Week 39 In Fort Lauderdale....

I had the most amazing experience at the temple, the entire mission went through in the first 5 sessions and it was packed and beautiful! And it was different to go through the temple this time. Not only because I had a different perspective but the presentation was new again. And we were in a new temple. I can say that it was an incredible experience. I definitely know more about the gospel now that I did before and a lot of things struck me and really boosted my testimony. The spiritual high that came from it was amazing! And really was a great way to end our time with President Anderson who leaves this Friday. After the Temple session we had a devotional IN THE BAPTISTERY OF THE TEMPLE! It was amazing to be in such a spiritual and beautiful place and to talk about the importance of the Gospel, the Temple and The Mission. President and Sister Anderson are incredible and will be sorely missed but I know that President Richardson will be an amazing Mission President as well.

This week was a great week. We had an impression to stop by one of the ETERNAgators that were left here in the area, who is very sweet but has been difficult to teach for various reasons. One that she lives VERY far north of where our other investigators live, two she speaks CUBAN not Spanish (Same language, different way of talking) and is VERY hard for me to understand, and three her progress has been slow. But while I was talking with her (my companion doesn't speak Spanish) I had the impression that I needed to remind her of why the missionaries started coming over, I asked her "What did the first missionaries invite you to do the FIRST time they met you?" She said, "Pray and go to church." me again, "and be baptized as Christ was" her "they did, but what is baptism?" they had never actually explained it to her and she comes from Cuba, where Religion is HEAVILY frowned upon and most Cubans have little to no knowledge of who God is. So I explained what baptism is and re-invited her, and she accepted for yesterday! It was a miracle and totally unexpected, I couldn't believe it, to good to be true... it was. She got MEGA-UBER-NASTY sick from her grand kid and could not go to church. We prayed so hard, tried to rebuke the devil, but it wasn't so. She didn't get baptized yesterday BUT she said even if she is sick Sunday that she will go so that she can be baptized. So still a great miracle.

This week in my studies I was studying Alma 34 another chapter that I could spend 2 or 3 weeks on but specifically verse 27 caught my eye it reads:

             "27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you."

And that part drawn out in prayer unto him continually stuck me and I realized that, right there we are given the answer, of SO MANY QUESTIONS. How can I be happier? More focused? Dedicated? Overcome temptation? and so on. Because the DIRECT AND IMMEDIATE result of prayer is a God focused mind, because you are communicating with him. As you communicate with someone you are focused on them and therefore draw closer to them. So it is with prayer if we can change our thought process less of thinking about what "I" have to do and more to "help me do this" we will find choosing the correct path easier. I am not sure if this train of thought makes sense to everybody but it truly changed the way I think and the way I feel about so many situations. Now I am not saying that I am perfect in doing this, it's hard, but I am trying my best and I know that it is a good seed and I will try to continue to develop it.

Well I am excited for this week! A lot of new things will be happening and it will create a spring board for success.

Stay Strong, Push On!

Elder Park!

Letter From The President, June 23, 2014....

Dear Missionaries,

Next week, President and Sister Richardson will have “Meet the President” meetings with all of you. Tuesday, July 1^st will be Stuart and Palm Beach Zones at the Stuart Chapel at 10:00 AM. Then the same day at 2:00 PM will be the Coral Springs and Fort Lauderdale Zones at the Fort Lauderdale Chapel. Wednesday at 10:00 AM will be the Miami Beach and Hialeah Zones at the Miami Lakes Chapel. Thursday will be Miami and Homestead Zones at the Killian Chapel. They are looking forward to meeting all of you. Next week you will write President Richardson at presidentrichardson@establishingzion.com. He needs of course to hear from everyone! I have bragged about you to him how amazing you are and obedient you are! Obedient to schedule (we don’t even sleep in) and obedient to rules (we don’t even watch the World Cup at members homes) because we love the Lord and our Mission.

What a wonderful experience we had at the Temple on Friday. The Temple was full of the Spirit and I pray that every one of you had questions answered and revelation received. Now that we have recommitted ourselves in serving, let’s remember the promise we made that is sealed in the Temple to serve with “all our heart, might, mind, and strength”.

I wanted to take a moment and teach you a little concerning the “keys” of the Priesthood and the importance of following them. In “Guide to the Scriptures”, the keys are defined:

“Keys are the rights of presidency, or the power given to man by God to direct, control, and govern God’s priesthood on earth. Priesthood holders called to positions of presidency receive keys from those in authority over them. Priesthood holders use the priesthood only within the limits outlined by those who hold the keys. The President of the Church holds all priesthood keys”. (Guide to the Scriptures)

President Faust taught us the “doctrine, principle, and application” of those keys:

“I speak of keys other than those of metal. The keys I speak of never rust. These are the keys of life and salvation in the kingdom of God. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, ‘I will give you a key that will never rust, if you will stay with the majority of the Twelve Apostles, and the records of the Church, you will never be led astray.’... Why are these spiritual keys so important? These spiritual keys hold ‘the right to enjoy the blessing of communication with the heavens, and the privilege and authority to administer in the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to preach the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.’ Keys of the ministering of angels are the right of the Aaronic Priesthood. The higher Melchizedek Priesthood ‘holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.’ To be efficacious and valid, every act in the Church must be performed under the authority of the keys at the appropriate time and place, and in the proper manner and order. The authority and power to direct all of the labors of the kingdom of God on earth constitute the keys of the priesthood. Those who possess them have the right to preside over and direct the affairs of the Church in their jurisdiction... Why is it so necessary to follow those who have the keys of the priesthood? That principle has guided this church and its people since the beginning, and it is a principle of revelation. Among the members of the Church have been the living oracles of God, who have held the keys to direct this holy work. Without prophets, seers, and revelators, the Church and the kingdom of God cannot grow and prosper... Great temporal and spiritual strength flows from following those who have the keys of the kingdom of God in our time. Personal strength and power result from obedience to eternal principles taught by the living legates of the Lord.” (President James E. Faust, General Conference, October 1994)

Elder McConkie taught us that those presiding keys come directly from God:

“We need not fear for the future. This is the Lord’s work; it is his kingdom; and he governs its affairs as he chooses. The keys, having been committed to man on earth, are now vested in those of his own choosing... And as the Lord lives, and as Christ is true, and as truth will prevail, I testify that this work shall roll forward until it fills the whole earth, and until the knowledge of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, General Conference, April 1983)

God also promises us that those keys will always be here to bless those who follow them, and that there will always be someone possessing them:

“For I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead.” (D&C 28:7)

When Sister Anderson and I were called as Mission President, we were initially interviewed by Elder L. Tom Perry, an apostle with keys to do so. Then we were interviewed and called by President Henry B. Eyring, a member of the First Presidency who has the keys to call a Mission President. I was then set apart by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, also an Apostle who has the keys to bestow the keys I have had the last 3 years. On Friday, June 27^th, those keys will transfer to President Richardson who received the keys to be the President of the Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission, the same way I received them. What a great blessing to know that these keys will continue in this area for the benefit of all of you. To bless and direct all of you to greater levels you have never been before. We know President and Sister Richardson, we love them, we have felt their mantel, and we sustain them as I know you will.

