6 December El Clarín

At our recent Mission Leadership Council (Concilio) our Assistants, Elder Skousen

and Elder Dunn, introduced our very special goal for the Mission for December 2015. They ran into the room with a white bag full of white presents dressed completely in white and handed a beautifully wrapped gift to everyone in the room. Inside of the box was a white bulb with the symbol for baptism on the bulb. The goal which they introduced caused great excitement in the room—THAT EVERY SINGLE COMPANIONSHIP IN THE MISSION BAPTIZES IN DECEMBER!!! They testified that the greatest gift that we could give the Savior this time of year would be to find and baptize one of His spirit brothers and sisters while dressed in WHITE. Thus, our goal has been set—for every companionship in the mission to baptize this month dressed in white—thus creating a White Christmas. While some may say that this is an impossible or unrealistic goal, I believe that nothing is too hard for the Lord (Philippians 4:13—“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”) This is realistic a challenging goal which will stretch us and cause us to work harder and smarter than we ever have before. It will require that we are more obedient, closer to the Spirit, more responsive to promptings, more loving and more Christ-like. It would require that we baptize 96 souls—something we have never done before (”if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth Mark 9:23). It will require that 100% of our companionships baptize whereas under usual circumstances, 15-20% of our companionships baptize in a month. Hermana Dayton and I have also applied the challenge to ourselves. Truly this will be a Christmas to remember—the best Christmas ever.

It is interesting to note the imagery that a White Christmas conjures. It seems as though the most beautiful, most sacred things that ever happen in our lives are associated with whiteness. Imagine a baby blessing in white, your own baptism in white, your endowment in white, temple sessions all in white, your eventual sealing to a companion in white, and even being dressed in white at your burial. White has always been associated with purity, goodness and innocence. In Isaiah 1:18, we read, “..though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” referring to the purity that comes after complete repentance. The description of the Savior in the vision experienced by the Prophet Joseph Smith states that, “…the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun.” (D&C 110:3) Even missionary work is likened to this imagery in the scripture in D&C 4:4 which declares, “For behold the field is white already to harvest.”

Message From Presidente Dayton

A Special Kind of White Christmas

6 de Diciembre de 2015El Clarín de El Faro

Message From Presidente Dayton Cont.

6 de Diciembre de 2015

In Daniel 12:10, we read, ”Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried.” Revelation 3:4 declares, “and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.” Alma tells us that if we are diligent and faithful, we will harvest the fruit which is most precious, which is “whiteabove all that is white, yea and pure above all that is pure:” The term “white” referring to that which is honorable, pure, innocent and virtuous is found in 175 scriptures in the standard works.

I often reflect on the winter time on the ranch in Wyoming where I grew up. Our family lived on a ranch 2 miles north of the small town of Cokeville, Wyoming. Wyoming winters were long and often very cold. But, some of the most beautiful images of whiteness occurred in southwest Wyoming after a large snowfall with some wind. When you stepped out of the house, the spectacular whiteness literally took your breath away. When the sun came out, everything glistened and it was so bright you had to close your eyes to walk in it. I often wondered as a small boy if this was what it looked like in Heaven because it was indescribably beautiful and incredibly clean and pure. I suspect that I’m not too far off of the mark.

Our dear missionaries, it is my fondest hope that as we prepare for this very special holiday season with our unique calling as emissaries of our King, we may try to honor him by exerting the special effort that will result in our having the best kind of White Christmas—a baptizing white Christmas. We love all of you and ask the Lord’s choicest blessings to be over all of you.

Con la esperanza de una Navidad Blanca,

Presidente Dayton

El Clarín de El Faro

Persuasiveness vs. Contentiousness

Message From Hermana Dayton


Persuasiveness is convincing others to follow God´s ways because of how His ways are working in our lives. It is communicating truth to a person´s spirit through sound reasoning and convincingothers to follow the ways of God. Paul was the perfect example of persuasion, he was a master

at persuading many to come to Christ. He “persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.” (Acts 13:43). He “persuaded the Jews and the Greeks” (Acts 18:4). He “went into the synagogue, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). He “expounded and testified, persuading them concerning Jesus” (Acts 28:23). Persuasiveness is also guiding vital truths around another’s mental roadblock. It is helping people find out what they need and then showing them the best way to get it.

