The Relief Society has great significance for every member of the Church, said Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Council of the Twelve.

"All of us have been blessed through the example and service of its members," he remarked Saturday afternoon."This year we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Relief Society, organized in Nauvoo, Ill., on March 17, 1842. In the initial meetings of Relief Society the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that `the society is not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls.' "

From the minutes of the first two years' Relief Society meetings, "we know the substance of the Prophet Joseph Smith's instructions to the new organization and its members. . . .

"Like the quorums of priesthood holders in the Church, the Relief Society was to be self-governing, but it was not to be an independent organization. It was an integral part of the Church, not a separate church for women."

Elder Oaks quoted Joseph Smith from the April 28, 1842, minutes when he said, "I now turn the key to you in the name of God and this Society shall rejoice and knowledge and intelligence shall flow down from this time - this is the beginning of better days to this Society."

"When he `turn[edT the key,' the Prophet Joseph Smith made the Relief Society an official part of the Church and kingdom of God," Elder Oaks said. "This opened to women new opportunities for receiving knowledge and intelligence from on high. . . .

"No priesthood keys were delivered to the Relief Society," Elder Oaks explained. "Keys are conferred on individuals, not organizations. The same is true of priesthood authority and of the related authority exercised under priesthood direction. Organizations may channel the exercise of such authority, but they do not embody it."

He continued: "While we sometimes refer to priesthood holders as `the priesthood,' we must never forget that the priesthood is not owned by or embodied in those who hold it. It is held in a sacred trust to be used for the benefit of men, women and children alike.

"One of the great functions of Relief Society is to provide sisterhood for women, just as priesthood quorums provide brotherhood for men," he said.

"But all should remember that neither sisterhood nor brotherhood is an end in itself. Each is a means of individual spiritual growth and cooperative service. The ultimate and highest expression of womanhood and manhood is in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. Only this relationship culminates in exaltation.

"Thus, the common objective of brotherhood in our priesthood quorums and sisterhood in our Relief Societies is to bring men and women together in the sacred marriage and family relationships that lead toward eternal life, `the greatest of all the gifts of God.' " (D&C14:7.)