Happy Halloween, Everyone! :)
I apologize for not letting you know that my Preparation Day has been switched to today! Yesterday we had our annual General Authority mission tour! This year Elder Sitati of the Seventy came. It was a day FULL of great things!
So, the entire mission tour conference was split into two days; zones 1-5 were yesterday and zones 6-9 were today. Aside from having the actual conference, Elder Sitati also wanted to meet with the Mission Leadership Council individually. So, the first half of us met with him at 8:00 yesterday morning. It was phenomenal being able to be taught directly at the feet of a General Authority. I could feel the power of his calling. There were a LOT of things I got out of it and took a ton of notes. Most of the things Elder Sitati talked to us about was how we can be better and more effective leaders on our missions and in our lives after our mission. We talked a lot about what it means to be a good listener and how to apply that to ourselves in our personal ministry. I learned a lot from the example of Jesus Christ about trusting the Lord and how the Lord can trust in me.
Matthew 28:18 - “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
Why was Jesus Christ given all power in heaven and in earth? Because He did nothing but the will of the Father. Heaven Father knew that Jesus wouldn’t ever do anything contrary to His will, so the Father could trust Him with His power. The same thing applies for us!
John 15:7 - “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
If we are exactly obedient to the commandments of the Father and do nothing but His will, we will also be trusted with the Father’s power.
Part of the reason we are here on earth — part of the reason we go on missions, go to church, study the scriptures, etc. — is to learn how to be perfected. This is done through doing exactly what we should be exactly when we should be doing it. Can the Lord trust that I will alwayschoose right? This is how we gain spiritual power. Power to overcome temptation, power to bless others, power to understand and apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ so we may be sanctified, etc. What a wonderful promise the Lord has given that if we abide in Him, and Him in we, we can be given power to all things in line with the Father’s will!!
Some other things I learned was about listening to others! These are some of my notes from the conference (so they may be a little all over the place): Empathy without judgement is crucial! This applies into all aspects of life and especially missionary work! Talking openly with others will help them talk openly with you. Allow them to vent. People confess because they want to get rid of things weighing heavily on them. Continue to hold them in high esteem, showing an increase of love! Show that you are willing to listen. If you want to end a conversation and leave, it is because you have stopped listening. Talk with people naturally to find out their needs! When you listen to people, they will also listen to you! There is a special bond of friendship and trust that comes/is established when you listen. I am here to care about, serve, and love people! My main goal/motivator is to help them with anything they need. With every person, find the opportunity to build trust. Give the Holy Ghost — not you — time to work. Your agenda is the agenda of the investigator! If your investigator wants to talk, let them talk. If you have the desire to make them stop talking, you have stopped listening. This is about truly seeing into their heart. If that takes two hours, then it takes two hours. It takes time to build a relationship of trust with people where they can open up completely to tell you the interest of their heart. John 21: When teaching His apostles, the Lord first provides them with what they think they need (fish, food, etc.), then teaches them what they actually need in order to succeed and live according to the will of the Father (feed His sheep). Peter loved and trusted the Lord and upon seeing Him, expected that He was going to lift him to higher ground (hence the reason he jumps out of the boat and swims to the Savior). As the Savior fed and taught Peter, there was no condemnation in His voice. We should emulate this as we life those around us.
Elder Sitati made a HUGE point of going to every investigator with the attitude and intent of being a good friend. This includes listening to them and learning of their interests. People will do the things that are of interest to them. As we listen to them and get in their hearts, the Spirit will move us to do something or say something that will touch their hearts and encourage them to act. They will feel the Spirit who entices them to do good!
If you get a chance, study the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and compare it to Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life. SO GOOD!!!
Anyway, now that I have rambled on for so long, I will wrap things up :) I am so grateful for the experiences Heavenly Father has given me to build me up and help me become the man He needs me to be. I love this gospel! I love the Lord! I love serving Him! Let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you! :)
I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!
Elder Snell’s
- President and Sister Reynolds and Elder Snell
- My friend Amulek! :)
- The Lariego’s at the ward Halloween Party!!!!!! They made those themselves!! Maleficent and her ravens.
- Brother Moustakas’ Porsche
- Cool bridge in the distance
- Sweet sunset skyline! From a distance... haha
- Elder Fausett with an eagle
- Throw back to my first day in NY!!!!!
- The rest are from our zone activity today at Gantry Park!!!! Tons of fun!
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