How many of you have ever been inactive, have

a parent, spouse, child or grandchild, brother or

sister who has been inactive?

How many of you have been activated or know

someone that has been by their home or visiting
teachers?

If they are still not active, how many pray and

hope that someone, sometime will be able to
reach them and bring them back into activity?

What was it about your home or visiting

teachers that brought you back into activity?
(love, friendship, persistence, spirit)

Visiting Teaching / Home Teaching is the way

that we as members do our missionary work. We
will sometimes be the only contact that they
have with the church. We are representatives of
our Savior and will be prompted and guided to
know how to bless the lives of the members we
visit, if we are faithful in our callings.
What are some of the reasons we don’t do our
home or visiting teaching?
(time, fear, lack of testimony)

Time: We always make time for the things we

really want to do.
Fear: 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given
us the spirit of ear; but of power, and of love ,
and of a sound mind.”
Testimony: We start with faith, go because we
we are faithful. We learn line upon line, we
learn to sacrifice, to serve and slowly we gain a
testimony and love for visiting and home
teaching. We need have a sure knowledge, we
know it works, we have no doubt. We are
converted!

If any of you are not home or visiting teachers,

we would love to have you serve. Just let Sister
Longmore or Brother Cook know your desires.

What a blessing all of us home and visiting

teachers are to the Bishop and to Sister
Longmore. They can not possibly go and visit
each and every ward member, but we can be
their eyes and ears. We can let them know when
someone moves, someone is sick or in need of
assistance. This is a truly an inspired program!

We all made a covenant at Baptism to take upon

us our Savior’s name. We promised to do all we
can to serve him and keep his commandments.
We have made a covenant to be visiting and
home teachers. We re-covenant every week in
sacrament meeting. When we take the
sacrament, are we asking ourselves if we are
serving him and doing our part in keeping our
baptismal covenant?

In 1834 the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded, “No

month ever found me more busily engaged than
November; but as my life consisted of activity
and unyielding exertions, I made this my rule:
When the Lord commands, do it.” We would
all do well to follow his counsel.

In Psalms 37:4,5: it states, “Commit our way

unto the Lord and trust also in him.”
Think about the possibility of being a home or
visiting teacher to the prophet and his wife.
Would you make sure you went each month? I
think of the scripture in Luke 15:4,5,6 “What
man of you, having an hundred sheep if he lose
one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine
in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost,
until he find it? And when he hath found it, he
layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when
he cometh home, he calleth together his friends
and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with
me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
I think the Lord is saying that those lost sheep
are the ones he wants us to find, it’s important to
visit the active, but how much more important to
go out in the ward and find the lost sheep and
then rejoice that they have been found.

I have a testimony that we can be 100% faithful

in visiting and home teaching. We can visit, or
we can call or send a note each and every single
month. By small and simple things are great
things brought to pass. It is a funny thing about
life: If you refuse to accept anything but the
best you very often get it. There is nothing we
cannot accomplish with the Lord’s help.

I have a basket with a treat for each of you.

There is also a little label you can take and
hopefully put where you will see it.

In conclusion, I want to thank all the visiting

teachers and home teachers for the service you
give, it is immeasurable. I want to leave you
with this thought. A very important word for all
of us in the church is REMEMBER. When you
see that label, I hope you will remember 4
things:
1. We made a covenant to serve as visiting
and home teachers. We need to do it!
2. We are examples to our families. If we
want them to be faithful home and visiting
teachers, we must be faithful.
3. We have the opportunity to bring some of
the lost sheep back into the fold.
4. We will be blessed and have the righteous
desires of our hearts as we do the Lord’s
work.