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Ecclesiastical Training — Provo Missionary Training Center — June 9, 2019


1/  General Instructions

  • July 4th falls on a Thursday.  We will be receiving over 400 missionaries on Wednesday, July 3rd.  We will have the regular branch presidency orientation for new missionaries from 6:30 to 9:15 pm, and then each branch will hold a religious freedom devotional from 9:15 to 10:15 pm, under the direction of a designated couple from each branch presidency.  The missionaries will view the Stadium of Fire fireworks from the upper floors of T4 and T3 at 10:15 pm.  The missionaries will return to their residence halls at 11:00 pm.  All missionaries are expected to view the fireworks, no exceptions.
  • Device audits are to be held in the 2nd Sunday district council for each district.  We should train the missionaries on how to do an audit (notes, Facebook, photos, internet use, etc.)  There will be an audit video resource on the portal.  Facebook use is not allowed at the Provo MTC.
  • Sacrament meetings:  1) Please reduce the amount of time and energy that goes into introducing districts and saying good-bye to departing districts, and in the announcing of assignments for the missionaries  2) Please reduce the traditions of districts singing ‘God Be With You’ as they depart, singing certain hymns, using certain groups.

2/ President Titensor

  • 2 Corinthians 6 – the grace of God, kindness, long-suffering, meekness, patience.
  • The power of a missionary is determined by:
    • Who he IS  (personal conversion)
    • What he KNOWS (understanding)
    • What he can CONVEY (teaching skill)
    • His level of HEALTH (fitness, well-being)
    • His WORK ETHIC (dedication)
  • The current MTC organization is currently based solely on language, districts, and branches, with all missionaries learning or speaking the same language (with a few exceptions).  27 branches have all missionaries speaking the same language and 9 branches have missionaries speaking different languages.  The language drives classrooms, branches, residence hall rooms, and service.  This results in a large variance of branch size, ranging from less than 10 to over 120.  It is hard to have a personal relationship with missionaries in large branches.
  • The future MTC organization will not be based solely on language.  We want to enhance the missionary’s experience, we want to improve the leader to missionary ratio, we want to give branch presidencies and their wives the chance for more one-on-one experiences with missionaries.  We want branches to be between 30 and 60 missionaries.  We are ‘de-coupling’ branches and residence hall rooms from training and classroom assignments.  Districts and companionships will still be assigned by language, but not necessarily branches.  We will try to have districts in a given branch all on the same floor, in close proximity.  The Sunday district rooms WILL NOT BE THE SAME AS the weekly classroom assignments.  The rooms will simply be the places where branches hold their Sunday meetings.

3/ President LeSueur

  • Faith and conversion and not skills to be acquired.  They must be developed.
  • Leaders are most effective in one-on-one settings.
  • We pray day and night for you and our precious missionaries.

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