Write It and Reflect on It

“Out of all we have heard, there may be a phrase or a paragraph that will stand out and possess our attention. If this occurs, I hope we will write it down and reflect on it until we savor the depth of its meaning and have made it a part of our own lives.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley, “An Humble and a Contrite Heart,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 88. 

Prepare for Revelation

The following ideas can help you prepare to be taught by the Spirit:

1.       Set aside time and create a distraction-free environment in which you can receive spiritual promptings.

2.       Seek divine guidance through prayer.

3.       List personal questions or concerns for which you are seeking answers.

Michael Barber and David Marsh, “Getting More Out of General Conference,” Ensign, Apr 2012, 9. 

Conference Talks

President Spencer W. Kimball taught of conference talks, “No text or volume outside the standard works of the Church should have such a prominent place on your personal library shelves—not for their rhetorical excellence or eloquence of delivery, but for the concepts which point the way to eternal life.”

Spencer W. Kimball, In the World but Not of It, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year (May 14, 1968), 3. 

Conference Issue

“For the next six months, your conference edition of the Ensign should stand next to your standard works and be referred to frequently.”

Ezra Taft Benson, “Come unto Christ, and Be Perfected in Him,” Ensign, May 1988, 84. 

Love, Watch Over, and Strengthen

How can we as visiting teachers love, watch over, and strengthen a sister? Following are nine suggestions found in chapter 7 of Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society to help visiting teachers minister to their sisters:

                -Pray daily for her and her family.

                -Seek inspiration to know her and her family.

                -Visit her regularly to learn how she is doing and to comfort and strengthen her.

-Stay in frequent contact through visits, phone calls, letters, e-mail, text messages, and simple acts of kindness.

                -Greet her at Church meetings.

                -Help her when she has an emergency, illness, or other urgent need.

                -Teach her the gospel from the scriptures and the Visiting Teaching Messages.

                -Inspire her by setting a good example.

-Report to a Relief Society leader about their service and the sister’s spiritual and temporal well-being. 

A Great Visiting Teacher

“We know we are successful in our ministering as visiting teachers when our sisters can say: (1) my visiting teacher helps me grow spiritually; (2) I know my visiting teacher cares deeply about me and my family; and (3) if I have problems, I know my visiting teacher will take action without waiting to be asked.”

Julie B. Beck, “What I Hope My Granddaughters (and Grandsons) Will Understand about Relief Society, Ensign, Nov. 2011, 113. 

The Adversary Succeeds

“Brothers and sisters, in the latter days the adversary succeeds when we relax our commitment to the Savior, ignore His teachings in the New Testament and other scripture, and cease to follow Him. Parents, now is the time to teach our children to be examples of the believers by attending sacrament meeting. When Sunday morning arrives, help them to be well rested, properly dressed, and spiritually prepared to partake of the emblems of the sacrament and receive the enlightening, edifying, ennobling power of the Holy Ghost.”

Elder L. Tom Perry, “The Sabbath and the Sacrament,” Ensign, May 2011, 6-9.