Sisterhood
From The Encyclopedia of Mormonism
See this page in the original 1992 publication.
Author: Cannon, Janath Russell
Author: Mulvay-Derr, Jill
Sisterhood, like brotherhood, is rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ that views God as the actual father of the immortal and eternal spirits of earthly women and men. President Barbara B. Smith of the Relief Society, said in 1976, "We look upon ourselves as being part of the family of the Lord, and so our sisterhood is one that has a deep understanding of this relationship" (Smith, pp. 7-8). Sisterhood in this broad sense includes all women in the world.
The title "Sister" also has a more special meaning in reference to the women of the Church. Every Latter-day Saint woman is appropriately called "sister." The term does not relate to a woman's profession or ecclesiastical calling, as it does in some religious and professional groups. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often refer to women members collectively as "the sisterhood of the Church," "sisters in the gospel," or simply as "the sisters."
"The sisterhood of the Church" may refer specifically to members of the Relief Society, organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842, which includes all adult women of the Church-over two million in 1990. Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet's mother, expressed the sisterly quality of the society in a classic statement: "This institution is a good one," she told the women assembled in their second meeting. "We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another, and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together" (Relief Society Minutes of Nauvoo, Mar. 24, 1842, LDS Church Archives). A later prophet would speak of "a society of sisters," and refer to "the loving fellowship" of the Relief Society visiting teaching program, which from the beginning has been a channel for sisterly concern (Kimball, p. 2).
The organizational network of the Church promotes sisterhood by providing women opportunities to work and study together, to share religious convictions, and to serve others in charitable ways. Like Dorcas in the early Christian church (Acts 9:36), LDS sisters have traditionally sewn clothing for the needy. In the late nineteenth century they worked together in producing silk, saving grain, and managing retail stores. Later they held nurse training classes and sponsored maternal and child health clinics. They have also extended their service through cooperation with the Red Cross and other community agencies. The nature of the tasks has changed with time, but the sisterhood itself continues.
Several publications have helped to expand this network of concern. The sisters published Woman's Exponent from 1872 to 1914, Relief Society Bulletin in 1914, and Relief Society Magazine from 1915 to 1970. Currently, the Ensign, the Church's monthly magazine for adults, carries articles by and about women, messages from women leaders, and reports of women's conferences. The international magazines carry much of the same material in translation, keeping the sisters of the Church in touch worldwide.
Contributions from sisters in many nations financed two major projects in the 1950s and 1970s: the Relief Society headquarters building in Salt Lake City and the Monument to Women statuary gardens in Nauvoo, Illinois. At the dedication of the latter in 1978, some twenty thousand women celebrated their sisterhood at the place where their society had begun. In 1984, the Relief Society Building also became the headquarters of the primary (for children) and of the young women (girls twelve to eighteen), enabling the general women leaders of the Church to work closely together in their mutual concern for nurturing the young.
Since the early days of the Church, women's service in the temples of the Church has contributed a profound religious dimension to their sisterhood. By participating in temple ordinances, in which they minister by divine commission to their "sisters in the gospel," worthy LDS women can help ensure the eternal nature of family ties and create friendships in the process.
The sisters also sustain each other in personal ways. Like Ruth and Naomi, the women of the early LDS Church who left homes and friends to live in a strange land found comfort in each other's loving support. Women who join the Church today often need the same kind of support as do those who are uprooted in an increasingly mobile society. To an elderly woman living alone, sisterhood may mean the assurance that she is not forgotten but has friends and significant work to do with them, perhaps in a nearby temple. To a young mother it can mean practical help in her home and empathetic sharing of problems in a Relief Society class.
Although LDS sisterhood includes a rich diversity of cultures, and occasional disagreements over local issues, its most important aspect is still the bonding relationship of a common faith. As one sister said of that faith, "It is a bond that connects women with women and with the Savior across generations" (Peterson, p. 79).
[edit] Bibliography
Mulvay-Derr, Jill. ""Strength in Our Union': The Making of Mormon Sisterhood." In Sisters in Spirit, ed. M. Beecher and L. Anderson. Urbana, Ill., 1987.
Kimball, Spencer W. "Relief Society: Its Promise and Potential." Ensign 6 (Mar. 1976):2-5.
Peterson, Grethe B. "BYU Women's Conference Draws Thousands." Ensign 10 (Apr. 1980):79.
Smith, Barbara B. "A Conversation with Sister Barbara B. Smith, Relief Society General President." Ensign 6 (Mar. 1976):7-8.
JANATH RUSSELL CANNON
JILL MULVAY-DERR
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