Relief Society: Building Unity

by Miriam Caldwell | More from this Blogger

28 Dec 2006 11:27 PM

The Relief Society is one place that can help to build unity in a ward. It offers a chance for the sisters to serve each other, as well as opportunities to get know each other. If you feel that unity is lacking in your ward you can help to set the tone in Relief Society, even if you are not a leader. Here are five easy ways to do this.

1) Take the opportunity to introduce yourself to the sister next to you. You can sit next to a different person each week. It is important to make conversation with the sister next to you. You can learn a little bit about each other, and benefit from the topics discussed.

2) Never gossip about people in your ward. This is the quickest way to cause strife and conflict. If someone is sharing gossip with you, you can simply state that you do not want to gossip. Or you can change the topic. You are never sure who is listening around you.

3) Read the lesson materials ahead of time, and make comments throughout the class. This is a great way to build unity as we learn from each other. It also shows support to the teacher who spent the time preparing the lesson for the group.

4) Attend Enrichment meetings and Enrichment activities as appropriate. Spending time with the other sisters in a less formal setting allows you to form true friendships and to learn the ways that you can help those around you. Enrichment can strengthen the bond that we feel as sisters in the ward.

5) Do your visiting teaching, and allow your visiting teachers to visit you. This program is very important. It allows the leaders to become aware of the needs of the sisters. It also helps you to build friendships within the ward.

Related Articles:

The Errand of Angels Is Given to Women The Blessings of Relief Society

Visiting Teaching

Learn more about Miriam Caldwell

Miriam is a SAHM mom of three children. She has a daughter who is seven, and two sons, four and two. She loves being a parent and spending time with her children.

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Nola Redd (7081) 01 Jan 2007 05:40 PM

Some great comments on unity in the Relief Society! Sounds like someone was inspired by the Wilford Woodruff lesson a few weeks ago. ;) Some other great ways, of course, are through prayer and service as you become aware of the needs of others. This is especially good in instances where you may have hard feelings or unkind thoughts about another sister; it helps you to increase your love for that person. In our large ward, there were frequently opportunities to serve, either with new babies or older sisters or folks in between. Now that I'm in a smaller branch, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to sincerely get to know all of the (few) women in my RS!

Miriam Caldwell (8030) 01 Jan 2007 07:44 PM

I have found that in smaller wards there are even more opportunities to serve. Small wards and branches quickly become almost like families. It is a wonderful atmosphere to be in.

selfhelpqueen (896) 17 Jan 2007 08:26 PM

From a leader's point of view - I am in the presidency in our ward and one night I was visiting with some friends of the ward about our R.S. They were commenting on how R.S. is boring, why doesn't anyone care, why don't we hear the announcements, how they can't feel the Spirit, and how the women just aren't connected. Then they looked at me as if I should take this information to my next meeting and solve this problem. I put it right back on their shoulders and told them that I didn't feel responsible for their feelings in connection to R.S. I told them that our job, as a presidency, (as far as unity is concerned) is to provide opportunities for the sisters to unite but it is up to them if they want to take that opportunity and what they do with it. I wasn't quite sure how that was going to be received because....well, you know. Anyway, I went to church the following Sunday not sure as to what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. One of the women in our ward really took the bull by the horns and invited all the sisters to sit in the middle of the R.S. room......AND THEY DID! I was thrilled. Anyway, I found that if you let the sisters in the ward own their own "issues" on unity then they will come up with their own solutions, and they're usually better than our own, at least that's been my experience.

Miriam Caldwell (8030) 18 Jan 2007 07:32 PM

I agree that it is up to the sisters to make the decision to be unified and reach out to each other. But it is also important that the presidency provides the opportunities in Enrichment activities and such. Recently my ward has pulled the plug on playgroup, and craft day and I think that the sisters really are feeling the difference. It is nice to have less formal times together that we don't have to plan out on our own. But a lot of how united you feel with your fellow sisters is a result of how much you personally reach out. Thanks for your comments.