What can the largest women's organization in the world teach us about feminism, about strength, and about the kind of women who can change the world and stand for their faith, no matter what?
Relief Society empowers women by teaching them the source of true strength. I love this quote: "Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity." (Margaret D. Nadauld, "The Joy of Womanhood")
Let’s talk Relief Society.
Let’s talk about the largest and oldest organization of women Let’s talk about the organization that boasts 5.5 million members that regularly visit each other on a monthly basis, provide meals for major life challenges, conduct monthly activities, teach every Sunday, and serve in their communities daily.
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When I tell my friends about what we consider normal for Relief Society, they are amazed. And they ought to be. Women are active. Women are vibrant. Women are doing “something extraordinary.”
Let’s just talk about what Relief Society does for women individually and what it can teach us about feminism.
Relief Society Teaches Us to Have Empathy
The difference between empathy and sympathy is that sympathy feels sorry that another person is having a difficult time, but empathy goes in a person’s dark place, listens, and helps lift the person out. We learn this in so many ways.