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The famous California Poppy, the state flower! Because of the rain,
they and other wild flowers are out in full bloom. |
What a spiritual experience
we had this past week in multi-zone conferences with the missionaries from all seven zones in three "multi-zone" conferences. We asked the missionaries what they learned
from these conferences. I decided I would share what I learned
in short and powerful summaries:
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| Riverside Zone |
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| Menifee Zone |
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| Lake Elsinore Zone |
Both President Norman and
President Hansen enlightened us on how “We gain spiritual self-reliance as we
come to recognize, know, and understand how the spirit works through us.” They
discussed how we must become reliant on the Spirit to help understand what we
need to be doing. President Norman used 1 Samuel 3:3-10 to teach us that “It
took Samuel’s action to learn who the Lord was. The Lord could have told Samuel,
but the Lord wanted him to find out for himself who the Lord was. Then, he
could say, ‘I am ready, Lord.” President Hansen talked about the “peace, safety, strength….”
when he entered the chapel with you sitting there. He said, “all of these
feelings are blessings from God. They are gifts sent from on High. All things
from God are sacred. We need to become 100% spiritually self-reliance and
dependent on God.”
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| Moreno Valley Zone |
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| Hemet Zone |
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| Corona Zone |
“Joyfully
Fulfilling Our Missionary Purpose”
I discussed seven ways we can
better prepare to fulfill my missionary purpose:
1. Recognize and understand my source of
power and abilities
2. Love the Lord and the people in your
mission
3. Prepare myself spiritually
4. Enhance my teaching, finding, and
inviting skills
5. Develop and maintain a “I-can-do-it”
attitude
6. Develop Christlike qualities
7. Become a servant-leader
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| Missionaries singing to the Hemet Relief Society sisters |
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| Birthdays: Elders Moon, Larsen, Escobar, Gallacher, and Stewart: Sister Corder |
“Elevating
Your Persona”
Sister Hammon and Sister Training Leaders (STL) discussed
missionary grooming, standards, language, clothing, haircuts, missionary attire,
music, sunglasses, daily schedule, technology, attitudes, etc. From Preach My Gospel, we learn: “The
attitude you have toward your mission experience is a reflection of your love
toward your Heavenly Father and His Son and your respect for the priesthood” (Preach My Gospel, Chapter 8: “Use Your
Time Wisely.” p. 151).
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| Lunch in Menifee |
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| Lunch in Menifee |
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| Lunch in Menifee |
“Comparing
yourself to others is not part of the plan!”
Sister Training Leaders discussed the important
of not comparing, always remembering that success comes from obeying the commandment
and learning “whose you are,” for we are Heavenly Father’s children and have
been endowed from on High. One of Hermana Peter’s comments was “Heavenly Father
wants to transform us. We must act in faith. Heavenly Father knows us best. Kneel
down and pray and sincerely ask God how He feels about you.”
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| Lunch with the sisters |
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| Lunch with the elders |
Preach My Gospel, Chapter 11: “How I Help People Make and Keep Commitments?”
Several zone leaders quoted our missionary purpose.
Also, Elder Holland said, “When you teach people to keep their commitments, you
are teaching them to become covenant-keepers…People won't change unless asked
to do so.”
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| Delicious lunch with the elders |
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| More lunch with the Elders |
“Finding with Faith and Power”
The quote from President Hinckley
summarized this session: “So many of us look upon missionary work as simply
tracting. Everyone who is familiar with this work knows there is a better way.
That way is through the members of the Church.
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| Moreno Valley lunch table with elders |
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| Moreno Valley lunch with sisters |
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| We love to eat at multi-zone conferences |
“Being a Consecrated Missionaries”
Only
the Hemet, Lake Elsinore, and Menifee zones received this training because of the
number of zone leaders, three compared to the two in each of the other multi-zone conferences (MZC). What
are the blessings of becoming a consecrated missionary? The Master spoke of the
“second mile” and told us to go there (see Matthew. 5:41). These are some
of the blessings: 1) We will have a greater measure of the Spirit. 2) We
will become what the Lord wants us to become. In essence, “The Lord has a
vision for you, and He will Guide you as you turn your will over to Him.
Through you, He will accomplish things that you never would be able to do
alone. He will turn you into some one greater that you could become without
Him.”
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| We eat wonderfully well during multi-zone conferences |
“Asking
Inspired Questions”
The Assistants
taught the answer to this question: “What Makes a Question Inspired?” Answer: 1) Are simple and easy to understand; 2) help
people think about what you are teaching; 3) help you determine how well they
understand what you are teaching; 4) help people apply what they learn; and 5)
help those you teach share
their feelings and by so doing discover a growing testimony.
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| Golden Plunger Award for cleanest apartment: Elders McInnes and Abraham |
“One
concept/principle I have learned in my person and/or companion study. Counsel:
How can we make our personal and/or companion study more effective?”
Several missionaries discussed the various concepts
and principles they have learned during their companion and/or personal
studies.
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Golden Plunger Award for cleanest apartment: Sisters Hackley and Andersen
with Elder and Sister Powell, Housing Inspectors |
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| Golden Plunger Award for cleanest apartment: Elders Lowry and Campbell |
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| Golden Plunger Award for cleanest apartment: Sisters Griffeth and Foster with Sister Hammon |
“How
Do I Work with Stake and Ward Leaders and Members?”
One of the questions on a recent missionary
survey was to “choose three chapters from Preach My Gospel that you feel are
your weakest topics.” The first one was “Chapter 13: How do I work with stake
and ward leaders.” Fifty-eight percent (58%) recorded Chapter 13 as their
weakest. Consequently, we discussed this topic. We also watched a touching
video titled “I’ll Go Where you Want Me to Go.” It can be found here: https://www.lds.org/training/wwlt/2013/hastening/members-and-missionaries.
There are lots of videos that can help us.
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| Dessert! |
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| Hemet Relief Society sisters |
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| Moreno Valley Relief Society Sisters |
Testimonies
What incredible testimonies we heard from the
incoming and one outgoing missionaries and one senior couple, Elder and Sister
Glaus who are serving in the Moreno Valley Stake in the Tongan branch. The missionaries shared
testimonies of the things they have learned and have enjoyed about being on the
mission.
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| Golden Plunger Award for cleanest apartment: Sisters Moore and Gaughan |
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| Jurupa Relief Society sisters and high councilor |
Being with all of our missionaries on three consecutive days can simultaneously be both exhausting and exhilarating. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and look forward to our next multi-zone conferences. They are incredible young men and young women! We are honored to serve with them.
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| Hillside of California Poppies |
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| Single purple flower |
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