Relief Society
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The Relief Society is the women's organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois the organization, with the motto "Charity Never Faileth," today includes more than 5.2 million women in over 170 countries.
[edit] Relief Society Motto
The motto of the Relief Society, which is found in Moroni 7:46 as well as 1 Corinthians 13:8 is "Charity never faileth".
[edit] Organization of the Relief Society
In the spring of 1842, Sarah M. Kimball and her seamstress, Miss Cook, discussed combining their efforts to assist the efforts of workers on the LDS Nauvoo Temple. They determined to invite their neighbors to combine efforts and assist in creating a Ladies' Society. Kimball asked Eliza R. Snow to write a constitution and by-laws for the organization for submission to Joseph Smith, Jr. for review. After reviewing the notes, Joseph commented that "this is not what you want.... [The Lord] has something better for them than a written constitution. ... I will organize the sisters under the priesthood after a pattern of the priesthood."
Eighteen women gathered on Thursday, 17 March 1842 in the second story meeting room over the Smith's Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA. Joseph Smith, Jr., John Taylor, and Willard Richards sat on the platform at the upper end of the room with the women facing them. The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning was sung, and Taylor opened the meeting with prayer. Smith then organized the women in attendance who were:
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Additionally, eight other women not present that day were admitted to membership:
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Smith stated "the object of the Society--that the Society of Sisters might provoke the brethren to good works in looking to the wants of the poor--searching after objects of charity and in administering to their wants--to assist by correcting morals and strengthening the virtues of the community, and save the Elders the trouble of rebuking; that they may give their time to other duties, &c, in their public teaching." (History of Relief Society 1842-1966, page 18)
Smith also proposed that the women elect a presiding officer who would choose two counselors to assist her. Emma Hale Smith was elected unanimously as president. She chose Sarah M. Cleveland and Elizabeth Ann Whitney as her two counselors. Taylor was appointed to ordain the women and did so.
It was proposed that the organization go by the name Benevolent Society and with no opposition the vote carried. However, Emma Smith made a point of objection. She convinced the attendants that "The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo" would better reflect the purpose of the organization, for they were to do great acts of "relief," not merely be "benevolent." After discussion, it was unanimously agreed that the name of the fledgling organization be changed to "The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo."
Smith then offered five dollars in gold to commence the funds of the Society and the men left the room.
Eliza R. Snow was unanimously elected as secretary, Phebe M. Wheeler as Assistant Secretary, and Elvira A. Coles, Treasurer. Emma Smith remarked that each member should be ambitious to do good and seek out and relieve the distressed. Several female members then made donations to the Society.
The men returned, and Taylor and Richards also made donations. After singing "Come Let Us Rejoice," the meeting was adjourned to meet on the following Thursday at 10 o'clock. Taylor then gave a closing prayer.
Later in his journal, the Prophet recorded: "I attended by request the Female Relief Society, whose object is the relief of the poor, the destitute, the widow, and the orphan, and for the exercise of all benevolent purposes" (History of Relief Society 1842-1966, page 61).
The new organization proved immediately popular. Under Emma Smith's direction, the society was organized and meetings conducted in each of the city's four ecclesiastical wards. Young mother Sarah Pea Rich, wife of Charles C. Rich, remembered We then, as a people, were united and were more like one family than like strangers. By March 1844, membership totaled 1,342 women. The last meetings of the Nauvoo Relief Society were held in March 1844.
[edit] Young Gentlemen and Ladies Relief Society of Nauvoo
Beginning in January 1843, a similar movement began among the young men and women in Nauvoo under the direction of Heber C. Kimball. Evening lectures addressed using time wisely, scripture study, and avoiding excessive parties, dances and entertainments. On at least one occasion, Joseph Smith addressed the informal gatherings and urged the young people to include service to the poor in their efforts. In response, shortly before the prophet's death, the youth organized the Young Gentlemen and Ladies Relief Society of Nauvoo as a charitable society. Many years later, the aims of this society were addressed in the Church's Young Men's/Young Women's organizations in Utah.
[edit] Independent Relief Societies, 1844 to 1868
According to the Book of Records, the last Female Relief Society meeting in Nauvoo was held on 16 March 1844. Shortly after this date, Church leaders Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith were taken into legal custody and then killed by a mob at Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844. After their deaths, the majority of local church members focused on finishing the building of the Nauvoo Temple and doing appropriate temple work before leaving the city of Nauvoo.
When Relief Society secretary Eliza R. Snow joined the Saints in their exodus west in 1846, she carried the Relief Society Book of Records with her. Elizabeth Ann Whitney conducted a few Relief Society meetings that year in Winter Quarters, Nebraska.
During the 1850s, while church members established new communities and tried to gain a foothold in the Utah desert, formal church meetings were held irregularly. However, several wards in Utah created independent Relief Society organizations. Records are limited but show that, by 1858, independent Relief Societies existed in ten Salt Lake City wards and in several other wards in Ogden, Provo, Spanish Fork, and Nephi, Utah. Among their stated purposes was the feeding and clothing of Native Americans. Though these women were poor, they felt the need of Native Americans exceeded their own.
