Missionary Letter February

The Hastening of God’s work

As the Lord begins with all earnestness to hasten His work, I testify that the adversary, the father of lies is feeling that his reign is about to come to an end.  His urgency offers us a glimpse of who he really is and how he wants us to fail in this great cause.  He knows that in the end, his mission will end and that he will be in the losing end.  He also wants to take as many of Father’s children with him and he will use all cunning, craftiness and lies to hasten his work as well.   What are the tools that he will use?

1.      He wants to lull us to sleep and think that “all is well in Zion.”  That there is still more time and that we can take our time in sharing the gospel with our friends and neighbors.

2.     He wants us to believe that all people are good and that we don’t want to interfere with their life styles.

3.      He wants us to believe that our efforts are worthy of God’s love while we yet fail to invite all to come unto Christ.

4.     He will plant fear in our hearts and wants us to divert us from our faith and faithful living – everyone of us has had to walk by faith into what has always been some uncertainty.  His plan is to help us to lose our faith and our desires to obey God’s will.

This is His plan. Let us be faithful. God is in charge. He knows our name and He knows our needs.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—that is the first principle of the gospel. We must go forward. God expects us to have enough faith, determination, and trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. He expects us not simply to face the future; He expects us to embrace and shape the future—to love it, rejoice in it, and delight in our opportunities.

God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer our prayers and fulfill our dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if we don’t pray, and He can’t if we don’t dream. In short, He can’t if we don’t believe.  We must believe!

We are living in the greatest dispensation of all time.  This is what prophets and seers saw in their day and what they saw gave them great hope that God in the end would triumph – He would triumph with us at His side. 

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) said: “The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; … we are the favored people that God has [chosen] to bring about the Latter-day glory.”

President Wilford Woodruff (1807–98) stated something similar: “The Almighty is with this people. We shall have all the revelations that we will need, if we will do our duty and obey the commandments of God. … While I … live I want to do my duty. I want the Latter-day Saints to do their duty. … Their responsibility is great and mighty. The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began. We are gathered together … by the power and commandment of God. We are doing the work of God. … Let us fill our mission.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of this generation: “We of this generation are the end harvest of all that has gone before. It is not enough to simply be known as a member of this Church. A solemn obligation rests upon us. Let us face it and work at it.

“We must live as true followers of the Christ, with charity toward all, returning good for evil, teaching by example the ways of the Lord, and accomplishing the vast service He has outlined for us.

“May we live worthy of the glorious endowment of light and understanding and eternal truth which has come to us through all the perils of the past. Somehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

Elder Holland spoke of this:  “Over a representative period of time, our prophets have focused not on the terror of the times in which they lived and not on the ominous elements of the latter days, in which we are living, but they felt to speak of the opportunity and the blessing and, above all, the responsibility to seize the privileges afforded us in this, the greatest of all dispensations. I love the line from the Prophet Joseph Smith saying that earlier prophets, priests, and kings “have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and … have sung and written and prophesied of this our day.” What were they so joyful about? I can assure you they weren’t concentrating on terror, tragedy and chaos that Satan brings. President Woodruff’s words were: “The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began.” Let me repeat President Hinckley’s words: “Through all the perils of the past, [s]omehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

I marvel at the opportunity that God has blessed me with – imagine – to be part of this the greatest dispensation of time.  To be fully engaged in sharing His Gospel to His Children – yes all His children here among all the stakes of Zion in the California Santa Rosa Mission.  I rejoice in this great opportunity He has afforded me to be among you great missionaries of God to invite all to come unto Christ.

Ours is not an easy task if we think that we have to do it by ourselves.  He has declared that angels have not ceased to minister unto the children of men. (Moroni 7:29-32) “For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and firm mind in every form of godliness.  And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that hey may bear testimony of him.  And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father , the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.”

I add my own testimony and strength to those angels He has sent our way – you – full-time missionaries who were prepared from the foundation of the world to be here at this time to fulfill the prophecies made by holy prophets since the beginning of time.

Let’s invite all to come and join with us.  Is there a greater cause than to prepare the earth for it’s final cleansing?  Is there a greater joy than to bring souls unto the Father through Christ Jesus?  Is there a greater generation of soldiers through any dispensation of time?  

