Mission Letter
8-26-13
The Time is
NOW! The 8873 is now in our hands!
Dear Elders and
Sister,
We have been
blessed by the Lord with an incredible opportunity to rise up and be an example
to the rest of the Lord’s servants.
There has been a great deal of trust and confidence given to us by the
Lord, the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve apostles and the
missionary department. We must do all we
can to make this, the 8873 Digital Area Book a success. It is up to us how they will decide to go
forward to the rest of the world and we must succeed.
Success means:
1. Have confidence that the Lord will guide
our actions in forging forth with modern technology to teach the Gospel of the
Kingdom to all the world.
2. Act in faith in all things. Acting in faith requires two things:
a. Complete obedience
b. Relying on the Holy Ghost
3. Using all the tools available to us to
increase the number of contacts we make not only in our mission but all over
the world.
4. We must keep accurate records so that
the correct analysis can be done and the correct actions can be implemented.
a. Keep the Digital Area Book up to date at
all times
b. Complete all Key Indicators as required
c. Keep track of all online activity
5. As a teaching tool, we must remember
that there are still many around us, here in Santa Rosa who await the
Gospel. We must not forget that we do
all things according to the Lord’s will and time.
6. We must always work together as two
witnesses to the work of salvation.
I am so pleased
with all of you for rising up and taking on this new frontier and way of doing
this the work of Salvation.
I would like to
share with you an excerpt of Elder Perry’s announcement on 23 June, 2013:
“When I was a young missionary, we were able to
speak with contacts on the street and knock on doors to share the gospel. The
world has changed since that time. Now, many people are involved in the
busyness of their lives. They hurry here and there, and they are often less
willing to allow complete strangers to enter their homes, uninvited, to share a
message of the restored gospel. Their main point of contact with others, even
with close friends, is often via the Internet. The very nature of missionary
work, therefore, must change if the Lord is to accomplish His work of gathering
scattered Israel “from the four corners of the earth.”1 The missionaries are
now authorized to use the Internet in their proselyting efforts.
During less-productive times of the day— chiefly
in the mornings—missionaries will use computers in meetinghouses and other
Church facilities to contact investigators and members, work with local
priesthood leaders and missionary leaders, receive and contact referrals,
follow up on commitments, confirm appointments, and teach principles from Preach My Gospel using
mormon.org, Facebook, blogs, email, and text messages.
Access to the Internet by missionaries and the
use of digital devices will be phased over the next several months and into
next year. We will be in touch with you when it is time for your mission and
area to use these tools. Of course, safety is paramount in this new frontier of
missionary work. Mission presidents will monitor missionaries’ online work to
help them remain safe in all they do.
One complaint we often receive from those who
are interested in our church is that they build up the courage to stop by one
of our buildings only to find it locked and empty. So, we have also decided to
open our meetinghouses for guided tours. The missionaries will be at
meetinghouses to greet interested individuals and guide them through our houses
of worship, where they can be taught and invited in a place that rests under
the strong influence of the Spirit.
As missionaries enter this new age where they
will use computers in the work of the Lord, we invite the young and the old,
the adults, the young adults, the youth, and the children everywhere to join
with us in this exciting new work by becoming Facebook friends with the
missionaries in your area on your own computers and sharing their gospel
messages online, and by becoming involved in missionary work yourselves.”
We now have the devices – the very first mission
in the entire world to use this incredible technological gift. We must protect the work that we do for it is
not ours. We must move forward with
faith as we face this new frontier of missionary work, in short, WE MUST
SUCCEED.
This technological gift as all things was first
created spiritually before it was inspired upon the minds of men and
women. It was given to us by the Lord
and if we are unwise and use our free agency in an irresponsible manner, it
will be taken from us. We must prevent
Satan from using us as his pawns to kill this work and the use of the 8873 so I
ask that we do all things according to the wisdom of God and win the battle
Satan rages against us.
Can we be the modern stripling warriors who
tirelessly forge ahead always believing because “our mothers knew it”? Yes, we can.
All my love,
President Alba
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