Letter from Ben on April 20, 2015
He has a list of questions about missionary work in this letter. Please email Ben with answers to these questions. His email is benjamint@myldsmail.net and I know he would love to get your answers!
Hola familia,
¿Como estáis? Espero que cada uno de vosotros esté bien.
This week was wonderful. Lots of work. We ended the week dead tired, which we are happy about. We continue working with the members trying to strengthen them: Build their faith, teach them how to share the gospel, and invite them to act. It has been a wonderful experience and has been absolutely beautiful to see the desires so many of them have to share the gospel. The biggest obstacle that we're finding is that many simply don't know how to share the gospel or they're just afraid of how their friends will react, which makes it difficult to get references and take it from just a spiritual experience with the members to a productive finding activity.
I wanted to ask you (as a family/ward) to answer a few questions I have been thinking about. If you want to talk to other members and have them respond that would also be awesome.
1) What is the biggest obstacle that keeps you from sharing the gospel with your friends and family?
2) Do you make an effort to invite non member or less active friends to your home the same time the missionaries are going to pass by? (maybe the night you have dinner with the missionaries, or in family home evenings, or in birthday parties or other important events like graduation/going away parties)
3) Are you working on Élder Ballard´s challenges of inviting at least one person every quarter of the year to listen to the missionaries and of reading, studying and applying the teachings of Preach My Gospel?
"...we can all be more consistently involved in missionary work by replacing our fear with real faith, inviting someone at least once a quarter—or four times everyyear—to be taught by the full-time missionaries. They are prepared to teach by the Spirit, with sincere and heartfelt inspiration from the Lord. Together we can follow up on our invitations, take others by the hand, lift them up, and walk with them on their spiritual journey.
To help you in this process, I invite all members,regardless of your current calling or level of activity in the Church, to obtain a copy of Preach My Gospel. It is available through our distribution centers and also online. The online version can be read or downloaded at no cost. It is a guidebook for missionary work—whichmeans it is a guidebook for all of us. Read it, study it,and then apply what you learn to help you understand how to bring souls to Christ through invitation and follow-up. As President Thomas S. Monson has said,“Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’svineyard to bring souls unto Him.” Elder M. Russell Ballard "Following up"
4) Do you know of anyone that need the blessings of living the restored gospel in their lives? Now of these people that you have in mind, what actions will you take to introduce the gospel to them, and by when?
5) Do you have a deep desire to share the gospel? If no, what will you do to develop that desire?
6) Do you pray frequently to the Lord asking him to indicate to you who those people are that are prepared to receive the gospel? Are the references that I give to the missionaries received through inspiration, or are the the same people that I always say just to get the missionaries off my back?
I would appreciate the honest answers to whatever questions you feel comfortable answering. I want to know how to better help the members here in my ward, so any suggestions and opinions would be wonderful.
Love you all very much. Please take care.
Élder Benjamin Taylor
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