Lesson for February 1, 2015

Lesson for February 1, 2015 Today our lesson was given by Sarah Campbell. She said that as the secretary, she has to compile all kinds of numbers and wondered why. She learned that it is not numbers, it is about people. She found a talk by Elder Ballard about people who need fellowship “The Hand of Fellowship.” In the church we use the term “fellowship” to indicate our efforts to contact others and extend friendship. What can we do for the people in the sphere of our influence? What has made a difference for you? One sister said that one thing that happened is that her visiting teachers showed up two days after she moved in. They made going to church is very comfortable. Another sister said the sooner the better so fears don’t develop. Another sister said having someone sit next to you is very important. Receiving a calling shows us that we are part of the ward and we are needed. Learning names is also important. Elder Ballard said that we ought to be alert to reinforce the efforts of the missionaries. We all need to be more open and friendly and warm. People reaching out to others makes such a huge difference. Even being direct can work. All the people in the ward who don’t come to church have ward and visiting teachers, even if they don’t want them. Amy said there needs to be someone who has a stewardship over them to pray for them, not that we’re going to force ourselves on them. We are being Heavenly Father’s helpers to reach out to those people. We need to grow by being the kind of shepherds the Lord wants us to be. So we can be inspired friends, instead of just visiting teachers. People’s lives change and they may need friends or help, even if they don’t want to have visiting teachers. Joni Trewartha said that her son Jeff tried going back to church, but they felt judged and quit going again. Becoming friends who won’t give up on someone can help. We also have to reach out so we don’t feel left out. Sometimes small things will help. Some people are inactive because they feel judged and their lives are different. We are a church of sinners and we each have our own way of sinning, so we need to be accepting of others. Other people won’t come and ask you for help, so being aware of needs or offering treats or taking action and doing it. One visiting teacher asked what can we pray for you about, which was awesome. We can pray about what we can do to help. If we do that some awesome things will happen. When others fellowship us, we have a responsibility, too, to come and put ourselves out to others. Helping others and not giving up works, also. We can receive inspiration and become inspired to know how to approach people. We can find ways to show that we are friends. Outside of visiting teaching and home teaching, we should learn about how to approach others in our ward and learn how to help those who need help. The challenge of the ward is knowing what is going on. Elder Ballard said that missionaries are taught to be genuinely warm and interested in the people they meet, which does make a huge difference. The missionaries work with the members so the investigators will have permanent friends.