Dear Sisters...

Dear Sisters,

One of the lessons I have learned by going to the temple is that when Jesus or his disciples receive an assignment or responsibility from Heavenly Father, they are instructed "to return and report." This same principle is also true of visiting teaching. Please take the time to call your supervisors to let her know how the sisters on your route are doing. If you have a companion, you may wish to take turns calling in your report to your visiting teacher supervisor. You can also use a similar approach to your visiting teaching. While teaching together is the ideal, you can break up the list and visit sister individually. Just please be sure to report who you visited. Sisters, these are reports are not simply an exercise in statistics. Visiting teaching helps the RS Presidency and the Bishop be aware and act on the needs of our Relief Society sisters. I hope we will catch the vision that Sister Beck shared with us in September:

"With so much need for relief and rescue in the lives of sisters and their families today, our Heavenly Father needs us to follow a higher path and demonstrate our discipleship by sincerely caring for His children. With this important purpose in mind, leaders are now taught to ask for reports about the spiritual and temporal well-being of sisters and their families and about service rendered.¹⁸ Now visiting teachers have the responsibility to “sincerely come to know and love each sister, help her strengthen her faith, and give service.”¹⁹

As committed disciples of the Savior, we are improving in our ability to do the things He would do if He were here. We know that to Him it is our caring that counts, and so we are trying to concentrate on caring about our sisters rather than completing lists of things to do. True ministry is measured more by the depth of our charity than by the perfection of our statistics. We will know we are successful in our ministry as visiting teachers when our sisters can say, “My visiting teacher helps me grow spiritually” and “I know that my visiting teacher cares deeply about me and my family” and “If I have problems, I know my visiting teacher will take action without waiting to be invited.”

Thank you for your watch care.

Love,

1st Ward Relief Society Presidency