Who I Am Today

Dear Sisters,

Along with the women and Laurels in our ward, men in our ward have also been encouraged to read Daughters in My Kingdom.  With so many people in our house having the same reading goal we felt it would also benefit our young boys.  Reading Daughters in My Kingdom could help shape their views about the true role of a woman and increase their respect towards all women, providing a counter balance to the voices of the world.

To incorporate our reading goals, our family began reading Daughters in My Kingdom as part of our family scripture study.  Each morning at 6am we gather around our dining room table and take turns reading from the book.  Currently, we are in the middle of chapter 7.

I have enjoyed reading Daughters in My Kingdom.  I find that I regularly take my membership in Relief Society for granted.  Reading this book has caused me to reflect on the impact that my membership in Relief Society has had in my life and ask myself, "Am I upholding the great tradition of Charity through the Relief Society that has endured since it's inception, or am I treating Relief Society as just the name of a class I attend on Sunday?"

Relief Society has touched all aspects of my life.  Relief Society sisters are the women who rejoice when I have born children, and have taken care of my family when illness struck.  Relief Society sisters are the women who I trust to instruct my children in primary and young women's.  Relief Society sisters are the women who I partner with to teach my children in a co-op preschool.    Relief Society sisters are the women who I carpool with, exercise with, double date with, and call on for a last minute babysitter.

Relief Society sisters are the women who uplift me every Sunday as they share their testimonies of the Gospel and of the Savior in sacrament meetings and during class times.  Hearing them talk about what is most precious and prized to them creates a bond with them that lasts for a lifetime and survives changes in wards and even states. 

 Relief Society sisters are the women who have taught me how to be a better person.  I will never forget the sister who taught me through her example how to fulfill my nursery calling, which skills transferred over to benefit my own young children.  Nor will I forget the Relief Society sisters who suffered with me as I struggled to fulfill my Relief Society pianist calling, and hugged me after a particularly trying hymn.  I certainly won't forget the sister who taught me how to make and can homemade sauerkraut. But especially, I won't forget the sisters who taught me through their examples how to love unconditionally, as they nurtured handicapped children, rebellious teenagers, aging parents, and wayward husbands. 

I love the Relief Society motto, Charity Never Faileth, and I love President George Albert Smith's counsel to Sister Spafford.  "Do you always thinks in terms of what you get?  Don't you think also in terms of what you have to give?  Continue your membership in these councils and make your influence felt." 

Thinking back, I've gotten so much from my membership in Relief Society and it has shaped who I am today, and for that I am thankful.  But even if I don't get another thing from Relief Society, my actions will be, what can I give and how can I make my influence felt.  I want to be part of the great tradition and history of Relief Society.

Love,

Sister Cicotte

Willowbrook Ward