In 1854, an Indian Relief Society was formed in the Thirteenth Ward Meeting House with Matilda Dudley as President and Martha J. Corary as secretary. That organization continued for three years and kept complete minutes and financial reports. Eliza R. Snow was involved in the independent Relief Society in her 18th Ward. In 2004, historian Carol Holindrake Nielson documented the organization, activities and membership of the Salt Lake City 14th Ward Relief Society. The 14th Ward included the square designated for the temple and eleven residential squares to the south and west. This section contained the homes of many church leaders. Among others, the rolls of the ward Relief Society contains the names of Leonora Taylor and Jane B. Taylor, wives of John Taylor; Elizabeth B. Pratt, Kezia D. Pratt and Phoebe Soper Pratt, wives of Parley P. Pratt; and Phebe W. Woodruff, Emma Woodruff, Sarah Woodruff, Sarah Delight Woodruff, Phebe A. Woodruff, Susan C. Woodruff, Bulah Woodruff, wives and daughters of Wilford Woodruff.
The disruption caused by the Utah War of 1858, and the arrival of Johnston's army, interrupted the activities of these Relief Societies. However, many of the independent organizations began meeting again after the crisis was past.
[edit] Reorganization of the Relief Society
Brigham Young called Eliza R. Snow as General Relief Society President for the Church in 1866. Seeking not only for the relief of the poor, but the accomplishment of every good and noble work ("Female Relief Society," Deseret News, April 22, 1868), Young addressed the need to establish local Relief Society units in the Church's 1868 April conference. Now, Bishops, you have smart women for wives, many of you. Let them organize Female Relief Societies in the various wards. We have many talented women among us....You will find that the sisters will be the mainspring of the movement. (Journal of Discourses, 12:201) Snow was then assigned to assist local bishops in organizing permanent branches of the Relief Society. Using the minutes recorded in the early Nauvoo meetings, Snow created a "Constitution" for all local units intending to unite them in name, purpose, and organization. She and nine other sisters began visiting wards and settlements in 1868, and at the end of the year, organizations existed in all twenty Salt Lake City wards or congregations, in nearly every county in Utah, and other nearby communities. On a ward level, the Relief Society performed a variety of functions. The women helped the Bishop of the ward in assisting the poor. They collected and disbursed funds and commodities and performed service oriented tasks such as cleaning homes, sewing, planting and tending gardens, and manufacturing small locally needed items.
Snow’s presidency emphasized spirituality and self-sufficiency. The Relief Society sent women to medical school, trained nurses, opened the Deseret Hospital, operated cooperative stores, promoted silk manufacture, saved wheat, and built granaries. In 1872 Snow provided assistance and advice to Louisa L. Greene in the creation of a woman's publication, the Woman's Exponent, which was loosely affiliated with the Relief Society. Snow's responsibilities also extended to young women and children within the Church. She was the primary organizer for the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association (1869) and the Primary Association (1884). By 1888, the Relief Society had more than 22,000 members in 400 local wards and branches.
Early Relief Society meetings were held semimonthly. One meeting per month was devoted to sewing and caring for the needs of the poor. During the second meeting, members received instructions and encouragement from the discussion of elevating and educational themes and bore testimonies. The women were also encouraged to explore and develop cultural opportunities for their community.
[edit] Presidents of the Relief Society
- Emma Hale Smith (1842–1844)
- Eliza R. Snow (1866–1887)
- Zina D. H. Young (1888–1901)
- Bathsheba W. Smith (1901–1910)
- Emmeline B. Wells (1910–1921)
- Clarissa S. Williams (1921–1928)
- Louise Y. Robison (1928–1939)
- Amy Brown Lyman (1940–1945)
- Belle S. Spafford (1945–1974)
- Barbara B. Smith (1974–1984)
- Barbara W. Winder (1984–1990)
- Elaine L. Jack (1990–1997)
- Mary Ellen W. Smoot (1997–2002)
- Bonnie D. Parkin (2002–)
[edit] Growth of the Relief Society
The meeting recorded 16 March 1844 in the Female Relief Society Book of Records was the last meeting held in Nauvoo by the Society. At that time, the Society had grown from a membership of 18 to 1,341. In 1942, membership in the organization was approximately 115,000 women, growing to 300,000 members in 1966. Today, (2006) the Relief Society has 5.2 million female members in over 170 countries.
[edit] See also
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Latter Day Saint movement
- Mormonism
- Relief Society Magazine
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Derr, Jill Mulvay, Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, and Janath Cannon, Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992.
- Nielson, Carol Holindrake. The Salt Lake City 14th Ward Album Quilt, 1857: Stories of the Relief Society Women and Their Quilt. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, UT, 2004. ISBN 0-87480-792-1.
- Peterson, Janet; Gaunt, LaRene (1990). Elect Ladies: Presidents of the Relief Society. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT. ISBN 0-87579-416-5.
- Relief Society General Board Association, History of Relief Society 1842-1966 1966.
- Scott, Patricia Lyn and Linda Thatcher, editors. Women in Utah History: Paradigm or Paradox? Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2005. ISBN 0-87421-625-7.
