Visiting Teaching Message: September 2012

Special Needs and Service Rendered

“The needs of others are ever present,” said President Thomas S. Monson, “and each of us can do something to help someone. … Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives.”

As visiting teachers we can sincerely come to know and love each sister we visit. Service to those we visit will flow naturally out of our love for them (see John 13:34–35).

How can we know the spiritual and temporal needs of our sisters so we can render service when it is needed? As visiting teachers, we are entitled to receive inspiration when we pray about those we visit.

Maintaining regular contact with our sisters is also important. Personal visits, telephone calls, a note of encouragement, e-mails, sitting with her, a sincere compliment, reaching out to her at church, helping her in time of illness or need, and other acts of service all help us watch over and strengthen each other.

Visiting teachers are asked to report the well-being of sisters, any special needs they have, and the service rendered to them. These kinds of reports and our service to our sisters help us demonstrate our discipleship.


From the Scriptures

John 10:14–16; 3 Nephi 17:7, 9; Moroni 6:3–4


From Our History

Serving one another has always been at the heart of visiting teaching. Through ongoing service we bring kindness and friendship that go beyond monthly visits. It is our caring that counts.

“My desire is to plead with our sisters to stop worrying about a phone call or a quarterly or monthly visit,” said Mary Ellen Smoot, the 13th Relief Society general president. She asked us to “concentrate instead on nurturing tender souls.”

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) taught, “It is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.” Yet he recognized that not all service need be heroic. “So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving … help with mundane tasks,” he said, “but what glorious consequences can flow … from small but deliberate deeds!”

*Source*

Treat Ideas: Summer

What a heat wave we've been having lately! Thank goodness for A/C!!  Anyway, here's something I did for my ladies this month.  I placed this play on words (used OTTER POPS) and hydrating items in a bag.  Simple and versatile too.  You can get creative.  Make it as fancy as you like.  Use your imagination. :)

"Ya OTTER know that I'm thinking of you! 

Stay cool in this heat and enjoy these POPS."

Bottle of water not pictured ..I forgot! :)

Another idea mentioned before is to fill a pitcher full of lemons and provide instructions to make lemonade. Make that as fancy as you like too. 

Maybe do a beach themed idea treat ..beach towel, flip-flops, sun screen, peach ring candy, etc.

Think summer, hydration, fun, etc.

Hope this was helpful or inspired your creativity!!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling VT Journal #5-10

Thoughts from the sisters of our ward regarding visiting teaching.

It's about time, huh?!  Sorry that this has been MIA for so long.  Anyway, get ready to be inspired!  Enjoy.

#5 Not dated:
"Visiting teaching is both a joy and a challenge, just like anything that is worthwhile in life.  I try not to think about Visiting Teaching as a task to check off the list, but as a chance to personally connect with my sister.  It's so easy for me to get caught in the hurried tasks and minutia of everyday life.  Visiting teaching is a great opportunity to stop and remember that our relationships with others; the way we love, care for, & serve each other is what truly matters.

If I can somehow help my sisters feel the Spirit, whether by a lesson, a simple visit, or just listening, then I consider that a success.  We all will be edified if we seek to serve & love as our Savior taught us to do."

Summer L.

#6 Not dated:
"I believe visiting teaching is an amazing way to strengthen sisters.  I know I learn new things every time I teach am taught.  It's so fun to bounce ideas off of one another & get new insights & ideas on everything from improving personal scripture study to getting your babies to sleep through the night.  As a whole, we've got a lot of wisdom & experience to share.  I truly enjoy this privilege of sharing, teaching & helping.  The hardest part for me is always setting up the appointment.  I think there are parts of it that are hard for all of us.  Here again is a wonderful opportunity to grow.  Rumor has it that "Visiting Teaching Rocks in R..5th" and I'm going to have to agree with that ... wholeheartedly."

Meg T.

#7 Not dated: "Visiting teaching is such a wonderfully inspired amazing program.  If someone wanted to know who LDS people were, what we stood for and believed and how we were unique, they needn't look any further.  Lately 3 people have specifically asked me about the v.t. program and how it works and have desired to be a part of such a sisterhood.  That's what it is to me --it's the culture of divine caretaking.

I will always be grateful to wonderful sisters in our ward who have helped me through various medical/pregnancy related issues and truly championed what it means to be a visiting teacher.  I've been so touched by both those over me, and by those I get to visit.  What on one level may initially feel like an obligation, ?, becomes a wonderful opportunity & blessing in my life." 

I stand grateful, Stephanie F.