Think of the help we have been given to take the light of the gospel to a darkened world. We have almost 60,000 missionaries—far more than in any other age.  But we need even more – we need each of the members to join this great cause – to help in the fulfilling of the covenants that God has made with past prophets.  We cannot do this without them!  Invite them to come join the ranks!

I testify that God’s purposes shall be fulfilled and that He is counting on each one of us – all within the sound of my voice – He needs us in the great hastening that is taking place today – we are the fulfillment of prophecy – let’s join together?

 

I testify that this is His work and that Christ is His Son and that the Church of Jesus Christ has been fully restored to the earth, never to be taken away again. 

 

Love,  President Alba

The Hastening of God’s work

As the Lord begins with all earnestness to hasten His work, I testify that the adversary, the father of lies is feeling that his reign is about to come to an end.  His urgency offers us a glimpse of who he really is and how he wants us to fail in this great cause.  He knows that in the end, his mission will end and that he will be in the losing end.  He also wants to take as many of Father’s children with him and he will use all cunning, craftiness and lies to hasten his work as well.   What are the tools that he will use?

1.      He wants to lull us to sleep and think that “all is well in Zion.”  That there is still more time and that we can take our time in sharing the gospel with our friends and neighbors.

2.     He wants us to believe that all people are good and that we don’t want to interfere with their life styles.

3.      He wants us to believe that our efforts are worthy of God’s love while we yet fail to invite all to come unto Christ.

4.     He will plant fear in our hearts and wants us to divert us from our faith and faithful living – everyone of us has had to walk by faith into what has always been some uncertainty.  His plan is to help us to lose our faith and our desires to obey God’s will.

This is His plan. Let us be faithful. God is in charge. He knows our name and He knows our needs.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—that is the first principle of the gospel. We must go forward. God expects us to have enough faith, determination, and trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. He expects us not simply to face the future; He expects us to embrace and shape the future—to love it, rejoice in it, and delight in our opportunities.

God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer our prayers and fulfill our dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if we don’t pray, and He can’t if we don’t dream. In short, He can’t if we don’t believe.  We must believe!

We are living in the greatest dispensation of all time.  This is what prophets and seers saw in their day and what they saw gave them great hope that God in the end would triumph – He would triumph with us at His side. 

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) said: “The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; … we are the favored people that God has [chosen] to bring about the Latter-day glory.”

President Wilford Woodruff (1807–98) stated something similar: “The Almighty is with this people. We shall have all the revelations that we will need, if we will do our duty and obey the commandments of God. … While I … live I want to do my duty. I want the Latter-day Saints to do their duty. … Their responsibility is great and mighty. The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began. We are gathered together … by the power and commandment of God. We are doing the work of God. … Let us fill our mission.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of this generation: “We of this generation are the end harvest of all that has gone before. It is not enough to simply be known as a member of this Church. A solemn obligation rests upon us. Let us face it and work at it.

“We must live as true followers of the Christ, with charity toward all, returning good for evil, teaching by example the ways of the Lord, and accomplishing the vast service He has outlined for us.

“May we live worthy of the glorious endowment of light and understanding and eternal truth which has come to us through all the perils of the past. Somehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

Elder Holland spoke of this:  “Over a representative period of time, our prophets have focused not on the terror of the times in which they lived and not on the ominous elements of the latter days, in which we are living, but they felt to speak of the opportunity and the blessing and, above all, the responsibility to seize the privileges afforded us in this, the greatest of all dispensations. I love the line from the Prophet Joseph Smith saying that earlier prophets, priests, and kings “have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and … have sung and written and prophesied of this our day.” What were they so joyful about? I can assure you they weren’t concentrating on terror, tragedy and chaos that Satan brings. President Woodruff’s words were: “The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began.” Let me repeat President Hinckley’s words: “Through all the perils of the past, [s]omehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

I marvel at the opportunity that God has blessed me with – imagine – to be part of this the greatest dispensation of time.  To be fully engaged in sharing His Gospel to His Children – yes all His children here among all the stakes of Zion in the California Santa Rosa Mission.  I rejoice in this great opportunity He has afforded me to be among you great missionaries of God to invite all to come unto Christ.

