Notes from MTC Pep Talk Devotional

There was a 19 year old from Rexburg who fasted and prayed for weeks before his mission. He fasted that he would have a family to teach. That 19 year old Elder Erickson from small Idaho went to London to teach for the Lord.  Elder Charles of the 70 was in a bind and didn’t know what church to join. His mother and father, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother all were practicing different religions.  He didn’t know which one to join.  His wife was the same way and just looked up and said, “What’s right?”  Then two weeks later the missionaries knocked on their door.  And she accepted baptism after the first lesson.  Every time the missionaries were there the spirit was so strong.  Then they left and it would leave with them. After being baptized they have done numerous callings and missions and Mission President in Greece. 

Here are some key points of his talk, they taught together.  No other way to speak than with the power of the spirit, it allows the gospel to sink into their souls and get a warm feeling.  If you teach with fire it will enter the souls of men, that no one can put that fire out easily.  If our mouths will open at the right time, the spirit will speak!  Doctrine and Covenants 31:3 “the hour of your mission has come!”  If you’re having a bad day, pick yourself up off the ground and start over, every day your mission begins again!  Key to success is obedience and faith. 

Preach My Gospel is the only book on earth written by 15- 21st century apostles.  Greatest book on earth, closest book to the scriptures.  President Uchtdorf said there is enough stuff in chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel to learn for an entire lifetime.  Just Chapter 3 along has that much stuff in it.  If you are obedient on your mission, you will be successful.  Obedience is the key to everything.  Obedience and the faith of a grain of a mustard seed equal success.  You are not responsible for converts any way, the spirit is responsible for it all.  You have these missionaries that say they baptized 20+ investigators- NO!  The missionaries plus the spirit taught that many investigators.

 *Best advice for mission- obey the gospel with such exactness that the Holy Ghost will not be constrained to be your constant companion.  

Almost obedience = Almost blessed.   

President Monson “can’t be right by doing wrong, can’t be wrong by doing right!”  

We need to not only teach investigators to pray, but we need to teach them to listen.  Don’t just pray to Heavenly Father.  Invite Him into the room. If you are not getting answers to prayer you’re not doing it right.  When you get done saying the prayer, stay on your knees.  It’s like if you are in the same room as someone and you just then ask a question, but then you leave before they answer your question.  Stay on your knees and Listen, Listen, Listen to the answer.  Ask you will receive. 

A baptism in any church is a step closer to a baptism in our church.  Isaiah 46:3 and Doctrine and Covenants 100:5.  Tiredness is a good while doing the Lord’s work.  If you’re not tired, you’re not trying.  Talk to everyone, doesn’t hurt to try.  When you go to the temple you get a name to go through the session for.  Are you going to say, “well he is damned, give me the next one.”  NO!  you take it because it doesn’t hurt to try.  So just like talking to someone, it doesn’t hurt to try.  Open your mouth and the Lord will fill your mouth. Take action Elders and Sisters.  Last one… our Father in Heaven is like the sun.  It never changes, it will always be there, even if it’s cloudy, it’s there.  The clouds are sins in our life, if we repent and pull back the clouds, we have this bright shiny magnificent being. 

When it all done I went up and talked to him a little bit.  He personally told me, “If I would obey the mission president, I  CAN NOT FAIL.”  He said President Jordan is a first class mission president.  I shared dad’s thing about missionary work from a friend with him, “If a man can talk a man into the gospel, then a man can talk a man out of the gospel. But if the spirit talks a man into the gospel, no man can talk him out of the gospel.”    The spirit was so strong in the meeting. 

Every hour is an hour that I need to get up and smile.  Just so it makes me feel better.  And if I smile and seem happy then people will want to know why I am so happy. And that’s a great opportunity to teach.