Visiting Teaching Message

If We Do Not Doubt

JULIE B. BECK

Relief Society General President

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If We Do Not Doubt

In the Book of Mormon we read about exemplary young men who were exceedingly valiant, courageous, and strong. “Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:21). These faithful young men paid tribute to their mothers—their examples and teachers.

The mothers of Helaman’s warriors lived in times not unlike our own. Their circumstances were difficult and dangerous, and youth were being called upon to defend physical and spiritual liberty. Today we live in a world where we “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Challenging times cry out for strong parents and examples who teach the truth that Helaman’s warriors knew: “If they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:47). Teaching and exemplifying this truth today requires vigilance. However, we need not fear. When we know who we are and who God is and we have made covenants with Him, we—like these mothers of warriors—will have great influence for good.

Most likely, each of Helaman’s 2,060 warriors was influenced by a mother. But these mothers did not act alone. Together with other righteous men and women, these mothers must have united their faith and example to teach the power of covenants. The young people of the day understood the covenant their parents had made not to engage in warfare. And even when it seemed impossible, a loving Heavenly Father opened a way for these parents to keep their covenant—and to preserve their liberty (seeAlma 56:5–9). We likewise must honor our covenants so that children and youth—our own children and those in our wards, branches, neighborhoods, and communities—will understand and support covenant keeping.

When we honor our covenants, Heavenly Father can prepare the way for us. We are to live our covenants with precision. We can, for example, be precise in praying, in studying the scriptures, in holding a current temple recommend, in dressing modestly, in honoring the Sabbath. As we do so, our children will know and be able to say, “We do not doubt our mothers knew it” (Alma 56:48).

Latter-day Saint women who recognize that their strength comes from the Lord’s Atonement do not give up during difficult and discouraging times. As covenant keepers, we excel at upholding, nurturing, and protecting children and youth so that one day we might say of this rising generation, “Never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all” (Alma 56:45).

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.

August Visiting Teaching Message

A Society of Holy Women

Eliza R. Snow, second Relief Society general president, taught: “Paul the Apostle anciently spoke of holy women. It is the duty of each one of us to be a holy woman. We shall have elevated aims, if we are holy women. We shall feel that we are called to perform important duties. No one is exempt from them. There is no sister so isolated, and her sphere so narrow but what she can do a great deal towards establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth.”

Sisters, we are not isolated nor is our sphere narrow. By accepting the gift of activity in Relief Society, we become part of what the Prophet Joseph described as a society “separate from all the evils of the world—choice, virtuous, and holy.”

This society helps us strengthen our faith and grow spiritually by giving us leadership, service, and teaching opportunities. In our service a new dimension is added to our lives. We progress spiritually, and our sense of belonging, identity, and self-worth increases. We realize that the whole intent of the gospel plan is to provide an opportunity for us to reach our fullest potential.

Relief Society helps prepare us to receive the blessings of the temple, to honor the covenants we make, and to be engaged in the cause of Zion. Relief Society helps us increase our faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families, and seek out and help those in need.

The work of Relief Society is holy, and doing holy work creates holiness in us.

Silvia H. Allred, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency.

From the Scriptures

Exodus 19:5; Psalm 24:3–4; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; Titus 2:3–4; Doctrine and Covenants 38:24; 46:33; 82:14; 87:8; Moses 7:18

From Our History

Speaking to the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, the Prophet Joseph emphasized holiness, explaining that as sisters became pure and holy, they would have a marked influence upon the world. He explained: “Meekness, love, purity—these are the things that should magnify you. … This Society … shall have power to command queens in their midst. … The kings and queens of the earth will come unto Zion, and pay their respects.” Relief Society sisters living their covenants command the respect not only of noble people, but “if you live up to your privileges,” Joseph promised the sisters, “the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.”

As the sisters participated in the work of serving and saving others, they became personally sanctified. Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet’s mother, shared the good Relief Society could accomplish: “We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together.”

May Visiting Teaching Message

Because the May Ensign contain a report of the April general conference, there is not a specifically designated First Presidency Message or Visiting Teaching Message for May. Home and visiting teachers are encouraged to prayerfully select their message from the addresses given during general conference.

Visit the general conference website to read, watch, or listen to conference addresses.

April Visiting Teaching Message

The Purpose of Relief Society

JULIE B. BECK

Relief Society General President

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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.

When our presidency was first called, we were given some resources about the history of Relief Society. We studied them prayerfully, wanting to know the purpose of Relief Society and what the Lord would have us do. We learned that the purpose of Relief Society as established by the Lord is to organize, teach, and inspire His daughters to prepare them for the blessings of eternal life.

To fulfill this purpose of Relief Society, the Lord has commissioned each sister and the organization as a whole to:

1. 1. 
   Increase in faith and personal righteousness.
2. 2. 
   Strengthen families and homes.
3. 3. 
   Provide relief by serving the Lord and His children.

We can do this work in the Lord’s way only when we seek, receive, and act on personal revelation. Without personal revelation, we cannot succeed. If we heed personal revelation, we cannot fail. The prophet Nephi instructs us that the Holy Ghost will show us “all things what [we] should do” (2 Nephi 32:5). We must allow ourselves to be still enough and quiet enough to listen to the voice of the Spirit.

Sisters, we have a vital role to play in helping build the kingdom of God and preparing for the Lord’s coming. In fact, the Lord’s work cannot be accomplished without the help of His daughters. Because of that, the Lord expects us to increase our offering. He expects us to fulfill the purpose of Relief Society as never before.

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.

From the Scriptures

Deuteronomy 6:5–7; Luke 10:30–37; James 1:27; 2 Nephi 25:26; Mosiah 3:12–13

From Our History

At a June 9, 1842, meeting of the Relief Society, the Prophet Joseph Smithtaught the sisters that their society was “not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls.” ¹ This statement of a spiritual as well as a temporal purpose has characterized Relief Society throughout its history. In 1906 President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) taught: “[Relief Society] has not only to deal with the necessities of the poor, the sick and the needy, but a part of its duty—and the larger part, too—is to look after the spiritual welfare and salvation of the mothers and daughters of Zion; to see that none is neglected, but that all are guarded against misfortune, calamity, the powers of darkness, and the evils that threaten them in the world.” ² In 2001 Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reiterated, “Every sister in this Church who has made covenants with the Lord has a divine mandate to help save souls, to lead the women of the world, to strengthen the homes of Zion, and to build the kingdom of God.”³

Notes

1. 

Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 5:25.

2. 

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (1998), 185.

3. 

M. Russell Ballard, “Women of Righteousness,” Liahona, Dec. 2002, 39;Ensign, Apr. 2002, 70.

To read about a woman who was an example of faith and personal righteousness, see page 28.

What Can I Do?

1. 1. 
   What inspiration have I received to help my sisters increase in faith and personal righteousness and strengthen their families and homes? What relief can I provide?
2. 2. 
   How will I use this message to strengthen my faith and increase my own commitment to personal righteousness?

For more information, go to www.reliefsociety.lds.org .