Loving the work

This week was a week of getting increasingly engaged in the missionary and new member work. In our Sunday Stake Conference Meeting, Elder Evanson from the new Canadian Area Presidency shared some of the key experiences he has had. One in particular was very important. He described how he had been called as a Stake President and struggled with the responsibilities of the calling. One day, he told us, he was feeling so down and crying to his Father in Heaven "I can't do this", and he heard in his mind "No you can't, but I can."

In our work here, as well as our efforts in life depend so much on His love, power, authority, inspiration, and light. We are finding that as we rely more on Him and less on us, that we are finding more success, both with the missionaries and with the new members with whom we work.

We have met a couple of times now with the Ward Mission Correlation meeting. It is under the direction of Brother Meraz, the first counselor in the Elders Quorum presidency. He is engaged and energetic about ideas that come to him and that we share. We can see the ward becoming more engaged in the missionary work, especially as it regards new members as they approach being baptized, and immediately thereafter. The keys, as President Hinkley taught us, are that every member needs a friend, a responsibility, and to be nourished by the good word of God. In so many cases, the “friend” of a new member, is the missionary that taught them. Or us. We have to work to help make sure that their friends are the members of the ward.

We’ve also been to a couple of the Ward Council meetings and are impressed by how the Bishopric and ward leaders want to know and help with the new members. Our role is to help the ward members and leaders see how they can be more involved in making the transition better. There are so many new and different things to learn and understand once a person has been baptized, and we often don’t put ourselves in their shoes – we expect that they will be able to put on that new pair of shoes that we have designed for them, and to just be able to run at full speed.

We’ve presented some ideas to the Ward Council about tracking some of the key things that need to happen with a new member that we don’t often think about – do they have Gospel Library installed on their phone? Do they have a church account and LDS Tools installed so they can see the members of the ward? Do they have a picture in LDS Tools so the ward can get to know them? Have they been offered a subscription to the church magazines, or shown how to access them in Gospel Library? Have they been invited to attend the YSA Ward and Institute, if they are of that age group? Are they added to the WhatsApp chat groups for their group – Elders, RS, YM/YW, etc. Do they have the Family Search App? Do they know how to get names to take to the temple to do baptisms for the dead? Have they been given the For the Strength of Youth or My Family Pamphlets and taught what they need to know or do regarding these? Have they been taught the new member lessons (retaught the missionary lessons, basically)? Have they been taught about Patriarchal Blessings? Do they know and understand what Come Follow Me is, and how to access and study the lessons? What about the fact that the class they attended last week (Gospel Doctrine) is different than the one this week – EQ or RS? There is so much we take for granted that we learned over years of being a member.

These are in addition to the ones we easily think about – ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood for brothers, temple recommends for brothers and sisters, ministering brothers and sisters assigned, a calling in the ward. There are a lot of things that we need to remember, and if we can help the ward remember them and make sure that they happen, then we will be successful. The real key is whether these new members can make the transition to being a member so they can continue to grow and learn along the covenant path to become a lifetime disciple of Jesus Christ.

Ideas for tracking new member events

So, a few details of the mission this week:

We have a Devotional each Tuesday. This week we heard testimonies from missionaries who are completing their missions. This is frequently the case, and we love to hear them tell how they have come to see Christ more fully and completely in their own lives as they have found and invited others to come unto Christ. They are truly growing and becoming disciples of Christ.

Our weekly service in the temple is sweet. We have a wonderful Temple Presidency who are completely committed to helping the members have a beautiful experience as they come to learn and worship in the temple and serve their kindred dead.

Toronto Temple

We attend the weekly District Councils with the young missionaries. As we see them teach each other, we are energized by their energy and love for the work.

We have participated in a number of lessons with the young missionaries and their friends – individuals being taught. We love doing this and sharing our testimonies of the love God has for them. Sister Lyon is so sincere in communicating through her spirit and approach that God loves them, and when she does that, you can see how much it touches them.

We’ve also taught a number of new members, and love to share God’s love for them. We had a wonderful lesson with Tony, a member of 3 months or so. When we had him install Tools on his phone and see himself there, he was so tickled. You could see how he realized he really was a part of the ward. When we finished, Sister Lyon gave him an abrazo, as is her nature, and he nearly cried. He said he hadn’t had a hug in a long time and didn’t realize how much he missed that simple act. Our Latin-American friends come from a culture of abrazos – hugs – between everyone. Sister Lyon is a perfect one to share the Savior’s love in that simple way.

We got down to Lake Ontario this week and were impressed by the diversity of nationalities and ethnicities of the groups of people at the park adjoining the beach. That diversity really is hallmark of the area in which we work and we see it everywhere we go.

Sister Lyon at the beach on Lake Ontario.

And lastly, we continue to find good food and good restaurants. This week we found a Greek restaurant, and were treated by the waiters and cashiers, etc. as cherished guests, even though they recognized it was the first time we had eaten there. The food was good, and the feeling in the restaurant was sweet and friendly.