Dear
Missionaries,
We
will be distributing all of the dedication tickets during your District
Trainings this week. Remember your white handkerchiefs and make sure you come
more than 30 minutes early to the dedication. You may go to both the 9:00 AM
and the 12:00 Noon Sessions if you wish. We will also be distributing the
Cultural Celebration Tickets at the same time from your Zone Leaders. For the
Cultural Celebration, we will meet at the D. Taft Arena at Nova Southwest
University at 5:30 PM, Saturday May 3rd. Address is : 3301 College Ave, Fort Lauderdale,
FL 33314. We will have a boxed dinner there for you, and we will
orientate our role in the event. We will have tickets for the North end
of the arena, opposite from where the General Authorities will sit (South
side), and we will discuss how we will begin descending down the East and West
mezzanine sides during the 2nd verse of “Faith In Every Footstep”.
We will remain standing along the East and West sides of the arena and sing
with the Youth, “High on the Mountain Top”. We will expect a speedy departure
when the event is over. Elders please wear long sleeve white shirts and
conservative ties; jackets won’t be needed. Sisters, please wear your Sunday
best, a bright colored blouse would be preferable.
We
are uniquely blessed with a wonderful opportunity to bless the lives of others
through the wonderful work being done by the youth of our mission as part of
the cultural celebration. The Fort Lauderdale Temple dedication marks the
first time that the Church is broadcasting a cultural celebration live and on
the internet. This means that anyone with a computer or
device with internet access can watch and enjoy the cultural celebration next
Saturday. Make sure your families and investigators have an opportunity to
watch it.
Next
Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 7:00 pm EST (be thoughtful of the time difference),
the cultural celebration will be broadcast live on the internet at:
Mothers
Day is in two weeks, Sunday, the 11th of May. You will have permission
to call home that day with a 30 minute time limit. You may use Skype if it is
not an inconvenience to members. If you have parents that live apart, then you
have 20 minutes each with them. Please organize this appropriately with your
family.
Sister
Anderson and I had the privilege this past weekend to be instructed by Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder Soares, Elder Kopischke, and Elder Pino. Elder
Holland told us to tell you how much he loves you, is proud of you, is praying
for you daily, and is grateful for your diligence, sacrifice and obedience. In
discussing obedience, Elder Holland has told Sister Anderson and me before:
“I
frequently say to missionaries in the field, ―You make or break your mission
every morning of your life. You tell me how those morning hours go from 6:30
a.m. until you are on the street in your mission, whatever time it is; you tell
me how those hours go, and I will tell you how your day will go, I will tell
you how your month will go, I will tell you how your year will go and how your
mission and your life will go in effect... In the mission field, obedience to
divine purposes of the gospel and mission service—in effect the rules of the
mission and the rules of the gospel—is the first law of everything. It is the
first law of heaven; it is the first law of the temple; it is the first law of
a mission; it is the first law of a marriage; it is the first law of
everything.” (Mission President Seminar, June 2011)
In
General Conference, I heard the principle of obedience taught over and over, in
fact, I don’t think I have heard a General Conference where the scripture, “If
ye love me, keep my commandment” (John 14:15) is not quoted. It occurred to me
that as we “act” and “do”, God will bless us for our obedience in being proactive
with this great work. As we “act”, others will be inspired to “act” too. I know
that as we “act” on obedience, God will bless us with the “powers of heaven”.
Elder Perry teaches us that obedience will “rescue” us, and that it allows us
to tap into God’s power:
“Too
often we think of obedience as the passive and thoughtless following of the
orders or dictates of a higher authority. Actually, at its best, obedience is
an emblem of our faith in the wisdom and power of the highest authority, even
God. When Abraham demonstrated his unwavering faithfulness and obedience to
God, even when commanded to sacrifice his son, God rescued him. Similarly, when
we demonstrate our faithfulness through obedience, God will ultimately rescue
us... Those who rely solely on themselves and follow only their own desires
and self-inclinations are so limited when compared to those who follow God and
tap into His insight, power, and gifts. It has been said that someone who is
all wrapped up in himself or herself makes a very small package. Strong,
proactive obedience is anything but weak or passive. It is the means by
which we declare our faith in God and qualify ourselves to receive the powers
of heaven. Obedience is a choice. It is a choice between our own limited
knowledge and power and God’s unlimited wisdom and omnipotence.” (Elder L. Tom
Perry, General Conference, April 2014)
Elder
Hales taught us what “Savior like obedience” is:
“Spiritually
mature obedience is ‘the Savior’s obedience.’ It is motivated by true love for
Heavenly Father and His Son. When we willingly obey, as our Savior did, we
cherish the words of our Heavenly Father: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased.’ And we look forward to hearing, upon entering our Heavenly
Father’s presence, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant: … enter … into
the joy of thy lord.’... Using our agency to obey means choosing to ‘do what is
right [and letting] the consequence follow.’ It requires self-mastery and
brings confidence, eternal happiness, and a sense of fulfillment to us and, by
example, to those around us; and it always includes a deep personal commitment
to sustain priesthood leaders and follow their teachings and counsel... Our
love of the Savior is the key to Savior-like obedience. As we strive to be
obedient in today’s world, we declare our love and respect for all of Heavenly
Father’s children. Yet it is impossible for this love for others to modify
God’s commandments, which were given for our good! Obedience makes us
progressively stronger, capable of faithfully enduring tests and trials in the
future. Obedience in Gethsemane prepared the Savior to obey and endure to the
end on Golgotha.” (Elder Robert D. Hales, General Conference, April 2014)
No
matter how busy we may be, obedience will always produce the miracles:
“We
weren't going to transfers, but we still knew miracles could happen. We made
sure, even with other things going on, that we were going to get 8 blessings by
Wednesday. We went to the temple, then harvested, and then we had a baptism!
