GUIDElines September 19, 1990 - reed huish - Fresh Material!

Dear Bob and 'the brethren':

Hey guys...I am back with some more fresh material.  If the English in these letters is starting to get a little weird, well, good -- that means I'm getting better at one language (desho Marlin?).

I pray for my friends around the world and for the success of the Arizona Youth Guide Program.  Missionary work is the greatest work on this world (and the next).  I know that all of our lives will be changed after missions.  If we sacrifice ourselves for God's cause we will have so much in return.  Isn't it worth it to give up a handful of dust, when we are promised worlds without number?

The Quote of the Month:

If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.  (Maugham)

and now on to . . .

Vol IV - The Perfect Missionary Profile

What makes up the perfect missionary?  We are always searching to perfect and sanctify ourselves to be more effective stewards in the Lord's fields.  We have many excellent examples of missionaries with great converting power.  We have each read of these examples in the scriptures.  Our greatest example, and the only perfect missionary, was Jesus Christ.  He displayed an example in every facet of life that we will continue to learn and follow from.

Throughout Christ's three-year ministry he displayed to us the qualities necessary to be a perfect missionary.  As few of the qualities that are not mentioned so often include:

Attitude

As ye believe, so shall it be done unto you. (Jesus Christ)

Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit (Napoleon Hill)

Preparation

If I had to cut wood for a day, I would spend the first hour sharpening the saw. (Abraham Lincoln)

If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up someplace else. (Yogi Berra)

Goals

Many people have the right aim in life, but never get around to pulling the trigger.  (Unknown)

The highest order of mind is accused of folly, as well as the lowest.  Nothing is thoroughly approved by mediocrity.  The majority has established this, and it fixes its fangs on whatever gets beyond it.  (Pascal)

Common Sense

God gave a person two ends.  How well he succeeds depends on which end he uses.  Heads, he wins;
Tails, he looses. (Paul Dunn)


Common Sense is the key to knowledge; the path to open up information to practical application.
For without knowledge you are something; without common sense you are dangerous, and with both you are genius. (reed?)

These are all important character traits of a successful missionary.  There is one that is more important than all of the above mentioned.  It can compensate for any weakness and fault we have.  That is The Spirit.  The greatest tool we have in missionary work is the influence of the spirit on our investigator's lives.  Through the power of god, by his spirit, whole cities are changed as with Ammon and Alma in America.  The Spirit is an unquestionable witness to our investigators, and it will work miracles within them.

Our Heavenly Father desires deeply to bless us with his spirit so that we too may have great converting power as the great missionaries we have read about.  The only way to receive the spirit is to be worthy of this spirit; completely obedient.  As that is the law predicated upon receiving the power of the spirit.

This mission is a great test.  It is one of the hardest things you will ever do.  This test is adjusted to everyone differently -- with our own trials and challenges.  The marvelous thing about this test is that you will grow more at this time, than probably any other in your life.

We each are not perfect.  We all have many things that we could be doing better at.  Let us all make a resolution to put away our old, worn-out habits and replace them with new, fresh habits.  We are constantly growing, but the question is which way are we growing.

I challenge each of us to strive to follow the example of our Savior.  Then we shall one day become as he is, and there could be no greater reward than that.

Your fellow servant,

reed.

Dear Bob:

Maybe you didn't realize it, but I have been working in the mission home now for many months.  [I leaned over and whispered to your Dad in Stake Leadership Meeting Thursday, "Did reed ask his mission president if he could take his computer?"  He said you didn't take one.  What a surprise to me!]  Just another aspect of missionary life!  Baptisms sure a lot of fun!

The Quote of the Month:

It's better to light one small candle than to curse the dark.

and now on to . . .

