Jill Mulvay Derr - Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society

Foreword

It is fitting that the history of Relief Society is being published during the society's sesquicentennial year. The founding of the women's organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, celebrated by a membership of over three million women in 135 countries and territories, is cause for both rejoicing and reflection. The events of Relief Society's 150 years inspire us and make us aware of the level of faith and accomplishment of our sisters past.

It is through these accomplishments of the pioneers of Relief Society, the founding sisters both in Nauvoo and throughout the world, that we see the embodiment of testimony and fortitude. Surpassing tremendous obstacles, women endured and prospered, sustained by their covenants with the Lord and their unique sisterhood.

The sisters, although imperfect by their own admission, understood much of what it means to be a daughter of God and to work together in his name. Through the works of women, done under the auspices of Relief Society, we learn about the core gospel principles of charity, integrity, hard work, education, loyalty, and sisterhood.

We also learn that the women of Relief Society were intrepid and worthy of emulation. Our sisters made "charity never faileth" more than an organizational motto; they made it the personal motto by which they lived. The charitable works of Latter-day Saint women demonstrate their confidence in the Lord and their sure witness of the promised blessings of eternity. The sisters relished the comfort that came from their eternal vision, even when the comforts of life were denied.

Newly created homes contained essentials only, and often missionary husbands were absent. Women raised children, relying on support from other women. Life for the sisters of Zion brought many problems personal and organizational. It was, after all, no small task to build a sisterhood or a family, Still, the history of Relief Society is one that testifies that close relationships with the Lord, with family, with sisters, and with priesthood leaders make life worthwhile despite the personal and organizational challenges.

The remarkable stories and accomplishments of Relief Society members benefit from the authors of this work. Excellent historians all, Janath, Jill, and Maureen have lived with this history over years. The authors embody the best of Latter-day Saint womanhood and bring to this work their insights, compassion and skills. This volume, the fruit of long labor, is rich.

As we celebrate the history of Relief Society, we rejoice in a sisterhood with women who love the Lord and show that love through charitable acts toward their brothers and sisters. We reflect upon the goodness of women.

Watching Relief Society grow in new lands, we know that wherever the Church is, Relief Society will be, and our history will be enriched through new generations of righteous women who will join together. Proclaiming their belief through their lives of charity, they will build personal testimony, bless each other, develop and exercise charity, strengthen families, and enjoy sisterhood.

So it is with the daughters of God, and because it is, we celebrate Relief Society.

Elaine L. Jack

Preface

This history is a work of scholarship and love, presented with gladness during the sesquicentennial year of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the story of the women of the Church and the sacred promises that bind them to God and to the community of his saints. It is a record of women's unique stewardship within that community as members of Relief Society.

Every Latter-day Saint woman is a woman of covenant. Each at baptism entered into a covenant with Jesus Christ, promising to serve him and keep his commandments, and each subsequently received the gift of the Holy Ghost as companion and guide. An ever-increasing number of sisters have augmented these covenants in holy temples. Latter-day Saints, men and women, enter such vital covenants through divinely revealed ordinances performed by the authority of the holy priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. These sacred rituals signal the covenant or "coming together" of God and his daughters and sons, God promising great blessings to those who honor their promises to him.

The story of Relief Society has been shaped by such covenants, promises that not only bind men and women to God but also bring them together as brothers and sisters in "the fold of God," the Church, so they can "look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another." (Mosiah 18:21.) The holy priesthood restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith is the Lord's instrument for bringing his saints into this "unity of the faith," that as they become one, he might claim them as his own and dwell among them. (Ephesians 4:13; D&C 38:27; D&C 104:59.)

The story of the women of Relief Society is tightly interwoven with the story of men called and ordained to offices in the priesthood. Since its founding by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842, the Relief Society has been counterpart, companion, and complement to the priesthood quorums. Like the men's quorums, the Relief Society has worked in connection with and under the direction of the presiding authorities of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which "has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things." (D&C 107:8.) United under priesthood direction, Latter-day Saint women and men further the Lord's work of exaltation for all of his children.

The Relief Society has played an essential role in that work; its members have ministered graciously and creatively to the temporal and spiritual welfare of those within and outside the Latter-day Saint fold. Indeed, Relief Society's efforts to forward the kingdom of God on the earth have resulted in significant political, economic, education, and social achievements, an impressive and important part of the society's many-faceted past. Programs and responsibilities in these areas have changed dramatically over time, influenced by changing circumstances in the Church and in the world at large. The remarkable flexibility of the Relief Society in temporal matters and its responsiveness to the needs of a given time have been possible because of firm grounding in its central spiritual purpose, "to save souls."

This is not the story of perfect women, but it is nonetheless the story of "holy women," as spoken of by ancient apostles Peter and Paul. Relief Society sisters have tried, erred, repented, rebelled, accepted, adapted, felt pain, and known joy. This is their story, the story of imperfect Saints seeking holiness, changing responsibilities, and eternal covenants, the story of Relief Society, the legacy of sisters worldwide.