Relief Society: A New Presidency

One of the wonderful things about the church is that most callings do not last forever. This means that leadership positions do change. Often when a presidency changes, the way the program is operated will change slightly. This can happen even when both the previous and current presidents are following all of the guidelines. This is because leaders have different areas that they choose to emphasize. When your Relief Society presidency changes it is important to support your new president. She is doing her best to serve you. Things may change, but this is not always a negative thing. You … Continue reading

Relief Society: First Sunday Lessons

I love the lessons that the members of the Relief Society presidency teach each month. I feel that they are planned specifically to help meet the needs of the sisters in my ward. I love fifth Sundays for the same reason. Of course I have noticed a trend with fifth Sundays and some aspect of preparedness lately. One of my favorite lessons taught by a member of the Relief Society presidency was simply on the life of Christ. She used slides of artwork that showed Christ’s life. As she did this she bore testimony of His love for each of … Continue reading

Serving Sisters in Primary and Young Women

A few weeks ago, Miriam wrote a great blog aimed at those who serve in Primary and feel socially isolated. Although I more than fully agree that your social life is primarily your responsibility (no pun intended), I found myself thinking of things that those of us without Primary callings can do to serve those who teach and care for our children on Sunday. Here are a few suggestions that cross various boundaries. Spread the news. If you are in the Relief Society presidency, you can make sure that sisters in Primary (as well as those in Young Women) receive … Continue reading

Serving in the Relief Society: Compassionate Service Leader

Another calling in the Relief Society is compassionate service leader. The compassionate service leader is in charge of coordinating all the service that needs to be done. She helps to assign sisters to take in meals, find babysitting and coordinates volunteers for other activities. She will work closely with the Relief Society president to help the sisters in the ward. My mother served as compassionate service leader for several years while I was growing up. I remember that she was on the phone a lot more than usual. A compassionate service leader does spend a lot of time on the … Continue reading

Serving in the Relief Society: Presidency Member

Another area you can serve in Relief Society is in the presidency. The presidency can be a difficult place to serve. There are four positions in the presidency: the president, the education counselor, the enrichment counselor and the secretary. Each of these women has a vital role in helping the Relief Society function in each ward. The Relief Society president is one of the busiest callings in the ward. She is in charge of the welfare of all the sisters. She helps with food orders and other welfare systems. She makes sure that the sisters needs in the wards are … Continue reading

Serving in the Relief Society: Enrichment Committee

One area that you may serve in the Relief Society organization is on the Enrichment Committee. The enrichment committee is in charge of planning all of the enrichment nights and activities. This calling can be a very busy one. It takes a lot of work to put on enrichment activities on a regular basis. The enrichment committee operates under an enrichment leader who defers to the enrichment counselor in the Relief Society presidency. The enrichment committee can operate a number of different ways. Each person on the committee could be put in charge of a certain thing (refreshments, setting up, … Continue reading

Serving in the Relief Society: Visiting Teaching Coordinator and Supervisor

When you think of Relief Society and callings you may jump quickly to thinking of serving in the Relief Society presidency, but you would be missing several important callings. These callings may seem small on the surface, but actually do play an important role in helping the Relief Society presidency to complete their tasks. Two of these callings are visiting teaching coordinator and visiting teaching supervisor. The visiting teaching coordinator is responsible for overseeing the supervisor. She usually sits down with the Relief Society to assign routes. This can be tricky when you think of matching people who want a … Continue reading

Relief Society Presidents: Clarissa S. Williams

Clarissa Williams, the sixth president of the Relief Society, was a third-generation Latter-day Saint and the first Utahan native to hold the position. Her mother, Susan West, was the seventh wife of George A. Smith, cousin to the Prophet Joseph Smith. She grew up influenced by George’s first wife, Bathsheba W. B. Smith, the fourth Relief Society president, who involved young Clarissa in the women’s organization early. Clarissa attended private school and was hired at the age of fourteen as a pupil teacher. She attended the University of Deseret (now called the University of Utah) and graduated with a teaching … Continue reading

LDS Week in Review September 1-September 7

We’ve had a great week here in the LDS section of Families.com. In case you missed any blogs, here is a recap: In “Humbled or Picked On?” Tristi talked about the meaning of humility and how being humble in our trials can bring us closer to Christ. In “Dinner Discussions 2007 Week 33,” Miriam told us the study focus for our children for the week, in the different age groups. In “Asking Heavenly Father for Help,” Tristi discussed the reasons why we need to pray for help instead of just expecting it to appear. In “The Physical Laws in Spirituality,” … Continue reading

Visiting Teaching Interviews

As a newly called Relief Society Presidency in our branch, we were told that one of the responsibilities we had was to hold visiting teaching interviews. This was somewhat startling to most of us, as I don’t think any of the four of us had actually ever been interviewed regarding our visiting teaching. This leads me to believe that this is a somewhat neglected activity. Yet I would encourage any of you responsible for visiting teaching to consider taking the steps necessary to ensure such interviews are performed. Although we were told that these interviews could be done over the … Continue reading