Ours is not an easy task if we think that we have to do it by ourselves.  He has declared that angels have not ceased to minister unto the children of men. (Moroni 7:29-32) “For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and firm mind in every form of godliness.  And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that hey may bear testimony of him.  And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father , the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.”

I add my own testimony and strength to those angels He has sent our way – you – full-time missionaries who were prepared from the foundation of the world to be here at this time to fulfill the prophecies made by holy prophets since the beginning of time.

Let’s invite all to come and join with us.  Is there a greater cause than to prepare the earth for it’s final cleansing?  Is there a greater joy than to bring souls unto the Father through Christ Jesus?  Is there a greater generation of soldiers through any dispensation of time?  

Think of the help we have been given to take the light of the gospel to a darkened world. We have almost 60,000 missionaries—far more than in any other age.  But we need even more – we need each of the members to join this great cause – to help in the fulfilling of the covenants that God has made with past prophets.  We cannot do this without them!  Invite them to come join the ranks!

I testify that God’s purposes shall be fulfilled and that He is counting on each one of us – all within the sound of my voice – He needs us in the great hastening that is taking place today – we are the fulfillment of prophecy – let’s join together?

 

I testify that this is His work and that Christ is His Son and that the Church of Jesus Christ has been fully restored to the earth, never to be taken away again. 

 

Love,  President Alba

The Hastening of God’s work

As the Lord begins with all earnestness to hasten His work, I testify that the adversary, the father of lies is feeling that his reign is about to come to an end.  His urgency offers us a glimpse of who he really is and how he wants us to fail in this great cause.  He knows that in the end, his mission will end and that he will be in the losing end.  He also wants to take as many of Father’s children with him and he will use all cunning, craftiness and lies to hasten his work as well.   What are the tools that he will use?

1.      He wants to lull us to sleep and think that “all is well in Zion.”  That there is still more time and that we can take our time in sharing the gospel with our friends and neighbors.

2.     He wants us to believe that all people are good and that we don’t want to interfere with their life styles.

3.      He wants us to believe that our efforts are worthy of God’s love while we yet fail to invite all to come unto Christ.

4.     He will plant fear in our hearts and wants us to divert us from our faith and faithful living – everyone of us has had to walk by faith into what has always been some uncertainty.  His plan is to help us to lose our faith and our desires to obey God’s will.

This is His plan. Let us be faithful. God is in charge. He knows our name and He knows our needs.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—that is the first principle of the gospel. We must go forward. God expects us to have enough faith, determination, and trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. He expects us not simply to face the future; He expects us to embrace and shape the future—to love it, rejoice in it, and delight in our opportunities.

God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer our prayers and fulfill our dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if we don’t pray, and He can’t if we don’t dream. In short, He can’t if we don’t believe.  We must believe!

We are living in the greatest dispensation of all time.  This is what prophets and seers saw in their day and what they saw gave them great hope that God in the end would triumph – He would triumph with us at His side. 

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) said: “The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; … we are the favored people that God has [chosen] to bring about the Latter-day glory.”

President Wilford Woodruff (1807–98) stated something similar: “The Almighty is with this people. We shall have all the revelations that we will need, if we will do our duty and obey the commandments of God. … While I … live I want to do my duty. I want the Latter-day Saints to do their duty. … Their responsibility is great and mighty. The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began. We are gathered together … by the power and commandment of God. We are doing the work of God. … Let us fill our mission.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of this generation: “We of this generation are the end harvest of all that has gone before. It is not enough to simply be known as a member of this Church. A solemn obligation rests upon us. Let us face it and work at it.

“We must live as true followers of the Christ, with charity toward all, returning good for evil, teaching by example the ways of the Lord, and accomplishing the vast service He has outlined for us.

