Relief Society

"Charity never faileth" is the motto of one of the world's oldest and largest women's organizations, the Relief Society of the LDS or Mormon Church. Its official declaration likewise proclaims the goals of the organization as a whole and the individual goals of its members. All Mormon women age 18 and older are automatically members. The Relief Society was founded by the Prophet Joseph Smith on March 17, 1842, in Nauvoo, Illinois. Today the Relief Society includes over five million women in over 170 countries.

The Relief Society Seal

The Relief Society Today

Current President Bonnie D. Parkin had this to say about Relief Society:

On 17 March 1842 the Prophet Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society—the Lord’s organization for women. Relief Society is important to the Lord ... He provided women a safe haven from the harshness of the world when He gave us Relief Society. From the beginning our association together and our direction from priesthood leaders have helped us come unto Christ. There was no greater cause then; there is no greater cause today.

Relief Society was not man-made or woman-made. It was, as President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) explained, “divinely made, divinely authorized, divinely instituted, divinely ordained of God to minister for the salvation of the souls of women and of men.” Bonnie D. Parkin, “Oh, How We Need Each Other!” Ensign, Mar. 2004, 16