Relief Society's Founding Legacy

Relief Society's founding legacy
Is one of strength and endurance
As sisters worked together selflessly
At a time long before women's suffrage

They truly held on... for Zion's tomorrow
As they bore persecution and extreme poverty
One would weep to read about their sorrows
While feeling but awe of their generosity

Born of faith in Jesus Christ
Charity remains, today, the motto
Regardless what be the storms of life
There's purpose and heroines to follow

Now, as the church reaches across the earth
Diverse Sisters give comfort as well as succor
Out of love and concern that others know of their worth
They serve, as the teach and testify of the Savior

From heart to heart this legacy is passing along
As the gospel message reaches from home to home
That the family can be made eternally strong
As the joy of the Atonement becomes more and more known

The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society
President Henry B. Eyring
Ensign, November 2009, 121

1 Corinthians
13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have
not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I
could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing.

13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 

13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, 

is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 

13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 

13:7
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things.

13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they
shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there
be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

To Raise Each Other For Highest Endeavors

To raise each other for highest endeavors
Befitting daughters of infinite worth
The women of the church gathered together
In meeting houses all over the earth

These singular women with remarkable souls
Have surrounded their homes with that which is good
To help those therein create talents and goals
To build up the kingdom and God's own priesthood

And as such these sisters can become weary
And some did not meet lest they'd get behind
To think of their sacrifices makes one teary
For they are ever striving their best to be kind

What speaker could give the sisters perspective?
And help them remain balanced and Christ centered?
But, one born of their influence who is introspective
And speaks in God's name from the high calling he's entered

He said "there are hearts today that harbor deep sorrows"
And there's no "switch to flip" for hurt feelings to cease
For those "sinking in quicksand" know not sweet repose
Till they're saved by two principles that lead them to peace

First, be God-like and create something that did not exist before
In a way that does not require position, influence, or money
Help the world around you and within become much more
As you adorn it with smiles, beauty, and words that are sunny

Next, be God-like and reach out to bless the lives of others
Your service and sacrifice will open the windows of heaven
Assist the young mothers and the discouraged young brothers
Let your eyes open, through God's power for good your gift given

Have faith that God will encircle you in the arms of His love
That discouragement, inadequacy, and weariness will give way
Know that you are as an instrument in the hands of Him above
Draw close to Him and be the answer of those in need who pray

Focus on these two things

Believing in potential

You're a blessing that brings

Loving kindness made special

[Verse 1]

To raise each other high

For highest endeavors

Befitting daughters of infinite worth

The women of the church

Gathered together

In meeting houses all over the earth

These singular women

With remarkable souls

Have surrounded their homes

With that which is good

To help those therein

Create talents and goals

To build up the kingdom

And God's own priesthood

[Pre-Chorus]

And as such these sisters can become weary

Some did not meet lest they'd get behind

To think of their sacrifices makes one teary

For they are ever striving their best to be kind

[Chorus]

Focus on these two things

(These two things)

Believing in potential

You're a blessing that brings

Loving kindness made special

As a spiritual daughter of God

[Verse 2]

What speaker could give them perspective?

And help them remain balanced and Christ centered?

But one born of their influence, introspective

And speaks in God's name

From the high calling he's entered

He said there are hearts today

That harbor deep sorrows

And there's no switch to flip

For hurt feelings to cease

For those sinking in quicksand

Know not sweet repose

Till they're saved by two principles

That lead them to peace

[Pre-Chorus]

First, be God-like and create

Something that did not exist before

In a way that does not require

Position, influence, or money

Help the world around you

And within become much more

As you adorn it with smiles

Beauty, and words that are sunny

[Chorus]

Focus on these two things

(These two things)

Believing in potential

You're a blessing that brings

Loving kindness made special

As a spiritual daughter of God

[Bridge]

Next, be God-like and reach out

To bless the lives of others

Your service and sacrifice

Will open the windows of heaven

Assist the young mothers

And the discouraged young brothers

Let your eyes open

Through love's power for good your gift's given

Have faith that God will encircle you

In the arms of His love

That discouragement, inadequacy

And weariness will give way

Know that you are as an instrument

In the hands of Him above

Draw close to Him

And be the answer

Of those in need who pray

[Final Chorus]

Focus on these two things

(These two things)

Believing in potential

You're a blessing that brings

Loving kindness made special

As a spiritual daughter of God

Focus on these two things

being creative, giving service

Believing in potential

You're a blessing that brings

Loving kindness made special

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Happiness Your Heritage
Ensign, November 2008, 117

As in Their Hearts They Search

When e'er in their hearts they search
The flag of faith has been flown
By the sisters of the church
In all of the ages known

So often it is the women
Who carry the torch of faith
As a banner for beautiful living
Knowing through trial there's hope to embrace


Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Lessons From Liberty Jail
CES Fireside for Young Adults •
September 7, 2008 •
Brigham Young University

