January 30, 2014
Hello Ward Members!!!
If you are planning on serving a mission,
January 16, 2014
Happy New Year Ward Members!
I know its been a while since I've posted here about the member Missionary work. So, I'm fixing that right now.
LDS.org just posted an awesome story of 10 things we can do to Serve.... wait for it...... ONLINE!!!! Cool huh? (Link right here... http://www.lds.org/church/news/10-ways-to-serve-the-lord-online?cid=HPWE011514350&im=true&lang=eng) Some of them are super simple but will make a difference in many lives I promise.
I'm so excited for these. Especially Number 7!
November 12, 2013
Hello Ward Members!!!
If you are planning on serving a mission,
January 16, 2014
Happy New Year Ward Members!
I know its been a while since I've posted here about the member Missionary work. So, I'm fixing that right now.
LDS.org just posted an awesome story of 10 things we can do to Serve.... wait for it...... ONLINE!!!! Cool huh? (Link right here... http://www.lds.org/church/news/10-ways-to-serve-the-lord-online?cid=HPWE011514350&im=true&lang=eng) Some of them are super simple but will make a difference in many lives I promise.
I'm so excited for these. Especially Number 7!
November 12, 2013
HELLO WARD!!!!!!!!!
Sorry It's been so long since my last post. We've been having tons of amazing miracles here in the Washington Vancouver Mission. I Wish that I could post more frequently.
This blog is not only to provide ideas for member missionary work, but to create another bond with members and Missionaries. I love what President Monson said:
"Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work."
Keep up the Good work. Hope to hear from y'all!!!
October 6, 2013
Ok Guys, we're going to do something incredible. We need to get this Blog exploding all over the web. Here's what we're going to do.
1000 IDEAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are going to come up with and share 1000 different ways that we can plant those seeds and Spread this Great news that we have!
But, to hit 1000, we need every single person we can.
Post this on Facebook!!!!!! Get it out there!!!!!!!!!!! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!! We need your help. WE NEED IT BAD!!!!!!! This Is God's Work!!!!!! This blog isn't just a good idea, I know that it was inspired. So Lets Do It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is not your average missionary blog. There are BILLIONS of God's Children just waiting to hear what we have to say. This blog is here so that people like you can hear from one of His Missionaries how YOU can get involved in this work. You do not need a Nametag to do this work. This blog is called THE ELDER'S WARD because its a Ward of MISSIONARIES. But who reads it. I guarantee you the Missionaries don't read it. You do. The Members. The Whole goal of 1000 ideas is to get as many people as we can to give us their ideas. And to get Involved. Elder Holland said that "This Work will go on with or without you" He also said that if you don't get involved that "You will regret it until the day you die."
So don't regret it.
September 16, 2013
Hey Ward Members,
So, I know its been a while since I've posted. I've been really struggling with something to come up with. But I think I found it.
So, before you read anymore, I want to go look for a video that I watched on YouTube before my mission. There is a motivational speaker that I love who's name is Eric Thomas. One of his videos is called You Matter. Look it up. Do It Now!!!!! Por Favor? Gracias.
Actually I'll just have J post the video link for you.
(there you go :) )
So..... How many of you have felt insignificant? You're just one out of 8 billion on the planet. One of 15 million people in the Church. You aren't significant right? There is still 7,999,999,999 people on the Earth, why do you matter?
Well, picture this. Imagine that your family is the only one left on Earth. Just you, your parents, and your brothers and sisters. If it were me, I would be only one of 6 people on the earth. And you are in Asia, your parents are in Utah, and your siblings are scattered across the world. Your parents want you to get home. If you are lost in Asia, How do you think you're parents in Utah feel? They'd miss you right? But you can't get home.
Well, That is our job. We are to bring those people home. Heavenly Father doesn't want a single one of us to not make it home. We are here to GUIDE people home. We know the way. How mad would you be if you get lost hiking, and your hiking friend, after you've been lost in the woods for a month, and he said "Oh, I knew the way the whole time. Its this trail right here." Yeah, I'd be pretty miffed too.
Here's the thing though, we DO know the Trail. WE can get those people home. Maybe they don't want too, but thats their problem. But that shouldn't stop us. We're Important, because we know the Way. We know the Way to our Heavenly Father. He wants us to come back to him, and wants us to show this way to the rest of his Children. Don't be afraid. SHARE the Gospel. Just Do It. Trust me, the Lord will bless you. If they reject you, that's their problem. The only thing you can do is love them and share this message. Because its amazing.
