COTTONWOOD/FLAGSTAFF ZONE CONFERENCE 2/14

 PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT

This month we have been holding our ZONE CONFERENCES
Our first conference was up in Cottonwood with the Cottonwood and Flagstaff zones.

The day started with President Taylor teaching about the Godhead, then about being a consecrated missionary.  We learned how important it is to give our will to the Lord, to lay distractions or fear or pride or anything else on the altar that could hold us back from being the missionaries that the Lord wants us to be.
We learned that the difference between hot water and boiling water is only 1/2 a degree...yet that 1/2 a degree increases the power of that water by 1720 times!
We want to be the CONSECRATED MISSIONARIES!  We want to be like Ammon or Alma!


My health presentation was on "Unproven Health Practices" so our Assistants poked some good fun at missionaries in general by pretending that our mission is the "APM...Arizona Protein Mission."  If you can blend it, it must be good for you.  Ok, we encouraged them to follow the Word of Wisdom and use moderation in all things and to let good nutrition be their source for most of their needs.  I love that the Gospel of Jesus Christ and latter-day prophets have given us guidance on pretty much every aspect of our lives!
We played NUTRITION JEOPARDY to remind us of nutrition basics!

Lunch is a highlight as usual...time to visit and eat really good food provided by local wards.

With Valentines just around the corner, this weeks decor was definitely suited for that holiday!

 After lunch, we sing to the lunch preparers and then we do our Mission Fight Song.  It is really a blast!

 We celebrated our February and March birthdays.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Elder Nield
Elder Salas
Elder Munoz
Sister Manwill
Elder Barley

Front:  President and Sister Taylor, Sisters Seaman, Coleman, Elders Nield and Weiler, Sisters Manwill, King, Magee and C Turner.  Standing:  Elders Graybill, Salas, Thompson, Arave, Scott, Buechter, Munoz, Rigby, Taylor, C Johnson, Blackburn and Canny.  On Stage:  Elders Barlow, Cardoso, Albrecht, A Hall, Hamilton, Livingston, Starr, Bryant, Meredith and Barley.

Great musical number by the Flagstaff Zone!

 Accompanied by our own Elder Starr!

 My next discussion was about PLANNING.
I illustrate how we can fit in all the things that we need to do if we start with the BIG ROCKS FIRST and then the smaller rocks, then the gravel and then we can even fit in the fluff...or water to fill the gaps.

If we start with the small stuff...there is not room for the big stuff.  A good lesson for life!
We also learned how to use the DOCTRINE OF CHRIST in our planning.  This means that as we plan for investigators or anyone else we are teaching, we look to increase their FAITH their REPENTANCE/CHANGE their DESIRE TO MAKE PROMISES WITH GOD, their EXPERIENCES WITH THE HOLY GHOST and to know how we can help them ENDURE WELL.
As we plan this way, and then evaluate how we do, we can really be SPECIFIC in our planning and the Spirit will definitely guide us.  Planning is a process of revelation.

We practiced using our
Vision
Goals
Plans
Tasks
using the Doctrine of Christ.
Then we also evaluated, or used our
Accountability to report how each person was doing using the same Doctrine of Christ.
We call it our VGPTA

The Assistants taught about PRINCIPLES vs RULES which was a really good discussion and reminder!

Towards the end of the day, our fearless Zone Leaders each took their zones to teach them about how to resolve concerns of those they are teaching towards baptism.  They talked about how to use a Progress Record/Baptism Calendar to help them see what they are learning and to help them see that they know enough as they progress in learning.

Elders Bryant and Cardoso above and Elders Barlow and Barley to the right, did a great job in their respective zones!

Zone Conferences are a special time to learn a lot and to gain revelation on things that will bless each individual missionary in a very personal way.  I know that each one that came prepared, went home with what they needed to learn that day.
These are skills and conversion that will bless each missionary in their future lives as well as during their mission.  The Gospel blesses each of us with all that we need to be happy and successful in all that we do.  How blessed we are!