Alright everyone listen up!!
I am not being disobedient! The work is hastening!! We as missionaries are now allowed to contact and teach ANYONE ANYWHERE in the world and teach them over the internet via skype, facebook, facetime, chat, email, blog etc!! We can contact and ask any one for referrals and that includes each of you!
Another amazing thing is that we the California Santa Rosa mission are the first mission in the entire world to as a whole receive the "8873" or in other words, we now have Ipad mini's to assist us in all of our work! The area book is on it our planners and schedule are on it we have all of our manuals and scriptures and Mormon messages and videos on it and we can get access to facebook on it wherever we have wifi!! It is awesome!! So when I contact you on facebook, don't be surprised!! And in the future don't be surprised if I skype you up so that we can teach together! Yes me and you and my companion in the future could teach together via skype! Mom or Dad you could be the "member present" at my lessons!! Isn't that sweet? I have already begun contacting a few of my teammates from Barstow that would ask me questions about the church! We will see if they are interested!
So HUGE changes in missionary work! huge! So on Thursday when the missionary department came and gave us our ipads they showed us two scriptures three scriptures that blew me away. The first is Matthew 24:14 it says this,
"And this a of the b shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the c come."
Do you remember what happened on June 23rd? That was the big missionary meeting. Do you remember what happened in that meeting? What happened that was different? What changed? anything? we learned about Members working with missionaries, the responsibility of members and ward mission leaders and bishops, which is what we have been trying to do for a long time right? But is that all it was? Well no. There had to be something more than that to make it historical. We received a letter that said it was going to be a huge deal...so what happened that made it historical?? Well this is what bro Donaldson from the missionary department said. He said that that day marked the Beginning of the end, just like the scripture says. Because that meeting was when the whole world was opened for missionary work!! Then the end will come...I hope that made your stomach drop because mine did!! Now here is another scripture. DC 88:73 says
Behold, I will a my work in its time
This scripture is fulfilled. it is no longer I WILL hasten it is now currently I AM HASTENING MY WORK RIGHT NOW.
With the age lowered the scene was set and with these ipads and the thousands of missionaries teaching everyone everywhere online, the work has hastened. With theses ipads the work is hastened. The hastening is literally here it is currently happening we are apart of prophecies being fulfilled!
Another scripture, Mosiah 16:1 says
And now, it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words he stretched forth his hand and said: The time shall come when all shall see the a of the Lord; when b nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall c before God that his d are just.
What is the significance of that verse? Every nation shall SEE EYE TO EYE. How can us here in Cali and people in Europe see eye to eye?? i will tell you. SKYPE is how we will see eye to eye. As we were getting our ipads on Thursday the leaders who had their ipads already within the first hour had taught four lessons via chat. That is usually how much we teach in one day, on a good day! Accomplished in an hour. but they were not only teaching people in their area they were teaching people in Europe, Astonia, Russia. One of our zone leaders taught a girl in Russia via skype last week. They saw EYE TO EYE.
Are you catching the vision??
Something else the missionary department told us is that they have found that most people are online from like nine pm to 12 pm. So how will we teach those people if we are asleep? well bro Donaldson said this. " We will have to get the help of the missionaries on the other side of the world, Missionaries in japan and Europe will have to teach our people and help us out here while we sleep and then in return we will help out with their people over there while they sleep." in fact during that meeting he got a call from a mission president in japan about that exact topic. IT IS NUTS!!!!!
Missionary work has dramatically changed AGAIN. Which is another testimony to me that this truly is a LIVING BREATHING CHURCH!!! I had a funny experience last week. While we were studying, we heard a knock on the door. It was two old ladies giving out pamphlets for the Jehovah Witness. They asked if we wanted a pamphlet from the watch tower and i said yes and offered them a pamphlet, they said no ha ha but I thought it was funny because they are still doing the exact same thing that they have always done. I haven't tracted in months because that is an ineffective finding activity and we have been taught that there are much better ways to find. And it has worked. We are finding many people to teach that are not just quantity but quality. And other churches are still doing the same old thing because they are not guided by revelation! How many times has our missionary program changed!! so many times!! Since i have been on m y mission there have been six or seven big meetings where we have learned new things to do and implement to increase our effectiveness and teaching ability. I know with out a doubt this church is truly guided by Our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ through our living prophet.
So Now I hope you have an idea of the things going on here. And So now I have a question for all who read this, and specifically for you , MOM DAD LIESEL DAN JENNY GREG AND STEW. You were all missionaries, you all taught people, some of which you are wondering if they were baptized or were continued to be taught. Maybe you have friends that need to the sweet peace of the gospel in their life. No matter who it is or what the situation of course we know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can heal them comfort them, guide them, strengthen them, and bless their life in every way. But it is up to us to tell them about it show them how to get it!! Who do all of you know that I can contact and teach online?? it can be anyone! friends family, people around town, your dentist your neighbors, people you used to teach on your mission!! Who do you know that can benefit from the great hope of the gospel?? that is my question for all of you!! I invite you to prayerfully go through your contacts on facebook and see who pops out at you. Can you imagine teaching those people with me via skype?? That would be awesome. Jenny and Greg!! give me some peeps in Europe and Virginia!!! that would be soo cool!!
Don't feel guilty or bad about it either. This is the way the Lord wants it to go! And bro Donaldson specifically told us to embrace this change whole-heartedly because he knew at first it would be weird to have this much freedom, to be able to talk to our family and eventually teach with them. But truly we are all apart of the work of salvation and who better to teach our friends then well..us!! We don't need to worry about trusting our friends with good missionaries because we can teach them ourselves!!
I am so humbled to be apart of this. It is just amazing...like Alma, I cannot say even the smallest part of what I feel. The work is truly hastening. gone our the days of the standard being twenty lessons a week. With the help of online work we could be teaching 80 lessons a week. Some Elders already are from what I have heard. Just in these past few days i have gotten over 20 online referrals and that is nothing compared to some other Elders. This week some Elder got over 50 referrals mostly for people in different countries. It is crazy. The work is here and I am no longer called to serve in Santa Rosa but the entire world is open to me.
My beloved family, I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is Gods church. I know that Jesus Christ LIVES and guides this church. I know he answers prayers and that he ALWAYS keeps his promises if we are faithful. even though my flesh is weak and I make mistakes or veer of the path I will forever be grateful to each of you. For providing me with a SURE FOUNDATION. i love each of you so much. As I have spent time away My love has only grown stronger and the realization of how richly i was blessed growing up hits me every day as i go out and teach less fortunate families and children. I stand all amazed and I feel so unworthy of the mighty blessings I have received. In my prayers at night I hardly pray for myself because i feel like i dont need much. not in a prideful way but I have been given so much I just feel selfish asking for anything. I Love my life and i am so full of Joy even on the hard days! I have never been happier.
So anyways, I love you all so much. i don't know where i would be or what i would be with out you. Please continue to pray for me as I will need them in order to change and grow and be guided as I adapt to online missionary work. i will continue to pray for each of you that you will be inspired about who needs to hear about the gospel!! i know there are many people. Bro Donaldson said that as of right now there are estimated to be 70 million people ready to hear the gospel right now. RIGHT NOW. And it is up to us to find them. I pray that we will be and I know that we will be as this is Gods very work and as a result we will not fail. We were not sent here to fail but to succeed gloriously!! I look forward to having that success with each of you as we Thrash the nations together and invite and help them come to Christ!!
I love you!!
Elder Nelson
P.s. You can contact me on facebook. I don't think i can add you yet but probably we will be able to soon!!
