Women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are also members of the Relief Society, one of the world’s largest and oldest women’s organizations, celebrating its 183rd anniversary this year.
To commemorate the founding and purpose of the Relief Society, women are invited to participate in a worldwide devotional and testimony meeting on Sunday, March 16. Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will speak during the event, and the members of the Relief Society general presidency will deliver messages from the Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Relief Society was organized on March 17, 1842.
On this episode of the Church News podcast, Church News reporter Mary Richards is joined by Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson and Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor, to preview the event that emphasizes the importance of covenant community, serving God and others with love, and drawing spiritual power from covenants and divine authority.
Listen to this episode of the Church News podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, bookshelf PLUS, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.
Transcript:
President Camille N. Johnson: One of the things that really struck us as we spent a little bit of time in Nauvoo in anticipation of filming the broadcast was that sense of covenant community that was created amongst those sisters in Nauvoo. And now that covenant community has spread across the globe. But the objective is the same, just as it was for that group of Saints that assembled in Nauvoo. It’s the same for us now. We’re looking to address the needs of one another, lifting and loving the way the Savior would. And that sense of covenant community comes when we are motivated by love of God, love of our neighbor, and in keeping the covenant we’ve made to comfort those that stand in need of comfort and mourn with those that mourn. That sense of community comes; that sense of belonging.
1:02
Jon Ryan Jensen: This is Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News. Welcome to the Church News podcast. Today, we are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mary Richards: Women around the world as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are also members of the Relief Society. As such, they are members of one of the world’s largest and oldest women’s organizations. This year is the 183rd anniversary of the organization of the Relief Society, which took place on March 17, 1842, in Nauvoo, Illinois.
To commemorate the founding and purpose of the Relief Society, all women and young women turning 18 in 2025 are invited to participate in a worldwide devotional and testimony meeting on Sunday, March 16. The Relief Society general presidency recorded their devotional messages from the Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, where the Relief Society was organized.
2:03
I’m Mary Richards, a Church News reporter, and for this episode of the Church News podcast, I’m joined by Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson. Welcome.
President Camille N. Johnson: Thank you. It’s wonderful to be here with you, Mary.
Mary Richards: And we also have Sister Kristin M. Yee, the second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, here today. Welcome, Sister Yee.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Thank you, Mary. We’re grateful to be here.
2:24
Mary Richards: First off, what should women know about the March 16 devotional and what to expect and how to participate?
President Camille N. Johnson: Well, the devotional on March 16 does commemorate the founding of Relief Society, which happened on March 17, 1842. We hope that on March 16, they will have an opportunity to assemble in their congregations, in their branches and wards, to come together and watch the broadcast and, importantly, thereafter have the opportunity to bear testimony together.
And we are delighted that we will have the opportunity to hear a message directed specifically to the women of the Church, from Elder Dale G. Renlund, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a prophet, seer and revelator.
3:13
Mary Richards: This was such a beautiful part of last year’s — I felt like last year’s was historic, really. We heard from our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. We had that worldwide devotional and a testimony meeting after. And when I met with my stake that night, I felt so connected to them and felt of their spirits. And that’s the hope this year too, right, Sister Yee?
3:32
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Yes, the hope is that sisters come and feel that same belonging, that sisterhood. There’s just something that happens in person that doesn’t happen otherwise, and it does take extra effort. I acknowledge that, because sometimes we’re used to being in our own space, but there’s an extra measure of His Spirit that comes when we’re together.
I remember a sister told me last year, she says, “I now have a testimony of showing up, of coming, because of the Spirit I felt and what happened with the sisters.” And so, we hope and encourage sisters to come and feel of that Spirit and to be lifted and inspired and empowered and feel that strength together.
President Camille N. Johnson: And it comes in gathering, for sure.
4:05
Mary Richards: Oh, power together. I love that. And our young women who are turning 18 this year are invited. It’s really an important time in their lives, and they can see this connection and power in gathering too?
President Camille N. Johnson: Yeah, I hope that they’ll feel a connection to the Relief Society and with anticipation, with joyful anticipation, look forward to participating as members of the world’s largest and oldest women’s organization bringing the relief of Jesus Christ to our sisters and brothers everywhere.