[Verse 1] When e'er in their hearts they search The flag of faith has been flown By the sisters of the church In all of the ages known So often it is the women Who carry the torch of faith Through weary hands and long-night tears They keep the promise safe [Pre-Chorus] And when the road grows steep They still will stand With steadfast love In each trembling hand [Chorus] Sisters of the church You lift the banner high Sisters of the church You teach us how to rise (How to rise) [Verse 2] In kitchens, pews, and quiet rooms Their prayers have built our days They mend the torn and call us home With mercy in their ways A banner for beautiful living A lamp through fear and night Knowing through trial there's hope to embrace And hope can still ignite [Pre-Chorus] And when the road grows steep They still will stand With steadfast love In each trembling hand [Chorus] Sisters of the church You lift the banner high Sisters of the church You teach us how to rise (How to rise) [Bridge] From mother, aunt, and friend From saint and friend unseen Your faith has walked before us And made the hard road clean We hear your gentle yes We feel your steady flame Till every heart can answer And call upon that name [Final Chorus] Sisters of the church You lift the banner high Sisters of the church You teach us how to rise (How to rise) Sisters of the church Sisters of the church Your love will never die Sisters of the church Sisters of the church You lead us to the light (You lead us to the light)

Relief Society

It's quiet time sisters
To reflect and prepare
For a week of service,
Love, and Christ-like care

Except for the one teaching, Relief Society is such a strengthening peaceful time!

The Relief Society Board

When the board comes out
Assignments rearrange
The names fall about
And we grow through the change

Our Relief Society President showed her folder board (the ones used for science fair) with all our names on post its. She said it is like dominoes at first when visiting assignments change and then inspiration comes and the changes feel right.

Highlights: We Never Walk Alone

We can know of God's love for us
And  that we never walk alone.
Pray and read from His scriptures, thus;
For that is how He makes things known.

Then going forward, looking up
Tender mercy is felt as we act.
In truth, we feel the Master's touch.
As we extend faith where once we lacked.


#PresMonson   1 of 3 poems, see the label: we never walk alone 

What Do LDS Women Get?

What do LDS women get?
But every chance to shine
Endowed with spiritual gifts
As God's daughters, divine

Sherri Dew is an inspiration to women. She inspires me.

We Become

We become
So much more
When we work as one
With the Lord

Thoughts from listening to Relief Society ... on BYUtv during half time Sunday Conference

Forget Me Not

A very small flower in a garden of many
Waited all day to be named
Feeling insignificant, it would take any
Quite forgotten, it felt so ashamed

The sun had set, light would not last
In despair, it cried from its low place
“Forget-Me-Not” …someone walked past
stopped, looked down, and parted a space

There in the shadows the blue flower stood
Hidden by the foliage of a buttercup
"Ah," He said, “You have finally understood
You have worth and limited time to speak up”

“In your sweet plea… you have named yourself
The weakness of your size none shall forget
For we all need to be noticed and are in need of help
From you, the least, we learn great things come if we let!”

“This is the first of five lessons I want to share
Things we all need to remember
One for each petal you so beautifully wear
As I wish happiness for each flower member”

“The second desire comes of my heart
As I recognize talents and gifts
Sacrifices are many but the best impart
A stirring of love that uplifts”

“The third to hold to is found all around
And is easily thought less of
That is finding joy in all that surrounds
The greatness of life is love

The fourth is so easy to overlook
As we each have so much to do
But we should focus on the “why?” as we look
Up…for warmth and bright light too

The fifth is the hope of what is to come
The potential that lies within
The knowledge of what we each can become...
We are much more than this life we are in

Sweet little blue Forget-Me-Not
You're the symbol for what we should learn
If we are to grow, these five things should be sought
And from them we should never turn

Forget Me NOT

Diversity and Strength of Mormon Women Highlighted in New Relief Society Book

Diversity and Strength of Mormon Women Highlighted in New Relief Society Book

With tears streaming down my face
I marvel- what's been given me
A book to search through and embrace
That's uplifting and strengthening

I am never alone
To complete each role
In womanhood I am shown
What I need to be whole

We need it Sister Beck. Sometimes
it is so hard to hold it all together.

Relief Society- She Gives Relief to the Poor

She gives relief to the poor
The needy and the distressed
For souls she does so much more
According to how she's impressed

She knows a heavenly mandate
Has been given to her to lead
Women of the world to a more divine state
Through her grand example indeed

As evil and darkness threaten
She holds her lamp brightly lit
And speaks of God in heaven
That she and others will profit

I'm visiting teaching today-
thoughts from:
From Our History
At a June 9, 1842, meeting of the Relief Society, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught the sisters that their society was “not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls.” 1 This statement of a spiritual as well as a temporal purpose has characterized Relief Society throughout its history. In 1906 President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) taught: “[Relief Society] has not only to deal with the necessities of the poor, the sick and the needy, but a part of its duty—and the larger part, too—is to look after the spiritual welfare and salvation of the mothers and daughters of Zion; to see that none is neglected, but that all are guarded against misfortune, calamity, the powers of darkness, and the evils that threaten them in the world.” 2 In 2001 Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reiterated, “Every sister in this Church who has made covenants with the Lord has a divine mandate to help save souls, to lead the women of the world, to strengthen the homes of Zion, and to build the kingdom of God.” 3

