(Introduce)
As many of you know, I am a convert; I was investigating the church when I first moved out here, and was baptized February 13th, 2010.
When I first started going to church I only attended sacrament meetings. I felt the spirit, but I didn’t know what more I was missing. Yes, there is Sunday School, which is awesome, but then there was this whole other thing that I had never heard of: Relief Society. I was taking “baby steps” when investigating the church (I mean, for an investigator to attend all 3 meetings right off the bat is a little overwhelming, to be honest). But after about a month I decided it was time, and attended all 3 meetings. I then wondered why I waited so long! Relief Society was the last meeting, and although I was usually a little apprehensive in something so new and different with a bunch of people I had barely met, I have never felt so welcomed. So many stories were shared during each lesson that really would pertain to all of our lives. I felt the spirit hard-core when I went, and had a connection there and became very close to everyone in a short time. [If you want to know my conversion story, please ask me sometime; I never get tired of telling it. But I know that half the congregation here has heard it at least once, so I’ll spare them ;).]
When I was asked to be a counselor in the RS Presidency, I was.... terrified. I was still so new in the church that I wondered how in the world I could do it. To be someone that is a spiritual leader over these beautiful women. But I soon realized that I’m not the only one that spiritually leads the women. Every woman in there are leaders and teachers. We all teach each other and work off our own stories and experiences and knowledge, and every week there is a fantastic lesson given. This calling has definitely been something that has been truly amazing and yet not easy. I have a really hard time with names... so it’s been quite a challenge for me learning everyone’s names and a little bit about each girl. But I love that we as a Presidency make the effort to reach out and go meet with each individual girl at their home to really get to know each one. And now that I’m back I see there are a LOT of girls I have yet to meet, so this should be fun. I must say, these ladies behind me are some of the most loving girls you will ever meet, and it has been the biggest pleasure of my LIFE serving with them, and all of the other girls in this room.
This summer, as I said earlier, I was working out in California, and where I worked, the closest church was 45 minutes away in Mammoth Lakes, and I rarely had a Sunday off. So through the summer I only went to church two times. I went about two months with no meetings, and I was definitely feeling it. Coming to church is like drinking water. You NEED it in your life to help your spiritual body stay healthy, or cleansed, or, in church’s case, more humble and righteous. I felt myself becoming less and less humble, and it really bothered me. I realized how much I missed the Relief Society more than anything. Because going to Relief Society is such a humbling experience, I felt like I was losing that more and more as the summer progressed. When I finally attended church in August, I went to the RS, and we had a whole 5 ladies in attendance (tells you how small this town is!). And although I had never met these women, and although I was wearing JEANS to church because I didn’t have any dresses with me, none of them judged me and they were all so friendly. And I came to find out that only ONE of them was actually someone that went to that ward regularly; everyone else was like me and were only there for either vacation or a summer job. I felt acceptance, the caring warmth, love, and comfort that I missed so much. It’s like a motherliness that you feel when you go to Relief Society, and more than anything, a STRENGTH. I realized that meeting with those 4 ladies I had never met that I was lacking that strength more and more all summer, and it was a real spiritual pick-me-up that day. It’s not just that we all become friends when we attend RS meetings, enrichment, and do our visiting teaching, but we become companions, and grow stronger together, spiritually. We also have the ability of strengthening others by doing our visiting teaching.
Thomas S. Monson once said: “Remember the past; learn from it. Contemplate the future; prepare for it. Live in the present; serve in it. Therein is the mighty strength of the Relief Society of this Church”.
We are always sharing stories about our past in RS and how we’ve learned from those experiences, and we prepare for our future by discussing how we can be good wives, mothers, and sisters of Zion. We also become prepared for the blessings of eternal life. And something that I have come to love, that I didn’t do much at all until I joined the church, is service. The RS does so many things to serve it’s awesome! I mean that is how it got it’s name: to go to the Relief of others... I feel so strengthened when I serve, and it’s really the best feeling.
We are spiritually strengthened every time we go to RS meeting because we are constantly gaining knowledge. Even after 50 years of going to RS, I know I am still going to learn something new, either about the gospel or about myself, every time. We have the opportunity to learn and to grow every Sunday. The RS provides nourishment to our minds and guidance for our lives. As as we become strengthened, we thereby strengthen our families as well.
I am so so grateful to have this organization, let alone this church, in my life. I love the strength it gives us each week and I love each and every girl in the ward (even those I have yet to meet). I’m thankful to serve beside these wonderful ladies behind me, and to be an instrument in the hands of God as a member of the Relief Society. I have a testimony that as we attend Relief Society and fulfill our visiting teaching each month, we will become spiritually strengthened. And I say these things humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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