Many years ago I took a character class and the presenter was talking about being persuasive. He told us of a father and a son who did not agree on a particular issue. Years later this father wrote this letter.

“Son, I remember some of the discussions we would have about a particular issue where I was

impressed with the way you presented your thoughts and arguments and to why a specific perspective would be the best to solve a problem. I remember understanding very clearly after listening to your words why that perspective made sense. This has helped me as I have tried to

think more about how I can as a government leader be more persuasive in guiding those I work with, both friends and foes, to correct principles to solve the problems we encounter. I admire this gift you have developed throughout your life. I hope you will find many ways to benefit more people through your work. I love you and enjoy our conversations, Dad.”

As missionaries we can develop the ability to be persuasive as we guide others to understand the principles and truths of the Gospel. The more persuasive we are in talking to people about the ways of God, the more effective we will be as witnesses and the greater number of people we will be able to bring to the truthfulness of the Gospel.

There are 5 secrets to Persuasiveness in missionary work:

1. A clear conscience- it is important that we have a clear conscience, know we have repented of our sins, and can be examples to those we teach. We are then able to convince

others to repent and come unto Christ. When it comes to convincing others, our lives are more persuasive than our words. “We are all missionaries…Wherever we go, we either bring people nearer to Christ, or we repel them from Christ.”—Eric Lidell

2. The authority of Scripture- we must learn the scriptures so we can teach by them and persuade our investigators to use them to draw nearer to Heavenly Father.

3. Personal testimony- “You cannot convert people beyond your own conversion.” PMG We must be able to persuasively testify. Convincing people requires a confidence in our voices that matches the truth and love in our hearts.

4. Appealing to the conscience- in order to appeal to the conscience we must ask inspired questions to understand our investigators and analyze what they truly need. People usually have two questions in their minds (1) Why is this important for me to hear? (2) How can I apply it to my life? Our first words should be able to answer these questionsto persuade them that our message will benefit them.

5. The effectiveness of using gracious words- “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man”—Colossians 4:6 As we use kind, persuasive words, and avoid contention, we are able to bring others to Christ. We can apply persuasiveness to missionary work by:

-Persuading others to get friends and family involved in missionary work.-Persuading our companions to be strictly obedient.-Persuading family and friends to stay focused on living the principles of the gospel.-Writing and speaking our testimonies, persuading others of the truthfulness of the gospel.

President Dayton and I are very grateful to each of you for the Christ-like lives you have chosen to live. We love to hear you teach and testify…persuading others to come unto Christ. We love you very much and feel grateful and honored to be working with you as we faithfully serve our Heavenly Father.

Sincerely,

Hermana Dayton

Message From Hermana Dayton Cont.


Christlike Attributes- Faith, Charity, Love, Virtue, Hope, and Humility,

Knowledge & Wisdom, Patience, Diligence, Creativity, Enthusiasm, Generosity, Forgiveness, Dependability, Availability, Orderliness, Gratitude, Endurance, Persuasiveness

Message From Registrador


With the new missionary portal, it is now easier to find and track referrals.

Every Preparation Day, log on to the Missionary Portal and

check the right side of your screen for new referrals. Makesure you are contacting and following up on your referrals.

Remember,

“These teaching opportunities should be viewed by missionaries as a sacred responsibility.” PMG ch. 9 in referrence to referrals.

Bautismos/Confirmaciones/Misioneros


“Eran contados … y se

inscribían sus nombres”

