I love the story of a Katrina survivor who gives his extraordinary thanks to the two amazing groups that helped so much in the clean-up of their ravaged city: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the Mormons. It also makes me very proud (I don’t care, I really am proud of this) to know that at any sign of disaster, the church already has trucks on the road. And it is our church and the Red Cross who show up first, time and time again.
What if the Relief Society were to have its own reputation the world over? What if we were heading up groups that helped individuals in every major city? And the news announced that it was the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that was responsible. Maybe there would be so much going on that was newsworthy that good news would replace bad news every night at 10:00pm.
Women, we have the power to change lives. Amongst us, we have the talent to meet every need. Not everything has been done that can be done. There is still work to do.
- Are there homeless people in your area? Do they need help? Food? Skills?
- Are there refugees in your area? Do they need help with language? Shopping? Job skills?
- Are there children who have fallen through the cracks in school? In home life? Are children getting the best protection and education possible?
- Are there handicapped people in your area? Are they receiving proper care? What about the parents-especially the mother? Does she get enough relief or support from her sisters?
- Are there troubled marriages, teens, victims in your area that need attention, love, protection, training?
- Are you disgusted enough with the media and/or political scene that it’s time to organize and protect our families at a higher playing field?
- What talent does your ward have? Can it be combined, empowered, taught, to bless the lives of those in need?
If we don’t know how to do something, there is a sister somewhere who does. We can help one another. We can encourage one another. We can set our own shyness aside, when we know someone is depending on us to help them out of a horrible situation.
Someone is going to ask you someday an offhanded question, “Done anything interesting lately?” And you might be able to tell them, “Yes, after taking the Hmongs shopping again, this week, I gathered up the kids at the shelter and we hit the dollar show. A group of us have been working with some troubled teens who are great kids and I think we got all of their mothers jobs now. It’s been a pretty busy week, but I can’t wait for next week. I love the people I’m working with. What about you?”
This is great to see. We invite you to the Mormon Women website (mormonwoman.org) where we are working on something similar, trying to bring women together in a united way to share their voices and testimony with others. We would love to have you share your thoughts there, too.
Keep up the good work.
I love to read your insight on the power of women. I know that Relief Society can be a powerful tool in changing the world. I know that the gospel changes and improves lives. Frankly, reading your blog gives me some hope in these things. My ward Relief Society is no more than a social club. Everything we do is based around something social or food. The young women’s program is much the same. It’s not something that I want to be a part of. I really struggle to have any desire to attend because there doesn’t seem to be anything spiritual or meaningful about any of it. I’m tired of going to these things and listening to everyone talk about the next episode of American Idol or some other TV show. I don’t like subjecting my children to societal pressures at “church activities” of all things. There is a lot of emphasis in my ward about increasing activity. I wonder to myself increasing activity to what?…to a social club? I hunger for so much more. I wish I could find a way to make the Relief Society meetings in my ward more worthwhile.