LDS women are "not second-class citizens in the kingdom of God" but integral to God's plan and are obligated to get all the education they can in order to become self-reliant and enlarge their lives.

President Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told women during the annual General Relief Society meeting Saturday that they are God's "divine creation. Men hold the priesthood. Yours is a different role, different but equally important."

Speaking during the annual General Relief Society meeting at the Conference Center, he said women play a vital role in God's plan for his children, which would "have no real meaning" without their contribution. "You are 50 percent of the membership of the church and mothers of the other 50 percent. No one can dismiss you lightly."

More than 20,000 women filled the Conference Center for the event, which was translated into dozens of languages and beamed via satellite to LDS buildings in scores of nations worldwide. More than 5 million women are members of the church's Relief Society, he said.

"In my judgment, this is the greatest women's organization in the world," one that stands for love, education, self-reliance, sacrifice and faith.

Each woman's obligation to obtain all the education she can "will enlarge her life and increase her opportunities," providing "marketable skills in case she needs them."

He shared a letter from a single mother who recalled his counsel to her 10 years ago in taking care of her family alone. She was encouraged to return to college in order to provide a better life for her family, and she will graduate in December.

"It is a great feeling to know that we have made it on our own for the past several years ... There is a certain feeling of accomplishment when you can once again stand on your own two feet and provide for your family's needs."

Mothers who sacrifice for their families and look back on their lives will be unconcerned with whether they had fancy clothes and cars and large homes but will be vitally concerned with how their children turn out, he said.

"If they have turned out well, you will be grateful. If otherwise, there will be only small consolation for you."

He encouraged them to know that "when all for which we labor so hard in this world of conquest fades before our eyes, you will be there, you must be there, as the strength for a new generation, the ever-improving onward movement of the race."

Relief Society gives women the opportunity for growth and development, as well as "place and position, where they grow as they exercise their talents," he said. "It gives them pride and direction in family life. It gives them added appreciation for good, eternal companions and children."