13

sep

20

sep

27

sep

04

oct

11

oct

18

oct

25

oct

1

nov

8

nov

15

nov

22

nov

29

nov

6

dic

Bautismos 10 8 8 0 4 6 8 11 10 6 8 9 12

Confirmaciones 10 6 10 0 4 5 9 11 9 6 9 9 12

Fechas bautismales 123 136 95 77 129 133 114 86 103 113 121 95 103

Inv reunion sacramental 174 195 212 166 184 205 220 170 188 222 164 211 166

Lecciones con un

miembro731 738 681 562 684 802 748 713 757 653 696 734 692

Lecciones con un m. p. 51% 51% 51% 44% 44% 50% 48% 47% 51% 42% 45% 45% 46%

Nuevos Investigadores 444 487 455 441 572 566 522 502 478 533 567 620 469

Bautismos/Confirmaciones esta semana 12

Bautismos/Confirmaciones este mes 12

Bautismos/Confirmaciones hasta la

fecha este año448


Dileyla Zepeda Ochoa Gerona A Élderes Farley y Knadler

Irma Elena Reyes Coello Gerona B Hermanas Gregory y Rica

Manuela Guillermina Cevallos Vera Bilbao C Hermanas Lamoreaux y Randall

Augustina Omo Irabor San Sebastian B Hermanas Wiseman y Roggiero

Alba Gutiérrez Fernández Santander B Hermanas Schmidt y Jorgensen

Nilda Adela Lopez Gimenez Las Arenas A Élderes Weight y Rogers

Silvestre Lopez Lopez Hospitalet 1B Hermanas Shake y Romero

Pintsil Igbinidu Tarragona B Hermanas McWhorter y Eyring

John Okafor Onuoha Tarragona B Hermanas McWhorter y Eyring

Jancia Ciubotariu Castellón A Élderes Sadler y Farnsworth

Francisco Dagoberto Fermin Castillo Vitoria B Élderes Oliver y Ibarra

Julio Hernández Leal Palma 2B Hermanas Ratliff y Stilson

White Christmas: Our Gift to the Savior


Week 1

Total

Comps.92

Comps.

w/

Baptism11

11

81

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

BAP T IZ ING

C OM PANIONSHIPS

Of the 92 companionships in

El Faro, 11 have been blessed

with baptism!

Only 81 companionships left

before we reach our goal that

each companionship

baptizes!

And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith.Doctrine & Covenants 42:14

CINCO: CUATRO: Élderes Gill y Batis

Hermanas Shake y Romero

Élderes Dunn y McArthur

TRES: Élderes Jones y Winsor

Élderes Carballo e Ipsen

Hermanas Lamoreaux y Randall

Hermanas Schmidt y Jorgensen

Élderes Turner y Moulton

Hermanas Storer y Cragun

Élderes Watterson y House

Hermanas Mayes y Johnson

Élderes Sedgwick y Blake

Hermanas Ratliff y Stilson

Maria Eixample

Lizeth Mataró B

Natanael Zaragoza 1A

Isabela Bilbao B

Antonio Hospitalet 1A

Antonio Hospitalet 1B

Claudia Valencia 3C

Eva Valencia 1A

Ericka Valencia 2C

Sandra Vitoria C

Juan Pamplona B

Jorge Logroño A

Isaac, Leo Palma 1B

Marley Menorca

Julio Palma 2B

Ali Ibiza A


Compañerismos que lograron las pautas de excelencia:

Oremos por estos investigadores con fechas bautismales para esta semana:


The Zone

Bilbao is in the Zone!-With 4 Baptisms!!!

Hospitalet is in the Zone!-With 3 Baptisms!!!

A miracle we saw this week

was an amazing baptism of an 11 year old boy named Jordi. You see, the smile on his face before he was baptized was beautiful but the power that came from when the smile on his face grew some much from the time he was baptized and the rest of the day was so powerful to everyone there. The service was beautiful and I know for a fact that Jordi and his family gained

a true testimony of what they were doing was right. He received the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday and the spirit in that sacrament room and the support of the ward that day brought a great joy to Jordi and his family.

Well, as you know we had the baptism of Maria Elena! Thank you for coming to the baptism! She just seems so much happier! Her family are so grateful and happy she got baptized too! It made me realize just how important every single soul is for the Lord and every single baptism there is he is so pleased with each person! The service went really well and there was a great spirit there and she will be a wonderful part of our group and she even gave us the references of her children because she wants them to be baptized!

Kiara was baptized this past Friday! It was so amazing! I have had the blessing of working with her since I got to Logroño and it has been so amazing to see her grow and learn! Its just so incredible to me! Her parents were not very supportive of her decision, so my companion and I had been praying with all our heart that the Lord would bless us with a miracle. The Lord heard our prayers, like always, and Kiara's father came to her baptism! Her mother didn't comebut I know that someday she will come to accept and understand. Her baptism service was beautiful! Most importantly, Kiara was so very happy, it was such a blessing to see her dressed in white!

