The Work of Salvation in Your Wards - Weekly Report By Email

By J. Weston Lunsford - Stake High Council, Missionary Committee (Zone Leader)

As most of you may already know, last Sunday in our Stake Missionary Correlation Meeting, we had a great discussion regarding the work of salvation in the stake.  We are so grateful for your faithful service in leading this work in your wards.  We can see that the Lord is hastening His work and trusting each of you to invite as more and more individuals are returning and making covenants with the Lord.  Thank you!  We pray that this spirit of missionary work you personally have will spread to the members of your ward and throughout the stake.  You are doing an amazing work with the Lord.  Please keep up the hard and rewarding ministry.  

During our correlation together, President Livingston asked that the Ward Mission Leaders have a weekly correlation 5 to 10-minutes (longer if needed) with the Full-Time Missionaries (Hd/Bk 2 - 5.1.5)  as well as a weekly report to the High Council Missionary Committee. Specifically he asked, “Like a Zone Leader on a mission, please receive each week a report from the Ward Mission Leaders (District Leaders) on their personal activities, the activities of the Ward Missionaries and Ward Members (Missionaries).”  There are four High Council Members on the Missionary Committee and we were each assigned 3 Wards.

I have listed these assignment with contact information below to make this easier for everyone.  For your correlation with the FT Missionaries and Reporting to the High Council each week, please identify the method easiest for you.  I know for the reporting to HC,  an email each Sunday would be wonderful, although a phone call would be very welcomed.  As you know, there are great blessings associated with the principle of returning and reporting, a principle taught both in the scriptures and the temple. (D&C Section 84 - "During the month of September, elders had begun to return from their missions in the eastern states and to make reports of their labors.)

In our most recent Stake Ward Missionary Training which included the Bishopric Councilors, the following assignments were given by President Livingston.  These assignments were also discussed in the Bishopric Training immediately after the Missionary Training.

1. Each Ward Mission Leader, Ward Missionaries, & Ward Council Member to personal and prayerfully select a family in the ward that you will invite to become a Missionary Family.  This invitation includes inviting the family to:
1. Memorize 'Our Purpose’ from Preach My Gospel.  Memorizing is the first step, but only until we fully come to understand and  accept our responsibility to “Invite other to come unto Christ” will inviting others become a natural and spiritual experience.  
2. Counsel as a family - discuss Our Purpose and identify what you might do to regularly invite others.
3. Weekly Review the individuals and families in the ward boundaries and prayerfully identity an individual or family that you can in someway reach out.  Have faith that the Lord will bless you in reaching out to those he knows needs to feel His love and spirit.  Not to put him on the spot, but Brother Hodson of the M8 has been reviewing the Ward list every week and prayerfully looking for the one the Lord would have him in someway reach out to.  Every week Brother Hodson has had incredible experiences.  May the Lord bless us all with the courage to act in this manner.
2. Each Ward Mission Leader, Ward Missionaries, & Ward Council Member to personally with their family become a Missionary Family as outlined in # 1 above,
3. Review the Prospective Elder’s list as a Ward Council and prayerfully identify who and how and how to invite the Prospective Elders to read the BOM with a mentor(s).  What an incredible spirit of conversion this simple activity invites.  We would be happy to come to your ward council if desired to provide training on this invitation and program. (Preach My Gospel Chapter 5 - How Should You Use the Book of Mormon?)

My dear brethren in the gospel.  If we had every faithful family in your ward reviewing the ward and boundary list of families and individuals, with a prayer in their heart to share, serve and or invite, with the purpose of helping others come unto Christ, many miracles and blessing will be poured out upon our families and community.  The Lord will not just begin to trust you as a leader, but an entire Ward and Stake.  He will trust that we will listen and act on the promoting of the spirit.  He will lead His children to us, our brothers and sisters, that right now need to know He is there.  What an incredible opportunity we have to hasten the work of Salvation and help other find Christ.  

We love you.  We are praying for you.  We are laboring in the field beside you and enjoy rejoicing in the spirit of missionary work with each of you.  May the Lord bless us in our daily efforts.  Please remember that we succeed when we invite, not necessarily in the response.  President Livingston taught this to us two weeks ago in our training.  Here is a short video on this true principle.   http://www.everydaymissionaries.org/we-succeed-when-we-invite/#.Vsc_ghi—wY

Zone Leader - Contact Weekly
M4 - Aaron Weaver
M6 - Aaron Weaver
M7 - Aaron Weaver
M2 - Bryan Pratt
M11 - Bryan Pratt
M12 - Bryan Pratt
M1 - Paul Olpin
M3 - Paul Olpin
M5 - Paul Olpin
M8 - Weston Lunsford
M9 - Weston Lunsford
M10 - Weston Lunsford