To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,
It has been great to be out with many of you recently observing you teach and teaching with you. Great blessings are coming to you and to those you teach because of your diligence. Many are coming into the safety of covenants on account of your selfless service.
In our home this month we have selected Charity as the Christ-like virtue we will be studying. I have had a couple of experiences lately that have prompted our message this week. Often, when I interview candidates for baptism I ask them who they have invited to attend their baptism. Usually, the answer is no one. Elders and Sisters we do those we teach a great disservice by not encouraging and committing them to prayerfully consider who they could invite to attend that service. We recognize the Lord's voice in D&C 18 when He says:
10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!
We have a responsibility to teach each investigator the importance of EVERY soul and the duty they take upon themselves as they commit to follow Jesus Christ. In PMG we read:
When people are baptized, they make a covenant to always stand as witnesses of God. They are commanded to share the gospel with those who have not yet received it. As they live the gospel faithfully, they will set an example, showing their family members and friends the great blessings that come from living the gospel." p. 84
When I have these interviews, I share with each candidate the story of Joseph that was sold into Egypt. I ask them why they think the Lord allowed Joseph to be separated from his family if he was doing what was right in the sight of God. I then ask them if they know how the story ends. They usually do, but when they don't I let them know that the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, used Joseph and Joseph's righteousness to save Joseph's family. I then share with the baptismal candidate that they are very much like Joseph. The Lord is leading them out of the world the same way and that as they keep their covenants and as they reach out in charity and love to those family and friends they will be in a position to save those they love. I then commit them to invite people to their baptism. When they give me names, I ask, "Who else?" until they can't think of anyone else :).
Elders and Sisters we owe it to those we lead to the waters of baptism to help them develop this Christ-like attribute of Charity. I was with Elder Noriega and Schloer this week and was impressed that as they have been diligent in encouraging those they teach to invite those they know to their baptisms, the number of people lining up to be taught and baptized seems to have no end. I know many of you do this well and hope that you will continue or commit to do better.
Peter makes a promise to the recent converts in his day when he tells them to be "true" to what they have learned and then says this, speaking of those they leave behind temporarily, "whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:12).
We love each of you and look forward to continued miracles and blessings!
Love,
President and Sister Mortensen
And the Winner of the Special Zone Activity is...
The Houston West-South Zone
Congratulations on your hard work and dedication!
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| Winning volleyball team. They were unstoppable. |
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| Second place :) |
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| Lightening round of basketball |
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| Ladder ball |
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| Hermana Rupp wanted nothing more than to knock President out of lightening. |
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| Last round Elder Wagner wins |
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| Lunch at CiCi's |
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| Elder Schinn makes the Mortensen's Chinese food. Delicious! |
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| Mission Leadership Council. We had a great MLC last week and have heard wonderful reports on how well they took the training to their zones. We love having these great leaders to carry the work forward. |
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| We had the rare opportunity to attend the Open House reception in College Station of our former missionary Sister Huber! They make a beautiful couple and we are so happy for the Kuttlers. |
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| We loved seeing the Hueffners our Sam Houston State Institute missionary couple. (President Mortensen and Sister Hueffner are related) |
We held Temple Grounds Tours last evening and had a record number of attendees. 348 people toured the temple grounds in 104 degree weather! The people of Houston love the temple.
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| Our Tour Guides |
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| Elder Louder takes a tour |
