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By Brent Roberts
Guest Columnist

Marking this month 183 years since its founding on March 17, 1842, I am excited to tell you about a women’s organization that many of you have probably never heard of: The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

The Relief Society was born out of combined efforts by several sisters in Nauvoo, Illinois, who sought to provide relief for the men working tirelessly to build the Nauvoo Temple. 

Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Church, stated that the Church was not fully organized until the sisters were organized. 

Of the Relief Society, Joseph said: “With the resources they will have at command, they will fly to the relief of the stranger; they will pour in oil and wine to the wounded heart of the distressed; they will dry up the tears of the orphan and make the widow’s heart to rejoice.” 

The Relief Society’s motto is: “Charity never faileth” (1 Corinthians 13:8). 

However, Joseph taught that the work of the Relief Society would go beyond physical needs, stating that “The Ladies’ Relief Society is not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls.” 

Emma Smith, Joseph’s wife and the first president of the society, stated: “We are going to do something extraordinary…We expect extraordinary occasions and pressing calls.” 

Now, a Relief Society is organized in each congregation of the Church and each female 18 and over is a member. 

The efforts of the Relief Society provide tangible examples of the Lord’s instruction to “Succor the weak, lift up the hands that hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (Doctrine and Covenants 81:5). 

The sweet and wonderful sisters of the Relief Society are usually the first to know when a Church member has received a difficult diagnosis, or experienced an employment setback, or been touched by death. Typically they are the first on the scene whenever someone is in need. 

When we lived in Montana, my wife led a community-wide collaborative effort called Hearts and Hands, where Relief Society sisters and women from many faiths made quilts and hygiene kits, donated blood, and provided resources for local women’s shelters. 

I am always in awe of the way that Relief Society sisters, from all walks of life, backgrounds, and demographics, know just the right thing to say and the right thing to do as they care for those in need.

President Russell M. Nelson, the current President of the Church, taught: “No one can do what a righteous woman can do…You have the capacity to sense what someone needs–and when he or she needs it. You can reach out, comfort, teach, and strengthen someone in his or her very moment of need.” 

Sisters from the Relief Society truly serve the Savior as they minister to and care for others: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

DR. BRENT ROBERTS is the Bishop of the Sandy River Ward, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and also Assistant Provost for Academic Outreach and Dean of Greenwood Library at Longwood University. He can be reached at brentsroberts@hotmail.com.