The dress code for Church Service Missionaries serving in the St. George FamilySearch Center will be changing from business formal to business casual. For a number of years The Church, in cooperation with Disney Institute, conducted extensive research related to customer service and guest satisfaction.
The results of the research were clear with regard to a perceived correlation between the dress of a service provider and the favorability rating of a service recipient. Formal dress (white shirts and ties) has been shown to have a significantly negative impact on visitors to our FamilySearch Centers.
The findings indicated a number of reasons for guest dissatisfaction when service providers were dressed in formal attire. Below are a few of the more often recorded concerns:
Ø Guests felt intimidated, out of place and underdressed.
Ø Guests were uncomfortable and concerned that they would be proselyted.
Ø Guests felt they were perceived as inferior to those dressed in formal attire.
Business casual dress creates a much more relaxing and friendly environment, markedly improving a guests experience and their desire to return. For these reasons and at the request of FamilySearch
@@@Sunday afternoon June 30, 2019.
I want to empty my brain:
A. Church was wonderful today.
B. Five missionary parents spoke in sacrament meeting and I did not write one word in my Journal.
C. Alex Gardine welcomed me to the front row during our fifth Sunday elders quorum guided discussion on financial resilience./Reliance.
D. I put chairs away with my right hand.
E. Josh Borgeson and I visited for probably 30 min. about ministering. This is my third ministering interview. The first one was with Alex and Cameron Tolman as well as my companion Chris Rob. The second one was with Chris Rob and Josh. This third one was just Josh and I. Josh says he had an interview with Chris last month. At that interview Chris said that he didn't know he was supposed to bring his companion. That makes me smile. He has three companions!
F. Josh Borgeson gave me a hug after our interview. I opened with prayer he closed with prayer and he sort of got stuck on the first topic which was my companion Chris Rob, but I pushed him onto the Bird family and at the end he asked me if there was anything I wanted to say about our elders quorum presidency etc.. So I reminded him of my text of last year about Alex Jardine seeming like he was going to explode without a focus once he was a counselor in elders quorum presidency. Josh smiled and laughed because he remembered. He also helped me understand that Bishop Beau Barney graduated in accounting and so he is excellent at planning ahead.
G. President Kent Perkins invited me to be a part of community theater. He was thinking about me this week and realized that I have a good strong voice and I am quite expressive and dramatic and I'm good at memorizing. He also mentioned my love for music. I was flattered. But I don't like memorizing. I have many Scriptures and hymns in my mind and heart because I love them, but there's no way I would want to fill my mind with silly lines to a play. In my opinion the most important part of that face-to-face nose to nose invitation was that he had been thinking about me. Thank you Kent Perkins.
H. Dana Rob caught me after my interview and said that Chris Rob wanted to go home teaching to the Bird family. She was standing outside the Bishop's office. The reason I am on the computer right now is because the first thing I wanted to do was e-mail Chris Rob and invite him to tell me when our visit would be. I also gave a suggestion as to what I think we should do while we're there.
I. After getting that news from Dana Rob I turned around and went back to Josh B and thanked him for his prayer. He laughed and said I wish it were always that easy.
Well how did ministering go today??\vern jensen <phonev6@gmail.com>\11:11 PM (17 minutes ago)\to 4356699965
Wow, what follow up! This is a first! Thanks for asking.
0- They were finishing eating when we arrived. It was sort of loosey goosey. (We never saw Hazel nor Pearl) We did kneel at the end and I offered a closing prayer.
1- We had a lot of fun with Audrie and Nathan Bird for about an hour.
2- I invited myself to initiate and not wait as we unloaded at Chris' house afterwards. He accepted. In fact he used the word concede. "I concede, if that's the right word for it."-Chris
concede :
surrender or yield (something that one possesses).
"to concede all the territory he'd won"
synonyms: surrender, yield, give up, relinquish, cede, hand over, turn over, part with, deliver up;
3- I am relieved. I really like to be righteous and fulfill my callings. I have always wanted a gungho companion. But it looks like this isn't it. :) Another reason I am relieved is because we finally got to do a formal visit again.
