Barbara B. Smith

Relief Society General President (October 3, 1974 – April 7, 1984)

General Conference Addresses

• April 1984 General Conference
  • Warmed by the Fires of Their Lives
    • “In that spirit I am proud to testify today that our prophets and Apostles are men called of God. They will always lead the Church aright by divine direction and by the power of the Holy Ghost.”
    • “The women of the Church have an important work to do. That work requires great strength of character, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a pure heart that will be a light unto the world and a bulwark of righteousness against the darkness that covers the earth with contention and evil.”
• October 1983 General Conference
  • A Season for Strength
    • “Good solutions often lie not so much in the undiscovered as in the unused.”
    • “When the Lord restored the gospel to the earth in its fulness and purity, he also organized the Church as a means to turn precepts into living principles, to help believers become Saints. And become Saints they did when, as converts, they were drawn by their compelling faith to put precept to the test; and in the strength of the Lord they saw goals achieved, hopes realized, and their own strength grow.”
    • “Our lives require discipline, coping without compromise, conversion of precepts into living principles that will make us saintly.”
    • “We must live with constant anticipation of his coming. Being ready to receive him is the position of our greatest strength. Let this be our bulwark against temptation or slothfulness. Let it cause us to read the Savior’s words, to search our hearts, and to try to live every principle of righteousness he taught. This will require us to love as he loves. Then, we are told, when he comes we shall know him, for we shall be like him.”
• October 1982 General Conference
  • Application of Welfare Principles in the Home
    • “Sadly, not all men and women enjoy the light that was intended for them. Not all who have the gospel know how to bring its radiance into their lives.”
    • “For each of us, whatever our knowledge of the gospel, can continue to learn. But learning is just the beginning. The fulness of blessings comes as we adopt the principles and live our lives by them. When we make them our way, when we live the principles, we are promised that they will be a light unto us. As we come to know that light, it will lead us through the midst of darkness, and as we begin to bring that light into our homes, it can become a beacon to our children, and to their children, and to theirs.”
• April 1982 General Conference
  • “Her Children Arise Up, and Call Her Blessed”
    • “The ideal for a family is, and always has been, to have a mother in the home to be with the children, to care for them and to help them grow, to coordinate and correlate the family’s activities, and to be a stay against intrusions of unrighteousness.”
• October 1981 General Conference
  • A Safe Place for Marriages and Families
    • “Trust is to human relationships what faith is to gospel living. It is the beginning place, the foundation upon which more can be built. Where trust is, love can flourish.”
    • “Then add to love consecration, the dedication of two lives to a holy purpose. To provide a safe place for love, there must be this kind of commitment.”
    • “An orderly home is conducive to happiness. But the achievement and maintenance of order, while the primary responsibility of the mother, should be the concern of the whole family. When a mother is required to work outside the home, the cooperation of the family, of the whole household, is often critical.”
  • Relief Society in Times of Transition
    • “Anguishing, dislocating transitions are something we all face. They will be different for each of us. Serious illness or permanent malady is but one. Others may be the death of a loved one, a child or a husband; the realization that one may never marry in this life; divorce; returning home from a mission; a marriage without children; marriage of the last child; civilian life after living under military discipline; the change from Young Women to Relief Society; the change from high school to college; a move to a new location; and on and on.”
    • “Each of these circumstances necessitates a particular mode of adaptation and requires the development of new and different ways to adjust to an altered life-style that may be challenging or painful. It is the very nature of such turning points that makes old patterns of behavior no longer adequate or appropriate.”
    • “We can develop attitudes of love and caring by remembering our basic Christian commitment to forgiveness, gentleness, and kindness. We can promote the good will among people that heralded the birth of the Savior, and we can encourage a profound personal appeal to our Heavenly Father for peace and strength to face adversity.”
    • “Help dispel gloom. Bring the light of truth. Do it through your senses, through your reason, and most significantly through the Spirit. It does not matter who you are or what you are currently doing with your life. The light of truth is there waiting to be discovered, and, being discovered, waiting to illuminate the life of each child of God.”
• April 1981 General Conference
  • Reach for the Stars
    • “The first hard rule of fixing our scale of living below our means is to budget, planning first for basic needs and then for other desired items.”
    • “Living on a budget is not a chore. It need not even be a deprivation. Budgeting should be a great learning experience.”
• October 1980 General Conference
  • Follow Joyously
    • “We, as women in the Church, can be Joseph-like in faith and in obedience and in following the direction of the Lord given us through his chosen leaders.”
    • “She understands—as we each should—that life is made up of small daily acts.”
  • The Bond of Charity
    • “Charity, or the pure love of Christ, is not synonymous with good deeds or benevolence. But kind, thoughtful, loving acts are the way Jesus has directed us to express our love—both our love for him and our love for others.”
• October 1979 General Conference
  • The Relief Society Role in Priesthood Councils
    • “In requesting my participation in this meeting, the First Presidency directed me to explain the Relief Society’s role in the priesthood councils. We believe that Church members, especially Relief Society members, should know new developments that emphasize the importance of the Relief Society’s role in the Church. Although a relatively few Relief Society officers are involved in councils, their influence is far-reaching throughout the Church.”
