Annette Nay, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2000

Who's Conducting?

You conduct the 1st month. That means that you:

• Get the lesson for the first Sunday.
• You Conduct:
• Board Meeting
• R.S. Meetings on Sunday
• Homemaking Meeting
• The 2nd month your first counselor does all of the above.

The 3rd month your second counselor does all the above.

The next month it starts over again with you.

If one of the Presidency cannot fulfill her month of duties then she trades with one of the other sisters in the Presidency. The change is noted at Presidency Meeting so everyone knows what is taking place.

See: Agenda Forms

Visiting Teaching Routes

• Put an experienced middle-aged older sister and a youthful sister together to visit other youthful sisters.
• Never make changes alone, always include your Presidency, the Visiting Teaching Coordinator, the Bishop and then God. (The Bishop know more information about sister's predicaments.)
• Never change partners or routes unless it is totally necessary.
• If you think it is necessary, pray for the inspiration to do it right.
• After you have considered all the angles then make a decision and then ask God if it is right!
• If you think you do not have time to this, do it anyway. Call those sisters without a Visiting Teacher and let them know that you love them and see if they are okay.
• When a change does take place, call the affected sisters to let them know:

1. Why this had to take place
2. Explain what went into the decision, as much as possible, without breaking confidences, or leaning towards gossiping,.
3. The sisters will accept change more readily if you take the time to explain.
4. It is far better than if you coldly hand them and sheet of paper with the changes on it.
5. The sisters need to know that you love and care about them. Take the extra time to do it right!
6. See: Simplified & Complex Visiting Teaching Schedules

Visiting Teaching Interviews

• The manual calls for visiting teaching interviews to be held quarterly.
• It would be less of a hassle if you, the President, do all the interviews yourself this can be done by doing it a little at a time throughout the year

1. Divide the number of visiting teachers by 12 months.
2. Divide the resulting number by 4 weeks per month to see how many sisters you need to see per week.
3. Divide that number by 7 days per week. That is how many sisters you need to talk to per day.
4. Start with the visiting teachers who's last name starts with "A" and work down to the "Z's."
5. The benefits from doing it yourself are:
6. No second handed information from your counselors and secretary
7. You get to know the sisters and their problems
8. You can help each visiting teacher know that you love her.
9. You can challenger her to do better where she needs to.
10. See: Visiting Teaching Interviews

Never make Relief Society changes, recommendations, or decisions without your counselors.

• It will breakup the trust in the Presidency.
• You will not be able to see all the angles by yourself. That's why you have counselors.
• Your work together must be done unanimously between the Presidency and the Spirit.

The First Lesson of the Month

• Pray to find out which lesson God wants you to teach.
• The presidency member who is conducting for the month gives the lesson.
• This means that you have plenty of time to ask the Lord which lesson He wants taught. You can even fast for a good decision at the very next Fast Sunday after the month you conduct. Then you know what you are going to do and you have time to gather your thoughts together for the lesson.
• Announce in Presidency Meeting which lesson you will be giving as soon as you know.
• Your lesson need only be about 8 minutes. Why would you want to sweat bullets any longer than necessary. Instead, leave plenty of time for the bearing of testimonies.
• Testimony bearing is the most important part of this meeting!.... It is through the bearing of testimonies that the Spirit testifies to the person that they truly believe what the Spirit has inspired them to say!
• Not only is there the growth and development of the bearer of the testimony, but also for the sisters who have the Spirit testify to the truthfulness of what the sister has. The lesson should be short and to the point for this reason.
• What if no one says anything? Then at least they are thinking of what they could be saying during that time. The time is never wasted. Take the time to do some one-on-one time with the Lord yourself.

Councils

• The article on Councils can be used fantastically with your own presidency.
• See: Councils Should...

Leaders

• See: A Leader Should... 

