JUNE

August 2010

D&C 101:63-4 . . . I say unto you, I will show unto you wisdom in me concerning all the churches, in as much as
they are willing to be guided in a right and proper way for their salvation--- that the work of the gathering
together of my saints may continue . . . for the time of harvest is come, and my word must needs be fulfilled.

Message from the President

Dear Elders and Sisters
Thank you for your participation in making the mission conference a
wonderful experience for all who attended. The testimonies, musical number, questions asked, role plays,
together with setting up of tables, audio visual equipment and food preparation made the conference a
success. Not to mention the fact that you all looked sharp and acted appropriately.

The success of any conference is based on 25% presentation and 75% follow-up. District meetings,
exchanges, companionship study and planning should be geared to what we learned at the mission
conference. Elder Kopischke’s training needs to be incorporated into our missionary activities.

Read pages 147-150 in PMG together as a companionship and prayerfully set companionship goals as
to the Key Indicators.
Limit member dinners. Have a non-member there or a less-active member there.
Do not participate in non P day athletics unless there is an investigator or less-active member
participating.
Before going on a Teach with a member, share the lesson plan with the member.
If we talk in teaches all the time we are building and destroying at the same time.
If an investigator doesn’t have questions and you are answering them, then you are just passing
information.
You can only teach people who have questions.
There are no disobedient missionaries, only missionaries that lack faith.
Use the faith cycle to make changes in your life.
Miracles follow those missionaries that believe.
Be flexible when doing missionary work, think outside the box. If an investigator can only meet at
9:00 PM to be taught, get approval from the mission president to teach then. We need to be
principle based missionaries and not robots rotely following the rules.
We can’t make a list of all the dos and don'ts of what to do, we need to follow principles. For
example music, listen to music that edifies and brings you closer to the Lord.
Missionary work has nothing to do with numbers. It has everything to do with how close you have
come to the Lord.
Sacrifice in missionary work is more sacred than increase.
Obedience is just a means to increase faith.
You cannot manipulate people or investigators. You have only convincing speech.
The Lord is preparing people to receive the Gospel. Some use their agency and say no. We need to
develop the faith to find those whom the Lord has prepared. Don’t waste time talking to people who
are not interested. Continued on page 5.
 JUNE 2010
Message from the Assistants

Dear Elders and Sisters,

"I cannot save you; you cannot save me; we cannot save each other, only so far as we can persuade
each other to receive the truth, by teaching it. When a man receives the truth he will be saved by it. He will
be saved not merely because someone taught it to him, but because he received and acted upon it." -
President Joseph F. Smith

After our Mission Conference the other week, we as a zone leader council were able to meet with
Elder Kopischke. Just as in the meeting the day before, he spent a lot of time teaching us by answering our
questions. He told us that our mission had fantastic potential but that we weren’t living up to it completely.
We feel like one of the biggest things that we need to change in order to live up to our potential would be the
culture of our correction…or lack thereof.

This problem is twofold; there is first the problem that correction isn’t given as often as it needs to be. It is
all too often that we hear about a problem from a missionary, he feels that his senior companion, his junior
companion or just someone in his district or zone is not being one hundred percent obedient or effective.
Although we would rather that you say something to us as opposed to just keeping it to yourself, the best
thing that you can do is simply and quickly correct it in whatever way is most Christ like and natural for you.
This takes us to the second part of the problem, which is people not accepting correction when it is given.
We should view correction given to us as an opportunity to become better, and evidence that President
Johansen, our district leader, or our junior companion for that matter, care enough about us to give us a
personal correction, an instruction just for us on how we can be better.

We are intentionally keeping this e-mail short with the hope that more of you will take the time to read it.
We’d just like to end by saying that we are all on the Lord’s errand and we love you all. We should all have
the same goal of inviting souls unto Christ. We all want to be as effective as possible and it is our prayer that
through the giving and receiving correction well……..

Love,

Elders Miller and Harris

Mark Your Planners!

