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Bedecked in the working women's uniform of jackets, dresses and pumps, the three women exude professionalism. They speak earnestly, with an air of confidence, almost in unison, one tripping over the other's words to add or amend a thought.
Two have spent their adult lives as full-time homemakers; the third is a career woman. One is in her 40s, another in her 50s and the third in her 60s.
Two have 11 children and 49 grandchildren between them; one never has married.
But now President Mary Ellen Smoot and Sisters Virginia Jensen and Sheri Dew have a common job.
They are the newly called leaders of the LDS General Relief Society, an organization of more than 4 million women worldwide, and tonight they will address the women of the church for the first time.
It has been a busy six months for the three since being named at LDS General Conference last April. Smoot, the president, has traveled to 13 nations, chalking up more than five weeks on the road. Jensen developed training manuals for Relief Society leaders and board members, traveled regionally and helped organize focus groups to hear LDS women's concerns and hopes for the Relief Society. Dew, a vice president at Deseret Book in Salt Lake City, has learned to balance the competing claims on her time.
They work at no pay for at least 40 hours a week as ambassadors to Mormon women everywhere. They oversee curriculum for the women's organization, which meets each Sunday in every ward in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
They give speeches, sponsor service projects, and sit on boards such as the Board of Trustees at Brigham Young University and LDS Charities.
It is too early to see exactly what their unique mark will be.
Early Relief Society leaders established hospitals, helped alleviate poverty, and worked on child-care legislation.
Smoot, Jensen and Dew say they will continue the work of their immediate predecessors in fostering worldwide literacy. They also expect to establish their own social goals in step with the times.
But the three already are clear on one of their goals: to help each LDS woman increase her connection to God.
``We want to strengthen our sisters,'' Smoot says. ``Serenity comes from...