Relief Society

The Relief Society is a nonprofit educational organization for women. It is officially a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It was founded in Nauvoo , Illinois in 1842 and has approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories. The Relief Society is described by Church members as "one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world."

mission

The motto of the Relief Society comes from ( 1 Cor 13.8  EU ) and "Love never fails." The official purpose of Relief Society is "women for the blessings of eternal life prepare by helping them to strengthen their faith; to encourage them to personal righteousness; Strengthen families and homes; and to help those who need help. "

history

Emma Hale Smith , wife of Joseph Smith, Jr. , served as the first Relief Society general president

On March 17, 1842, the Relief Society was organized in Nauvoo, Illinois . In attendance were Joseph Smith and his wife Emma. Emma was elected the organization's first female president. The new organization was so popular and growing so quickly that they struggled to find a suitable home to meet. In March 1844 they already had 1,331 members. The last recorded meeting in Nauvoo was on March 16, 1844. When Joseph Smith was killed and the Mormons fled Nauvoo, Relief Society meetings were only informal. After the exodus to Utah , Brigham Young publicly called for a reorganization of the Relief Society.

In 1944 the Relief Society had 115,000 members, and in 1966 the number grew to 300,000. In 2009, the Relief Society had approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories.

Today, every woman automatically joins Relief Society after she turns 18, and if they are married before then they are more likely to join the Relief Society. In addition, unmarried teenagers who are pregnant and want to keep the child automatically join the union. There are no fees or membership payments to join the association.

building

The Relief Society building in Salt Lake City

In Salt Lake City , the Relief Society has its own building that is separate from the other administrative buildings of the LDS Church. But it is the only sub-organization of the church that owns a building. This building is the closest to the Salt Lake Temple in the whole city.

Programs

Visiting teacher

In each ward of the LDS Church, each Relief Society member is assigned a partner by the local group president. These two should now visit one or more members as teachers. Visiting teachers try to have contact with the assigned member on a monthly basis; ideally in the member's house. Visiting teachers are encouraged to serve the member with whom they have been assigned.

List of chairmen

This is a list of the presidents and their counselors. The list starts with the founding of the organization and goes to the current president.

Num.	Period	President		First counselor		Second counselor
1	March 17, 1842 - 1844	Emma Hale Smith		Sarah M. Cleveland		Elizabeth Ann Whitney
2	December 1866 - December 5, 1887	Eliza R. Snow		Zina DH Young
3	8.4.1888 - 28.8.1901	Zina DH Young		Jane S. Richards		Bathsheba W. Smith
4th	11/10/1901 - 9/20/1910	Bathsheba W. Smith		Annie Taylor Hyde (1901-09) Nobody (1909-10)		Ida Smoot Dusenberry
5	October 3, 1910 - April 2, 1921	Emmeline B. Wells		Clarissa S. Williams		Julina Lambson Smith
6th	2.4.1921 - 7.10.1928	Clarissa S. Williams		Jennie B. Knight		Louise Y. Robison
7th	October 7, 1928 - December 31, 1939	Louise Y. Robison		Amy B. Lyman		Julia A. Child (1928–35) Kate M. Barker (1935–39)	Child Barker
8th	1.1.1940 - 6.4.1945	Amy B. Lyman		Marcia K. Howells		Donna D. Sorensen (1940–42) Belle S. Spafford (1942–45)	Sorensen Spafford
9	6.4.1945 - 3.10.1974	Belle S. Spafford		Marianne C. Sharp		Gertrude R. Garff (1945–47) Velma N. Simonsen (1947–56) Helen W. Anderson (1957–58) Louise W. Madsen (1958–74)	Garff Simonsen Anderson Madsen
10	October 3, 1974 - April 7, 1984	Barbara B. Smith		Janath R. Cannon (1974-78) Marian R. Boyer (1978-84)		Marian R. Boyer (1974-78) Shirley W. Thomas (1978-83) Ann S. Reese (1983-84)
11	7.4.1984 - 31.3.1990	Barbara W. Winder		Joy F. Evans		Joanne B. Doxey
12	March 31, 1990 - April 5, 1997	Elaine L. Jack		Chieko N. Okazaki		Aileen H. Clyde
13	5.4.1997 - 6.4.2002	Mary Ellen W. Smoot		Virginia U. Jensen		Sheri L. Dew
14th	6.4.2002 - 31.3.2007	Bonnie D. Parkin		Kathleen H. Hughes		Anne C. Pingree
15th	March 31, 2007 - March 31, 2012	Julie B. Beck		Silvia H. Allred		Barbara Thompson
16	March 31, 2012 - April 1, 2017	Linda K. Burton		Carole M. Stephens		Linda S. Reeves
17th	1.4.2017 -	Jean B. Bingham		Sharon Eubank		Reyna I. Aburto

