Trainer/Trainee Meeting 2-2015

It is always so fun to meet with our missionaries of two weeks and their trainers.  We had a great day with trainings from the Assistants; Elder Cook and Elder Parkin, and President and Sister Clark.  Two new companionships also presented trainings;  Sister Ramos and Sister Simonsen, Elder Herrera and Elder Valenzuela.  Our new missionaries are doing just great!!  We sure love their enthusiasm and willingness to serve our Heavenly Father.

President and Sister Felix 2-23,24-2015

President and Sister Felix from the California Ventura Mission paid us a visit on Monday & Tuesday.  Their missionaries have the opportunity to go to the LA Temple periodically, which for some of the missionaries the travel time is four hours, so President and Sister Felix came to visit the Fresno Temple to see if it would be more feasible for their part of their mission.  It was so fun to be able to visit with the Felix's and hear about their mission.  They are great friends, we love them!

Yes, thats right - it's a  "Selfie"

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - In Sync with The Lord III, plus a Chastening

In Sync with The Lord III,  plus a Chastening

Dear Elders and Sisters:

Well, it happened again.  Fresno West's Stake Conference was this past weekend and President Everett allowed me to teach how the Lord is hastening HIs work and as the Members allow the Missionaries to pray with them, teach them, bear testimony, and increase faith, then the Lord will reveal someone to them who can benefit from the message. You see, the Lord, as He states, is hastening His work.  He is doing the preparing of the people, His children, and He needs the Members to connect them with us, the Missionaries.  The arithmetic is just so much better.  As great as you are, how could 275 set apart Missionaries know all of the 55,500 people in this mission who would join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?  These 55,500 are known by the 46,000 Members though and the Lord will reveal their names to them (the Members) when faith is increased and the spirit is present. 

So good President Everett had prayed for a name and gave it to me Saturday night.  As I prayed the spirit confirmed she was the one - Sister Ebersole.  Elders Anderson and Daley were ready with their mics and she came to the stand.  She had a microphone so all could hear the wonderful doctrine of Christ shared by these Elders in a very sweet and tender way.  Not too far into the Pamphlet the Spirit said she had received a name.  I stopped the teaching and she had received the name of Michelle, her neighbor, who would be blessed by this message.  So off she goes to simply say to Michelle: "Michelle, on Sunday I was listening to a message about Jesus Christ that included teachings about how the Lord provides prophets to bless our families and help us be happy.  As I listened, your name came to mind as someone who would be blessed by this message.  Would you please come to my home and I'll invite these same teachers, the Missionaries, to share this message with you?"

The Lord is just so good.  Members often are working to prepare their friends and neighbors but they can't prepare them like the Lord can.  If they will allow the spirit to whisper to them "who" when you are in their home teaching and increasing faith, then the Lord will be allowed to "orchestrate" His work in His way. So, your calling as teachers is so very important.  We can't waste time.  We can't be casual with our time when we spend time with Members.  We are first and foremost teachers of the Doctrine of Jesus Christ.  It is so important that even our calling is full-time, consecrated, set apart and dedicated to this endeavor.  "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ" and we invite everyone to "come unto Christ".  When Sister Ebersole invites Michelle to her home, her experience with the spirit in testifying truth to her will be dependent upon you as Missionaries .  Your preparation, your ability to teach, to share the Doctrine of Christ, your worthiness to receive the spirit as you teach and to build and increase faith for all the "Michelles" the Lord will trust you with through the Members.

As wonderful as Sunday was, I was very unsettled.  Even with all my preparations, I wasn't sure if I had done the will of the Lord.  I had to leave straight away after conference and drive to Modesto.  As I pondered and sought counsel from the Lord, I was listening to a talk by President Donaldson.  He recounted a story where President Eyring had told President Bednar (then of BYU-I) that he was wrong.  The next morning President Erying said the Lord had chastened him and that he, President Erying, was wrong.  He then taught that if the Lord isn't chastening you, you aren't learning.  If you aren't willing to "submit in all things", you aren't allowing Him to teach you, including by chastening you. 

I was then chastened by the spirit for having not tied my entire teaching to the doctrine of the Atonement and how Members need to introduce us to their friends and acquaintances through the Lord's orchestrations so they (their non-member friends) can access the Atonement.  It is only through baptism that Heavenly Father's children can truly access the Atonement.  And even though they belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of "Pre-Mortal" Day Saints, they must join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in order to access the atonement and receive covenants which will allow God to bring them back into His presence.  I am so grateful for this chastening and to be able to more fully align my will and teaching with that of the Lord's. 

