In organizing the Relief Society in 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The Church was never perfectly organized until the women were thus organized.”
On March 17, 1842, the 20 women gathered upstairs in the Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois, had two missions: to relieve suffering and to save souls.
Today, the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is 184 years old, one of the largest women’s organizations in the world. It continues to provide the Savior’s relief to Heavenly Father’s children around the world.
Relief Societies have the opportunity to help women strengthen their discipleship in Jesus Christ and prepare to return to Heavenly Father’s presence, explained Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson.
“Jesus Christ provided the little children with experiences, and they became lifelong disciples,” she said in a video on the Relief Society Worldwide social media accounts. “And that’s what we aim to do in Relief Society: Provide our sisters with experiences that will help them in their efforts to become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ and increase their desire to make and keep sacred covenants.”
Leaders can tell women what they should believe or what they should do, but as women have experiences with the Savior, Jesus Christ, those experiences will go into their hearts and change their lives, she said. Thus, the Relief Society general presidency has identified resources and ways to help in these efforts.
These experiences can be found in Gospel Library on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and in the Gospel Library app — go to the Library, then Adults, then Women, then select “Experiences Supported by Relief Society."
The experiences are as follows:
- Preparing sisters to make covenants, including in the house of the Lord.
- Teaching sisters about their covenant responsibilities and the blessings of God’s power.
- Worshipping in the temple and participating in family history.
- Ministering as the Savior would.
- Participating in ministering interviews.
- Providing and receiving relief.
- Connecting righteous daily efforts to covenants.
- Counseling in Relief Society Sunday meetings.
- Planning Christ-centered Relief Society activities.
- Encouraging home-centered gospel teaching and learning.
- Participating in personal worship.
- Sharing the gospel.
- Helping young women prepare to participate in Relief Society.
- Counseling with adult ward members.
- Helping members become self-reliant.
Each of these experiences have accompanying scriptures, general conference talks, devotional addresses, Liahona articles, General Handbook references and even Church News resources listed underneath.
“Remember, this list that we are providing you of experiences is not a to-do list, it’s a menu,” President Johnson said. “We hope you will prayerfully consider which of these experiences will best support your sisters as they become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. And please remember that there are some things that are always on the menu, like ministering.”
More information about each experience will be posted in upcoming weeks on the Relief Society Worldwide Facebook and Instagram accounts.
2026 Relief Society worldwide devotional and other resources
Gospel Library has many other resources about and for Relief Society and women under the Women tile.
For example, each of the last three years’ Relief Society worldwide devotionals are published in Gospel Library. This year’s devotional — which wards and stakes were invited to watch together on or around the Relief Society anniversary — also has additional brief discussion videos from the Relief Society general advisory council that can be used at any time during the year.
Topics addressed in these videos include:
- Finding strength and relief in Jesus Christ.
- Managing competing priorities.
- Building emotional resilience.
- Staying committed when facing offense, hurt or trials.
- Discovering the divine design in individual families.
Find also in the Women section of Gospel Library a resource called “Prophets Speak to Women” and books and manuals such as “Daughters in My Kingdom,” “At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women" and “The First Fifty Years of Relief Society.”
