December 2012 Visiting Teaching
Message
Contact your sister by
the 5th, make an appointment by
the 10th, visit by the 15th and report by the 20th
the 10th, visit by the 15th and report by the 20th
Visiting Teaching, a Work of Salvation
Prayerfully study this material and, as appropriate, discuss
it with the sisters you visit. Use the questions to help you strengthen your
sisters and to make Relief Society an active part of your own life.
Visiting
teaching gives women the opportunity to watch over, strengthen, and teach one
another—it is truly a work of salvation. Through visiting teaching, sisters
minister in behalf of the Savior and help prepare women for the blessings of
eternal life.
“We are ‘to
warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite [others] to come unto Christ’ (D&C
20:59), as the Lord said in his revelations,” said President
Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985). Further, he said, “Your testimony is a
terrific medium.”1
When we as
visiting teachers increase our knowledge of gospel truths, our testimonies
strengthen and support sisters who are preparing to be baptized and confirmed.
We help new members become anchored in the gospel. Our visits and love help
“win back those who have gone astray [and] warm up the hearts of those who have
grown cold in the gospel.”2
And we encourage sisters to come unto Christ through temple attendance.
“You are going
to save souls,” said President Kimball to visiting teachers, “and who can tell
but that many of the fine active people in the Church today are active because
you were in their homes and gave them a new outlook, a new vision. You pulled
back the curtain. You extended their horizons. …
“You see, you
are not only saving these sisters, but perhaps also their husbands and their
homes.”3
From the Scriptures
From Our History
When the
Prophet Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society, he said that the women were
not only to look after the poor but also to save souls. He also taught that
women in the Church play essential roles in Heavenly Father’s plan of
salvation.4
Guided by the principles taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith, we as sisters in
Relief Society can work together to prepare women and their families for God’s
greatest blessings.
“Let us have
compassion upon each other,” said President Brigham Young (1801–77), “and let
[those who are] strong tenderly nurse the weak into strength, and let those who
can see guide the blind until they can see the way for themselves.”5
For more
information, go to reliefsociety.lds.org.
What Can I Do?
- How does Relief Society prepare me for the blessings of eternal life?
- What can I do to increase the faith of those I watch over?
Notes
- Spencer W. Kimball, in Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society (2011), 116.
- Eliza R. Snow, in Daughters in My Kingdom, 83.
- Spencer W. Kimball, in Daughters in My Kingdom, 117.
- See Joseph Smith, in Daughters in My Kingdom, 171–72.
- Brigham Young, in Daughters in My Kingdom, 107.
