The Visiting Teaching Message for April is about seeking and receiving personal revelation. I made a paper pinwheel that has the four things mentioned in the message that we need to do in order to receive personal revelation: study scriptures, fast, pray, and build faith.
To make your pinwheels, you will need:
a piece of 8.5 by 11″ paper
new pencils with erasers
thumbtacks
scissors
First download the pattern in English here. Download in Spanish here. I printed mine on the back of an 8.5 x 11″ piece of scrapbook paper.
Cut each square out, then make cuts about half-way down on each printed diagonal line.
Bring down a corner that has no writing on the white side, and pierce the end with a thumbtack.
Continue with the remaining 3 points with no writing on them, then push the pin through the very center of the paper.
Then, keeping all your ends on the pin, push the pin into the eraser-end of a new pencil.
I then made a little tag-shape from President Packer’s quote, punched a hole, and hung from the pushpin with a piece of raffia.
In discussing the first quote by Elder Robert D. Hales, I would begin by talking about the importance of each point of the pinwheel. How can the following help us receive personal revelation?
Studying scriptures
Fasting
Prayer (Read and discuss the second quote in the message by President Boyd K. Packer)
Building Faith (How can we ask in faith, nothing wavering? How can we build that kind of faith?)
After discussing the points on the pinwheel, blow on it to make it spin and explain how just like the pinwheel won’t spin on it’s own, we can’t expect to receive personal revelation unless we do our part. The Lord wants us to unlock heaven, but we have to use our key!
Hi! I just wanted to thank you for always being ahead of the game and having such fabulous ideas. You sure make my visiting teaching better. My sisters always say how cute things are and I tell them it's not me it's this awesome blog!
LOVE IT!
I love your blog!
Thank you for all the great ideas.
I just ran across this blog, and it is amazing! Thank you so much for your great ideas, I am going to start next month with the pinwheel. You do a great job!!!!
You are just AMAZING!!!! I just read the message for March and came to your website…and you already had your idea posted. I am just sending you thanks and tons of PATS on the BACK via the internet. Thanks for helping make visiting teaching so FUN!
Ok, I meant to say…for April :).
Bless your heart!! I love this website and your ideas… which makes me love to do my visiting teaching even more. The ladies I teach love the little handouts that I make… which often come from your blog. Thank you for sharing your talents, and a big thank you for sharing them free of charge. May the Lord bless you with more than worldly riches.
Love the spring time idea. Can't wait to try it!
You are truly incredible. I don't know if you realize how many lives you touch by what you create each month, but it is many. Thank you!!!
My visiting teaching companion is laid up after having major surgery last month. Today she is having 12 sisters over; for them to make lunch and a couple meals for her and her husband. As a treat to thank them I spent last night making these beautiful works of art to give for next months message. I am sure like me they will love and appreciate the hard work you do. Thank you.
You are amazingly talented, thanks for sharing your talent! I know the ladies I vt will remember this one!
Thank you for the GREAT visiting teaching ideas! I am so energized about sharing your wonderful ideas.
Thanks so very much. I love your ideas. I return to your site time and time again. I used the LDS scripture marker red pencils for my pinwheels (= Keep up the great work!!!!
I love love love your site! It has given me a renewed desire to visit teach! I get so excited to see your new post for the next month and I make the handouts and can't wait to share them! Thank you!
I am the visiting teaching coordinator for our ward. Each month I have been assigned to stand before the sisters and give an inspiring message on visting teaching. I loved this months messages, and was trying to figure out something I could hand out with this message in simple form since I have to mass produce them. This is perfect!
Thanks so much…
Just a note to thank you so very much! I have been using your ideas for about 3 months now and enjoying them a lot. It is nice to have fresh, new, excellent handouts for the lessons. Visiting Teaching is one of the most important callings we can magnify in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It is all about what he taught us to be doing for one another! Thank you for helping us do it well!
