Visiting Teaching Message (Mar ’12)

Daughters in My Kingdom, Ensign/Liahona, March 2012



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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.

Daughters in My Kingdom

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; "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord."
Doctrine and Covenants 25:1, 10, 16;
1 Hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God, while I speak unto you, Emma Smith, my daughter; for verily I say unto you, all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom.
10 And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better.
16 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my voice unto all. Amen.
Doctrine and Covenants 138:38–39, 56;
38 Among the great and mighty ones who were assembled in this vast congregation of the righteous were Father Adam, the Ancient of Days and father of all,
39 And our glorious Mother Eve, with many of her faithful daughters who had lived through the ages and worshiped the true and living God.
56 Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.
“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” (Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2010, 129). Free PDF download.

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?

For more information, go to reliefsociety.lds.org.

Notes

1. Julie B. Beck, “‘Daughters in My Kingdom’: The History and Work of Relief Society,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2010, 112, 114.


2. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Way of the Disciple,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2009, 76.


3. Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 4:605.


4. Zina D. H. Young, “How I Gained My Testimony of the Truth,” Young Woman’s Journal, Apr. 1893, 319.