February 14 - 17 -- The agenda for zone conferences:
New and Departing Missionary Testimonies, Awesome, Christ-like
Attribute, Spirit of the Law and Letter of the Law, Automobile Training, Talks
on Repentance, Repentance Discussion, Mid-Teens to Mid-Twenties, Reflections,
and Closing Remarks from President Felix.
Awesome: We listened
to Hilary Weeks’ song Come Take Your Place.
Words include:
You carry
the light of His Son
And running
through your veins is royal blood
You’re the
brave and the strong, you’re the faithful
You have
been saved for this moment in time
You hear the
call
You feel the
flame
You’ve been
prepared
Come take
your place
Through
scripture and discussion it was great to be reminded where we came from and our
purpose here. The war has been
transferred to here and the most valiant are sent now. Our missionaries are awesome and we wanted
them to realize their potential.
President Hinckley said “Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good
things. Believe that no mountain is so
high that you cannot climb it. Believe
that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of God of infinite
capacity. Believe that you can do it—whatever
it is that you set your heart on.
Opportunities will unfold and open before you. The skies will clear when they have been
dark.”
Sister Felix
told the missionaries they were AWESOME.
They listed words that described missionaries beginning with the letters
in awesome. This got them thinking and
it was a fun activity.
The
missionaries were invited to choose one or two words from the list that they
would like to work on and then report to President Felix in their email.
All received
a card to remind them to be awesome.
Christ-like
attribute of Obedience was presented by the Assistants. There are three phases of missionary work –
finding, teaching, and baptizing.
Finding is the biggest challenge.
They did a wonderful demonstration by blindfolding an elder and saying
find the investigators (Xs were written on the white board and the elder was to
circle the Xs). Of course they couldn’t
see. They had spiritual blindfolds
on. Some of the spiritual blindfolds are
doing our own will, lack of faith, disobedience which included: slothfulness, music, slang words, using time
effectively, lunch only 30 minutes, morning schedule and holding their email
time to one hour. Behaviors are our
actions and our nature is who we are or what we are doing when no one is
looking. Why are we obedient? Because someone is watching or is it your
nature? We understand why we are here, then our nature will change. When the
missionaries go home, their nature needs to change so they can be happy and
successful. If the Lord says to jump,
you may ask how high. Jumping up brings
you right back down in the same place.
The better question would be how far?
Meaning you are going forward and you are changing your nature.
SANTA BARBARA and VENTURA ZONES
Lunch was provided by the Ojai Ward. We enjoyed salad, baked potatoes with toppings of ham, cheese, and sour cream, cookies for dessert.
Happy Birthday for January and February!
Clean car award goes to Hermanas Dolder and Gomez.
SANTA BARBARA
Front: Hermana Fernandez, Elder Hiltscher, Hermanas Dolder, Pazmino, Sister Hardy, Elders, Endicott, Leckbee, Ballantyne, Jarnigan, Ameny, Campbell, Slaugh
Back: Hermana Cortez, Elders Herrera, Hermanas Gomez, Puertas, Sister Dye, Elders Johnson, Elliott, Atkinson, McLane, Carter, Jo, Hales
VENTURA
Front: Hermanas Huesca, Hallows, Elder Avalos, Sister McGuire, Elders Suarez, Gardiner, Seui, Cannon, Betts, Ward, Still, Wayment
Back: Hermanas Flores, Hirst, Elder Castro, Sister Scott, Elders Peisley, Judd, Lemus, Oakey, Kopaunik, Blaylock, Whatcott, Morby
President
Felix clarified the difference between the spirit of the law and letter of the law. The Mosaic Law began with Moses. In Doctrine and Covenants 84:21-27 Moses’s
people didn’t accept the higher law. The
Melchizedek Priesthood was taken and more of the strict daily rules were enforced. We
realize that the letter of the law has no deviation, it’s exactly as it is written. The spirit of the law is a higher law. The Good Samaritan demonstrates the letter
and the spirit of the law. Neal A.
Maxwell: “One of the ironies which is
fostered, at times innocently, in the Church, is the feeling we have that the
spirit of the law is superior to the letter of the law because for some reason
it seems more permissive or less apt to offend others. The reverse is true. The spirit of the law is superior because it
demands more of us than the letter of the law.
The spirit of the law insists that we do more than merely comply
superficially. It means too, that we
must give attention to the things that matter most and still not leave the
others undone.”