4:34
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Just a thought; these sisters that come, something that comes to mind when I see them and we see them at these devotionals is just — I often tell them, “We need you. When you come to the Relief Society, think about this and be prepared, because we need you. We don’t need you in 40 years. We don’t need you in 20 years to raise your hand, and we don’t need you to lead later. We need you, the Lord needs you, now. He has plans. You have gifts and talents that are needed. And so, when you come, be prepared to really participate and bring yourself, bring those gifts that the Lord has given you for these latter days, because there is a work for you in the Relief Society.”
5:10
President Camille N. Johnson: I loved the message from President Nelson last year. He called it “The Influence of Women,” but he said specifically that as women, we have a divine endowment that allows us to change the lives. And his closing invitation to us was that we can, as covenant daughters of God, change the world. And I’m particularly interested in our young women recognizing their potential, their divine endowment that allows them to make change, change their own lives first and then to change the lives of others. That’s prophetic direction. It’s a prophetic invitation. It’s a prophetic declaration of our capacity as women.
5:52
Sister Kristin M. Yee: You just said something, Camille, that made me think. When we talk about those capacities, President Nelson says they have a special gift for gathering Israel. Haven’t we seen that these gifts in these young women that are coming are unique today? They are able to gather in ways, and they do it naturally. They don’t even know it. But I watch them lead, watch them teach and do things in ways that the Lord knows how He’s going to do His work through them. It’s just special to watch that, and sometimes you need to be told that so you can see that you have those gifts.
6:20
Mary Richards: When somebody points it out to you, then you realize. And I’m thinking, too, that our youth and young adults and many women might feel a little anxious or worried about the world and what’s going on and their place in it, or things they can’t control. This kind of event, this kind of belonging, covenant-keeping women, you really do see, “I belong to this worldwide organization of women doing so many good things and feeling God’s power in my life. There’s so much I can do in the world.”
6:51
President Camille N. Johnson: Importantly, it isn’t an organization in the worldly sense, but divinely appointed and divinely organized. And that’s something that we talk about in the devotional, that sisters will learn more about, and I encourage all of our sisters to learn and study more about. The history of Relief Society isn’t about setting up a women’s club; it’s about completing the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ by organizing the women in the way they had been organized before. That’s remarkable. And it happened for us in 1842.
7:25
Mary Richards: So, this is historic and divinely appointed. This is so beautiful to think about. Tell me about filming in that location of the Red Brick Store, where the very roots of the Relief Society organization here on earth began and was restored, really.
President Camille N. Johnson: Well, it was an experience never to be forgotten by the three of us to be there on the upper floor of the Red Brick Store. I think it was particularly sweet because each of us felt the influence of angels around us. We just felt so confident that we weren’t the only ones in that room and that those angels were looking upon us, supporting us, buoying us up, and that they were pleased that Relief Society has grown to nearly 8 million women, and that we continue to do the good work that they set out to do.
It’s just interesting to me that our objective in 183 years has never changed. A lot of organizations that have existed that long, their objective and purpose changes over time, right? You change with the times. Not the Relief Society. That’s, I think, evidence that we’re divinely appointed. Our objective has always been the same, to bring the relief of Jesus Christ, temporal and spiritual, to others.
And back at the time when the Relief Society was organized, those dear sisters were preparing for the blessings of the temple, a covenant relationship with God, and that’s what brought them together. It was the original motive for suggesting a women’s organization — “How can we help build the temple here in Nauvoo?” And what grew out of that is Joseph listened and said, “There’s something better for you than just a women’s organization that’ll sew shirts for the workers on the Nauvoo Temple. There’s something so much bigger and so much more grand.”
9:21
Sister Kristin M. Yee: To your note there, this was something the Lord had intended. This wasn’t just a good idea. And it’s not just sisters coming up with ways to mingle.
President Camille N. Johnson: Or stay busy.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: No, we don’t need that today. Do sisters need anything to stay busy? We don’t even have to try to do that. He knows we’re busy, but He also knows we need a divine purpose. The very reason we came here was to prepare to return to His presence and to help others know Him. What a gift that He’s given His daughters across the world.
And He loves His daughters, and this is what He’s provided as a gift to them, to be able to act upon those natures which they have to do good and to give His priesthood authority, delegated priesthood authority, and His power through covenants to us to do this work, to help our loved ones, to help ourselves. It’s a beautiful cycle of His love in Relief Society, and it’s just for them. This is very specific to His daughters.
