BYUTV Convert: by Sister Hess

In late September 2011, I was working at the Peter Whitmer Farm.  It had been a slow day and it was almost over when a lady came in to take a tour.  Her name was Minnie.  She said she had come in because she had bought a cable package saw something about the Whitmer Farm on BYUTV.  She was flipping through channels and stopped when Pres. Monson was on, and watched.  The next week was General Conference.  She loved watching it.  She came to the Whitmer Farm a few days later.

Being a fairly new missionary, I did not thought she was a member.  But, as the tour went on, I finally realized she wasn’t a member when she asked me, “Who is Moroni?”  So I back tracked and taught her more about the Book of Mormon.  When we finished in the Visitors Center, she said that everything made sense to her.  In the Whitmer Farm home I offered her a copy of the Book of Mormon.  We read the introduction while in the log home and also Ether 12.  It was a great experience.  After the tour I asked if she wanted missionaries to visit her.  She said, “Of course.”  We exchanged information.  A week later I called her and she told me the missionaries came by.   (She lives just outside our mission boundaries).  I called a few weeks later and the number was disconnected.  I thought I would never see her again.

In January 2012, I was working at the Hill Cumorah.  It was supposed to be our area day, but we had switched with other sisters.  As I was reading I looked up to see who came in, and it was Minnie!  She was not alone, her husband Miles was with her.  They had spent a day at the sites and came back to watch the Restoration movie.  When she walked in we recognized each other immediately.  It was such a tender mercy of the Lord.  We talked and exchanged information again.  She is planning on getting baptized soon with her husband.

I know that there is power at the sites that matches none in the world.  I am grateful I get an opportunity to work at the sites and to be here in the mission.  I love the NYRM!

Glad Tidings from Hill Cumorah – May Message

Dearest Elders and Sisters;

On December 24^th 1989 I lost one of the truly great friends of my life. He name was Bo Jack’s Son. He was my dog. A car hit him and I had the horrible task of taking him to the vet and then being told he would not make it. I said my goodbyes, kissed him and then cried like a child. My dad and I buried him on a mountainside that evening. As we tried to dig the grave through frozen soil, I asked my dad why it was that we cried over dogs and other pets and yet people all around us were dying and suffering and we gave it very little thought. I came to realize that if we could care about each other like we do our pets and other possessions, then we could really become more Christ-like and serve and love one another as the Savior taught us.

The only way I know to love others is to love the Master first. As a missionary I have learned that when we learn to love Christ more than everyone or anything else, we will succeed. Missionaries will be converted and so will their investigators. When we love Him, we desire to relieve the suffering that is surrounding us. We desire to serve and lift and love others. When things are looking down, we can stop and ask, “What is the Lord trying to do here? How does this or can this help me fulfill my purpose?

Things were not looking good for the servants of King Lamoni in chapter 17 of Alma. Verse 29 says,

Now they wept because of the fear of being slain. Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words.

In the mist of their crying and worrying about their lives, Ammon knew what the Lord was doing in this difficult circumstance. He remembered his purpose. He knew this situation would provide him with the opportunity to help them believe on his words. As a result, there were many conversions that came from Ammon taking a bad situation and looking for the purposes of the Lord and then fulfilling his purpose.

I promise each of you that when things are looking down, you can be an instrument in the hands of the Almighty if you will simply look for what the Lord is trying to accomplish with you and those you teach. Yes, that will take great faith, but I also promise if you will follow the missionary program as outlined in “Preach My Gospel” and the “Missionary Handbook,” your faith in Christ and His purposes will increase! I know this. Please read 3 Nephi 27: 10-12 and Doctrine and Covenants 50: 13-18 and then ask, “Am I following the program outlined by the Lord or am I doing it my way or some other way?” If it is some other way, it will not produce the faith necessary to teach with the converting power of the Spirit or will the purposes of the Lord be known, therefore we will not fulfill our purpose.

Let us love the Lord more than anything and we will learn to cry over others and not just our pets and possessions. Sister Christianson and I love you with all our hearts and pray you will look for the purposes of the Lord in all situations you may encounter.

President Christianson

Glad Tidings from Hill Cumorah – February Message

Dear Elders and Sisters,

Sister Christianson and I loved being with you at the recent interviews. Thank you for your tireless efforts to live the gospel, to teach with power and to continually strive to become true “Preach My Gospel Missionaries” by remembering who you represent, being worthy, immersing yourselves in the scriptures, letting the Holy Ghost be the true teacher and doing more than talking when you teach. We admire each of you and pray for you on a daily basis.

We must meaningful, simple goals in order to fulfill our purpose as missionaries. Elder M. Russell Ballard has taught:

I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When on learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.

President Monson has taught us the significance of measuring our performance so we can see if we are achieving the goals we have set. He said, “When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.”

We, therefore, must know What we desire to achieve, How to achieve it, and Why we are taking such a course. The members of the Zone Leader Council have determined that we should keep things as simple as possible. Therefore, we have three simple goals as a mission. (The What) They are:

1. Become fully converted missionaries.
2. Be the most obedient, spiritual, competent and faith-filled missionaries anywhere.
3. Double baptisms. (300 for the year 2012)

How we will accomplish this is to talk with at least 10 different people, other than our investigators, everyday. Find 3 new investigators per week and baptize and confirm 1 convert per month per companionship. Of course this will take tireless effort and incredible faith! However, we can do this!

