Independence Day and Moroni

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

As we turn our attention to the Independence Day, it is sometimes lost in the discussion of America's independence that the initial liberty being sought by our founding fathers was religious liberty. They wanted to be free to worship God and sought, even at the peril of their own lives, the opportunity to do so. We want to commend all of you for the way you are exercising your faith in remarkable ways to help our brothers and sisters in this area find a related kind of freedom; freedom from sin. I can think of no better way to celebrate this upcoming holiday that the way we celebrated it this weekend where we saw and unprecedented number (33) enter into the waters baptism to celebrate their own kind independence. It truly is a marvelous work and a wonder that God is performing here. It looks like this trend will continue into July because of your faith and diligence.

While great things are happening in the mission, the world in general, is going a much different direction. This past week the US Supreme Court made a ruling that once and for all, same sex couples will be allowed to marry in all 50 states. This will inevitably lead to the very calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets as prophesied by our living prophets in The Family: A Proclamation to the World. The good news is that in addition to these prophecies the promise to the righteous is that they shall not fear. Let us remember as we are sharing the gospel with those we teach, that we are inviting them to the safety of the covenants that will provide them the protection they will need in the years to come. 

As we consider these things, we want you share with you something that isn't often talked about. In the early days of the Church, Orson Hyde was called to be one of the original Twelve Apostles by the Prophet Joseph. He served under three presidents of the Church–the Prophet Joseph, Brigham Young, and John Taylor. He was one of the great Apostles of this dispensation of time. He gave a talk in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on July 4, 1854. That talk was a patriotic talk about America. He called Moroni the “guardian angel of America.” He said, “That same angel of God that appeared to Joseph Smith presides over the destiny of the United States of America.” Elder Hyde said that he [Moroni] was in the camp with George Washington. He [Moroni] helped George Washington when he had trouble. He said that same angel was with Christopher Columbus and gave him deep impressions and dreams and visions respecting the new world. He said that same angel was with Columbus on the stormy deep. He guided his frail vessel to the desired haven, and he calmed the troubled elements. (Glenn L. Rudd, BYU - I devotional 3/11/03)

It makes me energized to know that Moroni is still on our side as well as countless others like him. It was Elisha who said the words to his servant, referring to the multitudes of angels similarly on our side, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." (2 Kings 6:16)

Independence and freedom will prevail. Joseph Smith stated: "“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

It is our testimony to you, that we are on the winning team. Let hope and happiness abound. Hurrah for Israel!

We love to be on your team!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

We had another wonderful Mission President's "Why I Believe" Fireside tonight in Katy, Texas. We had a big turnout and heard some amazing musical numbers and testimonies. There was a powerful spirit there and we were all uplifted. We love these missionaries and new converts!
(Not pictured is Elder Mitchell who sang a solo performance of "This is the Christ". He's a professional! So great!)

These sisters sang a beautiful rendition of "Redeemer of my Soul"

Elder Iosefa and Elder Faamausili performed "He Is"
It was outstanding!

The Book of Mormon

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

We have seen remarkable success that has come from your faith to find in recent months. As we have reflected on how we can get a greater number of our brothers and sisters we find to progress to the waters of baptism our thoughts have turned to the Book of Mormon. In PMG we read two critically important statements:

"The Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit, is your most powerful resource in conversion." p. 104

and

"This witness of the Holy Ghost (that The Book of Mormon is true) should be a central focus of your teaching." p. 103

To these statements, we would add the following: our own testimony and statement:

"We know that the likelihood of people progressing in their conversion in and to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is directly related to their commitment to reading The Book of Mormon daily. In fact, the chances of them becoming converted is directly related to how much of The Book of Mormon they read."

We would like you to take the time to ponder these statements as companionships and districts and consider if our teaching and interaction with our investigators is reflective of our understanding of these important principles. We hope that our understanding will be reflected in our own dedication to read from it daily. 

Elders and Sisters, we invite you to consider how your are presenting The Book of Mormon to your investigators and consider it from the investigators' standpoint. If you heard your presentation, would you feel sufficiently motivated to read it? Would you know why you needed to read it? Would you understand that your hope for greater happiness depended on whether you did? Would you understand that your hope to live as families forever was possible when you came to know that it is true? Would you know what to read? Would you know how much to read? Would you feel committed to do so? If you can't answer "Yes" to these questions, we invite you to revisit how you teach The Book of Mormon and practice a better way of teaching.

With this in mind, let us add as policies in our mission a few "Nevers":

1. There should never be a time that we teach a first lesson that we don't leave without a clear return appointment.

2. There should never be a time that we teach a lesson that we're not setting an expectation of following up at least two or three days later to teach again or, at a minimum, to check on their Book of Mormon reading or to read with them.

3. There should never be an interaction with any investigator where we don't talk about what they are reading in the Book of Mormon and help them understand it more fully.

4. We should never set up a baptismal interview for any investigator if we aren't certain that they have read at least the first 15 chapters and have received a confirmation through the Holy Ghost that it's true.

PLEASE READ CHAPTER 5 OF PMG THIS WEEK AND CONSIDER HOW WE CAN BETTER USE THE BOOK OF MORMON TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSIONARY PURPOSE.

We are certain that as we allow The Book of Mormon to do what it was designed to do as described in the Title Page ("Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations") that we will see many more of our brothers and sisters become converted and be saved.

We love you and are excited by the many miracles that the Lord is performing through you!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

Sister missionaries volunteer at the peanut butter factory with Cisco Corp. Many were impressed with our missionaries and enjoyed working side beside them. We can't say we blame them!

