As I’ve been reading through the talks from our recent General Conference, I felt inspired to read through the Relief Society Declaration and compare it with the Young Women Theme. Even though they are different organizations, the RS and YW are strikingly similar in purpose and destiny.
The Relief Society Declaration was first given to us by President Mary Ellen Smoot, in 1999. Emphasizing each sentence, her talk explains the importance placed upon these high expectations, as well as blessings worthy of great rejoicing.
Sister Cordon read the new Young Women Theme and we all noticed a few dramatic changes. For example, there are no more values. Instead, the theme focuses on who we are, what our purpose is, and where our destiny will take us.
This is the Relief Society Declaration:
We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction. As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in our devotion to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar. We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity who: Increase our testimonies of Jesus Christ through prayer and scripture study. Seek spiritual strength by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Dedicate ourselves to strengthening marriages, families, and homes. Find nobility in motherhood and joy in womanhood. Delight in service and good works. Love life and learning. Stand for truth and righteousness. Sustain the priesthood as the authority of God on earth. Rejoice in the blessings of the temple, understand our divine destiny, and strive for exaltation.
And this is the Young Women’s Theme:
I am a beloved daughter of heavenly parents,4 with a divine nature and eternal destiny.5 As a disciple of Jesus Christ,6 I strive to become like Him.7 I seek and act upon personal revelation8 and minister to others in His holy name.9 I will stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places.10 As I strive to qualify for exaltation,11 I cherish the gift of repentance12 and seek to improve each day.13 With faith,14 I will strengthen my home and family,15 make and keep sacred covenants,16 and receive the ordinances17 and blessings of the holy temple.18
You’ll notice a few interesting things. The Relief Society declaration addresses the “we” of Relief Society. I don’t know if they will update this to read “I”, but I personally see the Relief Society more as a “we” organization. Our sisterhood is part of our strength as we work as a unified group in exemplifying womanhood, motherhood, and sisterhood. The Young Women haven’t experienced enough of life to stand unified in their sisterhood yet. They are still trying to figure things out and right now, the most important thing is to gain their own testimony, recognize who they are individually, and learn personally what is expected of them as they turn toward Jesus Christ.
Another difference I noticed and this is more in the formatting. Each statement in the Young Women’s theme is attached to a list of scriptures. The Relief Society declaration has no footnotes whatsoever, but I believe this is simply how they printed the conference talks at that time. But, because both are so similar, scripture reference from the theme can easily footnote the same scriptures in the declaration. It may be rewarding for Relief Society sisters to go through each of the theme references to fully understand the scriptural importance of the declaration.
Sisters of the RS and YW, young and old alike, appear to be on the same team. Each and every sister needs to know who they are. (Boy, Satan is really trying to get us to forget we are the offspring of our Father in Heaven!) And as future Goddesses, Queens, and Priestesses, we need to always remember this lovely and most wonderful eternal future of ours.
And as we roll up our sleeves to help gather Israel, may we recognize one another’s worth and reach out to anyone and everyone with kindness, love, and gentleness. Knowing who we are tells us who everyone else is. And as each of us learns to stand with conviction in testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, may we declare the words of these documents without fear, shame, or retreat.
(Because there are no more Opening Exercises for RS and YW, it is my guess that there will be little opportunity to repeat the theme in Young Women’s. The Handbook has never encouraged sisters to repeat the declaration in Relief Society. So, it is upon us to memorize, study, and resolve on our own.)
I remember that RS declaration and even got to meet Sis. Smoot while she was president. Her sister lived in our stake in VA and got her to come speak at a RS conference. It was a great experience.
That 1999 declaration was simplified under Sister Julie B. Beck, and then again recently. The doctrine remains the same! We are so blessed to have inspired leaders.
This is the latest iteration for RS
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/ldsorg/PDF/13373/13373_rs_poster_eng.pdf?lang=eng
Actually, you are referring to the purpose statement. You’re right, it’s all basically the same thing, but the Declaration is still the same as when it was first presented to us. Like you, I wish we would refer to both of them more often.