Dear Sisters and Elders,
How important it is to keep a positive attitude in our work as missionaries. We can never allow discouragement to enter into our thoughts because it will weaken our faith which leads to lowering our expectations, our effectiveness will decrease, our desire will weaken, and we will have greater difficulty following the Spirit (Preach My Gospel pg 10) We have a great example to follow in Nephi. In the very first verse of chapter one of first Nephi we read:
1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.
As we read further into the Book of Mormon we find out some of these afflictions that Nephi experienced. How many of us would ever put together afflictions and having been highly favored of the Lord in the same sentence. Nephi gives us a great example of how important it is for us to maintain an eternal perspective as we face adversity and challenges in our everyday proselyting activities. Elder Zeballos taught us in our Zone Conferences in December of 2008 that the Lord loves each of us and He wants to trust us but we must earn it. Do we feel the sacred responsibility the Lord has entrusted in us? Can the Lord trust us enough to place in our hands the responsibility of teaching one of His sons or daughters that He has prepared to hear the Gospel?
We must earn His trust as did Nephi in facing adversity with courage and faithfulness. What are some of the things we can do to keep our enthusiasm and excitement for work as we face adversity? Here are some suggestions:
· Keep our covenants that we have made with the Lord. In Elder D. Todd Cristofferson´s address entitled “Power of Covenants” he shares the following:
The Apostle Paul understood that one who has entered into a covenant with God is both given the faith to face trials and gains even greater faith through those trials. Of his personal "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7), he observed: "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me."And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."Therefore I take pleasure in [my] infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:8–10).
· Praying, fasting, studying the scriptures, living the commandments, obeying mission rules, and immersing ourselves in missionary work.
· Express our understanding, love, and support of others.
· Strengthen our faith in the Lord by bearing our testimony often.
· Recognize spiritual experiences, and remember the times when we have felt the Spirit.
· Stop worrying about ourselves and lose ourselves in serving others, discouragement will be replaced by the joy of service.
In 2 Nephi 2:2 the Lord counsels Jacob that he would consecrate his afflictions for his gain. I testify as we face our trials and adversity in the mission field with courage and faith as did Nephi, we be highly favored of the Lord to bring many of unto Him is may prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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WELCOME!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Wonderful insights from the new missionaries!
Our new missionaries in Phase 2/3 Trainings--October 16, 2009
(They have been here just over 12 weeks or 18 weeks and all of the meeting is in Spanish today)They share their success stories/relatos de exito with us:
Elder H: “A woman was very sad when we met her on the street. She had been raining (lloviendo), I mean crying (llorando). We didn’t think she wanted to listen, but then she did and now we have 7 people ready for baptism.”
Elder S: “We spoke to a woman who had been a bit against progressing, but when we came back and taught her, we found out she had been studying the Book of Mormon and praying. She told us she knew it was true. I know the Lord is preparing people for us to find. She knew.”
Hermana P: “We were teaching this woman, whose husband didn’t really support her studying the gospel and progressing. We were fasting for her, wondering what we could say to her and to him, to help them both. We returned and talked to both of them, and we all felt the spirit. Then we were so happy to see them both come to Sacrament meeting on Sunday. We returned to teach them both, and now he has also agreed to a baptismal date, like her, and he wants to learn more!”
Elder N: “We were teaching a man who didn’t want to leave tea, coffee, cigarettes, but now he has, and is listening and progressing with the lessons. He has been prepared.”
Elder L: “I loved my other ward, where I was with my trainer. We had many baptisms, we helped grow the ward, and I really loved the families. We fasted, prayed and worked with them. I heard of one of the men we had been teaching was baptized after I left and moved to another area, and I was still thrilled and feliz for him, because I really love him and want him to be saved. We are going to have that same kind of success and members in my new area too.”
