To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,
As we sat during the third hour of church yesterday listening to the First Presidency's message restating the church's position on marriage and the doctrine relating to it, we couldn't help but reflect on The Book of Mormon. As we read from its pages we are always struck by the fact that the righteous tend to be the minority and yet, despite the small size of their numbers, they prevail. It has always been the tactic of the Adversary to try to overwhelm the righteous and cause us to feel hopeless. One of the best illustrations of this takes place in 3rd Nephi chapter 4. The wickedness had gotten so great that Giddianhi, the Lamanite leader had assembled a large army and wanted to destroy the Nephites. In vs 7 we read:
7 And it came to pass that they did come up to battle; and it was in the sixth month; and behold, great and terrible was the day that they did come up to battle; and they were girded about after the manner of robbers; and they had a lamb-skin about their loins, and they were dyed in blood, and their heads were shorn, and they had head-plates upon them; and great and terrible was the appearance of the armies of Giddianhi, because of their armor, and because of their being dyed in blood.
Interestingly, instead of feeling hopeless, the Nephites fell to the earth "and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies." (v. 8) Their hope was not in their own strength, but was in God. Because it was their hope in Him who could deliver them and He did.
Elders and Sisters, as it was then, so it is now. The Adversary would like nothing more than to rob us of hope; to tell us we aren't good enough, aren't smart enough, will never measure up, that we have some limitation that can never be overcome, etc. If we don't believe it initially, he will try to use great numbers of people to tell us the same thing so that we feel compelled to believe. Unfortunately, we see that he succeeds more often than not in the world leaving people filled with sadness and despair. He cannot and must not succeed with us. He will not succeed if we remember to feed hope. Our hope comes through our understanding of the Plan of Salvation and the central role of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that makes it all possible. We love to read Moroni's words in Ether 12:4 where he states:
4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.
All things have been overcome through Jesus Christ. The promises made to the righteous are sure. We have every reason to hope for a better world, for a happy life, for success in our missionary labors and the assurance that we can overcome everything that currently besets us. What a wonderful message it is to share! We are the light to the world!
We are studying hope as a Christ-like attribute this month in our family. There has never been a greater need to feed our hope so we can be sure and steadfast in the storms that are coming!
We love you and are inspired by your faith and hope.
Love,
President and Sister Mortensen
We had transfers this past week! We said goodbye to many wonderful missionaries and leaders in this mission. While it was sad to see them go, we know the Lord has great things in store for them as they press forward in faith. We received a wonderful group of 20 new missionaries that are ready to serve. It's always a blessing to meet them and feel the great spirit they bring.
Here are some pictures from transfers.
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| Departing missionaries at the temple in the pouring rain! |
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| All the sisters |
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| Elder Rios' parents met us at the temple |
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| Testimony meeting with departing missionaries |
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| Good-bye to Hermana Buno. Her flight left early. |
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| Elder Rios was leaving with his parents. |
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| So much luggage! |
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| Sister Peterson and the original road trip girls :) |
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| Hermana Coley |
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| Hermana McOmber |
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| Elder Weaver with his parents |
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| Elder Derbidge and his family |
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| Off to the airport |
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| Sister Taufa has a long journey home to Tonga |
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| Goodbyes for Elder Grasse |
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| Last words from President |
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| Remaining departing missionaries |
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| We will miss you so much! |
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| Sophie driving the transfer van? |
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| Elder Barlow talks to everyone |
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| Here they come....our new missionaries! |
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| It's so exciting to finally meet |
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| Heading to baggage claim |
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| New English missionaries! They are an impressive group. We love them! |
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| Here are our two hermanas from the Mexico MTC |
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| Texas BBQ at the mission home |
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| Testimony meeting with the new missionaries. |
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| Basketball while we wait. |
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| Quick trip to see the Houston Temple to remind us to begin with the end in mind. |
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| Waiting to meet their trainers |
The following pictures are of the new missionaries with their trainers.
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| Twinning! |
The following pictures were taking on the 4th of July. We are so grateful for this free country that we can worship in and share the message of the Restoration.
