Planning Your New LDS Website
Filed under: Being a Missionary Online, How to Be a Member Missionary
In the last article we learned how to adopt an LDS website to help share the gospel online. Today, we’ll learn how to start planning the site while you wait for it to be set up for you by More Good Foundation.
A well-planned site is much less work in the long run and will help improve your chances of being read. The planning takes time, but is well worth the effort.
Write down the URL of your website. The domain name included in it tells you what the site is about. For instance, the site I adopted from More Good Foundation is http://www.lds-genealogy.com. Obviously, the site is about genealogy, and specifically is about LDS genealogy. If someone saw a site named LDS Genealogy, they’d expect to find genealogy information there, not parenting articles or cooking tips. Make sure you give your site readers exactly what they came looking for. Stay on one topic, which will increase your search engine ranking and your popularity.
Now imagine you were going to write a book on the topic of your site or teaching a course. Books and courses follow a logical pattern, beginning with the introductory information and moving gradually along to the more advanced material. They sometimes move chronologically. You want to organize your website in the same way. For now though, open a file on your computer or set up a notebook and begin writing every possible article idea that comes to mind. You made a list when you were choosing topics to suggest, so start there. Try to think of everything a person would need to know if they knew nothing at all about the topic and chose a book to get them started. On my genealogy site, I decided to start with a step-by-step course on introductory genealogy before beginning to write on more advanced topics. This allows new readers to quickly get up to speed.
If you are working on your computer, begin moving the topics around until they are in a logical order. Start with the most basic information and move to the more complicated material. You might also choose to work chronologically, as I’m doing. There are certain things a new genealogist needs to do first, so I am writing the articles in the order in which each step needs to be accomplished. If you’re using a notebook, number in pencil so you can make changes, and then rewrite the final list.
This is your plan for your website. Keep the file handy and mark (don’t erase) each topic after you’ve written on it. Add new topics when they occur to you. Without this list, you run the risk of waking up one morning and having no ideas, or of duplicating previous work. If the list is handy, it’s usually very easy to write the next topic on the list, and you won’t face the problem of writer’s block.
In the next article, we’ll learn how to improve your search engine ranking.
Sharing the Gospel Online
Filed under: Being a Missionary Online, How to Be a Member Missionary
Ever since Elder Russell M. Ballard asked members of the church to begin sharing the gospel online, people have been searching for ways to do this. There are some who have good writing skills and plenty to say, but just don’t want the pressure or expense of their own website. More Good Foundation has the solution for these people. They’re offering to allow people to adopt one of their domain names for use in sharing the gospel. A domain name is the “address” of a website. For instance, if you want to go to the church’s official website, you type in www.lds.org. That is their domain name. Your site’s domain name will depend on the topic of your site. Read more
A visit with Author Liz Adair
Today, I’m delighted to sit down with author, Liz Adair and discuss her thoughts on writing and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Liz was born in the Southwest sixty-six years ago but has lived in the Pacific Northwest for the last thirty-four years. She has seven children (four biological, three adopted) and seventeen grandchildren. Liz has been married for forty-five years to a wonderful man.
She taught school for several years and was a stay-at-home mom for a decade and a half, during which time she and her children ran a specialty bakery. Now, Liz works with her husband in healthcare construction management, and will probably continue to do so for several more years.
Liz has been writing seriously for about twenty years and has published five books with another coming out this fall. She just finished a stint of four years teaching early morning seminary, but has just been called as choir director for her ward.
Candace: As a very well-known author in the LDS Fiction market, will you please share with us what drives you to write?
Liz: I don’t know that I can explain it. It’s just part of who I am. I dream in narratives. If I see a beautiful sunset, my way of appreciating it is to try to put it in words. To spare bystanders, I do this mentally. Writing is simply an extension of that facet of my personality or character or being–whatever you call it.
