Elder's Quorum Lessons

Stake Conference - General Session

2010-03-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

"That ye may be prepared in all things... Organize yourselves; prepare every needful think; and establish a house, even a house of... God" D&C 88 80, 119

Quick points made by the speakers:

1) Second Counselor of the Stake Presidency
* Disconnect from cell phones and internet
* Prepare for your callings
* Pray for your callings

2) V.L. Skie
* Sharing the gospel is not the same as flapping your lips
* Be an example

3) Stake Patriarch
* Need to be spiritually prepared to preform our callings
* Make yourself available to hear the Holy Ghost
** a lot of times the Holy Ghost speaks to us at night or in the early morning because that is when we are still
* Be obedient in the small things

4) E. Osorio
* Found the church through an LDS ad online

5) C.I. Howell
* Children are their parents' best friends

6) M.D. Howell
* Lift your friends up
* Stand up for your beliefs
* Prepare for a mission

7) President C.G. Wilberg
* Sword of the Spirit
* Alma: The Army of Helaman found "Strength in activity,... were men of truth, and true at all times and in all things."
* We covenented to the whole package when we were baptized
** Whole = complete, whole, or unified
* The atonement makes us whole
* Like electric cables charging a car, "we can't just be close to the gospel - We have to be plugged in."
* How do you stock your storehouse?
* When you visit the sick, or help the hungry you are drawing upon your own storehouse
** Plug in your storehouse!
** Use the power of your testimony!
* the very drawing upon a spiritual storehouse builds up and "stores" your storehouse. It drawing upon your storehouse will only energize your storehouse.
* To deplete you storehouse: Sin, apathy, neglect, disobedience, and not acting on promptings by the Holy Ghost.
* Gospel Sharing Homes:
** Invite someone to your home, OR
** Invite someone to an activity, OR
** Invite someone to a fireside.
*** Let them be touched by good
*** Your invitation can be to less actives
* This gospel will not fail
* We do not need to apologize for being members.

Genesis 4

2010-03-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare aCain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a akeeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the afirstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto bAbel and to his coffering:

5 But unto aCain and to his boffering he had not crespect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be aaccepted? and if thou bdoest not well, csin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be dhis edesire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and aslew him.

9 ¶ And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my abrother’s bkeeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s ablood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou acursed from the bearth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a afugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, aMy punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall aslay me.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a amark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

* Cain was given a specific talent, and wanted to use his talent to give sacrifices to the Lord. When Cain gave the sacrifice, even though he knew that the Lord wanted the sacrifice a different way, the Lord just told him it was wrong, and understood the circumstances. But Cain, thinking that the manner of the sacrifices was unfair, became jealous and murderous. I don't think the Lord was all that upset with Cain about the sacrifices, it was just that the manner that he was performing the ordinance was wrong. But Cain, upset that he couldn't just worship whichever way he wanted, became so outrageously upset, that he ruined not only his salvation, but he significantly hurt the relationship his children had with the Lord.

Moses 5:10-59

2010-03-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how quickly brothers can turn against brothers; and how quickly sons can turn against fathers. It is clear that Lamech, Captain Mahan, wanted nothing more than to keep his covenant with Satan, and was willing to put his father, brothers, and cousins in the path.

* I think sometimes we likewise are quik to abandon our friends and family for better activities, and that we expose them to spiritual death from our actions.

Moses 5: 1-9; 6:51-68

2010-03-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

Moses 5

6 And after many days an aangel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer bsacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.

8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.

9 And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.

* Often I feel like Adam, that I am making "sacrifices" but without purpose - without thinking about the atonement, and serving with love.
** God calls Adam out and tells him to repent for his halfhearted worship. Adam, being the humble servent that he is, responds by saying that he will pray "forevermore." There are some key elements of repentance here. Adam has recognized his sin, he sorrowful for it, he went to the father, and he has the intention to continue in his corrected path. As a result he was cleansed with by the Holy Ghost.

Moses 6

57 Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.

* I think people often get into spiritual rutts and they just cant get out of them. It's like when you slowly lose sight of a goal, and the opportunity to take advantage of that goal goes away. And before long, you just cannot get it. Repentance works that way, we have to constantly work at it and keep it in our mind. Our relationship with the Lord in many ways is like a relationship with any other friend. If we don't invest the time, we will lose sight of him.

Genesis 3

2010-03-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the atree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

* I had never noticed before, but Eve was not allowed to even touch the fruit. It was kind of like Lot's wife, in that simply by turning, or touching, she sinned. Likewise, Adam didn't have to eat the fruit to have transgressed. He only needed to have Eve hand him the fruit.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 aThorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the asweat of thy face shalt thou eat bbread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for cdust thou art, and unto ddust shalt thou return.

