Events

Important Events in the History of Relief Society

April 6, 1830

The Church is organized.

1830

Detail from Emma Hale Smith, by Lee Greene Richards. © 1941 IRI.

Joseph Smith receives a revelation for his wife Emma (see D&C 25).

March 17, 1842

Detail from Organization of the Relief Society, by Nadine B. Barton. © 1985 IRI.

The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo is organized; Emma Smith is chosen as president.

1843

Detail from Pioneer Women, by Julie Rogers. © Julie Rogers.

Emma Smith and her counselors appoint visiting committees in the wards in Nauvoo, Illinois.

June 27, 1844

Detail from Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, by Gary Smith. © 1984 IRI.

The Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum are martyred at the Carthage Jail.

February 1846

The Saints begin leaving Nauvoo.

1846

The Nauvoo Temple is dedicated.

July 1847

The first pioneer company reaches the Salt Lake Valley.

1867

Brigham Young calls on bishops to reestablish the Relief Society in every ward.

1870

Photograph of Brigham Young by C. R. Savage. Courtesy Church History Library.

Detail from Organization of the Retrenchment Association by Brigham Young, 1869, by Dale Kilbourn. © IRI.

The Young Ladies Department of the Cooperative Junior and Senior Retrenchment Association is established for young women.

1872

The Relief Society supports the publishing of the Woman’s Exponent.

1873

Relief Society sisters are encouraged to receive medical training.

1876

Detail from Zina Diantha Huntington Young. Courtesy Church History Museum.

The Deseret Silk Association is established, with Zina D. H. Young as president.

1878

Detail from The First Meeting of the Primary Association, by Lynn Fausett and Gordon Cope. © IRI.

The Primary organization is established for children.

1882

The Relief Society establishes the Deseret Hospital.

1890

Wilford Woodruff receives a revelation leading to the discontinuance of the practice of plural marriage.

1893

Photograph of Salt Lake Temple. Courtesy Church History Library.

Photograph of Salt Lake Temple dedication ticket. Courtesy Church History Library.

The Salt Lake Temple is dedicated.

1913

“Charity never faileth” becomes the Relief Society motto.

1915

The Relief Society begins publishing the Relief Society Magazine.

1916

Visiting teachers begin discussing a gospel message with sisters each month.

1918

The Relief Society sells 200,000 bushels of wheat to the United States government.

1921

The Relief Society establishes a maternity hospital.

1936

The First Presidency establishes the Church welfare program.

1944

Visiting teachers stop collecting donations and focus instead on ministering to the sisters they visit.

1954

Belle S. Spafford leads the United States delegation at the International Council of Women.

1956

The Relief Society Building is dedicated in Salt Lake City.

1969

The Relief Society Social Service Department is incorporated into Church Welfare and Social Services.

1971

The Relief Society Magazine is discontinued and replaced with the Ensign.

1978

Statue titled Joyful Moment by Dennis Smith.

The Monument to Women Memorial Garden is dedicated in Nauvoo.

September 16, 1978

The first general Relief Society meeting is held.

1987

A monthly visiting teaching message is included in the international magazine (now the Liahona) and the Ensign.

1992

Photograph of women serving © Jason Swensen.

Sisters celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Relief Society by participating in service projects in their communities.

September 23, 1995

President Gordon B. Hinckley reads “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” in a general Relief Society meeting.

1997

Relief Societies, high priests groups, and elders quorums begin to study from the same curriculum on Sundays.

2004

Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary general presidents participate in the first worldwide leadership training meeting for auxiliaries.

2009

Sisters at general Relief Society meeting

Relief Society membership reaches 6 million.

2011

The Church observes the 75th anniversary of the welfare program.

Relief Society General Presidencies

• President: Emma Hale Smith, 1842–44. First Counselor: Sarah Marietta Kingsley Cleveland, 1842–44. Second Counselor: Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney, 1842–44.

• President: Eliza Roxcy Snow, 1880–87 (see pages 41–44). First Counselor: Zina Diantha Huntington Young, 1880–88. Second Counselor: Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney, 1880–82.

• President: Zina Diantha Huntington Young, 1888–1901. First Counselor: Jane Snyder Richards, 1888–1901. Second Counselor: Bathsheba Wilson Smith, 1888–1901.

• President: Bathsheba Wilson Smith, 1901–10. First Counselor: Annie Taylor Hyde, 1901–9. Second Counselor: Ida Smoot Dusenberry, 1901–10.

• President: Emmeline Woodward B. Wells, 1910–21. First Counselor: Clarissa Smith Williams, 1910–21. Second Counselor: Julina Lambson Smith, 1910–21.

• President: Clarissa Smith Williams, 1921–28. First Counselor: Jennie Brimhall Knight, 1921–28. Second Counselor: Louise Yates Robison, 1921–28.

• President: Louise Yates Robison, 1928–39. First Counselor: Amy Brown Lyman, 1928–39. Second Counselors: Julia Alleman Child, 1928–35; Kate Montgomery Barker, 1935–39.

• President: Amy Brown Lyman, 1940–45. First Counselor: Marcia Knowlton Howells, 1940–45. Second Counselors: Donna Durrant Sorensen, 1940–42; Belle Smith Spafford, 1942–45.

• President: Belle Smith Spafford, 1945–74. First Counselor: Marianne Clark Sharp, 1945–74. Second Counselors: Gertrude Ryberg Garff, 1945–47; Velma Nebeker Simonsen, 1947–56; Helen Woodruff Anderson, 1957–58; Louise Wallace Madsen, 1958–74.

• President: Barbara Bradshaw Smith, 1974–84. First Counselors: Janath Russell Cannon, 1974–78; Marian Richards Boyer, 1978–84. Second Counselors: Marian Richards Boyer, 1974–78; Shirley Wilkes Thomas, 1978–83; Ann Stoddard Reese, 1983–84.

• President: Barbara Woodhead Winder, 1984–90. First Counselor: Joy Frewin Evans, 1984–90. Second Counselor: Joanne Bushman Doxey, 1984–90.

• President: Elaine Low Jack, 1990–97. First Counselor: Chieko Nishimura Okazaki, 1990–97. Second Counselor: Aileen Hales Clyde, 1990–97.

• President: Mary Ellen Wood Smoot, 1997–2002. First Counselor: Virginia Urry Jensen, 1997–2002. Second Counselor: Sheri L. Dew, 1997–2002.

• President: Bonnie Dansie Parkin, 2002–7. First Counselor: Kathleen Hurst Hughes, 2002–7. Second Counselor: Anne Clark Pingree, 2002–7.

• President: Julie Bangerter Beck, beginning in 2007. First Counselor: Silvia Henríquez Allred, beginning in 2007. Second Counselor: Barbara Thompson, beginning in 2007.