Friday 24 November 2017

December 2017

Prayerfully study this material and seek for inspiration to know what to share. How will understanding the purpose of Relief Society prepare daughters of God for the blessings of eternal life? reliefsociety.lds.org.

Willing to Bear One Another’s Burdens
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“We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness,” said President Thomas S. Monson. “We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.”1

President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, said: “A great change began in your heart when you came into the Church. You made a covenant, and you received a promise that began changing your very nature. …

“… You promised that you would help the Lord make [others’] burdens light and be comforted. You were given the power to help lighten those loads when you received the gift of the Holy Ghost.”2

“We want to use the light of the gospel to see others as the Savior does—with compassion, hope, and charity,” said Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society General President. “The day will come when we will have a complete understanding of others’ hearts and will be grateful to have mercy extended to us—just as we extend charitable thoughts and words to others. …

“Our obligation and privilege is to embrace improvement in everyone as we strive to become more like our Savior.”3

As we bear one another’s burdens and keep our covenants, we open the way for Jesus Christ to heal others. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion and Atonement, I promise you He is not going to turn His back on us now. When He says to the poor in spirit, ‘Come unto me,’ He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way.”4

Additional Scriptures and Information

Matthew 25:40; Galatians 6:2; Mosiah 2:17; 18:8–9

Consider This

How does helping bear the burdens of others and keeping our covenants open the way for Jesus Christ to heal those in need?

Notes

1. Thomas S. Monson, “Serve the Lord with Love,” Ensign, Feb. 2014, 4.
2. Henry B. Eyring, “The Comforter,” Ensign, May 2015, 18.
3. Jean B. Bingham, “I Will Bring the Light of the Gospel into My Home,” Ensign, Nov. 2016, 6, 8.
4. Jeffrey R. Holland, “Broken Things to Mend,” Ensign, May 2006, 71.

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Sunday 29 October 2017

November 2017

The message for November
is taken from a conference talk. As you carefully consider the needs of those under your care select a talk/talks that would uplift them.

These quotes are all from the conference and can be downloaded by clicking on 'Download'. They are 6x4 format ready to print.Or if you prefer resize and print smaller.

Download

Some other sites to check
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The Idea Door
Inkablinka
My Happy Tribe

Still looking for ideas? Google 'Visiting Teaching Message October 2017'

Saturday 30 September 2017

October 2017

Enfolding with Love Those Who Stray

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“The reality is that there are no perfect families … ,” said President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. “Whatever problems your family is facing, whatever you must do to solve them, the beginning and the end of the solution is charity, the pure love of Christ.”1

Of those who are not participating fully in the gospel, Linda K. Burton, former General President of the Relief Society, said: “Heavenly Father loves all His children. … No matter where they are—on or off the path—He wants them back home.”2

“However wayward [your children] might be, … when you speak or talk to them, do it not in anger, do it not harshly, in a condemning spirit,” taught President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918). “Speak to them kindly.”3

Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Seventy reiterated the Savior’s instruction to those who have 10 pieces of silver and lose one: “Search until you find it. When the lost one is your son or your daughter, your brother or your sister, … after all we can do, we love that person with all of our hearts. …

“May you and I receive the revelation to know how to best approach those in our lives who are lost and, when necessary, to have the patience and love of our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, as we love, watch, and wait for the prodigal.”4

President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, said: “I have prayed with faith that someone I loved would seek and feel the power of the Atonement. I have prayed with faith that human angels would come to their aid, and they came.

“God has devised means to save each of His children.”5

Additional Scriptures and Information

Matthew 18:12; Alma 31:35; 3 Nephi 13:32; D&C 121:41–42

Consider This

How can we continue to show charity to those who do not want to live the principles of the gospel?
Show References

Notes

1. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “In Praise of Those Who Save,” Ensign, May 2016, 79, 80.
2. Linda K. Burton, in Sarah Jane Weaver, “Sister Burton, Sister Wixom Visit Church’s Pacific Area,” Church News, Apr. 2, 2013, lds.org/church/news.
3. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (1998), 254.
4. Brent H. Nielson, “Waiting for the Prodigal,” Ensign, May 2015, 103.
5. Henry B. Eyring, “To My Grandchildren,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 71.

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Wednesday 23 August 2017

September 2017

Prayerfully study this material and seek for inspiration to know what to share. How will understanding the purpose of Relief Society prepare daughters of God for the blessings of eternal life?

Of One Heart

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“And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). How can we become one?

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “At the heart of the English word atonement is the word one. If all mankind understood this, there would never be anyone with whom we would not be concerned, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, or social or economic standing. We would strive to emulate the Savior and would never be unkind, indifferent, disrespectful, or insensitive to others.”1

President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, taught: “Where people have [the] Spirit with them, [they] may expect harmony. … The Spirit of God never generates contention (see 3 Nephi 11:29). … It leads to personal peace and a feeling of union with others.”2

Speaking of family challenges, Carole M. Stephens, who served as First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, said: “I’ve never had to live through divorce, the pain and insecurity that comes from abandonment, or the responsibility associated with being a single mother. I haven’t experienced the death of a child, infertility, or same-gender attraction. I haven’t had to endure abuse, chronic illness, or addiction. These have not been my stretching opportunities.