* I guess I had always just imagined that Eve took the brunt of the repuke that God gave the couple -- that Adam was only really punished because he was cast out of the garden, but this is pretty version is pretty clear. Adam was repuked severely for his transgression. Basically because Adam was disobedient, the toil of working in the ground (or in life) came to be.

Abr 5

2010-02-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

God's time is not our time. In this chapter it says that it is the time of Kolob. I'm pretty certain that Kolob's time is God's time.

I think there is a lot of controversy with those who think that the Bible's creation story cannot correspond with other theories of creation and evolution. I think they must go hand in hand. But I also don't think the creation has much importance in our eternal salvation. God wants us to follow his example and love those around us.

Genesis 2

2010-02-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

A couple of quick thoughts

1. Again the lord stress the importance of man and woman, saying that they would cleave together and leave their parents.

2. Man was made from the dust of the ground, and then he breathed air into Adam's nostrils. We know that God has control of the Earth, because it obeys him, but we because we have his "breath" in us, we are not as controlable. We have our agency.
- Interesting to contract this scripture with the scripture in Mosiah that says that we are less than the Earth, because the Earth obeys his every command. We are much slower to obey his command.

Genesis 1

2010-02-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

1. I love how the first image that we get of God is him working. He's a man working to create Earth. I love how he separates the work out into different tasks, and builds upon each task until he gets to the most complicated parts of the creation.

2. I love how woman is his last creation. The world wasn't done until he created woman.

3. Once again, all of the grasses had seed; all of the trees yield fruit, and the first commandment that he gives Adam and Eve is to be fruitful and to multiply. I firmly believe that parenthood is the most important lesson that we learn while we are on earth. There is nothing that can prepare us to be like our Heavenly Father than to learn to love our children, as he love his.

4. We're given dominion over the Earth, and are commanded to subdue it. I think there are great lessons learned from working with the land. This is God's second commandment to men. Take care of the Earth, learn how to work the fields and take care of the animals, and also use them for your benefit.

Abr 4

2010-02-19T19:23:00.001-08:00

All the work was done together. I think the Gods set the example for us on how we should work. If we work together we'll accomplish much.

Moses 2

2010-02-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

Thoughts from this chapter.

1. God created the world through Christ's help.

2. God created: From void a face and water. From face and water, light and darkness. From light and darkness, firmament. Firmamane, land (Earth). From Earth, vegetation. From Vegetation, animals - starting with water animals. From animal man (created in his image).

3. (v. 28) God gives the first commandments.

"And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

1- Be fruitful and multiply. God's first commandment to men is to pair off, husband and wife, and have families.

2- Subdue the earth. Have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air. Dominion means to rule over it, to nurture it, and to subordinate it to us. I think this law goes right in line with the the commandment that Adam receives when he is kicked out of the Garden, "bread shall thou eat from the sweat of thy brow." Life is here to work in.

Moses 4:1-4; 1:33-42

2010-02-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

Moses 4

v.1
- Isn't it interesting how similar the plans are. Satan always tries to do that; He'll take something good and confuse us by changing it just a little bit. This is why we need to be on our toes.
- Satan's plan undermines the whole Plan of Salvation. The whole purpose is for us to gain eternal life and glory like unto Father's, but he wants us ALL to get that glory by taking away our agency. I an award worth anything when no one had to work toward it?

v.2 - It is interesting how simple this plan is. Christ's response was, whatever you desire Father I will do it. No wonder he is our guide. He didn't say anything about Salvation, being an example -- all he said was "yes, I'll do it." It reminds me of 1 Ne. 3:7.

v.3 - By the Power of the Only Begotten he was able to cast Satan down. This is the same power that members of the priesthood have; they can cast Satan out of their midst in the name of Jesus Christ.

v.4 - It is once he is cast out that Satan became an active advesary of Father and those seeking to have eternal life. I guess it is because all of the sudden we were eligible, as followers of Christ's plan, for this estate, and eternal life hereafter.

Moses Chapter 1

v. 34 - The first man created on any of God's worlds was Adam. Interesting that Earth was where he chose for Adam to be and for Christ to be. Are there "Adams" of the other worlds?

v. 35 - It is interesting that God says that he numbers things on this world, but I read that the worlds he has created are countless. Makes us pretty special in the scheme of things.

v. 38 - there are no ends to his works. This reference make you think that there is no end to his works, like there was no start of finish, but there is also no end to his works here and now. There are so many tender mercies all around us, happening to everyone. God's words do not end here and now.

v. 39 - We are his works. His works are endless in us. I guess as he works on us, we start to do work for him as well as we learn to follow his plan for us; so his works are endless that way too. His work is contageous.

