Lesson 7: Welfare Duties of the Relief Society

Objective

Relief Society leaders will understand their responsibility to teach principles of self-reliance and to assist in resolving temporary and long-term welfare needs.

Materials for This Lesson

Essentials of Welfare videocassette (53045) or In the Service of Your God DVD (54645)

Statements from the Church Handbook of Instructions

Invite a participant to read the following statements:

“The Relief Society was founded by the Prophet Joseph Smith on 17 March 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, . . . for ‘the relief of the poor, the destitute, the widow and the orphan, and for the exercise of all benevolent purposes’ (History of the Church, 4:567)” (Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2: Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders [1998], 193).

“Under the direction of the bishop, Relief Society sisters help resolve temporary and long- term needs, including those related to education [including literacy], health, employment, home storage, resource management, and social, emotional, and spiritual strength” (Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, 194).

“The bishop is the agent of the [Lord’s] storehouse [and] distributes the Saints’ offerings to the poor and needy. He is assisted by priesthood quorums and the Relief Society” (Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, 256).

Ask participants: How have you seen Relief Society leaders and bishoprics work together to meet welfare responsibilities? (Remind participants not to disclose confidential information.)

Key Points

Help participants understand the following points, and discuss them as needed:

Stake Relief Society President

The stake Relief Society president “supervises stake Relief Society welfare efforts” (Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, 195). She works with ward Relief Society presidents to identify vulnerable populations such as widows, women in poverty, unemployed women who are heads of their households, and so on. The stake Relief Society president may also help ward presidents identify resources to meet welfare needs in their wards.

Ward Relief Society Presidency

1. As members of the ward welfare committee, the ward Relief Society presidency helps plan ways to prevent and meet welfare needs of ward members. The Relief Society president should suggest agenda items for ward welfare committee meeting and be prepared to discuss their issues and concerns (see Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, 318).

2. The Relief Society assists the bishop by teaching sisters the doctrines, principles, and skills related to welfare in Sunday meetings; in home, family, and personal enrichment meetings; and through visiting teachers (see Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, 194, 202–3). For example, Relief Society leaders should help sisters understand:

a. That the Lord’s storehouse “is established when faithful members consecrate to the bishop their time, talents, skills, compassion, materials, and financial means” (Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, 256; see also D&C 42:29–36; 78:3–7,13–14; 82:14–19).

b. That organized Church welfare assistance does not replace personal, compassionate caring of individuals for one another.

Invite participants to share examples they have seen of these principles being taught effectively in a Relief Society setting.

3. The Relief Society president assists the bishop in assessing needs of families and individuals in the ward and suggesting ways to respond. President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: “It is imperative that bishops work closely with Relief Society presidents in administering Church welfare. This is normally accomplished in the monthly ward welfare committee meeting or, on occasion, in the ward council meeting. But emergencies arise, or there may be circumstances where greater confidentiality is required, in which case the bishop and the Relief Society president should consult together. Wherever there is material need in a family, the Relief Society president is best qualified to go into a home and assess the family’s needs” (“Standing Strong and Immovable,” Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Jan. 2004, 21).

4. To assess welfare needs, the bishop may assign the Relief Society president to visit needy families or individuals in their homes. In making these visits, called “family needs visits,” the president should follow the guidelines in the Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, pages 208–209, including the following:

a. “To prepare for family needs visits, the Relief Society president should seek guidance from the Lord. The surest guide in giving help is the Spirit of the Lord.”

b. “As the president asks questions during the visit, she listens with her heart, permitting the sister to express her feelings as well as her needs. She helps each sister maintain her sense of self- worth by helping family members help themselves.”

Video Presentation

Show all three parts of "Administering Welfare through the Relief Society" (part of the the DVD In the Service of Your God ), if available.

Invite the participants to discuss what they saw and heard in the video that impressed them. Emphasize that the bishop and the Relief Society president worked together to help the sister in need become more self-reliant.

If needed, review the following safety precautions that leaders should exercise when making a visit to members’ homes:

• Make an appointment for the visit, and take someone with you.