Following the keys helps us implement and magnify those things we have been trained on:

“A miracle that we saw this week was right after zone training. We went to harvest excited to apply the things we were trained on. We said a specific prayer to find a YSA age person that would accept all of our invitations and for a family that we could pass to the other missionaries in that area. We knock the first door and a YSA age guy opens the door. He let us come in and share the harvest blessing with him and he felt the spirit. We invited him to act and he accepted all of our invitations. The third house we knocked on we prayed with a family from El Salvador. We invited them to act and they accepted all our invitations too! Then to finish off the harvest we found a Hatian family that accepted all our invitations to pass to the other missionaries. The Lord truly blessed us with miracles because we exercised our faith!”

Following the keys brings them from “finding” to “Baptism”:

“Miracle Transfer Day, and I was transferred to my new area.  My companion and I got home and we immediately set out to harvest since we needed all 8 blessings by the end of the day.  We [went to an area and]  picked a road.  We said a prayer to ask God to send us to a miracle who would be baptized.  In my entire mission I have never met anyone on transfer day who was baptized.  We walked down the street and were able to leave amazing blessings with people, one of which was a lady from Cuba!  She loved the prayer we left with her and said she would think about baptism.  That Sunday, she came to church with her friend.  We stopped by that Friday and invited her and her friend to baptism.  She told us she'd never been baptized before and if it would bring her closer to Christ, she would do it.  She came to church again.  As we taught her she was so willing to change her life to prepare to be baptized, she quit smoking and coffee in a day!  The next Friday we had her interview and she passed! She was baptized last Sunday!”

Following the keys will invoke the Spirit, even through doors:

“The member was running late so we decided to take advantage of the few minutes we had and went right to knocking some nearby doors.  The second door we knocked, a man spoke with us through the door saying that he could not open the door because he was blind.  We did not believe it and testified that Christ sent us to bless his home, but he insisted and told us that his heart was open to receive our blessing, so we believed him.  Midway during the prayer, he stepped out and told us that he felt our love and sincerity and knew he could trust us.  He knew we were sent from God.  He immediately accepted baptism and we started teaching him the day after. I learned from this the importance not wasting the Lord's time.  Even if we only have one minute, we can change someone's life.”

Sister Anderson and I look forward to the same feelings of Alma and Ammon when they reunited after 14 years of being separated (thankfully it won’t be that long). When we reunite with each of you we will feel these same emotions:

“And now it came to pass that as Alma was journeying from the land of Gideon ..., behold, to his astonishment, he met with the sons of Mosiah journeying towards the land of Zarahemla... Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God... But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.” (Alma 17:1-3)

“Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.” (Alma 26:16)

As Alma blessed the people in Gideon, may I borrow his words as I bless you:

 “And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive... And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works... And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments spotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out... And now my beloved brethren, I have spoken these words unto you according to the Spirit which testifieth in me; and my soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word... And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands... and all that you possess ...  according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever. And thus I have spoken. Amen.” (Alma 7:23-24)

When Jacob bid farewell to his people (Jacob 7:27), Joseph Smith used a unique French word that expressed many emotions, “adieu”. In Joseph Smith time, adieu meant “a farewell; an expression of kind wishes at the parting of friends, meaning that I commend you to God”.

Missionaries, my “eternal friends”, May God’s greatest blessing be bestowed upon each of you as I commend you to God until we meet again. Missionaries, adieu!!!

Missionaries, Let us be resolute to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! One more week to accomplish our vision! We need 200 dates and 200 I@S. All must contribute! You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Legendary Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names have been sealed in the Temple!!!

We Love you, We Pray For You, Elders and Sisters, We can do this!!! We have work to do!!! “Missionaries, follow the keys!!!”

President Don E. Anderson

Week 38 In Fort Lauderdale....

Yes, I got the package! I got all the stuff it was great thank you VERY much! 

I told you guys that now I am in a car area and I remember Pat telling us about TiWi, But I thought that I would share with you my thoughts on the little demon. TiWi is a little electronic box that connects to satellite to track where you are and where you have been. It has a sensor that tracks G's to track how well you are breaking and accelerating and turning. As well, it uses satellite to know what the speed limit is. Also checking other things like seat belts and what not. I have my own little card that I log in with everyday, so it knows who is driving. All of that is fine and dandy BUT it also has another feature... VOICE. It tells you when you are violating, the rule in which you are violating and if you violate them to much, he gives you like a penalty card! I have never had a problem or seen a problem until I got here. Here we have a lot of LONG one way roads... that everybody speeds on... except us...  A few days ago I had a train of 12 cars behind me! And the whole time TiWi was saying "CHECK YOUR SPEED" which is a warning and you have 7 seconds to slow down before is says " SPEED WARNING" in which you have been flagged in the system and the Mission gives you certain consequences. And then, if you still don't slow down it says " SPEEDING VIOLATION" which means you will get a call from the Vehicle Coordinator and he will probably suspend you. So far I haven't had a problem. The problem I have had is other drivers getting angry at me because I  speed up then slow down, and some times I have to use my brakes and they think I am freaking out because they are tailgating me. Then I get angry and give TiWi a knock, then I feel bad because he is just doing his job. So now I have a little character that hangs from the visor that I whack when I am angry. So far that has been my biggest stress on my mission.

