A Vision of Visiting Teaching

President Kimball gave this address 16 September 1958, when he was a member of the Council of the Twelve. His message, to a visiting teacher convention in the Salt Lake Monument Park Stake, is still fresh and vital.

My beloved sisters, I think my first awareness or consciousness of the existence and the importance of the Relief Society came very early in my life.

My family left Salt Lake City for Arizona when I was three years old. My mother then had six children, and during the time that she went through five more pregnancies and five more births, she was president of the ward Relief Society.

We went to a new land, where water was drawn out of open wells; where flies were so thick you could hardly see out of the screen door in the evening; where typhoid fever was prevalent, and many other diseases, too; where medical help was extremely limited—there were no hospitals, no nurses, and no trained people except the country doctor who had more than he could ever do.

I read in my mother’s journal not long ago such expressions as these: “I left the children with Ruth or Delbert or with Gordon and went to Sister Smith’s home where the second twin had just died and where there were other children desperately ill with typhoid fever.” Again: “Today I spent the day with other sisters making burial clothes for the two children of Sister Jones.” and on and on and on. That was my introduction to Relief Society, and I am sure that to some degree that kind of work is still going forward, for as I understand your work, it includes not only the spiritual and the moral, but also the physical well-being of the people of the ward.

Whenever I think of visiting teachers, I think your duties in many ways must be like those of the home teachers, which briefly are “to watch over the church always”—not twenty minutes a month but always—“and be with and strengthen them”—not a knock at the door, but to be with them, and lift them and strengthen them, and empower them, and fortify them—“and see that there is no iniquity … neither hardness … backbiting, nor evil speaking.” (D&C 20:53–54.)

What an opportunity! But so many would like to talk about other things—the weather, politics, or to talk about something that was just done in the ward, the division of a ward, the reorganization of a bishopric, the reorganization of the Relief Society presidency, or any of the numerous things that could be done in the ward that people might find reason for questioning or criticizing. How glorious is the privilege of two sisters going into a home, de-emphasizing anything that could be detrimental, and instead, building up all the authorities of the Church, the Church itself, its doctrines, its policies, its practices.

There can be no force used in this program as I understand it. It is a work of encouragement and love. It is amazing how many people we can convert with love and inspire with love. We are “to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite … to come unto Christ.” (D&C 20:59.) This could be nonmembers as well as members.

To be successful, a visiting teacher should have a high purpose and remember it all the time, should have great awareness, a terrific enthusiasm that cannot be overcome, a positive attitude, and a great love.

Temple Blessings - A View From Higher Ground

As a youth I had many opportunities to perform baptisms for the dead in the San Diego California Temple. Though I always had a good experience, one trip in particular stands out in my mind.

I was 16, and my little sister had just turned 12 and was making her first trip to do baptisms for the dead. Since it was her first time, we decided to walk around the outside of the temple after we finished.

The temple grounds have a couple of lookout points on one side, so we walked over there. Because the San Diego Temple is situated next to a busy highway, when you stand at a lookout point, you actually look down at the freeway.

Standing on the temple’s higher ground that day gave me a new perspective on life. I was looking down at the world with its whizzing cars, crowded shopping centers, and graffiti-covered road signs.

It was then that the thought came to my mind: “You don’t want to be a part of that; it’s not what life is about.” I had always been taught that the purpose of life is to return to live with our Heavenly Father and become like Him. I knew I didn’t need the things of the world to accomplish that purpose.

I turned around and looked at the beautiful temple, and I was grateful for the knowledge of the gospel and the perspective it gave me. I knew that in the midst of the chaotic and treacherous world, I had found higher ground to stand on.

That day at the temple I promised my Heavenly Father that I would always stand on His side and not the world’s. No matter what the world throws at us, we can overcome it by keeping the covenants we have made and by standing in holy places (see D&C 87:8).

Mindy Raye Holmes, “A View from Higher Ground,” Liahona, Aug. 2010

Family Home Evening web address

Here is the web address for the FHE site we talked about last night at RS meeting:

http://www.ldsliving.com/magazine/cat/3/FHE

(you will have to cut and paste it)

At the top there is a 'free email subscription' sign up.

Relief Society Meeting - August 17th!

Don't forget that there is a Relief Society Meeting tomorrow night (August 17th) at 6:30 PM. Classes are 'Cheap Date Ideas' and 'FHE Packets'. Hope to see you all there!

New LDS site for Women

The Mormon Women Project is a continuously expanding digital library of interviews with Latter-day Saint women from around the world.

http://www.mormonwomen.com/about/

(The Mormon Women Project has no official affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints except that the women profiled on this site are currently active members of the Church.)

I'm Just a Visiting Teacher

Author Unknown

"I'm just a visiting teacher,"
I said to my friend today.
And my father in Heaven heard me,
And I seemed to hear him say:
"Not just a visiting teacher,
A disciple with work to do,
And wherever you carry my message
My spirit goes with you."

"Some daughters of mine with burdens
Some seem to have lost the way
Go take them my love and my gospel
To strengthen them day by day."
"Never say you're just a visiting teacher,
Have faith and you'll understand
When you enter a home with love and prayer --
I take you by the hand."

August Visiting Teaching Message

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE TEMPLE WORTHY

From the Scriptures
Isaiah 2:2–3; D&C 109:22–23; 110:8–10

“The covenants we make with the associated ordinances we receive in the temple become our credentials for admission into God’s presence. These covenants elevate us beyond the limits of our own power and perspective. We make covenants to show our devotion to build up the kingdom. We become covenant people as we are placed under covenant to God. All the promised blessings are ours through our faithfulness to these covenants. …

“What can the women of the Church do to claim the blessings of the temple?

“Through His prophets, the Lord invites those who have not yet received the blessings of the temple to do whatever may be necessary to qualify to receive them. He invites those who have already received these blessings to return as often as possible to enjoy again the experience, to increase their vision and understanding of His eternal plan.

“Let us be worthy to have a current temple recommend. Let us go to the temple to seal our families eternally. Let us return to the temple as often as our circumstances will permit. Let us give our kindred dead the opportunity to receive the ordinances of exaltation. Let us enjoy the spiritual strength and the revelation we receive as we attend the temple regularly. Let us be faithful and make and keep temple covenants to receive the full blessings of the Atonement."

Silvia H. Allred, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency.

From Our History
President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) taught that Relief Society grew out of sisters’ desire to worship in temples:

“During the construction of the Kirtland Temple the women were called upon to grind their china into small particles to be mixed with the plaster used on the walls of the temple, which would catch the light of the sun and the moon and reflect that light to beautify the appearance of the building.

“In those times, when there was very little of money but an abundance of faith, the workmen gave of their strength and resources to the construction of the Lord’s house. The women supplied them with food, the best they could prepare. Edward W. Tullidge reported that while the women were sewing the temple veils, Joseph Smith, observing them, said, ‘Well, sisters, you are always on hand. The sisters are always first and foremost in all good works. Mary was first at the resurrection; and the sisters now are the first to work on the inside of the temple.’ …

“Again in Nauvoo, when the temple was under construction, a few women joined together to make shirts for the workmen. It was out of these circumstances that twenty of them gathered on Thursday, 17 March 1842, in the upper room of the Prophet’s store.”

What Can I Do?
1. What support can I offer to help my sisters prepare for and attend the temple?

2. How can I exemplify the heritage of the early sisters who sacrificed to receive temple blessings?

3. How can I claim the blessings of the temple?

For more information, go to www.reliefsociety.lds.org.