Better Visiting Teaching

Our Relief Society class discussed ideas on how to better our visiting teaching including our relationships with our companions and the sisters we visit. There are three specific areas we discussed, but I've also included a fourth area with ideas for visiting teaching less active sisters.

• Become friends
• Keep in touch
• Remember each other’s birthdays
• Socialize together at church and at activities
• Support each other
• Get along
• Encourage each other (especially those who are new to visiting teaching)
• Be a motivator, even if it means doing most or all of the work
• Decide in advance who will make the assignments and who will plan the lesson (one sister can do everything one month and the other can do it the next month or you can split the assignments and switch them each month)
• Help to arrange babysitting if necessary

• "Just Do It"
• Plan early
• Listen to your sisters and get to know them
• Pray for your sisters and pray for inspiration to help them
• Be aware of their needs (look beneath the surface) including health concerns
• Don't make them a statistic, love them
• Don't give up or be discouraged, have faith
• Respect them, don't judge them
• Have a message prepared but be open for spiritually inspired messages or teaching opportunities
• Read the full message with your sisters
• Remember their birthdays
• Socialize with your visiting teaching sisters at church and at activities
• One monthly visit/contact should be the minimum not the maximum

• Teach with love
• Pray with your companion before the visit
• Begin and end each visit with a prayer
• Leave your own troubles at the door
• Learn to listen, don't just talk
• Cultivate Christ-like attributes
• Have one companion play with disruptive children while the other visits with the sister (when necessary)
• Don't gossip during or after your visits (center conversations around those present)
• Keep your visits confidential (unless something important should be reported to the Relief Society President or Bishop)
• Be positive and uplifting

Including many of the ideas above here are some additional ideas to help you visit those sisters who are less active or who don't want to be visit taught:

• Make an effort to contact them more than once a month
• Invite them to activities/church
• Serve them
• Try all kinds of ways to contact them (notes, cards, treats, phone calls, flowers, small gifts, etc.)
• Leave a copy of the monthly message or other inspired thoughts/scriptures (it might be their only spiritual contact for the month)
• Pray for inspiration for other types of approaches you could use, such as humor or another special type of service
• Talk to their family or friends (if available) to see if they have any special concerns (such as health/allergies)
• Talk to their home teachers to see if they have had contact with them and if so see if you can accompany them on their next visit so the sister can get to know you
• Always pray for them

When we do our best the Lord will do the rest. Remember this is his work and if you are willing he will use you as a tool to accomplish his work.