Women's Conference Thoughts

I love relief society. I attended my home ward  for a few months before the wedding and it is so good to be back. Being in their relief society made me miss my provo relief society so much!! So many of us have gone different directions but we all stay united through the organization of relief society.  I am now in a new ward and a new relief society, and it will be every bit as great.

Last weekend, I was blessed with the great opportunity to attend Women's Conference at BYU for my first time.  Melinda was on the board and she drafted Alisa and Rachel T to speak as well as their cousin Kori.  They all did a great job speaking and I learned a ton.

The thing that was most impressive to me was just how many women were there and how it was only a fraction of the entire church-wide relief society.  There was service being done left and right, literally, throughout the whole thing with a huge service project on Thursday night for everybody.  It was amazing to see all these sisters and to know that we are all united in the common cause of relief society.

It made me reflect a lot on the process of me adjusting from young women's to relief society.  When I first moved to provo, I didn't love RS.  It was ok, but it was 3rd hour and I was always so fidgety by that point and didn't have the brain power to stay focused on a lesson rather than talks.  Then the following year, I was called to be a counselor.  At that point, I liked it a little more, but I still didn't really understand the full purpose of it.  I was called again as a counselor under a different president about a year later, but the president counted down the weeks and days to being released which again, made it hard to really understand relief society.  I enjoyed serving, but didn't really understand.  And then I got called to be the RS President.  At which point, I immediately loved RS because I served in it day in and day out.  I had to study about each of the positions in the organization and the work of visiting teaching.  And I realized, every calling, from teacher, to literacy committee, to friendship committee, including visiting teaching, is absolutely crucial to relief society.  I learned that the President cannot do everything.  I couldn't talk to every sister and know every problem that every body was facing, I needed reports from all the visiting teachers.  I gained such a deep love for each of the sisters that I served and served with.

Every ward I attend, I can feel the spirit of relief society, knowing that we are sisters in Zion, committed to a true cause.  We are all blessed by this great organization in one way or another.  Women's Conference truly held the spirit of relief society and was such a great reminder of all that I am capable of as a daughter of God.

This song was sung and although it is sung frequently, it always get choked up when I hear it and try to sing along.  The words are so true.

As sisters in Zion, we'll all work together;
The blessings of God on our labors we'll seek.
We'll build up his kingdom with earnest endeavor;
We'll comfort the weary and strengthen the weak.

The errand of angels is given to women;
And this is a gift that as sisters, we claim:
To do whatsoever is gentle and human,
To cheer and to bless in humanity's name.

How vast is our purpose, how broad is our mission,
If we but fulfill it in spirit and deed.
Oh naught but the Spirit's divinest tuition
Can give us the wisdom to truly succeed.