Dear Sisters,
We have just celebrated the Relief Society’s birthday. The humble beginnings of Relief Society in 1842 started with the sisters mending clothes for temple workers and donating time, money and supplies. In Chapter 2 of Daughters in My Kingdom this is explained. “Since the organization of the Church in 1830, Latter-day Saint women have found countless ways to give service. They have been true to the words of the Savior: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” When the Prophet Joseph Smith led efforts to build a temple in Kirtland, Ohio, sisters saw many needs among the construction workers and their families. As Sarah M. Kimball recounted, “The women would churn and cheerfully send their butter to the workmen on the Temple and eat without any on their own tables.” The sisters also saw a need to make carpets and draperies for the temple. Polly Angell recalled a comment by Joseph Smith as he saw them working. He said: “The sisters are always first and foremost in all good works. Mary [Magdalene] was first at the resurrection; and the sisters now are the first to work on the inside of the temple. From the hearts of these sisters flowed a great desire to engage in good works. They did so with wool and wagons, soap and sewing, food and finery, time and talents. Through their new society, the women of the Church acted according to their natural sympathies to build up the Lord’s Church.”
One of the main principles the Relief Society was founded on is Service. As the wonderful sisters who started this organization did, we must also embrace charitable service. If you are one of the many women who feel like you have nothing to give or don’t know where to start, remember what Henry B. Eyring said in a 2009 conference address, “The part of the foundation they laid for you which seems to me most important and persistent is that charity is at the heart of the society and is to come into the heart, to be part of the very nature, of every member. Charity meant to them far more than a feeling of benevolence. Charity is born of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and is an effect of His Atonement working in the hearts of the members.” If you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then start there and let that faith and love for him build in your heart. You will soon find that you cannot contain it within yourself and must share that love with others. But it can also work the other way around too. If you are struggling with your faith, go and serve. You will soon find that sharing the love of Christ through service will soon strengthen your faith like nothing else can.
Pres. Eyring pointed out that charity is an effect of His Atonement working in the hearts of the members. One of the many blessing of the Atonement is knowing that Christ and Heavenly Father loved us so much that they were willing to forgive our sins and sacrifice Jesus’s life so that we can return to them. When we truly repent and use the Atonement in our lives we have a greater understanding of His love for us. That love is where charity begins. Share it with others, seek out opportunities to love and forgive others as Jesus did. Serve your family, neighbors and strangers. It does not matter who you serve or what the service is, just as long as you are serving others and spreading the love of Jesus Christ.
It is my hope that we, like the sisters who started this organization those many years ago, will actively look for and seek out opportunities to serve and fill the needs of those around us. I testify that as you do your faith, love for the Savior and others, and your happiness will grow.
Sincerely, Sister Heather Olsen.
