How to Change Your Behavior (New Year's Resolutions Are NOT the Way)

Elder Anthony D Perkins and his wife Christine were the MTC Devotional speakers on December 30, 2014. Just ten months previously, on February 18, 2014, they had also spoken at the MTC. On both visits, Changing Behavior was the theme.

In their December visit, Elder Perkins expounded on how a person (whether an investigator or a missionary) can change: First, the Doctrine of Christ inspires faith. Faith brings about a change of attitude. This leads to repentance and a change of behavior. Next comes Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost which results in a change of countenance. The power of the Atonement and the Holy Ghost then actually change our very natures. This pattern continues throughout life as one repents and endures to the end. Paul offers his insights on this Devotional below, following my summary of the February Devotional.

During their February visit, Elder Perkins shared two inspiring missionary stories from his time as a mission president in Taiwan. His first story demonstrated how diligence in following mission rules changes a missionary. His second story demonstrated how the diligence of the missionary following rules changes investigators.

How diligence changes the missionary: Elder Smith and Elder Hanks

As part of his [Anthony D Perkins, 18 Feb 2014] talk, one of the stories he told was of a missionary, Elder “Smith,” who was angry with his senior companion, Elder “Hanks,”  because Elder Hanks consistently insisted that they had to be home no later than 9:30 PM exactly, in accordance with mission rules. One evening, a few minutes before 9:30, they met a couple on a motorcycle who expressed interest in their gospel message. When Elder Hanks told the couple that they wouldn’t be able to teach them just then, and handed them a pamphlet with the missionaries’ phone number on it, and invited the couple to phone for an appointment, Elder Smith was furious. This junior companion was sure that they had missed a key opportunity. After all, they had handed out countless pamphlets and no one had ever phoned them. Therefore, in Elder Smith’s opinion, adhering slavishly to the 9:30 rule was ridiculous—he considered it one of those rules that could justifiably be “bent.”

However, at 8:45 the next morning, Elder Smith was astonished when the couple actually did phone and make an appointment to be taught. And he was truly humbled when they actually joined the church. This experience was the turning point of his mission for Elder Smith—dramatically changing him. He recognized that the Lord blesses his servants according to their diligence and obedience.

How the diligence of the missionary changes investigators.

The companion story to the above [same talk], was of a set of missionaries who were teaching the first lesson to a family, and as it got to be about 9:20 PM, they announced to the family that they had to leave in order to obey their mission rules. During the second lesson, the same thing occurred. At the end of the third lesson, they again announced that they needed to leave. The father of the family protested, “but its pouring rain outside!” “It doesn’t matter,” said the missionaries, “we need to go.” 

So, the man put their bikes in his car and drove them home. The man was deeply impressed when he discovered that the missionaries lived at the top of a very steep “mountain.” After dropping them off and as he drove away, he marveled at the missionaries’ diligence and obedience. And then he thought, “these missionaries are the kind of individuals that I want my children to become; if the Church produces this kind of young people, then we must join this Church!” (The family did join the Church and went to the temple—because of the example of the missionaries).

In our discussion of Elder Perkins’ talk with the missionaries following the Devotional, I suggested to them that they will undoubtedly—at some time in their missions (as well as in their lives after their missions)—be tempted to “bend” the rules in order to pursue what they consider to be higher or more important purposes. My earnest admonition to them was to not fall for that ploy by the Tempter, because breaking rules can become a habit, and when they bend or break rules, they lose the protection and the power of the Holy Ghost. ~PLH

Paul’s Insights on the December 30, 2014 Devotional with Elder Anthony D Perkins and his wife Christine:

Meeting with the missionaries after a Tuesday Night Devotional is always a delight. No matter how copious my notes might be, I find that the Elders and Sisters frequently have insights into the spirit of the speaker’s message that I had failed to pick up on. In addition, the manner in which they reflect on their own comprehension and feelings usually enhances my own experience; I find myself making marginal notes in my journal next to my personal notes taken during the talks. This was particularly true last night (December 30, 2014) as we met with one of our districts after Elder and Sister Anthony D. Perkins spoke.

