Dear Missionaries,
What
a wonderful opportunity to gather this last week. We have so much to do in
preparing for the Prophets and preparing for the Temple. This past week has
been miraculous and revelatory as we have come together more united as a
mission. The power that amplifies this work is the unity we have in obedience,
faith and diligence. Many have heard me say “all of us are better than one of
us”. The great philosopher
Aristotle
said:
“The
whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
The
scriptures are a great example of that. The world has only the Bible, but the
Gospel of Jesus Christ has four sources of scriptures; the Bible, the Book of
Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. These Holy
books of scriptures, combined, help us know and understand so much clearer the
will of God. Doctrine becomes more understood, principles become more defined,
and applications become specific in implementation. All of these volumes of
God's word, combined, create a greater power than they do individually. When we
reference the Atonement for example, the Bible is great in teaching us the
what, but the Book of Mormon teaches us the why and how in a way that magnifies
its’ meaning, understanding, and application to our lives.
We as
companionships are greater than two individual missionaries. Our District is
greater than the sum of the District members. The Zone is greater than the sum
of the Zone members. We as a Mission are so much greater than the sum of almost
200 Missionaries. With this unified power, we have been taught that God is
just around the corner to give us the additional strength we need to succeed
and receive the miracle. Unity and Perseverance are attributes we must embrace
in order to realize the power and miracle God will give us. The reward is
usually just beyond the perception of our limits. Elder Wirthlin taught:
“Perseverance
is a positive, active characteristic... It is not idly, passively waiting and
hoping for some good thing to happen. It gives us hope by helping us realize
that the righteous suffer no failure except in giving up and no longer trying.”
(Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, General Conference, October 1987)
Elder
Wirthlin said the need to persevere is expressed in the following lines:
“Genius
is only the power of making continuous efforts. The line between failure and
success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it; so fine that we are
often on the line and do not know it. How many a man has thrown up his hands at
a time when a little more effort, a little more patience would have achieved
success? A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed a
hopeless failure may turn into a glorious success. … There is no defeat except
within, no really insurmountable barrier save one’s own inherent weakness of
purpose” (author unknown, Second Encyclopedia, ed. Jacob M. Brand, Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1957, p. 152).
The
poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
“That
which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do — not that the nature of
the thing is changed, but that our power to do is increased.”
Being
united and persevering brings miracles as we talk to everyone:
"We
were walking yesterday, knocking doors and talking to everyone on the streets.
We walked past this trailer and out of the corner of my eye, something
caught my attention. I don't know what it was, but I said, 'I think there
are people there. We need to turn around!'So [my brand new trainee
companion] said, 'Okay!' And we walked back and sure enough, there were
two people sitting outside. My companion said, 'Can we give you a card
about Jesus Christ?' And one of them said, 'YES! Give it to me!
You're my angels. I told you man, they're my angels!' And we
stopped kind of confused and offered him a prayer. He said, 'YES.' And
thrust his hand out to hold our hands. We start talking to him to get to
know him a little before the prayer and he says, 'I was literally just talking
to my friend here when I saw you two walking by and I told him, Those are my
angels. They're here to help me. And then you kept walking past and I thought,
"Oh. Maybe not." But then you turned around and walked
right up to me and I knew YOU'RE MY ANGELS!' We were shocked! We said a
prayer with him, and when we invited him to baptism, he literally shouted,
'YES!' He told us all about the struggles he was going through and told
us how he knew we were the answer to his prayer and he needed this more than
anyone. I know that this happened because we listened to the promptings
of the spirit."
Being
united and persevering will bring miracles as we use all techniques in finding:
"When
we came back from transfers we knew we needed to find. So we blocked the
day out for finding in a few different ways. First we went to see a
former investigator from the area book, having decided that wherever we went we
would speak to everyone we saw. The first person we saw that afternoon
was a young man with his headphones in, looking down, who sneaked beside us as
we entered the complex. We stopped him and practically thrust a Faith in
Christ card in front of him and he said we could pray with him, so he took us
to his house and we blessed him, his home and his grandma. He was full of
doubts and questions about religion, but we gave him a Book of Mormon and
selected a few verses for him to read and the next night we would come back
when his mom and sister would be there so we could bless the family and see
what he learned from his reading. We came back. That following night
his mom ushered us in the door and cleaned off the table so we could sit down
with all of them. We taught them all and they were excited to be baptized
and everything in-between. His mom and sister showed no hesitation as he
had, and were ready to dive in head-first. The next time we came by the
glass table was already wiped clean and three copies of the Book of Mormon lay
perfectly and neatly in front of three chairs, waiting for us all to sit down
together and learn of Christ. Since Wednesday that young man's faith has
grown substantially and his questions are being answered as he learns with his
mom and his sister, all three of whom are preparing to be baptized on the 22nd.”
Being
unified and persevering will bring miracles as we prepare to teach in any
circumstance:
"...
we received a call from a man named Jorge who needed someone to speak at his
brother's funeral. The whole week he had been asking for people from
other churches to speak and they each denied him because he was not a member of
their congregations. The Lord put his two local representatives in his
path that day and they gave him our number. On Saturday morning, we rode
to the local cemetery and shared at the graveside service that death is a part
of God's plan, that all men ‘must die’ (Alma 12:27) due to the Fall of
Adam, but that ‘in Christ shall all be made alive’ (1 Corinthians 15:22)
through the resurrection. They were all so prepared to receive the
message and were touched. Almost all those who attended accepted Plan of
Salvation pamphlets and we received referrals for 6 different households who
wanted to hear more of the Restored Gospel. Jorge, who called us, took us
aside, thanked us so much, and told us that the family desperately needs to
come closer together through coming closer to God. He said that the
family needed to join a church, and he knew that God had showed him which
church he was to join. He accepted baptism for March 16.”
President
Faust taught that successful perseverance will deter discouragement:
“Success
is usually earned by persevering and not becoming discouraged when we encounter
challenges…. The Lord has blessed the Church and its members in remarkable ways
because of their faithfulness and perseverance,” (President James E. Faust,
General Conference, April 2005)
President
Monson teaches us our responsibility:
“We
are success-oriented, striving to become ‘wonder women’ and ‘super men.’ Any
hint of failure can cause panic, even despair. Who among us cannot remember
moments of failure? Our responsibility is to rise from mediocrity to
competence, from failure to achievement. Our task is to become our best selves.
One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure
ever need be final.” (President Thomas S. Monson, General Conference, April
1987)
Our resolution is to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! March can be our miracle month!!! We
need to keep the increase in Dates and I@S! We
need 200 dates and 200 I@S this week. All must contribute!
You
are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the
“Exciting Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names will be sealed
in the Temple!!!
We
Love you, We Pray For You, Elders and
Sisters, We can do this!!! We have work to do!!! “All of us are better than one
of us”!!!
President Don E. Anderson
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