Faith, Family, Relief

[ german pancake breakfast, per tradition ]

  The 184th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was held this past weekend. In honor of the talks that I enjoyed the most this time, which I will share in a later post, I am sharing a couple of talks today from past Conferences that have touched my heart and stayed with me.    

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In the LDS church, we have an organization specifically designed for women. This organization, called the "Relief Society", is intended to "increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need". Women are asked and encouraged to visit other sisters and serve them in whatever ways they can, and are also taught skills that will help them care for themselves and their own families. As a young child, I remember times when sisters in our community helped care for my siblings and I while my mother was ill, and there were also opportunities for me to help my mother make dinners to deliver to families who had just had a baby. There were many times when my family was on the receiving end of those "new baby" meals as well, which I remember with gratitude and respect. Being in the Relief Society myself, I have been the recipient of homemade pretzels, kind notes, and meaningful visits. 

In 2012, when Sister Julie B. Beck (then the President of the organization) gave this talk, I had been in the Relief Society for nearly a year, and was just realizing what it meant to be a sister in this remarkable group of faithful women. Today, I am discovering my place as a Visiting Teacher and member of my new ward's branch of the Relief Society. I have learned and continue to learn that being a part of this organization is indeed a blessing straight from my Heavenly Father. Helping the sisters around me takes sacrifice and love on my part, but in return, I receive an increase of love and meaning in my life.

I invite you to read Sister Beck's words on the purpose of the Relief Society, and our mission to focus on strengthening faith and families, and to offer relief to those in need or our service.

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In his talk, also from April 2012, President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of the responsibility that men and women have to raise children in a family-friendly environment. He acknowledged that not every family can have the ideal living situation, but that it is for us to provide everything that we can for our children, and to give our all to our companions.

"Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling—from which they will never be released—is to one another and then to their children."

 When I first heard this talk, I was months away from marrying my Sweetheart (who I had not even met), and I was trying to prepare myself for the man who would take me to Temple of God and be sealed to him and to our future children for eternity. Today, I stand by my husband's side as we prepare together to provide a safe and love-filled home for the children that the Lord will one day send to us. I recognize more than I once did how great my responsibility is as a wife and future mother, and at times I feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of giving life to and caring for little humans, but I know that the Lord has helped countless parents in the past; He is with faithful men and women today, and will be there to guide Patrick and I as we strive to guide our children back to Him.

Both of these talks have helped to strengthen my faith over and over as I continue to live as a Latter-day Saint woman. I am grateful for their influence in my life, and I hope that you, my friends, will find inspiration and strength from their words as well.