Elder C: (This great Latin Missionary who was called on to say the opening prayer and he stood and prayed in English! I have to admit I didn’t know who was called on to pray, but as I sat listening to the sweet, humble and simple English prayer, my heart was overflowing to hear him and I had to peek open my eyes to see which tender -hearted Elder was praying with such sincerity, in broken English. It was a beautiful, tender prayer, and we could understand by the language of the spirit.)
Hermana B: “We were just walking quickly down the street and saluted/greeted a woman with just ‘hello’ but she stopped us and asked which church we were missionaries of and when we told her we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, she asked, “Los Mormones?” We said that yes, some call us that. She responded that she wanted to learn more and have classes! Wow, we know the Lord is preparing them for us, enough that they are stopping US on the streets!”
Hermana B: “We found a family who had been less active/inactive for years. They now had two young daughters 8 and 9 who had never been baptized. We started teaching the girls and the family began to really feel the spirit again. They had their baptismal date and had been attending church. Last week the parents even bore their testimonies in the Fast and testimony meeting. We were preparing all for the baptism later that day, but the father came to us and said, “The girls aren’t’ going to be baptized today.” We were so sad, but then he explained that HE wanted to do the baptism, and felt he wasn’t worthy or ready yet. The girls now want their Dad to perform the baptism and they have a family plan to have him do it soon, and then a date to go to the temple together as a family soon, too. We are glad that they want to be eternal.”
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(They have been here just over 12 weeks or 18 weeks and all of the meeting is in Spanish today)They share their success stories/relatos de exito with us:
Elder H: “A woman was very sad when we met her on the street. She had been raining (lloviendo), I mean crying (llorando). We didn’t think she wanted to listen, but then she did and now we have 7 people ready for baptism.”
Elder S: “We spoke to a woman who had been a bit against progressing, but when we came back and taught her, we found out she had been studying the Book of Mormon and praying. She told us she knew it was true. I know the Lord is preparing people for us to find. She knew.”
Hermana P: “We were teaching this woman, whose husband didn’t really support her studying the gospel and progressing. We were fasting for her, wondering what we could say to her and to him, to help them both. We returned and talked to both of them, and we all felt the spirit. Then we were so happy to see them both come to Sacrament meeting on Sunday. We returned to teach them both, and now he has also agreed to a baptismal date, like her, and he wants to learn more!”
Elder N: “We were teaching a man who didn’t want to leave tea, coffee, cigarettes, but now he has, and is listening and progressing with the lessons. He has been prepared.”
Elder L: “I loved my other ward, where I was with my trainer. We had many baptisms, we helped grow the ward, and I really loved the families. We fasted, prayed and worked with them. I heard of one of the men we had been teaching was baptized after I left and moved to another area, and I was still thrilled and feliz for him, because I really love him and want him to be saved. We are going to have that same kind of success and members in my new area too.”
Elder C: (This great Latin Missionary who was called on to say the opening prayer and he stood and prayed in English! I have to admit I didn’t know who was called on to pray, but as I sat listening to the sweet, humble and simple English prayer, my heart was overflowing to hear him and I had to peek open my eyes to see which tender -hearted Elder was praying with such sincerity, in broken English. It was a beautiful, tender prayer, and we could understand by the language of the spirit.)
Hermana B: “We were just walking quickly down the street and saluted/greeted a woman with just ‘hello’ but she stopped us and asked which church we were missionaries of and when we told her we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, she asked, “Los Mormones?” We said that yes, some call us that. She responded that she wanted to learn more and have classes! Wow, we know the Lord is preparing them for us, enough that they are stopping US on the streets!”
Hermana B: “We found a family who had been less active/inactive for years. They now had two young daughters 8 and 9 who had never been baptized. We started teaching the girls and the family began to really feel the spirit again. They had their baptismal date and had been attending church. Last week the parents even bore their testimonies in the Fast and testimony meeting. We were preparing all for the baptism later that day, but the father came to us and said, “The girls aren’t’ going to be baptized today.” We were so sad, but then he explained that HE wanted to do the baptism, and felt he wasn’t worthy or ready yet. The girls now want their Dad to perform the baptism and they have a family plan to have him do it soon, and then a date to go to the temple together as a family soon, too. We are glad that they want to be eternal.”
