Dear brothers and sisters, we constantly seek direction from the Lord on how we can help our members keep the commandments of God, especially those two great commandments to love God and our neighbors.
For months we have been seeking a better way to minister to the spiritual and temporal needs of our people in the Savior’s way.
We have made the decision to retire home teaching and visiting teaching as we have known them. Instead, we will implement a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others. We will refer to these efforts simply as “ministering.”
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/ ... g?lang=eng
Apparently things aren't going to plan.
(Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society General President)One of my friends recently asked me in bewilderment, “Where did my visiting teachers go?” From the time her husband passed away, they had been so caring and attentive, but since the announcement of the new ministering program at general conference in April 2018, she hasn’t seen hide nor hair of them.
We are all adjusting to a new way of doing things, and some ministering brothers and sisters may not have understood that although a home visit isn’t the only way to minister, it is certainly a wonderful way to show love and genuine interest—and many members still need it.
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2018/12/wher ... o?lang=eng
Ministering might be even less effective than Home and Visiting Teaching.