Candace: Elder M. Russell Ballard, a living apostle, charged Mormons with battling the onslaught of anti-Mormon sites on the internet. He asked us to blog and gently but firmly set the record straight. Will you please share with us your thoughts on this and what you’ve done to answer that call?
Liz:know, I’m not much of a crusader. I don’t do well with programs, because I can’t stay the course with a program. I peter out. I’m much better at being who I am. I am a writer. I write, and I write as genuinely as I can. I have five blogs that I contribute to regularly. One is connected with yourLDSneighborhood, www.sezlizadair.blogspot.com where I write about things under the heading of service.
Another blog I do is about family history, www.familywriters.blogspot.com. I love family history and use it in my fiction writing all the time, and this blog is an expression of that.
A third blog is a pure, factual, family history blog, www.ronnietootie.blogspot.com. My brother and I use it as a means of identifying old family photos and getting down family anecdotes, a project we’ve been going to get together and do for years, but never accomplished until we decided to do it via blog. It would be of interest only to our family and, perhaps, historians, but it’s there so anyone who wanders by can take a gander.
The fourth blog I participate in is one made up of LDS writers, www.anwafounder.blogspot.com. This is the forum where I would be most closely following Brother Ballard’s admonition. We speak very openly there, because we’re speaking to each other, about our faith in Christ and how it colors everything we do. We demonstrate by our postings and our comments the love we have for our Savior and our commitment to each other. It’s a very warm, comfortable place on the internet, and we’ve had people stumble onto the site and comment about how they can feel the positive spirit of the site.
The fifth blog, www.lizadairwrites.blogspot.com is a place where I can log the progress of my new book, Counting the Cost, as it comes out this fall. However, I’m doing it for a secondary reason, one perhaps more important than the first. Several months ago I made a promise to myself that I would make an effort to review books written by my fellow LDS authors and post them on the internet None of the other blogs lend themselves to that purpose, so this fifth blog will be my forum for book reviews.
Did I set out to follow Brother Ballard’s counsel? No, but in my own serendipitous way, I’ve managed to set a parallel course.
Candace: What is your favorite scripture and why?
Liz: My favorite scripture is almost a throwaway line, a fragment of 1 Nephi 16:29, “…And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.”
I’m a pretty ordinary person, but I’ve had some experiences where small, ordinary things done by small, ordinary people have brought about great things in other people’s lives. It seems that if we just keep putting one foot in front of another, doing the best we can, the Lord will magnify our efforts, and the good we do will reverberate around and extend far beyond what we could have done on our own.
Candace: Who is your favorite prophet and why?
Liz: I’m a very fickle lover of prophets. My favorite prophet is generally the one I’m studying right then. I love Joseph Smith because he translated the Book of Mormon and was so steadfast in defending it. I love Isaiah because he’s a poet and uses language so powerfully and gave us such beautiful windows on the coming of the Messiah. I love Thomas S. Monson because he’s our prophet today.
Candace: Will you please share with your conversion? All of us, whether we are born into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not, have a moment of conversion, please share?
Liz: My conversion story starts before I was born, when my Uncle Curtis met the missionaries and listened to them. This was a very unlikely beginning, because, as my Uncle Buck used to say of his brother Curtis, “He was wild as a snake.” Curtis had been a cowboy, but had married and was now working construction. He lived through the lot from my mother, and as he joined her every morning for coffee, he’d say, “Lucy, be a Mormon!” Curtis gave up coffee and set his baptismal date, but before he could be baptized, he was hit by a car on his motorcycle and was killed.
Seven years later, missionaries knocked on my mother’s door. She had been having troubling dreams of her brother, and when she realized that these young men were Mormons, she told them about Curtis and how he died before baptism. They told her about the temple ordinances, and as they helped her fill out the paperwork, they taught her the gospel, and she was baptized when I was seven. She was troubled by dreams no more.
My mother was a person of profound faith who had been actively teaching me about God long before her conversion. In the face of a disapproving family and an uninterested spouse, she clung to the Gospel and made sure we attended church, no matter how long the drive or how bad the roads.
