I see Relief Society as a program that helps the sisters with all sorts of skills from bread making to studying the scriptures more effectively. I think you can be spiritually uplifted while sitting next to another sister doing a “light, crafty” project. I have learned alot from the experiences of others just by being in their presence and listening to them. I would not have heard their experiences if I was listening to a speaker talk about our salvation. I think there is room for both in our enrichment activities.

I absolutely agree with you that this is the Lord’s program, and we’re all called to serve all over the place. It’s an interesting question about salvation. When I heard it said, I understood it to mean “we” as in “we, the members of the church”, not necessarily just as members of Relief Society. I don’t really believe that RS is some sort of pre-requisite for salvation, certainly, but I do see where the Relief Society can serve to bring people to the Savior.

As I understand things (which is very little…), the Relief Society can offer peace and love and fellowship and work, all things to bring us to our covenants. It cannot offer us salvation, but through our associations and work in the RS (or any other auxiliary, for that matter) we can consecrate our time and efforts to the Lord.

I don’t know if there is a fundamental necessity to the RS organization. I do know, however, that RS can bring us closer to God. We, as Christians serving in the Lord’s church, are in the business of salvation – salvation of ourselves and loved ones. Maybe that’s where this goes.

And yeah, you’re probably up next for RS Pres…;-)

But it seems that it is okay with the Lord that most women in His church spend 15-20 years (or more) serving outside of Relief Society. So can’t we assume that RS attendance is, indeed, not necessary to salvation? So what part of RS is really, truly, the “business of salvation”? I’m not saying this to be combative! I am curious about teasing out the fundamental truth about the role of RS. It shouldn’t make you sad.

I fear my comments are going to karmic-ly lead to a Relief Society calling. Perhaps it’s time.

I have a deep testimony of Relief Society and the great good it can do. I have seen women lifting other women, women serving together and growing together, and I’ve seen testimonies born and strengthened as we meet and serve together. Certainly it can’t be a panacea for everyone, but many many times, women in Relief Society can be a salve to each other in the struggles we all encounter.

I love my Relief Society sisters, and I love their testimonies and strength. I believe firmly that the Lord’s hand is in this work, and together as women we can heal so many wounds and buoy each other up in so many ways.

Which tells me two things: 1) What PH said about service is true and 2) I don’t really need RS to ensure my salvation.

I have also found that many (most?) women in their 30′s and 40′s are NOT in RS week to week. We’re all busy working in other auxiliary organizations. None of my good friends have time to go to RS. We’re too busy serving and raising children. So that makes me think that fluff is also okay, especially for the large chunk of us who spend the rest of our time “giving.”

I dislike missing the quarterly meetings and have found two activity groups that I enjoy attending (btw… quilting isn’t for seniors But that doesn’t mean that everyone should attend or will attend all of those meetings.

I’m also a BIG believer in the church supporting the family and not the other way around. If an activity is planned with a purpose (even if the purpose is friendshipping) and planned well then hopefully all those who can attend will WANT to attend because they know they will enjoy time with members of their ward family (be it children, teenagers, husbands & wives, the whole family, sisters…). If they can’t attend or feel they need time with their family – that’s OK too. They shouldn’t feel guilty for not attending.

When I think of fluff, I think of mindless. So many activities that people have listed here and related to “fun” and therefore “fluff” I would never consider fluff and I don’t think Sis. Beck would either. Especially if you look on the HFPE website on lds.org and the suggestions to consider when planning meetings.

I think the leaders in our ward do an amazing job. They give us time as sister to talk at each quarterly activity. The last two activities have included games. And they have something spiritual as well. This next quarterly activity (and this one has been going around our stake) is we’re having a gynocologist come in to speak. We can also write down specific questions ahead of time (so he has time to do research if necessary and so they’re anonymous). OH and one of our other groups is a “How to” group. May and June is CPR certification. It helps that we have someone who can train each of us – but for $2 we can all get our CPR certification updated (and that’s just if we take the test – free otherwise)! I like that they think outside the box sometimes too.

Ok.. enough outta me….

I’ve challenged my ward members to find the word “fun” in the scriptures. What I’ve learned is that “fun” comes through service. People who don’t socialize together get to know each other through serving together. They laugh, they have a good time, they share life stories. They have “fun” while helping others. Actually, you can really call “fun” happiness or joy.

For those of you who feel your needs aren’t being provided the counsel of Pres. Hinkley’s father comes to mind (who was paraphrasing the Savior): Forget yourself and go to work (Matt: 10:39). I don’t mean to sound callous or uncaring. Often it takes a change of perspective to see that your needs ARE being met. You just don’t realize that what you think you need isn’t what you really need. Your need is to serve and reach out to others.

None of our covenants are about what we get from others, including Church. Our covenants are about what we give, how we behave. Don’t let popular culture deceive you into thinking Church is about getting, it’s always been about giving.

“Focusing on relief will always build sociality, whereas focusing on sociality may not always bring relief.”

While I lived in Sweden, I was exposed to a very different type of situation than I had ever encountered in the U.S., having lived in Wyoming and Utah where members of the church were abundant and one could easily co-mingle members and non-members as friends. But in Sweden, our ward boundaries were extremely wide. Many members did not have cars and relied upon public transportation to attend church. So simply visiting other members who lived miles and miles away was extremely difficult. The youth were separated by large distances. Because of this, they didn’t have early morning seminary. They held seminary once a week, after mutual. Our area authorities were quite concerned about the number of youth that were not remaining active. It wasn’t until they put in an OUtreach institute center, close to the train station at the center town of the stake, that we started noticing a turn around in the youth. They desperately needed opportunities to interact socially with peers with similar standards. The social aspect pulled in the youth, where they began to have more spiritual experiences. As a result, many of those young men are on missions now. They’ll come home to more activities–where they can begin looking for mates and marry and raise families in the church.

In Sweden, where religion is taboo, God is considered a myth and morals are outdated. Members seldom had the opportunity to discuss spiritual matters with anyone outside of fellow members. Enrichment activities, ward parties, mutual, etc. provided the natural place for ward members to meet and socialize and build one another up.

So I guess what I’m saying is that creating a circle of friends, both within and without of the church isn’t always easy, especially for the shy or reserved. I do think that in those cases, social activities that get people together have tremendous benefit. And for those who feel isolated by their beliefs, church social activities can be a lifeline.

I don’t do the craft nights. Well, I go, but I don’t do anything. And usually when I walk into a room I look for “who looks like they need a friend to sit by” instead of “where are my friends to sit by” because a long time ago I listened to a talk about going to church and meetings isn’t about what you can get out of it but what you can give others.

as a result I’m often exhausted and my spiritual/emotional bucket is totally empty. and a dinners & programs don’t really help