Councillor Tahlia Jones receiving award from President Rhys Standley
Tahlia Jones, Mandurah City Councillor was honoured with an Industry and Exemplary Community Service Award presented by the Mandurah congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday evening 19th March. The award was part the 175th anniversary commemoration of the Relief Society organisation. The Relief Society, which now has a membership of seven million women, was founded in 1842 with only 20 members. Rhys Standley, Rockingham Stake President and Tamera Morris, Mandurah congregation Relief Society President presented the award to Councillor Jones.
The 200 people attending enjoyed a musical tribute and several addresses about the Relief Society motto, “Charity Never Faileth". Karen Spicer, Stake Director of Public Affairs, illustrated how Relief Society has empowered women in the Church by giving them opportunities to lead, teach, learn and serve, while also encouraging them to raise wonderful families and develop into accomplished, educated and contributing members of society.
She also spoke about the donations of wheat stored by the Relief Society at Brigham Young's request which provided emergency food affected by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and World War I victims. She quoted Global Relief Society President, Linda K Burton, who said, “There are seven million of us. When we work in unity, each doing at least one good thing, the result can be something extraordinary.”
The audience also heard from Emily Dudley, a recently returned missionary who served in the Philippines. Councillor Jones, who has been involved in volunteer work from a young age emphasised how important volunteer work is to the community. She said she "absolutely loved working in the community of Mandurah".
She also spoke about how happy the city is to work with organisations such as Relief Society. She congratulated the Church for its commitment to helping those in need. President Standley in his concluding remarks committed the Church's resources to assisting the community in dealing with the many welfare needs it faces. “I want Mandurah to know we are here to help--we have hundreds of sisters who are prepared to help whenever they are called upon."