10:14
President Camille N. Johnson: One of the things that really struck us as we spent a little bit of time in Nauvoo in anticipation of filming the broadcast was that sense of covenant community that was created amongst those sisters in Nauvoo. And now that covenant community has spread across the globe. But the objective is the same, just as it was for that group of Saints that assembled in Nauvoo. It’s the same for us now.
We’re looking to address the needs of one another, lifting and loving the way the Savior would. And that sense of covenant community comes when we are motivated by love of God, love of our neighbor, and in keeping the covenant we’ve made to comfort those that stand in need of comfort and mourn with those that mourn (see Mosiah 18:9). That sense of community comes; that sense of belonging.
11:08
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Don’t we all want to feel needed, that we have a purpose? He knows we need that. And we’re not here, we can’t keep our covenants, without one another, as you’re saying. We need that. We need that covenant community. I’m thinking there were so many vast probations and illness and needs for these sisters. It was extreme, in some ways. But we still, the parallel, we still have challenges today that are great, whether it’s internally with what we’re facing in our families, in our homes, there’s still a great battle to be fought.
And it’s, as you said, the covenants are what help us to pass through this with His strength, with His peace, with His perspective. He doesn’t always take the hard away, but He does give you the strength to pass through it, and it comes through our covenants with God and that relationship that never fails, that never leaves us. And they knew it, and they felt it.
And it always amazes me that these sisters were younger relative to lifespan. They weren’t women that grew up in the gospel and Primary, Young Women. They felt the Lord’s Spirit, and they moved forward with faith in Him and had conviction in their hearts to do things that they would never do otherwise.
12:14
President Camille N. Johnson: One of the things that Kristin and I discovered is that we have ancestors who were in Nauvoo at the same time and endowed in the Nauvoo Temple before they headed west. And we are just sure that they were friends.
Mary Richards: Of course.
President Camille N. Johnson: And we’re certain that they are friends now, and perhaps were amongst those angels that were there with us when we were recording that day.
12:41
Sister Kristin M. Yee: It was a sweet thing to think about that. Something that we discovered as we prepared for this assignment in Nauvoo was just, “Wait, Nancy Ann Hanes, my great-great-great-grandmother, was only 17 years old, and your —”
President Camille N. Johnson: Jane Parish was only 20. And there they were together, living really close to one another in Nauvoo and endowed right at the same time, before both of them turned west. And armed with the power that comes from making covenants in the house of the Lord and then keeping them, they were able to face the unknown. And that’s exactly what we hope for our sisters now, that blessed by that strengthening and healing power that comes when we make and keep covenants in His holy house, we can face our unknowns. We can face our own wilderness.
13:34
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Go through that 1,300 miles, not knowing what might happen. And they were, again, they believed, and young in the gospel, but they received His strength in the house of the house of the Lord. And there’s that period in Nauvoo where they were striving to receive their endowments. Before, they had about two months of time, so night and day in the temple to receive their endowment.
And I have this painting in my office that when I was asked what painting I would like there, there’s one of Walter Rane, and it shows the temple, the Nauvoo Temple, at night, a little different. There’s not really one person in the main focus, but it’s this night scene, and the Saints are coming to the temple. Some of them are bringing supplies because they’re preparing to head west. Some of them are associating with one another.
But I can imagine, can you imagine the discussions, the sacred discussions, they were having as they exited the temple, having received these ordinances, and also the goodbyes and the associations that were taking place? But as you were saying, all to head into the unknown, following their Lord, but He would provide for them in the ways which they needed. They had everything they would ever need through their covenants with Him.
14:35
President Camille N. Johnson: Of course, the Red Brick Store is the site where the very first endowments were given in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. And so, again, it felt like really sacred space that we were in.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Isn’t that interesting, that where the sisters were organized with also the same room, they were being prepared for the temple, and in that very room would come the first administration of the endowments.
14:56
Mary Richards: And it wasn’t that long after. It was May 4, 1842, that they presented the first endowment ceremony, there in the upper floor of the Red Brick Store. What a wonderful place to be and to feel that Spirit there.
President Camille N. Johnson: Yeah. The building is a reconstruction, of course, but it’s exactly on that spot, on that same foundation.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: The Spirit is so palpable there.
President Camille N. Johnson: We really felt it, yeah.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: And especially Sister Emma Smith. Wouldn’t you say there’s something, the stories, the things that we thought about her, but we gained a greater appreciation for her and her role and what she passed through, and also how that helps us.