Read more!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Christlike Attribute of Charity
True charity means truly desiring the salvation of others. In Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel, the Christlike attribute of charity states that, “you will come to feel a sincere concern for the eternal welfare and happiness of other people.” Helping people make and keep commitments is one of the highest forms of charity and love we can extend to a person.
We are not only helping them prepare to return to their Heavenly Father after this life but also received the many blessings that come from repentance throught the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference, Elder Rusell T. Osgulthorpe taught asked the following question in regards to helping people repent:
Do I invite people to do the work that God has for them to do?
In other words, do I invite people to make and keep commitments so that they can receive the promised blessings associated with each of these commitments(D&C 130:20,21)? True love for those we teach involves inviting them to repent and change by making and keeping comitmments with the Lord. As we do so, they will begin to “feel the Spirit confirm that what they are doing is pleasing to their Father in Heaven.” Preach My Gospel p 196
Let us show our true love for all of those whom we teach by inviting them to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
We love you always,
Presidente May
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We are not only helping them prepare to return to their Heavenly Father after this life but also received the many blessings that come from repentance throught the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference, Elder Rusell T. Osgulthorpe taught asked the following question in regards to helping people repent:
Do I invite people to do the work that God has for them to do?
In other words, do I invite people to make and keep commitments so that they can receive the promised blessings associated with each of these commitments(D&C 130:20,21)? True love for those we teach involves inviting them to repent and change by making and keeping comitmments with the Lord. As we do so, they will begin to “feel the Spirit confirm that what they are doing is pleasing to their Father in Heaven.” Preach My Gospel p 196
Let us show our true love for all of those whom we teach by inviting them to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
We love you always,
Presidente May
Read more!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Charity
Our Christlike attribute for this change is charity and love. Our goal is to not only study this important attribute but more importantly develop a greater capacity to love and serve others as Christ did . In order to do this we must take the time to identify weaknesses that we need to overcome in our lives and also qualities we need to develop in our lives. It is a process of purifying and cultivating. We must remove disobedience, selfishness, laziness, pride, etc. from our lives and at the same time cultivate faith in Christ, hope, love and charity, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience. Preach My Gospel says the following in regards to developing Christlike attributes:
“Christlike attributes are gifts from God. They come as you use your agency righteously. Ask your Heavenly Father to bless you with these attributes; you cannot develop them without His help. With a desire to please God, recognize your weaknesses and be willing and anxious to improve.”
In Ether 12:27, 28 we read:
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness.
As we humble ourselves before the Lord and come unto Him, He will communicate to us what we need to remove from our lives. He will also help us to cultivate the qualities we need to become more like the Savior. The key however is what we do after we pray. As we prayer to have more charity and love we must follow the counsel of Elder David A. Bednar in regards to prayer:
“I long have been impressed with the truth that meaningful prayer requires both holy communication and consecrated work. Blessings require some effort on our part before we can obtain them, and prayer, as “a form of work, . . . is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings” (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer,” 753). We press forward and persevere in the consecrated work of prayer, after we say “amen,” by acting upon the things we have expressed to Heavenly Father.”
In other words, as we kneel in prayer to ask for more love and charity, we need to get up and put it into action by demonstrating and showing more love and service to others. Do we consistently show love to our companions by serving them? Do we truly love our investigators by being bold and confident in inviting them to repent by extending invitations to make and keep commitments with the Lord ? Do we look for opportunities to demonstrate our love for the bishop, ward leaders, and ward members by serving them? Do we seek to love and serve all by going about doing good?
