Part of the joy I find in being a Mormon woman is in gathering together with women in my congregation (called wards or branches). We as church “sisters” (that’s what we call each other) have occasional Enrichment meetings and activities. We learn together, eat together, strengthen our faith together, and have fun together. Sometimes the gatherings are large (as in when women from several wards/branches meet together for stake/district Relief Society meetings), and sometimes they are small.
Tonight, I went to an Enrichment activity at a woman’s home. About ten of us gathered in her kitchen, dipping delicious chocolates — caramels, nougats, nuts, fondants, cherries…. We chatted as we dipped. We nibbled as we worked. We chuckled as we made mistakes. (I made many — I was a first-timer.) The talented woman who hosted the gathering even provided gift boxes for those women who had enough self-control to share.
I had a great time. It was a relaxing opportunity to be together, to enjoy a treat we all happen to love, to anticipate the smiles of the recipients of our little edible treasures (I’m giving one to my mom for Mother’s Day) — and especially to savor the blessing that is sisterhood. It’s amazing what kinds of connections and conversations can happen over spinning pot of melted chocolate. I talked to the hostess’s sister who is going through round two of cancer after a 15-year reprieve. Sisters asked me about my life and family. While learning a skill and sharing some work, we got to know each other better. I left rejuvenated and strengthened.
Have you ever wondered what life is like for Mormon women? Do you know a Mormon woman? Maybe you could ask her what the sisters in her area are doing for their next Enrichment activity. These activities are simple ways to get a taste of Mormon life, to see what our sisterhood and our faith mean to us. But beware. You might be surprised by how much fun you can have.
(p.s. To you Mormon women, will you comment here and share what kinds of Enrichment activities you have in your area, just to help people see the variety of things we do?)
-by Michelle
Some of our Enrichment activities have included:
*A yearly “Picnic in the Park” where we gather for a potluck and just socialize.
*Learning how to change the oil and tires on a car.
*Having classes on different ways to prepare for natural disasters –at this one I learned how to turn off our hot water heater and gas line; make and store 72 hour kits; plan for earthquake, fire, or flood evacuation, etc.
*My neighbor (who is from Samoa) taught a great Polynesian cooking class.
*Yearly Christmas dinners with a musical program.
*Our Stake (a collection of several wards make up a “Stake”) held one where they talked about Depression and other mental-health related topics.
*A friend of mine came to our ward to discuss healthy eating –and we got to sample food!
*One time we did a Breakfast Cooking Class and we had myriads of breakfast foods to try.
*This month our ward is wanting to talk more about provident living, and so there will be an Economist coming to talk to us about the Recession.
Enrichment is fabulous! I love going…
My favorite Enrichment Night was one we had last year. It was called P.R.O.M. night. The acronym stood for Promoting Relief Societies Outstanding Members.
First we had a fashion show where the young women (ages 12 18) modeled the older women’s prom dresses from the 50’s to 90’s. Oh I really loved one dress that reminded me of Jaqueline Kennedy with long white gloves and hip length matching jacket with flared sleeves. It matched the models eyes perfectly and was orginally worn by a woman in my ward who is in her sixties. It was so classy.
Another girl modeled a dress I wore to my 8th grade graduation. It was orange tafeta with a 3 tier skirt and an enormous bow on the back. So 80’s!
After the fashion show that left us all laughing and hooting at the funny fashions of years gone by we had a 30 second get to know you exercise. All of the younger girls (ages 12 – 18) sat in a long line of chairs and facing them were the older Relief Society sisters. We had a list of questions we could ask each other or make up our own. We moved every 30 seconds to meet the next person in line. After the activity we found ourselves giggling an laughing and completely ignoring silly things like generation gaps. It was so fun.
After that we had formal refreshments and viewed actual Prom pictures that decorated the walls.
This activity was such fun and really bonded all the ages of women in our ward.
I’m not a Mormon girl, but recently I feel I’ve lost my way with the lord. I go to FCA almost every Friday and I feel out of place sometime, I see how strong the other girls bonds with the lord is and I feel small and weak in comparison. I want to find a deeper connection with the lord, and I want it to be apart of my every waking moment not just on Friday mornings. I’ve been learning about Mormonism recently when I read a book against them, but to me it seemed the book was bias and that there had to be more to this religion then what this girl was saying. So I’ve been looking into it. I’ve always felt different then my family my father is atheist and my mother, well I’m not sure what she is. I grew in a mixed up family where my mother did drugs and my father drank a lot, so most of the time my older sister took care of me and I took care of my little sister. I went to foster care for awhile with a catholic family and I never could connect with their way of thinking. They were good people but I didn’t understand them. Ever sense I was a child I was never interested in school, I always played by myself and have always enjoyed anything dealing with children or that of a wives role. So now looking into this religion and hearing how much fun you have together and you talking about the sisterhood you have, I can’t help but feel envious. My sisters and I are not close and I often feel alone in my home. I want something that can be apart of my entire life that follows more along the lines of my inner beliefs. I’ve always believed that I should stay at home and raise children, I’m only eighteen and for years now I’ve been finding myself longing for children and a strong bond. I’ve never been able to find a close relationship with the lord but I want one. I was hoping that you could tell me something more about your role as a wife and as a Mormon woman, what the guidelines or rules are (the most important of course). I just need someone to tell me on a more personal level what its like, and how it affects your day to day life. If you could help me with this I would appreciate it a lot. Thank you for listening.
We have a group of sisters that gathers together every couple of weeks to quilt. Another group that gathers once every other month to discuss books, and another group that meets each month to learn new things in a cooking group.
As a member of the largest women’s group in the world, the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), we have lots of opportunities to meet together to develop friendships, learn new things, and most importantly of all – to serve one another in various ways. Sometimes everyone of us need a little help. Maybe we just feel downhearted. and need to know someone cares or sometimes we get sick. By visiting and helping each other we become friends. We gather strength to live up to our religious beliefs from one another.