Otherwise this week had been good, at church while sitting in sacrament meeting mulling of the lyrics of "We need thee every hour" in walks a family of 3 with one of our members. They were not a family that we (the missionaries) had been working with or taught, but a member of the ward had and brought them to church and said "here... they are wonderful!". They were incredibly prepared AND A FREAKING AWESOME MIRACLE!!!! Which we definitely needed. No one besides our eternigator has been to church down here for about a month and a half. MAJOR drought. And I have been doing everything to all of my ability to get people to church! I have a list of 50 ways to connect people's different desires to going to church. Feel weak? Ether 12: 27 Go to church to become strong. Feel alone? 3 Nephi 18 the whole chapter talks about how the people of Christ become a family through the sacrament! The list continues on all I have been doing is trying to find ways to boost people's desires to go to church! Want an eternal family? The Proclamation to the World, TALKS ABOUT GOING TO CHURCH!! ALL THE SCRIPTURES DO! YOU CAN CONNECT EVERYTHING HAPPINESS< STRENGTH, PEACE, FAMILY, FRIENDS, ANIMALS, SADNESS, HEALTH.... all of it can be found at church. All of it but none of our friends have made it that was why I was SOOO happy to have a family walk in that door. I felt God's love. He told me that he saw my efforts and he compensated. It was real nice.

Also this week I have been  running into a lot of **'s and R** J**** people and it reminded me of my favorite APOSTASY scripture 2 Timothy 4:2-4:

2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
This is the world that we live in and it is our admonition to preach the gospel to them all. and thats the thought that I want to leave you!

Stay Strong, Push On

ELDER PARK

Letter From The President, June 16, 2014....

Dear Missionaries,

A quick reminder of our opportunity to go to the Temple on the ** of the month. The following is the times for the sessions:

·                    Fort Lauderdale & Miami Zones

·                   Coral Springs & Miami Beach Zones

·                      Hialeah & Palm Beach Zones

·                        Stuart & Homestead Zones

We will have Temple clothes at the Temple. Please come 40 minutes early to get the correct size and to prepare to start on time (don’t come earlier). Elders, please wear your long sleeve white shirt and bring your white pants, tie and socks. We will meet after and take a photo in front of the Temple after each session. Because of time and efficiency, we need all missionaries to speedily depart after the pictures.

I love the Hymn, “High On The Mountain Top” because of many reasons. It was written by my Great, Great Uncle, Joel Johnson, and I love the lyrics that inspire us of “The Mountain of The Lord”, the Temple:

“High on the mountain top

A banner is unfurled.

Ye nations, now look up;

It waves to all the world.

In Deseret's sweet, peaceful land,

On Zion's mount behold it stand!”  

That banner on top of the mountain of course is the Temples of God. As I reflect on the email of President Kimball’s, “Give me this mountain, give me these challenges”, I am impressed with the imagery of “mountains”. There is something sacred and symbolic when “Mountains” have been referred to in the scriptures. Isaiah prophesied and saw the Temples in our day “in the top of the mountains”:

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it... And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (2 Nephi 12:2-3)(Isaiah 2:2-3)

Nephi received sacred things as he was carried away to the mountain, according to his faith:

“For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot... And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.”  (1 Nephi 11:1,6)

Christ went to the mountain to converse with past prophets who held the keys of past dispensations and sacred works:

 “And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them... And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus... And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved son: hear him.” (Mark 9:2,4,7)

Moses received the “Law of God”, the Ten Commandments, along with other sacred teachings at the top of a mountain (Moses 1:1-2)

Daniel saw the restoration of the Gospel cut from the stone of a mountain and rolled forth throughout the world. (Daniel 2:34-45) 

President Faust tells the story of “The Little Engine that Could” and how a train engine was pulling cars full of all kinds of goodies for the children up a mountain. The train broke down and tried to ask other engines to help. Some thought it was beyond them; others said they were too tired and others said they could not make it:

“Then a little blue engine came down the track, and she was asked to pull the cars over the mountain to the children on the other side. The little engine responded, ‘I’m not very big. … They use me only for switching in the yard. I have never been over the mountain.’ But she was concerned about disappointing the children on the other side of the mountain if they didn’t get all of the goodies in the cars. So she said, ‘I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.’ And she hooked herself to the little train. ‘Puff, puff, chug, chug, went the Little Blue Engine. ‘I think I can—I think I can—I think I can—I think I can—I think I can—I think I can—I think I can.’ With this attitude, the little engine reached the top of the mountain and went down the other side, saying, ‘I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could.’” (President James E. Faust, General Conference, October 2002)

I believe we have many inspiring traits of the little engine but what I hear from each of you is a surge of faith that say’s “I know I can, I knew I could, I will”.

Telling God what you are prepared to do for his blessing is evident of “I know I can, I knew I could, I will”:

“We took your invitation to create an if/then statement and take it to the Lord. Our statement was if we get 15 people committed to church by Saturday night, wilt thou bless us with 5 investigators at Sacrament! We went out this week and worked super hard. We saw a lot of miracles and were very blessed and by Saturday Night we had exactly 15 people committed to church. We went out Sunday Morning before church and did our round up and no one was answering! We continued to work hard. We went out with a member and went to pick up an investigator and her granddaughter who had both committed to come to church. When we knocked the door, the Grandma opened the door all dressed in her Sunday best and said that they were still getting ready and that we should wait for them. A minute later her Husband (who had never been interested in meeting with us) came out of the bedroom dressed in his Sunday best and following him were all their little grandchildren. All of them came to church and had an amazing experience! The fellowship from the ward was amazing! They felt the spirit and all of them are preparing to be baptized this weekend! What an amazing blessing! God blessed us so much after we did everything in our power that we could do!”

Opening our mouths to everyone is evident of “I know I can, I knew I could, I will”:

“So we went to our harvesting spot and said a prayer agreeing we would talk to the first person we saw. We jump out of the car and head for a man walking along the street and he oyms us before we could say a word! We get to know him a bit and testify that Jesus Christ loved him. He got really surprised and said, ‘How did you know I love God!?’ He then opens up about a few struggles and challenges he had been facing in his life. We decided not to miss this amazing miracle and share a scripture about how we all must follow Christ and be baptized. He accepts and says, ‘I promise I'll be there!’ Then he goes and grabs his beer and, while dumping it in the trash, says he will never drink again! The next day after overcoming a bunch of doubts he told us those famous words, ‘Tell me anything and I'll believe all your words. I know you were sent from Jesus Christ.’” 

