Purpose of Relief Society

January Week 1 | Relief Society

How Can We Work in Unity to Help Those in Need?

The purpose of Relief Society is to prepare women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them:

• Increase faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement.

• Strengthen individuals and families through ordinances and covenants.

• Work in unity to help those in need.

Prepare to teach by prayerfully studying, seeking inspiration from the Holy Ghost, and recording impressions about how to help the sisters work in unity to help those in need.

Share Experiences

The Relief Society president or one of her counselors asks questions like the following to help sisters share experiences:

• As we have strived to live as disciples of Christ this past week, what have we experienced, learned, or felt?

• What have we felt and experienced as we have reached out to help those in need?

Learn Together

The Relief Society president or one of her counselors uses one or more of the following activities to help the sisters understand how to work together to help those in need.

How did the Savior help those in need? The Savior spent His life loving and serving those in need. Invite the sisters to share stories and meaningful scripture verses from the Savior’s ministry that have inspired them. What do we learn about why and how the Savior helped others? When have we felt Christlike love through someone’s service?

How can we be mindful of the needs of those around us? Elder M. Russell Ballard shared one way we can be mindful of others’ needs in the quotation on page 35 of Come, Follow Me for individuals and families. What promises did Elder Ballard make? What experiences can we share in which we have followed this pattern and acted on promptings to serve someone?

What does it mean to be unified in our efforts? Before the Sunday meeting, ask a few sisters to read “Serving in the Church” on pages 138–43 of Daughters in My Kingdom (2011) and come prepared to share something that inspired them. What are we doing to create a sense of sisterhood in our Relief Society? How are we working together with Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood quorums?

Plan to Act

The Relief Society president or one of her counselors concludes the meeting by counseling with the sisters about how they can act on what they are learning:

• How can we more effectively identify the needs of other people and help them? What help can we give as individuals and what can we give as a unified group?

• Invite the sisters to write down what they were impressed to do as a result of today’s discussion. Plan to follow up on these goals in next week’s discussion.

How Do I Feel Prompted to Teach This Topic?

Leader Training

President Thomas S. Monson taught, “There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are afflicted” (“Charity Never Faileth,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 124; see also Daughters in My Kingdom [2011], 100).