Visiting Teaching Thought for the Month April 2015 {Handout}

It is good for us to remember that no one of us is without sin, and that we should not hypocritically esteem ourselves above any others, for we know not what is in their heart. As Christ said: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone..." (John 8:7).

The only man who has, or ever will be without sin was Christ, and no more humble man is there, without any guile or hypocrisy. To become more Christlike is not to prove to the world how good we are, but it is a look into our own hearts. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said: “To beguile is to deceive or lead astray. … A person without guile is a person of innocence, honest intent, and pure motives, whose life reflects the simple practice of conforming his [or her] daily actions to principles of integrity.”

Becoming more Christlike is striving to honestly BE the best we can be, patterning ourselves after Christ's example. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said: "None of us is quite as Christlike as we know we should be. But we earnestly desire to overcome our faults and the tendency to sin. With our heart and soul we yearn to become better with the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

Click here to download the English 4-up pdf

Click here to download the Spanish 4-up pdf 

Thank you to Wanda Lopez for the translation :)

If you would like to make fridge magnet pegs to display your Thought for the Month, click here for the printable and tutorial.

Click links below for previous month's Thought for the Month

• January 2015
• February 2015
• March 2015

Visiting Teaching Thought for the Month March 2015 {Handout}

This month's Visiting Teaching message is all about patience - one trait upon which I have much improvement yet to make!

I remember being told in a talk once to be careful when praying for patience, because you may not get what you expect. Rather than giving you an instant gift of patience, the Lord is more likely to send you trials that test your patience, thereby increasing your patience through experience.

I have been told in many blessings lately (as I have struggled with the injury to my right shoulder) to have patience and remember the the Lord works in his own time. I have felt many times that this patience I have had to endure was passive - literally sitting around waiting for my arm to heal so that I could get 'back to normal'. However, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, tells us “Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something … even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!”

“Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being ‘willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father’ [Mosiah 3:19]. Ultimately, patience means being ‘firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord’ [1 Nephi 2:10] every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so.”

So I thought about how this applied to my current situation, and realised that it is in my attitude to my circumstances that I can 'endure well', rather than sitting around feeling sorry for myself and 'failing to act', I can still find ways to play an active roles in my family, community and church, even if they are different from those I am used to.

Click here to download the pdf of this month's Thought for the Month.

Click here for the Spanish pdf

If you would like to make fridge magnet pegs to display your Thought for the Month, click here for the printable and tutorial.

Click links below for previous month's Thought for the Month

• January 2015
• February 2015

Visiting Teaching Thought for the Month February 2015 {Handout}

The quote that really stood out to me in February's Visiting Teaching message was the following by Elder D. Todd Christofferson (once again):

“Jesus was … a being of flesh and spirit, but He yielded not to temptation (see Mosiah 15:5). We can turn to Him … because He understands. He understands the struggle, and He also understands how to win the struggle. …"

It was only recently that I fully appreciated the life experience our Saviour, Jesus Christ gained here as he walked on the earth. He lived His life just as we did; experiencing pain, sorrow, hardship and hunger. He knows, first hand, what it is like to work hard, worry about loved ones and struggle against the odds. When He speaks to us, it is with the true compassion only one who KNOWS what it's like can have. Through it all, He remained without sin, the perfect example for us. He gave us the template towards which we work, and also His Atonement, so that with every passing day, as we try harder to be more like Him, we can repent and become pure.

This image of Christ (that I have used in my handout) is my own artwork. It is free for you to use it  as long as credit is given to me, and it is not used for commercial purposes.

I hope you enjoy using the free handout I have designed as you do your Visiting Teaching this month. It is great to give as a reminder of the lesson you have given, or to pop into a card or letter. To download the .jpg of the handout, click on the image below, for a .tiff click here.

Click here for the Spanish pdf.

Click here for the Dutch pdf.

If you would like to make fridge magnet pegs to display your "Thought for the Month", click here for the printable and tutorial.

Have a great month!

Click link below for previous Thought for the Month

• January 2015

Visiting Teaching Thought for the Month Jan 2015 {Handout}

I set a goal for myself to produce a 'Thought for the Month' handout for the Sisters that I, and my companion, visit every month. I thought, since I am making them, perhaps I could share them for others to use too, along with a few of my own thoughts.

January's message is about The Attributes of Jesus Christ: Obedient Son. I particularly liked the following quote by Elder D. Todd Christofferson: "As we walk in obedience to the principles and commandments of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we enjoy a continual flow of blessings promised by God in His covenant with us. Those blessings provide the resources we need to act rather than simply be acted upon as we go through life. … Obedience gives us greater control over our lives, greater capacity to come and go, to work and create.”

So often, obedience to rules or laws is considered restrictive or hampering to our every day lives, but in truth it opens up avenues we may not otherwise have been able to traverse. Through obedience  we gain spiritual strength and blessings which enrich our lives and help us get through challenges that otherwise may have been overwhelming. We can discover talents and abilities in ourselves that may have remained dormant, without the opportunity to obey and do the things the Lord commands us to do. Through obedience we increase our Faith in Christ and grow ever closer to becoming the people he wants us to be. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: “It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become” (“The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32).

So, here is my 'Though for the Month' handout. To download the pdf file click here, or on the image above. (see bottom of post for a Dutch Version too)

I have also made clothes peg fridge magnets for each of our Sisters, that the handout can be pinned into each month, so that it can sit on the fridge visible, as a reminder of the months message. Click here, for the instructions and printable, to make your own fridge magnets.

Click here for the Spanish pdf.

 Click here for the Dutch pdf.