15:35
President Camille N. Johnson: Yeah. I think we all went to Nauvoo to film with our own sets of challenges that we’re working through just in our personal lives. We have things happening just like everyone, and just reflecting on the sacrifices that Emma made, the deprivation that was hers, the loss of life and people she loved, friends abandoning her, and the list goes on and on and on. She suffered, and yet, I think she did just what was asked of her in Doctrine and Covenants, section 25, “Cleave to your covenants,” and she did.
16:16
Mary Richards: I’m glad you brought that up, because that very section has been on my mind. This is the section in “Come, Follow Me” that we’re studying around the time of the broadcast, section 25 and verse 13: “Wherefore, lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made.”
There’s such a power in cleaving unto our covenants. God’s power comes into our life. You’ve been talking about this.
16:37
Sister Kristin M. Yee: And I like that it says, “Lift up your head and rejoice,” to look up to our God and find peace and help. And that doesn’t always mean things are easy, but it means that we can find the peace. This brings kind of a joy that passes all understanding, I’d say.
President Camille N. Johnson: Yeah. I’m convinced that joy and grief can happen simultaneously, and that’s only because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can feel grief at loss or pain, sorrow, and at the same time feel joy. We are here to have joy, to experience joy. And the scriptures explain that that’s how the Savior accomplished the most impossible of things. His Atonement was by focusing in on joy, the joy that came in relieving us of the burden of sin that we otherwise couldn’t do on our own, the joy in knowing that we’d have an opportunity to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. So, joy and grief can happen at the same time. And I think Emma is a beautiful example of that.
17:39
Sister Kristin M. Yee: The good and hard, side by side. They often go simultaneously, don’t they? And I was just thinking, it seems like today, as covenant women and men across the world, it seems like if you are keeping your covenants and trying to do your best, you’re experiencing things you’ve never experienced before, and you’re passing through challenges that you’ve never passed before, because the Lord is hastening our hearts. That’s part of the work.
But we also need an extra measure of His love and His mercy through our covenants to do that. There’s just no other way. And I’m grateful that we have a loving Father who has every means to bless us and carry us through the good and the hard, the grief and the joy that come side by side in this life, and He knows it’s worth it.
18:23
Mary Richards: The purpose of the Relief Society, to bring temporal and spiritual relief of Jesus Christ to our brothers and sisters around the world, you’ve taught so beautifully about that so many times, President Johnson. And I just would love for you to tell us more about how when we are providing that relief, we receive His relief in return, and then we want to make or keep or strengthen our covenants with Him and our Heavenly Father.
18:47
President Camille N. Johnson: Yeah. Well, I guess the best example I can give is my own personal experience, that when I really need His help the most, the best thing I can do is look outward and look around me. Sometimes the people that need help live under our own roofs. But to look close to me, I’ve had this very unique privilege by virtue of this calling to go to far-flung places and to witness how the Church’s humanitarian effort has blessed lives.
And at the same time, there are needs right here, right where we live. There are people who are hungry, there are people who are malnourished, there are people who are lonely, there are people who are in physical and emotional pain close to us, right around us. And for me, the way that I have felt the love and added measure of the Savior’s mercy is in doing my best to try to address those needs.
I’m not the fixer; the Savior is. That doesn’t mean that I come in and I solve people’s problems, but when I try to do what the Savior would do — that is, to be a listener, or “What would He do? What would He say? What are the gentle words that He’d say?” — and when I try to be more like Him, and I think about, “How would the Savior respond to this situation when I do that, when I try to be more like Him?” I feel His presence more acutely in my life, and I want to have a deeper relationship with Him, a covenant relationship with Him.
I love what President Nelson has taught about that covenant relationship we have. Once we make a covenant relationship with God, He won’t abandon us, and His patience will never run out with us. And oh, how desperately I need His patience. So I’m so grateful for that promise.
So when you say, “What can you tell us about that?” I guess I can tell you from my own experience that when I aim to do what the Savior would do, when I try to bring His relief to those around me, I do feel His relief for myself and desire to deepen that relationship, and it’s circular. Then what He gives me back is an added measure of mercy and love and patience and godly power. That’s the power that we can draw upon. It’s His power. It’s not ours to do as we wish, but it’s God’s power that He gives us access to when we make and keep covenants, that enables us, that increases our capacity to do things that would otherwise really be beyond, certainly beyond, my capacity without His help.