Kia Kaha.
Hey Ward Members,
So the missionaries here in the Washington Vancouver Mission had the unforgettable opportunity of having Elder Jeffrey R. Holland come to our mission and meet and speak with the Missionaries. It was awesome.
This Week I am going to talk about just one thing out of the many that he said to us.
¨You need to be a missionary in every way possible.´´
As missionaries, he was referring to our friends at home whom we are writing and trying to do missionary work.
But this most definitely applies to members.
What do the scriptures say?
¨Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.¨ (1 Timothy 4:12, emphasis added).
Elder Nelson gave an amazing talk a couple years ago in General Conference entitled ¨Be Thou and Example of the Believers.¨ I definitely encourage everyone to read it.
I love this part especially, and it hits on what I want to talk about.
Each member can be an example of the believers. Brethren, as followers of Jesus Christ, each of you can live in accord with His teachings. You can have “a pure heart and clean hands”; you can have “the image of God engraven upon your [countenance].” Your good works will be evident to others. The light of the Lord can beam from your eyes. With that radiance, you had better prepare for questions. The Apostle Peter so counseled, “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.”
Let your response be warm and joyful. And let your response be relevant to that individual. Remember, he or she is also a child of God, that very God who dearly wants that person to qualify for eternal life and return to Him one day. You may be the very one to open the door to his or her salvation and understanding of the doctrine of Christ.
After your initial response, be ready to take the next step. You may invite your friend to attend church with you. Many of our friends do not know they are welcome in our Church buildings. “Come and see” was the Savior’s invitation to those who desired to learn more about Him. An invitation to attend a Sunday meeting with you or to participate in a Church social or service activity will help to dispel mistaken myths and make visitors feel more comfortable among us.
On my iPod I have a talk by John Bytheway that talks about the differences between an ordinary missionary and an extraordinary missionary. One of the points he shared was this:
¨Ordinary missionaries teach while they sit, but extraordinary missionaries teach while they walk.¨
He goes on to talk about how missionaries are always being watched by someone, so they need to teach while they do such things as walking.
Does this mean we´re going to bust out a full on Plan of Salvation lesson to some random person as we´re walking through the parking lot on our way to the mall? Heck No! Bro. Bytheway says that the way we act as missionaries (and, by extension, member missionaries) we teach of Christ by the way we act. Then when we get that question, just like what Elder Nelson said, when our friends ask that question, ¨Why are you so different¨ we can be ready.
I know, I´ve talked about this before, nearly word for word, but its just that important. We as members of His Church. We are doing God´s Work, therefore, as Elder Holland said this weekend, we do it ¨His way.¨ How do we do it His Way? Well, its all about obedience. Keep the Commandments. Its as simple as that. Keep the Commandments, and take those opportunities you get. You don´t have nearly as many rules to live by as we do as missionaries. (Trust me, you don´t. It may seem like it, but you don´t). And we keep them all, it shouldn´t be hard for you to keep these really easy ones.
Exact obedience brings miracles. I know this. If you were a missionary, you´ve heard this a million times. If you are planning on going, get used to it.
Keep it Real,
Elder Ward
Hello Everybody.
and may I say.....
AAAAALLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOHHHHAAA!
(AAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOHHHHHHHAAAA!!!!!!!!)
Very Nice.
So, sorry it's taken so long for me to post something else. So that's why I'm making this a really big post. Because you guys deserve it.
So... this week, as promised, we're going to talk about Miracles.
First of all, what is a Miracle?
The Bible Dictionary best describes a Miracle as:
"An important element in the work of Jesus Christ, being not only divine acts, but forming also a part of the divine teaching. Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the Resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable. Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power....Many of them were also symbolic, teaching such divine truths as the result of sin and the cure of sin; the value of faith; the curse of impurity; and the law of love. The miracles of healing also show how the law of love is to deal with the actual facts of life. Miracles were and are a response to faith and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith." (Bible Dictionary, Miracles, emphasis added)
As it says above, Miracles are an important element in the work of Jesus Christ. Does that mean they stopped once Jesus was crucified? NO! I've seen many miracles out here so far in the Washington Vancouver Mission. How? Because the Work of Christ continues today. And that work is missionary work. So I'm going to tell you how you can see miracles in your own missionary efforts.
