“In the book At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women, there is a record of Matilda Dudley Busby, who helped organize the Salt Lake City Thirteenth Ward Relief Society in 1854. Matilda suggested a “covenant” for Relief Society members that was similar to the covenant suggested by Emma Smith in the Nauvoo Relief Society. The covenant asked sisters to be unified and to not speak ill of each other or of Church leaders. This covenant was a way for the sisters to build relationships of trust with each other. This Relief Society covenant was asking the sisters to be sure that they had each other’s backs.⁵ We can have each other’s backs and still experience conflict, but this type of covenant asks us to address conflict in respectful ways.

“This kind of covenant seems both difficult and doable. Rather than judge, I can recognize that I do not know the hidden trauma, hurts, or fears of others. Instead, I can offer gentle curiosity and understanding. I can recognize that I may not understand where their journey has taken them or the contingencies that are playing out in their lives, but I will have their back.”

-Ellie Y. Young

This quote is taken from a BYU devotional titled “The Transformative Power of Covenants”, by Ellie L. Young. The transcript for this talk can be found in this link.