Visiting Teaching Message:

Prepare Family Members by Strengthening Them Spiritually

Prayerfully select and read from this message the scriptures and teachings that meet the needs of the sisters you visit. Share your experiences and testimony. Invite those you teach to do the same.

The First Presidency: “The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place or fulfill its essential functions in carrying forward this God-given responsibility.

“We counsel parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities. However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform” (First Presidency letter, 11 Feb. 1999).

President Gordon B. Hinckley: “You parents, love your children. Cherish them. They are so precious. They are so very, very important. They are the future. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them. You need the help of the Lord. Pray for that help and follow the inspiration which you receive” (“The Fabric of Faith and Testimony,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 89).

Moses 5:11–12: “Eve … heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.”

Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Kneel together in humble prayer as a family, each having the opportunity to be voice. There may be times when the prayer seems rote and when those not praying let their minds wander. But there will be other priceless moments when someone will petition in faith for real needs and the Holy Ghost will touch hearts with testimony. I don’t remember as much of my mother’s teaching as I do her prayers for us. I could feel her love, and the Spirit confirmed in my heart that she loved Heavenly Father and the Savior and that her prayers would be answered. She brought blessings down on our heads then, and the memory of her prayers still does” (“A Legacy of Testimony,” Ensign, May 1996, 63).

Bonnie D. Parkin, Relief Society general president: “Spiritually strengthening our families begins in the walls of our homes, be they grass huts or palaces; it extends to our nieces, nephews, cousins, grandchildren; it includes our ward’s Primary children and young women and young men; it encompasses our neighbors and communities. It starts with bearing our testimonies often, believing in children’s abilities and talents, sharing our struggles as well as our successes, snuggling and listening more than rushing and scolding, telling our experiences of faith fulfilled, bringing the scriptures to life through stories and teachings, asking for others’ forgiveness while forgiving their shortcomings. Of course this doesn’t happen all at once; we just keep at it! We must never give up on our children or ourselves.”

• In what ways can we strengthen our own and our family’s spirituality?

• Why do we so urgently need the Lord’s help in teaching and rearing our children?

Illustration by Sheri Lynn Boyer Doty