4- Lastly, We were there about an hour, and no one ever got bored. I have a PLAN OF SALVATION game I gave to all my kids last Christmas. I gave one to the Bird family as a part of a lesson in January. I figured they hadn't played it yet. Rather than have them go find theirs I took out my last 2 games and we divided and conquered. Half of us played on one game and half on the other. You should have heard the conversations. It was delightful. A couple of Bird cousins played along with us.
5- Chris says he will be gone most of next month but that maybe we can do a swimming party at his house at the end of the month.
6- We prayed before we went to visit. Yay! His suggestion.
7- Chris warmed up the conversation with the Birds right from the start and asked if we could help them in any way at the end.
Lastly,
Neither of the Robbs even said Hi on Friday night at the picnic. When Dana Robb called "Vern", and told me Chris wanted to go today, I felt reassured just because she said my name. You know of my pain and concern. I am hopeful now.
Brandon, I still don’t understand the mental and emotional differences between males and females. Richard G Scott tried to help us understand so here is a piece of his talk that I listened to multiple times last week:
Adam was Michael who helped create the earth—a glorious, superb individual. Eve was his equal—a full, powerfully contributing partner. After they had partaken of the fruit, the Lord spoke with them. Their comments reveal some different characteristics of a man and woman. To Adam He said, “Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?”9Now, Adam’s response was characteristic of a man who wants to be perceived as being as close to right as possible. Adam responded, “The woman thou gavest me, and commandest that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat.”
Now, Adam’s response was characteristic of a man who wants to be perceived as being as close to right as possible. And the Lord said unto Eve, “What is this thing which thou hast done?”11 Eve’s response was characteristic of a woman. Her answer was very simple and straightforward: “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Open and honest! Later, “Adam blessed God … and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the fleshI shall see God.”13 Adam was thinking about his responsibilities. He was trying to align his performance with the desires of the Lord.Adam was thinking about his responsibilities. He was trying to align his performance with the desires of the Lord.
Eve said, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”14 Eve’s response was characteristic of a woman. She embraced all, wanted to make sure that everyone was considered.
One response was not more correct than the other. The two perspectives resulted from the traits inherent in men and women.
The Lord intends that we use those differences to fulfill His plan for happiness, personal growth, and development. By counseling together they arrived at a broader, more correct understanding of truth.
Sunday, July 7, 2019 Brandon here is your most recent letter from you to me.
~~~
June 26, 2019
Dear wonderful, thoughtful, caring Vern, :-)
You are magnificent, thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.
I am happy to know that you take such excellent care of your family.
You are outstanding, thank you for being an amazing example of an upstanding elder of Israel and worthy holder of the priesthood.
Thank you for being open, upfront, and honest in all of your conversations and relationships. Most people are not used to it since they have been conditioned to believe that people lie.
You are fabulous, thank you for your support 1, and invitation of friendship 2, and the place to stay3. I may push the first away, accept the second, and give no excuse to take you up on the third, but you will always have a spot in this empty cavity in my chest.
Thank you for everything, keep spreading the good news, and making people smile. Your friend – me
~~~
Brandon, thank you for the compliments. You are very kind. As you know I like to number things, so your 1 to 3 were great. You made me smile when you said I will always have a spot in this empty cavity in your chest. Once again thank you for the letter
@@@ I had a really bad eye bleeder last night.My right eye looks awful. As you know I guard my emotional stability. But things like this really shake me up. The membrane around the eye and under the eyelids is called the conjunctiva
@@@7/10/19 Hello Brandon, This next missionary letter is so wierd I wanted to share it with you. I have never heard of anything like the numbers story.
HAPPY CANADA DAY🇨🇦💯Ryan Craig Hoppie\Jul 2, 2019, 4:22 PM (8 days ago)
Hello friends and family!
