Home Is Where the Heart Is

One of the best things about the lay ministry that is at the heart of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is something that is called Home Teaching. For the worthy men in the Church holding the priesthood, it is their duty to look in on and minister to households they are assigned to. Since our bishops and branch presidents (akin to a minister or priest in other denominations) hold full time jobs and have families, there is a need to spread the weight of taking care of the flock.

While there are many different callings (unpaid jobs) in every congregation, Home Teaching is the one every priesthood holder must do. It is the one calling you never get released from. That alone shows how important it is. You have different families you are assigned to over the years, but you are never to stop carrying out your teaching.

I vividly remember the first Priesthood Sunday school meeting I went to while investigating the Church. Guess what the lesson was on?  You got it.  Right away I was excited because I knew that this was the way things should be. God wants his children to learn to love each other and there is no better way to learn than to do.

So what exactly is Home Teaching then?

By the book, it is a once a month visit to a household by two priesthood holding men in the Church to teach a short lesson about the Gospel. You have to get in the door for it to officially count. Now some will consider any kind of visit to count and it is up to the individual home teacher and the priesthood leadership to determine that. Me, I’m a stickler for getting in the door and it has everything to do with the real reasons we have Home Teaching.

What it is really about is looking out for the well being of those we visit. Not just the spiritual well being, but the emotional and economic as well. Latter-day Saints are often fiercely independent, which has a lot to do with the emphasis on self reliance taught in the Church. But that can be taken too far and people in need of help will either feel afraid or too proud to ask for help once in a crisis. Unlike a full time paid clergy, our leaders can’t visit everyone in a large congregation on a regular basis. Combine that with a natural human tendency by some to be afraid of anyone in authority and needs can be overlooked. That’s where our home teachers come in.

If they have built up a good relationship with the people they look after, the home teachers are able to see what things are most needed for those people. It also means being someone they can call in a crisis, someone to provide a shoulder to lean or cry on, and someone who will be their friend. In some cases, it also means being the only contact with the Church for those who have fallen away from attending or are unable to attend due to health.

In order to minister properly to others, you need to know the hearts of those you teach. It is said that “home is where the heart is” and in my experience visiting people in their homes brings a totally different spirit. There you see people as they really are and which enables you to talk freely in ways I sometimes think our culture has forgotten in the States. Personally, I love to visit the families I’ve been assigned to.

In the end, Home Teaching is about loving and serving others, giving of your time and energy to be there for them. In order to live a Christ-like life, we must follow in the footsteps of the Savior, no matter how large or small they appear to us. Home Teaching isn’t a sacrifice to me, for I get a lot back out of it too. In doing service for others, I find myself comforted by the Spirit and closer to Christ as I try to emulate his actions. I’ve also gotten to know a lot of wonderful people  this way that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

I think Paul summed up what I feel about Home Teaching when he wrote to the Corinthians:

What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 1 Cor. 9:18-19

It has definitely made me a better man and hopefully a better priesthood holder.

Oh and lest I get in trouble with the sisters of the Church, I better point out that they have their own version called Visiting Teaching. In this case, they visit the women members. It isn’t surprising they are better at doing this than the brothers. I have no end to my admiration of Relief Society, which also happens to be the oldest women’s organization in the country.