Nurture the Rising Generation

I wanted to share some thoughts that I had about this month's visiting teaching message.

As my companion and I were visiting with one of our sisters, we had a great discussion about nurturing the rising generation. Neither my companion nor I nor the sister we were visiting have any children, so in the beginning this was kind of a tough lesson for me to share.

We began by talking about how serving in our callings can be very instrumental in nurturing Primary children and the youth. Right now, I am the only one of the three of us who have such a calling, so we discussed how we didn't need a calling to befriend a child or a teenager. We can still have an impact. We may never know what kind of an influence we might have, so it's important for us to continue to be friendly and kind.

Then our conversation went to defining the rising generation. This is where the true inspiration came for our lesson. I remembered being told I was a part of this rising generation when I was a youth. We speculated that the rising generation probably began with the restoration of the church...and had continued with each generation.

What does this mean? Well, we came to the conclusion that every sister in Relief Society is also a part of this select generation. Every sister in Relief Society was chosen to come forth in these last days! As a sisterhood, we ARE the rising generation, too!

As childless sisters who do not hold callings in Primary or Young Women, it became much clearer for us on how we can nurture the rising generation. We can nurture each other! We can take an active role in caring for each other. We can make a concerted effort to make each sister who enters the church building feel welcomed and wanted and appreciated! By being kind and sincere to our sisters, we ARE nurturing the rising generation. Even the simplest actions can bless their lives and the lives of their families.