I’ve always had a testimony of Joseph Smith, of the restoration of the Gospel, of the Book of Mormon, of the Plan of Salvation, but I remember with singular clarity the moment everything snapped into focus around the Savior. I was about thirty-six, doing the usual Mormon Mom thing with Primary and Young Women’s values and Duty to God and all the programs that fill our lives as we raise families. I was trying for yet another time to have a consistent personal scripture study time, and was reading the Book of Mormon at the dining room table. I had read it several times before, but had always been looking at the language or the geography or cultural clues, and, all of a sudden, I realized that there was hardly a page where Christ’s name wasn’t mentioned. Hello, Liz? Another Witness for Christ? It was so elementary, but my busy life had been focused on all the minutia of the programs of the Church, and I had forgotten the central figure. I say I forgot, because when I was about nine, I had a profound personal spiritual experience calling me to Christ.
That study session at the dining room table was a life-changing experience. Whereas before, I did things because I was a Mormon and had a testimony of the Church, I now do them because I have taken upon me the name of Christ. As a Mormon, I set my sights on the Celestial Kingdom; as a Christian, I become uncomfortable when people talk about rewards for righteous living. I only want to please my Savior. I only want to be what he would have me be.
I’m not saying that the programs of the Church get in the way. They’re a great teaching tool and lab experience to prepare us to understand about the Savior and his mission. It just takes some folks longer to graduate than others. But, I think that’s all right, too. We all mature at different times.
Candace: Will you please share your personal testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ?
Liz: I don’t know that I can say it in words that haven’t been used so much they may sound trite. He’s the way. He’s the truth. He’s the light. His words require faith to follow, but in exercising that faith, you find that there’s power in meekness; people do respond to a soft voice; it is better to give than to receive; we do need to reach out to the weary and support the hands that hang down.
I believe that he took upon himself the sins of the world, my sins, and paid the price in suffering required for those sins so that I should not have to. I believe he knows my name, knows the desires of my heart, and will be my advocate with our Father. I believe he will come again as he has promised. I look forward to that day, and hope to do my part, my small thing, to help bring it to pass.
Candace: Christians across the globe face an ever-increasing battle against those who would destroy and erase all that our Savior has done for us. What would you say to them, given the chance?
Liz: Keep the faith. Your little candle of light may be small in the grand scheme of things, but it’s capable of kindling others, or lighting the way to the next small candle. Keep it lit. Hold it high.
Candace: Please share your testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope it brings to every human soul.
Liz: I have a friend who had a personal relationship with the Savior long before she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is a student of the Bible and studied in college to go into the ministry. It was interesting to talk with her as she read through the New Testament in the first few years after her conversion. “Why didn’t I see that?” she would ask. “It’s right there!”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is like your genealogy, your family tree. You know where you fit. You know where you came from, why you’re here, where you’re going, and that’s comforting. Hope comes with a knowledge of the atonement. About the time you get to be my age, you realize you’re not going to achieve perfection; it just ain’t in you. But, you realize that’s all right, because our Savior will do for you what you can’t do for yourself, as long as you do the best you can and keep trying.
Candace: You stand, as it were, on a world stage. In that circumstance, what message do you have for this troubled world?
Liz: When I look at this old world with all its suffering and inequities, I remember the story of Alma in the Book of Mormon, when he led his people into the wilderness, heading for Zarahemla, and they fell into the hands of Amulon and his followers. Amulon had an ax to grind against Alma, and he made slaves of Alma’s people and made them, even the women, into beasts of burden. Forbidden to pray aloud, the people prayed in their hearts, and the Lord heard them. Though they weren’t delivered right away, the Lord made them strong so that they could bear the burdens they were forced to carry. And when the time came, they were given a way to escape.
That’s my hope and my prayer: Whatever our burdens, we can be made strong to bear them. I pray for this for the innocents of the world.