Pursuit of Excellence

• Make sure you have one.
• Have a Pursuit of Excellence Counselor over it.
• Make sure that the sisters are being challenged by the counselor.
• Use time in Work Meeting and a monthly article in the R.S. Newsletter to keep it fresh in the Sisters memories.
• See that the Counselor is meeting with the sisters to see how they are doing on their goals.
• Make sure that every sister has a copy of your Pursuit of Excellence Program.
• Mail your Pursuit of Excellence Program to inactive members.
• Plan a ceremony for achievers at the end of the year.
• To see an awesome Pursuit of Excellence Program

Relief Society Calendar Events for the Year

• January - Visiting Teaching Interviews or better yet do them all through the year
• March - Relief Society Birthday Dinner w/spouses (Get the dates cleared early for the building and with Ward Council.)
• March - Visiting Teaching Interviews.
• May - Visiting teaching Conference (Clear date early for the bldg. and with Ward Council. )
• June - Visiting Teaching Interviews
• October - Relief Society Fall Social (Clear early the bldg. and the Ward Council )
• September - Visiting Teaching Interviews

Include such events as:

• Work Meetings
• Any Super Saturdays (All Crafts Day)
• Annual Teaching Materials Order
• Annual Budget Due
• Annual R. S. Goals Due
• Temple Assignments
• Kitchen Cleanup Assignments
• Stake Assignments

Orienting The Young Women into Relief Society Sisters

• Get a print out of all Laurels graduating this year into R.S.
• Set up a face to face meeting with each.
• Find out which ones are going off to school or the Singles Ward.
• Have a copy of the latest Visiting Teaching Convention materials to give them and to go over with them on it.
• Put an experienced middle-aged older sister and a youthful sister together to visit other youthful sisters.

Fall & Spring Socials

• The Presidency chooses a theme.
• Choose a Head Chairman three months in advance.
• Choose a chairman for activities, setup, cleanup, decorations, and cooking/dinner. Give list to the Head Chairman
• Have each Chairman get the people she would like working with her acquired by the end of that first month.
• Appoint a member of the Presidency to sit in on the Head Chairman's planning sessions and report back in Presidency Meeting or invite the Head Chairman to attend the Presidency's Meeting for the first few minutes to give her report and then excuse her.
• Have the whole event outlined by the end of the second month. This gives then a whole month to gather facts and put their plans into work.
• Give this timeline of events to the Head Chairman along with any expectations you wish her to accomplish like budget.
• Remember to have background music for the dinner.
• See: Guidelines for Committees of Relief Society Socials

Orienting New Sisters into Relief Society

• This is the new move-ins and the newly baptized.
• All new sisters need to be visited in their home the first month they are in Relief Society or the Ward. This can easily be done by the Presidency (including the Secretary) breaking into to pairs and visiting them.
• Make sure they have a Ward Roster and phone numbers with your name underlined and RS President put by it.
• Have the Secretary underline other important ward leaders and put their job out in the margin.
• Have a copy of the latest Visiting Teaching Convention materials to give them and to go over with them on it.
• Have a copy of the Pursuit of Excellence to explain and give them.

Inactive Members

• Use the ward's female Stake Missionaries to visit these sisters.
• Have the Secretary give them a list of all your inactive members.
• Call for updates from them as to who they have seen and how the visit went.
• If a pair of visiting teachers have been able to get in to see their inactive sisters and have developed a relationship with them, do not change the inactive members to another route.
• This can also be done by the Presidency (including the Secretary) breaking into to pairs and visiting them.
• See: Fellowshipping Tips

Be Prepared for Deaths in the Ward

• Get the church pamphlet called: Clothing the Dead Endowed
• See that the Bishop, the Visiting teachers and the Home Teachers know about the death.
• You and one of your Presidency visit the family as soon as possible.
• See that the family is cared for. i.e.. Meals for the family. Listening to them. Counseling when needed.
• That the church is available for the funeral if needed.
• See that a buffet table is prepared for after the funeral.
• Delegate as much as possible of this to your Compassionate Service Leader
• See: Dealing With the Grief Work of Death and

• A day of two after the funeral the President and another of the Presidency visit the sister and discuss: Dealing with the Grief Work of Death with the sister. Leave her a copy.

