News Release

Relief Society Strengthens Families and Homes

All adult women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are members of Relief Society. The purpose of Relief Society is to help prepare women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need. Women fulfill these purposes as they seek, receive, and act on personal revelation in their lives. Relief Society accomplishes the purposes through Sunday gospel instruction, other Relief Society meetings, visiting teaching, and welfare and compassionate service. (See Handbook 2, chapter 9.)

For the sisters in the Petaling Jaya Branch, Relief Society leaders organized an activity to improve communication skills.  To illustrate the importance of effective communication, blind- folded sisters built a safe housing for an egg drop, based on verbal instructions from their team “instructors.”  The team eggs were then dropped from the second story window to see how well impeded communication works.  Neither egg survived.  Several other listening skills were demonstrated.  In the lesson that followed, the sisters learned three secrets to wonderful relationships. They are to daily tell the other person they love them, do something for them, and spend 10 minutes engaged in meaningful talking/listening with them.

In the Melaka Branch, the sisters enjoy getting together, whether it is for Sunday’s lessons or for a Saturday evening meal and watching “Meet the Mormons” which they did recently.  The next morning in Relief Society, their lesson was about Joseph Smith, The Prophet of the Restoration.  In the lesson discussion, each of the sisters shared something they know and admire about the Prophet.  Those thoughts included that he is a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator; he was married to Emma Hale; he faced adversity; he translated the Book of Mormon, he saw God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ.  Knowing what the Prophet did for us helps us to stay on the path leading toward eternal life.

Sisters in the Penang Branch held a Relief Society birthday party, complete with dinner and a birthday cake!  The sisters enjoyed a role play by the Penang Sister Missionaries, showing how visiting teaching should be done.  A “get acquainted” game involved all the sisters, and included the attending investigators who appreciated the introduction to the Church in this fashion. 

Relief Society celebrates its 174th Anniversary this year. The Prophet Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society on March 17, 1842. He taught that Relief Society was organized for “the relief of the poor, the destitute, the widow and the orphan, and for the exercise of all benevolent purposes.” In addition, he taught that the Relief Society was “not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls.” The larger part of the work of Relief Society today is “to look after the spiritual welfare and salvation … of all the female members of the Church.” The Relief Society was “divinely made, divinely authorized, divinely instituted, divinely ordained of God.” It operates under the direction of priesthood leaders. (See Handbook 2, 9.1.2.)

In the first meeting of the Relief Society, Sister Emma Smith said, “We are going to do something extraordinary.” Relief Society is filled with examples of ordinary women who have accomplished extraordinary things as they exercise faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. (See Daughters in My Kingdom, page xi.)

The Relief Society Sisters in Malaysia are among those accomplishing extraordinary things!

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