Hello Sisters!
A few reminders for you…
· 1st Ward Temple Trip is this Friday, August 9th - If you have names ready for the temple please give them to Brother Roberts.· Relief Society Activity – August 13th @ 7pm.- All Young Women are invited to join us! We will be talking about Family History and how to "use it" and work on it in our busy lives. Refreshments & nursery will be provided.
· August 30th – Tallahassee Stake Zone Conference - 1st Ward is in charge of the lunch for this zone conference on Friday the 30th. We will need sisters to help prepare to food, serve, and clean up. Please check your schedules for that day to see if you will be available to help! We will have a sign-up sheet in the binder next Sunday.
· Updated Visiting Teaching Routes for August were handed out Sunday at church. If you did not get your new route please see a member of the RS Presidency! Several changes have been made so you’ll want to be sure to get an updated route before you start making visits this month. Please know that the Relief Society Presidency has put much thought and prayer into each and every change made on these routes. We prayed specifically about each of you and felt inspired to place you with the sisters you see on your routes, as well as your companion. We would like to ask that you also take the time to pray to our Heavenly Father for guidance and direction as you get to know your sisters (if you don’t know them already) and how best to minister to them and love them.
“You Are My Hands” – Ministering by the example of Christ
I wanted share a few thoughts with you this week from the lesson that Bishop gave on Sunday in
Relief Society. I know that many of the sisters serving in other
auxiliaries on Sunday’s don’t have the opportunity to be a part of our
RS lessons and this one was a really important reminder and lesson for
us all.
First, I
would ask that each of you read the talk given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf
during General Conference this past April. It is entitled You Are My Hands.
You may remember his story of the statue of Christ that was damaged by
the bombings during World War II. Experts were able to repair most of
the statue but the hands had been damaged so severely that they could
not be repaired. The statue ultimately remained without hands, however
the people of the city added at the base of the statue of Jesus Christ a
sign with these words: “You are my hands.”
Elder
Uchtdorf goes on to say, “When I think of the Savior, I often picture
Him with hands outstretched, reaching out to comfort, heal, bless, and
love. And He always talked with, never down to, people. He
loved the humble and the meek and walked among them, ministering to
them and offering hope and salvation. That is what He did during his
mortal life; it is what He would be doing if He were living among us
today; and it is what we should be doing as His disciples and members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Sisters, we
ARE the hands of Christ, and we should be following his example in
ministering to those around us as he would. It is our calling as members
of this church. When we take upon his name at baptism, we are promising
to do so. We are also part of a wonderful organization that is set up
in a way that should help us easily follow this counsel. It’s called
Visiting Teaching! J The
purpose of Visiting Teaching is to minister; The purpose of ministering
is to help others become true followers of Jesus Christ.
How Visiting Teachers Love, Watch Over, and Strengthen a Sister:
· Pray daily for the sisters you visit, and her family· Seek inspiration to get to know her and her family (Moroni 6:4)
· Visit her regularly to learn how she is doing and to comfort and strengthen her
· Stay in frequent contact through visits, phone calls, letters, e-mail, text messages, and simple acts of kindness
· Inspire her by setting a good example (Daughters in My Kingdom, page 123)
· Loving her without judgment (John 13:34-35)
· Watching over your sisters and strengthening their faith ‘one by one’ as the Savior did (3 Nephi 11:15; 17:21)
· Establishing sincere friendship with them and visiting teaching them in their homes and elsewhere (D&C 20:47)
· Teach her the gospel from the scriptures and the visiting teaching messages
Think
about all the wonderful things we can do for each other if we truly
embrace our calling as a Visiting Teacher to those sisters that we are
asked to watch over. Think of the blessings it will bring to the sisters
you care for, and the blessings that will be poured out upon you as you
are obedient and follow His counsel in ministering to his children.
When we serve others as visiting teachers, we receive blessings
ourselves. Sister Barbara W. Winder, the eleventh Relief Society
general president, taught: “It is vital that each sister have
visiting teachers—to convey a sense that she is needed, that someone
loves and thinks about her. But equally important is the way the
visiting teacher is able to grow in charity. By assigning our women to
do visiting teaching, we give them the opportunity to develop the pure
love of Christ, which can be the greatest blessing of their lives.”
I wanted to leave you with this quote by Dieter F
Uchtdorf (it is also from his “You Are My Hands” conference talk). I
hope that we can all take his words to heart!
“True love requires action. We can speak of
love all day long-we can write notes or poems that proclaim it, sing
songs that praise it, and preach sermons that encourage it- but until we
manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but “sounding
brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Christ did not just speak about love; He
showed it each day of His life. He did not remove Himself from the
crowd. Being amidst the people, Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued
the lost. He didn’t just teach a class about reaching out in love and
then delegate the actual work to others. He not only taught but also
showed us how to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down,
and strengthen the feeble knees.” Christ knows how to minister to
others perfectly. When the Savior stretches out His hands, those He
touches are uplifted and become greater, stronger, and better people as a
result. If we are His hands should we not do the same?” ~Dieter F. Uchtdorf
We love you all, and are so very grateful for your willingness to serve.
Love,
Sister Mandy Carroll
Sister Jennifer Porter
Sister Lori Fairbanks
Sister Alisha Bell
No comments:
Post a Comment