“I Was a Stranger”

On the day Relief Society was organized, Emma Smith declared: “We are going to do something extraordinary. … We expect extraordinary occasions and pressing calls.”1 Those pressing calls and extraordinary occasions presented themselves frequently then—as they do now.

One came in the October 1856 general conference as President Brigham Young announced to the congregation that handcart pioneers were still on the trail and late in the season. He declared: “Your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the celestial kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains, and attend strictly to those things which we call temporal, … otherwise your faith will be in vain.”

We remember with grateful admiration the men who headed off to rescue those suffering Saints. But what did the sisters do?

“Sister [Lucy Meserve] Smith recorded … that after President Young’s exhortation, those in attendance took action. … Women ‘[removed] their petticoats [large underskirts that were part of the fashion of the day and that also provided warmth], stockings, and every thing they could spare, right there in the [old] Tabernacle, and piled [them] into the wagons to send to the Saints in the mountains.’”

Several weeks later, President Brigham Young gathered the Saints again in the old Tabernacle as the rescuers and the handcart companies got closer to Salt Lake City. With great urgency, he pleaded with the Saints—especially the sisters—to nurse the sufferers and feed them and receive them, saying: “Some you will find with their feet frozen to their ankles; some are frozen to their knees and some have their hands frosted. … We want you to receive them as your own children, and to have the same feeling for them.”

Lucy Meserve Smith also recorded:

“We did all we could, with the aid of the good brethren and sisters, to comfort the needy. … They got their hands and feet badly frosted. … We did not cease our exertions [un]til all were made comfortable. …

“I never took more satisfaction and, I might say, pleasure in any labor I ever performed in my life, such a unanimity of feeling prevailed. …

“What comes next for willing hands to do?”

Service done with the spirit naturally leads to a feeling of wanting to do such service again.

This account might be likened to our day and those who are suffering throughout the world. Another “extraordinary occasion” touches our hearts.

There are more than 60 million refugees, including forcibly displaced people, worldwide. Half of those are children. “These individuals have undergone tremendous difficulties and are starting over in … new countr[ies] and culture[s]. 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.”

Last summer I met Sister Yvette Bugingo, who at age 11 fled from place to place after her father was killed and three of her brothers went missing in a war-torn part of the world. Yvette and the remaining family members eventually lived for six and a half years as refugees in a neighboring country until they were able to move to a permanent home, where they were blessed by a caring couple who helped with transportation, schools, and other things. She said they “were basically an answer to our prayers.”

President Russell M. Nelson urged:

“We need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world … ; women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and families. …

“… Married or single, you sisters possess distinctive capabilities and special intuition you have received as gifts from God. We brethren cannot duplicate your unique influence.”

This makes me think of Savannah’s desire to gather friend together to see shirt dresses to give to people in these refugee situations.

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.” Yet we must remember that none of us should run faster than we have strength.

With these truths in mind, we have organized a relief effort called “I Was a Stranger.” It is our hope that you will prayerfully determine what you can do—according to your own time and circumstance—to serve the refugees living in your neighborhoods and communities. 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.

… Sometimes reaching out is inconvenient. But when we work together in love and unity, we can expect heaven’s help.

As we consider the “pressing calls” of those who need our help, let’s ask ourselves, “What if their story were my story?” May we then seek inspiration, act on impressions we receive, and reach out in unity to help those in need as we are able and inspired to do so.