Mom and Dad, rest assured that every cent that goes to my
mission is worth a million bucks and more. These last weeks especially
have been so precious to me and every week just keeps getting better and
better. I've never been happier in my entire life. I just wish I could
explain to you... it's changing my life and my very nature. To imagine
my life without the things that I am learning here is impossible. I am
just so grateful to the Lord and His mercy that He would let me be here
and that He loved me enough to have me be His servant. I have a better
understanding of my relationship with Heavenly Father and my divine
identity.
With that introduction, the following are the major points of emphasis discussed in the Zone Conferences:
-Your primary purpose is to gather scattered Israel
-There are thousands of elect from Israel in this mission
-There is a baptism waiting in every area book. This was a promise made specifically to this mission by Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve
-See people as the Lord sees them--envision them dressed in white prepared to be baptized (instruction from President Monson)
-Discouragement is a choice which we make
-The two key indicators which are most correlated with baptisms are (1) lessons with members present, and (2) investigators attending sacrament meeting
-Lessons with members present is the most important of the key indicators which lead to baptism
-There is too much doubt in this mission regarding members--try to make certain that one is present at every lesson you teach
-You agreed in the pre-existence to be partners with the Savior to save people.
-We should talk to EVERYONE, but Elders should focus almost exclusively on men and Sisters should focus almost exclusively on women
-Talk to everyone wherever we are, including on buses and other transports
-Be bold and open your mouth
-Moroni 8:16: "Perfect love casteth out all fear"
-D&C 6:36: "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not"
-Doing that which is most challenging will merit the greatest blessings
-Every phone number you get should be called back within 24 hours--no exceptions!
-President Monson: EVERY night of your mission should be proselyting--no exceptions!
-6:00 - 9:00 p.m. every night is prime proselyting time and should not be filled with any other activities
-Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday are prime proselyting days and we must not waste these days doing anything else
-Have daily contact with each investigator through a phone call, text, or by a member
-President Faust told President and Sister Bennett when he was called as a Mission President that "Russia is the next Brazil"
-Use the "CASH" approach as you contact: (1) Compliment people, (2) Ask inspired questions, (3) SMILE, and (4) Help people whenever you get the chance
-Astonish people with your friendliness and concern for them. Even if they don't listen to you, they will remember it later
-Ask EVERYONE for referrals--If missionaries would ask everyone for referrals it would revolutionize the mission
-Ask "whom do you know that would be interested" not "Do you know anyone . . ." (The Assistants will forward the correct Russian translation for this as there is apparently a right and a wrong way to say this)
-Watch Preach my Gospel DVD's every day in your apartment (during non-proselyting times)
-Rely on the Spirit regardless of what your Russian abilities are
-We should all be studying in Preach my Gospel every day--you should know it backward and forward
-What we accomplish in this mission will be determined by (1) what we desire, (2) what we believe will happen, and (3) whether we are willing to act
-Elder Ballard promised this mission that if missionaries would have conversations with 10 more people per day than they are doing now, they would double their baptisms
-The Savior wants people baptized--President Monson said that you should extend the baptismal challenge 95% of the time in first discussions, and in EVERY discussion thereafter
-Be exactly obedient. Doing things a few minutes late isn't "just a few minutes"--it's disobedience
-Every missionary should be on his/her knees at 6:30 a.m. joining with the rest of the mission in prayer
-Church studies have shown that the average new convert has said "no" to missionaries 9 times before finally saying "yes". Don't be discouraged--you are doing a great service for them even if they say no--try to part as friends no matter what they say
-Fear or dislike is no excuse for not doing difficult things. The Savior was our perfect example of doing important things for others which he disliked or were painful
-God is the same "yesterday, today and forever"--this means all of the promises and blessings in the scriptures are equally applicable to us
-D&C 123:13: we should "waste and wear out our lives" doing missionary work and "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power" (v. 17)
-Moroni 7:33: Christ has promised that "if ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."
-Helaman 10:4: Nephi was made "mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works" because he had declared the word with unwearyingness
-Alma 26:22: He that repents, exercises faith, brings forth good works, and prays continually without ceasing will
be "given" to bring thousands of souls to repentance
-2 Samuel 24:24: Sacrifice and make your sacrifice meaningful--don't offer sacrifice to the Lord "which doth cost me nothing"--Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!
-Most importantly, we must have faith IN CHRIST.This is His work and if we have faith in Him, He will advocate our position and plead our cause before the Father--the requested blessings will be granted!
Sisters and Elders, great blessings await us and miracles are already happening all over the mission. There are many of them and are AMAZING, and I will share some of them with you in the coming weeks. I have already received a text which said "We found the baptism in the area book"! Miracles are occurring all over and will continue as we exercise faith in Christ and work with unwearyiness. Both are important.