I invite you to seek the Lord's admonition in helping you become better teachers.  It is just too important.  Too much is at stake as we seek to participate with Him in the hastening of His work.  These souls are too precious and as the Lord orchestrates his children through the Members to us to teach, we must be equal to the task.  We must be Complete Missionaries, teaching with the Spirit in the Lord's way.

I love you and pray daily that your calling as Teacher will be a continual focus in your studies, prayers, and pondering.

President Clark

Transfers - February 2015

We had another wonderful experience as we said goodbye to 22 missionaries, and welcomed in 15 new missionaries.  Our hearts break as we wave goodbye to seasoned, experienced, wonderful missionaries - and then in a matter of minutes,  our hearts are full of love as we watch our new missionaries, bright with hope, anticipation and excitement come down the ramp toward us.

I have posted a video of the new missionaries arriving to the mission on my Facebook page: bonniecampbellclark - take a look ------ you might even see your missionary!

Departing Missionary Temple Day

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - In Sync with The Lord II and Thank You Sister Morphy

In Sync with The Lord II and Thank You Sister Morphy

Dear Elders and Sisters:

First of all, I am accounting to you that I read your letters to me but please pardon me for not being able to respond to them this past week. Transfer week, coupled with Stake Conference and a few extra meetings and projects precluded me from doing so. I hope such weeks will be few and far between as I so enjoy my exchange of thoughts, feelings, ideas and testimony in our weekly letters.

Sister Clark and I were in Stake Conference in the Turlock Stake on Saturday and Sunday which was a great blessing. Good President Wilden gave us the opportunity to talk about the Hastening of The Work on Sunday. Sister Clark's talk was incredible and so preparatory for what I had felt impressed to share. I wanted to demonstrate just how much the Lord is doing as He hastens His work. I wanted to follow the model Elder Johnson had demonstrated two weeks before in Modesto's Stake Conference where he had the Zone Leaders teach a Member during which she received a name of one of her acquaintances whom the Lord had prepared to hear the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see "In Sync with the Lord"). I had been praying to know which Member the Lord had prepared to participate in this spiritual teaching. I asked President Wilden Saturday evening to seek a name also and to counsel me the next morning before Conference began. I prayed diligently during the night to know who the Lord had prepared. When we arrived at Stake Conference we didn't have much time to talk with many of the Members. Bishop and Sister Morphy were sitting near the front and stood up to shake our hands. I chatted with them briefly and the Lord told me she was the one. When I got to the rostrum and asked President Wilden if he had received any impressions, he said: "Well, you've got Sister Morphy here in the front and she would be very good." I was overwhelmed! How good is the Lord! He too had received the same name I had. When the Zone Leaders taught her the first few principles of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Spirit told me: "She had received a name" so I stopped then and asked her. She was somewhat overcome. She said she had been thinking of a person all morning and knew now why his name had been on her mind. She knew he would be blessed to hear the message the Missionaries had been teaching and agreed to invite him into their home with the Missionaries to receive the message. Whether or not he accepts and moves forward will be his decision. The Lord is completely committed to each and every person's free will. But Sister Morphy has done her part as a Member Missionary and the Lord knows He can trust her. Thank you, Sister Morphy!

In the CFM boundaries are 1.85 million people and 55,500 of them are waiting to receive the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and be baptized into His church. 260 Missionaries is interesting but 40,000 Member Missionaries is powerful. These 40,000 Members know most of the 55,500 who are prepared. As you as set apart Missionaries enter each home with the objective to increase faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by teaching principles from Preach My Gospel, the Members will have revealed to them names of people they know who the Lord has been preparing to receive His gospel. The Spirit will prompt you to then ask this question: "Who has the Lord revealed to you who would be blessed by this message?"

Quoting from Elder Johnson's counsel in a letter he sent to me after the Modesto Stake Conference: "Missionaries should teach active as well as less active Members principles of the missionary lessons. Missionaries are first and foremost teachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what they teach are the forty two principles contained in the five missionary lessons. They should never enter a home without:
1. Praying
2. Teaching a principle
3. Testifying
4. Asking what names came to the minds of those they taught during the lesson"

You have to believe that the Holy Ghost will put those names in their minds. You must also remember that you have two purposes of entering a home. The first purpose is to increase faith in Jesus Christ in the hearts of those you teach. The second purpose is to discover the names of people that you should teach, and those will be given to the minds of those you teach as you teach by the power of the Holy Ghost. Every lesson should increase faith and provide new people to teach. If by the spirit you know you didn't accomplish objective #1 - Increase Faith in Jesus Christ, please do not move to #2. Please don't teach a lesson just to get names of new people to teach. Both purposes are equally important.