“May we live worthy of the glorious endowment of light and understanding and eternal truth which has come to us through all the perils of the past. Somehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

Elder Holland spoke of this:  “Over a representative period of time, our prophets have focused not on the terror of the times in which they lived and not on the ominous elements of the latter days, in which we are living, but they felt to speak of the opportunity and the blessing and, above all, the responsibility to seize the privileges afforded us in this, the greatest of all dispensations. I love the line from the Prophet Joseph Smith saying that earlier prophets, priests, and kings “have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and … have sung and written and prophesied of this our day.” What were they so joyful about? I can assure you they weren’t concentrating on terror, tragedy and chaos that Satan brings. President Woodruff’s words were: “The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began.” Let me repeat President Hinckley’s words: “Through all the perils of the past, [s]omehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

I marvel at the opportunity that God has blessed me with – imagine – to be part of this the greatest dispensation of time.  To be fully engaged in sharing His Gospel to His Children – yes all His children here among all the stakes of Zion in the California Santa Rosa Mission.  I rejoice in this great opportunity He has afforded me to be among you great missionaries of God to invite all to come unto Christ.

Ours is not an easy task if we think that we have to do it by ourselves.  He has declared that angels have not ceased to minister unto the children of men. (Moroni 7:29-32) “For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and firm mind in every form of godliness.  And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that hey may bear testimony of him.  And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father , the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.”

I add my own testimony and strength to those angels He has sent our way – you – full-time missionaries who were prepared from the foundation of the world to be here at this time to fulfill the prophecies made by holy prophets since the beginning of time.

Let’s invite all to come and join with us.  Is there a greater cause than to prepare the earth for it’s final cleansing?  Is there a greater joy than to bring souls unto the Father through Christ Jesus?  Is there a greater generation of soldiers through any dispensation of time?  

Think of the help we have been given to take the light of the gospel to a darkened world. We have almost 60,000 missionaries—far more than in any other age.  But we need even more – we need each of the members to join this great cause – to help in the fulfilling of the covenants that God has made with past prophets.  We cannot do this without them!  Invite them to come join the ranks!

I testify that God’s purposes shall be fulfilled and that He is counting on each one of us – all within the sound of my voice – He needs us in the great hastening that is taking place today – we are the fulfillment of prophecy – let’s join together?

 

I testify that this is His work and that Christ is His Son and that the Church of Jesus Christ has been fully restored to the earth, never to be taken away again. 

 

Love,  President Alba

The Hastening of God’s work

As the Lord begins with all earnestness to hasten His work, I testify that the adversary, the father of lies is feeling that his reign is about to come to an end.  His urgency offers us a glimpse of who he really is and how he wants us to fail in this great cause.  He knows that in the end, his mission will end and that he will be in the losing end.  He also wants to take as many of Father’s children with him and he will use all cunning, craftiness and lies to hasten his work as well.   What are the tools that he will use?

1.      He wants to lull us to sleep and think that “all is well in Zion.”  That there is still more time and that we can take our time in sharing the gospel with our friends and neighbors.

2.     He wants us to believe that all people are good and that we don’t want to interfere with their life styles.

3.      He wants us to believe that our efforts are worthy of God’s love while we yet fail to invite all to come unto Christ.

4.     He will plant fear in our hearts and wants us to divert us from our faith and faithful living – everyone of us has had to walk by faith into what has always been some uncertainty.  His plan is to help us to lose our faith and our desires to obey God’s will.

This is His plan. Let us be faithful. God is in charge. He knows our name and He knows our needs.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—that is the first principle of the gospel. We must go forward. God expects us to have enough faith, determination, and trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. He expects us not simply to face the future; He expects us to embrace and shape the future—to love it, rejoice in it, and delight in our opportunities.

God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer our prayers and fulfill our dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if we don’t pray, and He can’t if we don’t dream. In short, He can’t if we don’t believe.  We must believe!

We are living in the greatest dispensation of all time.  This is what prophets and seers saw in their day and what they saw gave them great hope that God in the end would triumph – He would triumph with us at His side. 

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) said: “The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; … we are the favored people that God has [chosen] to bring about the Latter-day glory.”

President Wilford Woodruff (1807–98) stated something similar: “The Almighty is with this people. We shall have all the revelations that we will need, if we will do our duty and obey the commandments of God. … While I … live I want to do my duty. I want the Latter-day Saints to do their duty. … Their responsibility is great and mighty. The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began. We are gathered together … by the power and commandment of God. We are doing the work of God. … Let us fill our mission.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of this generation: “We of this generation are the end harvest of all that has gone before. It is not enough to simply be known as a member of this Church. A solemn obligation rests upon us. Let us face it and work at it.