Alma and the Sons of Mosiah did not just sit back in Zarahemla and exercise faith. Instead, they went forth among the Lamanites and "suffered every privation" including being "cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks, and we have been stoned . . . and suffered all manner of afflictions" (Alma 26: 27-29). In ADDITION to these sacrifices and their own work, they exercised great faith in Christ, which resulted in spectacular miracles. If we do that, the same will happen. Consecrate yourselves, work your hardest, and exercise great faith, and blessings flow--miracles will surely occur.
We had a ward counsel this weekend with the area seventy, President
Bennett, who was the Samara Russia mission president before President
Sartori. It was epic. and the timing was absolutely perfect. Last week I
mentioned how much burning desire to do the work in Dachney. If this
mission is battlefield, then Dachney is the front lines. Satan does not
want a stake in Saratov. At one time the chapel in Dachney was full, and
well, now it's not. Satan was mad. He's angry and I can feel it in the
air. It reminds me of an experience at general conference when I stood
at the gate facing the conference center. On one side of me there were
protesters yelling and on the right side there was a choir peacefully
singing the songs of the Restoration. I remember how I felt at that time
watching the two powers of good and evil face each other head on. I
could feel it in the air, a density. I feel that density here. And maybe
it is just the weather change, but I have cause, from personal
experience, that the Devil is aware of us, me and Sister Kiestler
personally, the only two people within hours that have the authority to
preach the truth. The truth that he wants to keep hidden and disguised
to the House of Israel that are walking amongst us. But no matter the
hold he has on the hearts of the people, the power of God is stronger
and the Word the ability to break through the fog of lies. (Alma
28:13-14; 31:5) God gave me this fire of desire to fight and it's taking
my life, it's taking all that I have and the beauty of it is that I'm
ready. I'm ready to do anything. That's why this zone conference was so
amazing. President Bennett told us exactly what we need to be doing, how
we can go the extra mile and fully consecrate ourselves to the work. We are talking half time for meals, and not coming home til 9:30,
we're using every minute to proselyting as we can. And I'm just itching
to get out. We really don't have a whole lot of time. Between sleeping,
eating, planning, studies, church and other meetings, I only have 15%
of my mission out on the streets and in lessons. We have been blessed as
we have followed the instructions President Bennett gave to us. Sister
Kiestler and I weren't so sure about the whole going in at 9:30
thing at first because it gets dark and it isn't necessarily the safest
to be out on the streets but we decided to just try it. At 9:15
we found Olga. Our first real potential in this area. Honestly, results
have been meager these past couple weeks, but they have been
meaningful. I still have great hopes and complete faith in what is
coming. :)
We also had a district conference with President Bennett. All the
members in the district (soon to be stake) came to the conference, which
consisted of about enough people to fill the chapel and halfway into
the gym in Walla Walla. What a beautiful sight!! And President Bennett
said exactly what I've been saying to you, that the members are what's
going to build the church. He promised them (Pres. Bennett is a very
intense guy) that they will get a stake of Zion in Saratov if and only
if baptisms come from referrals from members and not from missionary
contacts from the street. I felt that that was a pretty bold promise.
Then he asked them, by raise of hand, who would invite the missionaries
over to teach a friend in their home. He will be back in November to
follow up. I cannot wait and I hope the members were stirred enough to
action.
One more thing I would like to testify of is the Gathering of
Israel. It is real. In our mission we have members from all tribes. At
the district conference we were guaranteed that there was someone from
each tribe in attendance. We are told that the lost tribes of Israel
went into the north country.. well, look north of Jerusalem, what do you
see? Ukraine, Kiev being the Salt Lake City of eastern Europe, then to
east of Ukraine you get Samara Russia Mission. We truly are in the last
days and Russia is a large part of fulfilling of prophecies. President
Bennett expressed to us how aware the First Presidency and Quorum of the
Twelve are of our mission, specifically of Saratov and the conceived
stake struggling to be established here. They know each little town by
name and their statistics. They pray for us regularly.
Speaking of Kiev, I'm gonna be there tomorrow!
It's visa trip time. Lots of traveling... and being out of my area for
three days, which is heart-wrenching. Pray for me! It's so hard to be
ripped away instead of riding the wave of conference. But I know the
Lord has His reasons!!
Love you! Don't miss home and I'm never coming back but I love you! ;)
Sister Johnson
RT: Everyone gets this shot when they're a baby that leaves a round scar on their upper arm.
Here is attached the letter from the mission president last week:
I
hope each of you noticed how exactly President Bennett's teachings
correlated with the four areas of emphasis which the Lord has revealed
for our mission: Faith in Jesus Christ, love with Christ-like love,
obedience with exactness, and work with unwearyingness. It was a
testament to me that the Lord will always reveal the same thing to
multiple witnesses, and also that the Lord has a very clear and definite
plan for this mission to follow.