It's been an awesome couple weeks up here in the Great Wet North! It has been non stop raining for the last 2 weeks and it has been interesting. There have been some fires that are going on in Northern Alberta and so there have been some extra prayers for rain. Well... God answers prayers! He has been answering them for 2 weeks non stop now haha it has been good though. Alberta is needing some rain.
Other than that, the last two weeks have been pretty constant with missionary work. We did have transfers and Elder Layton and I are still together. I'll be finishing off my mission training haha I've enjoyed my time as a Trainor and being able to see the growth in a new missionary. He has such a strong desire to serve God and help others. We get along great and we've been working hard and will work hard until the very end! Him and I are staying together in the St. Albert family ward and also covering the Kingsway YSA Ward! Both are such amazing wards and we get treated real well in both wards!
Brooke and James, the couple who got baptized a couple weeks ago are doing awesome! We met with them on Friday night and went over the plan of salvation. They basically retaught us the whole lesson! The knowledge of the plan of salvation really helped them out a lot when they heard about it. They lost a baby at birth and it was hard on their family. It was awesome to help them see how amazing the plan is and how it's a manifestation of God's love for us. They are expecting another baby in September and so they are excited about that! I'm so grateful for the plan of salvation and know that because of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us, we all can receive perfect bodies and have the opportunity to have eternal life! How amazing!
We are also teaching a guy named Tyler. A few weeks ago a member invited us over to have supper at his home and Tyler was there. He made us some SUPER good mashed potatoes and gravy with some grilled chicken. This is where our friendship started haha we then asked this member if we could come over and teach Tyler. Tyler agreed to let us teach him. The first meeting with him was awesome! He really didn't say much but the spirit was strong. We taught about the restoration of the church and he agreed with what we taught. We invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and he said he would! A couple days later we meet with him again. We followed up with how his progress is in reading and praying (keep in mind that this guy has never read scripture or personally prayed in his life). He said he prayed and received an answer. He said it was weird because all it was, was the number 38. He said he grabbed the members quad of scriptures and read every single chapter that had the number 38 in it. He read many chapters in the Bible and couldn't find it. He then read Alma 38 and said that every word in this chapter stuck to him and it made so much sense. He said in the chapter he felt like the chapter is wanting him to follow the commandments. We invited him to follow the commandments and even be baptized! He said that he will keep praying about that and see if it is for him. He said if he came to know it is true then he would get baptized!! It was awesome!
We then had another follow up lesson with him last Thursday and he prayed and read again! He said that he got 2 numbers this time, 34 and 4. He said that the number 34 was in Alma 34 and felt like that was his answer. He said he didn't find one for the number 4 yet. We then promised him he would find an answer. We then proceeded to teach a lesson on the origin of the Book of Mormon and where it came from and why we have it. We then started talking about faith and how it is a seed and it will grow when we take care of it. His eyes go really wide and he grabs his new copy of the Book of Mormon and opens to chapter 34 in Alma. He reads back a verse that talked about a seed being good and its like faith! We then asked him what verse it was? He pauses, looks at us and says "4. There's my 4!" and it was soooo cool! The spirit was strong and confirmed he found his answer! We are continuing to meet with him and helping him keep the commandments. He came to church once last Sunday and really likes coming to church. The members took him in very well the first Sunday he was there! What an amazing experience on how the Book of Mormon is magical and how it can help us find answers to our questions! We had a follow up lesson with him last night and for his prayer he said he got a word. He told us his word was "baptism". He said he asked again if that's the right word and he said he got a distinct answer "yes". So he asked us about it and we had an awesome lesson about baptism! He said that he will consider it and think more about it. We haven't taught him the word of wisdom yet but he said he needs to detox from his bad habits because his roommate told him he needs to to get baptized! He's awesome.