Sister Perkins provided four Christ-like attributes that she heartily recommended to the Missionaries, attributes that she admired in the daily conduct that she witnessed in the life of a Taiwanese flower lady, while she and her husband served as a Mission President in China: Be Happy, Be Bold, Testify of Christ, and Be Diligent. The Sisters in our district focused on “Be Happy” and suggested what the effect would be in their own missionary labors if they followed Sister Perkins recommendations. 

Suddenly I was reminded of the prophet Joseph Smith, his own self-description as being a person with a “native cheery temperament”. The prophet’s ability to draw people into his circle is legendary. He genuinely loved others and those who came into his company could sense that in him. When others betrayed him, he was quick to forgive and frequently welcomed them back into his bosom of friends. 

Elder Perkin spoke of the Doctrine of Christ and the changes that take place as one exercises faith, sincerely repents, and receives the ordinances of baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Exercising sufficient faith to repent of sin requires a change of attitude. Repenting sufficiently to be prepared for baptism necessitates a change of behavior. Following the commandment to “receive the Holy Ghost” will bring about a change in countenance. Fully responding to the gift of the Holy Ghost will cause a change of nature in the faithfully obedient. 

When we discussed the change of attitude, I brought to their attention a metaphor that would help them remember Elder David A. Bednar’s talk which they had all seen the Sunday before, “The Character of Christ”. At the heart of our discussion was the notion as to how easy it is to focus on one’s self, and how our salvation depends on turning our attention outward to the welfare of others. I described the orientation of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea (a similar configuration can be found with Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake). The Sea of Galilee receives water from the upper reaches of the Jordan River and then sends the still fresh waters south in the same stream. The Dead Sea, which has no outlet, receives the waters of the Jordan and keeps them to itself. The result is a deadly body of water for both flora and fauna. When we turn outward we continue to live; selfishness is deadly. 

As the Missionaries talked about the change of countenance, I felt impressed to tell them about Bill Chapman’s transformation over a sixth month period. He was a classic surfer who had been fellowshipped and taught by his friends in southern California. I met him at the Institute at Cypress College shortly after his baptism. He was also a young man with a native cheery temperament, but one who still sported a mass of hair that surrounded his head like a gigantic aura. Week by week the hair was trimmed back until one day he came into the Institute building with what could be called a missionary haircut. He had just been ordained an Elder and a few months later he would embark on his own missionary service.

We finally spoke about the change of our nature and whether we had improved enough of our own character so that we could effectively teach investigators. I reminded them that we all have parents of our physical bodies. By the same token, long before we were born upon this earth, we were begotten spirit sons and daughters of our Heavenly parents. I asked them what we were before our spirit birth. They correctly answered that we were intelligence.

I then taught them that the glory of God is intelligence or in other words, light and truth. The children of men, because of their eternal nature, may be nourished by light and truth. Because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has more light and truth than any other organization on this planet, the missionaries are able to bless and strength every one with whom they come in contact. If they are keeping the commandments and are enjoying the blessings and benefits of the spirit of God, they cannot fail to bless the honest in heart. 

I went home having been edified myself. I am confident that one of the reasons that the Brethren have allowed us to participate in the devotionals is so we might grow and increase in knowledge and wisdom while blessing and benefiting those for whom we have some responsibility. I am glad to be part of all of this. ~PNH

Frozen Over and Snow

On a cold, snowy Tuesday evening in December, the scheduled speaker for the Provo MTC Devotional was unable to travel from Salt Lake City to Provo because of the extremely hazardous driving conditions. Remarkably, the MTC Presidency managed to find a stand-in at the last minute! It was Bruce C. Hafen, an emeritus General Authority. How they managed to find him and how he managed to be prepared to speak on such short notice seemed like a miracle to me.

The feeling of the presence of the Spirit came into the auditorium as he spoke.  It was palpable.

