Mon 12/15/2014 10:14 AM

Today we are filming a skit with a Harry Potter theme for the Christmas Party this Friday!  I know a lot of you are dying to know about the goals for December.  Well, due to the "Christmas Season," we are striving for 50 baptisms.  We feel it is what the Lord wants.  This time of year a lot of people are out of town and so many of our December dates had already been moved forward to November.  A good way to look at it was best explained by one of our Sister Training Leaders who swam before her Mission.  Right before a big meet they would take a few days to rest up for that big day coming.  The goal for January has already been set and will be revealed at the Christmas Party.  We all feel that November was just the beginning and that things are going to take off from there.

It is a very exciting time in the Massachusetts Boston Mission.  The area has been doing good.  On Saturday we went to the Temple to see the Ortega family get sealed for time and all eternity.  It was an amazing experience.  My favorite part was to see their kids come into the room dressed all in white.  Later that night we drove all the way down to Warwick for the Musical Fireside the mission was doing there. 

This last week all of our investigator appointments canceled and so we weren't able to meet with anyone.  Right now Elder Sanchez and I are trying to focus on finding more people and will focus our lessons on the "why" our investigators want to meet with us to hopefully help them start progressing should they truly be interested.  We seem to get a lot of good potentials and referrals from people here, but they don't really go anywhere after that.  We are able to meet with people once, and it goes really well; where the people are like, "WOW, I want to meet with you more," but then life gets in their way. So, we are constantly following up and striving to meet with them again as well as track down the good referrals we have. 

This time of year is so amazing!  I am so grateful for the time I have to be able to be on my mission and especially to finish my mission during this time of year.  There is just a very special spirit in the world at this time.  This month is a time of service, love and really good will toward man.  How blessed we should feel as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because we have the good news of our Savior Jesus Christ.  This time is an opportunity that we have to share the wonderful story of not only the birth of our Savior, but of his life and his teachings.  All of which makes it our story to tell because we have the fullness of the gospel, a more complete story to tell to the world. 

We are seeing miracles here that I am so grateful for.  As we as a mission sought to offer our own personal sacrifices to the Lord for purposes greater than our own, we saw miracles. This time is a time of giving and remembering the birth and life of our Savior.  I would like to invite each and everyone of you reading this to ponder about what it is you can place at the feet of our Savior as a gift(s) to him for the benefit of another.  Whether that be taking more time to study the scriptures so you can better be prepared to answer someone's questions, or to give of your time to serve others. Whatever it may be, I can promise you that as you do that, you will come to feel the wonderful sweet spirit of this year more abundantly and see miracles happen not only in your lives but in other's lives as well.

This is my prayer that you will come to experience what we have in the mission field; seeing miracles by giving our Lord and Savior a gift, not of money or things of this world, but rather giving him a part of yourselves that in the end you may come to know more of his great love and power.  I say these things in his name, even the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 12/1/2014 11:18 AM

WOW!  Where to begin!  First of all, sorry I didn't get to write a weekly blog last week.  I ran out of time at the library.

 

Thanksgiving was great!  A normal missionary day with a good little feast at the Ortega's house.  It seems like this whole last week was a little weird though with the holidays.

 

We were not able to meet with any of our investigators because they were all out of town.  We did, however pick up a new investigator named Guadalupe who has come to church 3 times already!  She has a 9 year old daughter who is participating in the Primary Program.

 

This last week has been filled with tons of service that we have done just about everyday, so it has kind of felt like a P-week, but it has been a great week none the less.

 