We also had an awesome opportunity to teach a man about God for the first time. His name is Ali. We met with him this last Friday and he is from Iran! He said he moved here a couple years ago to get a new start to life. He said that his brother in Europe found God and has been so happy. He said he wants that same happiness in his life and wants us to teach him. The first question we asked him was "do you know much about God?" he said "God? I've heard of God but I don't know what that means?" so we are getting to teach him the simplest and purest doctrine that he is a child of God. We told him that the Book of Mormon will teach him so much about God. It will also help him with his English! We asked him what his native language is so we can get him a copy of the Book of Mormon in that language and he told us that he wants an English one. If it really is from God, it will help him with his English! He showed up to church on Sunday too for his first time ever! He loved it! The ward took him in so well!
On Sunday, a random guy shows up to church unexpected. A member introduces us to Brandon and he really wants to go to church and change his life around. He showed up at the family ward in St. Albert but we found out that he is actually YSA age! We invited him to come to church with us at the YSA as well and he ended up coming to church there too! It was awesome. Everyone took him in well at the ward too! The YSA Ward is so awesome! We then had a lesson with him at a members house and it went well. He said he wants to follow Christ and be more involved in church!
The people we are teaching are AWESOME! We also had a really cool finding story! I've wanted to do this my whole mission! We got done eating supper with some members and left. As we went out to the car, we saw a few high school kids playing basketball on the street. They lowered the rim and were playing dunkball. I was debating to ask if we could play and... Well... You could probably guess what happened next! We started a 3v3 dunkball game with them and it was intense! We had our white shirts untucked and played to 21! This kid that was guarding me was pretty good I'll give him that! It was a good time! After the game was over, I asked the kid guarding me to alleyoop me for a dunk! I'll post the video down below! It was awesome! We just made some new friends haha they were shocked when I told them I was 20😂😲
This week was a week full of miracles! I love you all and I hope you have an awesome week!\ALSO! HAPPY CANADA DAY YESTERDAY!! 🇨🇦🇨🇦\Elder Ryan C. Hoppie\Canada Edmonton Mission\Ryan Craig Hoppie
Jul 10, 2019, 7:05 PM To:Ryan Craig Hoppie (ryan.hoppie@missionary.org)
> So he asked us about it and we had an awesome lesson about baptism! He said that he will consider it and think more about it. We haven't taught him the word of wisdom yet but he said he needs to detox from his bad habits because his roommate told him he needs to to get baptized! <
Ryan, you are a fantastic letter writer. Thank you so much. I texted your dad last week before the 4th of July because he reported on your mission in sacrament meeting and took 10 minutes instead of the 5 he was allowed. We got to hear from all 5 missionary parents and we absolutely loved it. I especially teased him about not even telling your mom he was speaking in church that day. Man can she blush! I sit on the top row of choir seats so I can lead the sacrament meeting music and I got to watch her.
This number story was one of the weirdest things I have ever heard. And since your dad shared it this is my second time. It blows my mind!
>If it really is from God, it will help him with his English! He showed up to church on Sunday too for his first time ever! He loved it! The ward took him in so well! <
Sweet!
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Wed, Jul 10, 7:40 PM (2 days ago)
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I've been making an effort to finish the Book of Mormon before I get home.
Dear Ryan,
How you serve your mission will be with you the rest of your life. Go out strong!
I listen to General Conference talks every day. Do you know how many priesthood sessions of conference there are from '71 to '19?
And do you know how many talks on preparing to be a missionary there are? And also on serving well? Go out with a bang Ryan!
Here I am, 64 yo next week and I am still so glad that I served and was a dedicated, diligent missionary. I had no idea the atmosphere would stick with me for so long.
I wanted to prove my willingness to serve by going home late. I know we don't have an option but I really wanted to. As it turned out I did stay an extra week and perhaps HF heard my wish.
I also discovered when I read my missionary journal last year that there was a tremendous difference between when I was a jr companion compared to a sr companion. As a senior companion I knew how we had spent every minute and the order of events was top priority in my mind.
I once had a junior companion who complained about his trainer, from just before me. He wanted to work. And after we were together for a while he said, "So this is how missionary work is supposed to be done."
I hope you have some companions that feel that way about you.