In order to help each of you develop more love and charity this week, I would like each of you to answer the following two questions and study the related scriptures found in the Attribute Activity on page 126 of Preach My Gospel:
1. Do I feel a sincere desire for the eternal welfare and happiness of other people? (Mosiah 28:3)
2. When I pray, do I ask for charity—the pure love of Christ? (Moroni 7:47–48)
I would like you to record in your study journal your thoughts and feelings in regards to answering these two questions. I would then like you to share with me in next Monday´s letter two things you are going to do to develop more love and charity in your life. Please also feel free to inlcude any thoughts, feelings or insights in regards to developing more love and charity.
Our love for our Heavenly Father, His Son and all of God´s children is the key to succes in this work. We show this love by the following the Savior´s example of service.
We love you and pray for your success,
Presidente May
Read more!
“Christlike attributes are gifts from God. They come as you use your agency righteously. Ask your Heavenly Father to bless you with these attributes; you cannot develop them without His help. With a desire to please God, recognize your weaknesses and be willing and anxious to improve.”
In Ether 12:27, 28 we read:
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness.
As we humble ourselves before the Lord and come unto Him, He will communicate to us what we need to remove from our lives. He will also help us to cultivate the qualities we need to become more like the Savior. The key however is what we do after we pray. As we prayer to have more charity and love we must follow the counsel of Elder David A. Bednar in regards to prayer:
“I long have been impressed with the truth that meaningful prayer requires both holy communication and consecrated work. Blessings require some effort on our part before we can obtain them, and prayer, as “a form of work, . . . is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings” (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer,” 753). We press forward and persevere in the consecrated work of prayer, after we say “amen,” by acting upon the things we have expressed to Heavenly Father.”
In other words, as we kneel in prayer to ask for more love and charity, we need to get up and put it into action by demonstrating and showing more love and service to others. Do we consistently show love to our companions by serving them? Do we truly love our investigators by being bold and confident in inviting them to repent by extending invitations to make and keep commitments with the Lord ? Do we look for opportunities to demonstrate our love for the bishop, ward leaders, and ward members by serving them? Do we seek to love and serve all by going about doing good?
In order to help each of you develop more love and charity this week, I would like each of you to answer the following two questions and study the related scriptures found in the Attribute Activity on page 126 of Preach My Gospel:
1. Do I feel a sincere desire for the eternal welfare and happiness of other people? (Mosiah 28:3)
2. When I pray, do I ask for charity—the pure love of Christ? (Moroni 7:47–48)
I would like you to record in your study journal your thoughts and feelings in regards to answering these two questions. I would then like you to share with me in next Monday´s letter two things you are going to do to develop more love and charity in your life. Please also feel free to inlcude any thoughts, feelings or insights in regards to developing more love and charity.
Our love for our Heavenly Father, His Son and all of God´s children is the key to succes in this work. We show this love by the following the Savior´s example of service.
We love you and pray for your success,
Presidente May
Read more!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
18 New Missionaries/ Elders, from the Provo, MTC
18 New North American Missionaries arrived from the Provo MTC on Tuesday. We love them already. I love to call each one the next day, to ask how their first 24hrs in the mission have been. The following are some of the comments we hear:
These are priceless thoughts and comments:
Q: What do you think of your companion?
A: “Muy buen” (N.American trying to say, ‘muy bueno,’ very good!)
A: “My companion is GREAT!:
A: “He is so great, I’m learning so much from him already!”
A: “Wow, my trainer is such a hard worker.”
A: “El es buenisimo!”
A: “I have to chase after him!”
A: “El es super bueno, muy capo.”
A: “My companion is so good. He had us make goals and we did them!”
Q: What do you think of Chile now?
A: "It's really great here!"
A: “I love it here.”
A: "Wow, this is like a great adventure!"
A: “It is so weird, nothing like I really imagined it would be.”
A: “I’m super excited to be here.”
A: "Loco here."
A: "Interesting...we are opening a new area, it's different than I thought."
Q: How did you sleep last night?