“… But through my personal tests and trials … I have become well acquainted with the One who does understand. … And in addition, I have experienced all of the mortal tests that I just mentioned through the lens of a daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend.

“Our opportunity as covenant-keeping daughters of God is not just to learn from our own challenges; it is to unite in empathy and compassion as we support other members of the family of God in their struggles.”3

Additional Scriptures and Information

John 17:20–23; Ephesians 4:15; Mosiah 18:21–22; 4 Nephi 1:15; reliefsociety.lds.org

Consider This

How does unity with one another help us become one with God?

Notes

1. M. Russell Ballard, “The Atonement and the Value of One Soul,” Ensign, May 2004, 86.
2. Henry B. Eyring, “That We May Be One,” Ensign, May 1998, 67.
3. Carole M. Stephens, “The Family Is of God,” Ensign, May 2015, 11–12.

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Monday 24 July 2017

August 2017

Prayerfully study this material and seek for inspiration to know what to share. How will understanding the purpose of Relief Society prepare daughters of God for the blessings of eternal life?

Living a Consecrated Life

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“To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes,” said Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time and choices—to God’s purposes.”1

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “We tend to think of consecration only as yielding up, when divinely directed, our material possessions. But ultimate consecration is the yielding up of oneself to God.”2

As we consecrate ourselves to the purposes of God, our faith in Jesus Christ and in His Atonement will increase. As we live a consecrated life, we can be made holy through those actions.

Carole M. Stephens, former First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, said:
“Elder Robert D. Hales taught, ‘When we make and keep covenants, we are coming out of the world and into the kingdom of God.’

“We are changed. We look different, and we act different. The things we listen to and read and say are different, and what we wear is different because we become daughters of God bound to Him by covenant.”3

Consecration is the covenant God makes “with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33). Living a consecrated life is in harmony with God’s plan for us.

Additional Scriptures and Information

1 Thessalonians 1:3; Doctrine and Covenants 105:5; reliefsociety.lds.org

Consider this

How does consecrating our lives to the Lord help us become more like Him?

Notes

1. D. Todd Christofferson, “Reflections on a Consecrated Life,” Ensign, Nov. 2010, 16.
2. Neal A. Maxwell, “Consecrate Thy Performance,” Ensign, May 2002, 36.
3. Carole M. Stephens, “Wide Awake to Our Duties,” Ensign, Nov. 2012, 115–16.

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Wednesday 28 June 2017

July 2017

Prayerfully study this material and seek to know what to share. How will understanding “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” increase your faith in God and bless those you watch over through visiting teaching? For more information, go to reliefsociety.lds.org.

That They May Be One
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“Jesus achieved perfect unity with the Father by submitting Himself, both flesh and spirit, to the will of the Father,” taught Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“… Surely we will not be one with God and Christ until we make Their will and interest our greatest desire. Such submissiveness is not reached in a day, but through the Holy Spirit, the Lord will tutor us if we are willing until, in process of time, it may accurately be said that He is in us as the Father is in Him.”1

Linda K. Burton, former Relief Society General President, taught how to work toward this unity: “Making and keeping our covenants is an expression of our commitment to become like the Savior. The ideal is to strive for the attitude best expressed in a few phrases of a favorite hymn: ‘I’ll go where you want me to go. … I’ll say what you want me to say. … I’ll be what you want me to be.’”2

Elder Christofferson also reminded us that “as we endeavor day by day and week by week to follow the path of Christ, our spirit asserts its preeminence, the battle within subsides, and temptations cease to trouble.”3

Neill F. Marriott, Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, bears testimony of the blessings of striving to align our will with God’s will: “I have struggled to banish the mortal desire to have things my way, eventually realizing that my way is oh so lacking, limited, and inferior to the way of Jesus Christ. ‘His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come’ [“The Living Christ”; emphasis added].”4 Let us strive humbly to become one with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Additional Scriptures and Information

John 17:20–21; Ephesians 4:13; Doctrine and Covenants 38:27; reliefsociety.lds.org

Consider This

How does doing the will of God help us to become more like Him?

Notes

1. D. Todd Christofferson, “That They May Be One in Us,” Ensign, Nov. 2002, 72, 73.
2. Linda K. Burton, “The Power, Joy, and Love of Covenant Keeping,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 111.
3. D. Todd Christofferson, “That They May Be One in Us,” 71.
4. Neill F. Marriott, “Yielding Our Hearts to God,” Ensign, Nov. 2015, 32.