Liz, thank you so much for taking the time to express your thoughts and beliefs on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that your words will touch the heart of someone seeking just what you had to say.
Chat online with a real missionary!
I recently heard about a fun feature on the Church’s web site www.mormon.org They have an area where you can chat live online with a real missionary. I thought I’d check it out, so I clicked on the link and instantly received a greeting from a guy named Josiah. He was very polite and friendly and helped answer some questions I had about submitting referrals online. The conversation occurred in a pop-up window and it was really cool to know someone from the Church office building was sitting there typing just to little ‘ole me!
If you haven’t visited this website for awhile, be sure to swing by soon and take another peek. It is extremely easy to navigate and has tons of great information to share with your non-member friends. Anyone can request a visit from missionaries anywhere in the world. Visitors on the site can also request a free Bible or Book of Mormon, as well as click on a link that allows them to read the scriptures online.
If your computer has a Flash player you can watch several video clips on various gospel subjects, as well as hear testimonies from members of the Church. What a great resource this web site is for us to use as members of the Church! When you share a Pass-Along Card with a non-member they will be directed to this web site. It’s so easy! I keep a bunch of those cards in my car and purse, so I’ll be able to share the gospel at any time in a split second. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Twelve Apostles encouraged all members to “carry a packet of these attractive pass-along cards and give them to persons, even casual acquaintances.” (”Sharing the Gospel,” Ensign, Nov. 2001, 9.)
I love the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 24:12 which says “And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night.” With a simple click of a mouse the gospel can be shared!
Searching for Truth
Our conversion story today comes from Maria Moreno from Santa Ana, California. Her daughter is currently serving in the Italy, Milan mission! Here are her words:
My conversion has been a slow process, I believe. It began with the death of my biological father when I was 7 years old, followed by my paternal grandfather, my maternal grandfather and my maternal grandmother within a space of 2 years. Amidst the rosaries and the Hail Mary’s, the Masses, candles and the incense, I discovered that the essence/spirits of my loved ones was gone; they had gone to a better place, and what was left in that coffin was an empty shell.
From then I refused to pray to the saints as is customary in the Catholic church and instead directed my prayers to God directly and looked upon Jesus Christ as my Savior and mediator with God the Father. No one taught me this. I just intuitively knew it as a child. Amidst my grief, since my mother and paternal grandmother were devastated over their loss, I was left on my own to come to my own conclusions. I believe I was comforted by the Holy Ghost and I felt a deep love for Jesus Christ. I knew He loved me so deeply and that He died for me and no one else loved me as much as He did.
At the age of nine my mother and I left Mexico and came to live in Santa Ana, California where my mother met and married the most wonderful husband and father a person could ever ask for. I was blessed with two wonderful fathers; the first one gave me life and love, and the second one gave me unconditional love and the emotional stability I needed.
I attended private Catholic Schools and would have continued with private schooling, but I missed the entrance exams for the local Catholic High School and attended Westminster High School instead, where I was surrounded by Mormons without me knowing it.
In my senior year in High School, while thinking of my options after graduation, I decided I wanted to be a missionary nun and serve in a leper colony in Africa, not an unusual thought for a good Catholic girl. I had heard missionary nuns speak to the youth while growing up and I was fascinated by them and wanted to wear the black & white habit. I went to speak with my local priest about becoming a nun and his first words to me after I related what I wished to do were “You are much too pretty to be a nun in a leper colony.” He was a very wise old priest and I still remember him with fondness. His second words to me, for which I am very grateful were to “search other religions and see if Catholicism is true and come back and see me about becoming a missionary nun.” As a good Catholic I took his words of advice to heart and begin praying for guidance and for God to show me the way and let me know if becoming a missionary nun was what he wanted for me.
I begin attending and studying other religions such as Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Church of God, and Jehovah Witnesses. I even looked at the Hara Krishna and checked into the occult. I joined the Christian club at school which met at lunch to study the Bible, but was not very welcomed since I was still very much Catholic.
