Future adjustments to the Sunday class meeting schedule of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will mean that Relief Society and elders quorum meetings will once again be held weekly.
Instead of biweekly meetings that last approximately 50 minutes, these meetings are 25 minutes long and are held after Sunday School classes.
“We are very excited about the changes coming in September: the opportunity to gather as Relief Society sisters every Sunday,” Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson said in a post on Worldwide’s social media accounts.
The general presidency has received many questions about what this will look like, including counseling together, considering maximizing Sunday time, and preparing at home. President Johnson and his counselors, Sister J. Annette Dennis and Sister Christine M. Yee, addressed this in social media videos and Church News interviews.
President Johnson said weekly meetings will further focus on the teachings of Jesus Christ, strengthen gospel learning at home, and increase women’s sense of fellowship and belonging, allowing them to feel like they have a voice in the Church.
Counseling in Relief Society
For several years now, women have been counseling Relief Society establishments by choosing a specific topic to talk about, focusing on Jesus Christ.
“And the great thing about this is that we use that practice that we do in our Relief Society lesson time,” President Johnson said.
Relief Society and elders quorum meetings will continue to feature selected talks from the most recent general conference. As local Relief Society presidencies and ward councils prayerfully consider which conference talks to use each week, President Johnson hopes to select the talks with the needs and concerns of the sisters in mind.
Relief Society teachers then use the doctrines and principles from the conference talks to engage in open discussion, or counseling, with Relief Society sisters about how those principles apply through our Savior, Jesus Christ, today.
Sister Dennis said the past few years have been practice for what’s to come.
“This counseling time, this discussion time, can really become a council, which deepens your relationship with your Savior, Jesus Christ,” she said. “We always want to keep our focus on the Lord, and when we counsel together as sisters, we’re going to continue to feel like we’re included and have a voice. And we’re really not losing anything with this change.”
Councils and discussions instead of lessons
It is important that the local Relief Society presidency informs the sisters of the schedule for what stories will be discussed each week so that they can study and prepare at home.
President Johnson said thinking of Sunday time not as a lesson but as a council or discussion will make it most productive and spiritually fulfilling. The teacher acts as a discussion leader, asking good questions and guiding the answers to help students use their time wisely.
President Johnson said that if he were to lead a discussion in Relief Society on Sunday about the last general conference talk entitled “For the Cause of Jesus Christ” by Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he might begin the lesson with the following:
“‘Sisters, I know you’re juggling a lot of balls: yellow balls, green balls, red balls, striped balls, polka dot balls. What acts of devotion do you do every day to stay focused on Jesus Christ?”
“You know, questions like that open up discussions and we try to take the principles that Elder Renlund taught so beautifully and apply those principles to the needs of our sisters.”
Teachers don’t have to share the whole story or feel like they have to keep using the same story the next week. Weekly meetings allow members to learn and discuss additional talks, especially from the Church’s 15 leading prophets, seers, and revelators.
Notifications in various ways
Sister Yee said it was important to use 25 minutes to advise on these principles during general conference talks, which meant the presentations needed to look a little different.
“Sometimes I see us spending a quarter of the meeting time presenting. We have to think about what to say, what is concise and important, or what can be shared,” she said.
Other communication channels can also be used, such as email, text messages, WhatsApp groups, flyers, blackboards and whiteboards, the district website, and social media pages.
The president needs to find a communication channel that works for the sisters so he can have more time on Sunday.
“The Lord is teaching us here that He wants us to focus on what matters most, and that is counseling our sisters about what is important and their needs,” Sister Yi said.
