Monday, September 7, 2015

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - BLESSED AND HONORED TO SERVE WITH YOU

Blessed and Honored to Serve with You

Dear Elders and Sisters:

I just want to start out by complimenting you.  You are just so good!  I am continually impressed by your faith coupled with your good works that blesses lives - those of your investigators and all people, less actives, part members, the Members, your companions and your own.  I see you serving because you love the Lord Jesus Christ and I observe so many of you working to be Complete Missionaries who are worthy, exactly obedient, committed, and focused and are serving with No Regrets.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

I also want to compliment you for "acting" rather than being "acted upon".  You truly are becoming great disciples of Jesus Christ who are learning correct principles and appropriately governing yourselves.  Well done!  So well done!

One of the places I see these qualities manifest is in your studies - as in what you study.  How you go deeper and truly search the scriptures and liken them unto your investigators and unto your selves - the ultimate blessing of searching and pondering the good word of God.  I see this manifest in your letters and what you share with me as you discover.  I am always so edified by what you are learning and how you are growing in the gospel, so I thank you.  I truly do see my time reading and answering your letters as sacred time and am always blessed and uplifted as a result.  Thank you for taking the time each week to write about and share your mission with me.  I clip and paste things you write and share into a journal of my own which I know will be a rich blessing to me to read and study in coming years as an incredible testament of you as disciples and the wonderful souls Sister Clark and I have been blessed and honored to serve with.

This week, two thoughts shared really stood out to me as applicable and timely for our mission.  I share them here with gratitude and praise for the authors for the blessing their studies and pondering have been to this mission, this week. 

"Recently in my studies in the book of Mormon I've paid attention to this sentence that seems to always be there: "and they did go forth", "and they went forward with all power and authority". Reading your letters is always a confirmation to me of what I need to keep doing. It is amazing to me to see when we do our part, which is all the Lord has commanded us, and we follow your inspired counsel, we are not only blessed, but we receive miracles." 

And I know that as we "go forth" we will receive miracles - even the "Red Sea of 1,000 Baptisms" parting.  And to this I add one little observation from John 19:17: "And he bearing his cross went forth..."  After our Zone Conference I just thought this was such timely insights about the doctrine of "going forth".

And lastly from one of our most seasoned Zone Leaders: "I know that when we lose our selves in the work the Lord is able to bless not only us but the people that we serve. This is what it is all about. Having charity is key to our success and happiness. It helps us to be more obedient and actually do what we are supposed to do. Nothing else will matter if we strive to serve the people around us. 'Success is not an accident. Failure is not an accident either. Success is predictable. It leaves tracks.'  The way to have success is not a big puzzle or a big secret. Those things that one has to do is to look carefully and find the footprints (clues) of success. You have given us the foot prints for this success that I am talking about and it's The Lords Vision, our Culture, etc. Success is right ahead of us, we just have to use the footprints."

I truly like the observation that success is not an accident and that we have been blessed with our Culture, the Lord’s Vision, Talk with Ten, Exact Obedience, etc that provides those footprints of success.

I hope you feel as blessed as Sister Clark and I do to be serving here now with each of you, one another, in this great work as the Lord hastens His work "to bless all men".

We love you dearly and pray for your continued success as you live your Missionary Purpose.

With much love,

President Clark

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