21:42
Mary Richards: We’ve been talking about the timing of the beginning of the Relief Society being so connected to the building of the Nauvoo Temple and preparing to make covenants there. This is a pattern we see today, isn’t it, Sister Yee? This invitation to go to the house of the Lord and make covenants with Him.
21:58
Sister Kristin M. Yee: It is. We certainly have a Prophet who knows what the Lord would have us do today to be blessed, and especially for the sisters of the Church. But the Prophet has extended a beautiful invitation to all of us to receive the blessings of the house of the Lord. And if I can read that to you, I think his words would be powerful. He says, “I would urge you not to wait until marriage to be endowed in the house of the Lord. Begin now to learn and experience what it means to be armed with priesthood power.”
Now, he says “armed,” which tells me that we need that today to be protected from the adversary, to receive strength to overcome temptation, to resist sin, to be able to repent, to give strength to become more like our Savior, Jesus, Christ. That’s what that power is for. As President Johnson mentioned earlier, it’s not our power; it’s His power which allows us to do His will. It helps us to do His will, which is for our greatest benefit, and it helps us to become as He is. There’s just no other way we can do that. These are essential blessings, and the Prophet of the Lord has invited us to receive those sooner than later in our lives and to consider those blessings, to ponder and pray about them, because this is a time when He knows when we need it.
And that, yes, that’s the same pattern that the Prophet Joseph Smith and the sisters in the Nauvoo Relief Society, a female Relief Society, had to prepare themselves for the blessings of the house of the Lord. Isn’t that interesting that that’s still the invitation, it’s still the need? We are still His children, and still the gospel of Jesus Christ will allow us to return home to our Heavenly Father, and it’s through ordinances and covenants, receiving the blessings of the house of the Lord and His power and strength. And we have been studying as a presidency, since our service began, to better understand God’s priesthood power in our lives.
23:33
President Camille N. Johnson: And it’s available to all those who make and keep covenants, but there’s an added measure of that godly power available to those who make and keep covenants in the house of the Lord. And that invitation to prepare for and go and be endowed, that’s extended to all of our sisters and brothers who are 18 years or older, have graduated from high school or their primary school, have been confirmed members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for at least a year, and have a sincere desire to make and keep covenants.
And so, we need not wait for a mission call or a fiance in order to have that opportunity to be blessed by an added measure of God’s power when we go to the house of the Lord, make those covenants and keep them. And it just became so clear to us, as we spent time in Nauvoo, that it was that godly power that propelled those people into the unknown, that supported them, that strengthened them, that allowed them to do the impossible. And as we face our own wilderness as we go into the unknown, we need it too. We need to be, as Kristin said, armed with God’s power in order to face down the adversary and prepare the world for the Savior to come again.
24:54
Sister Kristin M. Yee: And don’t you think that power that you’re describing, it provides comfort and peace? It’s the power of the Savior’s Atonement in our lives, that we’re not alone, and we need that today. We need to feel that we’re not alone. We need to know that He’s aware of our needs, and that comes, through a measure, through our covenants, and God’s power is how we feel that.
25:12
President Camille N. Johnson: Peace; and its capacity enhancing. For me, I don’t know how better to describe it, but sometimes I’ve seen in the lives of other people, and for myself, sort of a capacity to do something that otherwise seemed impossible, but I can only attribute accomplishing some of these things to His willingness to let me draw upon His power.
25:36
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Absolutely. There’s things we could not do without Him. And President Nelson teaches us that as we live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, we receive His higher power, access to His higher power, which changes our very natures and gives us an added measure of virtues of Christ to pass through and do things we would not be able to do on our own. And it’s every day, isn’t it? It’s not just in grand things, but it’s also in the little things, even in the softening of hearts, moments to do things or to think or to problem-solve in ways we wouldn’t be able to do that would allow us to accomplish His will. It’s in these little things.
And it’s interesting; as a council and a presidency, we had the opportunity to counsel about it: “How have we seen the blessings of God’s priesthood power in our life?” And as we talked about it together, it also expanded our understanding of what that looks like every day, because it is a part of our lives. And President Nelson has invited us to understand that, to seek understanding in ways that we haven’t thought about before. And he gives us scriptures, And he gives us lots of invitations, especially in “Spiritual Treasures,” to read D&C 25, 84, 107, and to understand His power. Because he said if we do, he believes it will change our lives.
