I Was a Stranger

Woman's conference was last weekend, and Sister Linda K. Burton, the Relief Society General President has asked Latter-day Saint Women to "serve the refugees living in your neighborhoods and communities."  (You can find her full talk HERE)

“There are more than 60 million refugees including forcibly displaced people worldwide. Half of those are children,” said Sister Linda K. Burton. “These individuals have undergone tremendous difficulties and are starting over in new countries and cultures. While there are sometimes organizations that help them with a place to live and basic necessities, what they need is a friend and ally who can help them adjust to their new home, a person who can help them learn the language, understand the systems, and feel connected.”

“This is an opportunity to serve one on one, in families, and by organization to offer friendship, mentoring, and other Christlike service and is one of many ways sisters can serve,” she said.

Sister Burton said on the day Relief Society was organized, Emma Smith declared, “We are going to do something extraordinary..."

A First Presidency letter sent to the Church on October 27, 2015, expressed great concern and compassion for the millions of people who have fled their homes seeking relief from civil conflict and other hardships, Sister Burton explained. The First Presidency invited individuals, families, and Church units to participate in Christlike service in local refugee relief projects and to contribute to the Church humanitarian fund, where practical. (You can find more information about the first presidency letter HERE)

“The general presidencies of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary have considered how to respond to the First Presidency’s invitation. We know that you, our beloved sisters of all ages, come from all walks of life and live in varied circumstances. Each member of this worldwide sisterhood has covenanted at baptism to ‘comfort those that stand in need of comfort’ (Mosiah 4:27). Yet we must remember that none of us should run faster than we have strength.”

With these truths in mind, the Church has organized the “I was a stranger” relief effort, she said. “Sisters, we know that reaching out to others with love matters to the Lord.”  Check out "I Was a Stranger" website HERE