'Encircled eternally in arms of His love'
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Speaking to members of what he termed the "greatest women's organization in all the world," President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed the General Relief Society Meeting on Sept. 23 in the Conference Center.
Today membership in the Relief Society is around 5 million, he said. "It is organized in many nations and teaches in many tongues. It enfolds within its ranks all women of the Church 18 years of age and older."
On a cool fall evening in Salt Lake City, some 20,000 women gathered in the Conference Center, along with many more thousands in meetinghouses throughout the world, to hear the counsel of President Hinckley, along with Relief Society General President Bonnie D. Parkin and her counselors, Kathleen H. Hughes and Anne C. Pingree. Sister Parkin conducted the general meeting, which was broadcast live via the Church's satellite system.
President Hinckley's counselors in the First Presidency — President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor; and President James E. Faust, second counselor; and several other General Authorities attended the meeting.
In his address, President Hinckley related how a friend "not of our faith, once said to me, 'LDS stands for Love, Devotion, Service.' What does Relief Society really stand for? What does it mean? Let me try to say something about this.
- "Relief Society stands for love. What a remarkable thing it is to witness the love of good women one for another.... It is the natural instinct of women to reach out in love to those in distress and need. The welfare program of the Church is described as priesthood-based, but it could not function without the Relief Society.
- "Relief Society stands for education. A few years ago you carried on a program attacking illiteracy throughout the world."
- "Relief Society stands for self-reliance. The best food storage
is not in welfare grain elevators, but is sealed in cans and bottles in the
homes of our people."
- "Relief Society means sacrifice....
Many of you are mothers. You are responsible for the nurture and upbringing of your children. When you grow old and your hair turns white you will not ask about the fancy clothes you wore, the cars you drove, or the large house in which you lived. Your burning question will be, 'How have my children turned out?'"If they have turned out well, you will be grateful. If otherwise, there will be only small consolation for you.
"I have written elsewhere: 'God bless you, mothers. When all the victories and defeats of men's efforts are tallied, when the dust of life's battles begins to settle, 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"' (One Bright Shining Hope, p. 18).
- "Relief Society means faith. It means putting first things first. It means such a thing as the payment of tithing."
Further, President Hinckley said, "Beyond this is the obligation of every woman of this Church to get all the education she can. It will enlarge her life and increase her opportunities. It will provide her with marketable skills in case she needs them."
Continuing, President Hinckley said: "My dear sisters, all of these wonderful qualities which Relief Society stands for represent being 'encircled eternally in the arms of His love.' It is this for which we all wish. It is this for which we all hope. It is this for which we all pray.
"Now, my dear sisters, just a word in conclusion. I remind you that you are not second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. You are His divine creation. Men hold the priesthood. Yours is a different role, also extremely important. Without you, our Father's plan of happiness would be frustrated and have no real meaning. You are 50 percent of the membership of the Church, and mothers of the other 50 percent. No one can dismiss you lightly."
During the broadcast, a video was shown, "Feeling the Love of the Lord," during which women from throughout the Church related how they feel the love of the Lord personally in their lives.
Music for the evening was provided by a choir of mothers and daughters from stakes in the Salt Lake area, directed by Elizabeth Ballentyne and accompanied by Bonnie Goodliffe. Five women performed in sign language, and a soloist, Melinda Lockwood, performed during the choir's rendition of "When I Feel His Love." During the hymn, Bonnie Schroeder performed on the English horn; Jeannine Goeckeritz played the flute; and Tamara Oswald played the harp.
Offering the invocation and benediction, respectively, were Julie Hales of the BYU 9th Stake and Denise I. Hales of the Grantsville Utah Stake.
E-mail to: julied@desnews.com
