When it comes to tackling large, global challenges, President Camille N. Johnson, Relief Society general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the solution lies in doing one kind act a day.
“I still believe that the most important work that any of us does — the most impactful work — continues to be done when we care for our own children. When we teach a friend to read. When we patiently address the needs of someone who’s elderly in our neighborhood or prepare a meal for the sick, or cry with someone who is grieving,” she said.
President Johnson spoke to thought leaders, business and government leaders, educators, and religious and civic leaders during the 2026 Kindness Summit, sponsored by the Semnani Family Foundation and One Kind Act a Day, in Salt Lake City on Friday, April 10.
Although the Relief Society is working with global humanitarian organizations to care for those in need around the world, President Johnson said, “we need not wait for that chance of a lifetime to travel to Africa to feed the starving children.”
“In this season of my life and while my current work involves broad organizational efforts to improve conditions generally for women and children, still, my most important work is to recognize the needs of those that are closest to me and respond with kindness and patience and love,” she said.
The best way to become kind is to practice doing one kind act a day, President Johnson said.
“One kind act a day is the way we practice a principle of the heart,” she said. “Kindness is a fundamental characteristic of the noblest of women and men. And if I wish to acquire that fundamental characteristic for myself, I will practice with one kind act a day.”
President Johnson shared how she “first practiced kindness” with her parents. As a child, she observed and helped her mother prepare food for others and care for those who were sick or hurt. She also observed her dad take time to engage others in conversation.
Global efforts
As Relief Society general president, President Johnson has witnessed kindness on a global scale.
“I do believe that women possess special gifts and propensities to sense human needs, and with kindness to offer comfort and to teach and to strengthen,” she said. “Because of that, our communities depend upon very ordinary women for our human flourishing.”
President Johnson said she has witnessed women unite in providing consistent acts of kindness and service within their homes and communities.
In one example, she shared how Relief Society members in the Philippines organized nutritional screenings in Church buildings for families and taught parents about good nutrition. This effort has since rippled beyond the Philippines and is being implemented in over 26 countries.
President Johnson said the Relief Society works to “empower women and families with greater knowledge and resources so they are better equipped to make changes that can have a lasting impact in their homes, communities and nations.”
“When a woman is empowered with information and when she is healthy, families are blessed, and communities are lifted and nations are strengthened.”
President Johnson also shared details from the Church’s humanitarian initiative to improve the well-being of women and children. This initiative groups together four consortia, each focused on projects benefiting women and children in 12 high-need countries.
In the first two years of this initiative:
- 42 million women and children have received vitamins.
- 23 million children were dewormed.
- 3.5 million children were screened for malnutrition.
- 67,000 families received water, sanitation and hygiene support.
- 85,000 individuals have been trained on agricultural techniques.
In one final example, President Johnson shared how her own family had been blessed by kindness. After a grandchild was born prematurely and required constant care in the hospital, a kind newborn-intensive-care nurse would place notes in his bassinet for his sisters to see. One note read “I love you so much. I can’t wait to come home and snuggle you.”
Said President Johnson: “It soothed our aching hearts at a time that was traumatic for us as a family.”
“The work of caring for those in need is clearly big and broad and could feel overwhelming, but when we tackle it one mother, one child, one family at a time, one kind act at a time,” President Johnson said, “we see that this can be accomplished. Looking at these challenges through that lens keeps me optimistic. The challenges are big, but our opportunities are even bigger.”