Following the promptings of God and answering prayers of others is evident of “I know I can, I knew I could, I will”:

“...  we knew that we were supposed to be on that certain street. We heard a noise come from a house and felt like we needed to be there. When we went to the house the door was open and 2 boys were playing a video game in the front room. We asked if they could get their mom or dad for us. In a couple of minutes a man came out. We introduced ourselves as ‘Representatives of Jesus Christ’ and stated that we were there to leave the Saviors peace and blessing with him and his family. He stared at us like we were from another planet! He immediately got his wife and asked if we knew each other and if we were playing a joke on him. I was pretty confused until they explained the situation. He did not believe there was a God. He actually told his wife (the day before) that when God sends him a sign, then he will believe in Him. His wife started fasting that day that God would give her husband a sign and we showed up the next day! They actually came to church on Sunday! He has changed so much in the week that we have known him. The gospel changes lives!”

Elder Bruce R. McConkie  shares a wonderful vision of our quest up the Mountain:

“We stand today on a mountain peak, on a majestic, glorious peak in the midst of the mountains of Israel. To gain this height, we have climbed over peaks of peace and trudged through the valleys of despair... Below us lie the deserts of sin and the forests of evil; below us stretch the swamps of carnality and the plains of passion; below us rage the roaring rivers of war and hate and crime, through all of which we have struggled to reach this summit... Above us, stretching crest on crest, are yet greater and grander peaks. Each one is rimmed with rivers and forests and cliffs and crags. There are deep canyons and steep precipices.

Our onward course will not be easy. The way ahead will be blocked by a landslide of lasciviousness; an avalanche of evil will bury the trail... As we trudge forward, sharp rocks will cut our feet; rivers of lava will melt the soles of our sandals; and we shall be hungry and thirsty and faint. The way ahead will be hard and the path rugged...Far in the distance stands Mount Zion, the grandest peak of all... We see the elders of the kingdom going forth to many nations, crying repentance, gathering Israel, and assembling the faithful in the tops of the mountains where stands the house of the Lord.

We see converts and stakes and temples. Gifts and signs and miracles abound. The sick are healed and the dead are raised by the power of God, and the work of the Lord goes forward.... we know that our work is in the living present and our glorious destiny lies ahead.

From the top of the peak where the soles of our feet now tread, we can look forward, crest upon crest, to the Zion of God which one day will be ours if we walk in the course charted by those who have gone before... But what we can see causes us to rejoice ...We rejoice because of the glory and honor that awaits those who come forth out of all this tribulation with clean hands and pure hearts (see Psalms 24:4). (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, General Conference, April 1980)

Missionaries, “Prepare This Week for the Temple!”

Let us be resolute to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! June is now our Vision month! We need 200 dates and 200 I@S. All must contribute! You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Legendary Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names have been sealed in the Temple!!!

We Love you, We Pray For You, Elders and Sisters, We can do this!!! We have work to do!!! “I know I can, I knew I could, I will!!!”

President Don E. Anderson

Week 37 In Fort Lauderdale....

Man this place is different I have been working my BUTT off and not a lot is happening. We spend a lot more time traveling because we have one on the Largest areas, and it is more spread out than normal. Driving down here is definitely different because you have people from different countries with different driving habits as well as people that are ALWAYS in a hurry. One important technique that I have learned is known as a "Cuban Finger". It works similar to a blinker when it is bumper to bumper traffic. You stick your finger out the window and point where you want to go and when the car moves you take the spot. It's kinda like saying "I ama coming over whether you like it or not". VERY USEFUL down here. And Dad, managing less than a 1000 miles is looking to be WAY more difficult than I thought... last week we averaged 35 miles a day, and once this month we have to go up to Ft. Laud... There will be a little biking, we plan to use the car to get us far places and then use the bike to get around from there.
This apartment has NO BED BUGS!!!! YEAH! I burned the previous sheets so that I didn't bring them and bought new ones. I still run the diffuser every now and then to ward them off and I like the smell too.
Another thing that I thought that I would mention is that I think when you updated the GPS some things got changed... Because the words on the screen are in English, but the voice wasn't, it was in Japanese... So I went to change it and guess what languages were available? Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Tagalog, and a few others I cannot pronounce... No English, No Spanish, No Portuguese, No French, which are all languages that I could have understood... HAHA I thought it was funny!!! So I decided that we would listen to Korean so that I could get back to my roots! ;) (Inside joke, Park is a Korean name also.)

This week we had an exciting thing happen... We were driving home from a meal appointment that turned out to be a pick up and we passed a Krispy Kreme, we decided to buy a box. After we checked out the lady asked if we would like some extra glaze, we thought as a dipping sauce, so we said "sure". She handed us 2 boxes of glazed donuts for free! How crazy right? 24 free donuts! But it doesn't end there, a couple days later was free donut day... so we stopped in to get a donut, we didn't even buy a donut, we still had donuts at the house. WE JUST GOT OUR FREE DONUT for Donut day, but we walked out with...2 dozen more FREE donuts! That means this wee we got 5 dozen donuts for $10.    60 donuts, 10 dollars!!! 6 per dollar!! We were amazed!! (I am so glad that donuts can make him so happy!)

That was one of the highlights this week not much actually happened... We worked HARD with little success and nobody at church! But we aren't giving up we still know that we can help get baptized this month!

It's like Alma the younger he got discouraged as he tried to teach the Nephite dissenters, but the Lord told him "No this is were you must be!" So he stayed and MANY people then received the Gospel!

We are going to keep on working hard and looking for the repentant people! "And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days."(D&C 1:4) that's our duty, it's what we will do!

Stay Strong, Push ON!

ELDER PARK 

Letter From The President, June 9, 2014....

Dear Missionaries,

I know all of you are excited for the opportunity to go to the Temple this month. 

We will have Temple clothes at the Temple. Please come 40 minutes early to get the correct size and to prepare to start on time (don’t come earlier). Elders, please wear your long sleeve white shirt and bring your white pants, tie and socks. We will meet after with President Boggess (Temple President) and take a photo in front of the Temple after each session. Because of time and efficiency, we need all missionaries to speedy depart after the pictures.

