Book Review: Every Day Missionaries

Today will be a broadcast from the church about missionary work.  It's nation wide and will be rebroadcast to the rest of the world. You can learn more about it here:

http://www.lds.org/church/events/the-work-of-salvation-missionary-broadcast?lang=eng

I recently read this book.  I loved it because it taught HOW to get it into the investigators heart; HOW to pray, HOW to keep the Sabbath day holy, HOW to study a book of scripture.  All things that most don't know how to do.  We often baptize people who don't get it, who don't know how to do these things, but this tells us HOW to help get it IN to them!

Mr. Christensen is a member of the 70.  

I took copious notes and I'd like to share them here: 

Part 1 Finding People for the Missionaries to Teach

Ch 1:  1. We don’t need to transform our relationships into friendships as a pre-requisite to invite others to learn about the gospel. (p 21)

2.We don’t have to prepare them.

3. You don’t know who will say yes or no.

4. Asking is success in itself regardless of how it turns out.

Ch 2:  1. Use Finding NEMO (not in the book, but same idea)  NEMO: Natural expressions missionary opportunities.  2. When they ask you a question, ask them “why?” so you know how to answer something they are interested in and you know how to respond.  People joined a. closeness to God they saw in others, b. happiness and sense of peace, c. better sense of purposefulness and direction.   3. Decoupling: “I’m going to ask you a question, but before I do we need to agree that our friendship won’t be affected if you decide this isn't of interest to you.”  4. Compare the questions WE ask, not our answers, i.e.. Joseph Smith question, Council of Nicea- stopped asking questions after words.  Ask them questions as explanations.

Ch 3: Ask them to help us: teach, move, career nights, basketball team.  Focus on a. getting members involved in community organizations. b. invite them to serve with us!  People want to help! 

Ch 4:  Share at work through 1. Words (NEMO) 2. Use the gospel to solve problems.  See the 5 things he learned p 67-68.

Ch 5: Set deadlines to goals and it will happen.   The desperation principle.   It happens near the end!

Ch 6: Sharing the gospel online.  a. create web sites b. call online missionaries c. have non-members read it and help with editing for effectiveness.  See these web sites: 

ablogaboutlove.com

mormonperspectives.com

youngandmormon.com

Part 2 Teaching Toward Conversion

Ch 7: Teach how to pray: ask investigator to listen and notice while 3 people pray.  They usually notice the beginning, how to end, thanking and asking.

Ch 8: Teach how to study the BOM. Have them come with questions.  Give them 2 short assignments to read. Have them pray, read, write, pray read write pray. The writing forces you to think about it.

Ch 9: Teach how to keep the Sabbath day holy.  1. Schedule a mtg with the missionaries at the church.  Teach a wonderful lesson.  2. Teach to take the sacrament; teach to keep the rest of the day holy.  Read Mosiah 3: 16-19   Ask what are some unholy things people do on Sunday?  What are holy thing to do?

Ch 10: Teach about temptations: Our opponents are not passive.  1. Disobey God’s commandments – It’s easier to keep them 100% of the time than 98%.  2. Personal apostasy.  We need to teach that questions lead to revelation. We will learn more and more, but the whole complete truth has already been there!

Part 3 Building the Kingdom of God. (amazing results)

Ch 11: U-night, a mtg in church, each proselyting family brought another family.  Movie- then discussion in home, then U-night with more families, etc. 

Ch 12: In Boston, a twig.  12 people met in a home, then 20, then 40, then 80, 120, a branch.  All because after every meeting they asked themselves who didn't come and then went out and brought them back in! 

Ch 13:  2 wards, 2 branches made into 8 branches and that brought growth.  People called to serve that were not prepared or worthy, but in the desperation it worked.  Strong people trained and there was amazing growth.  Leaders saw themselves as trainers.

Ch 14: The Lord trusts these words to love the new members, to embrace new people when they came in and to do missionary work because they did it!  Amazing number results in Ireland, affluent ward in Boston, and New Hampshire mission area.

Ch 15: Spanish Branch with not enough priesthood.  They fasted for a weekend for god to send a man to lead to bring change.  Next Sunday a 15 year old stuttering Jamie came.  He had a way with children, helped the missionaries out with kids, people joined.  When he came home from his mission no one left the room after his talk.  13 boys came up and promised to go on missions when they turned 19.  12 did.

Ch 16: The thoughts and ways of God

1.      The simple and weak D&C 1:19-24

2.      Friends, responsibilities and nourishment's

3.      The good shepherd “How think ye?”  Who could have been here today that didn't come?”

4.      Love one another.  God trusted these wards. It wasn't miraculous, it’ was predictable.  D&C 58:26-29

Epilogue  My Testimony.  He thinks about missionary work and many other things every day. (He's a Harvard professor)  He simply has been trying to learn fundamental truth and falsehoods that affect us.  He leaves us with a web site to help us do all the things he taught in the book.  

http://www.everydaymissionaries.org/

Truth as it really was, and IS!

