One of my friends recently asked me in bewilderment, “Where did my visiting teachers go?” From the time her husband passed away, they had been so caring and attentive, but since the announcement of the new ministering program at the general conference in April 2018, she hasn’t seen hide nor hair of them.
We are all adjusting to a new way of doing things, and some ministering brothers and sisters may not have understood that although a home visit isn’t the only way to minister, it is certainly a wonderful way to show love and genuine interest—and many members still need it.
Putting Why over How
For some, the problem may be misunderstanding the purpose of the change. The purpose behind replacing home and visiting teaching with ministering wasn’t simply to change how we take care of each other but to help us be more guided by why.
The ultimate goal of our ministering is to help others become more deeply converted to the Savior Jesus Christ and grow toward their divine potential. The program’s added flexibility isn’t meant to encourage relaxing our efforts; it’s meant to provide greater opportunity for the Spirit to guide our efforts.
So whether or not someone needs a visit today should be based in large part on what will help them move forward on Heavenly Father’s path for them.
Find the rest of this article, including helpful tips and charts, at lds.org.
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