In the meantime, my mom and I would go to the local laundry-mat to do our laundry and I was always intrigued by a little box that said “Christ in America” or something to that effect with a picture of Christ with the Nephites. It had little cards to call and ask for more information. I never did, but I did believe that Christ could have come to America, since I knew He was the Savior to all the world.
My best friend went to Utah on vacation and sent me a postcard of the Angel Moroni and said, “I thought you might like this since you are studying the Mormons right now, aren’t you?” When she came home I corrected her, since I was studying the Jehovah Witnesses at the time and came very close to joining them. I admired their zest and their courage to knock on doors and put up with all that rejection. I do still admire their zealousness and their conviction, a bit off the mark, but, at the time I was very interested in them.
This whole time I was on my knees praying to know the truth and lo and behold the Spanish speaking missionaries came knocking on my door. When I saw they were wearing suits and ties I was very intrigued, since, I had seen the Angel Moroni on a post card I had assumed all Mormons wore long tunics like the Arabs did. Not only were they wearing suits & ties, but they were young, cute and “white anglos” speaking fluent Spanish, definitely out of the ordinary. So, I let them in the door. Hispanics have a creed we live by, “mi casa es su casa” which means “my house is your house” and so, my mom offered them refreshments and made them feel welcomed. They of course proceeded to teach us the discussions. My dad and I were very interested. I think my mom was just looking for eligible young men for me so that I would not become a nun.
In the 70′s they had cute flannel board figure/stories and when they taught the priesthood authority I knew it was true. When they mentioned the Book of Mormon and gave us a synopsis of it, I knew it was true without even reading it. Angel Moroni coming to New York, the First Vision, all true as far as I was concerned. I had known it deep down in my soul since I was a little girl.
My dad also knew it was true and something he had been searching for as well. As a child he had gone to various other religions, but a member of none. When he married my mom he had converted to Catholicism because we were Catholic, but, when he heard the discussions, he also knew in his soul that it was true. My dad and I were baptized as soon as we were able to and my mother was baptized a few months later due to her being injured in an automobile accident.
Needless to say, I never did go back to my wise old priest who told me to search for the truth, but, to this day, I know that there are people of God in every religion, and even though they may not know, they help the gospel grow, like my wise old priest helped me to discover the truth. I pray and hope that my daughter runs into those people of God like my wise old priest helped me. I am thrilled that my daughter is going to be one of those sweet loving missionaries that brought the gospel to my family and me. I feel in a way, like my daughter is repaying the Lord my debt by serving a full-time mission. I am very grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed my daughter with this opportunity to serve in Italy.
Conversion Story of Lindal Champion
I just love hearing other people’s conversion stories. Here is a sweet one that was written shortly before President Hinckley’s death. It was shared with me by Linda Champion:
My conversion story starts about 4 years ago. My daughter, Sister Crystal Champion, was investigating this church as well as one other, while singing at the Catholic church in town. One day she told me that she had decided to get baptized and asked me to attend the baptism. I was very supportive of her decision to join although I had not heard of any of the beliefs. Crystal took a strong interest in the Sister missionaries serving in the ward. We had them over for lunch and dinners and she drove them to appointments. We live in Upstate New York.
One day Crystal told me that she had decided to move to Logan, Utah with one of the returned missionaries who encouraged her to move there. To say the least, I was very sad but also knew that it was best for her to continue in her faith. After all she was the first to join the church in our family. Before she left for Utah she did have the sisters and elders here talk to me about the plan of salvation. Although I have a very strong faith in God, I was not ready to really accept the truth. Deep down I was scared what my family and friends would say if they knew I converted to be a Mormon.
Crystal moved to Utah in July 2004. As we said good bye, I could see the excitement in her eyes and the faith she had that everything was going to be okay. I guess that is something youth can do better than adults. Here she was with limited funds, no job and moving half way across the country! She found employment rather quickly and never once asked for money, although I did send her some once in a while. She absolutely loved Utah and had several opportunities to visit Temple Square. With each visit she would ask them to call me, which they did, and Elders were at my door to teach me. I just wasn’t ready to accept the truth. I could see the changes that were taking place in my daughter’s life but still was reluctant to accept the reasons.