Friday, 7/12/19 I spent 2 hours at the stake center last night for a leadership training meeting. I was so excited to get some anticipated direction and focus on my calling: Temple and Family History Indexing consultant. I was so disappointed that my calling only got 1 minute of focus. Mitch 6 ran out of time. But there is some good news: 1- The new stake center should be completed in January. Our stake of 12 wards will be split soon. Each stake may have 6 wards. Right now we are the largest stake south of Payson. 2- We are having a Ward meeting for Temple and Family History workers at 10am on Sunday. The bishop will probably conduct. This will be our first one. 3- Mark Clayton taught us for 25 minutes, speaking fast, about how the missionary program is supposed to run in the wards and stakes. We have been in limbo since Pres. Nelson changed everything. Mark was first and used a laptop to project probably 10 different tabs he had open onto the big screen. He had highlighted phrases and showed us progress forms used to track investigators and new members and reactivation members. The best news about his forthright explanation is that it applies equally to Temple and Family History department. 5- Ward Missionaries are to be called for a length of time. 2 years, one year, 6 months. They should not be released when there is a need for a primary president or something! That was weird. Just like a real missionary. That way they can focus for that length of time. I want to go ask Lynne, Duane, PamD and KentP if that was true for them. Ha ha. KentP was made our EQPresident after being in 3 months as our ward mission leader! :) 6- Ward missionaries should go out to work two by two! AllenH thinks that applies to T&FH consultants as well. He announced in January in EQ to expect a visit from us this year. We haven't made any yet. I wonder if we should do what DuaneD did and encourage a T&FH family plan? 7- Rather than focus on calendaring the Ward Council is supposed to focus on individuals and families concerning missionary work. And T&FH work. By each member of the council being active in these the work progresses. We are constantly reminded because they share as they act. Like JRH says, report everything! AlexG did exactly that! He shared about
@There were somethings that were extremely confusing. a- Be solid on standards and testimonies but don't offend early return missionaries by asking them why they came home early.(This video was so loud I felt like it was screaming at me!) b- Utah has a higher youth suicide rate than the national average so be supportive and open and understanding but create and instigate plans for ward and family mission plans and create and instigate and revise plans for ward and family Temple and Family History plans. @ Mark Clayton showed one ward's mission plan. It included one convert baptism this year. Only one! I was surprised. But that is a perfect example of not running faster then we are able. Moderation in all things was the unspoken byword last night.@@ I called my sister and whined about how I went to this meeting and felt left out. I called again today and whined some more. But as I whined I came to a conclusion: Indexing really isn't that important. Here I am wanting my drum to be played but it is only really important to me at this time in my life. Not necessarily everyone else! @@Allen Hilton my boss was there and visited with me afterwards. He told me of a 2 inch stack of completed ordinances he has at home since he returned from his mission to Manchester, England. But he said it would be better if others had contributed to that stack. I responded: “Spreading the work around also spreads the blessings.” I am like him. I have astronomical reviewing numbers but I would like to spread the blessings around. Really. Sincerely. Being engaged in God's work, building his kingdom on this side or the other side of the veil, protects us and blesses us. @@ As you probably know it takes me a day to process things and see how I really feel about them. I tell JaniceD that I can't respond until the next day about my deep feelings from a BoM lesson. As I was speaking to Gayelinn I shared my conclusion. Then I realized that Ronda Taylor had truly magnified her calling and made our stake indexing program seem important! I actually called RondaT next and told her so. :) I discovered she was just like me, hoping for direction and was disappointed little was given. I do remember Renlund pointing out that the chain of command that we should be following was the blue one.
On February 28, 2019, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at the Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction meeting. He suggested three things ward leaders can do to help members in temple and family history callings be more comfortable and effective.
-Clarify the ward’s leadership pattern for temple and family history work.
-Create a ward temple and family history plan.
-Hold ward temple and family history coordination meetings.
I. Clarifying Your Ward’s Temple and Family History Leadership Pattern
Ward leaders should choose a pattern for how temple and family history consultants communicate with their leaders. This pattern shows consultants who to communicate with when receiving assignments, reporting efforts, and asking for help.
