There is No Harm in This

Nephi is explaining about the crafty wiles of Satan in 2 Nephi 28:8, where Satan says, "Eat, drink and be merry; nevertheless fear God - - He will justify in committing a little sin..." 

I'm remembering when I was a child we visited some cousins on my mom's side. My aunt was drinking coffee and explained that she didn't think God would keep her out of heaven for a cup of coffee. I knew that wasn't right but didn't have the words to disagree. 

Nephi explains it perfectly. Good won't keep her out of heaven, but she is choosing to keep herself out of the Celestial Kingdom by choosing her addiction to coffee over obedience to the commandments of the Lord. To be with the Lord eternally in His house requires total dedication and desire to do His will. Of course we will make mistakes and repent but our deep desire and longing is "if I but learn to do His will I'll live with Him once more".

Mission Tour - Elder Shayne M. Bowen

Here are my notes from Mission Tour when Elder Bowen spent several days with us.

 Alma 5:14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

His image will be visible in our eyes.  The Holy Ghost makes us beautiful. As missionaries, you can choose to be anything you want.  Don't just be the person you were before you came.  You can decide right now to be bold and not to be shy.

Is your mission more difficult than you thought it wou0ld be?  God is preparing you through trials to return to Him.  If you don't get discouraged on your mission, you're not doing it right.

Be careful not to open a door to Satan, even a crack.

(He asked Sister Bowen to come and stand beside him)  Everything is embodied in Sister Bowen.  Body, trials, all that the Father has he promises to us.  An eternal companion.  Eternal covenants.  Their deceased son will be theirs for eternity.  All of these rewards are because of covenants they have made together.

When you love people you're teaching you can change their lives.  They need what you have.  Never give up.  

Why are you here?  (He called on some missionaries to tell what led them to this mission.)  You're here because you understand the doctrine.  Your friends who didn't go on missions don't understand the doctrine.

When working with an investigator, ask: What doctrine does this person not understand?  The Holy Ghost will tell you the answer.

WE TEACH PEOPLE, NOT LESSONS.  If he came to watch you teach Lesson 1 on three different occasions to different people, would he see the same lesson? 

 There are three skills that will change your mission.  (more later on this)

He said, Elders, we're both called "elder", what's the difference between your calling and mine?  Seventies are ordained; young missionaries are set apart.

What's more difficult:  finding, planning, or teaching?  Finding

Obedience with exactness + work + faith = miracles.

Why do we have rules in missions?  Obedience enables the Holy Ghost to be our companion.  Obedience to rules gives us spiritual and physical protection.

Is God a planner?  Examine Moses 3:5.  There were two creations.  God planned the creation before He executed it.  

Which are the less important rules in your mission?   (Just a side note.  Everybody is special, but nobody is special.  Satan likes to tell us that we're we're special and an exception to the rules.  They don't apply to us.

What's the easiest rule to keep?  (If you don't have a prompting to repent in this meeting, you haven't been listening to the Holy Ghost.)  How many of you have been up and out of bed by 6:30 a.m. every day for the last 30 days?  (He asked for a raise of hands.)  See how much power we are missing in the mission because of the lack of exact obedience.  If you are teaching an investigator and asking him to make commitments he might say, "What time do you get up in the morning?"

Make these commitments:   

1. I will arise every morning at 6:30.
2. I will plan with exactness every night from 9 to 9:30 p.m.  Chapter 8 in PMG  (He had asked how many had planned from 9 to 9:30 p.m. every day for the last 40 days.) 
3. I will talk to 20 people per day - OYMing about the Restoration.  Just chatting about the weather or even testifying of Christ doesn't count.

We need to have faith to find.  Will the Lord put them in our path if we're being obedient?  We're not called to judge who is ready and who is not.  We don't eliminate them because they're smoking or if they have tattoos.  We must talk to everyone.

Wherever Elder Bowen goes, he asks pretty much the same question when he OYMs.  "Are you a Mormon?  You look like a Mormon".  He often asks if they know any Mormons.

When sharing the Gospel becomes a way of life rather than an assignment, you have power and your mission will change.  Unless you're face to face with someone, you're unemployed.   You need to say, I testify that Jesus Christ and God the Father have prophets on the earth again and there is a living prophet today.

The Parable of the Fleas
How many have had trouble with fleas? (They don't have fleas here, so he had to describe them and tell about them.)  If you put a bunch of fleas in a jar, they'll jump out.  But if you put a lid on the jar, after a while the fleas will learn to stop jumping so high so they don't keep hitting the lid.  Now you can take off the lid and the fleas will no jump out because they've been conditioned to jump lower.  How does that pertain to a mission?


Roger Bannister was a runner who broke the 4 minute mile on May 6, 1954.  Up until then it was an accepted fact that no one could run a mile in less than 4 minutes.  It was considered "impossible if not fatal".   Even scientists affirmed it.  After Bannister broke the record, in the next year there were 6 others who broke the record.  How could that be?  You set mental limitations on what can be done.

Crabs in a bucket  If you put a crab in a bucket, he will climb out.  But if there's more than one, the others pull the one climbing out back down.  Don't be the crab.

Set a new level for numbers of lessons taught.