The Virtuous Woman

Anyone who knows me very well knows that one determining factor in my decision to join the LDS faith is the Relief Society, a worldwide women’s organization designed to provide relief for the needy and to bring people to Christ. In the late 1970’s I was on my way home after Sacrament meeting when a friend asked me to go to Relief Society with her. “What’s that?” I asked. Sarah simply said, “Come and see.” I did. Wow! I was “engaged” from the first moment. I’d never been to a meeting in which women from 18 to 100 (or even older) could and did attend. At that time we still had Cultural Refinement meetings, and that day the lesson was on Sri Lanka. HUH? I loved the idea that this was like school and church combined, the main difference being no tests.

Later that same summer, a young woman with a newborn baby came to my house and said that she was my visiting teacher. This seemed strange and wonderful at the same time. Here she was taking time from her busy schedule with her infant in tow to share a spiritual thought with me and see if there was anything I needed or that she could help me with. I knew from her spirit that she was sincere, and again I felt myself being drawn more towards this organization. Before Leann (I still remember her name) left, she shared this thought: A woman sets the emotional tone for the home. I was young, and that was news to me…good news, and news I’ve never forgotten. If Leann Bodine is out there in Blogland, I hope she reads this and knows that she everlastingly affected a sister and her family in Myrtle Beach nearly 30 years ago.

Years passed, and yet another influential sister moved into our ward. Truthfully, it wasn’t exactly “our” ward since I wasn’t a member, but I thought of it that way. By this time, I had a couple of children, and I could see how the church auxiliaries were blessing their young lives. Frances moved into our neighborhood, and she became my visiting teacher. Come rain or come shine, Frances would visit with a lesson, a laugh, a story, or a helping hand. I recall one hectic afternoon when I had come home from work with two little girls to occupy while I prepared dinner. Seeing that I couldn’t sit and talk, Frances came right into the kitchen and stirred my culinary concoctions on the stove while I tended to Carrie and Elizabeth’s immediate needs. Frances was (and still is) a powerful force for good in many people’s lives. So are Sarah, Dorothea, Cora Lee, Mary, Carol, Terri, Teri, Gail, and too many others to mention.

I hated to leave the beach area, but I did, and here in the midlands, I’ve found another group of sisters with strong testimonies and big hearts. This past Sunday, our Relief Society lesson was on visiting teaching, and to keep us mindful of our commitments, the Presidency gave us all a little souvenir and a reminder of how to live. The souvenir was a pretty to-do list, and we were encouraged to put “Be kind” at the top of our list each day. That might sound like a little thing to some people, but to me (and the people on my row), it’s a grand idea, especially since it goes with our motto, Charity Never Faileth.

One more story. Years ago I read an article in the Ensign that was based on journal entries from someone who lived years and years ago, probably in the 1800’s. When this person was a child, her family had to move away from friends, family, and familiar surroundings and relocate in a remote, cold, lonely, desolate place…or so it seemed to her. Tragedy befell the family in that one of her siblings died. The mother was distraught, and the sadness permeated the family and all of their activities. Nothing seemed right anymore, and they longed for their former associations.

One day, this little girl was looking out the window at the blanket of snow surrounding the modest home for as far as the eye could see. Conditions were brutal. As she stared at the horizon, she saw two figures trudging towards the house. On they came, slowly making their way, and suddenly the child realized who they were. Although she didn’t recognize their faces, she KNEW who they were: her mother’s visiting teachers. I don’t remember much else about this article, but I do remember how it ended. The writer said that even as a child, she had thought to herself, “What a church, what a church!”

It's an honor to be associated with so many women who exemplify the virtuous woman spoken of in Proverbs 31. While we're all far from perfect, it's wonderful to be associated with others who are also striving to be kind, love one another, and bring others unto Christ.

P.S. We have a lot of fun too, but that's a post for another day.