In the second session of the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Relief Society presidency was changed. Sisters Julie B. Beck, Silvia H. Allred, and Barbara Thompson were released. Sister Linda K. Burton was called as the new president (center of photo), Sister Carole M. Stephens as first counselor (left), and Sister Linda S. Reeves as second counselor (right).

Read more about the new General Relief Society Presidency at the Mormon/LDS Newsroom.

We are so grateful to Sister Beck and her counselors and board for all that they have done to lead and guide Mormon women around the world. We support and are grateful for the new leaders who were called today.

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Several weeks ago, Elisa at Mormon Mommy Bloggers (MMB) posted that Sister Julie B. Beck was opening up the floor, as it were, for women to ask questions that could be taken back to her to address. Recently the discussion that ensued between Elisa and Julie Beck was posted today at the Mormon Channel.

Questions Precede Revelation: Q&A Discussion with Julie B. Beck

Sister Beck discusses such things as how questions are a gospel pattern, how to engage questions and pose them in a spirit of faith, how unity and sisterhood can help Relief Society to create a climate that is safe enough for women to ask questions. Mormon blogging is discussed. Sister Beck talks about how repetition in reading and studying scriptures and other resouces can help us get answers and gain insights — about how our life experience and the Spirit helps us engage with different lenses at different times. She also talks about the “war chapters” in the Book of Mormon and how they can be relevant to us in the battles and challenges in our lives. She gives examples of how to go to the scriptures with faith-filled questions to find answers from God.

This is how Elisa summed up their discussion:

We discuss questions, how to receive answers to questions; where questions should come from: point of faith vs. point of doubt; pornography and how to fight it- in practical terms; blogs and faith; she offered words of comfort for those who feel as though their questions are not being answered and she bore her testimony on the purpose, power and role that asking questions plays in our faith and in our religion.

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These are powerful talks. We are excited to be able to share them!

President Monson: “Joy in the Journey”

Sister Julie Beck: “Strengthen Thy Stakes: Standing Strong and Immovable in Faith”

Sister Sheri Dew: “Awake, Arise, and Come unto Christ”

Elder Russell and Sister Lolly Osguthorpe: “A Partnership of Equals: Neither if the Man without the Woman, Neither the Woman without the Man”

Sister Mary Ellen Edmunds and Brother Jeffrey Clayton:“Turning the MTC into a Review, not a Revelation”

Do you have some thoughts or impressions to share about a talk you have heard? We invite you to share what you appreciated about these talks, either by submitting a First Person essay, or commenting on a relevant topic in our Our Thoughts section. How did the talk help you? What might you do differently because of what you have heard? What excited you about what was taught?

Another way to share is to pick a quote from a talk and sharing what inspired you about that quote.

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This will only be available for a couple more weeks, so watch it while you can! It’s a great spiritual feast and also a wonderful exploration of some very important themes, including faith, womanhood, missionary work and preparation, modesty and chastity, equal partnership in marriage….

UPDATE: You can get part of Elizabeth Ricks’ talk as well as Barbara Thompson’s talk (both on the topic “Lay Hold Upon Every Good Gift”). Sister Thompson will have you laughing as she talks about her anti-gifts and then will inspire you as she turns to the scriptures, particularly Romans 12. The trick is to go to Thursday, May 15 on the Move Media player and slide the playback marker to about 53 minutes into the broadcast. It’s better than nothing, no?

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Talk titles (where available) and featured speakers include the following:

Awake, Arise, and Come unto Him by Sheri Dew

“Lay Hold upon Every Good Gift” by Elizabeth Ricks and Barbara Thompson (second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency)

Sacred Relationships and Self-Reliance by Ana Maria Coburn and Silvia H. Allred (first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency)

“Temple Worship Is an Avenue to Exaltation in God’s Kingdom” by Marilyn S. Bateman and Elder Merrill J. Bateman (matron and president of the Provo Utah Temple)

Strengthening Thy Stakes: Standing Strong and Immovable in Faith by Julie B. Beck (general president of the Relief Society)

“My Body Is the Temple My Father Gave to Me”: Teaching Children Virtue and Chastity by Ann Farnsworth and Cheryl C. Lant (General President of the Primary)

A Partnership of Equals: “Neither Is the Man without the Woman, Neither the Woman without the Man” by Lolly Osguthorpe and Russell Osguthorpe (who is an Area Authority Seventy for the area including Brigham Young University (for more information on Area Authority Seventies, see this talk))

Closing Session by President Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Speakers include President Thomas S. Monson, who was the concluding speaker, Julie B. Beck (General Relief Society President), Sheri Dew, Cheryl Lant (General Primary President), Marilyn S. Bateman and Elder Merrill Bateman (now matron and presidehnot, Barbara Thompson and Silvia Allred (counselors in the Relief Society General Presidency), Lolly Osguthorpe and her husband,

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A recent article summarized how Sister Julie Beck, the general (worldwide) president of this organization, describes Relief Society:

“[R]egardless of the roles [that women in the Church currently fill in their lives], each woman has in common the opportunity to be a part of an organization that teaches how to build faith in Jesus Christ, encourages study and self-improvement, emphasizes the divine worth of women, exercises charity and service, strengthens families and creates a system of support and friendship.”

For more on this topic, please see the following links:President Thomas S. Monson: The Spirit of Relief Society
lds.org index entry on Relief Society
Relief Society Program Strengthens Mormon Women (“[Sister Julie] Beck [the general president of the Relief Society] says that regardless of the roles, each woman has in common the opportunity to be a part of an organization that teaches how to build faith in Jesus Christ, encourages study and self-improvement, emphasizes the divine worth of women, exercises charity and service, strengthens families and creates a system of support and friendship.”)

More Church newsroom articles on women and Relief Society can be found here

What Should I Expect From a Relief Society Meeting?

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