Elder Renlund said that in the ideal leadership pattern, a “consultant reports to the ward temple and family history leader, who works closely with the elders quorum presidency, who supervises the work under the direction of the bishop.”
Vern>AllenH>JoshB>KentP>BBBarney
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“To deviate from this standard leadership pattern requires a good reason, concurrence of the stake president, and confirmation by the Holy Ghost,” Elder Renlund said.
Elder Renlund offered three alternatives for when the ideal pattern isn’t possible—such as when a ward may not have a temple and family history leader. In such cases, a consultant may report to one of the following:
Elder Renlund encouraged ward leaders to pick one of these patterns and follow it. “Don’t keep it a secret!” he said. The leadership pattern should be clear and easy for everyone to understand.
II. Creating a Ward Plan and Holding Coordination Meetings
Elder Renlund then talked to leaders about the importance of creating a temple and family history plan and holding coordination meetings. The ward council is responsible for creating the plan, which would be approved by the bishop. It could focus on any number of things, including the following:
-Involving 10- and 11-year-old children in family history work.
-Helping youth and new converts obtain limited-use recommends to attend the temple.
-Encouraging members to enter at least four generations of their family tree on FamilySearch.org.
-Inspiring members to attend the temple more often without establishing a quota or reporting system for temple attendance.
When coordination meetings are held, the ward temple and family history leader would conduct the meeting. Ward consultants would attend, along with a counselor from both the Relief Society and elders quorum presidencies. On occasion, even full-time missionaries could be invited.
Elder Renlund cautioned, “The goal is not to hold a meeting. The goal is to coordinate temple and family history work. Text messages, emails, and phone calls can oftentimes accomplish the needed coordination.”
We have never even met!! Let's see each other!! At least once!
III. An Invitation to Act
In closing, Elder Renlund reminded leaders of his three invitations. “Please clarify leadership patterns for ward temple and family history consultants,” he said. “Implement ward temple and family history coordination meetings and ward temple and family history plans. As you do, the Lord will hasten His work on both sides of the veil, and you will be blessed in the process!”
“To deviate from this standard leadership pattern requires a good reason, concurrence of the stake president, and confirmation by the Holy Ghost,” Elder Renlund said.
Elder Renlund offered three alternatives for when the ideal pattern isn’t possible—such as when a ward may not have a temple and family history leader. In such cases, a consultant may report to one of the following:
Elder Renlund encouraged ward leaders to pick one of these patterns and follow it. “Don’t keep it a secret!” he said. The leadership pattern should be clear and easy for everyone to understand.
II. Creating a Ward Plan and Holding Coordination Meetings
Elder Renlund then talked to leaders about the importance of creating a temple and family history plan and holding coordination meetings. The ward council is responsible for creating the plan, which would be approved by the bishop. It could focus on any number of things, including the following:
-Involving 10- and 11-year-old children in family history work.
-Helping youth and new converts obtain limited-use recommends to attend the temple.
-Encouraging members to enter at least four generations of their family tree on FamilySearch.org.
-Inspiring members to attend the temple more often without establishing a quota or reporting system for temple attendance.
When coordination meetings are held, the ward temple and family history leader would conduct the meeting. Ward consultants would attend, along with a counselor from both the Relief Society and elders quorum presidencies. On occasion, even full-time missionaries could be invited.
Elder Renlund cautioned, “The goal is not to hold a meeting. The goal is to coordinate temple and family history work. Text messages, emails, and phone calls can oftentimes accomplish the needed coordination.”
We have never even met!! Let's see each other!! At least once!
III. An Invitation to Act
In closing, Elder Renlund reminded leaders of his three invitations. “Please clarify leadership patterns for ward temple and family history consultants,” he said. “Implement ward temple and family history coordination meetings and ward temple and family history plans. As you do, the Lord will hasten His work on both sides of the veil, and you will be blessed in the process!”
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