During his talk, Elder Hafen recounted his own missionary experience as a senior companion in the early 1960s in West Germany with a new junior companion who had just arrived from the MTC. That first day in the mission field, this junior companion, whom I will call “Elder Green,” went on “splits” with another junior companion, while their respective senior companions were in a day-long meeting with the Mission President. Elder Hafen and the other senior companion had thought that the two inexperienced missionaries would be “safe” tracting in a huge complex of apartment buildings.

At the end of his day tracting, Elder Green ecstatically reported to Elder Hafen that he had found a woman who would become a member of the church. “We have to go back and find her!” he said. Elder Hafen had been on his mission for at least a year by that time, and had become somewhat cynical—“frozen over” was how he described it. Nevertheless, he decided to humor his starry-eyed junior companion.  Alas, because of his inexperience, Elder Green had neglected to note the woman’s name and address. All he was sure of was that she lived on the fifth floor.

So, the next day, Elder Hafen and Elder Green spent hours climbing to the 5^th floor of countless nondescript apartment buildings that all looked the same to try to find her again. As the day wore on, Elder Hafen was convinced that the search was futile. But Elder Green would not give up even though Elder Hafen was obviously skeptical and reluctant to continue. After several difficult hours, they finally located the woman.

Elder Green’s confidence in the spiritual assurance he’d received concerning this woman turned out to be entirely justified.  She and her family joined the church. The woman’s husband later became a sealer in the Frankfurt Germany Temple.

Elder Hafen’s message to the missionaries was this: serving a mission is going to be hard; try to not let yourself become cynical or “frozen over,” try to remain hopeful, “be realistic but stay open to promptings from heaven.”

In the most recent issue of the Church News (March 1, 2014), there was an article about the biography of Neal A. Maxwell, which was written by Bruce C. Hafen. To read this article, go to:

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/64447/Elder-Neal-A-Maxwell-Story-of-a-disciples-life.html

As he wrote the book (at Elder Maxwell’s request), Elder Hafen reflected on the question, “Why do we read and write biographies?” His answer was, “When we tell our own stories to each other, we realize that the cosmic quest to overcome evil and find God is a very personal quest for each of us,” he said.

In telling his own personal missionary story at the MTC, Elder Hafen was sharing that sacred moment during which he recognized that the Spirit really had directed his junior companion. In that moment of recognition, he experienced a change of heart, and was rescued from his “frozen over” condition. ~PLH

My Husband's Take:

The Length and Breadth

I, too, thoroughly enjoy the stories told by the Brethren about their missions when they were young men. It is wonderful to me that they frequently speak of their foibles, as did Elder Hafen and his “frozen over” moment as a senior companion in West Germany that was mentioned above by my wife. Last Tuesday’s devotional featured Elder Steven E. Snow of the Seventy. He recounted how difficult his mission had been in the late 1960s in northern Germany. He and his companions spurred themselves on, however, with little quips like: “Let’s keep tracting Elder; for every door we knock on, someone gets baptized in Mexico!”

Elder Snow went on to talk about other missionaries who had seemingly not performed well as young Elders. He referred to President Joseph Fielding Smith’s mission in Great Britain, where the future prophet, seer, and revelator handed out 10,000 pamphlets and visited in over 4000 homes, yet no one received the Gospel at his hands while he was there. He performed no baptisms, and the whole time that he served in England, he helped confirm only one person into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yet the experience proved to be no detriment to his character or to his later service in the Kingdom of God.

This past Sunday, as part of Mission Conference, President Nally spoke in a similar vein, and then went on to relate the experience of President James E. Faust during the early 1940s as a new missionary in Brazil. The whole time that he served there with his companions, only three people were baptized and none of them were at his hands. During his first day on the streets of the city where he and his companion, William Grant Bangeter, were working, Elder Bangeter told him that the next door would be his. He knew little Portuguese but made a valiant attempt to communicate with the woman who answered the door. They did not teach her; they did not baptize her. Thirty years later, however, while President Faust was visiting Brazil, this same woman came up to him and wept into his hands in gratitude for his service to her in preparing her and her family for the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As I listened to President Nally, I reflected upon my own mission to southern Mexico. I had been one of those missionaries who baptized a person for every door that Elder Snow knocked upon. I knew that I had served well, and that the Lord was pleased with my labors. That was as certain as certainly itself. However, I did not know how lasting any of my efforts had been. Were any of those families who received the Gospel during my tenure there still active in the Church? Were their children and grandchildren faithful members of the Kingdom of God on the earth? I did not know. I have not returned to my former fields of labor to find out how things have gone with these people that I loved. I suppose that I will not know until I pass out of this life and proceed into the next. Will I have to seek them out, or will they be waiting for me?