“We must live as true followers of the Christ, with charity toward all, returning good for evil, teaching by example the ways of the Lord, and accomplishing the vast service He has outlined for us.

“May we live worthy of the glorious endowment of light and understanding and eternal truth which has come to us through all the perils of the past. Somehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

Elder Holland spoke of this:  “Over a representative period of time, our prophets have focused not on the terror of the times in which they lived and not on the ominous elements of the latter days, in which we are living, but they felt to speak of the opportunity and the blessing and, above all, the responsibility to seize the privileges afforded us in this, the greatest of all dispensations. I love the line from the Prophet Joseph Smith saying that earlier prophets, priests, and kings “have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and … have sung and written and prophesied of this our day.” What were they so joyful about? I can assure you they weren’t concentrating on terror, tragedy and chaos that Satan brings. President Woodruff’s words were: “The eyes of God and all the holy prophets are watching us. This is the great dispensation that has been spoken of ever since the world began.” Let me repeat President Hinckley’s words: “Through all the perils of the past, [s]omehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful.”

I marvel at the opportunity that God has blessed me with – imagine – to be part of this the greatest dispensation of time.  To be fully engaged in sharing His Gospel to His Children – yes all His children here among all the stakes of Zion in the California Santa Rosa Mission.  I rejoice in this great opportunity He has afforded me to be among you great missionaries of God to invite all to come unto Christ.

Ours is not an easy task if we think that we have to do it by ourselves.  He has declared that angels have not ceased to minister unto the children of men. (Moroni 7:29-32) “For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and firm mind in every form of godliness.  And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that hey may bear testimony of him.  And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father , the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.”

I add my own testimony and strength to those angels He has sent our way – you – full-time missionaries who were prepared from the foundation of the world to be here at this time to fulfill the prophecies made by holy prophets since the beginning of time.

Let’s invite all to come and join with us.  Is there a greater cause than to prepare the earth for it’s final cleansing?  Is there a greater joy than to bring souls unto the Father through Christ Jesus?  Is there a greater generation of soldiers through any dispensation of time?  

Think of the help we have been given to take the light of the gospel to a darkened world. We have almost 60,000 missionaries—far more than in any other age.  But we need even more – we need each of the members to join this great cause – to help in the fulfilling of the covenants that God has made with past prophets.  We cannot do this without them!  Invite them to come join the ranks!

I testify that God’s purposes shall be fulfilled and that He is counting on each one of us – all within the sound of my voice – He needs us in the great hastening that is taking place today – we are the fulfillment of prophecy – let’s join together?

 

I testify that this is His work and that Christ is His Son and that the Church of Jesus Christ has been fully restored to the earth, never to be taken away again. 

 

Love,  President Alba

Mission Letter 1-7-13

 

Dear missionaries,

 

What a joy it is to have the opportunity to be on a mission right now, right here in the California Santa Rosa mission.  Over the last 6 months, Sister Alba and I have had the great privilege of getting to know you better.  We love each and every one of you and only want the very best for each of you.

 

Each of us has accepted a call from the Lord through his living prophet, Thomas S. Monson whom I sustain and love.  Each of us accepted a call from God to serve here in the California Santa Rosa mission for a specific period of time, each of us, including Sister Alba and I signed a letter of acceptance to serve the Lord.  I was called to preside and Kathie was called as my companion in this important undertaking.

 

In our call letter, it reads:

 

“In this assignment as mission president, Elder Alba will be fully responsible for the supervision of the mission and will be expected to direct all of its affairs according to the instructions of the First Presidency.  The missionaries assigned to labor under your presidency will rely upon you for assignments, for guidance, and for motivation to put forth their best efforts.  In measure, they are entrusted to your custody.  They will need and deserve your understanding and sympathetic counsel.  Becoming close to them is an essential element of your leadership.

 

“We pray that our Heavenly Father will bless and sustain you by the power of His Holy Spirit so that you may be abundantly qualified to discharge all the duties devolving upon you to His honor and glory.  We pray also that through the diligent, harmonious, and united labors of you and your associates, the Saints may be blessed and strengthened and many others brought to a knowledge of the truth.”

