February
Converted unto the Lord
Prayerfully study this material and, as appropriate, discuss it with the sisters you visit. Use the questions to help you strengthen your sisters and to make Relief Society an active part of your own life. For more information, go to reliefsociety.lds.org.
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.
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Bearing testimony.
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Living the law of the fast.
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Paying tithing and other offerings.
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Participating in family history work.
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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?