Web links

• Relief Society in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism
• Relief Society on LDS.org
• Official website (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Sally H. Barlow, Allen E. Bergin, Religion and Mental Health from a Mormon Perspective. In: Harold George Koenig (Ed.): Handbook of Religion and Mental Health Academic Press, San Diego, approx. 1998, pp. 225–244, here p. 233.
2. ↑ Churches, others help BelAir Family Center ( Memento of the original dated November 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: The Times-Herald. Newnan, Georgia January 6, 2010. 
3. ^ What is Relief Society? , mormon.org.
4. ↑ Utah.com . Retrieved January 22, 2011.
5. ↑ Brooke Adams: ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: LDS women urged to strengthen connections, avoid judging. ) In: The Salt Lake Tribune . September 25, 2010.
6. ↑ Dirk Smillie: Mormon Trek Now Has a Global Reach. In: The Christian Science Monitor . July 23, 1997.
7. ^ Harvey Shepherd: Mormon growth sparks a building boom in Quebec. In: The Gazette . November 25, 2006, p. K10.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Handbook 2: Leading and Managing the Church . LDS Church. 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
9. ^ Minutes of the Nauvoo Relief Society. March 17, 1842, p. 6.
   Church History Library; Relief Society: Charity Never Faileth: History of the Relief Society, 1842-1966. Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, UT 1967, p. 18.
10. ^ Maurine Carr Ward, 'This Institution is a Good One': The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, March 17, 1842 to March 16, 1844. In: Mormon Historical Studies. Volume 3, No. 2 (Fall 2002), pp. 86-203. mormonhistoricsitesfoundation.org (PDF).
11. ^ Jill Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, Maureen Ursenbach Beecher: Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society. Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, Utah 1992, p. 62.
    Barbara W. Winder: Relief Society in Nauvoo. In: Daniel H. Ludlow, Robert J. Matthews, and Charles D. Tate Jr., et al. (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Mormonism . Macmillan Publishing, New York 1992, pp. 1207-1208;
    Jill Mulvay Derr: Relief Society. In: Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, and Richard O. Cowan (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, Utah 2000, pp. 992-997.
12. ^ Richard L. Jensen: Forgotten Relief Societies, 1844-67. In: Dialogue. Volume 16, No. 1 (Spring 1983), pp. 105-125 dialoguejournal.com (PDF);
    Jill Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, Maureen Ursenbach Beecher: Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society. Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, Utah 1992, p. 68.
13. ^ Female Relief Society. In: Deseret News. April 22, 1868.
14. ↑ Barbara B Smith: A Conversation with the General Relief Society Leaders . In: Ensign , March 1977, p. 32. Retrieved on September 14, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) paragraph 3 
15. ^ The Relief Society General Board Association, History of Relief Society 1842–1966. 1966.
16. ↑ Julie B, Relief Society General President Beck: Relief Society: Introduction to Relief Society: Who Participates in Relief Society? . Official Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2009. Retrieved on September 14, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
17. ↑ ^{a b} 9.1.4: Membership . In: Handbook 2: Administering the Church Section 9: Relief Society :, 27 (2). Edition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010 (Retrieved August 7, 2014).
18. ↑ 10.12.4: Young Women Who Are Pregnant out of Wedlock or Who Are Unwed Mothers . In: Handbook 2: Administering the Church Section 10: Young Women , 27 (2). Edition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010 (Retrieved August 7, 2014).
19. ^ Relief Society Building . LDS Church. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
20. ^ Relief Society: What You Wanted to Know about Visiting Teaching: Question # 6 . Official Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2009. Retrieved on September 10, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )