Get Ready for Zone Conferences!

To the missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

We feel spoiled to be able to get together with you more frequently in zone conferences :). We look forward to seeing you this week. Your speaking assignments for which we would like you to prepare in anticipation of our conferences are as follows:

More experienced companion: 1 Ne 16:10-32 and Alma 37:37-47

Please look for applications to our missionary service. What principles is the Lord trying to teach us? What does He want for us? Why? What do you learn that you need to do more diligently to be lead by the Lord to those who He has prepared?

Less experienced companion: 1 Ne 17

Please look for applications to our missionary service. What principles is the Lord trying to teach us? What does He want for us? Why? What do you learn that you need to do more diligently to be lead by the Lord to those who He has prepared?

We also would like you to do a little homework in advance so you can prepared for some work we will do at the conference. Each companionship MUST bring the following to zone conference:

1. A current list of your unbaptized children of record 

2. A current list of the part member families in your ward(s).

3. A current list of prospective Elders

4. A list of non members who attend your ward(s) fairly regularly

5. A list of recent converts from your ward(s) in the last two years

6. A list of all former investigators who once had a baptismal date

7. A list of all former investigators who previously attended church.

Sources: 

Your ward council/Bishops will be your best resource for #s 1-4 above.

Your area books will be the best sources for #s 5-7 above.

It it critical that you have this information by your zone conference date. Make the time to be sure you have the best information. The better your preparation, the more likely we will be to receive the revelation we need. Call me with questions.

We are seeing a great number of miracles in our mission every week. We must remember that they will continue only as we qualify to be used by Him to do His work!

We love you and are excited to see you!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

We had a Mission President's "Why I Believe" Fireside last night. It was a spirit filled evening of testimonies and beautiful music. We are so grateful for all who participated!

Teaching People According to their Needs

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

We hope you all enjoyed a happy Easter! As we put the training plan together for this month, we couldn't help but be grateful for the great teachers you have become. Your willingness to take an interest in those you teach is a Christ-like attribute. Your growing ability to listen carefully and with love allows you to adapt your teaching to the needs of those you teach. We marvel at the increasing power of your teaching and find ourselves feeling happy for your children to have you as their primary gospel teachers :).

As we think in terms of the need to teach people according to their needs, we couldn't help but consider how valuable it would be to better understand the things that appeal to those we teach. Several years ago, there was a study done by the church where they did an extensive survey of new converts to determine what it was about the Church that initially interested them. These were the results, in order of frequency mentioned:

1. The feeling of closeness to God that they wanted to experience because they could see this closeness in the lives of Mormons they knew.

2. Happiness and a sense of peace which they wanted and which they saw in the lives of Mormons they knew.

3. They wanted a better sense of purposefulness and direction in their lives. They tended to see this in Mormons they knew.

Their interest in the gospel stemmed primarily due to the fact that they saw these attributes in the MEMBERS they knew. Interestingly, only 9% of converts said that the doctrine was the main thing that attracted them to the Church. So it's not typically the doctrine that initially attracts them, it is seeing what they desire in the lives of MEMBERS. Elders and Sisters, the very presence of members in our lessons enhances the chances to teach people according to their needs. That is not to say that the doctrine isn't important, because once they are comfortable with what they "see," it is the doctrine that keeps them in the path. The doctrine is critical, but it's typically not what they are looking for at least at first. If that's the case, think about how this knowledge should change our initial interaction with people.

We need to approach people with things that matter to them. At the bottom of p. 159 in PMG we read, "Addressing the importance of the family with those you meet each day will help you find people to teach. Most people have a natural interest in families." On page 160, there is a great example of how we can quickly relate a discussion on families to the Restoration of the gospel. Allow members to share how the gospel has blessed their family. Review with the members the three things above that are the things most people are looking for.

As we learn to teach people according to their needs and allow them to "see" the way it blesses the lives of our members, we will fulfill the prophetic mandate of having "members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto him." (Pres Monson - Oct 2013 Gen Conference)

We hope we will never lose track of the need to perform this work with the faithful members who reside in the Great Texas Houston Mission!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

We held the 8 Week Follow-up training for the missionaries who arrived last February. They all looked great and are becoming wonderful teachers. We are so blessed to have them all in the THM!

8 Week Follow-up Training

More 8-weekers

Great lunch company

Elder Gilbert in action. 

Role Plays

The Conroe District

Love Expressed in the Lord's Way

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

We loved Elder Palmer's talk in the recent General Conference. He spoke of a the interaction between the Savior and the young rich ruler. He mentioned that after the young ruler had approached the Savior, Jesus beheld him and loved him. Ironically, it was as a consequence of this feeling of love that He felt for the young ruler that the Savior asks more of him by saying:

"One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” (Mark 10:17-21)

It is interesting to consider that one of the great manifestations of the Savior's love is that as we draw nearer to Him,  He asks MORE of us rather than less. Elder Holland reaffirms this in his talk when he indicated that the Savior's invitation is to "come as you are, but don't expect to stay as you are." In PMG, ch 11, we read that we too can show "love for the people and your faith in God's promises by following up to help them repent and keep their commitments." (p. 196)

Upon reflecting on the process of building our faith and the faith in those we love, I have been reminded of 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 this work 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 our mission to help us succeed in building our faith. These spotters are trainers, district leaders, STLs, ZLs and Sister Mortensen and me. 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. This happens as Invitations, in the forms of commitments, are extended and followed up on. For our faith to grow however, it requires the sacrifice of all things (Lectures on Faith 6:5).

If we understand that the Lord wants to build within us 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 to accept and keep commitments so our faith can endure well beyond the mission field.

We love the great faith we see in you collectively and individually. We all need to allow the Lord to help our faith grow and continue to draw even nearer to Him as more is asked of us!

We love you and are honored to serve with you in this great mission!

President and Sister Mortensen

The following pictures were taken at Mission Leadership Council last Tuesday.

Mission Leadership Council

President Mortensen teaches a Mormons 101 class at Texas A&M

The Houston North Zone (new zone including Spanish and English missionaries. Yay!)

General Conference is the Best!

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

What a wonderful time of year it is to have the opportunity to hear from prophets and apostles as well as other church leaders. We hope you were inspired by the messages of this weekend. We also hope you took great notes. We would like you to be prepared to share the messages that made the greatest impact on you at zone meetings this upcoming week.

March has been another great month in our mission. It is a tribute to your sustained efforts that is related to your growing faith and commitment to the Lord. We thought of you when we listened to Sister Joy D. Jones speak. She spoke of "spiritual integrity." She defined this as living consistent with your vision. We can't think of any group with whom we have ever been associated that has had greater spiritual integrity than the missionaries in this mission. You know the vision and the goals, but more importantly, you are living your lives in ways that allows the Lord to bless you consistent with that vision.

We love you and are honored to be serving with you!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

Lunch with these amazing sisters!

Temple Trip with departing missionaries

The Assistants

Testimony meeting

Elder Jones and Dane playing catch :)

Airport with departing missionaries

We will sure miss these consecrated missionaries!

Last goodbyes

On this stormy day, after a detour to San Antonio, here comes Elder Conley!

Finally with the Assistants 

Sister Siri made it from the Mexico MTC

Wonderful new missionaries in the THM

The Assistants give some training

Sister Siri and Sister Kizerian

Elder Stubbs with his trainer Elder Whitlock

Elder Conley with his trainer Elder Williams

Sister Siri with her trainer Sister Taylor

We attended District Meeting in the Cypress District and were inspired by the great missionaries and leadership. Here are a few pictures taken that day.

Elder Myers is a great district leader!

Role Playing

Cypress District