From YA Weekly
Does Relief Society Feel Unfamiliar? There Is a Seat for You There
Transitioning to Relief Society can seem intimidating, but joining a sisterhood of covenant keepers allows the Savior to work through you and bring you relief.
The first time I walked into my new Relief Society, I wanted to turn around and run! I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t see anyone my age. And I definitely didn’t feel like I belonged.
Just a few months earlier, I was in a married student ward in Hawaii, USA, with my husband, Johnny, where most of us were newly married, navigating school, and thinking about starting families. Before that, I was in a student YSA ward that felt like an extension of Young Women. We were all unmarried, childless students, so it was easy to relate, make friends, and serve.
But that season of comfort and similarity didn’t last forever.
What Relief Society Is Meant to Be
After graduating, Johnny and I moved back to the mainland and began attending a family ward. And wow—did Relief Society feel like a culture shock! Suddenly I was surrounded by sisters ages 18 to 98: single, married, divorced, widowed; some with children, some without; some working, studying, raising kids, or retired, and everything in between.
I wasn’t sure where I fit in.
A few weeks in, I got a ministering assignment, and I didn’t feel I had much in common with the sisters I was asked to serve or serve with.
Still, I tried to show up. At first I would send them quick texts or have some post-church chats, mostly just so I could say that I’d contacted them. But my ministering companion was intentional and kind. One day, she suggested we take each of our sisters out for ice cream. I was hesitant. I’m introverted and tend to be quiet around people I don’t know well. But I do love ice cream, so I agreed.
That weekend, my van broke down. The repairs would cost more than the van was worth. It was time to buy a new car. Johnny and I had been saving and were prepared, but it still felt like a lot. So, after a 10-hour workday and a stressful evening of test-driving cars, I really didn’t feel like meeting anyone, even for ice cream.
But I showed up anyway, late and exhausted.
To my surprise, the sisters were thrilled to see me. We ended up talking for hours. I couldn’t relate to their toddler potty-training stories, but I realized we had more in common than I thought. One sister had also been dealing with car trouble, and we bonded over the frustration.
That night wasn’t just about ministering. It showed me what Relief Society is meant to be: a spiritual community where covenant women lift, strengthen, and love each other as disciples of Christ.
Former Relief Society General President Julie B. Beck described that the Lord envisioned more than just a Sunday meeting: “He intended Relief Society to help build His people … [and] align His daughters with His work.”
A Sisterhood for Every Season
Relief Society isn’t defined by marital status, age, or motherhood. It’s a divine organization for all adult women: students, moms, single sisters, returned missionaries, career builders, all united by our covenants and discipleship.
That unity and sisterhood is deeply needed. Sister J. Annette Dennis, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, taught: “As we go out and genuinely put our arms around others and let them feel our love, then they often start to feel the Savior’s love as well.”
That’s what Relief Society offers: a community of covenant-keeping women striving to see and serve each other the way the Savior would.
As a young adult, whether you’re freshly returned from a mission, newly married, figuring out adulting, or still searching for your place, Relief Society is for you. There is a seat for you there. And sometimes, all it takes is showing up—tired, unsure, or even a little reluctant—to open the door for the Savior to work through you and to build beautiful connections with your sisters.
If you haven’t yet, reach out to one of your Relief Society sisters this week. Your small acts of faith might be the very thing that brings someone else, and yourself, a little closer to the Savior’s relief.