Visiting Teaching, a Work of Salvation

Prayerfully study this material and, as appropriate, discuss it with the sisters you visit. Use the questions to help you strengthen your sisters and to make Relief Society an active part of your own life.

Faith, Family, Relief

Visiting teaching gives women the opportunity to watch over, strengthen, and teach one another—it is truly a work of salvation. Through visiting teaching, sisters minister in behalf of the Savior and help prepare women for the blessings of eternal life.

“We are ‘to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite [others] to come unto Christ’ (D&C 20:59), as the Lord said in his revelations,” said President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985). Further, he said, “Your testimony is a terrific medium.”¹

When we as visiting teachers increase our knowledge of gospel truths, our testimonies strengthen and support sisters who are preparing to be baptized and confirmed. We help new members become anchored in the gospel. Our visits and love help “win back those who have gone astray [and] warm up the hearts of those who have grown cold in the gospel.”² And we encourage sisters to come unto Christ through temple attendance.

“You are going to save souls,” said President Kimball to visiting teachers, “and who can tell but that many of the fine active people in the Church today are active because you were in their homes and gave them a new outlook, a new vision. You pulled back the curtain. You extended their horizons. …

“You see, you are not only saving these sisters, but perhaps also their husbands and their homes.”³

From the Scriptures

Doctrine and Covenants 20:59; 84:106; 138:56

From Our History

When the Prophet Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society, he said that the women were not only to look after the poor but also to save souls. He also taught that women in the Church play essential roles in Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.⁴ Guided by the principles taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith, we as sisters in Relief Society can work together to prepare women and their families for God’s greatest blessings.

“Let us have compassion upon each other,” said President Brigham Young (1801–77), “and let [those who are] strong tenderly nurse the weak into strength, and let those who can see guide the blind until they can see the way for themselves.”⁵

Photo illustration by Robert Casey