As it says above, Miracles are an important element in the work of Jesus Christ. Does that mean they stopped once Jesus was crucified? NO! I've seen many miracles out here so far in the Washington Vancouver Mission. How? Because the Work of Christ continues today. And that work is missionary work. So I'm going to tell you how you can see miracles in your own missionary efforts.
1. PRAY. You need to. Its literally the last line of that definition
2. Faith
3. Follow the Spirit. He will guide you where you need to go. Any good thoughts or impressions come from him. This I am a serious witness of.
4. OYM
"Wait, Wait.... Elder Ward, what does OYM stand for?"
Well, I'm glad you asked.
OYM stands for Open Your Mouth. Its something we do every day as missionaries. We are literally supposed to talk to everyone. If we don´t talk to everyone, how are we supposed to know who is prepared to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Now, I´m not saying that you have to try to talk about the Gospel with everyone you see (that´s our job), but I am saying that if you feel like you know someone that needs the Gospel then Open Your Mouth. You don´t have to throw it all on them at once, but let people know what you believe. One of the Zone Leaders here said that when he was in High School he would always use Starbucks. He would invite his friends to go to Starbucks with him and then he wouldn´t order what everybody else would order. He´d get like a Hot Chocolate or something (Starbucks makes really good Hot Chocolate BTW). Then when his friends asked him why he didn´t buy a Coffee or something, he would start talking about the Word of Wisdom, then you know, he could go so many different ways from there (into prophets and then the Restoration, into our bodies being temples and then the Plan of Salvation, into Commandments, then Faith and the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Or just leave it there as a Seed planted. Got it? Now, the thing we always try to do as missionaries is leave these people we talk to with something, usually a card. You don have to, but if you do have Mormon.org pass-along cards, don´t be afraid to hand them out. Mormon.org is a fantastic tool for Missionary work, especially for member Missionary work.
The Miracle of OYMs is this. You never know who is prepared to hear the Gospel. Don´t be afraid to OYM. I know it seems scary. I get scared and I´m a Full-Time Missionary. But I promise that when you do these things, you will find those ready to receive the Gospel. And that´s when Miracles occur.
HOMEWORK TIME:
Email me (kward@myldsmail.net) and let me know about an Awesome OYM experience you had, and I´ll share a really cool one I had with you.
Hey Hey Hey everybody!
Keep on Truckin,
Elder Ward
Hey Y'all
Well that was awesome, wasn't it?
I believe the answer to that question is a resounding HECK YES!!!!!!!!!!!
If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm talking about the Worldwide Leadership Broadcast entitled "The Work of Salvation". There is a link to the new website on LDS.org. Check it out. ITS FANTASTIC.
Anyways, It just goes to show that I'm not the only one who thinks this is important. When the entire leadership of the Church basically shuts down the MTC (well, actually it was just the building with the Cafeteria, but I'm not bitter) and has a broadcast to train members on how to be Member-missionaries and support and assist Full-time missionaries, it must be pretty important. After all, Christ said "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15) There are over 70,000 missionaries in the field right now. That's more than the Church has ever had. But at the same time, There are 7 billion people in the world. Billion. With a B. Yeah. That means to preach the Gospel to every creature, we as full time missionaries would have to contact 10,000 people. Do you know what the baptism rate is for street contacts? 1 in 1000 will get baptized. So, basically we would baptize 10 people. About three or four would stay in the church and eventually go to the temple. That's great right?
Well, consider this.
With the help of members, if we contacted those investigators via member referrals, had a member present in about half the lessons, and those members helped fellowship those investigators once they have been baptized and confirmed, how many baptisms do you think we would have per that one missionary, out of those 10,000?
About 1000. The rate of baptisms with help of members increases by 1000%. 1/10 member referrals gets baptized. and the retention rate skyrockets. Crazy no? Thats why the Bretheren are pushing so hard for this.
But, there's one problem with what I just said.
PEOPLE AREN'T STATISTICS.
(Great segway, no?)
The reason why that retention rate skyrockets. When people who are being taught the Gospel have a support system they tend to be attracted to the Gospel and also stay in the church after they are baptized.
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye love one another" John 13:34.
There's a reason I'm doing this. This Work is far to important for me not to. And we need everyone going all in.
Until Next Week,
Elder Ward
No comments:
Post a Comment