Emphasizing the Divine Worth of Each Sister

Prayerfully select and read from this message the scriptures and teachings that meet the needs of the sisters you visit. Share your experiences and testimony. Invite those you teach to do the same.

Blessings of Belonging to Relief Society: Relief Society helps each sister learn that she is a beloved spirit daughter of Heavenly Father, that she has a divine nature, and that she has the potential to inherit eternal life.

What Do We Know about Our Divine Nature?

The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. … In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102).

Bonnie D. Parkin, Relief Society general president: “Relief Society has renewed, strengthened, and committed me to be a better wife and mother and daughter of God. My heart has been enlarged with gospel understanding and with love of the Savior and what He’s done for me” (“How Has Relief Society Blessed Your Life?” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2004, 35).

Romans 8:16–17: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985): “Relief Society leaders and teachers should ask, how can we help the wife and mother understand the dignity and worth of her role in the divine process of motherhood? How can we help her make her home a place of love and learning, a place of refuge and refinement? … Our success, individually and as a Church, will largely be determined by how faithfully we focus on living the gospel in the home” (“Living the Gospel in the Home,” Ensign, May 1978, 101).

How Can Understanding Our Divine Nature Change Our Attitudes and Actions?

President Gordon B. Hinckley: “There is something of divinity within each of you. You have such tremendous potential with that quality as a part of your inherited nature. Every one of you was endowed by your Father in Heaven with a tremendous capacity to do good in the world. Train your minds and your hands that you may be equipped to serve well in the society of which you are a part. Cultivate the art of being kind, of being thoughtful, of being helpful. Refine within you the quality of mercy which comes as a part of the divine attributes you have inherited” (“The Light within You,” Ensign, May 1995, 99).

President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency: “A conviction that you are a daughter of God gives you a feeling of comfort in your self-worth. It means that you can find strength in the balm of Christ. It will help you meet the heartaches and challenges with faith and serenity. … A woman can and must have an identity and feel useful, valued, and needed whether she is single or married. She must feel that she can do something for someone else that no one else ever born can do” (“What It Means to Be a Daughter of God,” Liahona, Jan. 2000, 123–24; Ensign, Nov. 1999, 102).

Illustrated by Shannon Christensen