“In these latter days, God has restored the priesthood and organized priesthood quorums and the Relief Society to help accomplish His work of salvation. Because of this, each Sunday when we gather in Elders Quorum and Relief Society meetings, we discuss and plan what we will do to help accomplish God’s work. To be effective, these meetings need to be more than classes. They are opportunities to counsel about the work of salvation, learn together about that work from the teachings of Church leaders, and plan and organize ourselves to accomplish it.”

This statement is from the November 2018 Ensign issue. It explains how we are to conduct our class time every other Sunday in 2019. I’ve taken it apart to see how we can best apply this statement in our Relief Societies and Elders Quorums.

We have recently been reminded what the purpose of Relief Society is. How does this purpose need to be used to correlate with the Elder’s Quorum?

 

“In these latter days, God has restored the priesthood and organized priesthood quorums and the Relief Society to help accomplish His work of salvation.”

Relief Society helps prepare women for the blessings of eternal life as they:

1. Increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

2. Strengthen individuals, families, and homes through ordinances and covenants.

3. Work in unity to help those in need.

“Because of this … we discuss and plan what we will do to help accomplish God’s work.”

Our time together is now critical time, valuable according to what we do with it. “These meetings need to be more than classes.” Our lesson time needs to be used in active discussions and planning of what we—sisters and brothers in the ward—are inspired to do to accomplish the work of salvation for the members of our particular ward.

Relief Society and Elders Quorum presidents may need to discuss in detail the issues their ward faces and plan lessons that especially address these issues. We are no longer discussing the General Conference address. We are discussing what inspiration we receive on dealing with issues central to our lives. Productive and applicable thoughts will come to brothers and sisters in the classroom as discussion centers around solutions and inspired answers.

Class time is an opportunity to:

— Counsel on specific ways to better fulfill our purpose together as a unit, as small groups, and in our own homes.

— Learn what our leaders say in regard to the work of salvation and how we can implement their ideas.

— Set short-term plans on how to accomplish the work of salvation within our sphere of influence.

— Organize activities, such as time and place, to implement ideas agreed upon.  

President Nelson has asked us to change the way we are doing things in our wards. That means we need to change the way we think and approach everything we do. Trust in the Lord. We have the right to receive inspiration, not just by callings, but also as contributors, in our wards. Leaders will need everyone’s help and support to qualify these changes.

When we strive to obey our prophet, even when it’s scary, we will receive divine help and the spirit will rest strongly upon us.