We have enjoyed the interviews with all of you and are excited to reunite at the Temple. Some of you have asked me “how can I best prepare for the Temple?” There are processes throughout our existence on earth that take time to prepare so that we can achieve the goal and desire through progression in our lives. This can come with years of education and preparation for a degree; years of preparation for a career; years of preparation for an eternal family. Throughout the scriptures, God has prepared His people through a process of refinement. Sometimes that refinement takes years. It took Moses 40 years to prepare his people for the promised land of Israel. It took 10 years for Lehi to prepare his family to arrive in the promised land of the Americas. It took Joseph Smith 9 years after the First Vision to prepare to fully translate the Book of Mormon (which took only about 2 months). 

I believe we can prepare ourselves for the Temple in a short period of time (weeks and even days), to enjoy the rewards of miracles and revelation from God. This will allow us to not only have a revelatory experience, but as we rededicate ourselves, it can springboard us to greater things after the Temple. If we unite in our cause to prepare, I know we will amplify our blessings beyond our comprehension. We must be exact in our obedience in every moment of every day. We must be diligent in our efforts to find, teach and invite. And we must infuse both of these with faith that God will bring the miracle as he pierces the hearts of those we invoke the Spirit with. These things will give us power.

I know you understand that being obedient brings so many blessings into the work. President Boyd K. Packard said regarding obedience and the Priesthood (Power and Authority):

“It is now our responsibility to activate the power of the Priesthood in the Church. Authority comes by way of ordination; power in the priesthood comes through faithful and obedient living in honoring covenants.  It is increased by exercising and using [it] in righteousness…Your authority comes through ordination; your power comes through obedience and worthiness…” (Boyd K. Packer, Ensign May 2010)

This mirrors so well the power and authority, which requires obedience, we have been given as missionaries. All of you have been given authority when you were set apart:

“As you prayerfully and worthily exercise that authority, you will receive spiritual power, which is evidence of the reality of your call… Along with your authority comes a responsibility to live worthy of your calling… In addition to authority, you are also to exercise power in your work. The authority that you have received can lead to power. Indeed, spiritual power is one evidence that your authority is real. Spiritual power is a gift that makes it possible for you to do your work more effectively.” (PMG P.4)

Obedience will keep your authority active and current. Obedience will also give you power as a missionary. The more obedient you are, the more power you will receive to perform miracles for the Lord. We see the great examples of obedience resulting in power and authority from the examples of great missionaries from The Book Of Mormon:

Abinadi: “And he spake with power and authority from God…” (Mosiah 13:6)

Sons of Mosiah: “But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.” (Alma 17:3)

Nephi and Lehi: “And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the Lamanites with such great power and authority, for they had power and authority given unto them that they might speak, and they also had what they should speak given unto them—“ (Helaman 5:18)

You are touching the heart of everyone that you declare with power and authority that we “represent Jesus Christ” and even when they don’t embrace it now, be optimistic that they will reflect and embrace it later:

“I got a call at the very end of personal study from a random number. I picked up and a lady in Spanish told me ‘Hi, you gave me a card to come to your church, but I don't have a ride’. I told her we'd help her get there and asked if we could stop by to pray and share a scripture with her. She agreed and we went over later that day. Well when we got there, she opened up her purse to show us the card she had, and it was a chapel card, nicely folded with our number on it, but the names [missionaries from two years ago] were written on it! My companion and I were astounded that she'd been hanging onto the card for what must be almost 2 years now! The spirit finally prompted her to call, what a miracle! Turns out she used to go to church when she lived in Missouri... we will be teaching her and her 2 kids this week.”

Your power and authority will draw to the Church, and because of the kind of missionaries you are, you will continue to invite even after your release:

“Our most solid investigator came with his member friend, and then someone that we had harvested earlier that week walked into the chapel for Sacrament Meeting! We went up and started talking to him, and we asked him what made him come to church, and he said ‘Well, I told you guys I would come, didn't I?’ It was awesome! And then the Sisters came to get us during Sunday School and said ‘There is an investigator who lives in your area who showed up to church today because a member invited her. She wants to be a member of the church.’ She attended the Ward yesterday, and we assigned her with a member friend. (Sister Jasmine Brown recent released FFLM). We were not able to stick with her during the Service, so we asked Sister Brown if she would invite our investigator to be baptized during church that day. She did, and our investigator accepted!!! Sister Brown told us over the phone that she had invited her to be baptized, and that she had already arranged to go and pick up our investigator for church the following Sunday. It sure is nice to have a Returned Missionary from your own mission to help you out. God truly blessed us yesterday.”

As we prepare diligently for the Temple, God will bless us tremendously:

“So after church and our miracle baptism, we went out to find our investigators who didn’t come to church and reset them with baptismal dates.... no one was home or picked up the phone. So it is 8:30 and we're exhausted, but we know we have to give all of our diligence to the Lord to qualify for miracles and our revelatory temple experience on the 20th. So we pray and follow the feelings to an area we've never knocked. After getting rejected at a few doors, we knock into a man. He asks us if we can just pray outside because his little dog is inside. I'm not going to take that excuse, so I asked if he'd put the dog away and we could step in and bless his home. I'm so glad we were bold because it was one of the most powerful harvest blessings I've left in a long time! The spirit was so present and when we invited him to be baptized and he said  ‘I think so. Yes, I need to make that commitment to the Lord, because he's changed my heart’. I was so glad that we chose to be diligent and that God answered our prayer that we said earlier that we would be blessed and be able to bless someone else's life. I'm so excited to go teach him!”

I know we can prepare well for this amazing opportunity and our power and authority that comes from our calling, obedience, diligence and faith will help us reach our goals, as I have before quoted President Packard concerning our urgency:

“Since baptism is essential there must be an urgent concern to carry the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people … We accept the responsibility to preach the gospel to every person on earth. And if the question is asked... You mean you are out to convert the entire world?’ the answer is, ‘Yes. We will try to reach every living soul.’ Some who measure that challenge quickly say, ‘Why that’s impossible! It cannot be done!’ To that we simply say, ‘Perhaps, but we shall do it anyway.’” (Boyd K. Packer Ensign, November 1975, p. 97)

Remember as Elder Holland tells us, we need the unity of all of us as a mission:

“It is when an entire mission is united by the strength of every missionary’s integrity, every missionary’s personal covenant keeping, that we move mountains. When there is such unity and power, an endowment from heaven, coming to every individual in the mission, nothing can ‘stop the work from progressing.’ It is in this way that the ‘truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent.’ (Jeffery Holland, Jan.2012, Liahona)

Missionaries, “God will give us power and authority as we are obedient, diligent, and faithful!”