This family was unsure if they should be baptized, but as we took them to the
open house the Friday before, they had an enormous confirmation that they
needed to be baptized. And it happened on transfer day! It went amazingly and
it was for our obedience and making sure we still had 8 blessings that it
happened. And the best part to top it off, the wife turned to me as we went to
say good bye and said, ‘You're coming back in a year for our sealing, right?’”
Being
obedient with our pure testimony of The Book of Mormon will always pierce their
hearts:
“We
went and taught [our investigator] and then we were walking out of the lesson
and we heard a neighbor yell to us and asked us if we had any of our church
literature that she could have. Of course we went over there and gave her a
Book Of Mormon and taught her a short lesson about it. She was really excited
to learn and to read about it. The next day we went by and she said that it
wasn't for her and gave us the book back. She was scared because it was
different from the Bible. We testified to her for a few minutes and then she
asked ‘can I actually have that book back?’ It was amazing and the next day she
had read 10 chapters already and was talking about how she couldn't wait to get
baptized! She has continued to read and is excepting everything we teach her.
When she gets tired of reading she gets on Mormon.org and talks with
missionaries online! She is so elect. She came to stake conference yesterday
and loved it and says that she has finally found the faith in which she
belongs! She will be getting baptized this Sunday!!”
Even
our investigators will recognize our obedience and trust us because of it:
“We
had just finished harvesting for the day, and were riding back to be picked up
at our apartment by our members. We noticed a man sitting down, smoking a
cigarette behind his car. We stopped and offered to leave a blessing with him.
He seemed very depressed and down, but he agreed. When we asked what he would
like us to include in the prayer, the only thing he wanted was for God to help
him get rid of cigarettes in his life. It was my turn to say the prayer, but
before I started, he said, ‘Thanks for being obedient.’ I was confused at what
he meant by that, but I said the prayer, we recognized the spirit, and invited
him to be baptized. He agreed to a date on the 11th (mother's day). Before we
left, I asked him why he had said that before. He told me that we had been
obedient to the spirit by coming to pray with him. He said that he believed
that many times, the things we think we do by ourselves are actually prompted
by the spirit, and we would not have stopped to pray with him if we hadn't been
obedient and willing to listen.”
A
departing missionary wrote me concerning the attitude we sometimes have
concerning obedience:
“I
was really nervous when I came out on my mission that I wouldn't like the
mission president or that the rules would be too hard to follow. Well,
the rules were hard to follow at first but you proved me wrong! I learned
the problem wasn't the rules it was my attitude towards obedience and I learned
so much more along the way. Being a Florida Fort Lauderdale missionary
has changed my life forever. I'm going to keep the change going!”
Elder
Holland taught the importance of obedience in our discipleship:
“’If ye
love me, keep my commandments,’(John 14:15) Jesus said. So we have neighbors to
bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We
have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a
life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We
can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the
living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before. The Crucifixion,
Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian
life, not the end of it. It was this truth, this reality, that allowed a
handful of Galilean fishermen-turned-again-Apostles without ‘a single synagogue
or sword’ to leave those nets a second time and go on to shape the history of
the world in which we now live.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, General Conference
October 2012)
Let
us be resolute to achieve 175 Baptisms
!!! May is now our Vision month! Prepare for the dedication of the Temple!
We need 200 dates and 200 I@S on the 11th
(We’re getting closer). 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 this very week!!!
We
Love you, We Pray For You, Elders and
Sisters, We can do this!!! We have work to do!!! “truth to defend... truth to
share!!!”
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