Zone Conference Training June 2014

Zone Conference Training June 2014

Luke 15: 8-10

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

Likewise, I say unto you, there joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that [is found] and repenteth.

When Elder Taggart and I got married, his grandma Howell asked if we would like to have her mother’s diamond ring. We were young and poor so we drove to Idaho to get the diamond. It was a small thing but, hey, it was a real diamond. I was thrilled to be trusted with a family heirloom.

Fast forward a few years….it is Saturday. We are in our first home and have 2 little girls. I have just cleaned the whole house, vacuumed, dusted, dishes, washed toilets, done the laundry, changed various diapers and washed my hands a dozen times.

Elder Taggart is working the night shift so he is not home. I sit down to feed the baby and notice the diamond is NOT in my ring. I am sick. I have lost the heirloom diamond I was trusted with. I start searching……

The washing machine hose

The dryer lint collector

I sift through the vacuum dirt, every dustball and dirt clump, hoping to find the diamond.

I check under all the cushions.

I unmake every bed in the house.

The baby cries and cries and cries.

I pray. I panic. I call my little brother. He comes over and takes the traps off all the sinks. The diamond is nowhere to be found.

We pray again.

The baby cries and cries and cries.

4 or 5 hours later, at about 10 PM, it is time to feed the crying baby and put the toddler to bed. I put the baby on the bed to change her diaper. As I pull her foot out of the sleeper---the diamond falls out onto the bed. I say a prayer of gratitude.

I would like you to liken each referral as a piece of silver or a diamond.

Preach My Gospel refers to them as a “sacred responsibility.”

Preach My Gospel says to find them within 24 hours.

STATS  We have 1671 active referrals right now in our mission.

385 of those are NEW REFERRALS

276 are being CONTACTED

100 are being TAUGHT    

842 have been dropped…..that is about half.

STAND UP IF YOU HAVE EVER HAD A PHONY REFERRAL (now you may be seated. You see you are not alone)

STAND UP IF YOU HAVE TAUGHT A LESSON TO A REFERRAL (about half, now be seated)

STAND UP IF YOU HAVE BAPTIZED A REFERRAL. (these are the diamonds and they are precious)

We will not baptize all 1600 referrals but I know, among the 1600, are diamonds waiting to be found.

            I have analized our referrals and I have identified the TOP 3 problems in our mission:

1.     ATTITUDE  It’s a waste of time…..it’s too hard if there is no phone number…it isn’t a daily priority

2.     REPORTING ON IPADS…..slow…..we forget….it is easier to send them back to Sister Taggart than to ADD INTERACTION and tell me what the problem is so we ping-pong referrals back and forth.---not in our area-----spanish needs English-----sisters instead of elders----TEMPLE

3.     Making referrals a daily priority…..part of daily planning

 

 

If I had waited to find the heirloom diamond for a day or a week----the sleepers would have gone through the washing machine and the diamond would have gone down the drain and been lost.

 

Referrals are the same. If you wait until their courage is gone, or until they change their mind, a diamond or baptism may be lost forever.

 

WILL YOU please commit to being diligent and finding all the referrals assigned to your area?????