The Why is explained beautifully on page 9 of Preach My Gospel. 

Baptizing and confirming the people you teach is central to your purpose. Baptism is for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost brings a host of blessings to those who live worthy of it. Through these ordinances people enter the gate and continue on the path to eternal life. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: ‘We do not preach and teach in order to ‘bring people into the Church’ or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives. . . . We invite all to come unto Christ by repentance and baptism and confirmation in order to open the doors of the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughters of God. No one else can do this’.

We do it to bless those who will hear our message. Thank you for loving the Lord and His children enough to be what He desires you to be.

With Deep Affection,

President Christianson

Glad Tidings from Hill Cumorah – January Message

The year 2012 is here! As we begin a new year, may each of us recommit ourselves to being the best “Preach My Gospel Missionaries” that the Lord has anywhere in His vineyard.  May we recommit to teach the Doctrine of Christ from the scriptures and the prophets using the methodology of Preach My Gospel by the power of the Holy Ghost! I know we can do it! I know we can increase our faith in Christ and His Kingdom as we do all we can to follow the outlined program and keep all the commandments. Elder Bednar, in the 2011 Mission President’s Seminar listed five things that help us qualify to become Preach My Gospel Missionaries.

1. They remember that they serve and represent Jesus Christ.
2. They are Worthy.
3.  They treasure up the “Words of Eternal Life,” (the scriptures and prophets).
4. They understand that the Holy Ghost is the ultimate and true teacher.
5. They understand that teaching is more than just talking and telling.

Sister Christianson and I feel we have the best missionaries anywhere in the church. We pray for you every day and we consider it a privilege to serve with you in our roles as fellow missionaries. As we seek to emulate the Savior and keep our purpose always at the forefront of all we do and say, may we think often of King Benjamin’s timeless plea, “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all things which the Lord comprehendeth.

“And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now if you believe all these things see that you do them.” (Mosiah 4:9-19)

Sincerely,

President Christianson

Glad Tidings from Hill Cumorah: December Message

Dearest Elders and Sisters;

Thanks to each of you for a wonderful round of zone conferences. It was a joy for us to meet with each of you and to have our faith fortified as we studied about how to increase our faith in Christ, the members, prayer, finding, the Book of Mormon, and ourselves. I know we quote often the statement on faith by Elder Bruce R. McConkie but it is truly what we desire for each missionary to have within his or her hearts and not just within their heads. May we always remember and never forget that, “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God’s laws, the greater will be the endowment of faith.” (Bruce R. McConkie, MD, 2^nd ed. 1966, p.264)

We can reach our goals! We can increase or faith and thus increase the miracles that occur in our mission. We have a speaking colleague who says that, “It is better to shoot for the stars and hit the tree tops, than to shoot for a cow pie and hit it!” We agree. We must not lower our expectations and goals. Again, we can do it! Page 116 of Preach my Gospel instructs us well on how to develop the faith to assist the Lord in bringing about miracles in our mission.

“Faith leads to action, including repentance, obedience, and dedicated service. . . . You are able to bring about miracles according to the Lord’s will. Your faith will be manifest through diligence and work.

“Your faith will increase through diligent study, prayer, dedicated service, and obedience to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and the commandments.

“Your faith in Jesus Christ grows as you become better acquainted with Him and His teachings.”

May we all become better acquainted with Him and His teachings and thus increase our faith. Elder Kitt shared a wonderful quote with us that he received from Elder Nelson’s wife. She said, “Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles!” We love and pray for each of you.

President and Sister Christianson

Love Note from Sister Christianson

Thank you for your attendance at the recent Leadership Training.  President Christianson and I thoroughly enjoyed being with each of you.  We hope that you were uplifted and inspired to move forward in faith as the Lord’s servants in finding and teaching those the Lord is preparing to receive his message.  Yes, they are out there!

One note of caution.  As you travel about, doing your work, please be careful.  President Christianson and I often hear of accidents and unfortunate situations that occur  around the world involving missionaries.  Often times, the circumstances are a result of a missionary’s poor decisions.  Remember: do not let your calling override your common sense.    In other words, the Lord will bless and protect you but he expects you to use your head.  Be cautious and do not tempt fate.  Be wise in the choices you make as you drive.  Be discerning with regards to where you go and who you are with.  In short, if you will be obedient to mission rules you should be okay.  Use the wonderful mind and heart our Heavenly Father has given you to make wise decisions as you serve him in the New York Rochester Mission.  We love you!

Sister Christianson

Glad Tiding from Hill Cumorah: November Message

Dearest Elders and Sisters,

On page two of Preach My Gospel, we are taught, “As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase. You will feel, as Lehi did, the ‘great . . . importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth’ (2Ne. 2:8).

I know of no better way to increase our understanding of the Atonement than to do all in our power to follow the Savior with all our hearts and souls. He has said, “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:34). To give all we have will require that we increase our faith. We can increase our faith in Christ as we strive to be exactly obedient and stop breaking mission rules if we have been doing so.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught, “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God’s laws, the greater the endowment of faith” (Mormon Doctrine, 2^nd Edition, 1966, p. 264). We all need more faith, therefore let us be exactly obedient in all things in the Missionary Handbook and Preach My Gospel. As we do, I am certain we will better understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ and thus increase in our desire to share the gospel with Everyone!

I love you all.

President Christianson