Each time Crystal came home to visit she would spend time with the sister missionaries. She would ask me to go to church with her, which I did, but still I was not ready to be baptized. The elders continued to teach me and spend lots of time in my home. In 2006 Crystal felt that Heavenly Father wanted her to go on a mission so she began the process of completing the paperwork. She was home for a visit for Thanksgiving last year and was hopeful that she would get her call while home. (She planned it that way and asked that her call be sent to our address.) Needless to say, it did not arrive before she left. She so much wanted us to be with her when she opened the letter.
Shortly after she arrived home, she received her letter. She was at work and her roommate brought it up to her! She immediately called me because she wanted me “to be there” when she opened it. I happened to be driving home so I told her to call me back, which she did, just as I was pulling into my drive way! She read the letter and told me she was going to the Alabama Birmingham mission and she would report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on March 14, 2007. Her excitement was unbelievable! And of course I cried – she was coming to the East Coast (although I knew I couldn’t visit her while she was on her mission).
I made plans to visit her in Utah for 10 days prior to her going to the MTC. We stayed with a friend and were treated especially nice. I had the opportunity/privilege of “spoiling” her before she went on her mission. I attended the church service where she gave her going away talk. There were several members that came up to me and said how nice it was that I came to be with Crystal before she went on her mission. Somehow they knew I was not a member.
The night we went to the stake to have her setting apart is a night I will never forget. The Spirit was so real to me. I knew that this is what Heavenly Father wanted for my daughter. I was being selfish thinking how could I survive without her for 18 months! After my conversion I was soon reminded that she was just on loan from Heavenly Father. Her father’s friend also gave her a blessing and I cried like a baby. I started to think what a special person she was to be able to serve the Lord and how proud I was to be her mom.
We went to the MTC that Wednesday morning and it was the strangest feeling. I was crying but couldn’t help but see the excitement on her face! I left there with such a warm feeling. Although I was sad I knew that Heavenly Father would take care of her. She is truly an amazing child who has faith that would move a mountain! Life was not always easy for her but she moved past that and had something very special in her life.
I returned home the following day both happy and sad. While in Utah at Temple Square I had purchased a quad (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants bound together in the same book) and said to myself “Linda, you are going to read the Book of Mormon and understand and find the truth.” The elders once again started to teach me. I was on fire and couldn’t read the Book of Mormon fast enough.
I had to work on some Word of Wisdom issues and the elders called me every night to check on my progress. I was finally ready to get baptized! And yes, I was baptized on Crystal’s 23rd birthday – June 23, 2007!
Since that time our family has received many blessings. People have asked if I did it for Crystal and my answer is no, I did it because of Crystal. Her faith in Heavenly Father and the spirit I felt while in Utah made me feel that there really is something to this. I am continuing to learn so much and am truly a happier person because of my choice. I have been able to understand why Crystal is on a mission. Not only is she learning to be obedient to Heavenly Father, so am I. Her emails mean so much more to me now when I can see her testimony of the truth of this church grow stronger. I can’t wait to give her a great big hug and kiss and to see her face when she sees me finally as a member of the Church.
I know that this Church is the restored gospel and that Heavenly Father lives and as does my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet and I am so thankful that I have joined the church. The Book of Mormon is true.
Sister Linda Champion
Being A Cyber Missionary
Elder M. Russell Ballard, a living apostle, gave the commencement address at BYU-Hawaii in December 2007 where he marveled at this rising generation and all the technology it has to offer. He reminded the students that when President Hinckley was in charge of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’, referred to as the Mormons, Public Affairs Department that the staff consisted of only one person – himself! We sure have come a long way since then!
