Per the announcement, Jean B. Bingham, Sharon Eubank and Reyna I. Aburto would oversee the church’s Relief Society, one of the largest women’s organizations in the world. Under the direction of the First Presidency, the Relief Society presidency oversees the activities of all Latter-day Saint women ages 18 and over. These leaders travel frequently to help guide and support the women of the church, according to church information.

If tradition holds that the presidency is changed every five years, then consistent with that tradition will be the announcement this weekend of a new presidency. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen.

In the five years Bingham, Eubank and Aburto have been serving, the church and the world have gone through some of the hardest times in recent history. Women have had to take a greater role throughout the world in steadying the communities in which they live.

Bingham, Eubank and Aburto are no exception. Indeed, from the worldwide travels and experiences these women have had, it would be safe to say they have done extraordinary things.

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During the October 2020 women’s session of the Semiannual General Conference, months into a worldwide pandemic, President Russell M. Nelson said to the women of the church, “You have not only the numbers but the spiritual power to change the world. I have watched you doing just that during this pandemic. … Once again, you have proven that you are literally the hope of Israel!”

At that time, the war in Ukraine and devastations around the world were unheard of. But the church and its women leaders were prepared.

The latest war and subsequent concerns about humanitarian aid for refugees of Ukraine and other locations offered an opportunity for Eubank to respond in March of this year.

As an organization with members all over the world, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints feels the pain of conflicts everywhere.

The leader of the church’s humanitarian outreach told a group of thought leaders in March that the crisis in Ukraine is no exception.

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“We have members in all the countries affected,” said Eubank, first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency and president of Latter-day Saint Charities. “We have members in Russia who are feeling the difficult effects of sanctions. We have members in Poland and Germany and Slovakia and Hungary and Moldova and Russia. They’re all receiving enormous amounts of refugees and generously giving the help that they can. And we have members in Ukraine who are facing impossible choices in the destruction of their beautiful country.”

Eubank’s remarks came during a plenary session of the virtual Horasis USA Meeting, led by Abe Nejad, publisher of the Network Media Group. Horasis is an independent think tank based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Eubank said the church humanitarian arm keeps a two-year reserve of funding to enable the faith to nimbly respond to crises. The money it uses comes from the generous donations of Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith.

Having funds in place “allowed us to pre-position food and water several weeks ago,” she said. “It allows us to be right on the border with what the people need and be responsive because the needs change every single day as the situation goes forward.”

This is just one snippet of how the Relief Society general presidency and Latter-day Saint Charities have helped throughout the world over the past five years.

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Bingham, Eubank and Aburto have travelled around the world and met with people and have given high-level talks and admonitions to government leaders virtually.

Below are a small number of things these women have done during their administration. It is nearly impossible to show the impact of their worldwide ministering since April 2017.

On March 17, 2022, the Relief Society celebrated its 180th anniversary. On Feb. 17, the Relief Society General Presidency issued an invitation for women to prepare for that milestone by serving in their communities.

Eubank posted on social media why the Relief Society is valuable to her personally. She said it is a place where she can learn about repentance, prepare for the temple, receive help from experienced friends and bring questions. It is also a place where people care about her, she is trusted and needed, and it brings Jesus Christ into her life, she stated.

“It may not always succeed on every front, but the potential of Relief Society is so huge that even the idea of a space like this existing for women everywhere makes me happy. We are Relief Society, and we can be a powerful force for change in the world,” Eubank wrote on Facebook and Instagram.

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The Relief Society presidency has drawn women closer to Christ through teaching by example, serving the poor, speaking out on issues of importance and contributing as members on the top priesthood councils of the church.

Just 12 days after she was sustained as the new Relief Society general president, Bingham addressed the United Nations on April 13, 2017.

“I am honored to be here today to discuss the role of faith-based organizations in relieving suffering and building capacity among the peoples of the world — particularly those who are most vulnerable,” said Bingham, who leads the church’s more than 7.1 million Latter-day Saint women.

The Relief Society, founded 180 years ago, is also considered one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the world.

