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missioneccles101319 (October 2019 ** )

Ecclesiastical Training — Provo Missionary Training Center — October 13, 2019


1/  President and Sister Rahlf

  • The theme today is explaining the revisions of and simplifications of the missionary schedule.
  • God influences the missionaries, the missionaries influence the people, and the people respond to God.
  • The role of ecclesiastical leaders in the lives of the missionaries includes:
    • Help deepen conversion
    • Increase faith
    • Preach and explain doctrine
    • Encourage them to become life-long disciples
    • Help them live the missionary standards
    • Help them master the Missionary Handbook
    • Preach obedience
    • Teach the importance of councils and counseling
    • Emphasize covenants
  • The role of the Missionary Training Center administrative staff includes:
    • Goal-setting
    • Teaching them how to find interested people
    • To master a language
    • To teach them how to teach
  • Both the ecclesiastical leaders and the administrative staff should:
    • Emphasize their purpose
    • Expound doctrine
    • Emphasize the role of the Book of Mormon in their work
    • Stress the importance of Adjusting to Missionary Life
    • Stress the importance of the Technology Safeguards
  • Be aware that new missionaries will have heard a lot and be instructed in a lot of things before the Thursday night meeting with their branch presidency members.
  • Overview of the Wednesday welcome meeting with the mission presidency:
    • We love you
    • We are prepared for you
    • You matter – you are important
    • Special musical numbers, choir participation
    • Don’t worry —  you can do this — the Lord is with you!
    • Importance of good companion relationships
    • Importance of obedience
    • The missionary purpose
    • How to measure success
    • The Training Center is a sacred place
    • The best thing you can do for your family is to LOSE YOURSELF in this work
    • Assignments to read the White Handbook and the MTC insert are given
  • Overview of the Wednesday night welcome meeting with Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders:
    • Help them feel welcome to the branch
    • Let them feel the love of their fellow missionaries
    • Let them see examples of obedient missionaries
    • Share information
  • Overview of the new Thursday night welcome meeting with the branch presidency:
    • We welcome you, you are loved, you can come to us with any concern, you are in a sacred place, companion relations, choose a new district leader
    • The agenda should be:
      • Welcome
      • Introductions
      • Welcome greetings by husbands and wives with companionships – 2 x 2, stressing love for them and we are here to help
      • During these greetings the other missionaries will read in the handbook, Preach My Gospel, or Adjusting to Missionary Life
      • Further emphasis on Adjusting to Missionary Life
      • Stress companionship unity
      • Make the district leader assignment
      • Close
  • Adjusting to Missionary Life adjustments:
    • There will be a brief introduction on Thursday night
    • A 15-minute ATML check-up will be taught by a branch presidency couple (15 minutes)
  • The First District Council on the first Tuesday night (following a devotional)
    • Train the District Leader how to lead
    • Have the district counsel together
    • Teach a device audit
    • Hold a devotional review
    • The Christ-like attribute should be done individually, not as a district
    • They should set district goals

2/ President and Sister LeSueur

  • We have been stressing floral ties and crazy socks.  That needs to change.  We should be talking about testimonies, love, discipleship.
  • Give the missionaries your love, your respect, your devotion.
  • “On this past Sunday night, we drove away from the Training Center, leaving no one here but a few security personnel and over 2000 young men and women.  We returned the next morning to a calm and wonderful campus without the slightest problem being reported.  Do you realize what a miracle that is?  Where else in the entire world would such a thing be possible?
  • Matthew 16:24-26 stresses the importance of taking your cross, of losing yourself to truly find yourself, what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul.
  • Deny yourselves and follow the Lord, be submissive, cast off negative things.
  • Some of you may struggle with the fact that we have given the missionaries much more time for introspection on Sundays, worrying that they will simple squander their time.  A few weeks from now, won’t they be making these same decisions, with just themselves and their companion in the picture?  Shouldn’t we give them to opportunity to make those types of decisions here in the Training Center?
  • You might doubt some of the details, but do not doubt the wisdom of the objective!

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