Thursday, August 4, 2016

PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY - You Get What You Go For! Go For More!

You Get What You Go For!  Go For More!

Dear Elders and Sisters:

Sister Clark and I feel so blessed to have been with you this past week in our Zone Conference.  We are so appreciative of the wonderful teachings and instruction provided and we offer our thanks to the Assistants and Fresno North Zone Leaders for their preparation and insightful teachings.  We trust you could feel the convincing theme of desiring and seeking for "More".  I think the Assistants did an especially great job of teaching this.  I also think the last several Zone Conferences and Specialized Trainings have been setting this up.  I offer a few insights from my inventory of insights gained.

Repenting and changing bestows an endowment of great power, and we do need an endowment of power to be able to do this great work.  Repenting on an ongoing basis is the Lord's divine design to help us arrive home clean, pure, and worthy to be in His presence - in other words, Celestially prepared.

We are doing a great work and must not come down.  We must be very careful not to come down in any way but rather to go up to higher ground.  Gossip, rumors, idle talk, and a lack of focus, diligence and obedience are forms of self-administered "poison by degrees" and must be eliminated.

Accessing and harnessing the enabling powers of the Atonement allows us to do and be far more than we can on our own.  This work requires we "Rise Up" to a higher call and "Go and Do" that which is very, very hard - and this can only be accomplished with "Heaven's Help" through His Atonement.  Accessing the enabling powers of the Atonement is not the absence of a load or burden to carry but the "traction" we obtain to carry such loads and burdens. Doing so helps us build a stronger, Christ-like character.

Failing to plan is planning to fail.  It is the universal week point in most of us and we have been blessed with great insights from the Apostles and Prophets helping us do this in great faith to be able to accomplish HIs will and HIs work His way.  Set goals and make plans is a divine order and requires great faith.  Exercising faith and living true principles builds character.

The Atonement offers the blessing of repentance and the ordinances, all designed to change us and prepare us to live with God.  The Savior's mercy allows us to live in His and the Father's presence again..."after all we can do" (repent and make and keep sacred covenants through the Atonement).  As Lehi said: "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth..."  This is your message and without you, they won't have access to the Atonement. 

More is there for the taking.  We just need to set our sights higher, much higher and achieve more. I know of an account from President Packer's life when he was serving as a Mission President.  They needed a real estate attorney for a complex land deal the Church was doing.  He gathered his missionaries together and told them to go find and baptize a real estate attorney.  He told them; "You will get what you go for!"  About a month later two of his Elders called and asked; "What are you doing on Saturday night, President?".  He answered; "Why?"  They told him they were baptizing a real estate attorney.  You do get what you go for!

On my mission, our Mission President was constantly telling us we needed to find the family with the father who could serve as a Branch President and Bishop.  That's what we went for - families and we baptized a lot of families.  I am with President Packer and truly believe you get what you go for! And there is so much More for us to get!  Let's go for it!  Let's Go For More!!

With much love and appreciation for all you are doing,
President Clark


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