Relief Society birthday event March 17 to be worldwide devotional

This year is the 182nd anniversary of the organization of the Relief Society, one of the world’s oldest and largest women’s service organizations. 

A worldwide Relief Society devotional will be held Sunday, March 17, to commemorate the purpose and founding of the Relief Society, which took place March 17, 1842.

President Russell M. Nelson and the Relief Society general presidency — President Camille N. Johnson, Sister J. Anette Dennis and Sister Kristin M. Yee — will speak to women during the event.

Following the messages, women will have the opportunity to participate in a testimony meeting with their fellow Relief Society sisters and share their faith in Jesus Christ.

“We relish this opportunity to receive a message from our dear Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, directed specifically to members of the Relief Society,” President Johnson said.

All members of Relief Society and young women turning 18 in 2024 are invited to participate, explained a notice on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Relief Societies are encouraged to gather in stakes or wards for the devotional and testimony meeting the evening of March 17. If travel constraints make gathering in the evening difficult, members may wish to gather in person at another time that day. The notice says leaders may stream the devotional and testimony meeting to those who cannot attend in person.

Relief Society sisters can connect globally through social media with the hashtag #JesusChristIsRelief.

The brief prerecorded video will be available several days before the event in American Sign Language, Cantonese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Closed captioning will be available in English on supported devices.

The video can be accessed at the ChurchofJesusChrist.org broadcast page and in Gospel Library. The video may also be streamed on demand from:

A similar event was held in October 2023 where youth gathered with their branches, wards and stakes for a youth worldwide day of testimony. They listened to a message from the Prophet and then bore testimonies of Jesus Christ with each other in smaller groups like wards or stakes. Next, youth are invited to a worldwide discussion event on discipleship on Jan. 28.

Jesus Christ is relief

When the Relief Society was organized on March 17, 1842, the 20 women gathered upstairs in the Red Brick Store had two missions — to relieve suffering and to save souls. 

Now, nearly 7 million members of the Relief Society provide temporal and spiritual relief to sisters and brothers around the world.

During the Sunday morning session of April 2023 general conference, President Johnson testified of the relief found in Jesus Christ.

“I testify that Jesus Christ is relief. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we may be relieved of the burden and consequences of sin and be succored in our infirmities.”

During 2023 BYU Women’s Conference, President Johnson spoke about becoming agents of the Savior’s relief.

By aligning themselves with the Savior, she said, covenant keepers can be instruments in the Savior’s hands, helping others experience His relief.

“Whenever we do anything to bring relief to others — temporal or spiritual — we are bringing them to Jesus Christ and will be blessed to find our own relief in Him.”

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