Our Message is Simple for 2011

Thank you for all of your efforts in magnifying your purpose to invite others to come unto Christ. The Lord has blessed our mission greatly throughout the year 2010. We are so grateful for the work of both missionaries and members in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone. Our message is simple:


6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. (2 Nephi 2:6,8)

We have a great opportunity in the year 2011 to show our love for our Savior by increasing our faith, obedience, and diligence to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost in greater abundance. As we have more of the companionship of the Holy Ghost in our lives, we will have more charity because it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). As we have more charity, we will teach the doctrine of Christ(Our missionary purpose) with more power and we will work more effectively with our wonderful in the Vineyard of the Lord. May our love for the Lord be our greatest motivation to give all of our heart, might, mind and strength in bringing salvation to our Heavenly Father´s children here in the Chile Santiago North mission.
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Christmas gift..."The thing which will be of the most worth..."

"Christmas means giving. Heavenly Father gave His Son and the Son gave His life. Without giving there is no real Christmas and without sacrifice there is no true worship. Christmas means giving of yourself, heart and mind and strength to assist those who are needy and share the cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ-these are the true meanings of the Christmas spirit."
President Gordon B. Hinckley

“And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen.” (D&C 15:6)

Thank you for all of your efforts in the work of sharing the precious message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ here in the Chile Santiago North mission.
We love you very much,
President May
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"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, ' Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.' We read Alma 5:14:

14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you lookup, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?

It is my prayer that we understand that the trials of the mission are the flames that refine us to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. We cannot go through this process without His help. “Through the Atonement we can be freed from the burden of our sins and develop faith and strength to face our trials. As we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”
We love you all,
President May
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What kind of stature?

In a recent mission president´s seminar, Elder Lynn Robbins of the Seventy shared the following quote from Elder Henry B. Moyle:
“In life a missionary rarely rises above the stature that he or she carves out for him or her self in the mission field.”

Stature means standing, reputation, character, ability or condition. In other words, it means who we are and who we are becoming in the mission field that will set the standard for the rest of our lives. Elder Robbins gave an example of this when he said:

“The way a missionary gets along with his or her companion will predict how they will be in their future marriage.”

Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel show us how to become more like the Savior. It requires that we “learn of Him and seek to incorporate His attributes into our lives”(Preach My Gospel pg. 115). D&C 88:118 teaches us that we must “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” Chapter 6 provides some suggestions on how to develop Christlike attributes by study:

• As you complete the “Attribute Activity” at the end of this chapter, identify the attribute you most need or want to develop. Study the section about that attribute, and set goals for developing it.

• Read through the chapter without studying the scriptures, and determine which attribute you want to study more fully. Then study the key scriptures associated with the attribute. Search for additional scriptures not listed in the chapter that teach about the attribute. Record in your study journal ideas for developing the attribute.

• Identify an attribute you wish to study. Follow the pattern under the heading “Developing Christlike Attributes” found at the end of the chapter.

Learning by faith requires actions. Elder Robbins taught “that being without doing is “faith without works” and doing without being is hypocrisy.” Just like true faith in Jesus Christ leads to action, true hope, charity, virtue knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience leads to action.

Chapter 6 also provides suggestions for learning by faith:

• Identify the attribute you wish to develop.

• Write a definition and description of the attribute.

• Record questions to answer as you study.

• List and study thoroughly passages of scripture that teach about the attribute.

• Record your feelings and impressions.

• Set goals and make plans to apply the attribute in your life.

• Pray for the Lord to help you develop the attribute.

• Evaluate your progress periodically in developing each attribute.

