To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,
In Ch 13 of PMG we read that "Before baptism and confirmation, ensure that members are present at every lesson, if possible. These members should be with the investigators often to answer their questions, understand their challenges, and encourage them." (p. 216)
We have all read this and for some reason we have not practiced it as diligently as we ought to. Please be clear that it should be the rare occasion that we don't have members with us when we teach any lesson after the first lesson to our investigators. I have discovered through recent conversations with many of you that we have developed a culture of teaching without the members. This must change. We are working too hard to not have the fruits of our labors "remain".
Sometimes we confuse "efficient" with "effective". It may be more efficient to just teach on our own, but it is also far less effective to do things that way, because it will be difficult for our members to feel comfortable after their baptism and after we're gone if they haven't truly made meaningful relationships at church. The time to do that is during their process of progressing in their gospel knowledge.
As you know, President Hinckley has said, "There is absolutely no point in doing missionary work unless we hold on to the fruits of that effort. The two must be inseparable."
Elders and Sisters, please do all you can to make sure members are involved in all of our teaching, follow up and fellowshipping. If we can do this, we can be assured that the "fruit" we are harvesting "will remain."
We love you and pray for your continued success!
Love,
President and Sister Mortensen
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| Mission Leadership Council |
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| Counseling together |
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| Great group of leaders |
8 Week Follow-up Training for December arrivals
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| It was so good to see them together again! |
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| They are doing awesome! |
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| Practice teaching |