A: "Like a Baby, sound asleep when my head hit the pillow."
A: “Like a rock, hermana”
A: “I don’t remember anything.”
A: “I was out in like 5 seconds and dead to the world.”
A: “I woke up at 3am, freezing (he’s in coldest part of mission) and pulled another
blanket on and was OK then. I’m going to be fine, if I plan ahead.
A: “I’m tired. I have to run to keep up with my companion. He walks so fast.”
A: “I think I have a fever, plus I have a bit of a cough, but I feel great, no worries.”
A: “We can’t believe the time passes so fast and then it's morning.”
Q: What kind of things did you do here for your first day?
A: “I couldn’t believe it. We made 49 contacts in one day. It was great!”
A: "It's like being beat with a cold fish...hard work!"
A: "We made all of our goals for the day. It's fun making contacts."
A" "We ate lunch with members, soup, carne, arroz, all so delicious. I love the pan!"
A: “We had some lessons fall through, and other great ones where we really felt the spirit. It was so neat.”
A: "We met the Bishop, ward mission leader, members, and lots of contacts"
A: “We taught this perfect young joven. He is super, named Diego. He has a baptismal date now, and wants to come to church with us on Sunday. Yahoooo!”
A: “We taught some good lessons. The investigators are so innocent and want to believe. Plus the members who went with us are so faithful, it was great to see.”
A: “We visited some members, met some less actives, talked with lots of investigators. It is all interesting.”
A: “This is so good. We had some great lessons. We contacted for 2.5 hrs. Then we taught, then we teach more, and then gave more contacts. All is muy buen!”
SAYING GOODBYE: “We love you, Elder…… Thanks for being here!”
“Tell the Presidente, hello.” “Give my best to the Prdte.” “Saludos a Prdte May.” “Have a great evening, Hrma, and tell Pdte I send my best.” “Gracias por llamar.” “Gracias por su amor y carino.” “I love you both too,” “Me too.” “Amor al Pdte.”
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These are priceless thoughts and comments:
Q: What do you think of your companion?
A: “Muy buen” (N.American trying to say, ‘muy bueno,’ very good!)
A: “My companion is GREAT!:
A: “He is so great, I’m learning so much from him already!”
A: “Wow, my trainer is such a hard worker.”
A: “El es buenisimo!”
A: “I have to chase after him!”
A: “El es super bueno, muy capo.”
A: “My companion is so good. He had us make goals and we did them!”
Q: What do you think of Chile now?
A: "It's really great here!"
A: “I love it here.”
A: "Wow, this is like a great adventure!"
A: “It is so weird, nothing like I really imagined it would be.”
A: “I’m super excited to be here.”
A: "Loco here."
A: "Interesting...we are opening a new area, it's different than I thought."
Q: How did you sleep last night?
A: "Like a Baby, sound asleep when my head hit the pillow."
A: “Like a rock, hermana”
A: “I don’t remember anything.”
A: “I was out in like 5 seconds and dead to the world.”
A: “I woke up at 3am, freezing (he’s in coldest part of mission) and pulled another
blanket on and was OK then. I’m going to be fine, if I plan ahead.
A: “I’m tired. I have to run to keep up with my companion. He walks so fast.”
A: “I think I have a fever, plus I have a bit of a cough, but I feel great, no worries.”
A: “We can’t believe the time passes so fast and then it's morning.”
Q: What kind of things did you do here for your first day?
A: “I couldn’t believe it. We made 49 contacts in one day. It was great!”
A: "It's like being beat with a cold fish...hard work!"
A: "We made all of our goals for the day. It's fun making contacts."
A" "We ate lunch with members, soup, carne, arroz, all so delicious. I love the pan!"
A: “We had some lessons fall through, and other great ones where we really felt the spirit. It was so neat.”
A: "We met the Bishop, ward mission leader, members, and lots of contacts"
A: “We taught this perfect young joven. He is super, named Diego. He has a baptismal date now, and wants to come to church with us on Sunday. Yahoooo!”