#8 Dated 1/16/12:
"Visiting teaching has never meant more to me than when I moved here, into this ward.  This was the first time in my life I had moved away from my family.  I needed a new family here, and visiting teaching was the perfect way to make that happen.  It gave me the opportunity to get to know not only those I visit, but also my companion and those who visit me, on a smaller more personal level.  You get to go into someone's home and feel their needs.  Visiting teaching helped me settle into my new home here.  It helped me feel welcome, and gain some life-long friends.  It's not always an easy task to accomplish, but with honest prayer and thought, it is accomplished.  I know I always leave with a calm, happy, and peaceful feeling, knowing I learned something great."

Mindee C.

#9 Not dated:
"When I first learned about VT-ing I thought that it was kind of weird (I was a freshman in college in my BYU student ward ..convert), but then they visited me and brought treats everytime, so I decided to give it a chance.  It's been 10 years since then and man has my testimony grown.  I have learned how necessary VT-ing is, especially when you're staying in tune with the Spirit and are praying for the women you VT.  There's been months where I've been too busy and stressed out but I've really tried to make time to VT.  It's always those months that I get the most out of VT-ing, either through the lesson, from the women I get to see and visit with, or just from being blessed for doing my calling and serving.

There was one month in college where I was given a new girl to VT.  I called her but she insisted it wasn't necessary to visit her because she was moving in a few days.  I felt that it was very necessary, so I prepared a lesson and went over anyway.  She was very nice and it went well.  Didn't think about it much after that, not until a few months later when I saw her at an activity where she was back to visit old friends.  She came up to me and thanked me up and down for that one visit.  As tears developed in her eyes she shared a huge family problem she'd been having at that time and she expressed how the lesson I gave helped her and answered all questions she had been worrying about.  Heavenly Father inspres us to call, visit, and share the right lessons, stories, insight and advice at the perfect times.  We need each other, and Heavenly Father needs us to be his instruments to help each other in times of need.  This our calling and our way of doing His work."

Love, Brittany B.

#10 Dated 4/3/12:
"Visiting teaching always seemed like something I would do when I become a grown-up.  I knew my Mom did it but I never saw her vt because she did it while all her kiddos were at school.  So when it came time for me to be a part of it, I felt a bit overwhelmed.  Could I be a friend to two women in my ward?  Of course.  In fact, I was excited about the prospect of new friendship.  I was just worried that I wouldn't know how to help them if they needed it.  Would they think I didn't care about them if I didn't visit one month?  Plus, who had time to visit teach with all the other demands on time?  All these things made me feel like vt was difficult and frustrating.  However, I was assigned an amazing companion right off the bat.  She made treats, scheduled appointmens, and made sure I took part in the lesson.  Eventually, I realized why she was so good at being a visiting teacher:  she taught her friends.  She wasn't just fulfillng her duty, she really loved our girls.  It is so easy to keep in touch, to make treats, and to help those who you consider your friends.

I know that visiting teaching is inspired of God.  It is a way for his daughters to bond, to help one another.  I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who makes sure his children are looked after.

I know this Church is true.  Jesus Christ suffered for my sins and yours.  There is nothing he cannot mend.  Broken hearts.  Loneliness.  The pain of sin.  He can help anyone.  And I can help too.  I can be a friend and maybe even the answer to a prayer through visiting teaching."

Love, Katie B.

Visiting Teaching Message: August 2012

This month's visiting teaching message is titled, "Taking Action in Time of Need".  Here's the message taken from lds.org.  ~Happy Visiting Teaching!! :)

Taking Action in Time of Need
As visiting teachers, one of our purposes is to help strengthen families and homes. The sisters we visit should be able to say, “If I have problems, I know my visiting teachers will help without waiting to be asked.” In order to serve, we have a responsibility to be conscious of the needs of the sisters we visit. When we seek inspiration, we will know how to respond to the spiritual and temporal needs of each sister we are assigned to visit. Then, using our time, skills, talents, prayers of faith, and spiritual and emotional support, we can help give compassionate service during times of illness, death, and other special circumstances.

Through the help of reports from visiting teachers, the Relief Society presidency identifies those who have special needs because of physical or emotional illness, emergencies, births, deaths, disability, loneliness, or other challenges. The Relief Society president then reports her findings to the bishop. Under his direction, she coordinates assistance.

As visiting teachers we can have “great reason … to rejoice” because of “the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work” (Alma 26:1, 3).

From the Scriptures Matthew 22:37–40; Luke 10:29–37; Alma 26:1–4; Doctrine and Covenants 82:18–19

From Our History
In the early years of the Church, membership was small and centralized. Members could respond quickly when someone was in need. Today our membership is over 14 million and is spread throughout the world. Visiting teaching is part of the Lord’s plan to provide help for all His children.

“The only system which could provide succor and comfort across a church so large in a world so varied would be through individual servants near the people in need,” said President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency.

“… Every bishop and every branch president has a Relief Society president to depend upon,” he continued. “She has visiting teachers, who know the trials and the needs of every sister. She can, through them, know the hearts of individuals and families. She can meet needs and help the bishop in his call to nurture individuals and families.”

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