26:44
Mary Richards: And when you look for those things and identify them, you see them. When you “seek and expect miracles,” you see them in your life, like President Nelson has invited us. I was thinking about how in my ward Relief Society, as we’ve been counseling together, these topics come up, and I love it when a sister will share something about how she has been blessed by her covenants with God in the house of the Lord, and this has given her that capacity.
When we start to talk about it more, we recognize it more, maybe?
President Camille N. Johnson: Yeah, I think you’re absolutely right.
27:16
Mary Richards: What is your hope for women watching this devotional to build this “covenant community,” like you’ve spoken about? And then as they move forward after that, what’s your hope for that in their own lives?
President Camille N. Johnson: Well, I hope they’ll feel a sense of covenant community, that as covenant keepers, we’re motivated to address the needs of one another. It’s a divinely appointed attribute of ours, I think, as women, to recognize the needs of those around us. And as we do and we address the needs of our sisters and brothers in fulfillment of our covenant responsibility, and we’ll be blessed with a sense of community.
Our ministering efforts are really an effort at creating a covenant community where I recognize the needs of those around me, and I seek to fulfill them, where if I don’t have the capacity to address those needs, I draw upon my covenant community to address those needs.
28:15
Sister Kristin M. Yee: So, the Savior is at the center of that covenant community, the purpose of it. We’re His hands, we’re His feet. It’s such a sweet thing to think that He trusts us to be able to do that, that He really believes in us and that we can receive inspiration as we are ministering to one another. We have His delegated priesthood authority and power to be able to assist one another, to receive revelation on behalf of another’s needs, because we are assigned.
Now, these assignments that we receive, those come from the Lord through the keys, and that comes to you. So in essence, the Savior is extending an invitation to go and minister to this other sister or to this brother, because He sees there’s a need, and He believes that you will be able to do that. And when we think of it that way, we realize there’s a great need. And I don’t think we’re ever going to be bored in a covenant community, do you?
President Camille N. Johnson: No. No, there will always be needs.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: And it’s good to be needed.
President Camille N. Johnson: And partnering with the Savior, we can fulfill those needs.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Absolutely.
29:09
Mary Richards: And the ministering interviews then help bring that all to the attention of the Relief Society president, the elders quorum president. The ward council can then get involved if necessary.
President Camille N. Johnson: I think those ministering interviews are a way that we learn what the needs are, but also the strengths. So we’re matching needs with strengths. And what we discover is that in our covenant communities — in our branches, in our wards, in our stakes — the solutions are there. It’s just a matter of identifying the need and matching it with the person that has that capacity, that strength, that educational expertise, whatever it may be, and matching them up. That’s the beauty of a covenant community: We come together to address one another’s needs.
29:53
Mary Richards: Sister Yee, I’m reminded of that beautiful story you’ve told about a ministering sister you had who you would take walks together.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: That was when I first moved into my current ward, and I had a ministering sister assigned to me who, we’re probably about 50 years difference or so, and I was going through some difficult things. I was working for a studio, and she was going through some difficult things too with her work. And it was interesting how much we had in common and how much we could talk. She became one of my best friends. We prayed together for one another. I found strength in her.
She’s a lifelong friend now, eternal friend. It didn’t matter our ages or our differences, our backgrounds; we loved each other, and I was grateful for that relationship. But at first, I was like, “I’m not sure how this is going to go,” but it became so much more than what I thought it could be, because she came, she cared, and I needed that. And what she had to offer at that time in my life is precisely what the Lord knew I needed. He just knows, and if we listen, He will show us what that is. He will help us to minister in the ways we need. He’s good like that. He’s pretty good at that. He is the supreme minister, and He’s teaching us to become as He is.
But again, we find that relief by giving His relief. So she, too, we were both blessed in that space. I still am. Every time I struggle, I look out to someone else, and there’s an opportunity to minister, and He lifts my load, carries my burdens, and I find peace and perspective. And it’s in small things. It’s not in grand gestures. It’s usually in a small conversation, small prompting to be kind, and all of a sudden He enters in, and we’re blessed.
31:32
Mary Richards: I’m so looking forward to this broadcast, and I really can’t wait to watch it. It might be different in each local area or stake or ward.
What should people know about how that gathering will look like?
President Camille N. Johnson: Yeah, that’s right. I hope that the sisters will check with their local Relief Society leader to see if they’re going to assemble that Sunday night on March 16 and watch together and have their testimony meeting together as a ward. Perhaps some will assemble as stakes. We love the idea of intimate gatherings with ward sisters so that many sisters have the opportunity to express testimony.