• Tell someone where you are going.

• Be aware of possible unsafe or dangerous conditions.

5. The Relief Society president may prepare Bishop’s Order for Commodities forms (33585 or 31422) for his review and signature. Problems she encounters in working with those receiving assistance should be referred back to the bishop for resolution.

6. Under the direction of the bishop, the Relief Society helps members find long-term solutions to their needs and plan for and achieve self-reliance (see Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, 257–258).

Ask participants: What resources or abilities does your ward’s Relief Society have that it can use to help members find long-term solutions to their problems?

Additional Teachings from Church Leaders

If desired, share the following statements by Church leaders:

“[The Relief Society] will fly to the relief of the stranger; they will pour in oil and wine to the wounded heart of the distressed; they will dry up the tears of the orphan and make the widow’s heart to rejoice” (Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 4:567).

“If one member suffer all feel it; by union of feeling we obtain power with God” (Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 5:23).

“Let me share with you the story of a dear Relief Society sister . . . in Cambodia. Her rural branch has about 280 members who live in a community with dirt roads, no sewers, no running water, and very few homes with electricity. . . . Under the direction of her branch president, she was asked to deliver rice and money to some of the families in the branch. She was accompanied by . . . a senior missionary and others from the branch. . . . [They] went to fourteen homes that day. Each home had its own set of problems, and [they] knew [they] could not solve all of them with a bag of rice and 10,000 riel. But [she] did know that the rice would feed the family for seven, maybe even ten days. And the 10,000 riel, about two dollars and fifty cents U.S., could help buy some vegetables or maybe some fish. . . . Now the really good part—she knew each sister by name, she knew the names of the children, and while [they] were in the home, her conversation with the family was pleasant and inviting. It was the conversation of a friend. You could see by her countenance that she cared for her sisters and these sisters, without exception, knew she cared for them” (Bonnie D. Parkin, “Welfare, the Crowning Principle of a Christian Life,” address delivered at BYU Women’s Conference, May 1, 2003).

Video Presentation

Show part 1 of “Caring for the Needy” (part of the videocassette Essentials of Welfare or the DVD In the Service of Your God ), if available. Ask participants: What did these Relief Society leaders do to help prevent ward welfare needs? How did they help meet welfare needs?

Case Study

Present the following case study for participants to discuss. If the group is large, divide participants into smaller discussion groups; then invite participants to report on the ideas generated in their discussions.

Sister Jones, age 36, was raised in a small rural town. In her last year of high school she worked part-time in a fast-food restaurant at minimum wage. After graduating from high school she attended college for one semester before getting married, after which she did not return to college. Soon after their marriage, Brother and Sister Jones started having children. Brother Jones, a member of the elders quorum, had provided fairly well for the family, so Sister Jones never had to work, but now he has abandoned her and their six children.

Ask participants: What can the Relief Society do to help this sister help herself? (Answers could include: the Relief Society president could visit Sister Jones, permitting her to express her feelings and her needs; the Relief Society president may request welfare assistance from the bishop, if appropriate; Sister Jones could be given help enrolling in school to gain new job skills; Relief Society sisters could teach her new job skills, inform her of job openings, help her with child care, or simply be listening, caring friends.)

Conclusion

Read or invite a participant to read the following statement by Bonnie D. Parkin, general Relief Society president: “When Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society, he called us to ‘relieve the poor’ and ‘to save souls’ (History of the Church, 5:25). When we fulfill this mandate, we are living welfare. . . . It is one woman making a difference for another. It is one sister offering to listen or talk with a sister who may be lonely. It is a sister developing a close friendship with the sister she visit teaches. It is you and me with our strengths, our skills, and our talents blessing the life of another” (BYU Women’s Conference, 1 May 2003).

Challenge the participants to diligently fulfill the welfare responsibilities and duties of their callings. Bear testimony of the good that can be accomplished when ward leaders work together to seek out and to care for the poor and needy.