The Titanic and Our Iceburgs

symbolic of pride

This spoke to me. 
I've hit my own ice berg. 

His name is Jason and he left me to sink. 
 

On the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the unsinkable Titanic, the world is abuzz with Life Lessons using the Titanic as the object lesson or Metaphor for such rewarding opportunities to ponder "What If?" or  looking back asking, "What would I have done?' or 'How could I learn from this tragedy, even 100 years later?"

Humility would be a good starter lesson:  She was labeled 'unsinkable'!  And because she was, certain precautions were not taken.  Speed, insufficient life boats, safety procedures are just a few symptoms of the arrogance that accompanies Pride when one thinks they are 'unsinkable'.  

Goliath should have won his battle with his small 'iceberg' but he took for granted his size and 'unsinkableness'  and his Pride and Arrogance were his undoing.

David, should have learned from the down fall of Goliath but instead he perpetuated the 'unsinkable'  attitude and lingered on the balcony instead of running like his cousin Joseph of Egypt.  

I recently read the farewell words of one of our missionary assistants where he acclaimed his 'unsinkable'  testimony, but reading his words 25 years later was with great sadness as I know from his family that he has abandoned both his family and his church.   He found his iceberg and it took him down.  

I met just today with a wonderful and faithful latter-day Saints mother who, along with her husband, did all the expected LDS things with her family during the growing up years; church, scouting, early morning seminary, family home evening, family prayer, positive attitude, scripture reading...and with confidence they believed their kids to be 'unsinkable' only to watch some of them leave home and sink as they ran into the icebergs of education before they could get planted in the mission field.   They grieve and wonder what more they could have done to 'warn'  of the frozen waters and icebergs they were surely going to face?  They are not alone as they ask the "What if..."  questions.  

This nation,  the greatest ever 'born',  has been a beacon of hope for the world and for the last 60 years, she seemed unsinkable.  A Land of Opportunity.  A land of hope for anyone who with some education, a Christian set of values and the desire to 'get up early and work hard'  could 'find their oil'  and take it to the bank.  An unstoppable formula for success.   But we have scrapped up against some icebergs along the way, punctured our armor and are heading for the 'big one' because we have let Pride and our Arrogance lead us to believe that 'there is an easier way to  live the American Dream.  We don't have to get up as early or work as hard and worst of all, many now believe that the American Dream is an ENTITLEMENT. Our leader smirks and makes light of our massive and unstoppable debt and preaches the doctrine of 'fairness'  that he says will fix the leaks and tells us the 'big one'  ahead is not so big and for us to TRUST him and he will lead us to the promised land where we can all enjoy the beach. The scary part is that many are 'dancing on the deck'  while the double walls have been breached and icy water is slowing sinking the ship. 

I'm so thankful for my parents who poured the foundation of 'getting up early and hard work'; a pre-mission education with an Institute across the street to keep some balance in my 'pursuit of education'; a mission president who gave me the rest of the formula for success;  a wife who was grounded in the things that mattered most and wanted nothing else in her life;  an opportunity to be mentored by humble, but successful people who knew where the icebergs were and kept me focused on a course to avoid them.   Take anyone of those 'pieces' of my life away and there is a incredible chance my ship too would have sunk before it got through the ice fields of life. My early Foundation, my Mission and the Formula for Success, my Education, my Spouse, my Family, my Mentors, the Books I read, the Callings we've accepted, the Invitations we've received, the Failures we experienced and even the Successes we have had - each has played a significant part in providing the radar defense to warn of impending doom ahead - icebergs if you will - and have helped us steer clear of those dangers.

1,500 people died 100 years ago as a reminder to me, my family and to my friends that there is danger ahead and if the warnings are ignored they will certainly sink any ship that arrogantly believes they can move forward, full steam ahead, oblivious of the destruction that await us. 

I'm fearful that too many of us are, like David,  watching from the safety of our balcony, the majesty of a rapidly approaching iceberg and not realizing that what we see is only the tip and before we know it, it  could be too late and as the band plays on we might not get a seat on one of the few life boats.   

Thankfully most of us who are reading this are not like David, but are more like Joseph and have put on our running shoes, swim suit and thermals and are already sitting in one of the lifeboats and will enjoy the orchestra music as we are lowered into the sea and will safely await the Rescue.  And thankfully there is still time to get more into the lifeboats and to find a new captain who knows what's ahead. 

Man the Lifeboats...

Bro Jim (A church member in Hawaii that served with my Uncle and Uunt Mckell on their mission to BYU-Hawaii) 

Things I must share!

Encouraging respect for religious diversity

Let us as latter-day Saints reach out to others not of our faith. Let us never act in a spirit of arrogance or with a holier-than-thou attitude. Rather, may we show love and respect and helpfulness toward them. We are greatly misunderstood, and I fear that much of it is of our own making. We can mbe more tolerant, more neighborly, more friendly, more of an expample than we have been in the past. Let us teach our children to treat others with friendship, respect, love and admiration. That will yeild a far better result than will an at titude of egotism and arrogance.

April 2000 President Gordon B. Hinckley