Work Meeting

• Having a dinner every month is expensive. It is late in the evening and all that is eaten goes to fat. A quarterly dinner is enough. Spring and Fall Social can be counted as a dinner.
• If withdrawal will result because of taking Relief Society Work Meeting Dinner that have a light tasters table from the stuff that was made in the Cooking Class that evening.
• Use the saved money on better things for the sisters or for stamps for mailings to the inactive members.
• Don't waste the sisters time by making junk. i.e.. Pop-bottle dolls
• Plan two monthly homemaking skill builder: Cooking and one other.... i.e.: quilting, sewing, painting, repairs, etc.
• Address psychological needs of the sisters for self preservation or for building better families
• See sections on weight loss, mental health, healthy families,

Board Meeting

• It is for each board member to account for their stewardship monthly.
• To the Presidency to make assignments for the coming month.
• To jointly figure out problems.
• To assess programs and brainstorm how to make them better.
• See: Board Meetings

Presidency Meeting

• Account for your stewardships.
• Make assignments for the coming month.
• Help sisters and their families to prepare to meet God!!!
• Make joint Visiting Teaching Route changes.
• Decided to whom to extend jobs to
• Help the Sisters set and gain their goals.
• Help the inactive sisters become active.
• Discuss resources and means.
• Plan upcoming events
• Plan budget. See Budget
• Delegate! Delegate! Delegate!
• See: Relief Society Goals

Things to Plan For

• Board Meeting each month at:
• Work Meeting each month
• Adding new sisters to routes and take off move outs.
• Bishop's Assignments
• Sister Initiatories
• Ward Temple Days
• Major Relief Society Events

Annual Visiting Teaching Convention

• Get the event in the ward bulletin.
• Make assignments early.
• Take special invitations to the Laurels and invite them at one of their Young Women's Activity Night!!! This should go to each young women who will turn 18 from the time of the Visiting Conference until the next one. You need to train your new sisters!
• Mention who is invited (All Visiting Teachers and So-To-Be Visiting Teachers)
• Plan early
• Delegate as much as possible
• Use the Visiting Teacher Coordinator a lot
• See: A Complete Visiting Teaching Convention

Relief Society Sunday Meetings

1st Sunday - Taught by the Presidency & Testimonies

2nd Sunday - Brigham Young Lesson #1

3rd Sunday - Brigham Young Lesson #2

4th Sunday - Teaching for Our Times

Other Meetings the President Attends

Welfare Mtg. (monthly)

Ward Correlation (monthly)

R.S. Monthly Newsletter:

Who contributes to the Monthly Letter?

• Presidents Corner - President
• Pursuit of Excellence Counselor - On goal setting, achievement, growth opportunities in the community, suggesting that sisters in Primary, Young Women's as well as the other sisters read their lessons before the Brigham Young lessons, etc.
• Visiting Teaching Message - Your Visiting Teaching Board member
• Copies of the first and last lesson of the month so that the sisters in Primary and Young Women's can read what was given. They have a manual for the Brigham Young lessons.
• Ask the teachers of the first and last lessons of the month to prepare an overview of the lesson for the newsletter.
• Birth dates for the month & Spotlight on sisters
• Use this as a vehicle to reach your Presidency's goals!!!
• Use the money cut for Work Meeting dinners for stamps to mail this news letter to inactive members!

Extending Jobs

• Board member jobs need names turned into the bishop on his appropriate form and he calls them.
• Ad Hoc Specialists and other jobs are jointly decided by the Presidency and called by the President.
• Use these jobs to help the sisters to feel they belong, to keep active, and to grow and develop.
• Use the Spirit to decide all jobs. The Presidency should decided unanimously or the name should be tabled and prayed about again.

• Mandated by the bishop on the 1st and 3rd Sundays as needed.
• The order is filled out by you and the sister needing the order.
• It is to feed the family for two weeks, unless it is the second Sunday with three wks. remaining in the month. If this is the case order for three weeks of food.
• Food orders are not to supply individuals with food storage.
• You will have to set the limits.
• Fax the order into the storehouse.
• Verify the Fax was sent.
• Hard copy must be in Tuesday's mail or there will be no order.
• Send the two top copies to the storehouse and keep the last copy and return it to the Bishop.
• Orders are picked up by the people who's orders they are.
• This is not your responsibility. If they can't pick it up they are to get someone else to.
• They are expected to be there fifteen minutes early and stay until all get their orders, to help each other load the orders into each other's cars.

1. Never do anything unless it meets your goals for the Relief Society.

2. Never forget that the focus of Homemaking is to showcase the Pursuit of Excellence theme of the month.

3. Never abuse another's or your time.

4. Never have a meeting to have a meeting.

5. Never forget to love the sisters and to tell them you love them.

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