We set daily, weekly, and monthly goals and plans in our proseltying efforts to invite all to come unto Christ. Just as important is setting daily, weekly and monthly goals to develop Christlike attributes. These goals and plans should be recorded in our daily planners. As we give our best efforts to accomplish our goals to develop Christlike attributes we will truly become like Him and come to know Him as the Savior taught, we will come to know through own experience that “people become converted as they live the principles they learn (see John 7:17) and feel the Spirit confirm that what they are doing is pleasing to their Father in Heaven.”(Preach My Gospel pg. 196)

We love you and you inspire us,
President May
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Ways to remember citations, memorize and mark Scriptures

During the month of October, Hermana May spent time with each missionary(after they had their private, personal interview with Presidente May)to ask them for their ideas about how they memorize,remember, mark their scriptures and what really works for them individually. One dear Elder shared with her that he had the most rainbow colored, elaboratly marked set of scriptures after about 1.3 yrs in the mission, only to have them stolen! He realized that he needed to have them marked in his HEART and not just on the pages in his books. This is what these insightful, masterful teachers shared during those special conversations;

Ways to remember and mark scriptures:
Personal insights from our magnificent missionaries! Oct 2010 .

• Remember stories, problems, answers used in the stories. Remember Chpt 5 PMG, questions of the soul.
• Read the BofM stories simplified to get better overview of all the stories
• Colors used come from chpt headings in PMG. Look for themes and topics from BofM and the Bible.
• Ask for the Holy Ghost to remind me what I read. Mosiah 2:41
• Look for something personal each time, not just the chapter topics to guide me.
• Try to summarize what I read in Personal study and record that in study journal.
• Remember/memorize the topic headings of each chapter!
• Topics in lessons from PMG
• Sharing the scriptures I just studied in personal study with my companion in our study.
• When I learn for an investigator, and teach it in that day, it stays with me better
• Simple codes and clues help
• Questions of the soul answer many needs
• Highlight or I put a color dot on each question mark and they stand out to me. This shows me when others are asking questions and their answers I can use too, for myself.
• Learn by the stories in the scriptures. Those stay with me, and I find them by stories.
• All of my scripture mastery are one color. Those I can find and I use them often
• I NEVER mark my scriptures! I remember by context, where the topics took place and that reminds me where they are to go look for them again.
• I share them somewhere, after I learn them. Make use of them, don’t just store away in book!
• I don’t like to mark them, or have them messy. I bold, write over the font in letters just the part I want to remember and stand out for my investigators to read.
• When I have personal experiences with them, I can use them again in topics or themes.
• I enjoy seeing when God reveals his character to us when He gives revelations.
• I use blank copy when I go out to teach. I have to prepare ahead, remember and ask Holy Ghost to give me the insight and reminder from my studies. (Brave!) Remember them by principles and who went through the experience, then I can find them.
• I like to think of where that happened in the history of the book.
• I read somewhere that if I REALLY want to remember them, I wouldn’t mark them. That is as if you are telling yourself that you stored that information in the book, it is saved there, and now I don’t have to store it safely in my brain! Wow, what a novel idea. Don’t just mark to save in book. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
• Remembers a story when a 70 in the church lost his copy of B of M, he couldn’t get started reading again for days. He felt like the copy he had was his life one, and the new one wouldn’t help him as much. (Elder Gene R. Cook?)
• I use the same scripture a lot to have it stay with me. Jacob 4:1-3….why scriptures stay with us. (Elder Bruce R. McConkie started a new B of M each year!)
• Enjoy the scriptures. They give me treat. Like a real comfort. They teach me during my trials.
• Every day I have a new goal. I find a few that I like, and use them during the day, many times. I also site them when I teach them. Use different themes, and they come to you, the same scripture.
• I ask how they apply to my personal life. Why do I want to mark it? I think when the people look for help and strength from the Lord, I see they are blessed, by faith.
• I like to BOLD, write over the letters with ink, in Spanish. They stand out and reinforce the words to me, as I write over them. I love the stories. Mosiah 14:7-9. Its great. Let’s memorize it.
• I write in my journal how this applies to me. Text to me….I list by topics. Then I also prepare mini talks, with my companion, 3-4 scriptures by topic, with personal stories and testimony. Ready!
• My scripture mastery/dominio are all marked, also about baptism, and preguntas del alma.
• Lots of post-it notes, with thoughts about the doctrine. Roll play with companion using new ones.
