General Relief Society Devotional 2025
April 28, 2025 Discussion
Materials Studied:
Conversation between President Camille Johnson, Sister Anette Dennis, and Sister Kristin Yee: Relief Society: A Covenant Community Elder Dale G. Renlund: Accessing God’s Power
Group Discussion:
We loved President Johnson’s terms, covenant confidence, and covenant community.
There is a sense of unity with others when we know that we pray the same prayers for family and friends as they are or did—our lineage starts in Nauvoo, Illinois.
Adjust thinking on ministering—the next level will be no assignment to minister. Follow the spirit, be aware of others' needs, and learn to ease burdens.
Sister Yee - stability comes in Jesus Christ
We felt like we were standing on the shoulders of our ancestors. Emma Smith’s courage is part of our heritage.
One mentioned that she wants to pass on her strength to the next generation—this hope keeps her moving forward.
What we say at the veil of the temple changes everything. We need to believe what we say and hear in the temple ordinances. The blessing we received during the temple Initiatory ordinance is powerful. We need all those blessings right now. One commented that she needs and sometimes can feel that power going straight to her brain, eyes, and ears—every way to discern truth is covered by those blessings.
Our temple covenants bring so much peace and joy, and the saints in Nauvoo don’t even know half of it. But they know enough to want to wait for the temple to open before they leave Nauvoo.
The endowment gives us power, but also the power to heal us.
Elder Renlund: Throughout his remarks, he says “God’s power”—he doesn’t say priesthood power but repeatedly says God’s power— “God’s power is not an amorphous cosmic force that is independent of Him. The power He offers is not like a magic lamp that grants wishes or a saintly relic that purports to be a source of power. Even the garment of the holy priesthood is not itself powerful. No, God’s power is necessarily connected with Him and His purposes.”
The garment of the holy priesthood represents our covenants.
“The spirit is so strong” — the Spirit is always there, it’s up to us on the level we feel the Spirit. We have to be willing to do the work to feel and recognize the Spirit with us—
Being angry is usually about fear or boundaries being crossed. If you are angry about the church, look at the possibility of fear or crossed boundaries driving the anger.
The Church is collaborative and should show that both perspectives are necessary. Relief Society, and you are crucial to this work. As President Russell M. Nelson taught, “The kingdom of God is not and cannot be complete without women who make sacred covenants and then keep them, women who can speak with the power and authority of God.”
We don’t know what we don’t know
Melissa Inouye - we aren’t stuck, we are in a living church—
Changes will continue—don’t look back—keep moving forward. We are part of a global church—what works for us doesn’t work for everyone— we are not just a Utah church
No one should ever connect garments to modesty—it is tied to our covenants and Jesus Christ.
Elder Renlund: Covenant-keeping women are “scattered upon all the face of the earth” and are “armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”
God’s power will help you to protect, defend, and strengthen others.
Elder Renlund: Thirty-six years later, President Nelson articulated words that resonate with me. He taught, “When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours.” That’s how Ruth prayed. And that power came.
A friend recently observed the immediate connection when two LDS women meet or are introduced—
Anthony Sweat - We Need an Endowment - “There are many more ways we can be endowed with power through learning and then diligently living the covenants and concepts communicated through the temple endowment ceremony. After a recent endowment session, I sat down and privately wrote down forty spiritual powers that I felt the endowment could facilitate in my life if I followed its holy teachings. And that barely scratches the surface. There is so much that an all-powerful God wants to bestow upon His covenant children.”
“I can’t do this,” and the words will come when she needs them. The answer is sometimes: “Let me do my work.”
Elder Renlund’s instructive message elevated the discussion and my thought process. He laid it out clearly —I was enlightened in many ways.
Elder Renlund: Yes, sisters, you are doing something extraordinary, and you can experience something extraordinary. Thank you for your faith, for your strength, for your capacity to lead, for your wisdom, for your willingness and ability to make and keep covenants with God. You bring blessings to yourselves, your families, the Church, your communities, and the world. You have God’s power to help you be good and do good. He is counting on you. His Church is counting on you. May God bless you in your continued discipleship. God lives. Jesus is the Christ, your Savior, and mine. He is your kind, wise, heavenly friend. He has restored His Church to the earth. These things I know. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Extra Notes:
Anthony Sweat - We Need an Endowment
Thursday Morning Keynote at BYU Women’s Conference 2024 by Jennifer Kerns Davis
Anti-Mormon of 26 Years is Re-baptized After God Responds to Prayers // Dusty Smith Story