Elder
Iverson gave car safety training which consisted of parking lot safety, wearing seat belts correctly and going from “have to obey” to “want to obey.” It is interesting to note that a
ticket for going through a red light is $400, replacing lost car keys is $350
and locking keys in the car and being retrieved is $150-$180.
CAMARILLO and NEWBURY PARK ZONES
Camarillo Stake provided lunch. We had dressing, chicken, salad, cookies and homemade limeade.
Happy Birthday!
Sisters Lovato and Besendorfer won the clean car award.
CAMARILLO
Front: Sisters Mendoza, Cook, Hermanas Torrico, Anstee, Elders Harris, Tanuvasa, Taufatofua, Bronson, Davis, Mata
Back: Sister Wing, Campbell, Hermanas Mulloy, Scott, Elders Sila, Robins, Swenson, Allison, Hoff, Marchant
NEWBURY PARK
Front: Elders Turley, Pickett, Emerson, Hunter, Bates, Sisters Lovato, Barnum
Back: Elders Herrera, Heck, McCurdy, Harvey, Horman, Sisters Besendorfer, VanDerWatt
The
missionaries were all asked to prepare a 5 minute talk on why is repentance
necessary for conversion. After Elder
Iverson’s training was the announcement of the two missionaries who would give their talks.
President
Felix trained on the topic of repentance. Repentance is a change of heart, a
fresh view of yourself and your relationship with God. There was discussion on the steps to
repentance but there is no repentance without the Redeemer. We need the atonement. So, repentance is a change of behavior that
requires the atonement. Elder Neil L. Anderson
said that repentance is critical to true conversion. We can teach investigators
to invite to change and teach them the commandments. If they love God, they will keep the
commitments. Conversion is a process.
We saw Elder
Lynn A. Mickelsen’s talk “Atonement, Repentance, and Dirty Linen.” Take care of repenting and don't dwell on it. He said we shouldn't judge others, we must forgive and then forget.
THOUSAND OAKS and SIMI VALLEY ZONES
Sisters from the Thousand Oaks Stake provided enchiladas, salad and cookies. The centerpieces were oranges that the missionaries could eat or take with them.
Happy Birthday!
Sisters Housman and Page had the cleanest car.
THOUSAND OAKS
Front: Sister Page, Elders Richards, Kelly, Rodriguez, Hermana Garcia, Elders Christenson, Gardner, Bunnage
Back: Sister Houseman, Elders Chesley, Reichman, Plummer, Hermana Arkell, Elders Peart, Alder, Shumway
SIMI VALLEY
Front: Elders Olacsi, Allen, Powell, Reeves, Snider, Mecham, Hermana Rodriguez, Elder Brodie, Sister Christiansen, Elders Young, Holm
Back: Elders McLawhorn, Hansen, Dewey, 'Iongi, Gray, Anderson, Hermana Lethbridge, Elder Valladares,
Sister Perry, Elders Deason, Gemar
Sister Felix had a discussion after watching Elder Neil L. Anderson’s
training to mission presidents and their wives regarding mid-teens to mid-twenties. This group is more open and receptive to the
gospel and we need to work with them. The
missionaries are excited to put more effort towards this age group.
SANTA MARIA and SAN LUIS OBISPO ZONES
This potato bar had chili, cheese, sour cream, rolls, salad, and cookies. The sisters in the Santa Maria Stake provided lunch.
President & Sister Ridgeway with President & Sister Felix
Happy Birthday!
Sisters Cardon and Capener had the cleanest car on the inside. It was raining so hard the outside of the cars couldn't be inspected.
We sang Called to Serve to those who helped with the lunches.
SANTA MARIA
Hermana Wright, Elders Haslam, Shaw, Baker, Palmer, DeGraw, Sister Castaneda, Baird, Mortimer, Hermana Hernandez, Sister Iverson
Back: Hermana Wiles, Elder Barrios Vega, Judkins, Lallatin, Davis, Willis, Sisters Hopkins, McClure, Greding, Hermana Kneip, Elder Iverson
SAN LUIS OBISPO
Front: Hermana Gonzalez, Adamson, Hermana Alder, Elders Portillo, Nielson, Strom, Bradley, Kitchen, Regalado, Bundy, Sister Cardon, Elder Pierce, Sister Aston
Back: Hermana Ames, Sisters Fisher, Coleman,
Elders Liddiard, Jones, Matthews, Huston, Stevens, Levis, Thurgood, Sister Capener, Elders Crook, Aston
It was a treat listening to the missionaries share what they liked about zone conference. The spirit was present every day.
President Felix closed by discussing Doctrine and Covenants
18:10-16, 22-25, 41-44