Vol. V - Basic Tools for Missionaries

As servants of the Lord, we have been blessed with the greatest tools in the world to make us more effective missionaries.  We have many resources to draw upon, including God himself.  These pools of resources include the following:

Scriptures
Modern Day Revelation
Companion
Friends
Members
Bishop
Stake President
Mission President
Investigators
Missionary Leaders
Other Missionaries
Missionary Guide
Personal Talent
Heavenly Father/Christ

Beyond the normal, often heard tools, we also have a few resources that can actually cause literal miracles to happen.  Many times, these other powers are rarely, if at all, completely understood.  Unfortunately, most missionaries don't realize what great power was there until the mantle of a missionary is gone.  So let's delve into a couple of the special powers we have to work for us.

Why did President Benson, in the Priesthood Leadership Meeting (4 April 1986) say to the Priesthood holders:

There is no other body anywhere in the world today that meets for the same righteous purpose as does this group, nor is there any other group - political, religious, or military - that holds the power that you do here tonight.

Do we really believe this?  When we look at the enormous military powers in the world:  battleships, armies, tanks, fighters, generals, etc., do we realize that they are all human powered?  Missionaries can be GOD POWERED.

When we only understand the Priesthood, we will understand God and his true nature.  In reference to the Priesthood, the following has been stated:

As pertaining to eternity, priesthood is the eternal power and authority of Deity by which all things exist; by which they are created, governed, and controlled; by which the universe and worlds without number have come rolling into existence; by which the great plan of creation, redemption, and exultation operates throughout immensity.  It is the power of God (Discourse, p. 130)

There is on power of god, the priesthood.  But there are different levels or degrees of it.  We, as the Lord's annointed hold the higher priesthood, or Melchizedek.

We can increase our ability to change peoples' lives through the priesthood.  God wants to help us in this work.  This is his work and glory.  If we will only reach up, God will reach down the rest of the way.  Through living a worthy life, we will gain the faith and power of God to perform miracles among the children of men.

Members - 8 Million Missionaries

Let's look at the scriptures to find out about member-missionary work.  A close study of the scriptures reveals that only when members are involved, do large numbers of people join the Church.

• Abinadi calls Alma, a church member to repentance.  Alma converts thousands after his repentance. (Mosiah 25:14-24)
• Church members remember their duties and three thousand are baptized (Alma 4:1-5)'
• Alma calls local members to do missionary work. In time the church became throughout the whole land.(Alma 16:15)

 Look at the structure of the Church closely.  Missionaries are members just like everyone else, just with a special calling to teach people.  That is what we are called to do, to teach, not to find.  So we, being members of the wards where we are serving, the direct people in authority over us are our Bishops and Stake Presidents.  The Mission President has no ecclesiastical authority over us, only the Ward and Stake leaders.  He is to serve as a resource and counselor to the Bishop and Stake President.

This is not a new concept, but a basic understanding of the structure of the Church.  The leadership and enthusiasm of the Bishop can fire up the members to be involved with missionary work.  After all, it is a commandment from God.  Isn't that what we teach in the discussions?

And the marvelous benefit of member missionary work?  As a church we have three purposes.  When members are involved in missionary work, all those three areas will excel to the level of the commitment of the members.  You can't teach something unless you are devoted to it yourself!

Angels - The Other Church

Paul taught us that there is a church on the other side of the veil.  And this church is formed with the same structure as ours is here on this earth.  They also have the same purpose.  We are actually one church.

There are four kinds of angels:

1. Spirits who have not yet assumed mortal bodies,
2. Mortals who have been translated,
3. The spirits of righteous people who have died, and 
4. Resurrected beings.

These angels have positions of responsibility and work under the direction of Jesus Christ (Moroni 7:30).  If we look in Moroni 7:31, we can see what the purpose of these Angels is:


And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

Once a missionary realizes that angels are called to the ministry just like we are, then we can call upon them for help in this work.  That makes converting thousands of people not so overwhelming.

One day, we might even realize that angels have been closer to us throughout our lives than we could have ever imagined.

The Beginning 

Let us all make the effort to use the great tools we have been given.  We are not perfect ourselves, but are full of weakness and problems.  But with the power of God on our side, miracles will happen.

Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit;

And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shielf and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them. (D&C 35P:14-15)

Your servant,
Elder reed huish