Technology has provided some great new opportunities as well as challenges for missionary work. Elder Ballard remarked:
“The Internet can be used to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and can just as easily be used to market the filth and sleaze of pornography.” (M. Russell Ballard, BYU-Hawaii, 15 December, 2007)
I’ve heard that the two most popular web site topics are complete opposites: genealogy and pornography. We have such an effective tool at our disposal in the World Wide Web. How will we use it to build the kingdom?
Elder Ballard continued,
“Yours is the world of cyberspace, cell phones that capture video, video downloads and iTunes, social networks like Facebook, text messaging and blogs, hand-helds and podcasts.” The challenge is presented to all of us when he asked “How will you use these marvelous inventions? More to the point, how will you use them to further the work of the Lord?” (Ibid)
Within minutes anyone can create a blog and start sharing his or her testimony. Within minutes anyone can post comments on message boards or forums. There are so many places online where we can visit to receive encouraging and uplifting messages as well as give them.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29
Choosing our words carefully is extremely important since the reader can’t see our facial expression or even detect when we’re joking or using sarcasm.
Decide what your passion is and use your talents to build and bless others.
“Let him that is taught in the world communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” (Galatians 6:6)
Preparing Missionaries in Cyberspace
As soon as my son received his mission call in December I went online and joined every “Missionary Moms” Yahoo group I could find. I also registered both of us on his mission’s web site. I can’t tell you how helpful it has been to be able to chat with other mothers who are preparing their sons and daughters to serve full-time missions or whose children are currently out in the field. I love it and thank Heavenly Father every day for the Internet! Just do a Yahoo search under “Groups” and you’re sure to find several sites that address general missionary topics, as well as specific missions around the world.
Even though I’ve served a full-time mission myself, I’m a real Greenie when it comes to being the parent of a missionary! Because I’ve never done this before I truly appreciate the comforting words and support of other missionary moms. When talking about missionary parents, President Thomas S. Monson, the sixteenth called prophet of these modern times, once remarked ”
Fathers become justifiably proud and mothers somewhat anxious.” (Thomas S. Monson, “Profiles of Faith,” Ensign, Feb 1997, 2)
What a blessing it is to live in a day and age when I can chat with the mother of another missionary where my son is going to serve and find out if I need to buy mosquito netting or a mattress protector!
Even more important, I love being able to hear from these other mothers about how they raised their children to want to serve the Lord. It is so heartwarming to hear their stories of wayward sons or daughters who struggled with their testimonies and now have a resolve to share the gospel of repentance with the world! It is truly an honor to share a corner of cyberspace with these valiant mothers.
If you’re a mother, take a few minutes to read the powerful talk given by Julie B. Beck in the November 2007 Ensign (pages 76-78). It’s entitled “Mothers Who Know” and challenges mothers today to follow the pattern of the women who raised those inspiring 2,000 stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon. She says
“The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. Children are being born into a world where they ‘wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ (Ephesians 6:12)” (Julie B. Beck, “Mothers Who Know,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 76–78)
What a blessing it is to know other mothers and to encourage one another as we prepare soldiers for today’s spiritual battle.
Chase!
If you attended Seminary or have a child who has, then the simple command to “Chase!” probably conjures up all kinds of fun memories. Raising the bar for missionaries also means raising it for families. LDS families should be the greatest scriptorians! Knowing where to find specific verses is certainly a start.
Elder J. Thomas Fyans spoke to the men in the church at the 1977 Priesthood session of General Conference and encouraged them to dig into the scriptures more. Said he “Let these scriptures become worn and used so they will feel as comfortable in your hands as well-worn tennis shoes do on your feet.” (J. Thomas Fyans, “Prepare Now for Your Mission,” Ensign, May 1977, 39) We only become comfortable with them when we spend time with them!