President Nally played an audio clip of one of President Faust’s talks at one of the Mission Presidents’ Seminar held at the Provo MTC. President Faust began by stating, “You cannot know the length and breadth of your labors as a minister of Christ”. I marveled at that. How fruitful had my mission been? Was it fruitful because of the things that I could outwardly point to in the records that I kept? Were there other things heretofore unmentioned and unrecorded by human hands that had contributed to the building up of the Kingdom of God in that part of the Lord’s vineyard as I labored throughout southern Mexico? I rather hope that there are. ~PNH

Elder Hyde 1964-1966

Having Eyes to See the Seachange

On May 14, 2013, Elder Russell M. Nelson and his wife, the former Wendy Watson, were the MTC Devotional speakers. During that Devotional, Sister  Nelson said, “Pray to be led to those whose ancestors pray for you on the other side of the veil. They are eager to receive their ordinances; ask for angels to help you.”

I was especially interested in and touched by her words because of my own remarkable experiences while doing family history research. I knew the truth of those words.

After she spoke, Elder Nelson underscored her words when he stated: “Ancestors are praying for you to find their posterity. The Spirit of Elijah is on your side. People on both sides of the veil are praying for the missionaries.” He went on to suggest that the missionaries enlist the Family History Consultants in the wards they serve in to help investigators to find their ancestors.

I was astonished. Uniting family history work with missionary work was a new and unique vision. However, these Devotional talks by Elder and Sister Nelson turned out to be a mere glimpse of things to come.

About one month later, on June 23, 2013, a Worldwide Leadership Broadcast from the MTC occurred, titled “The Work of Salvation.” In that broadcast, we were presented with an enlarged vision of “hastening” the Lord’s work with Church members and missionaries working together. (“Hastening the Work of Salvation—a united effort in conversion, retention, and activation” is available on lds.org for your edification!)

Fast forward to February 4, 2014.  The MTC Devotional speakers on that date were Elder David F. Evans, executive director of the Missionary Department, and his wife, Mary. Elder Evans began his talk by mentioning that he had had a meeting that day with Missionary Council members, including Elder Russell M. Nelson, Elder David A. Bednar, Bishop Gérald Caussé, and Elder James B. Martino. The rest of Elder Evans’ talk gave us a glimpse of what had been discussed in that meeting.

He spoke of “new things” happening in our world that would present challenging conditions and situations for the missionaries in the mission field.  He said they would be called upon to defend the family and traditional marriage, and they must be prepared to answer unique questions of the soul.

Almost as an aside, he shared that two general authorities had been somewhere in the world together the previous week when they were warned by a strong spiritual impression that they should not proceed to their planned destination. The important part of it was that the Spirit had warned them and that they had  heeded that warning, not knowing what might have occurred. It was a “type” for the missionaries to follow—to recognize and trust in spiritual impressions that would keep them safe.

He also shared a person experience. He said that some years earlier the “eyes of his understanding were opened” in a “most profound experience” that “changed forever” the way he felt about his wife and children, so that ever after he tried harder with his children. Here was another “type” for the missionaries to follow—to seek life-changing understanding that would help them to live  according to God’s will.

Elder Evans admonished the missionaries to embrace truth, cling to truth for safety, and that these truths will resonate with sincere seekers of truth.

That we live in perilous times can readily be seen. That the Lord is not surprised by world events, and that He inspires His chosen servants in the things that they should do is also readily seen. Our day was foreseen. The safety and well-being of ourselves, our families, our fellow Church members, as well as that of society as a whole, depends on our heeding the promptings of the Spirit and the counsel and teachings of the Lord’s servants.

