New Zealand Hamilton Mission, March 2015 — Insights, wisdom, and truths learned
Truths and thoughts from March 2015
- March 3, 2015 — District meeting
- Bear your testimony frequently.
- What is the shortest, sweetest, most sincere testimony ever borne? “This is my beloved Son – hear him!”
- March 10, 2015 — Mission Conference
- Elder Gifford Nielsen — he reported that someone from the Presidency of the Seventy said to him, regarding New Zealand, “I hear you guys are knockin’ em dead down there!”
- President Rudd:
- Look, listen, feel! Align yourself with the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of Christ will lead us out of the mists of darkness.
- As you read the Book of Mormon, look for answers to questions!
- Sister Nielsen:
- Learn how the Holy Ghost speaks to you, and then follow. This is the most important thing you will learn on your mission.
- Do you know WHO you are? You are a child of God. This should give you great hope.
- John 10:34 — Ye are gods. Psalms 82:6 — Ye are gods and children of the most High.
- Do you know WHOSE you are? Christ paid a very dear price for you. 1 Corinthians 7:23 tells us that we are bought with a price, and that we should not be servants of men.
- “Adjusting To Missionary Life” is a good book.
- Consider a wheel with 5 spokes: Physical – Spiritual – Emotional – Social – Mental. All five spokes are important. Remember Jesus – he grew in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God, in favor with man. For the physical spoke, see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. For the mental spoke, see Proverbs 23:7 (Do you speak kindly about yourself and about others?) For the social spoke, see Mark 12:31. For the emotional spoke, see Alma 62:41.
- Alma 50 has touched my life in a major way — never stop preparing, “dig some dirt” (mounds, dirt, timbers, pickets, etc.)
- Doctrine and Covenants 88:78 and Alma 50:23 — Hasten My Work!
- A broken cloud brings rain, broken ground brings crops, broken grain brings bread, broken bread brings Christ into our lives, a broken Christ brings the Atonement, a broken heart brings us to accepting His offering. Christ loves ‘broken’ things, for He can heal them.
- Elder Gifford Nielsen
- I bring you love from the First Presidency.
- Doctrine and Covenants 50:22-24 — understand one another better.
- I know why you are here. Some of you do not know why you are here. Some of you are miserable.
- He described the process of how missionaries are called and assigned to their missions. This is your time!
- Why are you here on a mission? To prepare yourself to be a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, a grandfather, a grandmother. Youi are preparing yourself to lead an eternal family. At this point, he had all married couples stand as examples of what he had just said.
- Knowing why you are here, can you waste even one minute of your time? How important are these missions?
- You need to believe IN Jesus, and you need to believe Jesus!
- Remember Philippians 4:13 — “I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.”
- Remember 2 Nephi 32:9 — Pray that the Father will consecrate your performance!
- Remember 2 Nephi 27:23 — The Lord works miracles according to the FAITH of the children of men.
- Remember Ether 12:12 — Without faith, there can be no miracles.
- We never lose as missionaries!
- Elder Gifford played in the NFL for many years. He and his wife were not allowed to join the NFL’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Why? Because “Mormons are not Christians”.
- Be ‘respectfully bold’ in bearing your testimonies.
- Elder Bednar has said that the world tries to solve complex problems with complex solutions, but the Lord solves complex problems with the very simple Gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Elder L. Tom Perry, when he was third in seniority amongst the apostles, was asked what kept him up at night. He responded, “The health of the two brethren more senior than I am.” He also said that we don’t have the mechanisms in place in this church to handle the 100s’ of 1000’s of people who are going to flock to our congregations. He also said that the time will come when we (LDS) will have to stand alone.
- Do not read the Book of Mormon as history — read it as prophecy of things to come.
- Pay close attention to the most senior apostles. They are the ones closest to the veil. What they say should be of prime importance to all of us.
- March 17, 2015 — District Meeting, Hawera, New Zealand
- Words of wisdom from Sister Penales: 1) Have faith in Jesus Christ 2) With Christ, all things are possible. 3) Repentance is real. 4) Don’t worry about post-mission time because the Lord will be with us.
- Elder Napier: Pray as if everything depends on God, and then work as if everything depends on you. Missionaries are fulltime teachers and members should be fulltime finders.
- March 25, 2015 — Mission home training, Hamilton
- God is our loving Heavenly Father, and we have a divine identity. We are to help people discern their divine identity.
- Don’t gloss over the first principles and ordinances.
- Jesus is central to the plan of salvation.
- During our lifetimes, we will have much more interaction with the Holy Ghost than with the Father and the Son.
- We are simply helping people remember things they already know, such as the Holy Spirit, covenants, spiritual setting.
- Vision >> Identity >> Purpose >> Baptism and activation >> Saving souls.
- Obedience, discipline, and respect >> family, ordinances, covenants, eternal life.
- Earn the trust of members.
- March 26, 2015 — New missionary training
- President Rudd:
- Please don’t call me and ask if you can be transferred. The answer will always be no. My job is to put you together in companionships. Your job is to figure things out from there.
- Invite, invite, invite! Your success as a missionary is measured by your ability to INVITE!
- Are you going to be a 6:30 am missionary or a 6:31 am missionary?
- Be aware of page 32 of the missionary handbook. You can be sent home due to the actions of your companion!
- The definition of success is COMMITMENT!
- The keys to successful ‘reach out’ visits 1) remember names 2) love without judging 3) watch over and strengthen their faith 4) establish sincere friendships.
- President Higgins:
- At one time I tried to train a calf to be led. I pulled and pulled on its halter rope, to no avail. My father came up and gently walked along side the calf, gently nudging it from the rear. Success! What lesson is there in that analogy for missionary work?
- Praying for ‘move-ins’ to your branches works! We started praying for move-ins to Taranaki and 2 days later we heard that Geoff Sanders and his family were moving to Stratford!
- How do we strengthen our youth? Help them to feel the “joy of the saints”, as Jacob shared with Enos.
- Elder Richard G. Scott gave this advice to new bishops: “Bishop, make a long list of all the things you feel you need to do in your new calling. Divide the list in half and give one half to your 1st Counselor and the other half to your 2nd Counselor. Then you go to your office and ponder upon the saints in your ward!”
- President Rudd:
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