It has been a beautiful week here in the Great Texas Houston South. The weather is so nice there is no better time of year to be here in Houston. We had a busy week of zone conferences and interviews.
For zone conferences we decided to focus on the Plan of Salvation and the many blessings we receive from this great plan of happiness, redemption and mercy. To kick things off Aaron had the missionaries list all the blessings they could name in two minutes or less that come from this great plan. They are of course numerous and wonderful and we had a good discussion about them. What everyone missed in each day of conference, however, was that one of the many blessings also includes trials, challenges, afflictions, and the need for opposition in all things. We discussed how many times we see the pattern of trial, and ultimately triumph, we find in the Book of Mormon. The people of Nephi, Alma, Limhi, Anti-Nephi Lehi, the Jaredites and others are great examples of the plan of salvation from start to finish. In every case the Lord blessed and sustained these people in their trials to make it to the promised land.
For our Preach My Gospel challenge, I had the missionaries focus on what we refer to as SIT teaching (simplify, intensify, testify). The idea is that they can take any principle (such as God is our loving Heavenly Father) and teach it simply and powerfully. After they state the principle, they include a brief personal experience or specific doctrine tied to it. They testify that it is true and then add a scripture that ties directly to the principle. In less than two minutes they teach the principle and testify in the name of the Savior that it is true. We had the missionaries choose one sentence from PMG and then prepare a SIT to teach. We put a pass-along cards under six chairs and those that had the card had to come up and teach us their principle. We love the SIT approach for its simplicity and that it helps missionaries stay to the core principles in just a few powerful words.
Our zone breakouts focused on our missionary purpose and we used the parable of the oranges as we had discussed in our MLC. Our leadership did a great job teaching the importance of having a personal WHY in our work and committed all the missionaries to write their own title of liberty. When Captain Moroni called the Nephites to battle he gave them a clear reason to do it, “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children”. This title became the why they did what they did and we helped the missionaries understand how Moroni prioritized God, his faith, and agency in order to defend their peace and family. The people bought in 100% because they too had a desire for the same things. They did not have to be begged to do what was right, they did it because they were all in… Until a missionary (or anyone else) knows their why, they go through the motions and their full potential isn’t reached.
We wrapped up our conference having everyone teach the plan of salvation. We reviewed the 8 principles we teach and helped them understand the importance of connecting the fall with the need for a Savior and His Atonement. We helped them understand how they could use the SIT pattern for each principle, and after we taught it a couple of times together, you could see the lights come on in the missionaries eyes on how simple yet powerfully they can teach this most amazing message. Of all the things we teach, this lesson is the one that has the most new doctrine and can really be hard for them to teach simply. We also helped them understand the importance of working in unison and bearing powerful testimony between each principle. We have them all creating a video to post on FB teaching it and we hope to see some of the skills we practiced. All in all a great zone conference and it always comes together far better than I anticipate.
During interviews this week, Aaron had each of them teach him the principle of why we need prophets. Many missionaries are good at explaining what a prophet does, but sometimes miss making the connection of the importance of priesthood authority or the cycle of apostasy. I took the opportunity to help the missionaries review and see their success by looking for the Doctrine of Christ throughout the day. By doing so they can see where and how their efforts align with it and can adjust if necessary. When missionaries don’t have baptisms, they can get easily discouraged and think about giving up. My goal is to help them see their success in their efforts so they will continue in the efforts to teach repentance and baptize converts.
I took Zac to the airport Thursday after school to head to Utah for prom. We know his high school experience here has not been what it would be in Utah in regards to school activities so we thought going to prom in Utah would be a great way to have a little bit of it. He is going with a darling girl and great group of friends. I’m so glad I had angels send me some pictures so that we could experience it from afar. 5th grade had a field trip this week to the middle school but since Jessie will be back in Utah for 6th grade. She decided she didn't want to go which was fine with me thinking I would check her in at the time they were to get back to the school. When I went to check her in they informed me she would still be marked absent due to the state law. That didn't set well with me so I didn't check her in and we spent the day together enjoying the weather and each other. Jessie is into a Hallmark weekly show that her friends watch as well but it got to be a bit too much for me as she was watching 3 episodes in one day. I encouraged her to do something else so we painted together. I’ve include some of her paintings in the pictures below. She tells me painting is very relaxing for her and lets her think about other stuff. Good to know it’s a stress reliever for her. Bode turned the big 15 on Saturday. I can’t believe how fast time flies and that he is getting so big in age and stature. We celebrated his birthday by going to Top golf and Whataburger for dinner. I thought he’d like to go someplace nicer but no. Bode being true to is laid back personality just wanted a simple fast food meal. Silly boy! Allie is busy with school, homework and work. She stills finds her social work class the most interesting. It makes her think more broadly about people, their circumstances and why they do what they do. I am seeing a lot of growth in her.
Have a great week, we will be enjoying the sunshine here.