November Relief Society Newsletter

A couple of weeks ago, when my children were out of school for Fall Break, my daughters and I decided to make a trip to Salt Lake City. Our plans included watching the newly re-made Joseph Smith movie, touring the Beehive house, going to lunch, of course…J and visiting the Relief Society Building. We were in for a real treat!  I thought I would share with you our experience at the Relief Society Building…

As we entered the building, we were met by a sweet sister who became our guide.  She encouraged us to go downstairs to the Resource Room, where we were able to learn more about the women’s auxiliaries of the church… my daughters enjoyed seeing all the things pertaining to Primary and Young Women’s.  The spirit in the room was inspiring, and incredible. As we walked through the Relief Society area and looked at the beautiful pictures and quotes from our church leaders, I felt humbled and blessed.

We finished our tour of the Resource Room and headed upstairs to once again meet our guide. She gave us a quick history of the Relief Society building, telling us that in 1947, Sister Belle S. Spafford, ninth Relief Society general president, had asked each member of the Relief Society, (which at that time numbered 100,000 women) to donate five dollars to build the Relief Society building. She told us how women all over the world had sent in their donations.  She told us that some of the sister’s who could not send money from their country, instead sent beautiful pieces of art to decorate the interior of the building. She took us into a room and showed us many of these works of art and talked about the sacrifices the sisters made to do this.  She then led us into a room which had a long table, with many large binders.  She told us how the names of every Relief Society sister who donated to the building were in those binders! She then encouraged us to look through the binders to see if we could find any of our relatives who may have donated.  Needless to say, we were excited to see if we could find any!  What fun it was, when together with my daughters, we came across the names of some of our grandmothers and great grandmothers!

This experience was an unexpected, sweet, faith – filled moment in time! Immediately I felt gratitude, admiration, and love for my relatives, and all of those sisters who had faith and sacrificed in a time when five dollars probably meant a week’s worth of groceries!  These women and this story are examples to us all. These sisters understood the purposes of Relief Society and new this building was needed in furthering the work of our Heavenly Father.

In reference to this building, Sister Spafford declared: “This achievement represents great monetary value, but not monetary value alone. Herein are represented many intangible values-values of supreme worth-appreciation for the honored position accorded women in the gospel plan; testimony of the divinity of the work of the society; and gratitude for the opportunity given the sisters of the Church to serve…; loyalty to leadership; unselfish devotion to a great cause. It is a reflection of the greatness that is inherent within the society.” (Daughters in My Kingdom, pg.88)

 As I have come to know this part of the history of our organization, I feel a deep appreciation for the sisters of our past.  I feel a greater responsibility and loyalty to this incredible organization of Relief Society… We are truly blessed!

With much love,
Sister Jocelyn Walker

March Presidency Message

Well, here it is March…I love March because it is always fun to see the daffodils and tulips coming up…we all know that they are a promise of Spring!  A few days ago, I went out to my mailbox and there was my Ensign…I love it when the Church magazines come, they are like getting a present in the mail! I especially enjoyed the article in the Ensign entitled, “Charity Never Faileth:” A Discussion on Relief Society.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife Patricia T. Holland share their thoughts on the role of Relief Society. I thought I would share a few quotes from their article.

(Relief Society) “It’s not a program per se.  It is the gospel –
the gospel in action in the lives of our remarkable women.  In difficult times we realize it offers its members, and by extension the whole Church, just what we need to help us right now.”

“Relief Society is needed now more than ever before because of the challenges we face in the world today.  The women of the Church have a greater need to be righteous, to live close to the Spirit, and to be faithful.  And women need each other too, in order to keep and sustain their faith.”

“Each one of us who makes the journey down the gospel path is an individual – a daughter or a son of God.  As individual members, we must be absolutely rock solid.  No organization is going to be any stronger than its people, no home any stronger than its foundation.”

“When I think of all the blessings we as Latter-day Saints share in our temples, our wards and branches, our marriages, and our families, I realize it all comes back to how the Priesthood and Relief Society – men and women – work together in a home as well as in the Church.”

What a wonderful article, well worth reading!  I am so grateful for Relief Society and how I learn so much about the gospel, and not only that…I know Relief Society helps to strengthen my family as they see me participating in this great work.  I agree with Elder Holland when he says, “Even when our children were very young, they could recognize their mother’s devotion to the gospel and the role that a woman plays in it…It is clear from their mother’s example that our children know the crucial, exalted place of women in their lives and in the kingdom of God.”

What a blessing Relief Society is to all of us.  We thank each of you dear sisters for the wonderful examples you are, for your great faith, love, and devotion to Relief Society. We love you and pray for you always.

Love,
    Jocelyn Walker

February Presidency Message

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Presidency Message -- January

Dear Sisters:

We hope that the Christmas season found you surrounded by family and friends and that His spirit was felt in great abundance as you celebrated His birth.

As I was reading this week's church news, the article entitled “Christmas is Always Near” caught my eye and I wanted to share a few thoughts from it with you all.

           

“On that first Christmas, the angels sang, “Peace on earth, good will to men.”  The peace Christ brought, and still brings, was not intended for just one silent night and one glorious day.

            

President David O. McKay said: “At Christmastime, more than at any other, we think of others and try to express either in word or deed our desire to make others happy.  Herein lies the secret of true happiness.  ‘He that will lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall find it,’ is sound philosophy, which the true Christmas spirit helps us to understand.”

            

These thoughts of CHRISTMAS AS A YEAR-LONG EVENT have been expressed:

                                         

Christmas is not a day or a season,

but a condition of heart and mind.

If we love our neighbors as ourselves;

If in our riches we are poor in spirit

And in our poverty we are rich in grace;

If our charity vaunteth not itself,

But suffereth long and is kind;

If when our brother asks for a loaf,

We give ours instead;

If each day dawns in opportunity

And sets in achievement

however small;

Then every day is Christ’s day &
Christmas is always near.

Poem by John Wallingford; quoted by President Howard W. Hunter 1993

As we begin a new year, may we keep and magnify the love, peace, charity and joy in our hearts that we have felt during the past few weeks, for it truly does embody the spirit and the work of Relief Society as well.

With much love,

Sister Lisa Hunt

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