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The Relief Society, or Female Relief Society, is a Latter-day Saint women's organization. Organized in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois by Joseph Smith, Jr., it is one of the oldest women's organizations still in existence.
In its original form, the Relief Society was an independent and self-governing organization led by women. (Snow, 1884.) As part of the Priesthood Correlation Program, however, the autonomy of this organization was reduced, and today the organization is under the control of the male priesthood.