VISITING TEACHING MESSAGE for March
Daughters in My Kingdom
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.
We
are daughters of our Father in Heaven. He knows us, loves us, and has a plan
for us. Part of that plan includes coming to earth to learn to choose good over
evil. When we choose to keep God’s commandments, we honor Him and acknowledge
our identity as daughters of God. Relief Society helps us remember this divine
heritage.
Relief
Society and its history strengthen and support us. Julie B. Beck, Relief
Society general president, said: “As daughters of God, you are preparing for
eternal designations, and each of you has a female identity, nature, and
responsibility. The success of families, communities, this Church, and the
precious plan of salvation is dependent on your faithfulness. … [Our Heavenly
Father] intended Relief Society to help build His people and prepare them for
the blessings of the temple. He established [Relief Society] to align His
daughters with His work and to enlist their help in building His kingdom and
strengthening the homes of Zion.”1
Our
Father in Heaven has given us specific work to help build His Kingdom. He has
also blessed us with the spiritual gifts we need to accomplish this specific
work. Through Relief Society, we have opportunities to use our gifts to
strengthen families, help those in need, and learn how to live as disciples of
Jesus Christ.
President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said of
discipleship: “By patiently walking in the path of discipleship, we demonstrate
to ourselves the measure of our faith and our willingness to accept God’s will
rather than ours.”2
Let
us remember we are daughters of God and strive to live as His disciples. As we
do so, we will help build God’s kingdom here on earth and become worthy to
return to His presence.
From
the Scriptures
Zechariah 2:10; Doctrine and Covenants 25:1, 10, 16; 138:38–39, 56; “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” (Liahona and Ensign, Nov.
2010, 129)
From
Our History
On April 28, 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith said to the
sisters in Relief Society: “You are now placed in a situation in which you can
act according to those sympathies which God has planted in [you]. … If you live
up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your
associates.”3
Recognizing the power of Relief Society to serve others
and to help individuals increase in faith, Zina D. H. Young, third Relief
Society general president, promised the sisters in 1893, “If you will dig in
the depths of your own hearts you will find, with the aid of the Spirit of the
Lord, the pearl of great price, the testimony of this work.”4
What
Can I Do?
1. How can I help my sisters reach their potential
as daughters of God?
2. How can I apply in my life the counsel and
warnings given to women in Doctrine and Covenants 25?
Notes
Julie B. Beck, “‘Daughters in My Kingdom’: The History
and Work of Relief Society,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov.
2010, 112, 114.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Way of the
Disciple,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2009, 76.
Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 4:605.
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