While serving my mission, we missionaries were asked to spend our time working with in-actives and reactivate them. In my last area, my companion and I were given a list of names of inactive members to visit. One inactive we were working with was a lady named Gerri.
Gerri was a sweet woman who had at least 5 or 6 cats. As we got to know her, we got to know her cats as well. One day my companion and I decided to stop by while in the area and we found Gerri very upset. She told us one of her cats had gotten sick and suddenly died. After doing our best to comfort her, we went to go see the compassionate service leader, who also happened to be one of Gerri’s visiting teachers. We went to this lady’s home and told her what happened to Gerri. Her response shocked us. She was glad that this cat had died because, in her opinion, animals are dirty, they carry diseases, and they have no business being in a home. We knew she never visited Gerri, and after hearing that response, we knew why. My heart broke twice that day. First, with the passing of one of Gerri’s cats, and seeing the heartbreak it brought, and second, her visiting teacher had no desire to show any love and compassion to a fellow sister.
On the other hand, Gerri had a second visiting teacher who went out of her way to show her that she cared. I remember when I first came into the area, this visiting teacher was out of town taking care of her mother. Even while out of town, she took the time to call Gerri, or to 
even mail a note containing a spiritual message or uplifting thought. She allowed charity to connect herself with another woman and they were both edified. After I went home, I received news that Gerri went back to Church for the first time in years.
President George Albert Smith teaches, “Our ministry is one of love. Our service is one which enriches our lives…If we are living as God intends that we should live, if we are ministering as he desires that we should minister, every day of our lives is enriched by the influence of his Spirit.”
We have been blessed to be part of an organization that is based on serving, supporting, and enriching each other. It’s easily done when we love each other. Think about the experience from my mission, what kind of visiting teacher do you want to be known as? It’s tough to fit it in your schedule, but “see that ye love one another; cease to be covetous; learn to impart one to another as the gospel requires… And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace” (D&C 88:123,125).