Hi,thank you for your very good ideas. I am translating many good ideas for visiting teaching and other Church programs for another non-profit web site, so the world can see we are striving to be better and also to spread the gospel by means of letting them know about our activities. I wonder if I could translate your ideas to Spanish and post them in that web site but making reference to this site.
I will be awaiting for your reply. Maybe it might be a good idea for you to have them in Spanish too…
Thanks,
Thank you so much, everyone!!
Delmy, yes, you have my permission to repost in Portuguese or Spanish and link back.
Thank you so much! You are amazing!
Wow! I'm so glad I found you! I'm the RS President of our ward and trying to find new and fun ideas to motivate the sisters. Maybe I should just send them here!
Thanks SO SO MUCH for doing SPANISH!!! You are INCREDIBLE!!!! Marcie
Finally, Spanish VT ideas. Thanks for SPANISH, you are doing a great deed.
Thank you for all your wonderful ideas! It's great for all of us "creatively challenged" people. 🙂
I was wondering if you could send me an email, I have a few questions for you. 69reliefsociety@gmail.com
I agree! Love it!
I found your blog on the web! Please don't ever go private!! I absolutely LOVE your blogs, they are very inspiring and fun! I also just got called to be primary chorister and your other blog has really helped me out. So, thank you THANK YOU!!!
Thanks so much sister for sharing these ideas in Spanish. You are WONDERFUL!Please keep them coming.
I love this! I just discovered your blog last month and was so excited to make Aprils VT craft idea. I'm taking it to my sisters today for my Visiting Teaching. I never do anything for them and decided I needed to be a better visiting teacher. This will be a great visual aide. Thanks for your ideas and poostings!
Thank you for sharing your talents with all of us! I was wondering where you get your pretty paper? I am having a hard time finding 8 1/2 x 11 pieces of paper 🙂 I looked at Michaels but they have switched to all 12×12 🙁
Malinda – I usually just trim my scrapbook paper down to 8.5 x 11, and save my scraps for future projects. 🙂
AWESOME! I love this idea. Working on my pinwheel right now. Thanks for your efforts.
I love your ideas! You are so creative and talented. I love going to visit my sisters with something so thoughtful and fun. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you sharing!
I love this idea! Thank you!
This is a great idea. We are having a little brunch this month for our visiting teaching ladies and these will make great centerpieces for the table. Thank you for being so wonderful and sharing these great ideas so that sisters all over the place can have some fun and special handouts. I love handouts!
You all are awesome. Thank you, thank you for being so kind! Cheralyn – I'd love to see a photo of your brunch table with the pinwheel centerpieces.
Can I just tell you how awesome you are? You making visiting teaching so much fun. Thank you.
You've just been given the Sunshine Blog Award!
http://crazycraftycousins.blogspot.com/2010/05/sunshine-award.html
Thanks for the award! That is very fun. 🙂
I just wanted to let you know that I am using this idea for our Relief Society meeting that we are holding on June 9th. Our Presidency noticed how often Personal Revelation was spoken about during General Conference, in the Ensign, and in our our Stake Conference during 2009-2010. We decided that we would focus on it and in particular a portion of the talk that Sister Julie Beck spoke of during General Conference in April about every sister needing to have paper and pencil near her scriptures to record those revelations we receive as we are studying. We purchased composition notebooks for each sister who will attend and put a sticker on the front of each notebook with a quote from Joseph Smith on it and are making these pencil pinwheels to go along with the journals. Each point on the pinwheel will fit in great with our lesson. Thank-you so much for the fabulous idea!! I think our sisters will love the pencil pinwheel! I am going to link back to your blog in my own blog when I highlight our R.S. meeting in another week.
Just wanted to pop in and say thank you. I am the TFOT teacher in our ward and I used your post-it "love notes" as a handout for my lesson on "More Diligent and Concerned at Home" and the sisters loved them. This Sunday I am teaching from Sister Beck's talk "And Upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit"; this pinwheel will work great as a handout because she focuses a lot on personal revelation. Aloha and Mahalo!