Today we went to Frankfurt for our Second Quarterly Senior Missionary Zone Conference. Our Theme was on Unity. Our Scripture was Ephesians 4:13 "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Our first speaker was Elder Teixeira, who is our area 70. He commented that Senior Missionary couples as well as Single sister companions don't always get along as they should. It is hard to spend 24-7 with one another, even if it is your husband or wife who you dearly love. He gave some tips on growing closer to our companions. I'm sure that these same things would help any marriage.
1. Pray with your companions night and day.
2. Plan a set time to study scriptures. Don't just read, but actually discuss what you have read.
3. Make friends with other members and missionaries.
4. Search and find out those things which are good in the world. He read Psalms 92:14 "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing." We all found that very amusing, that Senior missionaries would be flourishing and possibly fat. Of course after he said that he also added that our young missionaries are golden but the Senior Missionaries are platinum. They are rare and more valuable.
5. We should dedicated to learning the language and trying to speak to those we meet in their native tongue. It is a great barrier not to know the German language. If you have time to watch TV, you have time to study your German. The Lord will put the power of his word into our mouths but we must first put something into our brains.
6. We must not let little disagreements get between us. That is Satan's tool. He said that during the early days of the church in Christ's time, the apostles did not always agree. He read from Acts, telling us about the problems that Paul and Barnabus had. Even though Paul was loved by the people and was a great missionary he still had problems getting along with Barnabus who was his missionary companion. Things got so bad between them that they actually separated. He did explain that later Paul felt moved upon to set that relationship right even though a long time had lapsed. We must take care of our disagreements as soon as possible. He promised us that because we are serving this mission we will be blessing our children and grandchildren back home and we will be able to bless them after we pass to the other side. That was certainly comforting.
7. He talked about receiving revelation in our lives and he explained that our General Authories receive revelation for us as members of the church. He told us that during this last General Conference he and all the other 70's were in meetings non stop for those three days. He said it was wonderful to sit at the feet of the apostles and to be taught by revelation what they should know. On his last day there he received a call from Elder Christopherson who is one of the 12 apostles. He asked him to come to his office the next morning as he had something to discuss with him. When he got to his office Elder Christopherson said he had been to the temple three times that week and each time he was impressed to call elder Teixeira to help him translate a Temple dedicatory prayer that he was to give in a few months in Angola, Africa. Elder Teixeira asked him how he knew about him and he said that he had received a prompting to call him. He also added that he also wanted it recorded in the Portuguese language as he wanted to review it to make sure that he would be able to give it in Portuguese. He also asked Elder Teixeira if he could have it back to him by that evening? Elder Teixeira said he would be glad to do that. He immediately went back to his Hotel and started typing the prayer in Portuguese. He never stopped until it was finished. He felt good about it but knew that would only be his first draft, so he proof read it and to his surprise there were no mistakes. He reread it three times but each time was the same, no mistakes. He knew that the Lord was with him that night. He had it recorded and took it back to Elder Christopherson as requested. He closed by saying that what seems impossible to us is not impossible to the Lord. He reminded us that the scriptures say "My ways are not thy ways, saith the Lord".
8. Watch that we do not judge one another using competitive comparisons. That is when we compare our callings to others, making judgments as to which callings are more important, making that person more superior than another. He quoted I Cor 12:21 & 23 "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of thee......And those members of the body which think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honors, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness ," What he was saying is that as missionaries we should always feel that no matter what we are called to do, it is important to the Lord and needful. He made all positions in the church to work together for our good to accomplish the mission of the church. One is not above the other, they must all come to a unity of Christ.
9. We must remember to always speak well of each other. Eph 4:31-32 "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice... And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted. Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." He also quoted 3 Nephi 11:29 " For verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me but is of the devil, who is the father of contentions, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." Avoid all contention as it does not leave room for the Holy Ghost to stay with you whether you are right or wrong. This was a great thing to remember when trying to be united.
The second talk was given by Brother Taylor who is one of the mental health advisors. He talked about a couple who had been together 50 years but they could no stand one another. He read D& C 130:20, "There is a law irrevocably decreded in Heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we obtain any blessings from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Likewise if we do not follow the laws of a successful marriage no matter how faithful you are in the church, no matter how much you do good for your family or your friends, you will not have a successful marriage. He also quoted Matt 6:22-23 " The light of the body is the eye: If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.....But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. Therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness." He wanted us to know that if we are thinking negative thoughts we will speak evil thoughts. Let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly. Try to be positive when reacting to our partners. It is only a frame of reference as to who is right and who is wrong. You may be right and so might he.
Sister Windley played an organ solo, "How Great Thou Art" That was beautiful. Another Piano solo was played by Sis Boone, "Oh Divine Redeemer". While she was playing, I had a very strong feeling that my Father was there with us, sitting by me listening to the conference. He loved that song and we had it sung at his funeral. He also loved his mission that my parents went together on to the Oklahoma city, Oklahoma Mission. I want my children to know how much I love the Lord, and how grateful I am to be on a mission here in Germany. The church is true, that is why we have given our time to the Lord. We hope he blesses our family as we are away from them.
The third talk was given by Elder Boone and Bro Swenson. It was on "How to make our Temple service more meaningful." 1. Take a family name with you to have their work done. 2. Take off your watch. Your time in the Temple is timeless, do not think about the world or your daily life. 3. Before you go to the Temple, prepare yourself by reading the scriptures and listening to good music. Did you know that the song most sung in the Temple is? "I Need Thee Every Hour". The workers in the Temple partake of the sacrament as group once a month. This brings unity to the group. After the Prophet Joseph Smith died, he appeared to Brigham Young the next President and told him to tell the Saints that everything would be well with them if they are unified one with another. At the time the Nauvoo Temple was completed they had done 5,000 endowments in those few short months before they were driven out of their homes. That was no easy task, as it took 11 hours to perform one endowment.
The entire conference was a spiritual boost for Elder Walters and myself. We are so blessed to be instructed by a General Authority every three months.
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