Abr 3:22

2010-02-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

"Among all these were many of the noble and great ones"

Three quick things:

1. "There were many of the noble and great ones." Doe that mean that there are other nobel and great ones that were not present?

2. "Among all these there were many of the noble...." That means that some of those present were not noble and great, right?

3. We were the intelligences tht were there. The leaders of the Church; the members; non-members; were were all "intelligences."

Mormon Temples

2009-10-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

St Paul MN Temple

What are temples?

1. They are sacred buildings.
2. Each one is called the house of the Lord.
3. We learn many things about Heavenly Father’s plan for us in temples.
4. Inside temples, we make special promises or covenants to Heavenly Father, and Heavenly Father makes special promises to us.

St Paul MN Temple

• How did you feel as you looked at the temple?

- I remember as I grew up going to the Washington DC temple which always took my breath away. It wasn't until later that I learned about the symbolism in that structure and in the other temples.

- In temples we commune with the Holy Spirit. It is the house of the Lord, and there really is no place that you feel closer to him than in the temple. This is the symbol of the Washington DC temple. It represents the everpresent cloud and pillar of light that followed the tribes of Israel as they fled Egypt and journeyed in the wilderness. We likewise go to the temple to be close to the Lord, the temple is always there, and we are always able to benefit from the Holy Ghost as members of the House of Israel (followers of Jesus Christ).

- Like Moses and the Israelites, we benefit from the presence of the cloud and pillar of light in our surroundings, only our cloud and pillar of light is living worthily so that we can have the presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives, and the blessings of the temple in our homes also.
- I love to go to the temple now, because when I see the temple it makes me think of my family. I think of the possibility of living with them forever in celestial glory. I think of my ancestors and I am excited to know that I can live with them again.

- By seeing the temple, I gain more faith in the plan of salvation, and the possibility of knowing Christ becomes more real.

Primary

2009-10-13T05:39:00.001-07:00

I am now serving in the primary, so the content of this blog might become a little more watered down. But someone once told me that the elder's quorum usually needs the gospel in its most watered down form as well.

I hope you continue to enjoy the postings and thoughts.

Henry Eyring (Priesthood Conference)

2009-10-08T06:51:00.000-07:00

Be Ready

As priesthood holders, we need to be ready at all times to act in Christ's name by:

(1) Faith
- that God lives
- in the power of the priesthood that we hold
(2) Confidence
- That we can live up to the blessings
- God is ready to help us and those we "bless by the laying on of hands"
(3) Be motivated by Love
- For those you are serving
- For the Lord

Dieter Uchtdorf (Priesthood Session)

2009-10-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

Two Principles for Any Economy

Principles that help his family though hard times:
1. Work

Following WWII his family had been refugees twice.
His parents had to take on lots of odd and difficult jobs
Menial labor got them through the hard times.
"By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread."
The Lord loves the worker
"Don't compare efforts, just do the best you can"
Develop a reputation of excellence

2. Learn

Love to read
School: "it is not a filling of a bucket, but a lighting of a fire."
Joseph Smith loved learning and accomplished much with very little schooling
Intelligence learned here in this life will go with you into the next life.

**It is during adversity that character is made**

Yoo Hwan Choi (Priesthood Conference)

2009-10-06T06:03:00.001-07:00

I Love Loud Boys
- Taught nine young men
- The boys listened to church leaders who cared about them
- The Lord will bring his chosen to the faithful
- As members we should encourage youngmen to attend church
- Teaching is cyclical - the youngmen that Elder Yoo taught are now teaching his children
- "These young men are all of our sons"

Walter Gonzalez's Conference Talk (Priesthood Session)

2009-10-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

Becoming More Powerful Priesthood Holders
The sons of Alma teach us many lessons, but most importantly they teach us: to rescue lost sheep; to serve others; and to be christlike.

Three activities to empower us while we read the Book of Mormon:

(1) Feast upon the words of Christ
(2) Apply in our lives all of the attributes of Christ that we find.
(3) Teach others from the words of the book
(a) Memorize scriptures
(b) Read with others directly from the pages of the Book of Mormon.

Elder Ballard's Priesthood Conference Talk

2009-10-04T08:48:00.001-07:00

Fathers and Sons: A Remarkable Relationship

- Thru priesthood families are sealed together
- Father son conservations are important for the progress of both parties
- None of us have arrived at our final destinations. We are still progressing to our final goal and need to help each other along the way.

