Relief Society Beauty Pageant Skit

This is a little skit I wrote about ten years ago to encourage the Relief Society sisters in my ward not to compare themselves to each other.

The Relief Society Inner Beauty Pageant

A Skit about How We Don’t Need to Compete

By Rebecca H. Jamison

We welcome you to the ___________ Ward  Inner Beauty Pageant—where the world’s most beautiful and talented women compete for the title, Sister _____________-.  Competing today are women from every Street, Circle, Way, and Avenue in the ward.  So let’s hear it for the Sisters of the _________ Ward.

Since most of our contestants were just too modest to compete in the swimsuit portion of our pageant, we’ve decided to just forgo that part and move on to the celestial living category.  We’ll hear how each sister works toward her goal of Eternal life while we watch her strike elegant poses in her evening wear.

Our first contestant is Sister Snowdrop.  Sister Snowdrop has perfect children who never cause a disturbance in church.  She is working on her 20^th generation in her family history.  Sister Snowdrop keeps an immaculate home.  She has memorized the Book of Mark.  She makes wool sweaters for the children in Romania.  And, to top it all off, every month, she takes a homemade goody to the sisters she visit-teaches.  Wow!  Let’s hear it for Sister Snowdrop.

Our next contestant is Sister Tiger Lily.  You wouldn’t know it from looking at her, but Sister Tiger Lily is 104 years old.  That makes her our oldest contestant.  She may be a little slower than our other contestants, but she sure has a lot to give.  You’ll notice from the ward records that Sister Tiger Lily is one of the most faithful visiting teachers in our ward.  You may also notice that Sister Tiger Lily is always lifting others with kind words and sweet smiles.  Her lifetime of service has taught her that, no matter what obstacles you face, there is always some way you can serve others.  So although she can’t always go and visit new members of the ward, she often sends them a _______________(old craft item such as plastic grapes from 70s.)  Let’s hear it for Sister Tiger Lily.

Next up is Sister Snapdragon.  Sister Snapdragon has many children and sometimes doesn’t know what to do with all of them.  But Sister Snapdragon is humble—she prays a lot and tries to focus on the things of eternal significance.   She may not check off everything on her to-do list, but she feels satisfied at the end of the day that she has done her best.  Sister Snapdragon has learned to use her lunch break at work as a time to read her scriptures and make phone calls for her church calling.  Her upbeat attitude and dedication to the Lord benefit everyone around her.  Let’s give a round of applause for Sister Snapdragon—another impressive sister from the ____________ Ward.

Contestant number four is Sister Lotus.  Sister Lotus is a new face in our ward—not because she’s just moved here, but because she’s returned after ten years of never setting foot in a chapel.  Sister Lotus sometimes feels out of place because she attends church by herself—without a family.  Little does she know what a great example she is to other members of the ward.  They admire the courageous steps she’s taken to come back to church.  Sister Lotus was shocked to be called as a Visiting Teaching Supervisor and as a visiting teacher.  She feels awkward making all those phone calls, but she recognizes that these callings are helping her to come unto Christ.  Sister Lotus has set a goal to go to the temple.  Step by step, she is learning to pay tithing, keep the Sabbath Day holy, and overcome her passion for halter-tops.  Way to go, Sister Lotus.  Let’s give her a hand.

Next up is Sister Lilac.  Sister Lilac really does not want to compete for the title of Sister Oquirrh because she is sure that Sister Snowdrop is going to win.  Sister Lilac’s children are not as well behaved as Sister Snowdrop’s.  Her house is messier.  She hasn’t memorized any scriptures.  And, she doesn’t know how to knit, bake bread, or can.  She doesn’t even want to talk about family history.  She's only interested in the New Family Search if it'll help her find a lost set of keys.  And, as for visiting teaching, she’d really like to get it done at the beginning of the month like Sister Snowdrop, but she usually ends up visiting during the last week of the month anyway.  And, even though she involves many sisters in her Relief Society lessons, she doesn’t give cute handouts like Sister Snowdrop.   Sister Lilac does admit, however, that over the year, she has shown great improvement in many areas, including holding family home evenings and helping her children learn to work.  She’s also followed the prophet by paying off a third of her credit card debt.  Way to go Sister Lilac.  Let’s have a round of applause for this great sister.

