Dear Elders and Sisters,
We have just concluded some wonderful zone conferences together. Thank you for preparing for the conference, bringing the spirit with you, and participating so well. Sister Ostler and I really enjoyed the time together.
Here is a recap of some of the things we discussed, as well as the assignments everyone received:
You were called BY THE LORD to serve in this mission at this time in history You are here to fulfill prophecy. These prophecies include:
"The truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." (Joseph Smith)
"What we begin here will affect the lives of thousands and thousands of people in this island republic (the Philippines), and its effect will go on from generation to generation for great and everlasting good." (Gordon B. Hinckley)
"We will see membership in the Church in the Philippines go into the millions. Many more temples will be built here. You are doing well but you can do better. There are millions of people prepared in the Philippines" (Ian S. Ardern)
We are focused on creating "Multi-Generational Church Families"...
"The basic purpose of all we teach and all that we do in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is to make available the priesthood authority and gospel ordinances and covenants that enable a man and a woman and their children to be sealed together and happy at home. Period. Exclamation point. End of sentence. That's it." (David A. Bednar)
"Our ultimate purpose is to unite parents and children in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, linked to their generations, and assured of exaltation in the presence of our Heavenly Father." (Boyd K. Packer)
"Multi-generational families are a rich source of the spiritual nutrients that are necessary to produce posterity of promise." (David A. Bednar)
It is time to enlarge our vision. It is time to set our goals for conversion much higher.
What We Learn About Goals From "Preach My Gospel":
"Goals are our vision of what we can accomplish with the Lord's help.
Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish.
Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action.
Goal setting and planning are acts of faith.
Do everything in your power to achieve your goals while respecting the agency of others.
The ultimate measure of success is not in achieving the goals alone but in the service you render and the progress of others."
We also learned about the difference between Goals, Commitments and Covenants.
A Goal is something I hope to achieve. It is something I will work and pray and fast and plan for.
A Commitment is a promise I make to myself or someone else. It is something that I will do everything in my power to keep. Keeping commitments is the sign of a person of integrity.
A Covenant is a promise I make with God and God makes with me. There are no excuses or exceptions to keeping covenants. Covenants are more important than my mortal life. Covenants like keeping the law of chastity or paying a full tithe are not goals or commitments, they are covenants.
As a mission, we will set high, inspired goals that will cause us to stretch. We know that we will sometimes not reach these goals, but we know that stretching and exercising faith and working our hardest will bring many more people to Christ than we would otherwise.
Your companionship goals can be higher or lower than the mission vision (1 conversion indicator per week) but they should always include baptisms as the largest part.
Remember Elder Holland's counsel:
"Don't you quit. You keep walking, you keep trying, there is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late. Some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."
Many times we are too short-sighted as missionaries. We think that we need to SEE the results of our faith and efforts if we are successful. But many times we only see a small part of the results of our efforts. We need to trust God. We do our best. He does the rest.
Here are some quotes about goals:
"Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage, but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal." Elbert Hubbard
"All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible." Orisen S. Marden
"Don't let your dreams be dreams."
"Don't tell me that 'the sky is the limit' when there are footprints on the moon!"
"Nothing worth having comes easy."
"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity." Louis Pasteur
"I refuse to be anything but successful."
"Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up, with goals so strong that obstacles, failure and loss only act as motivation."
"Life was not meant to be lived in your comfort zone."
"It is not how much you want it...It's about how hard you are willing to work for it."
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." Michealangelo
"Mediocrity will never do. You are capable of something better." Gordon B. Hinckley
"Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you." Moroni 7:26
Assignments:
1. Set high, faithful goals as a companionship. These goals should focus on baptism, full activity, temple preparation and temple ordinances. Baptism is your the main focus.
2. Effectively use your 30 minutes of daily planning to focus on accomplishing your goals.
3. Visit one member family every day until you have met everyone that lives in your area.
4. Each Sunday, get to know one member you don't know well. Set up an appointment to visit them.
5. When you visit each member, give them a spiritual lesson and then practice with them how to invite others to hear our message.
Please review these notes, as well as the ones you wrote down during the conference. Make the decision that you will enlarge your vision, exercise faith, and bring many more people to the Lord. Now is the time.
We love you and pray for you. We believe in you.
President Creg Ostler
