History of Visit Teaching

[lstaks]

I am currently serving as the Visit Teaching leader in my Relief Society. As I play a very active role in teaching and aiding the sisters in their callings as Visiting Teachers I have been searching for the histroy of Visit Teaching. I am looking for a formal talk or document that speaks of the actual institution of this inspired program. I realize in the early days of the church the sisters naturally reached out to one another and that their faith and charity lead to the institution of the Relief Society itself. I would like information that goes further than this to detail how the formal program began.

Thank you in advance for any information that can be shared.

Lija

[Jenny Smith]

This is an interesting question, but I can’t find the answer for you. This article is as close as I got: Now Let us Rejoice that mentions when the first VT messages came out in the Church’s women’s magazine. Let me know if you find anything else!

-j

[Anonymous User]

Thank you for your timely response! I did found later that day a small article about the history of Visiting Teaching for which I have included the web address below. I am looking forward to reading closely the article you sent and hope to share it with my sisters.

http://www.homeholidaysfamilyandfun.com … cleid=8754

Thank you.

[Anonymous User]

I found an article that discusses the early days of visit teaching at http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basi … ty_EOM.htm

[Jenny Smith]

Thanks for that link, Mandy! That was really interesting! Here’s the important part:

Quote:

In July 1843 a visiting committee of four was appointed in each ward to assess needs, solicit contributions from Church members, and distribute necessities. Visiting teachers have remained part of the Relief Society’s basic organizational structure ever since (see Visiting Teaching)…. By 1880, the Relief Society had 300 local units, and each one cared for the suffering and needy within its ward boundaries, using an expanded corps of visiting teachers to collect and distribute donations…. The Relief Society’s own traditional relief efforts through the visiting teachers gradually phased out and finally terminated in 1944 when visiting teachers stopped collecting charity funds. Since 1921, ward presidents rather than visiting teachers have been assessing family needs and distributing relief to the needy, under the direction of their respective bishops.

[Author]

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