PROVO, Utah — When the Relief Society was organized in March 1842, Elder John Taylor suggested it be called the Nauvoo Benevolent Society. However, Emma Smith, who would become the organization’s first president explained that “relief” better described their mission.
“Our purpose and objective in Relief Society [have] never changed,” said current Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson during one of the opening sessions of BYU Education Week on Monday, Aug. 19.
Along with her counselors — Sister J. Anette Dennis and Sister Kristin M. Yee — President Johnson discussed ways the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints engages in the sacred work of bringing Christ’s relief to the world.
Just as the early members of Relief Society were focused on physical and spiritual preparations of the Nauvoo Temple, women of the Church today bring the Savior’s relief to all of God’s children by preparing for the blessings of the house of the Lord, President Johnson said.
The Relief Society presidency’s greatest hope, President Johnson said, is that the women of the Church will be blessed “by the liberating power available to covenant keepers.”
That power — God’s priesthood power — is dependent on individuals making covenants with God by participating in priesthood ordinances, which yoke them to the Savior. “The Savior’s yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Let us not fall prey to the deceptions of Satan on this point,” President Johnson said.
Like Korihor the anti-Christ, the world today mocks those who believe in the Savior, calling believers frenzied and deranged or foolish (see Alma 30:16-24). “Have we heard the clamor of the anti-Christs that being bound to God through ordinances and covenants is restrictive?”
Do not be naive to Satan’s tactics, President Johnson urged listeners. “The same tactics Korihor used to lead away many women are being employed against us now. We must discover for ourselves that a covenant relationship with God is liberating, not limiting.”
Being yoked with the Savior does not mean “bound down” or incapable of movement or progression, as Korihor suggested. Instead, it means individuals are “connected” — like oxen in a yoke. “It means [the Savior] will share our burdens with us and help us lift our load on the uphill ascent toward exaltation,” President Johnson said.
It is the presidency’s vision, purpose and desire to “see our sisters endowed in the house of the Lord, opening the door to spiritual privileges and exaltation, bound to the Savior through ordinances and covenants,” President Johnson said.
Providing relief through ministering
Ministering is not about a checklist but about relationships — a relationship with God and others, said Sister Dennis.
The General Handbook explains that ministering is serving others as the Savior did. Section 21 of the General Handbook states that “the Lord wants all members of His Church to receive such care.”
In his April 2024 general conference talk, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles referred to ministers as “trusted friends and spiritual first responders.”
Sister Dennis then told of a woman in New Zealand who had recently separated from her husband. This woman’s ministering sister, who had a new baby, noticed she was often active in the late hours of the night and made a point to message her at that time of day when she felt most sad and lonely.
After regular interactions, the woman came back to Church and worked with her bishop and stake president to receive her temple recommend. “These ministering sisters truly became trusted friends and spiritual first responders for this dear sister going through a challenging time in her life. They provided temporal and spiritual relief. But it took time, patience, loving kindness and gentle invitations.”
Sister Dennis noted that ministering out of a sense of duty won’t be sustainable over the long term; it takes love of God and love for the individual. “We can pray to have that love if we don’t feel it at first.”
Sister Dennis promised, “As we practice ministering as the Savior would, we will be transformed to become more like Him. Ministering will become who we are, not just what we do. Over time, ministering will become a part of us, and we will go about doing good, as the Savior did, with or without an assignment.
Providing relief through the Church’s global initiative for women and children
The Church’s global initiative for women and children is another opportunity for Latter-day Saint women to provide temporal relief in a global effort to improve the health and well-being of women and children both in and outside the Church, said Sister Yee.
“Providing temporal relief leads to a desire for the blessings of a covenant relationship with God. In acting as the Savior would, our sisters will come to know Him, feel His love and desire a deeper covenant relationship with Him,” she said.
The global initiative has four areas of focus: child nutrition, immunizations, maternal and newborn care, and education. As part of this initiative, the First Presidency approved a $55.8 million Church-led initiative to accelerate nutrition and health care improvement in 12 high-need countries.
“On a global scale, the worldwide Church represents each of us as members in bringing together organizations who are experts in addressing big issues in faraway places. Still, perhaps the best humanitarian outreach is done close to home, as you reach across the fence or across the street,” Sister Yee told listeners.
Women and members of the Relief Society bring the love and relief of the Savior to all of God’s children when they see a need, step in, and gather the right people and resources together to help address the challenges and needs within their own spheres of influence.
“We believe that women in the Church will feel a belonging to the Relief Society and be empowered to provide relief to God’s children in their homes and communities through this global initiative,” Sister Yee said.
In conclusion, President Johnson noted that participating in the global initiative and ministering are two of many experiences which draw Relief Society sisters closer to the Savior. “Acting as He would, we feel His love, and our desire for and commitment to a covenant relationship with Him grows.”
President Johnson thanked listeners for bringing the love and relief of Jesus Christ to the world. “It is a glorious season to be covenant women, and members of a society which brings the Savior’s relief — temporal and spiritual — to our sisters and brothers around the world.”
