Increasing in Power

We just wrapped up another week of zone conferences. There is a power that comes every time we gather these groups of missionaries together. The Lord loves His missionaries, and we do too.

Zone conference is a time to teach the missionaries the doctrine as found in the scriptures and as taught by our living apostles and prophets. We teach the principles of missionary work as found in Preach My Gospel. It is a time to build unity and help the missionaries build relationships that can last a lifetime following their missions.

We began the zone conference by role playing a short version of Lesson 1: The Message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we took the time to role play each principle of this lesson, we noticed the teaching changing across our mission as the missionaries are teaching with greater power. That was a highlight of zone conference.

The transfer focus for this zone conference was “Increasing in Power”. Preach My Gospel teaches us:

In addition to authority, you need spiritual power to fulfill your calling.
Preach My Gospel

We discussed many things missionaries can do to increase in power as representatives of Jesus Christ:

We then had workshops taught by the zone leadership teams that focused on four areas for increasing our power.

Seek the Word of God

Missionaries have time each morning dedicated to studying the scriptures, the words of living prophets, and Preach My Gospel. We discussed scriptures like D&C 11:21, Alma 31:5, and Alma 17:2-5 and talked about how to use this time more effectively to build power. Missionaries shared tips like always begin and end study time with prayer, study with questions (yours and your friends), focus your study on the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel, keep a study journal where you record what you learn, and plan out your studies so your study time is deliberate and intentional.

Act in Faith

Faith in Jesus Christ is a principle of action and power…Faith helps us experience the Savior’s strengthening power in our lives.
Preach My Gospel

“Faith is a principle of action and power.” Faith will always lead to action, and acting in faith will bring power. We reviewed examples from the scriptures where people acted in faith and received power like Nephi obtaining the brass plates, the Brother of Jared asking for help with light in their boats, and the Savior feeding 5,000. “The power was beyond them, but the action was within their power.” Acting in faith is using our agency in powerful ways. “To act, and not to be acted upon.” We express faith through the goals we set, and the way we act in faith to achieve those goals.

Set goals that are realistic but that will stretch you and require faith. Avoid setting goals that are too high or too low. Plan how you will accomplish them…Work diligently to accomplish your goals. Exercise faith in the Lord to help you.”
Preach My Gospel

Focus on Your Missionary Purpose

Preach My Gospel teaches us that the more we focus on our missionary purpose, the more power we will receive.

Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
Preach My Gospel

Central to the doctrine of Christ is baptism, or making covenants with God. Faith and repentance prepare us to make and keep covenants, and the result of those covenants is having the Holy Ghost with us always, which helps us to endure to the end. We discussed that we are not here just to share messages about Jesus Christ. We are here to help people to receive greater access to his strength, power, love, and mercy through making covenants with God. The more we focus on baptism and talk about this covenant, the more people we will help take this important step.

Increase Your Willingness

Becoming more willing is one of the greatest ways to increase in power. As we are become more willing, we act in greater obedience. That increase in obedience, or increase in righteousness, results in greater faith. And that greater faith leads us to act in faith that brings power. (See the definition of Faith in the Bible Dictionary).

Our Heavenly Father’s goal in parenting is not to have His children do what is right;
It is to have His children choose to do what is right and ultimately become like Him.”

Elder Dale G. Renlund, “Choose You This Day”, October 2018 General Conference

Being willing leads us to use our agency is powerful, positive ways. It leads us “to act, and not to be acted upon” (2 Nephi 2:26). It is central to Heavenly Father’s plan for the happiness and progression of His children. “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25).

The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar….

The many other things we give to God, however nice that may be of us, are actually things He has already given us…

But when we begin to submit ourselves by letting our wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him. And that hard doctrine lies at the center of discipleship.

There is a part of us that is ultimately sovereign, the mind and heart, where we really do decide which way to go and what to do. And when we submit to His will, then we’ve really given Him the one thing He asks of us. And the other things are not very, very important.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell, “Sharing Insights from My Life,” BYU Devotional Address, 12 Jan 1999

One of the main hopes we have from this zone conference is that we all will become more willing.

The Power of the Book of Mormon

The highlight of the zone conference was when Sister Barlow taught us about the power of the Book of Mormon. She extended an invitation to read the Book of Mormon in 65 days, which is the same amount of time it took Joseph Smith to translate the Book or Mormon. It was so good and so important, we will make a separate post about that part of the zone conference.

We love these missionaries. They are so good and continue to amaze us with their effort, desire, and diligence. Our greatest desire is that the experiences they are having today in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission will lead them to be lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. We are very grateful to get to work side-by-side with them each day.