Texas Houston Mission: July 2015

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Our Pioneer Heritage

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

This past week we observed the 24th of July. This is an important day in the history of the church as we commemorate the Pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley for the first time on July 24th, 1847 after traveling through nearly impossible circumstances. We inherit this legacy as we become members of this great church whether we were raised in the church or not. It is a legacy of miracles and faith. Sister Mortensen and I both have ancestors that made great sacrifices to travel across the plains because of their faith and we feel a great duty to carry it on. This is a duty we all inherit.

The Willie and Martin handcart companies are often written about because of the remarkably difficult circumstances they endured in crossing the plains. The movie 17 Miracles is based on their story. Much of what we know about these companies, interestingly enough, is because of the records that were kept by Sister Mortensen's third great grandfather James G. Bleak. As an example of the cruel and freezing circumstances the members of these companies endured, James G. Bleak lost both of his heels on his feet and walked on the balls of his feet the rest of his life.

One of the best-known and best-loved stories of the Mormon pioneers is the testimony of Francis Webster, a member of the Martin Handcart Company. As it is told, the scene is in an adult Sunday School class of over fifty men and women in about 1904. Nathan T. Porter was the teacher and the subject under discussion was the ill-fated handcart company [Martin Handcart Company] that suffered so terribly in the snow of 1856. Some sharp criticism of the Church and its leaders was being indulged for permitting any company of converts to venture across the plains with no more supplies or protection than a handcart caravan afforded. One old man (Brother Webster) in the corner sat silent and listened as long as he could stand it, then he arose and said things that no person who heard him will ever forget.

His face was white with emotion, yet he spoke calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity. He said in substance, "I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the season? Yes! But I was in that company and my wife was in it... We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities!

"I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the Angels of God were there. "Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company."

When he sat down there was not a dry eye in the room. We were a subdued and chastened lot. Charles Mabey who latter became Governor of Utah, arose and voiced the sentiment of all when he said, "I would gladly pay the same price to personally know God the way Brother Webster has."

May we all live worthy of the great legacy of faith we have inherited by pushing through every difficult circumstance in faith knowing that the Lord will sustain us, that He has sent angels round about us to bear us up (D&C 84:88) and bless us as we serve Him and those of His children who are still out on the "plains."

Blessed, honored Pioneers.

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

I caught these cute hermanas greeting people at church a few weeks ago.

We had another wonderful Mission President's fireside tonight. I didn't get very many pictures, because there were so many great people to meet and speak with. The missionary choir sounded amazing! We had a beautiful solo from Sister Petersen, an awesome piano solo from Elder Roberts, and a tear jerker of a duet from Elder Steed and Elder Spragg. The spirit was so strong. We also enjoyed testimonies from four recent converts. They were so inspiring!

Monday, July 20, 2015

The Lord's Way

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

We have loved hearing about the many miracles that are taking place since you've been using The Book of Mormon more meaningfully and planning the Lord's way. It is amazing the miracles that take place when the "small and simple things" are done according to the Lord's will.

This reminds me of an experience between the Savior and Peter that we see repeated in the New Testament, once at the beginning of the Savior's ministry and then again at the end. When we notice repetition in the scriptures it is an invitation to look at the significance and meaning a little more closely.

The first instance is found in Luke 5:1-11. It is one of the first interactions the Savior has with Peter (Simon). The Savior comes to Peter and asks him to let his nets down for a draught ("catch" or "haul"). Peter initially protests by saying, "Master, we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net". We read in vs 6 that because of Peter's willingness to act in faith in something that didn't make a lot of sense to him, they caught so many fish that the net broke.

Similarly, after the resurrection of Jesus, He appears to His disciples who are fishing again. He calls out to them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat and promises them that they shall "find' (John 21:6). They "found" so many fish that, the scriptures teach, "they were not able to draw it (their net) for the multitude of fishes." Why did this happen? In both cases, the Savior asks them to perform an activity not really any different than they were already doing it. They are in the same boats, with the same nets and they possess the same skill. Then why the dramatic difference in results? It is interesting to see that simply by doing what He asks of them in faith and humility, their skills are magnified and their harvest is great.

We see this in our mission when missionaries humble themselves and trust God even when they don't understand. They are exactly obedient. They plan the Lord's way. They understand that the Lord is the preparer of hearts. They then discover that if they exactly follow what He asks in faith, the success is dramatically bigger than anything they can achieve in any other way.

We love you each and hope that we will have the faith and humility to perform this work in the Lord's way.

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

We had our 8 week follow-up training for the missionaries that arrived in May. They are a small but mighty group! We are so grateful for their preparation and their desire to be Master Teachers. The following are pictures taken from that training day.

The following pictures were taken a recent baptism in Conroe. It was a wonderful event!

Hermana Christensen and Hermana Haslam sang a beautiful duet.

It was Elder Allen's last night in the mission with us! We will sure miss this wonderful missionary.

We also had Temple Grounds Tours last week! It was another wonderful event attended by more than 250 people. The cloud cover and light sprinkles made the heat bearable. We are grateful for these tender mercies the Lord shows us as we try to fulfill our purpose. Here are some pictures taken that evening.