Visiting Teaching Message
Visiting Teachers Led Me to
Jesus Christ
By Jayne P. Bowers
“[The Lord] said unto
[Peter] the third time, Lovest thou me?
And [Peter] said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest
that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him,
Feed my sheep” (John 21:17).
In the late 1970s, a friend
asked me to go to Relief Society with her.
“What’s that?” I asked. My friend
simply said, “Come and see.” Wow! I was
captivated from the first moment.
Later that summer Leann came
to my house and said that she was my visiting teacher. This seemed strange and wonderful at the same
time, especially since I was not a member of the Church. Here she was taking time from her busy
schedule to share a spiritual thought with me and to see if there was anything
she could help me with. I knew from her spirit that she was sincere. I’ve never forgotten Leann and the messages
she shared with me.
A couple of years passed, and
Frances moved into our ward. Truthfully,
it wasn’t exactly “our” ward since I wasn’t a member yet, but I thought of it
that way. By this time I had two little
girls, and I could see how the Church auxiliaries were blessing their
lives. Come rain or come shine, Frances,
my new visiting teacher, visited me with a lesson, a laugh, a story, or a
helping hand. I recall when Frances came
one hectic afternoon. Seeing that I
couldn’t sit and talk, Frances stirred my culinary concoctions on the stove
while I tended to my daughters’ needs.
Years passed and I
moved. As much as I hated to leave my
Church friends, I soon found another group of sisters with strong testimonies
and big hearts in the Relief Society in “my” new ward. A Relief Society teacher gave us a decorated
to-do list and encouraged us to write “Be kind” at the top of our lists each
day. The sisters sitting beside me and I
thought it was a grand idea, especially since it supported the Relief Society
motto “charity never faileth” (Moroni 7:46).
Then I read a story about a
pioneer women. When that woman was a
child, the prophet asked her family to help settle a Latter-day Saint community
in a remote area. Tragedy befell when
one of her siblings died. Her mother was
distraught and deep sadness permeated the family.
One day this little girl was
looking out the window. As far as she
could see, a blanket of snow surrounded the family’s modest home,. As the little girl stared at the horizon, she
saw two people trudging toward the house.
On they came, slowly making their way, and suddenly the child realized
who they were—they were her mother’s visiting teachers.
That story inspired me. I was baptized in May 1983. It is an honor to be a visiting teacher my
self. I love associating with so many
women who exemplify the “virtuous woman” whose “price is far above rubies’ (Proverbs
42:20). It is wonderful to be with women
who are also striving to be kind, to love one another, and bring others unto
Christ.
“Many women have reported
that the reason they came back into Church activity was because a faithful
visiting teacher came month after month and ministered to them, rescuing them,
loving them, blessing them.
“At times the most important
blessing about your visit will be to just listen. Listening bring comfort, understanding, and
healing. Still another time you may need to roll up your sleeves and go to work
in the home or help to calm a crying child.”
“When I went visiting
teaching, I always felt better. I was
lifted, loved and blessed usually much more than the sister I was
visiting. My desire to serve increased. And I could see what a beautiful way Heavenly
Father has planned for us to watch over and care for one another.”