A: “We taught some good lessons. The investigators are so innocent and want to believe. Plus the members who went with us are so faithful, it was great to see.”
A: “We visited some members, met some less actives, talked with lots of investigators. It is all interesting.”
A: “This is so good. We had some great lessons. We contacted for 2.5 hrs. Then we taught, then we teach more, and then gave more contacts. All is muy buen!”
SAYING GOODBYE: “We love you, Elder…… Thanks for being here!”
“Tell the Presidente, hello.” “Give my best to the Prdte.” “Saludos a Prdte May.” “Have a great evening, Hrma, and tell Pdte I send my best.” “Gracias por llamar.” “Gracias por su amor y carino.” “I love you both too,” “Me too.” “Amor al Pdte.”
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What makes a Successful Missionary?
At time in our missions we may ask ourselves the following question, “Am I a successful missionary?” Let´s review the defintion of a successful missionary from Preach My Gospel:
A Successful Missionary
Your success as a missionary is measured primarily by your commitment to find, teach, baptize, and confirm people and to help them become faithful members of the Church who enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost. Avoid comparing yourself to other missionaries and measuring the outward results of your efforts against theirs. Remember that people have agency to choose whether to accept your message. Your responsibility is to teach clearly and powerfully so they can make a correct choice. Some may not accept your message even when they have received a spiritual witness that it is true. You will be saddened because you love them and desire their salvation. You should not, however, become discouraged; discouragement will weaken your faith. If you lower your expectations, your effectiveness will decrease, your desire will weaken, and you will have greater difficulty following the Spirit.
You can know you have been a successful missionary when you:
• Feel the Spirit testify to people through you.
• Love people and desire their salvation.
• Obey with exactness.
• Live so that you can receive and know how to follow the Spirit, who will show you
where to go, what to do, and what to say.1 My Purpose
• Develop Christlike attributes.
• Work effectively every day, do your very best to bring souls to Christ, and seek
earnestly to learn and improve.
• Help build up the Church (the ward) wherever you are assigned to work.
• Warn people of the consequences of sin. Invite them to make and keep commitments.
• Teach and serve other missionaries.
• Go about doing good and serving people at every opportunity, whether or not they
accept your message.
When you have done your very best, you may still experience disappointments, but you will not be disappointed in yourself. You can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working through you.
We love you and prayer for your success,
Presidente May
Read more!
A Successful Missionary
Your success as a missionary is measured primarily by your commitment to find, teach, baptize, and confirm people and to help them become faithful members of the Church who enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost. Avoid comparing yourself to other missionaries and measuring the outward results of your efforts against theirs. Remember that people have agency to choose whether to accept your message. Your responsibility is to teach clearly and powerfully so they can make a correct choice. Some may not accept your message even when they have received a spiritual witness that it is true. You will be saddened because you love them and desire their salvation. You should not, however, become discouraged; discouragement will weaken your faith. If you lower your expectations, your effectiveness will decrease, your desire will weaken, and you will have greater difficulty following the Spirit.
You can know you have been a successful missionary when you:
• Feel the Spirit testify to people through you.
• Love people and desire their salvation.
• Obey with exactness.
• Live so that you can receive and know how to follow the Spirit, who will show you
where to go, what to do, and what to say.1 My Purpose
• Develop Christlike attributes.
• Work effectively every day, do your very best to bring souls to Christ, and seek
earnestly to learn and improve.
• Help build up the Church (the ward) wherever you are assigned to work.
• Warn people of the consequences of sin. Invite them to make and keep commitments.
• Teach and serve other missionaries.
• Go about doing good and serving people at every opportunity, whether or not they
accept your message.
When you have done your very best, you may still experience disappointments, but you will not be disappointed in yourself. You can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working through you.
We love you and prayer for your success,
Presidente May
Read more!
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