Barbara B. Smith died on September 13, 2010. She served as the General Relief Society President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) from 1974 to 1984 and was the first president born in that century. As General Relief Society president, she oversaw this official women’s auxiliary for the entire world-wide church. A life as a wife and as a mother of seven might not seem to be the usual preparation to head up one of the largest women’s organizations in the world, but it taught her organization, leadership, teaching skills, and service. Over the years, she had served in a variety of volunteer positions within the Church, including serving on the governing boards of a number of official LDS auxiliaries prior to overseeing the Relief Society.

She found herself thrust into the limelight when her tenure as president coincided with a powerful political battle over women’s rights. She bravely stepped into the battle and found herself being invited to meet with both President Reagan and President Carter and also meeting with kings and other world leaders. She went on television and was interviewed by countless members of the press. She sought none of this, but accepted the responsibility when it came.

Her approach was one of balance and civility. She encouraged women to speak their minds and fight for what was right without polarizing or combating. The specific battle was over a proposed constitutional amendment called the Equal Rights Amendment. It was a vague law that essentially said that legally there would be no difference between men and women. While it sounded good in theory, many wise people realized it might take away rights women already had. It was smarter to keep control over women’s lives by passing one law at a time so you didn’t get “rights” you didn’t want.

Smith, as did the church, advocated increasing the rights women had, but in a more controlled and intelligent manner. While leading the battle against the ERA, military recruitment of women, and abortion, she also led fights to improve rights for women in areas such as employment.

In my considered judgment the Equal Rights Amendment is so broad that it is inadequate, inflexible, and vague; so all-encompassing that it is nondefinitive. The blanket approach of the Equal Rights Amendment is, in my opinion, a confused step backward in time, instead of a clear stride forward into the future. It will create endless litigation in the courts in which legal decisions are made which might create circumstances harmful to the solidarity of the family and the optimum protection of children. And because it does not define some differences between men and women, I think it might be very destructive to families.

I will always support—as I believe the Relief Society and the Church have always done—those pieces of legislation that improve and protect a woman’s right to development of her full potential as a contributing member of society.

I want women to have social, financial, and legal rights; I want each woman to be a valued individual, creative, and with many options as to how she will develop. I want to see a woman become the best woman, the best citizen, responsible and participating, both in her own country and in the kingdom of God, the best homemaker, the greatest individual she is capable of becoming. I want her to be self-confident, trained, a great participator and partner in life, but I want to be sure that the laws enacted will provide for these things to happen. The Equal Rights Amendment is not the way.” (See Barbara B. Smith, “A Conversation with Sister Barbara B. Smith, Relief Society General President,” Ensign, Mar 1976, 7

 Sister Smith celebrated the women’s movement where it did good, but cautioned against letting worldly forces become the guiding light of our lives:

 The women’s movement unfortunately has many extreme elements in it, and it’s not fair to judge the whole movement by those extremes, although some do. If women use the movement to become more self-centered and selfish, concerned only with their own needs—that’s too bad. But to the extent that the women’s movement has made women aware of their great worth, their talents and abilities, it can harmonize beautifully with the gospel. One of the dangers I’m most aware of is that the women’s movement all too often is characterized by very vocal and articulate women who have only a worldly perspective. Without an eternal perspective, there unfortunately will be misunderstandings and abuses of that power.

The Church has always provided a channel whereby women can advance and contribute. In Uruguay and Paraguay the contrast was shocking between women we saw begging for food on the streets and the clean, beautifully spiritual women we saw in the chapels. The gospel has upgraded their lives (Accept Fully This Gift from the Lord’: A Conversation with the Relief Society General Presidency,” Ensign, Jun 1978, 18–19).

Sister Smith used her ten years of influence to help women be proud of their God-given gifts and the roles women have traditionally played in the world, as well as to help them to see the ability to expand that role without undoing their divine roles. She explained that while men and women were different, those differences weren’t better or worse, just different. The gifts and roles God assigned each gender were equal in importance and value. If everyone in the world had exactly the same roles and characteristics, the world could not function. It was derogatory to presume the roles and characteristics assigned to women were not as important. Certainly it is insulting to our families to suggest that caring for them was less important than, say, making cars. She suggested women value their roles in raising those who would be in charge of the world in the future and also keep an eye to those things they can do outside the home without harming their families.

Women are taught to obtain a good education and to prepare themselves both for the challenging role of managing a home but also to take on a rewarding and demanding career. In the earliest days of the church, women were allowed to vote long before other women, losing that right only when Utah became a state with a secular governor—and heading off to Washington with Brigham Young’s approval to fight to get that right back—and were trained in careers that were restricted to men in other parts of the country, including training women to be doctors. In fact, Barbara’s birth was carried out by a female doctor—her own grandmother. Today, Mormon women serve in high positions of leadership and their leadership is respected.

Barbara Smith’s leadership over nearly a million women was real. She said, “When I was called, I was told that I was to direct the Relief Society and that if I had any questions I could go to my advisers at any time. I was told that if I wanted to change policy, they would appreciate it if I would come to them with the desired change for approval by the Council of the Twelve. I was told that we could meet with them monthly, that I was to prepare the agenda, that they would be glad to respond to anything I wanted to discuss, that they would also have items they would like to discuss. Now to me, this is quite significant. The responsibility is mine and my counselors’ The Brethren have delegated the authority. I don’t have to wonder what to do when questions come up.” (See Barbara B. Smith, “A Conversation with Sister Barbara B. Smith, Relief Society General President,” Ensign, Mar 1976, 7.) She explained they taught her it was a companion relationship, in which she would help the priesthood in their work and they would assist her in her own work.

