We got to go to the temple this weekend
with 5 recent converts while they did baptisms for the dead. It really got me
thinking about family history work. It's pretty great that the temple provides
names and the ordinances get done for people on the other side of the veil, but
wouldn't it be cooler to be able to take your own family to the temple? There
is this lady named April Cook who is preparing to be endowed in a couple weeks,
when she hits her year mark of being baptized. She came up with this really awesome idea to give
her family names to all those that would be accompanying her that day. So on
Friday she was baptized for several women in her family and one of her guy
friends was baptized for some men, including her grandfather who had passed
away a couple years ago. You could just
see the difference family history made in April's life. She was bouncing up and
down with the BIGGEST smile on her face and afterwards she told us how amazing
she felt while both the men and women's ordinances were being completed. I miss
being able to perform baptisms for the dead, and I've decided that once I get
home from my mission that I'm only going to take personal family names when I
go to the temple. I can see the difference it's made in April's life and I want
that for myself and for my family on the other side.
Along with temple night we also had stake conference this weekend. Elder Parker of the Area Seventy came out to speak to us and that was pretty cool. Saturday evening's session was really cool because it was all about hastening the work, every talk. Stake President Slezak talked about the stake goals regarding missionary work and I really like the four things that they are trying to do. First they have asked everyone to pray daily for missionary experiences. A missionary experience doesn't have to be teaching your neighbor or your friend a discussion about one of the gospel principles. A missionary experience can be simple and short, like inviting someone to attend a church activity. The second thing the stake is doing is trying to have a gospel conversation every week. They are going for a simple conversation, simply talking about why they do what they do in their life. Why they go to church for three hours every Sunday. Why they're buying so many boxes of ice cream sandwiches for the youth activity they're helping with. They try to talk about WHY they do what they do. Third, they want to have missionaries teaching discussions in members homes. I really like this one because it helps a lot with retention of recent converts. When people have others that they know in the ward, it's easier for them to go to church and to become involved in conversations and in activities. There are so many blessings for everyone when ward members get involved with the full time missionaries. The last thing that the stake leaders are encouraging is people attending convert baptisms. This shows the convert support and love and there is nothing greater than someone covenanting with God to be a better person and seeing the happiness that the gospel brings into someone's life that didn't have it before. If you're looking for ways to get more involved with missionary work, I would strongly encourage starting with these four things.
I think all this talk about working with the full time missionaries and inviting them into your house really stuck with Betsy Crowley because Sunday afternoon after stake conference was over she invited us and the elders over to her house for lunch. That was a really good experience because her boyfriend who is not a member was there with his two boys and we were able to show him that Mormons aren't weird, that missionaries are regular people. Betsy didn't want us to be too bold or pushy with him because he is content with his faith and isn't looking to change. She was asking us lots of questions about our missions, though, and I'm pretty sure it was half curiosity and half wanting to show Scott that we are all about serving others and not forcing our religion down other people's throats. It was also a good opportunity for us to get to know Betsy's three kids, her twin girls Ashley and Catherine and her son Jeffery. Gosh I love the youth. I swear Catherine is my twin, even though she already has one. Catherine loves dance and theater, reading, being creative, serving others and the gospel. She's already planning on going on a mission because she wants to help others and do all the things that you do on missions. She and her siblings are amazing. I'm definitely planning on using them to help us with missionary work. Hopefully they will click with Kionnee Bell, who just got baptized in April and is having a rough time with coming to church and doing good things. Being a teenager can be rough if you don't have the right friends to help you make good decisions.
Along with temple night we also had stake conference this weekend. Elder Parker of the Area Seventy came out to speak to us and that was pretty cool. Saturday evening's session was really cool because it was all about hastening the work, every talk. Stake President Slezak talked about the stake goals regarding missionary work and I really like the four things that they are trying to do. First they have asked everyone to pray daily for missionary experiences. A missionary experience doesn't have to be teaching your neighbor or your friend a discussion about one of the gospel principles. A missionary experience can be simple and short, like inviting someone to attend a church activity. The second thing the stake is doing is trying to have a gospel conversation every week. They are going for a simple conversation, simply talking about why they do what they do in their life. Why they go to church for three hours every Sunday. Why they're buying so many boxes of ice cream sandwiches for the youth activity they're helping with. They try to talk about WHY they do what they do. Third, they want to have missionaries teaching discussions in members homes. I really like this one because it helps a lot with retention of recent converts. When people have others that they know in the ward, it's easier for them to go to church and to become involved in conversations and in activities. There are so many blessings for everyone when ward members get involved with the full time missionaries. The last thing that the stake leaders are encouraging is people attending convert baptisms. This shows the convert support and love and there is nothing greater than someone covenanting with God to be a better person and seeing the happiness that the gospel brings into someone's life that didn't have it before. If you're looking for ways to get more involved with missionary work, I would strongly encourage starting with these four things.
I think all this talk about working with the full time missionaries and inviting them into your house really stuck with Betsy Crowley because Sunday afternoon after stake conference was over she invited us and the elders over to her house for lunch. That was a really good experience because her boyfriend who is not a member was there with his two boys and we were able to show him that Mormons aren't weird, that missionaries are regular people. Betsy didn't want us to be too bold or pushy with him because he is content with his faith and isn't looking to change. She was asking us lots of questions about our missions, though, and I'm pretty sure it was half curiosity and half wanting to show Scott that we are all about serving others and not forcing our religion down other people's throats. It was also a good opportunity for us to get to know Betsy's three kids, her twin girls Ashley and Catherine and her son Jeffery. Gosh I love the youth. I swear Catherine is my twin, even though she already has one. Catherine loves dance and theater, reading, being creative, serving others and the gospel. She's already planning on going on a mission because she wants to help others and do all the things that you do on missions. She and her siblings are amazing. I'm definitely planning on using them to help us with missionary work. Hopefully they will click with Kionnee Bell, who just got baptized in April and is having a rough time with coming to church and doing good things. Being a teenager can be rough if you don't have the right friends to help you make good decisions.
The Crowleys' have this cute fluffy dog named Jake. Sister Thorup was reminded of her dog and she told this story of how she would draw eyebrows on him back home and it was really funny. After hearing this story the kids insisted that Sister Thorup draw eyebrows on Jake.
