Leadership Training

We began our leadership training with our Vallarta and Nayarit zone leaders.
We had a great day together with our district leaders,
zone leaders and sister training leaders.

President Clayton's teaching

*As leaders, part of our responsibility, is to motivate others.

  How do we do that? What is the key?

  We must be motivated - ourselves.

*Righteous leaders and patterns in the scriptures.

  What motivated them?

  How did they motivate others?

Discussion quote-

*”The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. … That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel”.   Boyd K. Packer

Absolute Truth:

1. We must come to know God, that He lives, that He exists, that we are His children
2. We must have a correct knowledge of His character, His power, His perfection, and

   His attributes.
3. We must know that our life is acceptable to Him, and in agreement with His will.

***These doctrines concerning God's true character are what Satan has obscured the most in our day.

Understanding Truths:

*Doctrine - WHY we do something
*Principle - WHAT must we do?

*Application - HOW do we do something

Example:
Doctrine - No unclean thing can dwell with God.
Principle - There must be an Atonement made.
Application - We must repentance.

Key points:

*Understanding true doctrine will motivate us, and change us if we will allow it to.
*Understanding God’s correct character allows us to have faith, confidence and trust in Him.

*Because we know and understand God’s true character we can more fully understand God’s plan as we deal with life’s varied situation
-as we face challenges here in the mission
-as we consider our personal trials
-as we try to make sense of what we see going on in the world around us.  
*In order to have strong faith, we must know that what we are doing in our life is pleasing to God..if we stray or get off track, we will feel troubled, personal guilt, and turmoil. We will feel a lack of peace in our life.
*The answer, the path, the way to feel God’s peace in our lives, is to keep ourselves aligned with God.
*Just begin doing the right thing and watch how the peace of heaven comes.   

*Joy comes into our lives by doing even the smallest and simplest things that God wants us to do.  

*Small acts of faith will bring small mercies and blessings, which will result in strengthening our testimony.

my teaching

(Notice the ibuprofen taped to my forehead).

Like medicine that must get inside of us to

begin working and make a difference in how we feel,

the teachings of Jesus, the doctrines and principles

of the gospel must get inside of us....deep inside us

in order for us to understand them and live them.

Unless we understand the doctrines and principles of the gospel

with our hearts, and feel the truth of them in our hearts.

-they will not stay with us….

-we will forget...

-the truths we once felt sure of, will fade and flicker.

Discussion on

Seeing, hearing, hearkening, and obeying.

*The heart represents our willingness to see and recognize God,

to hear His voice and to hearken to Him, and to obey Him.

Discussion:

Doctrine and Covenants 64:34

The Lord requires the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and

obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in the last days.

What does it mean 'to eat the good of the land'?

What might it mean specifically to us here in the mission?

(likening the scriptures to us)

What does it mean to give our heart and mind to the Lord?

Looking for patterns-
*Nephi

*Alma the Younger

The ear by which we hear the voice of the Lord and the

whisperings of the spirit is our heart.

EAR

HEAR

HEART

Doctrine & Covenants 1:1 - hearken (vs 12 prepare ye, prepare ye...)

3 Nephi 33:15 - This chapter is very short,

but it is chocked full of Nephi’s spiritual character.

'Thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey'.

How did Nephi come to have those words engraven into his heart…

so much that he ended his record with them?

How important is it to be obedient….

when no one is around, when no one is looking???

(spiritual integrity)

Missionary Handbook pg 7

*Strive to represent the Lord according to the highest standards of obedience and conduct.

*Words, thoughts, and actions in harmony with the message of His gospel

*Righteous conduct will influence your effectiveness as a missionary and your personal salvation

*Your conduct also affects the trust and confidence of nonmembers, members and fellow missionaries have in you

*Conduct yourself at all times in such a way that everyone who sees you will recognize you as a representative of Jesus Christ.

Quotes to Ponder:

*Obedience builds our spiritual character.

*Obedience is the 1st Law of Heaven.

*Obedience is an Act of Faith - as we obey, our faith is increased.

*The discipline contained in daily obedience and clean living.. builds an armor       

around you of protection and safety from the temptations that beset you. (L.Tom Perry)

*Faith is a gift from God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness...the  

greater measure of obedience to God’s laws, the greater will be the endowment

of faith. (Bruce R.McConkie)

*Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience to God’s laws.  Not a casual or

situational obedience.  If we desire more faith, we must be more obedient.

*Obedience shows our love for God.

*When obedience ceases to be an annoyance, and becomes our quest…

at that very moment God endows us with power. (Ezra Taft Benson)

Rise up ! Rise to the great challenge which faces you   Rise up!

Our assistant presenting and highlighting 

our new leadership Manual. 

hooray! 

Next, our leadership training with 

leaders from our Guadalajara zones.

And finally, Colima, Guzman and Manzanillo leaders.

Great training!

Once again, all missionaries are safe and sound here in the Guadalajara Mission

9-19-17
3:27 pm

Dear families,

Once again, we see that there has been another earthquake here in Mexico, this time in Puebla Mexico.

I want to assure all parents, families and loved ones that all of our missionaries here in the Guadalajara Mission are safe and sound.  We did not feel any effects at all from the earthquake here in any of the areas of our mission.
We again send our love and prayers to those who have been effected by this newest earthquake today.

May our Father in Heaven bless and sustain all, through this most difficult and challenging time.

Much love,
President and Sister Clayton

Successful District and Zone Activities!!