RELIEF SOCIETY (Tribute song)

Sisters have you heard?
This tribute spreading forth
Sharing in song with the world
What Relief Society stands for

Do the Best that you Can

Do the best that you can
The Lord will do the rest
Put your trust in His hand
Believe...you will be blessed

Wherever in this world you may be
The Lord knows you and listens to your prayers
He loves you and wants you to succeed
And to the seeker, He freely shares


Dieter F. Uchtdorf
The Influence of Righteous Women
Liahona, Sept. 2009, 2–7

"Blessings beyond Imagining
As you live up to this mission, in whatever life circumstance you find yourself—as a wife, as a mother, as a single mother, as a divorced woman, as a widowed or a single woman—the Lord our God will open up responsibilities and blessings far beyond your ability to imagine.

May I invite you to rise to the great potential within you. But don’t reach beyond your capacity. Don’t set goals beyond your capacity to achieve. Don’t feel guilty or dwell on thoughts of failure. Don’t compare yourself with others. Do the best you can, and the Lord will provide the rest. Have faith and confidence in Him, and you will see miracles happen in your life and the lives of your loved ones. The virtue of your own life will be a light to those who sit in darkness, because you are a living witness of the fulness of the gospel (see D&C 45:28). Wherever you have been planted on this beautiful but often troubled earth of ours, you can be the one to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5).

My dear sisters, as you live your daily life with all its blessings and challenges, let me assure you that the Lord loves you. He knows you. He listens to your prayers, and He answers those prayers, wherever on this world you may be. He wants you to succeed in this life and in eternity."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunflowers

As sisters we follow Christ's light
Like sunflowers before the sun
Spiritually we ever shine bright
As we look faithfully to the Son

Our faces can be found all aglow
With virtue that comes of Him
We have a message for all to know
His Spirit can be felt often

Always the Savior Saw a Need

On Earth, the Savior knew our needs
And with compassion He was moved
As our Exemplar He still leads
Causing lives to be improved

He is ever one to follow
Let us offer Him to those we find
Giving succor to those in sorrow
Healing wounds of heart and mind

Compassion means to have love and mercy
Desiring to aleve another's pain
To mourn with those who are mourning
Lifting hands that wearily hang

As Sisters we have a duty
To bless the lives we're assigned
Bringing to them life and beauty
Strengthening them, unto Christ

We are the Lord's hands upon the Earth
Souls have been entrusted to our care
As we visit we show another their worth
Making a difference through the Spirit shared

Barbara Thompson
And of Some Have Compassion, Making a Difference
Ensign, November 2010, 119

Expressing Gratitude

Expressing gratitude from the heart
Is both gracious and glorious
As touching heaven it imparts
Christ's own love so generous

His heartfelt words spoken in prayer
Tenderly reflect His feelings towards us
May our souls permeate too with such care
Selflessly... doing the work of Jesus

Let us share His divine gift
Of gratitude with all
As He would have us lift
Another feeling small


Thomas S. Monson
The Divine Gift of Gratitude
Ensign, Nov 2010,

Hearing Beautiful Music Touches Me

Hearing beautiful music touches me
Stirring my heart to the past
Thinking on those who've influenced me
And given me memories that last

Feeling the Spirit my thoughts turn to Him
Who willingly atoned for my sins
Striving to learn His ways that I might do them
I feel gratitude that lifts and lightens

Let it not be the stranger
Who remembers to give Him praise
May I see the greenness of the pasture
That He, for me, continually paves...

When we do what is right
Our pasture is made green
We've living water and light
As to the Lord we lean


Pondering President Monson's
The Gift of Gratitude
Ensign, November, 2010

If a Woman is to Nurture

If a woman is to nurture
And recognize a need
Pain can be her tutor
That her inner light might lead

Like a baby chick
Breaking from a shell
Life's test, long and thick
Is one to live and tell

Each to find alone
Midst surroundings hard to bear
That the Lord did atone
And suffer because He cared

The promise of new life
Is what keeps us going
Working through each strife
Experiencing and growing

Every woman has a story
Individually... of how hard this is
On Christ's path towards glory
We light our lamp from His

Thus we find our purpose
And share what we have learned
Through Him we've light for service
As from His oil it is discerned

On Charity

On charity
May it never fail
Unto purity
And assurance that all is well

The discouraged and afflicted
Are in need of loving aid
As well as those unnoticed
Who'd love a visit made

Still charity is more
Than offering relief
It's knowing what we're here for
And restoring hope and belief

True charity is love in action
There is need everywhere
Judging is a distraction
As we are all lacking much somewhere

When someone let's us down
Or we would to be offended
Let us not in pity drown
But offer Christ's love... extended



thoughts from Monson's words at Women's General conference on Charity

Can We Love One Another?

Can we love one another,
Obeying Christ's command
...If we judge each other
And seek not to understand

President Monson inspired me-
click on above title to read or view his message
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