In her time as leader, she made several critical decisions that altered various programs and policies for the women of the church and was also instrumental in the creation and funding of a monument to honor women. Her ten years of leadership demonstrate that a woman who has prepared herself throughout her life, even while caring for a home and family as her priority, can step into even the most powerful world-changing roles when called on to do so by God.

March 17^th is the anniversary of the Relief Society, one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the United States. From its beginnings as an organization to assist women in serving others, it has also allowed women to gain a wide range of skills, including leadership skills.

The Relief Society today is headed by Julie B. Beck, born in Utah. She spent much of her childhood, until age nine, in Brazil, where her father served as a mission president. She has a degree from Brigham Young University. Today, she leads the Relief Society for the entire international church, serves on the Church Board of Education and the Boards of Trustees of Church schools and universities; and is on the executive and general councils for Welfare and the Perpetual Education Fund of the Church.

Sister Beck is assisted by two counselors. Her first counselor is Silvia H. Allred, who was born and raised in El Salvador. Sister Allred attended the University of Arizona, Brigham Young University, and the General Francisco Morazan Institute in El Salvador, where she studied mathematics and languages. The second counselor is Barbara Thompson, who holds a Masters Degree in social work. After retiring from the Utah Department of Human Services, she became an executive director for The Christmas Box International, which serves abused and neglected children. She has never married and has no children.

The three women work under the direction of the priesthood, but they have real authority to design programs and make decisions. Women also lead the Primary program for children and the Young Women’s program for teen girls, from the international level to the local level. In addition, women hold a variety of other callings—unpaid church work. They serve in Sunday School, Activities, and other necessary tasks.

Relief Society is the auxiliary for all adult women. It is a comprehensive program of service and education. On Sundays, the Relief Society conducts a meeting for the adult women in which a lesson is taught concerning scripture, doctrine, or fulfilling the roles of women.

The Relief Society also holds programs on weeknights. Each local branch of the auxiliary selects activities, clubs, and classes they feel will benefit the needs of their own organization. These can be as diverse as the membership. Classes often include ethnic cooking, crafts, home repair, parenting, foreign languages, computer skills, car maintenance, and blogging. All of these activities and planned and carried out by women.

Of course, the Relief Society, true to its name, also carries out an extensive program of service both within and outside the Church. One program that allows LDS women to serve each other is the Visiting Teaching program. Each woman is assigned a companion and the companionship is asked to visit several women each month. As they meet with the three or four women on their “route” they build close friendships with one another. The visiting teachers deliver a brief gospel message to the women they visit and take time to get to know them. If the women have a need, they turn first to their visiting teachers, allowing them to call on someone who wants to be called. Visiting teachers provide meals to the family during illness, pick up children from school in an emergency, babysit, and do whatever else might need doing. The program ensures women who have recently moved to the area have friends right away, women who are older are checked on, and someone is aware if a serious need arises that should be brought to the attention of leaders, such as unemployment or serious illness.

It is the Relief Society that helps to administer the food program for the church. The Relief Society president will meet with the wife after the family has been approved for food assistance in emergencies, to help her plan her food needs for the month and arrange for her to visit the Storehouse, similar to a food bank.

The Relief Society also operates a literacy program world-wide. Although men can serve as literacy teachers, only women can be assigned to run the program. The literacy leader works with the Relief Society presidency to assess literacy needs and desires and to develop programs and find teachers to help. In addition to teaching reading, the program helps with other aspects of literacy, including teaching members the native language of their country (such as English as a Second Language in the United States.) The literacy program can also teach computer skills, the writing of personal and family histories, helping parents raise readers, and even blogging.

Relief Society groups are often found doing service for their community or the world, creating supplies for the Church’s Humanitarian Aid program, volunteering for community events, and stocking food pantries in their community.

All of these varied projects help women, even those who are serving full-time in their homes as mothers, opportunities to develop leadership skills. They plan and conduct meetings and activities, carry about service projects, teach, preach, and pray. The women are an essential part of any functioning congregation and serve at every level of church leadership, from the congregational level to the international level.

Because most positions are assigned, rather than volunteered for, women often find themselves serving outside their comfort zones, requiring them to learn new skills and to accomplish things they never imagined themselves doing. A shy woman might find herself conducting a meeting or teaching a class. Someone most comfortable caring for the toddlers on Sunday might find herself on the Internet, trying to figure out how to teach English to a group of men and women at church. A woman who prefers to follow might find herself in charge of the entire program. Barbara Thompson, the second counselor of the Relief Society at the international level, for instance, admits she’s more comfortable wearing jeans and putting together hygiene kits for Humanitarian Services than she is in her dress suit leading women worldwide, but she has risen to the challenge to improve her skills. As women serve in the various callings of the church, they become more than they thought they could ever be. Many of the skills carry into the business world if the time comes for a woman to leave her home and take employment. Others simply widen the range of a woman’s experiences, and help her to see herself as God sees her—a woman who can do anything.

Learn more about Relief Society.

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