President’s Letter 25 August 2013

We just got back from a trip and so I am catching up with President Anderson’s letter of 8/25…enjoy

Dear Missionaries,

What an amazing week we had being with all of you in Zone Conferences. We learned so much and I pray that you are implementing the things we trained on: Dealing better with diet and stress, rescuing our less active recent converts, being caught up with our precious referrals (August 31st), renewing our skills with “how to begin teaching”, and understanding our ordinances and covenants better. We will begin interviews on September 2nd with Fort Lauderdale Zone, and September 4th with Stuart Zone. Have your area books ready.

When Jesus Christ teaches the “Beatitudes” in the New Testament, he first addresses his counsel to his disciples and warns them that defending the Gospel will not be easy, but the reward will be “the kingdom of heaven”:

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying… Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Mathew 5:1-2,10-12)

After his warning and promised blessing, he tells them of their sacred call to be “the light of the world”:

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

The Savior is helping His disciples to know that “for so persecuted the prophets before you” is an honor and privilege to be counted and numbered with those who have defended Christ through hardship, persecution, and adversity. That privilege is to represent Him and to teach of Him to all as we become “the light of the world”.

I recall as a young missionary having a marriage and baptism fall through one Saturday afternoon. We had half of the ward there and it all collapsed with our investigators backing out. We could have licked our wounds and went to our apartment to feel sorry for ourselves, but we decided that is not what the Savior would have us do. We made some impressive plans and goals and went out into the pouring rain to be “the light of the world” to all those who would hear our message of Jesus Christ. We had more doors slammed in our faces and more name calling that afternoon and evening then I can remember my whole mission. Coming home soaking wet, discouraged, and extremely humble, we barely managed to say prayers and go to bed. The next morning is when the miracle of our diligence occurred. The Bishop called us and informed me that he had an extended family member, which we had taught in the past, who he wanted me to baptize. The miracle of compensation and indirect blessings became ours because we did not give in to adversity!

Sometimes the “persecution” and being “reviled” can be extreme some days, perhaps even some weeks, but I also know that so experienced the great prophets and missionaries before us. In contrast, our adversity is only a drop in the bucket compared to what they or the Savior went through.

Sometimes our adversity is not just persecution or being reviled, but it can be personal tribulation or stress that we endure like Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” trials he had to bare; for our “strength is made perfect in weakness:

 â€œAnd lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

I love how you are all the light of World and your influence spreads beyond those you bless:

“The other day we had prayed to ask the Lord for a place to harvest. We went there and knocked doors and had some success. In one of the houses a man opened the door and we told him we were representatives of Jesus Christ. After some testifying, he let us pray with him. He wouldn’t let us come in because his mother was sleeping on the couch. After we had left we knocked a few more doors and we see a woman standing in front of the house of the man we had just blessed. It was his mother. She told us that she knew we were sent by God because she had been lying on the couch for a few days and couldn’t walk without extreme pain. She told us that she felt no pain now and was super happy that we had come to pray with her and her family. We invited her to be baptized and she cried and said yes.”

I love how you are the light of the world and indirect blessings fall upon you because of your obedience:

“It was Wednesday after transfer meeting and we had 0 blessings. We did not soon forget the 30 minutes or so that was spent talking about all the miracles that come after transfer meeting. So, we decided to put “the doctrine of doing” to the test and see what happened. We prayed where to go, went there, and started harvesting. About 5 blessings in, we received a random text message from a member. She asked if we could come over ‘right now’. I assumed that she had seen us because it just so happened that we were on the very same street as where she lived. We arrived about 5 minutes later to see what she needed. We came in and started talking with her and her boyfriend and they wanted to know if he could be baptized on Sunday! He’s been to church 3 times with her and really wants to follow Jesus Christ by getting baptized. There’s no doubt that transfer day is a miracle day!”

I love how you are the light of the world and are blessed because the gratitude you give God:

“So one day as we were following up with one of our families, we walked outside and gave a prayer of gratitude … Right after we did we looked up and there was this girl out walking her dog. We went right up to her and contacted her. We told her we were representative of Jesus Christ. We said God wants us to say a prayer with you. She didn’t hesitate to accept. During the prayer my companion, who just got here to the mission field 2 days earlier …was doing everything he could to calm the dog so that this lady could feel of the spirit. Well guess what… After the prayer we asked her how she felt. She said ‘I feel amazing, peaceful. I know that you guys were sent from God. Me and my husband have actually been visiting around to churches to find one that we want to join and this last Sunday we actually didn’t have one to go to.’ We then immediately testified of how we were sent from God and how he wanted her to come to church with us on Sunday and prepare to be baptized. She accepted and said ‘we will be at your church’. Well she and her husband and their 20 week old baby all showed up to church. They loved it. And it didn’t stop. One of the speakers in sacrament meeting was actually a guy that she knew from work. WHAT A MIRACLE RIGHT!!!!! It was so amazing to see God perform that miracle. We didn’t hesitate once again to offer up a prayer of gratitude.”

Interviewing Missionaries is a wonderful experience for me as I feel your Spirit and excitement for the work. Your excitement can be contagious and I feed on your enthusiasm. Many times you inspire me when you accomplish the impossible, things that others said you could not do. As I was interviewing one of our young zone leaders a couple of years ago, I observed that as he is reporting about his zone and the excitement for the many goals they are working for, I detected a twinge in his expression and a pain in his voice. I quickly was reminded of his severe painful medical condition that almost caused him to not even be on his mission. I was quickly reminded of the significant amount of medication that he took daily along with shots and physical therapy. I was quickly reminded of the years he waited after the age of 19 before the Doctors could get enough of a handle on his condition before he was allowed to go, years older than most missionaries. I then asked him pointedly, watching the quick surge of pain in his eyes “Tell me Elder, how are you doing?” He looked up at me quickly with watering eyes and a forced smile, “I’m doing great President, I love my Mission”. My eyes begin to water and I cannot speak because I see a young man who obtained the mission standards consistently every week, never complaining, always enduring, and going beyond what his body, mind and Doctors allow. A young man who consistently was amongst the great producers of the mission. I then with a trembling voice ask, “I know it is hard and painful sometimes for you, are you overdoing it?” He then responds with a similar trembling voice “No, there is so much to do, and so little time, God has blessed me”. All I could say was “yes he has Elder, and he has blessed me to know you”. What courage, what diligence, what faith.

God has blessed me to know you Missionaries. I know the trials, tribulation, adversity, reviling, and persecution you go through. I know the “thorns of the flesh” that many of you miraculously endure. I also know of the tremendous experiences, miracles, blessings, and life changes you are witnessing. I know as these blessings amplify, they will diminish the adversary’s efforts to cause us to fall because “behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth.” (Alma 56:46)



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