Our next contestant is Sister Daisy.  Many of us have questioned why a Sister like Sister Daisy—who has amassed such wealth and fame—would continue to live in an apartment in our ward.  Why not a mansion?  The secret truth is that Sister Daisy wishes to bless others through her donations.  Living in an apartment allows her to contribute more generously to the fast offering and humanitarian funds.  Sister Daisy has also used her wealth and fame to help spread the gospel.  In interviews with the media, she often speaks of truths she’s learned from the prophet and the scriptures.  She is careful to be a good example of a faithful member through the way she dresses, speaks, and acts.  And, though her travel schedule is sometimes arduous, she is careful to magnify her callings and spend time with her family, including ten grandchildren.  Let’s hear it for Sister Daisy.

Contestant number seven is the wonderful Sister Iris.  Like Sister Lilac, Sister Iris doesn’t feel that she is good enough to compete.  She doesn’t have as many children as Sister Snapdragon.  She doesn’t have very much money, like Sister Daisy.  She isn’t good at teaching, like Sister Lilac.  She can’t make beautiful grapes like Sister Tiger Lily.  She doesn’t do her visiting teaching like Sister Lotus.  And, she simply isn’t as perfect as Sister Snowdrop.  Yet, as a member of the Enrichment Board, she is faithful in doing all that is expected of her.  As a mother, she teaches her children about the gospel regularly and does her best to get them all to church on Sunday.  She has also taught her children to pray at their bedsides at night.  And, finally, she has set goals to improve her visiting teaching by writing reminders for herself on her calendar.  Let’s hear it for Sister Iris.

Now, here we have Sister Hyacinth.  This beautiful sister has accomplished so many wonderful things in her life.  Until this year, she’s always done her callings 100% and she’s always done her best to live the gospel.  Unfortunately, she’s recently been very ill with a chronic disease.  She doesn’t have the energy she once had and she’s had a hard time participating in activities she once enjoyed.  It is now much harder for Sister Hyacinth to take care of her family and do her callings.  She has learned to ask for help from her family and other sisters in the ward.  Every day, she simply does what she can—even if that is not very much.  She doesn’t do things as perfectly as she used to, but she has found ways to get them done.  Let’s hear it for Sister Hyacinth.   

Last but not least is the beautiful Sister Daffodil.  Sister Daffodil has really turned her life around this year.  Last year, she realized that she and her family members were just too busy.  She and her husband spent so much time doing their callings, recreational activities, and errands that they hardly spent any time at home.  So this year, they’ve cut back on some of their out-of-home activities.  She and her husband have found ways to be more efficient in their callings and other responsibilities, so they have more time at home with the children.  She’s followed the first presidency’s advice to give first priority to family prayer, gospel teaching, and family home evening.  Sister Daffodil has also found ways to involve her children in the housework, so that she can spend time with each child as she works.  Let’s hear it for Sister Daffodil!

Now it’s time for the judges to make the final decision on who will earn the prestigious title of Sister Oquirrh.  They’ve evaluated each candidate based on her efforts to live the gospel.

Oh, I see that the envelope is ready.  Now, we’ll announce the ninth runner up.  Who will it be?

What’s this?  The judges have decided that living the gospel is not a contest.  All of these women are winners because they are all trying their best to gain eternal life.   Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin has compared the process of gaining eternal life to climbing a mountain.  He says, “Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to.  We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be.  We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.”  “We don’t have to be fast,” he says; “we simply have to be steady and move in the right direction.  We have to do the best we can, one step after another.” 

Each of these sisters seems to be doing the best she can.  Each is setting goals to be a little better day by day.  Each is doing her best to magnify her callings and serve the Lord.  So, Sisters, we now crown you, “Sister _______.”  Congratulations. 

{Note:  This skit is based on Joseph B. Wirthlin’s October 2001 General Conference talk entitled “One Step After Another.” We used this skit at a Relief Society meeting.   The sisters did not prepare ahead of time.  We asked for volunteers. We brought a few props for each contestant, such as a tacky craft for Sis. Tiger Lily and a string of pearls for Sis. Daisy.  At the end, each sister received a Burger King crown.  The names of the Sisters corresponded to street names in our ward, so you can substitute your own street names or town names to personalize the skit if you wish.  We also used the skit later at a Stake Relief Society meeting with more elaborate costumes.}