2011 July – Feed My Sheep
Taught by: Andrea Lewis
As we know Jesus used parables to teach moral and spiritual lessons. In short, the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Good Shepherd teach the importance of finding and bringing back the sheep that have wandered off and how they should be treated. The lost sheep may be those who have wandered from regular church attendance, they may be new members who need to be strengthened and nourished or they may even be fully active members who are struggling with sin or other hardships. It is through the visiting teaching program that we are able to care for each sister in our ward.
The visiting teaching program is the heart and soul of the Relief Society. It is through visiting teaching that the needs of each sister is met.
Please read the two parables I mentioned above so that they are fresh in your mind.
Lost Sheep, Luke 15:3-7, pg. 1305
John 10: 1-18, pg. 1344
Now lets look at some of the lessons taught in these two parables and how they relate to visiting teaching
1. Love all the sheep.
Not all experiences related to visiting teaching are warm and wonderful. Sometimes it is hard, such as visiting a home where you really aren't welcome or when it is busy to meet with a sister who has a very busy schedule. It may take longer to build a good relationship with some sisters. But when we truly seek to love, care for, and pray for the sister, the Holy Ghost will help us find a way to watch over and strengthen her.
2. Number the sheep and measure their performance to determine who is lost.
Nephi wrote that the Good Shepherd “gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him.”
Visiting teachers must know each sister she visits, what their needs are, and who especially needs help.
Many needs can be and should be taken care of by the visiting teachers.
Through our regular monthly visits to our sisters, we can create bonds of love, friendship, and trust. If we listen to the promptings of the Spirit, we will increase our awareness of other people's needs. If we act according to those divine promptings, we can be a blessing in those in need. But we have to be willing to give—of our substance and our time. The true measure of our life is not how much we get but how much we give. Visiting teaching provides opportunities to give as we attend to the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of each other.
Each month you should report any special needs and any service rendered. Confidential information should be reported only to the Relief Society president, who reports to the bishop.
3. Go out after the lost sheep and stay out until it is found.
A successful visiting teacher is willing to leave behind her comfort zone and “go after that which is lost, until he find it” (Luke 15:4), to bring a lost sheep back to the fold. It is not enough to simply hope and pray and plan and worry. These are necessary but if a sheep is lost it will not find its way back to the fold unless someone actually goes out to help.
In the parable of the lost sheep, only one sheep strayed and was lost, but such is seldom is the case in our wards. The parable's application remains the same no matter the number of sheep who have strayed.
The parable does not include how long the recovery process took. In our shepherding efforts, some sheep will return after a single visit, while other will require years of constant and gentle encouragement.
We must be persistent.
President Spencer W. Kimball said: “Your duties in many ways must be like those of the home teachers, which briefly are 'to watch over the church always'--not twenty minutes a month but always--'and be with and strengthen them'--not a knock at the door, but to be with them, and lift them and strengthen them, and empower them, and fortify them.”
4. Help bear the burdens of the sheep that are found.
When a sheepherder finds a lost sheep, he sends it back to the flock with a swift kick and angry words, unmindful of why it was lost, what injuries it might have suffered, and the difficulties it might have in rejoining the flock. The shepherd treats the sheep very differently.
“And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing.” (Luke 15:5)
The shepherd found the lost sheep and and here is the key, he carried it back. He didn't push it, prod it or kick it, he picked it up and carried it.
As visiting teachers we should be willing to help carry the burdens of the sisters she visits. Sister Allred of the General Relief Society presidency said, “We can and should be able to provide meaningful relief. We have the gospel perspective in our lives. We have divine promptings encouraging us to do good. Let us commit to effective visiting teaching. We can provide temporal and spiritual nourishment. We can and should offer understanding and be able to teach doctrine. We can relieve spiritual hunger and feed the sheep.”
One of my favorite quotes is by Elaine Jack the Relief Society general president in the 1990s. She said, “In visiting teaching we reach out to each other. Hands often speak as voices can't. A warm embrace conveys volumes. A laugh together unites us. A moment of sharing refreshes our souls. We cannot always lift the burden of one who is troubled, but we can lift her so she can bear it well.”
5. Involve others in fellowshipping the sheep.
When the shepherd in the Savior's parable returned home with the lost sheep, “he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep with was lost.” (Luke 15:6)
I love that the shepherd gathered his friends together to celebrate when he found the sheep.
One young woman recalls how her visiting teacher helped her when she moved into a new ward at the end of law school and found herself to be the youngest member there by about 30 years. She remembers “feeling uncomfortable and not knowing anyone. I drifted into semiactivity. I would appear and disappear in Church like a shadow without exchanging words with anyone.”
“In the next few weeks there appeared at my door a vibrant, good-humored, white-haired lady who announced she was my visiting teacher. I received visits from her on an almost weekly basis, many times with other sisters of the ward in tow so that I might be come acquainted. Before long I was no longer a shadow in Church. My visiting teacher introduced me into a vast army of friends. After having been away from this ward for several years, I still count its members as some of my most cherished friends.”
This sisters was blessed because her visiting teacher got others involved. Look for ways to involve others with those that you teach.
6. Get to know the sheep and let the sheep get to know you.
The Savior said, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep.” (John 10:14) Shepherds establish individual relationships with each of their sheep. Visiting teachers should also strive to know each sister individually.
It is not enough to know the sheep. They must also know you. When the shepherd “putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. “ (John 10:4-5) Remember that when the Savior said he knew the sheep, he also said they knew him.
People follow other's out of love, and love is developed by becoming part of another's life. The Savior constantly made himself a part of his followers' daily activities, eating with them, discussing their problems, and teaching them. As he became a part of them, they in turn became a part of him and were willing to follow him because they knew and trusted him.
7. Feed the sheep.
An entire flock of sheep can starve to death if the shepherd does not provide them with food and water; either through leading them to the pasture or through bringing the feed from the barn.
Each month there is a visiting teaching message printed in the Ensign. Sometimes the message will be the most important thing you share on a particular visit. Some women have little spiritual enrichment in their lives except for the message you will bring. The Visiting Teaching Messages are gospel messages which help each woman increase her faith, strengthen her family, and emphasize charitable relief.
8. Sacrifice yourself for the good of the sheep.
Jesus meant it when he said, “As the father knoweth me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:15)
We won't have to lie down our lives for the sisters we serve but visiting teaching does require sacrifice.
It is often difficult for companions to find time to get together to visit their assigned sisters. It is often a greater challenge to merge those two schedules with the available schedules of persons to be visited. Sometimes the number of families to be visited seems to outweigh the workload that visiting teachers are able to carry; sometimes the distance, time, or cost it takes to reach each home is daunting. And sometimes the challenge is to obtain the Spirit in resolving unique problems a sister faces. These stumbling blocks and others can deter members from actually doing the Lord's work.
A monthly visit is the goal of each visiting teacher however some situations call for creativity and flexibility.
Sister Parkin has counseled: “If monthly visits aren't possible, please don't do nothing. Be creative and find a way to connect with each sister.” President Hinckley encourages, “Do the very best you can.”
Lucky Mack Smith, the mother of the Prophet Joseph Smith said in the second meeting of the Relief Society, “We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together.”
