The Ripple Effect of Exact Obedience
Dear Elders and Sisters:
Your responses to the call to Exact Obedience have been
exhilarating! I can feel your wonderful
commitment to this principle and know this mission will be greatly blessed this
month and beyond as we embed Exact Obedience as the foundation of our behavior. Each of your commitments as individual
Missionaries, then as Companionships, then Districts, and Zones will combine to
be a powerful, positive effect on the work of this Mission and a shield against
Satan who would seek to thwart the Work of Salvation that we are about.
We are all in this together. "No man is an island. No man stands alone. Each man's joy is joy to me. Each man's grief is my own. We need one another. So I will defend. Each man as my brother. Each man as my
friend." (No Man is an Island, song lyrics by Peter Schickele) Please consider that everything you do
matters and has an effect on others - for good or for bad. There is no neutral
and that is especially true in this work.
The Ripple Effect of each of your actions is significant and
meaningful. One single Missionary cannot
say: "The music I listen to (or not getting up on time; or not exercising;
or etc, etc, etc) won't affect others."
This simply is not true! What you
do and don't do has a profound effect on others around you - especially your
companions and the work. Again, "no
man is an island"!
In 1963, Edward Lorenz made a presentation to the New
York Academy of Sciences and was literally laughed out of the room. His theory,
called the Butterfly Effect, stated that a butterfly could flap its wings and
set air molecules in motion that, in turn, would move other air molecules–which
would then move additional air molecules–eventually becoming able to influence
weather patterns on the other side of the planet. For years this theory
remained an interesting myth. In the mid 1990s, however, physics professors
from several universities, working in tandem, proved that the butterfly effect
was accurate, viable, and worked every time.
So consider these questions for a moment. What will the
Ripple or Butterfly Effect be if:
1. You change one
behavior that currently is not aligned with God's desires for you.
2. You find a kind
thing to say about your companion and others each day.
3. You read the
Book of Mormon with "real intent" to discover the characteristics of
Christ.
4. You Talk to Ten
people every day and invite them to do something.
5. You commit to
teach more quality lessons each week.
6. You baptize one
person this transfer?
7. The person you
baptize goes to the Temple with one family name each month?
8. The person you
baptize introduces you to one of their friends?
9. This Mission
baptizes 100 people this month?
10. This Mission baptizes 1,342 people this year?
Quoting from President Uchtdorf: "And yet for some
of us, obedience to God’s commandments doesn’t always feel very joyful. Let’s
face it: there may be some that seem harder or less appealing—commandments that
we approach with the enthusiasm of a child sitting before a plate of healthy
but hated vegetables. We grit our teeth and force ourselves to comply so that
we can move on to more desirable activities.
"Perhaps during times such as these, we might find
ourselves asking, “Do we really need to obey all of God’s commandments?”
"My response to this question is simple:
"I think God knows something we don’t—things that
are beyond our capacity to comprehend! Our Father in Heaven is an eternal being
whose experience, wisdom, and intelligence are infinitely greater than ours.
Not only that, but He is also eternally loving, compassionate, and focused on
one blessed goal: to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life.
"In other words, He not only knows what is best for
you; He also anxiously wants you to choose what is best for you.
"If you believe this in your hearts—if you truly
believe the great mission of our Heavenly Father is to exalt and glorify His
children and that He knows best how to do it—doesn’t it make sense to embrace
and follow His commandments, even the ones that appear difficult? Should we not
cherish the light posts He has given that guide us through the darkness and the
trials of mortality? They mark the way back to our heavenly home! By choosing
Heavenly Father’s path, you lay a divine foundation for your personal
progress...that will bless you throughout your life.
"Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine
that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing
to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic
requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. In
reality, Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us. It is our
fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from
reaching us.
"His commandments are the loving instructions and
the divine help for us to close the umbrella so we can receive the shower of
heavenly blessings.
"We need to accept that the commandments of God
aren’t just a long list of good ideas. They aren’t “life hacks” from an
Internet blog or motivational quotes from a Pinterest board. They are divine
counsel, based on eternal truths, given to bring “peace in this world, and
eternal life in the world to come.”
"So we have a choice. On the one hand, there is the
opinion of the world with its ever-changing theories and questionable motives.
On the other hand, there is God’s word to His children—His eternal wisdom, His
certain promises, and His loving instructions for returning to His presence in
glory, love, and majesty.
"The choice is yours!
"The Creator of the seas, sands, and endless stars
is reaching out to you this very day! He is offering the grand recipe for
happiness, peace, and eternal life!
"To qualify for these glorious blessings, you must
humble yourself, exercise faith, take upon you the name of Christ, seek Him in
word and deed, and resolutely “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in
all things, and in all places.” ('Living the Gospel Joyfully" Uchtdorf, WC
Oct 2014)
So here we are, at the beginning of another transfer and
smack in the middle of one of the most important months in this Mission's
history. What will your commitment to
Exact Obedience be? What will you change
in your life knowing the Ripple or Butterfly Effect your behaviors have on
others? You have been created and sent
to do wonderful things. Your dedication
and diligence will be a powerful effect on others - for an eternity. Let's get to work, Elders and Sisters. We have too much good to do to waste even one
precious moment.
With all of my love and enthusiasm for you and your
success,
President Clark
PS Sister Clark
was so appreciative of your kind thoughts and sweet Mother's Day wishes. While she had 5 children born to her, she is now
loving being a mother to 235 wonderful sons and daughters of God!
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