Let us be resolute to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! June is now our Vision month! We need 200 dates and 200 I@S. All must contribute! You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Legendary Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names have been sealed in the Temple!!!

We Love you, We Pray For You, Elders and Sisters, We can do this!!! We have work to do!!! “They spoke and taught with power and authority!!!”

President Don E. Anderson

Week 36 In Fort Lauderdale....

New Area: Homestead East

• Same Zone different district
• Same Stake
• 1 ward south
• Covers a HUGE area including the first 5 keys
• The town is similar to Herriman, in that there are a lot of neighborhoods and farmland side-by-side, kinda quiet and there are still a few dirt roads
• We have a car, and 1000 miles a month.

New Companion: Elder B****(ito)

• Small
• Quiet
• Navajo
• 20 months in the mission
• needs help with spanish and taking to people
• Can't drive (blind in one eye) so I do

New roommates: Elder B****(isimo) 23 months and Elder J***** 7 months

• kinda trunky district-leader
• newer kid "raised" with minorly disobedient trainers

What a week! I got to Homestead and there were NO key investigators... none, no lessons taught, no new investigators and no blessings given. We had to WORK to make things happen. This Area has had a bit of a history lately of health problems and losing proselyting time because of it. As well the last missionaries in the area had been working with the same 5 people for about 3 months and so the area needed a HUGE jumpstart. And so that is what Elder Brown and I did we just got to it and WORKED. We left 19 blessings with people and the first 4 new gators this area has seen in quite some time. And there is some super potential for progress here. We have 3 people lined up for baptism on the 15th. I am super excited for the chance to remodel an area. The members here need to be worked with to build their excitement for the area and the missionaries need to build their diligence.

I was trying to think of a story to tell you and all I could think of is the story of Kristina and Robin who we found this week through a media referral. She is a DoTerra lady... yup! and so two weeks ago there was a big convention in... UTAH!!!! and they flew her out. Through the DoTerra people she met a lady in Heber that let her stay with her. Well Kristina was incredibly impressed with the way that the family acted and how neighbor kids walked in and out of their house. and she realized it was because they were living the christian life, not just say that's what they were. I just found it incredible that just living in HEBER for a couple of days was enough to change her life and make her want to be a part of it. When we went over all she wanted was for us to explain and help her prepare! That was incredible to me.

Other wise missionary life is missionary life, sometime people love you then sometimes they call you false prophet and try to spit on you. But that's how it works its hot, muggy and sweaty, but that's what I imagined about missionary work I am glad to be here where I am!

LOVE YOU stay strong, push on.

ELDER PARK

Letter From The President, June 2, 2014....

Dear Missionaries,

I recall as a young missionary years ago, a moving declaration made by President Spencer W. Kimball. This pronouncement was made while I was serving as a missionary and I remember it well. President Kimball was a Prophet who coined the phrases, "Do It", "Do It Now", and "Lengthen your Stride", and was a true example of a modern day Job with all the adversities he experienced and overcame in his lifetime. In the October 1979 General Conference, President Kimball related the story of Caleb who was a trusted disciple and servant of the Prophets Moses then Joshua. At the age of 40 he was given the assignment by Moses to spy on the enemies who inhabited the "promised land". Forty five years later, at the age of 85, Caleb declares to Joshua "As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me [at least in the spirit of the gospel and its call and needs]: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, ... both to go out, and to come in" (Joshua 14:7-11)

President Kimball continued:

"From Caleb's example we learn very important lessons. Just as Caleb had to struggle and remain true and faithful to gain his inheritance, so we must remember that, while the Lord has promised us a place in his kingdom, we must ever strive constantly and faithfully so as to be worthy to receive the reward... Caleb concluded his moving declaration with a request and a challenge with which my heart finds full sympathy. The Anakims, the giants, were still inhabiting the promised land, and they had to be overcome. Said Caleb, now at 85 years, 'Give me this mountain' (Josh 14:12)."  

Then President Kimball made his own declaration, almost at the same age as Caleb:

"This is my feeling for the work at this moment. There are great challenges ahead of us, giant opportunities to be met. I welcome that exciting prospect and feel to say to the Lord, humbly, 'Give me this mountain,' give me these challenges. Humbly, I give this pledge to the Lord and to you, my beloved brothers and sisters, fellow workers in this sacred cause of Christ: I will go forward, with faith in the God of Israel, knowing that he will guide and direct us, and lead us, finally, to the accomplishment of his purposes and to our promised land and our promised blessings...  I will 'wholly follow the Lord my God' to the fullest extent of my energy and my ability. Earnestly and fervently I urge that each of you make this same pledge and effort..." (Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign Nov. 1979)

The inspiration of this statement is one that I extend to all of you, with the same pledge and effort, "Give us this Mountain, Give us these Challenges". Accomplishing the purposes God has put us here to achieve, will bring about "promised blessings" that God has pledged to give. God is blessing you for the "Mountains" you are climbing and the people He trusts you with because of your obedience and diligence in opening your mouth:

“My companion saw a girl across the street that was sitting on the front porch of an apartment building. We went over to her and left a Harvest Blessing, and by the end she was crying. She said she had been going through a really rough time. She had just moved here from New York, got scammed out of a lot of money, is going through identity theft...and etc. Basically we were a huge answer to the prayers of her heart. After we invited her to be baptized, and before we committed her to a date she said, ‘so when is the soonest we can do the baptism?’ We told her June 1st and she was so excited. She came to church this past Sunday and basically became best friends with the whole branch. We found out that she smokes, but throughout all of the service she was expressing that she knew she needed to quit. Our member told her ‘I hope you know that you're gonna be my new best friend?’ She agreed and then apologized for her bad habit of smoking that the member was going to have to deal with. Our member was baptized in January and told her ‘"Don't worry,  I'm gonna help you quit! I used to have that same problem too.’ She was so happy and she was simply glowing all of Sunday and making friends left and right. A few minutes ago she called us and told us she is now planning to move out of her boyfriend’s house. We haven't even taught her the law of chastity! She just wants to be right by God. I am so grateful for the blessings that are being rained down.”

