LDS women are "not second-class citizens in the kingdom of God" but integral to God's plan and are obligated to get all the education they can in order to become self-reliant and enlarge their lives.

President Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told women during the annual General Relief Society meeting Saturday that they are God's "divine creation. Men hold the priesthood. Yours is a different role, different but equally important."

Speaking during the annual General Relief Society meeting at the Conference Center, he said

women play a vital role in God's plan for his children, which would "have no real meaning" without their contribution. "You are 50 percent of the membership of the church and mothers of the other 50 percent. No one can dismiss you lightly."

More than 20,000 women filled the Conference Center for the event, which was translated into dozens of languages and beamed via satellite to LDS buildings in scores of nations worldwide. More than 5 million women are members of the church's Relief Society, he said.

"In my judgment, this is the greatest women's organization in the world," one that stands for love, education, self-reliance, sacrifice and faith.

Each woman's obligation to obtain all the education she can "will enlarge her life and increase her opportunities," providing "marketable skills in case she needs them."

He shared a letter from a single mother who recalled his counsel to her 10 years ago in taking care of her family alone. She was encouraged to return to college in order to provide a better life for her family, and she will graduate in December.

"It is a great feeling to know that we have made it on our own for the past several years ... There is a certain feeling of accomplishment when you can once again stand on your own two feet and provide for your family's needs."

Mothers who sacrifice for their families and look back on their lives will be unconcerned with whether they had fancy clothes and cars and large homes but will be vitally concerned with how their children turn out, he said.

"If they have turned out well, you will be grateful. If otherwise, there will be only small consolation for you."

He encouraged them to know that "when all for which we labor so hard in this world of conquest fades before our eyes, you will be there, you must be there, as the strength for a new generation, the ever-improving onward movement of the race."

Relief Society gives women the opportunity for growth and development, as well as "place and position, where they grow as they exercise their talents," he said. "It gives them pride and direction in family life. It gives them added appreciation for good, eternal companions and children."

Sister Bonnie Parkin, Relief Society general president, said women must come to believe individually that "the love of Christ will never fail us. ... (It) should be the source of our motivation to serve others. It must be both our point of origin and our destination."

Helping women feel Christ's love in their own lives has been the central theme for her presidency, she said, thus the theme for Saturday's meeting, "Encircled Eternally in the Arms of His Love." She urged women to not only care for their families but each other, as the Lord would do.

She told of how one older woman found such caring after moving to a new area and attending Relief Society. At first, no one sat near her or even acknowledged her presence. "Sisters, why do we do that to each other?" she asked.

Then, one woman came and put her arm around the woman, giving her a hug.

"Don't underestimate your ability to share his love through a simple, genuine gesture such as sitting next to another sister and making her feel welcome."

Sister Kathleen Hughes, first counselor in the general presidency, urged women to develop a good memory of the moments when Christ's peace has come to strengthen them so they can draw on that strength in times of need. She related personal experiences of sudden comfort and peace from the Lord that had come not only at times of great personal trial but when there was no particular problem.

Feeling the love of God is dependent not only on personal desire, "but upon our actions," she said, encouraging women to pray genuinely, read scriptures regularly and trust God's promises.

She urged mothers to not only be nurturers in their families, "but we must also be firm — we must be the hard rock footing on which our homes can stand."

Faith must penetrate women's hearts deeply enough to move them to action, said Sister Anne Pingree, second counselor in the general presidency. She told of a friend who was so grief-stricken over a family tragedy that she couldn't leave her home.

A Relief Society sister came to her home unannounced, saying simply, "I had the feeling you needed me." Rather than probing for details, the woman hugged her and asked if they could pray together, then left.

The will to be Christ-like often necessitates "on-the-spot repentance," recognizing mistakes that were made or things left undone. Such "personal course corrections in thought, action or word are essential for all who desire to come unto Christ" and determine "how we will touch each other, literally and figuratively."

E-mail: carrie@desnews.com