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Monday 22 May 2017

June 2017

Priesthood Power through Keeping Covenants

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“My message to … all is that we can live every hour ‘blessed by the strength of priesthood power,’ whatever our circumstance,” said Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“… As you worthily participate in the ordinances of the priesthood, the Lord will give you greater strength, peace, and eternal perspective. Whatever your situation, your home will be ‘blessed by the strength of priesthood power.’”1

How do we invite priesthood power into our lives? Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reminds us that “those who have entered the waters of baptism and subsequently received their endowment in the house of the Lord are eligible for rich and wonderful blessings. The endowment is literally a gift of power … [and] our Father in Heaven is generous with His power.” He reminds us that men and women “are both endowed with the same power” in the temple, “which by definition is priesthood power.”2

Linda K. Burton, former Relief Society General President, said: “Since priesthood power is something we all desire to have in our families and homes, what do we need to do to invite that power into our lives? Personal righteousness is imperative to having priesthood power.”3

“If we will humbly present ourselves before the Lord and ask Him to teach us, He will show us how to increase our access to His power,” said President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.4

Additional Scriptures and Information

1 Nephi 14:14; Doctrine and Covenants 121:36; 132:20; reliefsociety.lds.org

Consider This

How does keeping our covenants bless us with priesthood power?

Notes

1. Neil L. Andersen, “Power in the Priesthood,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 92, 95.
2. M. Russell Ballard, “Men and Women and Priesthood Power,” Ensign, Sept. 2014, 32.
3. Linda K. Burton, “Priesthood Power—Available to All,” Ensign, June 2014, 39.
4. Russell M. Nelson, “The Price of Priesthood Power,” Ensign, May 2016, 69.

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Saturday 29 April 2017

May 2017

The message for May is taken from a conference talk. As you carefully consider the needs of those under your care select a talk/talks that would uplift them.

These quotes are all from the conference and can be downloaded by clicking on 'Download'. They are 6x4 format ready to print.Or if you prefer resize and print smaller.

Download

Some other sites to check
Sugardoodle
The Idea Door
Inkablinka
My Happy Tribe

Still looking for ideas? Google 'Visiting Teaching Message May 2017'

Tuesday 11 April 2017

April 2017

Tuesday 28 February 2017

March 2017

The Enabling Power of Jesus Christ and His Atonement

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“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). “Though we all have weaknesses, we can overcome them,” says President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. “Indeed it is by the grace of God that, if we humble ourselves and have faith, weak things can become strong.”1

Our Savior says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88).

“Nephi is an example of one who knew, understood, and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior,” says Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Nephi’s brothers bound him with cords and planned his destruction. Please note Nephi’s prayer: ‘O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound’ (1 Nephi 7:17).

“… Nephi did not pray to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And I believe he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew, understood, and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement.

“I do not think the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then ‘in the strength of the Lord’ (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords, and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands.”2

Additional Scriptures and Information

Isaiah 41:10; Ether 12:27; reliefsociety.lds.org

Consider This

How can the enabling power of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice help our weaknesses be made strong?

Notes

1. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Gift of Grace,” Ensign, May 2015, 108.
2. David A. Bednar, “Strength beyond Our Own,” New Era, Mar. 2015, 4.

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Thursday 2 February 2017

February 2017

Christ’s Atonement Is Evidence of God’s Love

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Understanding that our Heavenly Father gave His Only Begotten Son that we might have immortality and the potential for eternal life helps us feel of God’s infinite and incomprehensible love for us. Our Savior also loves us.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? …

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

“Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 38–39).

Of Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “The Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane and His agony on the cross redeem us from sin by satisfying the demands that justice has upon us. He extends mercy and pardons those who repent. The Atonement of Jesus Christ also satisfies the debt justice owes to us by healing and compensating us for any suffering we innocently endure. ‘For behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam’ (2 Nephi 9:21; see also Alma 7:11–12).”1

Christ has “graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands” (Isaiah 49:16). Linda K. Burton, Relief Society General President, says, “That supreme act of love ought to send each of us to our knees in humble prayer to thank our Heavenly Father for loving us enough that He sent His Only Begotten and perfect Son to suffer for our sins, our heartaches, and all that seems unfair in our own individual lives.”2

Additional Scriptures and Information

John 3:16; 2 Nephi 2:6–7, 9;

Consider This

How can we express our gratitude and love to God and to Jesus Christ for the gift of our Savior’s Atonement?

Notes

1. D Todd Christofferson, “Redemption,” Ensign, May 2013, 110.
2. Linda K Burton, “Is Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in Our Hearts?” Ensign, Nov. 2012, 114

Suggested handout (download)

The file will download automatically and is 6x4 suitable for a photo print if you wish

Some other sites to check
Sugardoodle
The Idea Door
Inkablinka
My Happy Tribe

Still looking for ideas? Google 'Visiting Teaching Message February 2017'

Friday 13 January 2017

Apology

My apologies for no handouts for December and January, I have been (and still am) in hospital. I only have an iPad with and am unable to create them. I will resume them as soon as I am able.