To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,
The great news of school being out is that many more people are at home during the day. This dramatically improves the number of things to do during the day. Take advantage of these summer months to be out in the neighborhoods finding and sharing our message that the world so desperately needs.
Hopefully you had inspiring zone meetings and learned how to teach and invite to church and invite people to be baptized in ways that help them understand the blessings that come to them now (not just in eternity) as they enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost more abundantly in their lives. We realized that there was a mistake on the invitation to church outline. Please consider beginning that message with a description of the events of surrounding Luke 22 (i.e. toward the end of the Savior's life, He gather the apostles knowing that it would be one of the last times to be with them), then ask the question to liken the scripture to whomever you are teaching. You will notice that it will flow smoother this way. We will give you an updated outline the next time we meet.
When you teach about the "Why" of these ordinances, don't assume that they know how or why having the power of God in their lives will be a blessing to them. Teach them. Once they understand, they will have greater and deeper motivations to act and to change.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “Being born again, comes by the Spirit of God through ordinances.” In other words, ordinances are the means by which we can access the Spirit or power of God in our lives. We need this power. Those we teach need this power. We would invite you to read or reread Elder Bednar's last conference address entitled, "Always Retaining a Remission of Your Sins." In it, he addresses the critical nature of Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost and the Sacrament. As we understand these ordinances better, our ability to teach them with power will increase.
We are grateful for the focused efforts you are making to help those you teach SEE the kingdom by doing all we can to get to church. Your efforts are bearing much fruit resulting in 200 investigators at church this Sunday. That is a 50% increase over where we were a month ago! We love you and are grateful for your faith and diligent service!
Love,
President and Sister Mortensen
 |
| Elder Croft teaches us about the church matrix he created. |
 |
| Mission Leadership Council |
On Friday we attended Zone Meeting in the Katy Zone and enjoyed the instruction and counseling in that zone.
 |
| Katy Zone |
 |
| Elder Yanzon provides valuable training |
 |
 |
| Sister Watson trained on working with members. We were inspired with so many ideas! |
 |
| It's always a treat to hear from our mission president. |
 |
| Elder Jones trained on how to achieve our goals |
 |
| Role Plays |