Bingham took a field trip with the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, to Uganda with Eubank. The two female church leaders traveled to the Bidi Bidi refugee resettlement center, one of the largest centers in the world. Refugees are arriving from South Sudan and surrounding African countries where there is civil unrest and drought.

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On May 3, 2018, Bingham was a guest in the Rose Garden at the White House as a participant recognizing the National Day of Prayer.

“We unite to acknowledge that all good gifts come from Thee,” Bingham said in prayer. She stood with other Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish leaders from across the United States to offer prayers.

On May 5, 2021, Bingham met with First Lady Jill Biden and talked about the importance of children getting a good education.

“Education should not be a political issue; it is a personal issue. It is a humanitarian response to helping everyone to develop to their full potential,” she said.

In June 2020, the church released a report on what the Relief Society had been doing as the worldwide pandemic was worsening.

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Of note, were the 5 million masks made during Project Protect in Utah.

Earlier, Eubank participated in a webinar with other global religious leaders.

The church, under the jurisdiction of the Relief Society presidency, engaged in some 575 COVID-19-related projects in 74 countries. The faith met needs of all kinds in many locations. These places include Australia, Beirut, Botswana, Brazil, Florida, Germany, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, the Navajo Nation, Panama, Paraguay, the Philippines, Qatar, Sudan, Syria and the United States.

This work provided COVID vaccines to millions, fed scores of hungry children, aided refugee resettlement, helped immigrants live better lives, procured blood donations and much more.

Bingham and Eubank on more than one occasion visited a refugee camp in Iraq and Latter-day Saints in Egypt. Recently, they have ministered to refugees from Ukraine and other war-torn countries.

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Eubank spoke to California lawmakers about the importance of volunteerism in disaster response. She also attended conferences in England (virtually) and Rome.

On Sept.13, 2018, Bingham opened a dialogue with Chile’s minister of women and gender equity, Isabel Plá.

During the gathering, the group engaged in a fruitful discussion about common objectives — namely, the value of women in society and the elimination of gender-based discrimination and violence.

On Feb. 19, 2020, Eubank called on women to become global citizens during an address to a group of women at Utah Valley University in Orem about the status of women worldwide.

A Church Newsroom video was produced in English following her campus address. The video has now been translated into 10 languages to share with a global audience.

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In September 2018, Eubank spoke at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“I truly believe there is no significant change without significant relationships, and humanitarian acts rooted in the sincere desire to heal and listen and cooperate and respect are the most potent transformational agent for change as anything I’ve experienced,” Eubank said at the G20 event.

Aburto, second counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, traveled to the Mexican state of Oaxaca in November 2017 to visit with survivors of an earthquake. Aburto began her tour in Juchitán de Zaragoza, where she was received by the municipal president, Gloria Sánchez López.

Aburto also went to San Francisco Ixhuatán, where she met the municipal president, César Augusto Matus Velásquez.

In February 2018, Eubank addressed legal scholars and leaders of faith-based organizations at a religious freedom conference on the Sydney campus of the University of Notre Dame Australia.

A week after a 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti, Elder Ulisses Soares, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, asked Latter-day Saints in the Caribbean to “view disappointment and discouragement through the eyes of faith.”

In response to the disaster, the church sent aid to the most-affected communities, providing food, water, hygiene kits, newborns items, flashlights, tents, tarps and protective helmets.

Over a week, Soares and Aburto also virtually addressed members in leadership meetings and stake conferences, broadcast to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

In late August 2018, members of the Relief Society and Primary general presidencies visited Central America to meet with survivors of the devastating June 3 eruption of the Fuego Volcano in Guatemala.

Aburto met with families who had been living in a church meetinghouse and residents of some temporary homes. They also talked with doctors and patients at the Children’s Hospital of Infectious Diseases and Rehabilitation, where they presented a donation of medical equipment on behalf of the church.

In November 2018, Aburto made a historic visit to the American Southwest to meet with members on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico and Arizona. The Relief Society leader taught about the Book of Mormon during her fall visit.

This is just a brief view of the leadership and empathy these three sisters hold as women leaders of the church. While they may or may not be released this conference weekend. It is appropriate to share what they and the Relief Society mean to the world.

In its 180th year, the motto these women stand by still rings true: “Charity never faileth.”