Circles

December 7, 2013

The Calabria District Conference was held in Cozensa on December 7-8, 2013.  The visiting authority was Elder Detlef Adler, an Area Authority from Germany.  Because of the time involved in driving to and from the church, the conference format is a little different than I'm used to. On Saturday afternoon, while the Priesthood meets in one room, their spouses meet in a different room and have a separate meeting.

I conducted a Sister's Session at the Calabria District Conference on Saturday afternoon   My goal was to encourage the sisters to become more involved in missionary work. President Monson's counsel is that now is the time for members and missionaries to work together.  For many members it's a scary thing to invite a friend or relative or co-worker to their home to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

President Waddoups and I have been trying to emphasize the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  A young child who is only eight years old is old enough to understand the principles and be eligible for baptism.  I tried to convey this message to the sisters and show them how easy it is to become involved in missionary work.

I used the same Nativity script we have been using at zone conferences and had two of the sister missionaries translate it into Italian.  Using the same props we use with the missionaries, we reenacted the story of the birth of Christ.  We sang Christmas songs and felt the spirit touch our hearts.  It was a beautiful experience.

At the end, I explained that being a missionary is as simple as our little role play.  All the members have to do is invite others to participate.  The missionaries translated the script, lead the music, set the pitch, helped put costumes on, and told the simple story of Christ's birth.  They will do the same thing when they come to the member's homes.   The missionaries will do all the teaching.   All the members have to do is extend the invitation.  It's a very simple thing to do.

Immediately following the Priesthood and Sister meetings, we went into the adult session of conference.  During that meeting, Elder Adler talked about the importance of keeping the gospel simple when we teach nonmembers about the gospel and how important it is for members to be involved in the conversion process.  The members should work with the missionaries to bring others unto Christ.  It was déjà vu.  I told him afterwards that he could have just said amen to my talk since we talked about the same thing.

We then had a discussion about circles and how the Lord uses circles to emphasize a principle.  When everyone basically teaches about the same principle, it is reinforced and is much more effective than teaching about several different topics.  That's why we have a theme or topic.  The amazing thing about teaching in circles at this conference is that each of us teaching at that conference didn't know what anyone else was talking about.  Inspiration definitely played a big part.  We were all inspired to talk about simplicity and member missionaries.  Even before the conference in Cosenza, President and I had been demonstrating to the missionaries the importance of  teaching simply.  

I love the concept of teaching in circles.  It reminds me of being encircled in the arms of the Savior's love.  It's a good feeling.

Missionaries serving in Calabria District with Elder Adler

Waddoups, Adlers, Steurers

Assistants with Elder and Sister Adler

Elder Adler giving Elder Jones a birthday hug!