Because of the "Mountains" you are climbing, you, as representatives of Christ, are bringing Salvation to many by the Spirit and Testimony you express. You are escalating their interests and desires, building up their hopes and faith; then inviting them to act:

“After teaching an investigator this week, we were heading back to our car when one of his neighbors that was out watering his lawn yells from a little bit of a distance ‘what do you have for me?’ We were a little confused and thought he was mad and he yells again ‘what are you selling?’  We answered ‘salvation’. We walked over to him with our member and we introduce ourselves as representatives of Jesus Christ and offered to share a harvest blessing with him. He accepts and we ask him what it is that he needs. He says that all he needs is to stop drinking. He told us how his marriage of 30 years had just ended not too long ago because of his drinking problem and you could tell it was very hard for him... He goes and turns off the water and then invites us to come inside. We went in with him knelt down and offered the blessing. The spirit filled the room and after the prayer we all stayed on our knees for a minute, through his tears he says I knew you would come. I felt it as you walked down the street something told me I needed to talk to you guys and I knew I had to bring you over. We testified that God loves him and that he could be healed through the atonement. We invited him to be baptized and he said yes.”

We are helping others to climb their mountains:

“We had met her about two or so weeks ago at a Burger King. We gave her a card and invited her to church. We didn't have church that week due to the dedication so she was standing outside the building and called us asking for an explanation. We were able to tell her that we didn't have normal church that week and she was ok with it...  She had come to church before and said that she liked it...  on Wednesday we met with her and she explained to us that she had read over half way through in the Book of Mormon. We were shocked and praised her for it. We didn't see her for some time then on Saturday night she called and said ‘What do I need to wear to my baptism tomorrow?’ She remembered the date we had set her with and was determined to be baptized. With the help of our wonderful Branch she was able to get into the font on Sunday. She is an example to me that the spirit speaks to all of us.”

President Eyring shared:

“My heart was stirred, knowing, as I did, some of the challenges and adversity he [President Kimball] had already faced. I felt a desire to be more like him, a valiant servant of God. So one night I prayed for a test to prove my courage. I can remember it vividly. In the evening I knelt in my bedroom with a faith that seemed almost to fill my heart to bursting. Within a day or two my prayer was answered. The hardest trial of my life surprised and humbled me. It provided me a twofold lesson. First, I had clear proof that God heard and answered my prayer of faith. But second, I began a tutorial that still goes on to learn about why I felt with such confidence that night that a great blessing could come from adversity to more than compensate for any cost. The adversity that hit me in that faraway day now seems tiny compared to what has come since—to me and to those I love.” ( President Henry B. Eyring, General Conference April 2011)

I know Missionaries that South Florida has no mountains at sea level, but we have many "Spiritual Mountains" to climb as we are "Exactly Obedient" and "Diligent" to what God has called us here to do. We can get 175!!! We have shown God already that we can get 168!!  Every companionship needs to contribute (Baptize) early this month for us to accomplish this.

Set your goals now on who and how many you will baptize this week, this month. Then set goals (specific) to achieve this goal. Then take it to the Lord "if we do this (specific) will thou bless us for our very best effort with these (specific) baptisms?" I know the Lord will bless you as you conquer your mountain!!!

What will we do to prepare for our opportunity to attend the Temple on the 20th of June? What are you prepared to do to have the greatest revelatory experience at the "House of The Lord"?

Missionaries, “God will give us this mountain, God will help us conquer this mountain!”

Let us be resolute to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! June is now our Vision month! We need 200 dates and 200 I@S. All must contribute! You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Legendary Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names have been sealed in the Temple!!!

We Love you, We Pray For You, Elders and Sisters, We can do this!!! We have work to do!!! ...  I will 'wholly follow the Lord my God'. “Give me this mountain,' give me these challenges!!!”

President Don E. Anderson

Week 35 In Fort Lauderdale....

This was a really interesting week, because we were fried... We could not find places to knock, to OYM, to meet people that we hadn't been. We were desperate, frazzled and distraught! We would look at our map and pray and pick a spot get there and realize we had already knock, taught and committed the homes in this area. And not only did we remember but the people did as well, one guy asked Elder Taylor why he was still in the state. (This guy wasn't very polite to us the first time.) NOTHING WAS HELPING... DT was about boosting your faith we tried, but it just wasn't working we searched for new ways to be obedient that didn't work! We were making our beds, polishing our shoes everyday, role playing, mopping everything 110% obedience. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO ALWAYS WORK!!! but then we realized that maybe we needed to search for revelation through different means, because the Lord isn't going to make it easy to find where we need to go. People's salvation isn't simple and cheap. So we were looking for signs in everything, the wind, the birds, funny signs, where the last media referral lived and then we found something... our dreams... Elder Taylor was the first to experience this unusual way of harvest area finding, he had a dream one night of working in a specific area... so we went there... we were desperate... BUT IT WORKED!!! We found some of the most incredible people and we were finding success!

So from that day on we were looking for places inside our area in our dreams, I now write down dreams because they could be revelation from God! I mean look at Lehi  "And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness he spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision." (1 Nephi 8:2) But that lead to my search to really understand how revelation works. And to really search for it in the scriptures. And I realized that the best way to find meaning in the scriptures is not just to understand the stories but to see how they apply to your life! And so that is what I have been doing in my QUEST: To become one with the scriptures. I have not only been searching and trying to memorize important scriptures but I have been trying to create a system of memorizing and finding new scriptures that apply to my life and others (investigators). So my study journal has been rapidly expanding, and is nearly to a max.

This week we had an amazing miracle. During our struggles to find solid investigators we needed something to do to fill the time that we weren't teaching, so we made and effort to visit our less active miembros. And in doing so we found 2 great part-member families that are going to be a great addition to the teaching pool for whoever is going to fill my spot here tomorrow (a greenie). That's right last night I found out that I will be transferring and Elder Taylor will be staying AND training that means 2 more transfers here! He will be here for 6! That's FOREVER we all thought he was leaving and I was going to be in charge! But NOPE God still needs him here! So I am off to where ever the Lord sees fit with no idea where, what or who I will be with! PRAY FOR ME Y'ALL! I really love this ward they are super excited about the gospel and they LOVE to baptize! This ward is all up in that work! The ward wants more. SO I am going to miss this area! And all the members and my recent convert friends!

Well I want you all to know that I love you and care for you STAY STRONG AND PUSH ON!!!

ELDER PARK!!

Letter From The President, May 26, 2014....

