New Beginings - First Zone Conference for 2010!!!

Our first Zone Conference for the New Year was fantastic!! We started out Monday night with a fireside to prepare for the conference. I worked on music with the missionaries - D&C sec 4 put to the Hymn "We are all Enlisted". It was fun and very interesting. I'd learned it long ago when I was a part of the Hill Cumorah Pageant one summer. Then PRESIDENT FRY gave an inspiring talk about AGENCY. It was very powerful and every missionary listened intently. Tuesday was Zone Conference and I introduced a way to make personal study and companionship study more in tune with the spirit, and more organized through out the mission. Two small book marks with a study schedule for the 4 standard works, the missionary library and Preach My Gospel were handed out. Then the Zone Leaders gave their presentations and wow what great leaders we have!ELDER TAYLOR and ELDER WHITEHEAD were so intune with each other that my mind and heart were filled to the brim! They talked about progressing and the only way to progress is thru REPENTANCE and the ATONEMENT every day of our lives. Having the eye of FAITH - seeing ourselves becoming and doing. A vision of what you can become and do - getting the strength thru the ATONEMENT and from the LOVE Christ has for us. Having the investigators visualize what it would be like to quit smoking and the blessings received from becoming a member. Having members visulize their friends accepting the gospel. Do our planning with the Lord's help - hope for a miracle and expect it will come!ELDER ROSEN and ELDER THOMPSON did an awesome job and talked about UNITY -working together by the SPIRIT. Listen to each other and RESPECT each other. Know your companion and DEVELOP unity. Do this in companionship study. If you both have the spirit - your investigators FEEL this and with the spirit you can do GREAT things. ELDER BALSER and ELDER ECKERSLEY talked about teaching by the spirit. They asked questions and some responses were: ELDER WADSWORTH - do all you can to PREPARE spiritually before the lesson and then LISTEN to the spirit as you teach. ELDER PRINCE - it is important to TEACH BY THE SPIRIT otherwise you can not teach what God wants you to teach. ELDER STIRLING - the spirit TEACHES and CONVERTS. ELDER BALSER - TRUE CONVERSION comes thru the spirit. ELDER ECKERSLEY - By turning to God we gain KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE, a skill we need to continually REFINE and use and be better at. ELDER LAMARR spoke about finding people: Can the Lord TRUST us with His children? He tries us first - then we set goals - we go out with POWER(the spirit) and we find people with ACTION. If you are doing what everyone else has talked about - then LISTEN to those promptings! ELDER GREEN talked about the POWER of the HOLY GHOST: it is the will of the Lord that we speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. "Whether by my own voice or the voice of my servants - it is the same." PRESIDENT FRY talked about "SPIRITUAL CROCODILES" - they hide and wait and then they take your life. What are some of those? 1. MURMERING - against your leaders and the rules outlined in the MISSIONARY HANDBOOK. 2.Feeling above it all - PRIDE and UNTEACHABLE. 3. ENVY 4. MOCKING. We then went over Alma Chapter 5 thoroughly. It was very inspiring and very well done. Having Zone Conference at the begining of the month is a great way to start out the New Year.