 

Signed by The First Presidency.

 

I fear Elders and Sisters that we are not putting forth our best efforts.  A lot of you are doing wonderful and amazing things and you are seeing miracles to the point that you are bringing souls to the gates that will allow them to enter through them to Eternal Life.  There are also others that are not doing what we have been called to do.  We are allowing our pride and desires to serve time to the point that we are molding the mission to our own selfish and prideful desires rather than allowing our mission and in this case the Savior to mold us to what we must become so that we can serve him.  Many of us are not truly doing what we are supposed to be doing.

 

After much prayer, pondering and wrestling with the Lord and with the advise of my wonderful companion, we want to be exactly obedient and will set forth what I feel is what the Lord expects of us – Standards of Missionary Conduct.  You will hear about these in your zone meetings on Tuesday and a list of expectations will be given to each of you.

 

Here is what I ask of you:

 

1.      Be like Nephi and inquire of the Lord if these standards (by the way, they are not new but they will be in place for us to be exactly obedient to them) are what He wants us to obey.   Before you begin to dispute these things, ponder the following – This is Nephi speaking (1 Nephi 15:6-11)

 

6 And it came to pass that after I had received ^astrength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations.
7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the ^aolive tree, and also concerning the Gentiles.
 8 And I said unto them: Have ye ^ainquired of the Lord?
 9 And they said unto me: ^aWe have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.
10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will ^aperish, because of the hardness of your hearts?
11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ^aask me in ^bfaith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

 

So I ask that you don’t harden your hearts but ask God in faith, believing that each of us will receive, with diligence in keeping his commandments – then these things will be made known unto all of us.

 

2.      I ask that all of us purify ourselves from things that are holding us back from being valiant servants of the Lord.  Put all things that are NOT conducive to faithful, valiant missionaries on the altar of the Lord and let him consume them.

 

I ask each of you to follow this admonition given to us by Helaman in Helaman 3:33-35.

 

33 And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the church—not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who ^aprofessed to belong to the church of God—
 34 And they were lifted up in ^apride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction.
 35 Nevertheless they did ^afast and ^bpray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their ^chumility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the ^dpurifying and the ^esanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their ^fyielding their hearts unto God.

 

Many of us have not been teaching the younger missionaries how to conduct ourselves to be the most valiant, most obedient and most deserving missionaries of the Lord.  This needs to change!

 

This is why a list of standards and expectations will be given to each of you so that there will NOT be any question as to what type of missionaries we are and can become.  There have been “cultures” and “falsehoods” introduced in our behavior that are priest crafts and will not be allowed to start or continue from now on.  There is much rationalizing as to why these falsehoods are acceptable – this will also stop.  If any of you are not willing to completely obey and accepts these, be mature enough to come and see me and I will make arrangements for you to practice these things back home – again, there is no room for such behavior as servants of God.

 

We all need to repent so:

 

3.      Start now – spend part of your Preparation day to purge and purify your belongings and I ask that you go and bury deeply all things that are not conducive to the direction of the Spirit.  Do as the people of Ammon did (Alma 23:6-7)

 

6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working ^amiracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were ^bconverted unto the Lord, ^cnever did fall away.
 7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren.

My fellow servants of God, we can do this and I ask for your sustaining me as your mission president and all the mission leaders in this endeavor.  As we do this, I promise that there will be absolutely nothing that can be denied us by God.  We will see miracles and thousands will come and join our ranks.  Join us in this incredible journey that will allow us to have a mighty change of heart.  It can be done! 

After we purify and purge ourselves, I invite us all to lengthen our stride, quicken our pace and to go forth with power to keep the commandments of God.  They will bring innumerable blessings – the greatest of which is our assurance in the Kingdom of God with our families.  What greater gift there is I know of none.  Imagine – to be heirs of all that God has and will have are promised to us all who are willing to humble and purify ourselves.

Surely as we do this, we will be highly favored of the Lord and His hand will be in all that we do.  We cannot go wrong, we cannot fail and we will have joy.

Know that I love you and this is why I ask you to do these things so that we can completely enjoy His love.

