January 2012 Visiting Teaching Message

You can find this months message at lds.org at this link http://lds.org/liahona/2012/01/watchcare-and-ministering-through-visiting-teaching?lang=eng "Watchcare and Ministering through Visiting teaching", is the topic of this months Visiting teaching message. If you go to the message, look at the second paragraph as it tells exactly and to the point of what we are to do as visiting teachers. It says "Through visiting teaching:
1. We provide watchcare by contacting each sister
2. Sharing a gospel message
3. Seeking to know her and her family's needs
How much more clear does it need to be? We need to contact our sisters and share the message and make sure that we don't leave until we know her needs as well as the needs of her family.
My ward Relief Society President went to the yearly training meeting for the Relief Society presidencies all over the church that was held in Salt lake City, Utah. She said that she was able to sit on the front row, and afterwards was approached and spoken to by Julie Beck herself. She was so edified by what she had heard from Sister Beck that she brought home the message, studied it out in her own mind and came up with a way to be more accountable for the Visiting Teaching that is done in our ward. She came up with a program that was taken from the very words that Sister Julie Beck spoke at that meeting. Below is the record sheet that our Relief Society President has designed and implemented in our ward.

A. Are there any needs or concerns that she has? If so, how are you helping to resolve the issues?
B. Have you seen her in Sacrament meeting?
C. Is there any good news she has to share?

Each visiting teaching partnership fills this out for each sister that they visit teach and either submits it to their supervisor or if there are sensitive things that are disclosed, submits directly to the Relief Society President. These papers let the Relief Society President know exactly how all the women are in the ward. It is difficult for her to know everything but when the Visiting teachers are doing their jobs, then she does know and then can act to assist the needs of the sisters of the ward. It is a wonderful and inspired program and I wanted to share it with you because after all... my blog's purpose is for ideas, tips and handouts about Visiting Teaching.
Enjoy! Katie G.