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Visiting Teaching Message: Converted unto
the Lord
Faith, Family,
Relief
New sisters of the Church—including Young Women entering Relief
Society, sisters returning to activity, and new converts—need the support and
friendship of visiting teachers. “Member involvement is vital to convert
retention and in bringing less-active members back into full activity,” said
Elder M.
Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Capture the vision
that the Relief Society … can become [one of] the most powerful friendshipping
resource[s] we have in the Church. Reach out early to those being taught and
reactivated, and love them into the Church through your organization.”1
As members of Relief Society, we can help new members learn
basic Church practices, such as:
·
Giving a talk.
·
Bearing testimony.
·
Living the law of the fast.
·
Participating in family history work.
·
Performing baptisms and confirmations for their deceased
ancestors.
“It takes attentive friends to make new members feel comfortable
and welcomed at church,” said Elder Ballard.2 All of
us, but especially visiting teachers, have important responsibilities to
establish friendships with new members as a way of helping them become firmly
“converted unto the Lord” (Alma 23:6).
From
the Scriptures
From
Our History
“With the ever-increasing number of converts,” said President
Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008), “we must make an increasingly substantial
effort to assist them as they find their way. Every one of them needs three
things: a friend, a responsibility, and nurturing with ‘the good word of God’ (Moroni 6:4).”3
Visiting teachers are in a position to help those they watch
over. Friendship often comes first, as it did for a young Relief Society sister
who was the visiting teacher of an older sister. They had been slow in building
a friendship until they worked side by side on a cleaning project. They became
friends, and as they talked about the Visiting Teaching Message, they were both
nurtured by “the good word of God.”
President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) said Relief Society
“is a vital part of the kingdom of God on earth and … helps its faithful
members to gain eternal life in our Father’s kingdom.”4
What
Can I Do?
1.
Do I pray for my companion and ask that the Spirit will guide us
as we minister to our sisters?
2.
In what ways do we serve each sister we watch over so that she
knows we truly care about her?
“Conversion = Obedience”
cji
2/1/13
Conversion is
internal knowledge
truths which are
eternal to know
testimony by the Holy
Ghost pure
yet denied by most of
the world;
Obedience is the key
to knowledge
understanding the
fruits of truths
living the higher
laws of Father’s
integrity overcoming
the world!
Copyright © 2013 – cji
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