Changes

Dear Family & Friends:

8/28 Tuesday

The office staff

Today was well spent with the departing missionaries. We picked up Elder Jensen and he is now my official companion. He started his mission in one of the wards we currently serve and so tonight when we went to the ward activity they were super excited to see him! I am way excited because he already has a ton of member trust. We got to go to the temple today and while there, I got to see a bunch of members from previous areas!

8/30 Wednesday
Today was a great day. We were able to see Isis, who is a part member family that we have been working with for a while. They are a great family; they just are hard to get in touch with. Isis said she really would like to be baptized but she wants to figure out her medical situation first. We also were able to see Ken tonight; he is doing well. We asked him when he would like to be baptized and he said as soon as possible and so we set him for September 20th. The new missionaries arrived into the mission there were 17 of them.  They are great, great missionaries.  We are excited for them. We also had a new leadership training this morning that went pretty good. Elder Jensen and I got to train the new zone leaders.

8/31 Thursday
Today was spent by training the trainers and with new missionary orientation. We also got lots of weekly planning done and had Ward Coordination Meeting with the Town Center Ward. We got to see the Lane family tonight.  They are doing well.  We are really trying to help Emily overcome her fear of water so that she can get baptized but it is very difficult to work over that fear.

9/1 Friday
I cannot believe that is already September!  Time is flying here in the mission field. We had a lesson with Ken Yates tonight, about praying and the importance of building our testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It went well, we really struggle helping Ken progress and move forward in the gospel. He also informed us he may be moving because his golf course is closing, which is unfortunate.

9/3 Sunday
Ken came to church today, which was good, he should be all set for the 20th!

- Elder Call NLVWM

A Note from President Walker:

Dear Parents,

We are blessed to serve with your missionary here in the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission. The missionaries here are dedicated and seek to do the Lord’s work, because they recognize the blessings that come from strict obedience. We have been trusted to now implement online proselyting to accomplish the hastening of the Lord’s work. Below is a letter that we shared with the missionaries. Please help your missionary in staying focused as they use media and technology to hasten the Lord’s work. Your encouragement and support will not only bless your missionary here but it will be a blessing to these missionaries after their missions to understand that safeguards will need to be practiced here, so that post mission, these same principles apply. Thank you for your attention to this additional effort in accomplishing the Lord’s purpose.

Warm Regards,

President Walker

Nevada Las Vegas West Mission

 Dear Elders and Sisters,

Under the direction of the First Presidency, we have been instructed to hasten the Lord’s work through online proselyting. We will now begin the training of the missionaries of the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission on the use of Facebook, and other social media tools, to share the gospel and bring others to Christ.

You will notice a new notification on your missionary portal. Missionaries are NOT authorized to down load any social media apps, including the Facebook app, Messenger app or use Facebook until instructed to do so. You will be trained at Zone Conference on the use of these new online proselyting tools. Again, you are not authorized to download or begin using these tools until you receive training from your mission president at zone conference. Members of the MLC will begin their training on this material this Wednesday.

Every missionary will need to complete the new safe guards course prior to zone conference. You are also to memorize, apply, and live the 4 safeguards. As you review safeguards please think upon the principle taught during the last round of interviews “Father in Heaven, I have nothing to hide.”

In Preach my Gospel page 4 it states, “When you were set apart by priesthood authority, you received the right and privilege to represent the Lord. You received a ministerial certificate that verifies that authority to the world. President Spencer W. Kimball said: “The setting apart may be taken literally; it is a setting apart from sin, apart from the carnal; apart from everything which is crude, low, vicious, cheap, or vulgar; set apart from the world to a higher plane of thought and activity. The blessing is conditional upon faithful performance” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 478).  You as a set apart servant of the Lord may be very excited at the news of using online proselyting but we need to remember “Use technology only in ways that will help you accomplish your purpose and reflect the sacred nature of your calling.” As your mission president, I promise as you practice and live the safeguards and remain set apart from the world I know the Lord will bless you not only here in the mission field but your children’s, children. 

“I would rather get a Book of Mormon into someone’s hands then get them to friend me on Facebook”

- Elder P. Jensen

“The Safeguards are in place because we have a loving Heavenly Father that is watching out for us. Let us use and apply his loving protection”

-Elder Call

May we never have anything to hide,

Love President Walker