The Elders also volunteered at the peanut butter factory with Woodforest Bank. These missionaries are great ambassadors for the church!

We had another wonderful Senior Mission Conference at the home of President and Sister Chappell

Inspirational messages were shared and great food was enjoyed. We were especially grateful to have Elder and Sister Ardmore and Elder and Sister LeBaron present. Both couples will finish their missionary service very soon and we love and appreciate them so much. They will sure be missed!

Elder and Sister Stevens

Elder and Sister LeBaron and Elder Johsnon

Oneness and Temple Grounds Tours

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

Early in this dispensation, the Lord said to the prophet Joseph Smith, "I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine." (D&C 38:27) We see this idea of the Lord's desire for His people to be "one" throughout the scriptures from the great intercessory prayer (Jn 17) to a description of Zion in describing the city of Enoch that they were of "one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness because there was no poor among them." (Moses 7:18). This idea of Oneness matters because it is clear that the combined faith a group is not only pleasing to the Lord, but it is what He requires. Great miracles will always follow.

Many studies have been done on companies that have had extraordinary success. One common theme among these companies is that a vision is shared by their employees and that they those employees work unitedly to achieve it. This is a true principle no matter what kind of organization it is whether it be a family, or a ward or a mission. If unity or oneness is a divine principle, then it stands to reason that the Adversary would like to cause dissension or discord. The effects of the Adversary's efforts lead to despair and destruction.

The dangerous part of dissension and discord is that we don't often notice how the Adversary is easing us off of the path. Sometimes this is manifest in disobedience and other times it is begins with just a failure to act. This is why the Lord, through His inspired servants, has asked missionary companions to stay together and to never be apart. These principles have been reviewed as we rolled out mobile devices. As we have been among you, we have noted a growing casualness about staying with your companion. More often than not it is innocent, but it is also a lack of focus and attention. If we know the Lord has asked us to "Be one" to keep us safe, we should make it a high priority to do so. Please stay together physically and spiritually. There is rarely an occasion that companions shouldn't be sitting right next to each other at church. There is never an occasion when companions aren't standing next to each other. There should similarly never be an occasion where a missionary condones disobedience in his/her companion if this principle is understood.

Be one as companionships, as districts and as zones. Set goals together and work unitedly to achieve them and the Lord will bless you openly.

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

We held Temple Grounds Tours again last night. It was our second month in a row of having more than 300 people in attendance! We all enjoyed the spirit of the temple and many people felt a desire to know more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as a result. Here are some pictures from the evening.

Smiling Ushers

Tour guide mic check

Tour Guides

Passing out fans

Elder Barlow leads a tour

Elder Sua leads a tour

A great group from College Station 

Elder Wildman talks about eternal families on his tour

Elder Petersen leading a tour

It's so exciting to see so many on the grounds of the temple wanting to know more about it's purpose. It's wonderful to have an army of missionaries ready to teach and explain the gospel!

Elder Allen leads a tour

Elder Sua explains the significance of the Angel Moroni

Elder Petersen in action

A wonderful evening

Building Faith

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission:

This month our family has taken the challenge to focus on a Christ-like virtue and the one we have chosen is faith. After spending time reminding ourselves of what faith is and perhaps as importantly what it isn't, I have been thinking about the process of building faith. This has reminded me about my first experience going to the gym after my mission. I quickly realized how much strength I had lost and began the process of building strength back up. For muscle to grow, two things have have to happen:

1. Muscles need to experience stress/tension

2. This stress needs to damage the muscle so that it can be built back up or repaired

If you want this process to happen faster, you have to lift more weight. There is one critical requirement that has to be present to protect you from injury if you are going to lift heavier weight: you need to have a "Spotter". A spotter is a person who is there only to help you be successful. They don't necessarily touch the weight if they don't need to, but they are there to make sure you succeed. A good spotter will push you beyond what you think you can do because they know what your objective is and they want to help you achieve it. He will hold you accountable

The process of building muscle is very similar to the process of building faith. In Ether we read that "you receive no witness until after the trial ("stress") of your faith." (Ether 12:6). Similarly we read Lehi's council to Jacob who suffered some "stresses" of his faith when Lehi says of Jacob's afflictions that God will, "consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain." (2 Ne 2:3) 

None of us come into the mission field with faith that is sufficient to do God's work. Consequently, He sees the need to stress our faith in hopes of helping it grow. The first step of this is to "damage" the faith that we have which is usually faith in ourselves so He can build our faith back up; a faith that is in Him rather than in us. This sometimes a painful process. Sometimes the natural man in each of us resents the process. Mercifully the Lord has given us "spotters" in the mission field to help us succeed. These spotters are trainers, district leaders, STLs, ZLs and Sister Mortensen and I. The Savior Himself is the ultimate spotter. All of these missionaries are here to help you build faith; the kind of faith necessary that Joseph Smith taught was necessary unto life and salvation. To build it however, requires the sacrifice of all things. (Lectures on Faith 6:5).

If we understand that the Lord wants us to build the kind of faith that endures, are we going to resent the process? Will we resent the spotters who are in place to help us succeed? In Paul's words, "God forbid". We ought to embrace the process, embrace the accountability and give all that we have so our faith can endure well beyond the mission field.

We love you and are proud to be associated with you in this great work!

President and Sister Mortensen

We passed out the iPads at out last Mission Leadership Council. We are excited to progress the work of the Lord with these great tools. 

Our Mission Leadership Council--such great leaders!

The next several pictures were taken at the 8 week follow-up training for all the missionaries who arrived in April. They are doing great and are effective teachers. We love to see how far they have come!