• Later I walk with my B of M, blank copy in hand. I have to rely on the Holy Ghost to remind me which ones I need to share, and can’t depend on my crutch, marked scriptures in my pension.
• Use blank copy while teaching. I have to know where each person, new identity starts teaching and talking to find it in context. I use the guide in the back, when all else fails!
• I put them in by themes. Then after I know where one great one is, I scripture chain them, and mark in the margin the next leading one, go there, add another scripture in the margin and the chain leads me along in teaching!
• Read by the numbers, not just the context?
• Alma 33:23, use my agenda often to record.
• I like to re-read my lists often. They stay fresher to me, and then I can add new ones to it.
• It’s important for me to know the story/history, so I can remember who talks when.
• Read out loud, in voz alto! Reminds me where I am, in what context.
• Learn what I got from the story, not just reading. What principle, doctrine, and insight I learned new or need to apply to my life today. That helps me to remember why I am reading right there.
• If I go to find a scripture and can’t find it, I write the thought down, search for it at home, and then when I’ve had to go find and hunt for it, usually I then never forget it again. The trick is to not forget to write the thought down, or you forget to go look for it too.
• Remember by one word themes, Atonement, Faith, repentance, etc. I try to apply the scripture of the day in THAT day. It takes faith for me to share it sometime that day.
• Sometimes I try to put it to music, like memorizing it to a song. Difficult sometimes.
• I’ve worked on learning the 100 PMG citas. When you mark them you think you already know them so you’ve stored them with the marks. Not as effective.
• Coordinate the numbers with addition, subtraction, etc and that helps me to remember. I like numbers, digits, pages, etc. Coordinate them to remember. (Only if you do study in same language!)
• I know I have to be worthy of the spirit to have the conocimiento. Hechos 8
• Mark by themes and then the story.
• Start my studies with in-depth questions. I find the response and then label that. Pdte May had us read, “Living waters ” a talk by Elder Bednar changed my mission scripture study. Now I look for questions my real investigators have before I start, and then find answers. I look for doubts and find the answers. I find answers and think of their questions, this bridges connections, like he said. Read Alma 22-homework…Set a goal to use that scripture I'm learning 3x in one day.
• I look for doctrine, principles and applications and then see them in the stories. I daily write my impressions about it, so that the study isn’t just habitual.
• Color and line the number by theme. I use a song or make a rhyme like children’s songs-helps.
• I like using my English copy to search(Latin Elder) and search for topics.
• Read out loud. I love poetry and also drama performances. So the feelings of these people are more memorized and retained as I say them as if I were the speaker expressing these thoughts. It stays with my and I feel the spirit put the gospel into action.It helps me show love for them and teaching people, not just scriptures.
• I try to have a relation with each doubt or question, the answer from someone. Then I can relate them to each other.
• Memorize citas by the chapter headings.
• Like to think chronologically. Using inspired questions, I think of where the story took place, Alma-king Lamoni, and it helps me think of topics, service, spirit, needs, questions, doubts, etc.
• Scripture mastery always stays with me. I like to practice and use them too.
• I learn by the needs of others. DyC 20.
• Use the index and search with investigators
• I love the stories in the BofM and I review Chpt 3 in PMG MANY times. Repetition, I remember
• Go into the street with a blank copy, and ask the Holy Ghost to remind me and guide me in the thoughts and scriptures I need to share.
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“A Tree that was Tall, but Fell Short…”

Recently one of the trees in the front of the mission home fell down during a heavy rain. The tree was one of the biggest and tallest of all of the trees in the front yard. It measured more than 48 feet tall with the diameter of the trunk being more than 2 feet. Apparently the weight of water soak leaves and oversaturated soil combined with a strong wind caused the tree to topple over. Evidently the tree did not have roots sufficiently thick and deep enough to keep the tree from falling. Because the yard has been watered regularly throughout the years, the roots were able to supply the needed water to the tree without having to grow thick and deep into the ground to find water.

I want to invite each of you to share with me in your weekly letter to me next week some of your thoughts about this story. Here are some questions you might ask yourself:

· What can I learn from this event as it relates to me personally?

· What are some of the basic gospel principles that can be applied to this story?

· How could this story be used to help an investigator or member become more converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ?

· What scriptures could I use to teach the principles from this story?

· What could have been done to prevent the tree from falling?

I am looking forward to hearing from each of you!
We love you,

President May
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