And so I hope the sisters will reach out to the Relief Society leaders to find out what’s been organized in their unit. And for those sisters that for whatever reason can’t gather with us on March 16, or when the gathering has been scheduled, we hope that you’ll watch the broadcast online.
32:30
Sister Kristin M. Yee: Yes, and bring sisters with you. Invite your friend to come, invite your ministering sister, invite your neighbor; bring them with you. It’s nice to come together where you can. But you will find them, hopefully, together. Even if you can’t bring somebody, just come, because He has something for you.
32:44
Mary Richards: Isn’t there such a joy when you walk into a room and you recognize people that, “Oh, I can go sit by —” If you bring them with you, then you know you’ve got a seating partner right away.
President Camille N. Johnson: That’s right.
Sister Kristin M. Yee: And sometimes it feels nice to get an invitation from those around you. “Do you want to come with me?” Even if we can’t, it’s always nice to have an invitation.
32:59
Mary Richards: That’s exactly right. I was thinking about that myself. Well, we always give our guests the last word on the Church News podcast, and our last question is always: What do you know now?
And so, Sister Yee and then President Johnson, what do you know now about belonging to the Relief Society and God’s power that comes to us through our covenants with Him?
33:23
Sister Kristin M. Yee: I think I know at a deeper level, maybe, what I thought I knew of God’s great love for His children. And especially — He loves all His children, but I think He cherishes His daughters. I’ve learned a lot of that through our Prophet, President Nelson, as I’ve watched him minister and bless me, even personally, in the ways that he does things. But I’ve seen the Lord bless His daughters and be strengthened in ways that could never happen otherwise but through their covenants. And watching them strive to do His will is a very humbling thing to watch.
But I just know in a deeper way that He never leaves us, that He’s always beside us, that He always has a plan and a way, and that if we turn to Him, He will provide the things which we need. It’s a world where loneliness can be something that we feel every day, even when we’re surrounded by so many people and busyness, but we need a connection with Him to truly be filled. That covenant relationship is everything. It is everything, and as we put Him first in our lives, every other relationship will be elevated and become what it needs to be.
But He asks us to trust Him, to walk with Him and to love Him as He loves us. And I just know that in a deeper way, I think, as I’ve watched the sisters of the world give their very best to the Lord and trust Him with all their hearts.
34:46
President Camille N. Johnson: I think one of the ways that our Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father manifest their love to us is in sending us prophets, seers and revelators. And I had a singular experience while we were recording in the upper floor of the Red Brick Store where I began expressing testimony about the Prophet Joseph Smith. And there’s sort of a pause right there in the broadcast recording, where it came to me so clearly who he was and who he is.
It struck me that Joseph Smith at a time in his life when he was trying to organize a church and build a temple and bring Saints in from parts of the east, he was trying to establish a community in Nauvoo, an order there. He had personal sorrow and tragedy at that time, and he had a young family and parents and siblings that he was caring for. And amidst all of that persecution, the sisters came to him with an idea. They came to him and said, “We want to help in some way in preparing for the temple. Can we sew shirts? Can we create a women’s organization, a society, so that we can participate and help?”
And he took them seriously, and he didn’t brush them aside and say, “I’m busy.” Undoubtedly, he had thousands of people coming to him with really what they thought were really good ideas about how he could run the Church and how he could establish a community. And yet, when the sisters came to him with this, he took them seriously and told them that the Lord had something even more grand in store for them.
And so in that moment, in that singular moment for me, it just distilled upon me in a way that it hadn’t ever before that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and recognized, like our present-day Prophet and mouthpiece of the Lord, Russell M. Nelson, the needs of sisters who are cherished and loved. And what a blessing it is to know of God’s love for us, love manifest at least in part by Him giving us the opportunity to be taught and led by prophets.
37:38
Jon Ryan Jensen: Thank you for listening to the Church News podcast. I’m your host, Church News editor Jon Ryan Jensen. I hope you learned something today about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had your faith in the Savior increase by looking through the Church News window as a living record of the Restoration. Please subscribe, rate and review this podcast so it can be accessible to more people. And if you enjoyed the messages we shared today, please share the podcast with others. Thanks to our guests; to my producer, KellieAnn Halvorsen; and to others who make this podcast possible. Join us every week for a new episode. Find us on your favorite podcasting channels or with other news and updates about the Church on TheChurchNews.com or on the Church News app.