Love,

President Alba

 

 

 

Letter to the Missionaries 11-25-12

Letter to the Missionaries 11-25-12

There will be miracles when we ‘Believe’

 

Dear Sisters and Elders and Seniors,

Make no mistake; miracles are happening in the Santa Rosa Mission.  President Alba and I returned from interviewing the entire mission and here is what we learned.

First:  We love you and are amazed at your bright and valiant spirits.  So many of you are experiencing miracles daily that I cannot begin to write them all down.  Our time is now and the Lord is hearing our prayers and the windows of heaven are opening to us.  Be sure to acknowledge the miracles in your life.  Write them down.  Testify of them to your investigators, your ward and your family back home.  Build upon them, remember them when you have a bad day and then lift up your head and look towards the heavens in gratitude and thank Heavenly Father for the miracles that are yet to come. Continue your prayers of asking to ‘have more faith in finding’ and that the ‘windows of heaven with continue to open for us here in the Santa Rosa Mission’.  There is much power in the unity of faith and prayer. Draw on it.

Second:  We ‘Believe’ in the miracle!  We do.  Remember that Elder Gavarret instructed us to ‘believe’ in the possibility of the 101?  Well, across the mission we are ‘believing’ in the miracle of the 101.  Fear not that is not happening in a more dramatic way.  Remember all things happen in God’s time we must be patient and understand that faith and trials precede the miracle. “Fear not, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest.”   

Third:  We are an ‘obedient’ mission.  What joy to be with all of you.  I am sure that there really is no better mission on this earth today.  Is everyone perfect?  Well, no. No one is ever perfect but you are trying and doing your best and the Lord is aware of each one of you and so are we.  Thank you for your efforts to obey and now we encourage you to take another step towards Heavenly Father on your path home to Him.  So when you say your prayers each night include, “Heavenly Father, help me be more obedient tomorrow that I was today.”  And the blessings from that increased obedience will come in ways that we never thought possible.

Fourth: I found as I talked to each of you that you all loved Zion’s camp.  I did too.  Let me tell you why I loved it so much.  Zion’s camp was just that… Zion.   We experienced a precious moment here on earth which was divine and sacred.  Our hearts were woven together as ‘one’.  Our spirits were lifted and touched by the Holy Ghost over and over and over.  Love was spoken there.  There was kindness, gratitude, service, laughter, tears, learning, praying, listening, growing and understanding all at once.  Testimonies grew and were strengthened, faith increased and prayers were answered.  The heavens were surely opened as we received revelation in many different ways wherever we went and whatever we did.  If you haven’t taken time to write the experience in your journals please take time to do so.  It was a holy time and each one of you was a part of it. It is now a time that you can look back on and remember the feelings that you had and draw strength from them.  Now you know what the scriptures speak of when they talk of a Zion people… you have experienced it. It is possible here and you can create in your companionships (some of you already have) and in your districts and in your zones and across the mission on a daily basis and someday in your own families.  We are ‘one’.  And when we are one we experience heaven…

Fifth and finally and most beautifully… our 30 minutes of prayer.  If you forget everything else please don’t ever forget our 30 minutes of united, faithful and powerful prayer.  As I kneeled, I saw in my mind all of you, scattered throughout the magnificent redwoods, kneeling together as ‘one mission’.  My prayer was for all of you.  That the heavens would open for you, that angels would attend and that you would receive peace, love, personal revelation and knowledge.  That light would encircle you and pierce your hearts.  That your faith would grow and your testimonies be strengthened and that we would all believe in the miracle of the 101… for the benefit of the children of God in this area and that all glory be His.

As I had the chance to speak to each of you I found that almost 100% of you mentioned the 30 minutes of prayer as the highlight of Zion’s camp. Elders and Sisters, never forget that your Heavenly Father is there for you always.  He is waiting to receive your prayers and bless you with His blessings and knowledge.  You have had the opportunity to experience to some degree ‘mighty prayer’.  It is my prayer now that you will take it into your life forever and that you will continue to grow in mighty prayer and learn to depend on it to lead you and to guide you through this life. Be like Enos who learned about mighty prayer and used it to become a mighty man.

 

I love you all and it is my greatest privilege to serve along side you.  Together all is possible when we put it in God’s hands.

Love Sister Alba