As we begin this transfer I know we are prepared to advance to the next level. The "New New" is upon us as we serve as consecrated missionaries - worthy, obedient, committed, and focused serving with No Regrets!

With all my love, hope, and prayers!
President Clark

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - The Spiritual Equivalent of a Standing Ovation from the Twelve

Today you get a "two for one special"  - I did not get the President's letter posted last week.  This was last weeks letter . . . . happy reading!

 The Spiritual Equivalent of a Standing Ovation from the Twelve

Dear Elders and Sisters:

I trust the title is descriptive.  It was a prompting I received during two talks yesterday in Modesto North's Stake Conference.  I knew if the Quorum of the Twelve could have been there they would have given the spiritual equivalent of a standing ovation.  I wanted to stand up and shout: "Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!"  So if I have your attention, please read on.  It was amazing.

Sister Cook had been asked to speak and was followed by her husband.  Here's their story.  She grew up in Utah and was baptized at age 8. Her family moved to Modesto when she was 11 and after some real challenges her parents ended up divorcing.  In her own words she: "lost her way and quit going to church and started doing things she was not proud of."  In her early 20s she met Jason and fell in love.  He was a young father of two girls and was very committed to them.  They married and had two boys together.  Neither had been active in their religion but as they were raising children they decided they would serve them by attending church so they split time and attendance between their respective churches - one week at the LDS Church, one week at the Baptist Church - but soon a trend began where they attended more weeks at the LDS Church than the Baptist Church.  One day their nine year old boy (about 1 year ago) came forward and asked to be baptized.  Sister Cook (Mom) said: "You'll have to work it out with your father." But the son was afraid to talk to Dad.  This broke Dad's heart and got him thinking about some things. 

Commentary: Please note at this point I have not said anything about Missionaries.  One of the important principles about the Hastening of the Work is that He (the Lord) is hastening His work.  He is doing all the work.  He is preparing His children everywhere to receive the gospel - from nine year old boys to 38 year old men. He has Less Active Members He is working on.  He is working on innocent, sweet nine year old boys.  He can get a family to recognize there is more in the LDS Church than the Baptist Church and get them to spend their Sunday's at His true church.  He can soften the heart of a 38 year old father when a nine year old son steps forward wanting to be baptized.  As He states in D&C 88:73 "I will hasten my work in its time." and in 2 Nephi 27 "I can do mine own work!"  It is His work!  He is doing it!  He's doing all the preparing of and for His children to receive the gospel, to repent and come into the Kingdom.  He is hastening His work and it is just up to us as to whether and to what extent we will participate.

So, on with the story: They call the missionaries in (Elder Spendlove was mentioned) to teach the son and he is heading towards baptism.   On his way there he challenges his sister of 11 years of age to get baptized.  She wants to. Then the older daughter of 14 years of age is challenged by her sister and she says she will if Dad will.  Dad has been feeling some things and noting that with each step he takes toward becoming reconciled with God his life gets better and better.  As a result of a ward member encouraging him, he decides to get baptized as well.  They will go to the temple very soon to be sealed as a family. 

Do you see the beauty of it all?  Can you see why the Brethren would want to applaud that?  You have a member that is rescued - changes her ways, repents, and becomes active again.  You have four of Heavenly Father's children now baptized and a family on the way to the Temple to be sealed.  Missionaries were involved as teachers and I am sure, given the great love the Cooks have for Elder Spendlove, did a wonderful job teaching.  You have Member help which was a big factor in Dad getting baptized and you have a Ward that is strengthened by their activity as they participate in callings.  Find!  Teach!  Baptize!  Rescue!  I am sure the Twelve would applaud that with loud acclaim - at least spiritually.  I am sure they would want to give this family, the Missionaries, and the Members the Spiritual Equivalent of a Standing Ovation. 

And He allows us to participate with Him in His work.  How kind and generous He is to do so.  Please do not waste a moment of the time He has given you to participate with Him in the Hastening of His work.  It is a wonderful work and it will go forward!  With the opportunity to participate with Him, our lives can and will be forever changed and blessed.  Just like the Twelve would want to, I offer you the Spiritual Equivalent of a Standing Ovation for being so Worthy, so Obedient, so Committed, and so Focused and for serving with No Regrets!

Sister Clark and I love you!  We cheer for you and pray for you in all diligence!  And we applaud all you do to better participate and keep pace with Him in the Hastening of the Work!

With all my love,

President Clark