I went to the Worldwide Leadership Training broadcast tonight at the Las Vegas Nevada Redrock Stake Center. This annual training for Ward and Stake leaders often times has valuable ideas and suggestions to help us further the Lord’s work of “bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Prior to attending it, Elders Quorum President Chris York
and myself (as Elders Quorum Secretary) was working on home teaching. As the reader may know, priesthood holders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a responsibility and duty to “visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:47) two by two in
companionship (see Luke 10:1). Sadly, in many of our Wards and Stakes, this duty is not fulfilled as it should. I, of myself, do not take this charge as seriously as I should. President York and myself were trying to reorganize the home teaching assignments, to perhaps better meet the needs of the families under our stewardship. As we worked on this, we made some changes. Some, for example, where with the companionships. For example, there was a young elder in our Ward who recently returned from serving a full-time mission. There is another even younger elder who, having recently received the Melchizedek priesthood, is preparing himself to go on a mission. We felt impressed to put these two elders together, with the hope that this recently returned missionary would help this brother gain a stronger testimony and help him be a strong home teacher. At the Worldwide Leadership Training meeting, a scripture was read in a different context, but came with such power to me. I felt that for a brief moment, the Lord parted the veil, ever slightly, to endow me with knowledge of what we as an Elders Quorum Presidency needed to do. After the meeting, I shared the scripture and the inspiration that I received. Of course, as is our duty, I told him that we needed to discuss it as a Presidency and pray about it to determine the Lord’s will.
The scripture that is read was Doctrine and Covenants 84:106:
“And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also.” In that instant, I knew that the Lord wanted us to personally visit the stronger of the home teaching companions and read this scripture with him, discuss and talk about it, and then give them their home teaching assignment, and ask him if he will strengthen him weaker brother so that he may become stronger in the spirit.
