With the release of the new General Handbook, we all excitedly look for changes, modifications, and new direction from our leaders. Just think: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only Church in the world that has a handbook that guides even the most remote branch of the Church in one path of direction. That’s unbelievably amazing, considering the wide variety of religion that continues to grow and adapt according to a person’s whim. Do you feel the security in knowing that as you visit any ward in any part of the world, you will find the same meeting format, the same rules and regulations, the same procedures, lingo, and formalities? There is still room for the personality and culture of wards to come out, yet everyone conforms to the fact that we have a living Savior, who leads His Church through a living prophet.

This new handbook is not terribly different from past handbooks other than the fact that all organizations now have the same book, so each can understand what the other is doing and therefore can work more easily together toward the ultimate goal of bringing salvation to all of God’s children. An emphasis on Ward Council urges wards to work together in putting people first, not programs. We also saw a panel, made up of some of our General leadership, show us that we don’t need to take ourselves so seriously. As long as there is love and order, we can enjoy the process of furthering this important work.

Another new emphasis is welfare. Of course, that’s not NEW, but we have been reminded to SEARCH out the poor and needy. Every ward has people who need help. I find it interesting that humanitarian aid is not the focus, but welfare is. We should always be ready to help people from across the world, but there are people within easy reach that need our help, care, and fellowship. The ward members should have their eyes and ears open, while fulfilling their own callings and responsibilities, to help the Bishop fulfill his calling and responsibility in serving the ward completely.

I make it a habit of perusing the shelves at the Church History Library, looking for new information to share on this blog. I discovered a pile of old handbooks. These were all half-size books, specifically geared toward the Relief Society. The first thing I noticed was that the first several pages were devoted to a history of our organization. Not a mere paragraph, but almost half of the entire booklet was reminding us of our great history.  There is no place for anyone’s history in the handbook of today.

As the Church correlates more and more, I do see the wisdom in order, and trimming out the extras, but I feel bad that our written history has been lost. There appears to be no place for our history to be shared with our sisterhood. I know Sis. Beck wants us to know our history, so I look forward to seeing how this information will be dispensed.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading about my discoveries. I continue to be amazed at how vital the Relief Society is to the functioning of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our women have always sought out the needy and poor. We have always taken care of our own, as well as others, in distress. We have always been revolutionary, innovative, and ahead of our time. We are—simply put—amazing!