    • “It is in the home that the woman’s most effective influence has always been felt. The sensitivities she has developed in the home need to be applied in other councils so that the cooperation between men and women may produce the most rewarding results for the welfare of all mankind.”
• October 1978 General Conference
  • Women’s Greatest Challenge
    • “In the early days of the Church here in this valley, the leaders of the Relief Society, other stalwart women of the community, and the presiding Brethren of the Church worked together to establish suffrage for women among the Saints. It was not expedient. It was not even judicious, in the light of the desperate struggle for statehood, and yet the right of women to vote was unanimously agreed upon and written into their constitution by the first legislators of Utah territory because it was a righteous principle.”
    • “On political matters President Kimball has encouraged us to study the issues and use our agency. He has counseled us to select leaders and programs consistent with the principles of truth. He has urged us to act independently.”
    • “On matters of morality he has given more specific counsel. On such issues as abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment, homosexuality, and pornography—current issues sometimes categorized as women’s issues—he has given direct counsel. Mormon women know that they have the right to accept or reject the counsel; but in keeping with fundamental doctrine, they must also realize that to reject it is a heavy responsibility. It is the calling of a prophet to see to the very heart of a moral issue, to envision its future course, and to warn the people of its consequences. Sometimes those who do not agree with what he says may refuse to heed the warning. Only later, sadly, is the truth of his words made obvious to us.”
  • Good Health—A Key to Joyous Living
    • “We have been warned both by our prophets and by science of the dangers in the improper and indiscriminate use of drugs, including “over-the-counter drugs.” Helpful as these remedies are in times of illness, some contain ingredients that if used to excess or in combination with other substances can have dangerous side effects—even dependency or addiction.”
• April 1978 General Conference
  • In the Time of Old Age
    • “There is a corollary between preparing for old age and enjoying it when it comes.”
    • “So far, I have been speaking about the independent elderly, but there are many aged people who are dependent. Some are partially bedridden; others are senile or physically incapacitated. These older people must not be neglected. Some may be adequately cared for in their own homes with the aid of such services as meals brought in to them each day, housekeeping, shopping, out-patient medical services, and a daily telephone check, while other older people need twenty-four-hour care and attention. Often, even though families give this loving care to the elderly, they and the elderly need supportive services from others.”
• October 1977 General Conference
  • She Stretcheth Out Her Hand to the Poor
    • “Service of Latter-day Saint women continues to be in demand now as never before, both in the welfare program of our rapidly growing Church and in a society filled with problems which increasingly compound. The welfare work of the Church is based upon voluntary service, a great amount of which must be performed by women.”
    • “There is a reservoir of talented women who are not overburdened with family obligations or with Church callings who can give of their time to rewarding voluntary service—service that can be the means of improving society, or lifting the level of community morality—and at the same time underscore the welfare principle of service. This is their opportunity to broaden their scope of service—not only to their “own,” but to their non-Church neighbors as well.”
    • “Only when a woman understands the importance and the enrichment of service and evaluates her opportunities—neither making excuses to avoid service nor overextending herself unwisely—can she enjoy the promised blessings of service as she follows the example of the “virtuous woman,” as she stretcheth out her hand to the poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.”
• April 1977 General Conference
  • A Call to Action
    • “I would like to see all sisters, particularly Relief Society presidents, acting as helpmeets to the priesthood in the rendering of welfare assistance.”
    • “I urge Relief Society leaders everywhere to accept the call to action of our inspired prophets to perform and to accomplish our assigned welfare tasks. May we work together as companions with the priesthood, remembering the principle of partnership; may we teach effectively the fundamentals of welfare services, and implement them by enlarging our vision of this work, particularly as it applies to the art of compassionate services.”
• October 1976 General Conference
  • She Is Not Afraid of the Snow for Her Household
    • “First, help sisters assess their own progress in this assignment. Have their families met the goal? Are they moving toward the halfway mark? Perhaps some have just started, while others may not know where to begin.”
    • “I repeat, home storage should consist of a year’s supply of basic food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel. After this goal is reached, emergency and expanded storage is desirable.”
    • “A woman’s attitude and response will set the tone for the entire family and for others. Her enthusiasm can be contagious, and filling such assignments provides her with a golden opportunity to teach gospel principles of love and service, of work and self-reliance, of stewardship and consecration.”
• April 1976 General Conference
  • Teach LDS Women Self-Sufficiency
    • “We have been told that the gaining of this independence will come to Church members only in proportion to their obedience to the word of the Lord in this matter. Obedience brings security and self-sufficiency. It breeds confidence and a peaceful attitude.”
• October 1975 General Conference
  • Relief Society’s Role in Welfare Services
    • “Within the family stands the father, the priesthood bearer, who is the governing head of the family and its presiding officer. He outlines a blueprint for family action, a design jointly and cooperatively developed and planned to be a blessing for the entire family.”
    • “As women in this Church family, we have been instructed to “stretch out our hands to the poor and the needy,” to “look to the ways of our households”; for through such involvement, both the helped and the helper grow. The Relief Society as an organization can do much toward ward and family preparedness and awaits your invitation to work with you.”

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