By Kimberly DeMucha
In a general session of the annual BYU Women’s Conference Sister Sheri Dew shared with thousands of women her conviction to be an outspoken disciple of Jesus Christ.
Dew, the second counselor of the General Relief Society Presidency, began her address April 26 saying, “I dare not back down from what I am about to say now. For there are three things that I am absolutely certain.”
That Jesus is the Christ, that his gospel has been restored to the earth, and that every one of us has been chosen to stand where we stand in the latter-day kingdom,” she said.
Each sister of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a responsibility to stand as a witness of Christ and to endeavor to serve Him, Dew said.
“We can’t risk being casual about the Savior’s work, or about our role in it. No one else can fill my mission, and no one can fill yours,” she said. “This knowledge shouldn’t increase our burden, it should only reconfirm that we are beloved spirit daughters of God whose lives have meaning, purpose, and direction.”
Judgement and the debilitating effects of unrighteous judgments were a focus of Sister Dew’s remarks.
“How often have you and I made judgements that are unfair? Why can’t we resist the urge to second-guess and evaluate each other? Why do we judge everything from the way we keep house to how many children we do or do not have?” she said.
Emma Smith, the first president of the Relief Society, counseled the sister’s of her time urging them to, “divest themselves of every jealousy and evil feeling toward each other.”
The Prophet Joseph echoed her comments and said, “Sisters of this Society, shall there be strife among you? I will not have it – you must repent and get the love of God. Away with self-righteousness.”
One of the ways people make judgement of others is by labeling them.
“There is another kind of judging that is more subtle but equally destructive. When we label one another, we make judgments that divide ourselves from one another and inevitably alienate us from the Lord,” Dew said.
In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites learn the lesson of the ill effects of judging each other and division.
According to The Book of Mormon, after Christ appeared to them on this continent those who had been converted to the gospel lived in harmony for 200 years.
Because they loved God, they loved each other, Dew said.
“They were one. The result? There were not a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God (4 Nephi 1:16),” she said.
As the story in the Book of Mormon continues readers discover that it wasn’t until the Nephites were again divided into classes that Satan began to win many hearts, Dew said.
Because of the lack of unity and division that the Nephites never recovered spiritually, according to the Book of Mormon.
In a final plea to her audience, Sheri Dew concluded her remarks with a challenge.
“The Lord needs everyone of us. He needs those leading our children and our youth. He needs every one of us to fulfill our foreordained mission,” she said. “The cause of women is to help build the kingdom of God. It is not something that we can be casual about. For it is our stewardship. It’s our privilege. It’s our destiny. Will you join me?”
