Relief Society

In The Priesthood Power of Women, the Relief Society is the institution that anchors Barbara Morgan Gardner’s argument about the scope of women’s purpose in the Church. The book’s central highlight is Joseph Smith’s teaching that the purpose of the Relief Society was “not just to relieve the poor but ‘to save souls’” — “such is the end point of charity,” he declared, “the pure love of Christ.” Kyle pulls this out as the page’s key note: the Relief Society’s purpose reframes welfare work as ultimately soteriological, not merely material relief, and he links it to a bishop’s “alleviate suffering” framing where charity’s wider end is the salvation of souls.

This sits inside the book’s larger thesis distinguishing God’s total priesthood power from the delegated authority of ordained offices, where the Relief Society’s “to save souls” mandate is treated as the end point of Charity rather than a subordinate auxiliary function.

Context: The Relief Society is the women’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, founded by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1842. It is one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the world and operates at the ward and stake level under a presidency.

Where this appears

• The Priesthood Power of Women — Joseph Smith’s stated purpose for the Relief Society (“to save souls,” not just relieve the poor) as the end point of charity