Leah D. Widtsoe was the wife of John A. Widtsoe, an apostle and well-known scriptorian. It may be of interest to you to know that Leah was, in her day, a housewife-turned-scriptorian. And much of what Elder Widtsoe talked and wrote about came from Leah’s insights. Leah wrote several articles for The Relief Society Magazine. I would like to share one of them with you in a series of posts. It may be long but is full of important information about our Relief Society. I can’t help myself, I’ll add some of my own commentary as we go along.

 

Relief Society and the Future by Leah D. Widtsoe

Written in 1946

Family life is best lived when man and wife form a real partnership, each pulling an equal share of the load and sharing equally in responsibility. It would be unfair, and results would be far from happy if the man received most of the advantages and possessed any great gift from which his life partner was excluded. This is especially the case if the exclusion is simply because she is a woman.

A Glimpse into the Past

When the true Church of Christ was restored through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the equal rights of men and women on earth and before God were assured. From the first, women were asked to exercise their religious franchise, the same as were the male members. Their votes in sustaining officers were accepted as were men’s, and that practice continues to this day. The great and primal right of free agency belongs to all God’s children—to his daughters as well as to his sons.

The equal rights argument has been going on for a very long time. But she brings up some interesting points. In our church, both women and men have equal opportunity to vote in the sustaining of officers, and we have equal ability to use our free agency. This is not the case in some cultures or religions. As members of the Relief Society, we need to recognize that we have power.

In order to give women greater opportunities for progress, the Relief Society was organized through inspiration by the Prophet Joseph Smith on March 17, 1842. It was organized to “purge out iniquity” from their midst, but always to be “armed with mercy” in pursuance of their righteous labors. And, while the purpose which caused the sisters to want an organization was the desire to aid the poor and needy, yet the Prophet greatly enlarged its scope by declaring: The Society is not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls.” This incentive should stimulate the women of the Church to be active in this Society and to carry on incessantly.

If you’ll recall, a group of sisters wanted to create a sewing club to feel like they were helping with the building of the Nauvoo temple. It has always been so inspiring for me to know that Joseph Smith told those women at that first meeting that the Restoration would not be complete without the women being organized under the power of the priesthood. Sisters, we have power!

So, Leah shares with us some very important factors about our Relief Society. Joseph Smith told the sisters that our organization was given power to

• Purge out iniquity.
• Be represented by our mercy—and our love.
• Aid the poor and needy

And here’s the biggie:

• Save souls

This list can be found in the Relief Society Minute Book.

And Leah concludes this list with a fascinating word that, to me, speaks volumes. She says this list should be carried out “incessantly.” This word means—nonstop, without stopping, and continuous.  

The work of the Relief Society, as described in this list, should provide this type of action “incessantly.” We have been given power, through the priesthood—which is the power of God—to perform this holy work.

This is what I love about Relief Society. Our potential is great. We have a marked destiny and I believe the angels are actively helping us as we perform this glorious work for our Redeemer.

Stay tuned for a follow-up post for more of this article, written by Leah D. Widtsoe. She has quite a bit more to say…..