Sons can improve their conversations with their fathers by:

(1) Trusting their fathers.
(2) Taking interest in their father's life.
- Watching how their father interacts with their mother.
(3) Ask their fathers for advice.
- It shows them that you care about their knowledge and experiences.

Fathers can improve their conversations with their sons by:

(1) Listen to your sons
- Choose a private and appropriate setting: fishing, working in the yard, by the side of their bed at night.
(2) Pray with and for your sons.
(3) Dare to have the important conversations.
- You cannot afford to have them misunderstand how you feel about certain values.

Stake Conference Reminder

2009-04-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that Stake Conference is this weekend. The Adult Session on Saturday night starts at 6pm. This is a favorite session of mine. Charity and I have a babysitter all lined up and then we are spiritually nourished at the adult session. After all of that spiritual nourishment, it's been our ritual to get some physical nourishment (Buffalo Wild Wings!) after.

The Sunday session starts at 10am. This year it's a broadcast, so we'll probably get to hear from some General Authorities and Area Authorities. I remember one year we had President Packer talk to us via the broadcast. Pretty cool!

No need to rush in early for the Sunday session. Since it's a broadcast, we all watch it in our home wards, so we won't have the huge masses coming to Wausau for Sunday. Saturday is a different story, get here early to get a good seat!

See ya there!

General Priesthood Conference - Pie Eating

2009-04-05T08:36:00.001-07:00

Our ward has a tradition of eating pie together before the conference starts.

Mincemeat

Ozark Mountain Berry

Good food and good lessons learned

Let Him Do It With Simplicity

2009-03-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

“Let Him Do It With Simplicity”
ELDER L. TOM PERRY

“In our search to obtain relief from the stresses of life,

may we seek ways to simplify our lives.”

What are stressors or things that complicate our lives?

Our need to work; maintaining strict work schedules
Career demands
Communication and the immersion of media and attachment to the world
Family
Studies
Meetings
Church callings; priesthood commitments

What can we do to simply our lives? Henry David Thoreau offers four suggestions from his experiences at Walden Pond.
1. Food

The Word of Wisdom encourages us to eat health foods, and to avoid items that can be harmful to our bodies. The Lord tells us the benefits of following this guidance in D&C 89 -
And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen. (D&C 89:18-20)
Even more clear and concise verbiage is found “For the Strength of Youth” section on physical health:
Eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. When you do all these things, you remain free from harmful addictions and have control over your life. You gain the blessings of a healthy body, an alert mind, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Never let Satan or others lead you to think that breaking the Word of Wisdom will make you happier or more attractive. (For the Strength of Youth, p. 36)

2. Clothing

Increased portion of the Spirit: “When we are modestly dressed, we also invite the Spirit of the Lord to be a shield and a protection to us.” (Perry, 9)
Character and attitude: “I believe very casual dress is almost always followed by very casual manners.” (ibid)
Respect, and not wasteful in spending: “Modesty in dress is a quality of mind and heart, born of respect for oneself, one’s fellowmen and the Creator of us all. Modesty reflects an attitude of humility, decency, and propriety. “(Ibid)

3. Shelter

Financial Security – Elder Marvin J. Ashton gave us the 12 points to prosperity. (Marvin J. Ashton, “One for the Money,” Ensign, Sep 2007, 36–39)
1. Teach family members early the importance of working and earning
2. Teach children to make money decisions in keeping with their capacities to comprehend.
3. Teach each family member to contribute to the total family welfare.
4. Teach family members that paying financial obligations promptly is part of integrity and honesty development.
5. Learn to manage money before it manages you.
6. Learn self-discipline and self-restraint in money matters.
7. Use a budget.
8. Make education a continuing process.
9. Work toward home ownership.
10. Appropriately involve yourself in an insurance program.
11. Strive to understand and cope with existing inflation.
12. Appropriately involve yourself in a food storage program.

4. Fuel (spiritual)

Are we gas guzzlers or are we fuel efficient? Does do we have to be pushed and encouraged by others or can we keep going ourselves?

“What is required to maintain a sufficient store of spiritual fuel?” (Perry, 10)

Scripture study
Attendance on Sunday
Daily Prayer: Morning, Evening and Family
Action: Act upon spiritual promptings

And remember: “In righteousness there is great simplicity.” (William R. Bradford, “Righteousness,” Ensign, Nov 1999, 85)

Anatomy of a Hometeaching Visit

2009-03-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

“There is no greater Church calling than that of home teacher.”
(Ezra Taft Benson, General Conference, April 4, 1987)

Home Teaching Administration

Q: “How do I improve the quality of my visit…to the point that my families look
forward to my visits?”

