May 21 and 22
As we understand the atonement we will want to share the gospel. Atonement means change for me and others and that’s what repentance is. He referred to 3 Nephi 27:27 the last part of that verse where it tells us what we are to become. He asked, what kind of change can the atonement bring in my life? President Kimball said that the atonement brings a change from the natural man. The atonement allows us to repent and that means change. When we give ourselves to Christ we give up the natural man and focus on change—we give up things that don’t really matter.
Yesterday and today instead of zone
conference we held a mission tour and Elder Arnold of the Seventy was the
visiting General Authority. He shared
with us that his assignment from the President of the Quorum of the 12 was to
lift and teach. He brought the love of the 1st presidency , quorum
of the 12 and brethren and sisters of the auxiliaries. He also said he brings the love of the Savior
who thanks you for your diligent, kind and hard efforts.
Elder Arnold spoke to us about the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. He emphasized
that our handbook for being effective missionaries is Preach My Gospel and we
should learn it well from cover to cover.
He referred us to chapter 2 to learn how to study effectively. Following are some insights he shared with
us.As we understand the atonement we will want to share the gospel. Atonement means change for me and others and that’s what repentance is. He referred to 3 Nephi 27:27 the last part of that verse where it tells us what we are to become. He asked, what kind of change can the atonement bring in my life? President Kimball said that the atonement brings a change from the natural man. The atonement allows us to repent and that means change. When we give ourselves to Christ we give up the natural man and focus on change—we give up things that don’t really matter.
We were to ask ourselves what we
have done to be like a missionary and what we can do to become more like a
missionary. He referred us to the
self-evaluation exercise in PMG, chapter 6.
He invited us to concentrate and focus on having the Holy Ghost with us
always and then asked for responses to the following question. What does the Atonement mean to me? He referenced the following scriptures: 2
Nephi 9:18, 20, 21 and Alma 7:11-12.
When we extend an invitation to an
investigator to commit to do something we should expect them to do it. If they don’t we should be devastated, in a
good way, when an investigator doesn’t keep his commitment. We are struggling for the eternal souls of
men and if they don’t keep their commitments they probably won’t commit to
baptism. .
After our discussion he asked us
what we got out of the meeting and our discussion on the atonement that we can
take with us. Following are some of the
comments that were made.
1.
Don’t take gospel lightly with
people.
2.
Consecrate and give will to God
3.
Extend powerful invitations to
others.
4.
Keep teaching simple.
5.
Begin with the end in mind (see them
dressed in white at the temple)
6.
Keep eternal perspective
7.
Our thoughts are recorded in heaven
in the Book of Life as well as our words and acts.
8.
Better understanding of the
Atonement
9.
Study harder, feast
10.
See people dressed in white
11.
Love everyone out there
12.
Rely on Savior not ourselves. It’s
His work and we are here to help Him.
13.
Be persistent
14.
Improve self-esteem, each has
talents, don’t compare, D&C 46.
15.
Forget myself
16.
Plan better, don’t waste time
17.
Atonement will change and strengthen
you
18.
Review Christ-like attributes often,
try to be like Him
19.
See everyone as lost sheep
20.
Don’t look back.
21.
Be accountable to the Lord
Our time over the past two days has been
inspiring, uplifting, encouraging and the seed was planted in our hearts to do
better and be better. |
| President/Sister Poulsen and Elder/Sister Arnold teach |
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| Sisters help Elder Arnold with a lesson demonstration
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| President Loos and President Poulsen |
Lunch Break During Our Mission Tour