Next Zone Conference Dates
West 20 July ∙ North 21 July ∙ Stake 22July
 June 2010
Message from the President
Continued from front page
Don’t waste time talking to people who are not interested. Never teach for numbers have the courage
to drop investigators who are not progressing.
Always have on your mind, what can I do?
Missionary work is highly spiritual work.
As you contact, teach a principle so that you are teaching from the first moment of the day to the last.
Immediately begin teaching and testifying.
Simplify! Simplify! If a statement is short and simple it is powerful.
You have to start the teaching process in the finding process.
Role play as companions.
Share success stories.
May the Lord be with us in implementing what we were taught.
We love you all very much.
President Armand D. Johansen and Sister Johansen

Baptisms Reported in May 45 YTD as of 5/31

Baptism Confirmation
Name Date Date Location Missionaries
Dam, Cornelia 1 May 2 May Trondheim- Mis. Sisters West/Mølholt
Gomi, Sedat 1 May 16 May Ålesund- Mission Elders Loveridge/Craft
Quame-Amaglo Justice 8 May 9 May Trondheim- Mis. Sisters West/Mølholt
Anumba Karyn Kenneth 23 May 23 May Oslo - Stake Sisters Emery/Johnson
Shabaj, Eric 28 May 30 May Kristisand- Mis. Elders Wright/Farrer
Bugingo, Rene (Chris) 29 May 30 May Bergen-Mis. Sisters Wallace/Berggren
Skørestad, Elin 29 May 30 May Bergen- Mis. Elders Buckley/Decosta
Innocent, Kalima 29 May 30 May Oslo - Stake Sisters Emery/Johnson

From the Office

Baptism Pictures Are Needed For Our 2010 Mission History Book.
JUST SEND OFF AN EMAIL TO Sister Arnesen 2018004@LDSCHURCH.ORG
I need: names, dates and places I will do the rest!

Message from the Assistants

 JUNE 2010
Our Miracle Column

Our miracle happened this week on a Wednesday. We decided to set a goal to find 15
lost sheep. It was raining. The odds were against us! So, how many did we find? Exactly
15! In some ways it just shows how much we can achieve when we commit ourselves and
the Lord to reaching a goal. And in other ways it makes you think, how many could we
have found? Goals are there to make us stretch but we should not let them limit us
either.
∞∞∞

We had a great miracle this week. One of our investigators had told us that she was
scared to pray because if she found out the book of Mormon was true, she wouldn’t feel
ready to accept it. We told her it was important for her to pray so that she could build her
testimony on what the Spirit had told her and not just what we told her. Yesterday in
church I asked her if she had prayed and gotten her answer yet. She said NO at first. I
then looked at her in the eyes and said “you know that…. that is not true!” She then
blushed and said, “ yes I know …. I have just been hiding from the answer, but I know
it’s true.” It was such an answer to prayers, and because she knows it is true we will be
able to start helping her get the strength to tell her family and her friends. I am so
grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that answers prayers!

∞∞∞

This has been a great week and especially great weekend! I have seen so many miracles.
Let me tell you about one of them. We contacted a 52 year old man. He is a priest in the
state church and also a professor of ancient religion at the university. He was so funny
and the exact opposite of your typical Norwegian man. He has so much energy and I
love talking to him. We invited him to come to church Sunday and meet with us
afterwards. We would teach him a little about our beliefs and he could learn more about
our church. He said he didn’t believe that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon
and then I asked him. “Well have you ever read the Book of Mormon before? He said
NO and then agreed to come to church! We met with him on his birthday and he was so
cool. We had a member with us who has a gift of calming teaches. The mood was right.
We taught him about the Restoration and asked him to read the entire Book of Mormon
in just two months. He agreed to the challenge. Then we asked him if he knew the Book
of Mormon was true, what would that knowledge require him to do. He told us that he
would write himself out of the state church and become a member of our church. So we
set a date for him to be baptized the 31st of July and he agreed… WOW. That doesn’t
happen every day!!!!!
∞∞∞