A: “And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret
and attend to all family duties.” (D&C 20:47)

“Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of
truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth
or some other way? And if it be by some other way it is not of God. And again, he
that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other
way? If it be some other way it is not of God. Therefore, why is it that ye cannot
understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it
as it is preached by the Spirit of truth? Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that
receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.” (D&C
50:17-22)

One key to a successful HT visit is ensuring the Spirit is present. The family may not
always look forward to the visit, but when the Spirit is a third companion in the HT
companionship, the greater the likelihood for an enjoyable visit for all.

“Really know them.” – President Benson

“Each pair of home teachers should become [personally] acquainted with every child, youth and adult in the family to whom they are assigned. …” – Marion G. Romney

Q: “I feel I take a lot of responsibility in setting up appointments, but I feel I want my
companion to help organize, plan, and schedule, but if I do it’ll likely fall through.
Any suggestions on depending on your companion?”

“It helps to have a home teaching partner who wants to go home teaching.
Companionships aren’t successful when only one person is active or wants to
participate.”

A: “And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him him that is
weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also.”
(D&C 84:106)

Ideally, everyone would be at the same (high) level of commitment to his priesthood
responsibilities. The fact that we are at different levels, however, affords some of us
the opportunity to be an embodiment of D&C 84:106. It also allows those of us that
may be struggling in this area to be strengthened by strong HTers. Sometimes all we
need to fortify our testimony of a principle or practice, is a good example provided by
another.

“Before visiting the home, companions meet together to pray, review requests from
the head of the household, review instructions form leaders, review their message, and
discuss how to help meet members’ needs.” (Church Handbook of Instructions, p. 169)

Q: “Is it alright to call up the missionaries to help with home teaching?”

“What things should the missionaries help with?”

“What things might be inappropriate for the missionaries to help with?”

A: Perhaps the simplest answer to the first is to use the missionaries moderately. If we
are using the missionaries in place of our assigned companion simply out of
convenience, then we are missing out on an important facet of the HT experience.
However, if we occasionally request the assistance of the missionaries when a last
minute appointment was able to be arranged, when one of the HTers is unexpectedly
unable to keep the appointment, etc., this would be appropriate. (or visits to part-
member families, less-active families, etc.)

Q: “Does your companion need to be with you during the visit?”

A: “And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two,
in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word
like unto angels of God.” (D&C 42:6)

Avoid being the only priesthood holder present. For example, if you are visiting a
part-member family, in which the husband is not a member, etc.

Are we doing everything we can to fulfill our responsibilities as outlined by the
Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, p. 169? Go together, pray, discuss, ponder
as a companionship.

Q: “Some of my families seem to avoid me or are opposed to me coming over. Can I
count talking to them in Church or talking to them over the phone?”

A: Avoidance and opposition are two different things. If a family is avoiding you – be
persisent. If a family is telling you they don’t want you to visit, then that should be
communicated to the EQ presidency. A “visit” should consist of a spiritual thought or
lesson and a prayer with the family. “Contact” with a family may be different than a
“HT visit.”

In general, if you are able to have a prayer, spiritual thought and ascertain the needs of a family all over the phone, then count it, if not, let us know that you contacted, but not home taught.

Q: “[Do I] visit [each] family once per month?”

A: “Home teachers make at least monthly visits to the homes of assigned members.
Each month home teachers report to quorum or group leaders on the spiritual and
temporal welfare of the members they visit.” (Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, p.
169)

“Home teachers represent the Lord…” (Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2, p. 169)

** However, let’s respect the wishes of the family. Some may only want to be seen
quarterly, or twice a year, or only annually. In that case, we will certainly honor the
family’s request.

If your family has requested less than monthly visits, inform a member of the Elders
Quorum presidency so this can be documented, discussed with the bishop and honored if home teachers change (though, we probably want to encourage the new home teachers to go monthly to see if the family has softened their heart to the home teachers.

Q: “Can I count a family [as visited] if I only teach a portion of the family?”

A: The short answer is “sure,” although, this would be the exception and not the rule.
Try to at least include the head of the family, to convey any special message from the
Bishop, offer encouragement or instruction, and to be advised of any needs the family
has.

Q: “[It’s] hard to get teachers’ and families’ schedules to click.”

A: Be flexible with your schedule! It’s the only way to get the schedules to click. If that means missing a Sunday nap, be open to that. You can’t control anyone’s schedule but your own. If you show that you are flexible, they may become more flexible as you continue teaching/setting up appointments. There are about 43,200 minutes in a month, surely we can find time for a 30 minute home teaching visit.

“You can’t magnify your priesthood and reject your call to do home teaching.” (Marion G. Romney, Church News, April 22, 1967)