As for the mission.  I am sure many of you are dying to hear what happened with the goal we set for 70 baptisms for the month. Before I get started with that, I want to point out that when President Packard got here in this mission we were averaging between 25-30 baptisms a month.  The time that President Packard has been here we have averaged between 50-55 baptisms a month. So, this goal for 70 was a nice stretching goal for us as a mission. The amazing thing is that when President Packard first came out he felt this mission had so much more potential than that.  He had said time and time again he felt that there would be a month where we would not only get 70 baptisms, but hit triple digits!  Well ladies and gentleman, we did not get the 70..... with all of our hard work, with all of the prayers from the leaders of the Chruch, including Jeffrey R. Holland and the Lawrences.  We did not get 70 baptism, but we did get 100 baptism for the month of November!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a miracle and a great example to us of what we can accomplish according to the faith and trust we put in the Lord.  I wanted to thank all of you who have been praying and supporting us with this goal.  Last night at 10:00 we had a phone call with the whole mission where President Packard shared with us SOME of the MANY miracles that have been happening in the mission.  It truly is a great blessing to have been here for this and to have been part of it.  Last night as I reflected on what had happened, part of me really wished that we could have been among those who had helped with that number.  I decided to ask the Lord and express myself to him in this regard and as I did a very sweet feeling came over me and told me I did the best I could and that I was indeed part of this great miracle we experienced.  As a result of that, I feel I understand a little better now than before about how the body needs every part of the body to do its job.  The head is not any better than the arm, leg or foot, but all together allow the body to move forward and to work and bring about whatever means it is trying to do.  I am very grateful for the great mercy, love and power we have experienced from the Lord this month.  It has been a miracle.  Now this is only the beginning. With Christmas coming up and all the different events happening I feel that things will only get better.

 

Christmas time is always a very special time of year, a time where the whole world comes together and feels of the great Christmas Spirit that the Lord pours out on all of us.  Yesterday was filled with so many tender mercies from the Lord where I was able to be an instrument in his hands.  I was blessed to be asked to give two blessings of health to people.  I am so grateful for the Priesthood and for what I have learned about using it when giving blessings.  It truly is amazing that our Father in Heaven trusts us enough to allow us to use it.  By the second one, right before I laid my hands on the man's head, I started to be overwhelmed with a great love and started to weep.  Following, was a blessing not from me but, from the Lord who I have been blessed to represent.

 

After the blessings we felt prompted to go to the Relief Society President's house and invite her non-member husband to a family home evening that night.  When we showed up, his mother was there, as well as his inactive son.  We had a great time just talking to them and invited them not only to the Family Homer Evening, but to the musical fireside coming up as well.  Being able to be there to meet with his mom was truly a miracle as we were told she is not too fond of the church, but she sure didn't seem to be like that, she is the sweetest little old lady only second to my own Grandma.

 

In addition to all of these many blessings I witnessed yesterday, my favorite was during church.  The pianist seemed a little down that day and I tried to think of ways to help boost her spirit, but didn't know how.  Then the thought came to mind to simply thank her for playing the piano and let her know how grateful I am for it and how much it makes a difference (I felt a little dumb that I hadn't ever thought to do that before).  I wasn't able to get to her to talk to her because she was running around as well as we were, but 3rd hour I was able to write a note and pass it along to her.  I had my companion give it to her and she read it and turned around and smiled at him.  It was nice to see later that her day seemed to turn around just because of a very small thing as a thank you note.  The best part was the brownie points my companion received!

 

Transfers came and I get to stay here in Central Falls to die.  I am very happy with that because I love the members here so much and feel that I still have a lot to do.  Just another blessing coming my way.

 

I know that this is truly the Lord's work, that God is a God of Miracles and that all he requires is for us to put our faith in Him and move forward working as hard as we can putting our trust in Him.  I know as we do that we WILL see miracles and come to know that He is truly there, loves us and knows us.  It is my prayer that all of us during this time of year take time to not only offer thanks to the Lord, but ask Him what we can do to help those around us and what gift it is we can give our Savior as we celebrate this Christmas season.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

From Mission President - Mon 12/1/2014 11:49 AM

Dear Elders and Sisters,

The atonement of Jesus Christ is the most important, most beautiful, most sublime doctrine we will ever study. It has profound personal and cosmic significance. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that all things “which pertain to our religion are only appendages” to the atonement of Jesus Christ. Despite the atonement’s obvious significance, none of us know enough about it. Sometimes, church members behave as if they have already heard so much about the atonement, they need to look for something “deeper” to study when, in fact, the atonement has all the depth they should ever need or want.

