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divinely made, divinely authorized,
divinely instituted, divinely ordained
of God.
8
President Joseph Fielding
Smith told the sisters that they had
been given power and authority to
do a great many things.
9
He said,
You are members of the greatest
womens organization in the world,
an organization which is a vital part
of the kingdom of God on [the] earth
and which is so designed and oper-
ated that it helps its faithful members
to gain eternal life in our Fathers
kingdom.
10
An Extensive Sphere of Infuence
Every year hundreds of thousands
of women and young women become
part of this ever-expanding circle of
sisters.
11
Thereafter, wherever a sister
lives and wherever she serves, she
retains her membership and associa-
tion in Relief Society.
12
Because of
Relief Societys important purposes,
the First Presidency has expressed
their desire that young women begin
their preparation for Relief Society
well before they are 18 years old.
13
Relief Society is not a program. It
is an offcial part of the Lords Church
that is divinely ordained of God to
teach, strengthen, and inspire sisters in
their purpose regarding faith, family,
and relief. Relief Society is a way of
life for Latter-day Saint women, and
its infuence extends far beyond a
Sunday class or a social gathering. It
follows the pattern of female disci-
ples who served with the Lord Jesus
Christ and His Apostles in His ancient
Church.
14
We have been taught that
it is as obligatory upon a woman to
draw into her life the virtues that are
fostered by the Relief Society as it is
an obligation for the men to build into
their lives the patterns of character
fostered by the priesthood.
15
When the Prophet Joseph Smith
their vision of strong, faithful, pur-
poseful women who understand their
eternal value and purpose. When the
Prophet Joseph Smith established
Relief Society, he directed its frst
president to preside over this society,
in taking care of the pooradminis-
tering to their wants, and attending to
the various affairs of this institution.
5
He envisioned the organization as a
select society, separate from all the
evils of the world.
6
Brigham Young, the second
President of the Church, instructed
his counselors and the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles to direct bishops
to let [the sisters] organize Female
Relief Societies in the various wards.
He added, Some may think this is a
trifing thing, but it is not.
7
Later, President JosephF. Smith
said that in contrast to worldly orga-
nizations, which are men-made, or
women-made, the Relief Society is
By JulieB. Beck
Recently Released Relief Society General President
I
n recent years I have been impressed
to speak often about Relief Society
its purposes and qualities,
1
the value
of its history,
2
its work, and its partner-
ship with bishops and Melchizedek
Priesthood quorums.
3
It seems impor-
tant now to focus some attention on
the vision of prophets regarding Relief
Society.
4
Just as the Lords prophets have
continually taught elders and high
priests their purposes and duties,
they have shared their vision for the
sisters of the Relief Society. From their
counsel, it is clear that the purposes of
Relief Society are to increase faith and
personal righteousness, strengthen
families and homes, and seek out and
help those in need. Faith, family, and
reliefthese three simple words have
come to express the vision of proph-
ets for sisters in the Church.
Since the beginning of the
Restoration, prophets have shared
The Vision of Prophets
regarding Relief
Society: Faith, Family,
Relief
Faith, family, and reliefthese three simple words have come
to express the vision of prophets for sisters in the Church.
84
organized the Relief Society, he taught
the sisters that they were to relieve
the poor and save souls.
16
In their
charge to save souls, sisters were
authorized to organize and participate
in an extensive sphere of infuence.
The frst Relief Society president was
set apart to expound the scriptures,
and Relief Society still carries an
essential teaching responsibility in the
Lords Church. When Joseph Smith
told the sisters that the organization of
Relief Society would prepare them for
the privileges, blessings and gifts of
the Priesthood,
17
the Lords work of
salvation was opened to them. Saving
souls includes sharing the gospel
and participating in missionary work.
It includes engaging in temple and
family history work. It includes doing
everything possible to become spiritu-
ally and temporally self-reliant.
Elder JohnA. Widtsoe declared that
Relief Society offers relief of poverty,
relief of illness; relief of doubt, relief
of ignorancerelief of all that hinders
the joy and progress of woman. What
a magnifcent commission!
18
President BoydK. Packer has
likened Relief Society to a protecting
wall.
19
The responsibility to protect
sisters and their families increases
the signifcance of the watchcare and
ministering of visiting teachers, and it
is a demonstration of our willingness
to remember our covenants with the
Lord. As ministers to the needy and
to the afficted, we work in harmony
with bishops to look after the tempo-
ral and spiritual needs of the Saints.
20
President SpencerW. Kimball said:
There are many sisters who are living
in ragsspiritual rags. They are enti-
tled to gorgeous robes, spiritual robes.
... It is your privilege to go into
homes and exchange robes for rags.
21
President HaroldB. Lee shared this
vision. He said: Cannot you see why
the Lord has put it upon the ... Relief
Society to visit these homes? Because,
next to the Master himself, there are
none in [the] Church who have a more
lovely touch, a more complete under-
standing of the hearts and the lives of
these individuals.
