The Home Enrichment Program: A Means by Which God Blesses His Children

Since its inception, the Relief Society has prepared Latter-day Saint women for blessings of eternal life by increasing faith, strengthening families and homes, and providing relief by helping those in need. One of the ways to accomplish this is through the home enrichment program. The essence of this program is to increase skills and the production of home basic needs by educating and fortifying the sisters to become self-reliant.

On March 24, 2018, the Ugbighoko Ward Relief Society sisters did something extraordinary. The sisters convened to learn home enrichment skills. The sisters were taught how to make shower gel and toilet cleaning liquid. The Relief Society president, Loretta Olaye, taught the sisters prior that “homemaking” enables the family to economize and save money in their budget. She also taught that with homemaking, the sisters could learn to be self-reliant by acquiring home enrichment skills to better their lives. She reiterated that with these skills, every Latter-day Saint sister is enabled to contribute to the support of her family. She also testified that this will grant the sisters greater self-confidence.

These sisters learned the principles of temporary self-reliance by finding solutions to short-term and long-term welfare needs. After the discussion, the sisters experimented on the lesson taught. As the bishop, I was overwhelmed by the faith of the sisters in learning these skills. As I watched the sisters engaged in mixing the ingredients for the production of the shower gel and toilet cleaning liquid, I could see the faith of their hearts in action. They experimented in the process, not knowing what it may turn out to be. It strengthened my faith in the Savior as the sisters looked to their leader and obtained the desired result. We too may have an expected end of dwelling with God in the eternities, if we focus on Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith.

The Ugbighoko Ward sisters also engaged in other home enrichment skills such as baking of pastries, production of hand sanitizers, and decoration of vests. As a leader, I feel a sincere desire to help these sisters develop a self-reliance plan through more training on homemaking skills. Through my calling as a bishop, I have come to understand that when members become self-reliant, they are better able to serve one another and to care for those that stand in need. May we in our very little way assist in the course of Zion, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Master, amen.