We believe that coming to understand the atonement of Jesus Christ is a lot like climbing a rope. It takes effort. Moreover, in this journey towards understanding the atonement, there are some places that a person cannot go until they have already attained certain strengths and attributes. To help us climb the rope of our understanding, the Lord has given us some scriptural passages that are like knots in the rope. These passages are extremely helpful and give us something upon which we can firmly grip. Their scope and depth are breathtaking. We refer to these passages as “knot chapters.” Many of them are contained in the Book of Mormon, which was given to us for the “convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ.” This past week, we have gone through the Book of Mormon and have identified the following 15 “knot chapters” for your consideration. They are:

1) Lehi’s final discourse to his posterity in 2 Nephi 2;
2) Jacob’s words to the people of Nephi contained in 2 Nephi 6-9 with an emphasis on Chapter 9;
3) Nephi’s explanation of the Doctrine of Christ in 2 Nephi 31;
4) Jacob’s “few words” written upon plates in Jacob 4;
5) King Benjamin’s speech in Mosiah 2-5. The whole speech is spectacular, but some of the key atonement passages are found in chapters 2 and 3;
6) Abinadi’s words before King Noah in Mosiah 15-16;
7) Alma’s words to the Church in Gideon in Alma 7;
8) Alma and Amulek’s confrontation with Zeezrom in Alma 11-12;
9) Amulek’s words to the Zoramites in Alma 34;
10) Alma’s words to his son Corianton in Alma 39-42 with an emphasis on Chapter 42;
11) The doctrinal portion of Samuel the Lamanite’s prophesy in Helaman 14;
12) Jesus’ initial discourse to the Nephites in 3 Nephi 11;
13) Jesus’ explanation of “my gospel” to the Nephites in 3 Nephi 27;
14) Moroni’s call to those who do not believe in Christ in Mormon 9;
15) Mormon’s epistle to Moroni in Moroni 8.

We realize that creating a list like this will open a discussion about whether we selected the best passages. We welcome this kind of discussion, and hope that you will add other favorites to your own list. However, the chapters we have identified are filled with profound insight. You can study them for a lifetime and never plum all their depths. If you truly understand these chapters, you will be well on your way to understanding the atonement. We pray that you will allow the Book of Mormon to truly convert you to the Savior Jesus Christ and His atonement. When this happens, your life will have more context and purpose, and your missionary efforts will be more focused and effective.

Love,

President and Sister Packard

From Mission President - Mon 12/1/2014 11:52 AM

Dear Elders and Sisters,

“Has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought… (Moroni 7: 35-37). If the month of November proved anything, it is that God keeps His promises, that He is a God of miracles, and that the missionaries in the MBM have great faith! Now that we have seen 100 baptisms in a single month, where do we go from here? Elder Holland has already provided his input. After receiving our report last night, he immediately responded as follows: “Tell the mission I could not be more proud of them. Tell them to keep opening their mouths, talking to everybody, keeping this kind of depth in their teaching pool and 70 will be the new base line every month. What was never done before will now be standard; it will be where the new goals start, not where they end.” We are going to set new goals in our next mission leadership conference, but Elder Holland believes that this is just the beginning. We feel the same way.

There are also a few things that we need to do:

Write your piece for the “November to Remember” booklet.

We want to preserve this experience for years to come, so we are asking each companionship to write an experience (no more than one page) that occurred during the month of November. When we have received all the stories, we will compile them in a booklet and distribute them to all of you during the Christmas conference. Remember that your grandchildren will probably read this (as well as Elder and Sister Holland and Elder and Sister Lawrence) so please do your best. Feel free to write your story during proselyting hours and have it completed by this Friday. Send your story to mbmchristmas@gmail.com.

Take all these new converts to the temple.

We did not have a mission temple day in November, and the December temple day is scheduled for the 27th from 12:00 to 3:00 pm. We are going to stagger the new converts so they do not all come at once, and we will provide the details later. For now, start making sure that every eligible new convert is prepared to attend with their own names. I will work with the temple to make sure that they are ready for 100 new converts.

Fast as a showing of gratitude.

When the Nephites received a great blessing from the Lord, they fasted as a way of expressing thanks. (Alma 45:1). We have been fasting for some time for blessings, and the Lord has answered. Next Sunday, let us all fast together as a showing of gratitude.

We are so proud of you, and we know that November was not a one-time thing. As we consecrate ourselves with this much passion and zeal, we will continue to see the blessings of the Lord so much that our cup overfloweth.

Love,

President and Sister Packard