs", writing that "our home publishers may well be proud of the excellent work shown in the printing and binding of the volume".

[11] Reeder wrote that the book "represented a pivotal, concerted shift away from institutional Mormon history toward a non-denominational, socially-accepted American cultural and religious heritage".