October Mission Presidents Seminar

        Interim Mission Presidents Seminars are held twice a year in the various areas of the Church. We are part of the North America Southeast Area which consists of eighteen missions: Alabama  Birmingham, Arkansas Little Rock, Florida Fort Lauderdale, Florida Jacksonville, Florida Orlando, Florida Tallahassee, Florida Tampa, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta North, Georgia Macon, Kentucky Louisville, Louisiana Baton Rouge, Mississippi Jackson, North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Raleigh, South Carolina Columbia, Tennessee Knoxville, and Tennessee Nashville missions. The NASE Seminar for this fall was held October 23rd-27th in Atlanta, Georgia.
        Arriving in the afternoon of Wednesday the 23rd, we all were directly escorted to the Atlanta Temple where we attended a special session together. 

A cool and windy welcome to the Atlanta Temple:
Sister McDonough Sister Bernhisel, Sister Berry, Sister Irion,
Sister Woodbury, Sister Wall, and Sister Craig

  Afterward we had dinner at the hotel and a program we focused on a brief history of the Church in the South.

        Thursday's morning session was conducted by Elder Erich Kopischke of the Seventy and we were addressed and instructed by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Presidency of the Seventy regarding the keys held by a Mission President,  Elder Kopischke about finding people to teach, Elder Rafael Pino about President Monson's vision of missionary work today, and Elder Craig Zwick about the long-lasting relationship of a Mission President and his missionaries and the covenant path of the Work of Salvation. All of these brethren are of our Area Presidency . There was also an additional  training session by Elder Zwick representing the Missionary Department about increasing convert baptisms. After lunch we received guidance from Brent Buckner, the Director of Temporal Affairs regarding Mission Homes and mission vehicles, Elder Kopsischke about finding people to teach and rescue efforts, and Elder Zwick about the use of technology in the Work of Salvation.

Elder Zwick

Elder Soares, Elder Kopischke, Elder Pino, Elder Zwick

Elder and Sister Zwick and President and Sister Woodbury

And another with our dear friends, the Zwicks

President and Sister Woodbury and President and Sister Irion

Eight of the eighteen Mission Presidents came out together in 2011.
President and Sister Woodbury - Kentucky Louisville, President and Sister Holm - South Carolina Columbia, President and Sister Petersen - Arkansas Little Rock, President and Sister Irion - Tennessee Knoxville, (Elder and Sister Zwick), President and Sister Wall - Louisiana Baton Rouge, President and Sister Anderson - Florida Fort Lauderdale, President and Sister Wolfert - Georgia Atlanta North, and President and Sister McKee - Tennessee Nashville. President and Sister McKee were released this past summer due to the health of Sister McKee, and we miss them.

        On Friday we were joined by Elder Dallin H. Oaks and his wife, Kristen. Elder Oaks addressed us for much of the morning then after the break we heard from Elder Soares, Elder Zwick, Elder Kopsichke, and Elder Pino regarding the Work of Salvation. That afternoon the Mission Presidents and their wives separated. In the Mission Presidents' Break-Out, questions were addressed by Elder Oaks, Elder Soares, Elder Kopsichke, Elder Pino, and Elder Zwick. In the Wives' break-out Sister Jan Zwick, Sister Patricia Pino, Sister Christine Kopischke, Sister Rasano Soares, and Sister Kristen Oaks each made remarks, then time was given for a presentation from the Church History Department and another from and questions to our Area Medical and Area Mental Health Advisors. Coming back together after the break, Elders Zwick, Pino, Kopischke, and Soares gave remarks, with concluding remarks by Elder Dallin H Oaks.

President and Sister Woodbury
Elder and Sister Oaks

A few Take-Aways from Elder Oaks:

Every Thursday morning the Quorum of the Twelve meet in the upper rooms of the Temple from 8:30 - 10:00 then the First Presidency joins them from 10:00 to about 11:30. At the end of the second meeting all of them dress in their full Temple robes and gather in a prayer circle. Elder Ballard led the prayer this last week and he prayed extensively for the Mission Presidents in the unusual challenge and opportunity in hastening the Work of Salvation.

Decrease in missionaries returning for transgression, during and before their missions, but an increase in returns because of mental health problems. In part to address this, the new "Adjusting to Missionary Life" was created, a booklet that talks about not only the challenges of a missionary intellectually, spiritually, and physically, but especially emotionally. 

Follow the prescribed programs and directives for missionary work.

Two men established a business,  got a truck, bought a truckload of melons for a dollar a melon, sold them for a dollar a melon, did it again, thrd time, we're not making much money on this business are we? Do you think we need a bigger truck?

If you don't know how much your work is worth, you're not going to be successful.

We don't accept the way things are. We are the Lord's stewards and He will help us do better.

Pornography has become a major problem with wide-reaching consequences. 

There must be opposition in all things - as goodness and power grows, so do Satan efforts to stop it.

The Mission President's Wife's model is twice or thrice as important as it was a year ago. The missionaries need to see husband and wife as a team, supporting and encouraging each other, united in all they do. 

Pres. Packer often says: "The things we can't count are often more important than    the things we can count." We are preoccupied with counting.

We count every Sunday how many people are in Sacrament Meeting. It is a disquieting reading. It is a necessary but not sufficient  - what is most important is how many people are renewing their baptismal covenant - not a way to count this. 

To do missionary things is not the same as being a real missionary.

75% returned missionaries raise families in the church and raise children who  will serve missions. The converts you make of your missionaries are even more important than the new member converts you experience for the future growth and stability of the Church.

The Saints (missionaries) do what they are INSPECTED to do.

We are in very exciting period in the history of the Church. When Pres Monson announced the change in age of missionaries, no one foresaw the effect on  the Church. Finances - hundreds of millions of dollars; Numbers of missionaries has gone from 54,000 to 80,000 in one year, with 90,000 by the end of this year, settling back  into 70,00-75,000. Permanent change in percentage of Sisters - be careful Sister don't feel it is their Priesthood responsibility. The tsunami of Sisters have a different profile. It is remarkable how much higher the  level of qualifications, Gospel maturity, and language knowledge that they are showing. They are superior to those called before. More focused, prepared,

All Stake Conferences in the Church right now are to be devoted to Hastening of the Work. 

A high percentage of people after their first contact with the missionaries, go to the internet to find out about the Church. Primarily important to have missionaries prepare them and direct them to Mormon.org. to offset what other things they will find. 

The work of salvation includes member missionary work, convert retention, activation of less-active members, temple and family history work, and teaching the gospel.

Members and missionaries must work in unity to:

a. Help less-active members exercise faith in Jesus Christ and return

b. Help investigators to repent and to be baptized and confirmed

c. Retain recent converts

d. Help all members repent and receive the ordinances of the Temple

          President Woodbury and I left the Seminar filled and renewed. "Sweet Is the Work!"