Relief Society

Today the lesson in Relief Society was on Relief Society. And it was also fast Sunday, so typically the Sunday with a little time given at the end for testimonies. I didn't stand up. I hardly ever do. But I did think about it, and it was interesting timing, actually. Two weeks ago I left church after sacrament meeting because I wasn't feeling very good. So I missed Sunday School and Relief Society. Usually I do love these meetings, though I'd been having a little bit of a hard time attending all my meetings recently for health reasons, mostly. Anyway. So I don't know that I needed a big testimony strengthener about Relief Society, but I guess I did, because it was one. I really had missed it that day. Even though I stayed in my Sunday clothes all day like I usually do, and listened to Sabbath music and didn't do anything that I didn't usually do to keep the Sabbath day holy--I even wrote in my journal. But it still wasn't really feeling strongly like the Sabbath to me for some reason, and I can only figure it was because I had missed my meetings, not only not attended, but I'd missed them. So the next week, although I was still a little weak physically, I made it a point to stay for at least all three regular meetings. I did skip choir afterward, but I at least attended Sunday School and Relief Society. So, in a lot of ways it wasn't just a strengthener for Relief Society, but also for Sunday School. I missed that too. I like learning about the scriptures and about those who have gone before. But to continue with the theme of Relief Society, it was interesting because the R.S. President who was giving the lesson was basing her lesson on the talk from last general conference by Sis. Parkin, the general R.S. president, which was about Relief Society, and it also happened to be the general conference talk that I'd used in November for my visiting teaching so I'd already shared my testimony about it, and so it was nice to hear it again, and to be reminded. But as I was giving it as a v.t. lesson and preparing I noticed how one of Sis. Parkin's points was how R.S. has blessed a number of people's lives. So I asked my sisters how it blessed their lives, and their first thoughts were quite naturally how it has blessed their individual lives with Enrichment and the sisterhood and visiting teaching. But then I noticed to that in her talk, Sis. Parkin had asked of a few men how it blessed their lives, which added a new dimension to the blessings of Relief Society, to see that it not only blesses us as women, but also that the men and children in our lives, and I would imagine even others in our daily interactions are also blessed by our activities in Relief Society. Coincidentally shortly before I went visiting teaching in November, I was part of a little conversation at work with two men and another woman and the men's cooking schools came up and I was reminded of my father's lack of cooking skills. I think he has gotten better now, just to validate him, but I will always remember the time when my mother was in the hospital after giving birth to one of my younger siblings and my dad made Kool-Aid for us but put salt in instead of sugar. So, as I shared this with my co-workers, I was trying to remember as I'm sure they were wondering how we ate during those days when mother was away, particularly since she was pregnant a few times (there are 8 kids in the family), and then as I was reading the talk for v.t.ing I remembered--duh, the Relief Society brought meals! It might seem like a little thing, but as the scripture says, by very little means are great things brought to pass. And I believe that. Even the seemingly very little things the Relief Society sisters do for each other can lead to very great things. For example, as my R.S. President pointed out in her lesson from a quote I don't remember the source, the most important goal of Relief Society is for the women to gain a testimony of the Savior. Sometimes that could get lost in the shuffle of all the little things, but going back to my experience two weeks ago on how I didn't feel like the Sabbath without the Relief Society and Sunday School, I think the function of those two meetings both in the lessons and the interactions with ward members very much is to bring us unto the Savior and thus not surprising that I didn't feel as close to Him (that Sabbathy feeling) when I wasn't able to attend. So, those little things that the Relief Society does that help the sisters and their families to feel the Savior's love, really are great things! And I write this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.