1. We had a very special District Activity. We used the new theme of teaching the “Plan of Salvation”. Our focus was in helping all those with whom we spoke to know that there are answers to these questions of the soul which we often have and know that it is only through Jesus Christ and His Gospel that we can come to have the eternal joy that we yearn for. The activity began by contacting a person, then reading the questions of the soul and then showing them a video that displays how everything we do in this life has a purpose, and it is part of God´s plan for us. We were able to feel the Spirit while speaking with the people. We received many references and set many appointments for the coming week. Right before we began the activity it was raining for a time, but when we began the rain stopped. It was a great blessing!

Hermana VEGA & Hermana HOOPER, Élder Anderson & Élder GODINEZ, Élder CASTRO & Élder DIETRICH

Tuvimos una actividad de Distrito muy especial. Tomamos como tema a enseñar "El Plan de Salvación". Nuestro enfoque fue en ayudar a que todos aquellos con quienes hablábamos sepan que SÍ hay respuestas a esas preguntas del alma que a menudo se hacen y que sepan también que sólo mediante Jesucristo y Su evangelio es que podemos lograr la felicidad eterna que tanto anhelan. El recorrido comenzaba con un contacto, luego pasaban leyendo las preguntas del alma y luego les mostrábamos un video en el cual podían observar que todo lo que hacemos en esta vida tiene un propósito y está dentro del plan de Dios. Pudimos sentir el Espíritu al hablar con ellos. Obtuvimos muchas referencias y fijamos citas para visitarles en ésta semana. Justo antes de tener nuestra actividad estuvo lloviendo por un tiempo, pero para comenzar nuestra actividad dejó de llover. Fue una gran bendición! 






2. Great Zona Activity in Manzanillo

It was a great success, we were able to work as a team and achieve a lot.

The people we contacted as they passed by were very open to listen to our message of the restauration of the gospel as well as the message of the Book of Mormon.

We were able to contact many people with the Spirit, in this way we were able to touch the hearts of many people and have new investigators to teach.

Each one of us put in great effort and used much creativity. Many people came to take pictures and were desirous to listen to our message.

Att: Elder Torres, Elder Angulo, Elder Perez, Elder Ponce, Elder Pacheco, Elder Koenig, Elder Novak, Elder Arguello, Hermana Villagran, Hermana Loria, Hermana Marquez y Hermana Hernandez

Gran Actividad Como Zona Manzanillo 

Todo un éxito el trabajo en equipo, pudimos trabajar y lograr mucho.

Al contactar las personas se demostraron muy abiertas en escuchar el mensaje de la restauración del evangelio y también sobre el Libro de Mormón.

Pudimos contactar a muchas personas con un gran espíritu y de esa manera tocar el corazón para tener nuevos investigadores.

Cada uno de nosotros puso de su gran parte y creatividad, las personas se acercaron para tomarse fotos y estar dispuestas a escuchar el mensaje.

Sunday in Villa Hidalgo 9-17-17

What a wonderful Sabbath day we had participating in the Villa Hidalgo branch conference on Sunday with Elder Sevilla and Elder Hernandez who are serving there at this time.

President Clayton teaching the third hour

While I stepped into Primary 

With Elder Sevilla and Elder Hernandez

Our gorgeous drive there and back.

Always, always interesting:)

These two grandmas caught my eye!

on her phone...

See this set up right outside the cathedral 

Check out this hotel.

See the curtains that you draw 

for each rooms privacy.

Only 150 pesos a night (about $7.50)

Our beautiful drive to Vallarta

What a gorgeous day and drive we had as we traveled to
Vallarta for our Leadership Training and Interviews this month.

La Huerta Branch Conference 9-11-17

We had a wonderful Sabbath day joining with these saints for the La Huerta Branch Conference in Manzanillo. Here is a picture of the members on this day, for our mission history.

Branch President, Adrian Perez Martinez

with his family.  His wife Guadalupe, and his 

sweet children Adrian Emanuel 12,

Anel Adanhary 11, and Ariana Paulette 6.

With District President Rios on the far left

and his counselor brother Hernandez

on the far right of President Clayton

We drove to Barra de Navidad, and Melaque to say a quick

hello to members and missionaries serving there.

As always, it was a beautiful drive, both to Manzanillo, 

and around the different pueblos.

We love the countryside and of course

the animals we saw here and there. 

A quick picture with Sister Trefergen.

She and her husband have been house sitting 

a home in Melaque for several months.  

What a blessing they

have been to our missionaries there.

They have opened their home for a small 

group to meet there, they have welcomed 

missionary lessons to be taught in their home, 

they have gone on divisions with 

the Elders. Sister Trefergen has 

made countless dinners, desserts and snacks

for every occasion.  What selfless servants 

they have been!  We will miss them!  

We caught our zone leaders, 

Elder Torres and Elder Angulo 

stopping by to pick up an investigator for church.

Can you see them way in there?

A closer look

wonderful day.

All missionaries are safe!

Dear family and friends,

With the current earthquake that has hit Chiapas Mexico and has been felt in other parts of Mexico, we want to assure family members and loved ones that here in our Guadalajara mission, all missionaries are safe and well.

We have felt no effects of the earthquake in any of our zones and areas.

Please be assured that all is well within our mission boundaries.

We certainly pray for all that are in harms way both with this most recent earthquake and with the hurricanes and tropical storms threatening many areas throughout the world. 

We add our prayers with yours for safety and protection.

with love, President and Sister Clayton