"The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in Nauvoo, Illinois, on 17 March 1842. On that day, twenty women met with the Prophet Joseph Smith as he began what he shortly after called 'a select Society separate from all the evils of the world, choice, virtuous, and holy.'
"Over the next few months, the women met together often to search out and help feed, clothe, and house the needy. Elizabeth Ann Whitney, a counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, praised the sisters 'who were uniting their faith with their works.'"
(By the Relief Society General Presidency, "The Founding of Relief Society", Ensign, Mar. 1992, 57)