Dear Missionaries,

 Friday before the dedication of the Temple, Sister Anderson and I, along with the Temple Open House/Dedication Committee, Stake Presidents, and dignitaries from Salt Lake, went inside the temple to observe the insertion of items that would go into the Corner Stone Box of the Temple. We were able to witness the names and signatures of all of you missionaries, along with our promise, placed in the Corner Stone Box. That promise being the personalization of D&C Section 4:

“Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.

Therefore, [We will] embark in the service of God, [We will] serve him with all [our] heart, might, mind and strength, that [we] may stand blameless before God at the last day.

Therefore, [we] have desires to serve God [and we] are called to the work;

For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, [we will] thrusteth in [our] sickle with [our] might, the same layeth up in store that [we] perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to [our] soul;

And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify [us] for the work.

[We will] Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.

[We will] Ask, [so we may] receive; [We will] knock, [that it may] be opened unto [us]. Amen.” (D&C 4)

And the blessing from it as pronounced by King Benjamin to his people after all we can do:

“Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.” (Mosiah 5:15)

Sister Anderson and I were very humbled as we were able to help carry the Corner Stone Box to the Corner Stone, place it into the cavity, and help seal it up (see enclosed pictures). Our names will be in that Corner Stone as long as this Temple stands. 

President Hinckley describes well the importance of the tradition of the Corner Stone:

“In each new temple we have had a cornerstone ceremony in harmony with a tradition that goes back to ancient times. Before the general use of concrete, the foundation walls of the building were laid with large stones. A trench would be dug, and stones would be placed as footings. Starting at a point of beginning, the foundation wall would be run in one direction to a cornerstone; then the corner would be turned and the wall run to the next corner, where another stone was placed, from which the wall would be run to the next corner, and from there to the point of beginning. In many instances, including the construction of early temples in the Church, cornerstones were used at each junction point of the walls and put in place with ceremony. The final stone was spoken of as the chief cornerstone, and its placement became the reason for much celebration. With this cornerstone in position, the foundation was ready for the superstructure. Hence the analogy that Paul used in describing the true Church:

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

“And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

“In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:19-20). ( President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign February 2004)

Christ is our Chief Cornerstone and others recognize it immediately:

“We were harvesting and her answer [questions] to the approach [was] ‘Do you have a place I can go to pray? How did you know I needed a prayer? Where is the church? Can I come? Can my kids come?...’ We slip in a card between her words [and she says]... ‘Tomorrow at nine?  I will be there.’ [We then say]: ‘awesome!! Can we say a prayer here?’ her reply ‘yes! ...[we invite] will you be baptized?’ her answer: ‘yes, yes, Yes!’"  

Christ is our Chief Cornerstone and they will do all they can to keep commitments as they recognize Christ in you:

“We have an investigator who found a ‘Finding Faith in Christ’ card on the ground, picked it up, and called the number on the back. Over the past couple of weeks we have been working with him, he has become so happy! We taught him the Word of Wisdom so that he can start making the steps to living that commandment. He sold his cigars and used the money to take the bus to church yesterday. He loved church and is being baptized on Sunday!”

Christ is our Chief Cornerstone and the influence of His Spirit and Atonement will bring them to Him:

“It started last Friday... , we had talked about following promptings of the Spirit, especially with OYM'ing.  We were towards the end of the day and we had met a lot of people through our efforts, we had just locked up our bikes to go and see a scheduled appointment that we had, we were running a little late, and so we were hurrying.  A few doors down from our investigators house there was a couple outside on the front porch, we both felt like we should keep up with our OYMing and we both felt the Spirit telling us that we needed to contact them... we knew we couldn't deny the Spirit.  We approached them and told them that we were representatives of Jesus Christ that we were there to say a prayer with them.  They accepted, and we prayed.  After the prayer they both were quiet and peaceful, we explained to them the Holy Ghost and that those good feelings were from the Spirit; we then challenged them to be baptized.  They at first weren't sure, and started to back down, but we testified and used doctrine to help overcome their concerns.  After that, the husband said, ‘If you get me a ride, I will be ready at 9:30’.  We got him a ride and he came to church, we continued to teach them, and the husband was baptized yesterday, and he was so happy.  I was very grateful that I took that opportunity to open my mouth, when I could have just passed it by, and said that we were late to our appointment.  It was a miracle.”

President Hinckley goes on to describe the importance of Christ being the Chief Corner Stone and the other three essential cornerstones of the Gospel that we testify of every day:

“We have basic cornerstones on which this great latter-day Church has been established by the Lord and built, “fitly framed together.”

They are absolutely fundamental to this work—the very foundation, anchors on which it stands. I should like to speak briefly of these four essential cornerstones which anchor The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I mention first the chief cornerstone, whom we recognize and honor as the Lord Jesus Christ. The second is the vision given the Prophet Joseph Smith when the Father and the Son appeared to him. The third is the Book of Mormon, which speaks as a voice from the dust with the words of ancient prophets declaring the divinity and reality of the Savior of mankind. The fourth is the priesthood with all of its powers and authority, whereby men act in the name of God in administering the affairs of His kingdom. “(President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign February 2004)

The power of these Cornerstones with Jesus Christ being chief among them is a tremendous foundation of this Glorious Gospel that we have to share and declare to the entire world. Christ lives and loves us. As we access His Atonement, we will also live again with God, Him and our families. God has spoken to us today and has revealed His Gospel to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is truly another Testament of Jesus Christ and another witness of His divine purpose. The authority of God has been restored so that we may know of His love as we are able to receive and participate in his holy ordinances such as baptism and Temple blessings. 

Every time you missionaries see this Temple, I pray you will remember that your names are sealed in the Corner Stone similitude of the Chief Corner Stone of Christ, and reflect on your promise and the great blessings that God has and will give you. This also signifies our calling as “Representatives of Jesus Christ” and no one in the world knows that better than all of you missionaries in this mission. Let us show Christ that we know how to keep a promise by proclaiming his Word with all our “heart, might, mind and strength”.

Missionaries, “Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone!!”

Let us be resolute to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! June is now our Vision month! We need 200 dates and 200 I@S. All must contribute! You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Legendary Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names have been sealed in the Temple!!!

We Love you, We Pray For You, Elders and Sisters, We can do this!!! We have work to do!!! “[We will] embark in the service of God, [We will] serve him with all [our] heart, might, mind and strength!!!”

President Don E. Anderson