March 17, 2012, marks the 170th anniversary of the founding of Relief Society. Organized in Nauvoo, Illinois, by the Prophet Joseph Smith, with twenty women in attendance, Relief Society now spans the world and has a membership of more than six million sisters.
Each March local units around the Church usually host a birthday celebration for Relief Society. Ones that I have enjoyed over the years have included presentations on the organization of Relief Society, speakers on a variety of topics, musical groups, the honoring of former ward presidents, and the sharing of “favorite things.” Always, in keeping with Relief Society tradition, wonderful food has been served.
From time to time, the Relief Society general leadership also plans a Church-wide commemoration. These most often have been held for 50-, 100, and 150-year occasions.
At the time of the Jubilee, or 50-year anniversary, in 1892, Relief Society membership had grown to 26,000. The majority of sisters resided in the Utah Territory (Utah did not become a state until 1896) or surrounding areas. Zina D. H. Young, who served as the third general president, appointed Emmeline B. Wells, then general secretary and later general president, to oversee the celebration. On March 17, 1892, a prayer circle was held in Salt Lake City symbolizing the international unity of sisters. Sisters in many other areas, such as Canada, Mexico, the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, also joined in prayer.[i]
As the Centennial approached in 1942, the Relief Society, due to World War II, had already cut back and simplified many of its programs, including shortening the educational year from nine months to eight, discontinuing general board visits to outlying areas, and eliminating the Singing Mothers’ chorus on the general level. The 100th anniversary celebrations likewise had to be restricted. Gold and blue fabric that draped the interior of the Tabernacle was later sold to women to make centennial quilts. On March 17, Amy B. Lyman, then general president, and her counselors Marcia K. Howells and Donna D. Sorensen, planted a tree on Temple Square and encouraged local units also to plant trees. Amy and Church President Heber J. Grant spoke twice via radio broadcast, on March 17 and 22. A recording of the broadcasts was then sent to the English-speaking, North American units. The Relief Society presidency also introduced a new seal which depicted the motto “Charity Never Faileth,” a pin, a commemorative plate, and a book, Our Legacy, containing poetry of sisters. One hundred years after its organization, the Relief Society’s membership had increased to 115. (Membership in Relief Society was not automatic; each sister had to join, and the drive to increase the number to 100,000 by 1942 exceeded its goal.)
General president Barbara B. Smith directed the 140th anniversary celebration in 1982, “Legacy-Remembered and Renewed.” The focus was a “learn, then teach” program, encouraging sisters to share their knowledge and talents. Musical concerts featuring accomplished LDS women were held in Dallas, Texas; Oakland and Los Angeles, California; Washington, D.C.; and Salt Lake City, Utah. Lectures were presented at the Relief Society Building, and art by Relief Society sisters was displayed. The Relief Society published A Legacy Remembered: The Relief Society Magazine, 1914-1970. Relief Society membership in 1982 approached two million women.
Ten years later, the Sesquicentennial on March 17, 1992, was a momentous occasion for the three million-plus sisters of Relief Society. When Elaine L. Jack was called to serve as general president in 1990, she, her counselors, and general board members, almost immediately began planning the celebration. The major thrust of the Sesquicentennial was celebrating through service. Elaine felt that “service projects beyond our own borders” would be very beneficial to the sisters and to their communities. She explained: “Every local unit determined what service would be best suited to their community. The service varied so much. In Samoa, sisters painted the clock tower and planted flowers. In Africa, they swept a path to the waterhole. In South Africa, they made lap rugs for the elderly. Myriad homeless shelters were painted and fixed up. Books were collected. In one area of California when a Relief Society president asked community leaders what kinds of projects would benefit the community, one leader said, You mean to tell me that 18,000 units are each going to give service in their local communities?’ She said yes. Then you’ll change the world.’ I think we did.”[ii]
Other features of the celebration included local units presenting “A Society of Sisters” (vignettes about their sisters) and creating histories of their own Relief Societies. Something Extraordinary, a book of photos submitted by sisters around the world, was published. The Museum of Church History and Art hosted a year-long exhibit, “Now Let Us Rejoice.” The March 1992 Ensign featured many articles relating to Relief Society.
On Saturday, March 17, 1992-one hundred and fifty years after the Relief Society was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the upper room of the Red Brick Store-sisters worldwide joined by satellite uplinks to five continents celebrated together. In her address that day Elaine said, “With this broadcast, we join as we never have before. Never in the history of the Church have the women of Zion been linked so closely together. This is symbolic, reminding us that we come together in the greatest of all causes, the gospel of Jesus Christ.”[iii]
During the broadcast, sisters from Zimbabwe, Mexico, Korea, Australia, and Germany-representing the five continents—each spoke in their own languages about what Relief Society meant to them. Elaine’s counselors, Aileen H. Clyde, and Chieko N. Okazaki, and President Thomas S. Monson also addressed the worldwide gathering.
Now in 2012, the 170th anniversary, the general Relief Society, led by Julie B. Beck, has invited sisters to participate “in activities that will engage them in the work of Relief Society.” The Church’s website, lds.org/serving-in-the-church/relief-society offers suggestions for a variety of activities, including temple and family history experiences, studying Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society, creating ward or branch Relief Society histories, organizing service in the community, or creating artistic works to commemorate the anniversary. Each unit, under the direction of its priesthood leaders, will plan its own activities.
Indeed, Relief Society has been and will continue to be the greatest organization for women in the world.” Relief Society will be stronger and more vibrant each year because it is the Lord’s organization for women and because faithful and covenant-keeping women strive to serve the Him and each other. Relief Society sisters truly exemplify its motto “Charity Never Faileth” in countless ways. President Lorenzo Snow stated: “The future of the Society is full of promise. As the Church grows, its field of usefulness will be correspondingly enlarged, and it will be even more potent for good than it has been in the past.”[iv]
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Woman’s Exponent, 24 (October 1, 1895): 60.
Interview with Elaine L.
Jack, December 14, 2006
Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, Faith, Hope, and Charity: Inspiration from the Lives of Relief Society General Presidents (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2008), 233-34.
Lorenzo Snow, Deseret Evening News, July 9, 1901, 1.