With that introduction, the following are the major points of emphasis discussed in the Zone Conferences:
-Your primary purpose is to gather scattered Israel
-There are thousands of elect from Israel in this mission
-There is a baptism waiting in every area book. This was a promise made specifically to this mission by Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve
-See people as the Lord sees them--envision them dressed in white prepared to be baptized (instruction from President Monson)
-Discouragement is a choice which we make
-The two key indicators which are most correlated with baptisms are (1) lessons with members present, and (2) investigators attending sacrament meeting
-Lessons with members present is the most important of the key indicators which lead to baptism
-There is too much doubt in this mission regarding members--try to make certain that one is present at every lesson you teach
-You agreed in the pre-existence to be partners with the Savior to save people.
-We should talk to EVERYONE, but Elders should focus almost exclusively on men and Sisters should focus almost exclusively on women
-Talk to everyone wherever we are, including on buses and other transports
-Be bold and open your mouth
-Moroni 8:16: "Perfect love casteth out all fear"
-D&C 6:36: "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not"
-Doing that which is most challenging will merit the greatest blessings
-Every phone number you get should be called back within 24 hours--no exceptions!
-President Monson: EVERY night of your mission should be proselyting--no exceptions!
-6:00 - 9:00 p.m. every night is prime proselyting time and should not be filled with any other activities
-Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday are prime proselyting days and we must not waste these days doing anything else
-Have daily contact with each investigator through a phone call, text, or by a member
-President Faust told President and Sister Bennett when he was called as a Mission President that "Russia is the next Brazil"
-Use the "CASH" approach as you contact: (1) Compliment people, (2) Ask inspired questions, (3) SMILE, and (4) Help people whenever you get the chance
-Astonish people with your friendliness and concern for them. Even if they don't listen to you, they will remember it later
-Ask EVERYONE for referrals--If missionaries would ask everyone for referrals it would revolutionize the mission
-Ask "whom do you know that would be interested" not "Do you know anyone . . ." (The Assistants will forward the correct Russian translation for this as there is apparently a right and a wrong way to say this)
-Watch Preach my Gospel DVD's every day in your apartment (during non-proselyting times)
-Rely on the Spirit regardless of what your Russian abilities are
-We should all be studying in Preach my Gospel every day--you should know it backward and forward
-What we accomplish in this mission will be determined by (1) what we desire, (2) what we believe will happen, and (3) whether we are willing to act
-Elder Ballard promised this mission that if missionaries would have conversations with 10 more people per day than they are doing now, they would double their baptisms
-The Savior wants people baptized--President Monson said that you should extend the baptismal challenge 95% of the time in first discussions, and in EVERY discussion thereafter
-Be exactly obedient. Doing things a few minutes late isn't "just a few minutes"--it's disobedience
-Every missionary should be on his/her knees at 6:30 a.m. joining with the rest of the mission in prayer
-Church studies have shown that the average new convert has said "no" to missionaries 9 times before finally saying "yes". Don't be discouraged--you are doing a great service for them even if they say no--try to part as friends no matter what they say
-Fear or dislike is no excuse for not doing difficult things. The Savior was our perfect example of doing important things for others which he disliked or were painful
-God is the same "yesterday, today and forever"--this means all of the promises and blessings in the scriptures are equally applicable to us
-D&C 123:13: we should "waste and wear out our lives" doing missionary work and "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power" (v. 17)
-Moroni 7:33: Christ has promised that "if ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."
-Helaman 10:4: Nephi was made "mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works" because he had declared the word with unwearyingness
-Alma 26:22: He that repents, exercises faith, brings forth good works, and prays continually without ceasing will
be "given" to bring thousands of souls to repentance
-2 Samuel 24:24: Sacrifice and make your sacrifice meaningful--don't offer sacrifice to the Lord "which doth cost me nothing"--Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!
-Most importantly, we must have faith IN CHRIST.This is His work and if we have faith in Him, He will advocate our position and plead our cause before the Father--the requested blessings will be granted!
Sisters and Elders, great blessings await us and miracles are already happening all over the mission. There are many of them and are AMAZING, and I will share some of them with you in the coming weeks. I have already received a text which said "We found the baptism in the area book"! Miracles are occurring all over and will continue as we exercise faith in Christ and work with unwearyiness. Both are important.
Alma and the Sons of Mosiah did not just sit back in Zarahemla and exercise faith. Instead, they went forth among the Lamanites and "suffered every privation" including being "cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks, and we have been stoned . . . and suffered all manner of afflictions" (Alma 26: 27-29). In ADDITION to these sacrifices and their own work, they exercised great faith in Christ, which resulted in spectacular miracles. If we do that, the same will happen. Consecrate yourselves, work your hardest, and exercise great faith, and blessings flow--miracles will surely occur.
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