At the end, Elder Evans suggested that there would be “additional training coming” . . . . ~PLH

[My husband's "take":]

I Have No Desire to Perish

Two scriptures have come to my mind during the last little while. The first comes from the writings of the prophet Amos:

Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

The import of this particular passage to me during the last little while will become apparent momentarily.

One of the most delightful aspects of serving at the Provo Missionary Training Center has been the frequent appearance of the General Authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the past year, Pat and I have been able to attend the Devotionals held on Tuesday evening, take copious notes on the addresses given by the Brethren and their wives, and then have the opportunity to mutually share what we have learned with one of the Districts in our Branch. I always come away from these evenings edified and more determined to live as I ought to, according to the light and knowledge which has just been abundantly given to me. The Brethren have also visited the MTC on other occasions when I have been instructed directly as a member of a Branch Presidency. I have been grateful for the guidance, and I have invariably been benefited when I have taken the counsel to heart.

The instruction has been timely. One of the most apparent aspects of the activities transpiring at the MTC has been the number of changes that have taken place. When we were first called to serve in our Branch, we were housed on the Main Campus, one of sixty branches that had been established there. Adapting to our new surroundings was a challenge but we achieved that with some grace. Someone asked me what it was like serving with the missionaries. I replied that it was like coming out of retirement and being called as a Bishop on the same day. We have been fully occupied. In the beginning we had to learn a considerable amount of policies and procedures, some of which we had never encountered before in our service in the Kingdom of God. These were specialized instructions and guidelines that had come about as the MTC had grown and expanded. In the process of time, we mastered these and were feeling somewhat comfortable.

Then a new set of guidelines came about with new manuals for both the missionaries and for their ecclesiastical leaders. Much was the same, but some changes revealed an improved approach to the whole process of preparing missionaries for their fields of labor. The number of branches at the MTC had increased to over one hundred. About this same time, the leadership of our Branch changed. The president with whom we had served for six months was released and a new President sustained. The first counselor was released to become the President of another Branch, requiring another counselor to be sustained. There was a flurry of activity as all of us began to adjust to our new circumstances. Administrative assignments changed and I soon found myself deeply immersed in learning heretofore unknown aspects of how a Branch should function. About the same time, our Branch was reassigned to the West Campus; all of our meeting places and times changed radically. In some respects, we were once again starting at square one. As time passed, other changes took place, all about the time we had just finished absorbing the previous changes. We found ourselves almost in a constant state of flux. It was a little unnerving, but we pressed forward in faith.

Throughout all of these disorienting events, there was a steadiness. Underpinning all that was going on were the calming voices of the General Authorities and the Mission Presidency. They assured us, with convincing evidence and not platitudes, that they understood what was going on and that there was a purpose to all that was transpiring. We were counseled to hold fast to the rod of iron, as it were, and continue in our assignments. They also assured us that the changes and adjustments that had been going on were not going to cease any time soon. In every instance these assurances have proven to be justifiable, and our trust and confidence in the midst of seeming turmoil has increased and strengthened. On reflection, I would not choose to have any of the episodes changed one whit.

For one like me, who is decidedly a conservative of the classic type, the fluctuations of our assignment have been just a little disturbing. At the heart of the matter, however, the reason why we persist in our callings, is the principle of preternatural vision, the ability to see through the seeming chaos to the goals that divine providence has mandated for our time and place. We have been strengthened and sustained by those whom we love, those who gladly serve us, until our own eyes have been appropriately opened as theirs already are. What more could anyone hope for in such an assignment? I am grateful beyond expression that there are yet three years remaining to us that our spiritual horizons might continue to expand.

The second scripture came into my mind as I have contemplated what might have happened to us had we chosen to ignore the counsel we have been given during the past year, if we had succumbed to the flurry of activity instead of finding refuge in the revelations being poured out upon those who preside in the Church and Kingdom of God.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18)

 

May we always find refuge in the word of the Lord, for whether by His own voice or by the voice of His servants, it is the same. ~PNH