Everything's going great! We just saw Mairu have the opportunity to be baptized by her fiancé and they are doing awesome. Awesome miracle. They have plans to get married and are already looking forward to getting sealed in the temple. They are awesome. It was also a great experience to see Hugo exercise his newly received Priesthood.

13 de abril de 2014

The Miracle of Baptism


It has been one of the most rewarding weeks of my life. Almost 3 months after Elders Islas and Noovao found her on the street, DINA GOT BAPTIZED!!! It was such a beautiful service. I may be a little biased, but I'd say it was just about perfect. She called us the day before saying she needed us to come see her right away, which scared us pretty good. We got over fast mad she told us her preoccupation: she didn't know what to wear. Pretty relieved, we let her know how it usually goes. She also let us know that she'd been experiencing pretty extreme pain all over but she knew it was just the adversary trying to get to her. It didn't faze her, the decision was made. She KNOWS it's true. After Elder Islas baptized her she bore an emotional testimony of the truth of this church, the strength of the spirit was indescribable. The next day I had the opportunity to confirm her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find the words, but it all flowed (as far as I could tell). The words were put in my mouth.

On the 20th we were finally

able to meet with him and he was so prepared. He said he had a dream where he was standing in the middle of a great and immense stone. He said that was his answer that he was standing firm in the truth and wouldn't fall if he stood firm in this doctrine

and church. He accepted to live the word of wisdom without hesitation along with the law of chastity and accepted to be baptized on the 28th. The next day he came to a baptism with his calendar and started introducing himself and telling people

that he was going to be baptized the following week. He was asking me about the last few points on the back he didn't quite understand. He came to church the next day and was just fantastic. We continued working with him throughout the week and at the end he was baptized. It was such a beautiful service and he was so happy. He told us on Sunday before his confirmation that things were already moving to where he may be able to see his children and he knows it is because he is doing what the Lord wants.

have come out the other side as a molded tool that can be used in the hands of the Master. Ï love my mission.

I have a problem, I can't seem to stop smiling! There is nothing else in the world that has made me happier than what we experienced this past weekend. Nestor was baptized and confirmed a member of this true church this past weekend. It was a beautiful service. He kept saying before how content and happy he was. His favorite song is Mas Cerca Dios de Ti(Nearer my God to thee) and so we sang that as missionaries for the musical number. As he entered the font he even started humming the song. After he was immersed under water he smiled at us all and gave us a thumbs up! As we were talking to him after the service he just keep saying How happy he was that he was becoming "Mas cercaDios de Ti".

The Miracle of Baptism


Tuvimos un bautismo el último Sábado. Fue un milagro que vi el cambio en el rostro de Gladis la cual rebosó con más esperanza y paz aunque ha

enfrentado mucho recientemente y a pesar de continuar a enfrentar muchos problemas. Ella ya tiene una herramienta para enmendar sus caminos poco a poco más maravillosa que jamás ha tenido. Espero que capte en su mente siempre los

pasos que la enseñamos para quedar fuerte en la vía del Señor. Ella dos días antes del bautismo se mudó en el área de las hermanas. Por eso estoy agradecido y ojalá que ellas puedan ayudar a ella en este tiempo mejor que yo y mi compañero. Ella recibirá el apoyo en ese barrio. Estoyseguro :)

This weekend we had a great week! We saw the amazing baptism of Josepand that is our miracle. He is absolutely amazing. We originally started by only teaching him and now we are teaching his whole family. We are helping them unite themselves even more and come unto Christ. We have seen such amazing miracles lately President. I am so grateful for the time I have spent here in _____. My mission has been the refiners fire and I can say that I

Mission News


Élder Christopherson

Élder Farley

Élder Farnsworth

Hermana Reid

Hermana Shake

Élder Smith

Élder Gill

Hermana Graham

Élder LeSueur

Élder Stapleton

Hermana Stout

El Faro Gives Thanks for the Serivce of 11 Wonderful Missionaries!

Documents

6 December El Clarín