Sisters of the Temple 2nd Ward Relief Society: March RS Meeting Recap--You Take the Cake!

In March we talked about the formula of make, bake, celebrate visiting teaching and sisterhood.

Here's an outline of the activity:

INTRO: cupcakes are all the craze right now, but a cupcake is not just a cupcake.

The outcome of a moist, and tasty cupcake with just the right sweetness, is dependent on its preparation. The same is true of visiting teaching. It's not hard to do, you just need to think about what you are doing and the relationship you are trying to build.

As you know, our ward RS focus this year, is to demonstrate our love for the Savior by joyfully keeping our covenants. Visiting Teaching, is the very essence of showing our love for the Savior and covenant keeping.

Some of us have a formal visiting teaching assignment, some of us may not, but either way, we have each covenanted to keep the commandments and to bear one another's burdens and watch over one another.

GROUP ACTIVITY: Divided into groups by table. Find 10 things you have in common (no body parts of clothing items)

· How did that go? Easy, hard? You can pretty much find things in common with anybody.

Step 1. MAKE/READ THE RECIPE AND GATHER THE INGREDIENTS YOU NEED (COME TO KNOW YOUR SISTER)

When you bake cupcakes you need to gather the ingredients and know how they go together

o What is important to this sister? What are her hopes, fears, sensitivities, talents, supports, concerns...

There are countless recipes for cupcakes. Each sister is unique. Figure out the ingredients you need to form a relationship with this individual sister and begin to build trust and foster spirituality.

Key ingredients: prayer, guidance of the HG (your self-preparation), learn what she likes, listen, remember her birthday

Step 2: BAKE (MINISTERING AND WATCHCARE)

Our Primary President did this part and even wore a cute cupcake apron! She told some fun stories and it was nice to hear from her.

Her part was focused on watching over your sisters, just as you'd watch over a cupcake baking in the oven
Add your own personalized touch of loving and enjoying her based on what you have learned about who she is and what she needs!

Then we emphasized that we are simply counting the caring!

Sister Mary Ellen Smoot, a former Relief Society General President, gave this counsel:

“My desire is to plead with our sisters to stop worrying about a phone call or a quarterly or monthly visit, and whether that will do, and concentrate instead on nurturing tender souls” Mary Ellen Smoot (Daughters in My Kingdom,, p 117)

Our Visiting Teaching Coordinator took a minute to explain what we enter into the system for visiting teaching. All we enter is if they had contact with a sister--doesn't matter what kind.

And that is our goal. We are not worried about counting the mechanics of a visit and whether or not a message was delivered. We do care about the caring and relationship building. What we want to count is the caring! Let us know how you are watching over and nurturing your sisters and what needs you learn of as you do this.

There's one more step left in our cupcakes! We have to celebrate! (with real cupcakes you celebrate by eating them, but we're not gonna eat our sisters)

Step 3: CELEBRATE (The SPRINKLES on top/unexpected surprises and blessings of our visiting teaching relationships)

I love to see sprinkles on top of a cupcake They just make me smile because they look happy.

Whether as the teacher or the teachee in our Visiting Teaching relationships, we have experienced unexpected blessings or surprises. Positive outcomes that have occurred. Friendship and connections that have come from sharing sorrows and joys together.