As your families gather for daily prayer or even at the dinner table each night, practice memorizing scriptures together. You can make flashcards of scriptures you want to learn or use the Seminary Scripture Mastery cards and help your teens pass off the 25 scriptures assigned for this year’s course of study. Talk to a Seminary teacher to get ideas for memorizing as well as for playing games to reinforce what has been learned. When I was in the MTC I was so busy learning all of the discussions and language material that it was hard to fill my brain with more scriptures. The ones I used consistently during my mission were the ones I had learned during four years of Seminary.
You can also go through the book “Preach My Gospel” and pick out some of the scriptures listed for missionary discussions. Elder David A. Bednar has taught us to place ourselves in the scriptures and apply them to our life. He said “You hear the voice of the Lord when you feel the scriptures.” I love the following two scriptures that remind us not to nibble but to feast on the scriptures:
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:20)
Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 32:3)
Hugging Across the Aisle
The moment I met Congressman Tom Lantos I immediately adored him. It was my first day as an intern in his Washington DC office and the entire staff was whirling around the reception desk in an effort to get a bunch of letters signed, stamped and delivered in less than an hour. Everyone dropped what they were doing to pitch in, including the boss. My first impression was that this great man was a real team player who was willing to do whatever it took to get the task done, even if it meant kneeling on the floor with the lowly intern to lick envelopes and stamps.
Tom Lantos died Monday morning after a six week struggle with cancer, surrounded by his beautiful wife and family. If you were one of the lucky ones to receive his annual family letter and photo then you know how crowded that room was! He was a true family man. His wife, Annette, graciously took me under her wing while I was in Washington DC and kept me supplied with invitations to all kinds of banquets, receptions and events where I could eat for free and stretch my poor student budget while hob nobbing with the politically powerful.
While Tom was Jewish, Annette had been baptized by none other than Elder Jeffrey Holland! Elder Holland was the president of BYU at the time and since I was an intern from BYU she thought I was the greatest thing since sliced Hungarian bread. Elder Holland had done the missionary work, but I got to bask in the benefits of it. Tom’s right hand man in charge of his Washington DC office was LDS and I felt an instant sense of home there with them.
Annette loved telling the story of the Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg, who literally saved Tom Lantos’ life. Tom was only sixteen years old when the Nazis occupied his homeland of Hungary and sent him to a labor camp. He escaped twice and eventually made it to Wallenburg’s safe house. Tom was the only survivor of the Holocaust to become a United States Congressman.
Upon retiring from Congress earlier this year, Mr. Lantos said “It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress. I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country.” I think he showed that gratitude every day of his life by the way he chose to live it.
Among many accomplishments, Tom Lantos championed the cause for civil liberties and human rights all over the world. While he worked to make the world a better place he seemed to start with one person at a time. He made everyone feel important. On my last day in his office I had arranged to bring all of my BYU intern buddies with me so that he could speak to us and provide a question and answer session. Once we were settled in our seats I was told that an important vote was requiring his attention and that he wouldn’t be able to keep his appointment with us after all. I knew he would never want to disappoint us or BYU, and sure enough, after waiting a few moments he emerged into the room with that charming smile on his face. Annette said that he really admired the church and its members. His visit with us that day was brief, but I’ll never forget his kindness to a young intern and how he showed me that he was a man of his word and that people mattered.
I was the only Republican on Tom Lantos’ staff. Either he never knew or else it simply didn’t matter. He was a gentleman and a statesman who knew how to reach across the aisle and make a difference. I may not have agreed with all of his politics, but I think everyone can agree that he was a great man who made a wonderful contribution to the world. Here’s to you, Mr. Lantos. My non-alcoholic wine glass is raised to you to thank you for all that you did for me and many others. Oh forget the wine glass…I’d rather give you a big hug! Would that all of our politicians could reach across the aisle for a little hug every now and then. From the looks of Congress today, you can tell some of them really need it! Whether Jewish or Christian, let’s all reach across the aisle that separates us and share the gospel message of love.
If you would like to visit the Guest Book for Tom Lantos and leave a memorial note for his family go to:
http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=GB000103197514