22
President JosephF. Smith cautioned
Relief Society sisters and their leaders,
saying that he did not want to see
the time when our Relief Societies
will follow, or commingle and lose
their own identity by mixing up with
... woman-made organizations. He
expected the sisters to lead the world
and ... especially the women of the
world, in everything that is praise-
worthy, everything that is God-like,
everything that is uplifting and that is
purifying to the children of men.
23
His counsel emphasizes the charge
to eliminate traditions, themes, fads,
and trends and incorporate practices
that are consistent with Relief Society
purposes.
Leaders who seek revelation can
ensure that every meeting, lesson,
class, activity, and effort of the Relief
Society fulflls the purposes for which
it was organized. The sociality, friend-
ship, and unity we desire will be the
sweet results of serving together with
the Lord in His work.
Fulflling the Vision of Prophets
President ThomasS. Monson and
his counselors recently testifed that
the Lord has restored the fulness of
the gospel through the Prophet Joseph
Smith and that Relief Society is an
important part of that restoration.
As evidence of their desire that the
glorious heritage of Relief Society
be preserved, the First Presidency
recently published and distributed
worldwide Daughters in My Kingdom:
The History and Work of Relief Society.
Within the pages of this book, we can
fnd patterns and examples of sisters
and brothers working in partnership
in families and the Church, and we
can learn principles about who we
are, what we believe, and what we
should protect. We have been encour-
aged by the First Presidency to study
this important book and allow its
timeless truths and inspiring examples
to infuence [our] lives.
24
As sisters become more aligned
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with the purposes of Relief Society,
the vision of the prophets will be ful-
flled. President Kimball said, There is
a power in this organization [of Relief
Society] that has not yet been fully
exercised to strengthen the homes of
Zion and build the Kingdom of God
nor will it until both the sisters and the
priesthood catch the vision of Relief
Society.
25
He prophesied that much
of the major growth that is coming to
the Church in the last days will come
because many of the good women of
the world (in whom there is often ...
an inner sense of spirituality) will be
drawn to the Church in large num-
bers. This will happen to the degree
that the women of the Church ...
are seen as distinct and differentin
happy waysfrom the women of the
world.
26
I am grateful for the vision of
prophets regarding Relief Society. I,
like President GordonB. Hinckley,
am convinced there is no other
organization anywhere to match the
Relief Society of this Church.
27
It is
our responsibility now to align our-
selves with the vision of the prophets
regarding Relief Society as we seek to
increase faith, strengthen families, and
provide relief.
I close with the words of President
Lorenzo Snow: The future of the
[Relief ] Society is full of promise. As
the Church grows, its feld of useful-
ness will be correspondingly enlarged,
and it will be even more potent for
good than it has been in the past.
28
To sisters who help advance the king-
dom of God, he said, As you have
shared in these labors, so you will
most certainly share in the triumph
of the work and in the exaltation and
glory which the Lord will give to His
faithful children.
29
Of this vision I also
bear testimony in the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
NOTES
1. See JulieB. Beck, Fulflling the Purpose of
Relief Society, Liahona and Ensign, Nov.
2008, 10811.
2. See JulieB. Beck, BYU Womens
Conference address (Apr. 29, 2011), http:
//ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/
archive/2011/pdf/JulieB_openingS.pdf;
What I Hope My Granddaughters (and
Grandsons) Will Understand about Relief
Society, Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2011,
10913; Relief Society: A Sacred Work,
Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 11014.
3. See JulieB. Beck, Why We Are Organized
into Quorums and Relief Societies
(Brigham Young University devotional
address, Jan. 17, 2012), speeches.byu.edu.
4. This message is not a comprehensive
review of all prophetic statements
regarding Relief Society. It is only a sample
of their vision and direction. Daughters
in My Kingdom: The History and Work
of Relief Society, conference reports, and
other Church publications contain more
teaching on this subject.
5. Joseph Smith, in Daughters in My
Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief
Society (2011), 13.
6. Joseph Smith, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 15.
7. Brigham Young, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 41.
8. JosephF. Smith, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 6566.
9. Joseph Fielding Smith, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 142.
10. Joseph Fielding Smith, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 97.
11. BoydK. Packer, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 85.
12. See BoydK. Packer, The Circle of Sisters,
Ensign, Nov. 1980, 110.
13. See First Presidency letters, Mar. 19, 2003,
and Feb. 23, 2007.
14. See Daughters in My Kingdom, 36.
15. BoydK. Packer, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 16.
16. Joseph Smith, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 17.
17. Joseph Smith, in History of the Church,
4:602.
18. JohnA. Widtsoe, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 25.
19. BoydK. Packer, Ensign, Nov. 1980, 110.
20. Joseph Fielding Smith, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 142.
21. SpencerW. Kimball, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 117.
22. HaroldB. Lee, The Place of Relief
Society in the Welfare Plan, Relief Society
Magazine, Dec. 1946, 842.
23. JosephF. Smith, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 66.
24. The First Presidency, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, ix.
25. SpencerW. Kimball, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 142.
26. SpencerW. Kimball, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 95.
27. GordonB. Hinckley, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 160.
28. Lorenzo Snow, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 19.
29. Lorenzo Snow, in Daughters in My
Kingdom, 7.
