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July 4th Sunday: Ministering to others

During April 2018 General Conference, Pres Nelson announced, "We have made the decision to retire home teaching and visiting teaching as we have known them. Instead, we will implement a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others. We will refer to these efforts simply as 'ministering.'"

What were your initial thoughts about this announcement? In the last couple months since this change was made, what has worked for you in your ministering efforts? What hasn't worked? How does ministering bring you closer to Christ? Below are some of the comments made by sisters in Relief Society during our discussion this week. Feel free to add additional comments you may have in the comments section below.


  • Initial thoughts?
    • initial relief that visiting teaching was ending, but this was quickly replaced by the realization that visiting teaching was really just changing its name
    • expectation that ministering would be much different from visiting teaching, but it's actually not; realization that we've been moving in this direction for a while
    • excitement that ministering is not just assigned lessons in the home; validation that other ways of serving and caring for each other "count"
    • recognition that ministering moves away from just doing something assigned for a sister to actually coming to know and care for an individual
  • What works? 
    • going out to eat, to a movie, etc., as a group: this led to friendship and a larger support system in times of need
    • focusing on a person instead of on an assigned message without feeling guilty for doing something different
    • thinking about sisters more, not less; praying for them, and thinking more about different ways to reach out; interacting more often to truly develop friendships
    • going beyond just friendship and still having gospel conversations
  • How does/should ministering bring us closer to Christ?
    • counseling together in ministering interviews
    • preaching the gospel and helping others prepare for ordinances (see Bible Dictionary: "Ministry")
    • preparing ourselves spiritually: need to have oil in our own lamps to be able to share, allows us to feel promptings from the Spirit to know how to serve others
    • continuing to have gospel discussions: we have a responsibility to bring others to Christ, to help them remember the gospel, and to nourish them with "the words of faith and of good doctrine" [1 Tim 4:6]
      • let the gospel be a natural part of our conversations
      • ask sisters what they have recently studied on their own or with their family
      • encourage each other in efforts to not just know the doctrine but also live it
    • knowing sisters better and understanding where they are in life to be able to help them progress: we're striving to help each sister follow a covenant path, but we're all at different points; some sisters may need encouragement to continue keeping baptismal covenants and renewing those through the sacrament, while others may be ready for additional covenants in the temple

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