Photo coutesy www.lds.org
The Relief Society orginization blesses the entire family. With men and women working together, families can grow closer together and create an environment in which the entire family can benefit from the blessings of the Gospel.

Relief Society blesses the priesthood

by Ritch Woffinden WOF99001@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Mothers are so wonderful and important that BYU-Idaho has dedicated a whole weekend to them. One of the things that help women become great mothers in this Church is the Relief Society.

When you think about the Relief Society and its role the word “men” does not come into the picture, but men on campus answered this question, “How has the Relief Society blessed your life?”

“My wife has had some chronic illness. She was sick while I was writing my doctrinal dissertation. The Relief Society came into the house and took care of everything: dishes, laundry, baby-sitting, dinners. We wouldn’t have made it otherwise,” Brian Piper, a professor in the Physics Department, said.

“The biggest thing, right off the cuff, is that my mom is a single mother. When I was growing up when my mom got sick or there were things that the family needed, the Relief Society sisters were always there to help us,” Elijah Watkins, a senior from Rexburg said.

In the most recent conference address, the General Relief Society President Bonnie D. Parkin gave a talk called, “How Has Relief Society Blessed Your Life?”

She asked this question to President Hinckley and he responded, “Relief Society has blessed my family and the family of my dear wife for some seven generations.

“Since the earliest days of the Church, our mothers and daughters have been taught of their obligations to those in distress. They have been schooled in the finer points of homemaking, encouraged in their spiritual development, and guided in the realization of their full potential as women. Much of this has taken place in Relief Society and has then been brought home to bless the life of each member of my family.”

Relief Society gives both temporal and spiritual help to those in need. They show others what it is like to be a good mother and teach them how to become great mothers themselves.

“My wife is a convert from Long Island, N. Y. She joined the Church as a teenager. She had no formal training on how to be an LDS mother,” Jack Weyland, a faculty member in the Physics Department, said. “She was really trained, I think from the Relief Society, how to be an LDS mother. This has blessed my whole family and I am really thankful for the things they teach.”

“I think [Relief Society] brings fulfillment to the women in my life and gives them education and refinement,” Jeff Hochstrasser, a faculty member in the Communication Department, said. “The sisters always seem to have a handle on the needs of members and other sisters. They are always so dependable. The acts of compassionate service have been there for my family in so many ways. It is an incredible service.”

Relief Society teaches leadership and helps men fulfill their divine potential.

“Relief Society women are some of the greatest examples of those who magnify their calling. Relief Society women almost always go the distance and do more than they are asked to do. It (their calling) goes way beyond the little fliers they hand out at Church. It’s really humbling to be around a righteous Relief Society woman because she knows who she is and what her purposes are,” Russel Cheney, a senior from Idaho Falls, said.

“My wife is currently Relief Society president in our ward. I personally have been blessed by that calling,” Chris Alison, a faculty member in the Religion Department, said. “The brethren refer to their wives as their better half and I know I feel that way about my wife. I can’t fulfill my divine potential without her fulfilling hers. We help each other.”

The men of this campus are grateful for the fruits of this institution and are in awe of the women associated with it.