Visiting Teaching Thought for the Month June 2015 {Handout}

For my handout this month, I share a lovely quote by President Gordon B. Hinkley: "Love of God is the root of all virtue, of all goodness, of all strength of character."

Elder D. Todd Christofferson tells us: "Sisters, of all your associations, it is your relationship with God, your Heavenly Father, who is the source of your moral power, that you just always put first in your life. Remember that Jesus's power came through his single-minded devotion to the will of the Father. ... Strive to be that kind of disciple of the Father and the Son, and your influence will never fade."

Having a good personal relationship with our Heavenly Father is of vital importance on our path to becoming more Christlike. Our first priority, day to day, should be to God, before even ourselves, our spouses or our family. Elder Richard G. Scott said: "Don't yield to Satan's lie that you don't have time to study the scriptures." This applies to prayer too. Scripture study and prayer are our direct communication line with our Father in Heaven and therefore our greatest tool in developing a loving relationship with Him.

Have a great month and enjoy your Visiting Teaching!

Click here, or on the image above, to download the English printable.

Click here, or on the image above, to download the Dutch printable.

Thank you to Chaya Herrebrugh-Wachtmeester 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
• April 2015
• May 2015

Visiting Teaching Thought for the Month May 2015 {Handout}

This month we are asked to share one of the General Conference talks with our sisters. One talk that really stood out for me this conference was "Stay by the tree" by Elder Kevin W. Pearson. Here are my thoughts as I listened to his message:

He tells us that when one of the Brethren visited President Heber J. Grant shortly before he passed away, President Grant prayed, “O God, bless me that I shall not lose my testimony and keep faithful to the end!” Even a Prophet of 27 years is not beyond Satan's influence. This is a great reminder to me not to be discouraged when I feel the pull of temptation, the fact that I am tempted does not make me weak - it makes me human. It is how I act upon that temptation that makes the difference. My task is to withstand those temptations, strive every day to become more like Christ and endure to the end.

Elder Pearson says that the principle of "enduring to the end" is not the same as "hanging in there" (which is not a principle of the gospel). To "hang in there" has the implication of doing as little as possible to just get by.  Christ, however doesn't want us to be mediocre, he wants us to become perfect, and we are not going to achieve that by doing as little as we possibly can. Instead, we need to make that endure actively, we need to put daily work into remaining faithful.

He says: "Casual obedience and lukewarm commitment weaken faith. Enduring to the end requires total commitment to the Savior and to our covenants" (emphasis added).

He gives us 6 important principles that can help us do this:

1. Don't Forget to Pray
2. Come Unto Christ and be Perfected in Him
3. Press Forward with Faith
4. The Book of Mormon is Key to Spiritual Survival
5. Don't be Distracted and Deceived
6. Stay by the Tree (referring to Lehi's vision)

My Visiting Teaching Thought for the Month comes from point 4, and he repeats the message again towards the end of his talk. He reminds us that we need to prayerfully study the Book of Mormon and the words of the Living Prophets and live it's teachings every day, every day, every day! Doing this will help us when we feel conflicted, spiritually low, confused and overwhelmed. Elder Pearson testifies that "the profound power in the Book of Mormon will change your life and strengthen your resolve to follow Christ. The Holy Ghost will change your heart and help you see 'things as they really are.' He will show you what you need to do next."

I hope that seeing this handout on your fridge, pin board, mirror or wall can serve as a little reminder to feast, daily, on the scriptures and strengthen your resolve to come unto Christ, be fully committed to Him and to actively endure to the end. One day at a time.

Click here, or on the image above, to download the English printable.

Click here, or on the image above, to download the Spanish printable.

Thank you to Wanda Lopez for the translation.

Click here, or on the image above, to download the Dutch printable.

Thank you to Chaya Herrebrugh-Wachtmeester 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
• April 2015

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.

Visiting Teaching Thought for the Month Magnet

To go with my 'Though for the Month' handouts, that I make to go with my monthly Visiting Teaching messages, I have made fridge magnet pegs to display them.

To make some of these for yourself and the Sisters you visit, download the pdf by clicking here or on the image below, then follow the instructions that follow.

You will need: Print out of the pdf, laminator sheets, laminator, wooden clothes pegs,  wash tape, magnetic strips, double sided tape, scissors.

(Following photos above from top left, clockwise) Cut out each of the images, laminate them, then cut out neatly around the sealed edges. Stick wash tape along one side of each of the clothes pegs, allowing the tape to wrap around to the back to keep it neat. Cut a strip of magnet to size for each peg. Apply double sided tape to the uncovered side of the peg, then stick the magnet on to the peg. Apply double sided tape down the back of the laminated image and stick it on to the wash tape covered side of the peg.

Click here for the Spanish pdf.

Click links below for this year's Thoughts for the Month

• January 2015
• Fenbrary 2015

Have fun!