Elder and Sister Adamson: Zone Conference

August 24, 2015 - Zone Conference for Musashino North and Musashino South Zones, held in the Tokorozawa Chapel. We had not previously attended a zone conference, which is held every other transfer (personal interviews with the mission president on the alternating transfer). We had a conflict on the day of the first Z/C after we arrived in Japan, Bruce had his first appointment with his internal medicine doc at Yokosuka Naval Hospital. The day of the next Z/C we were training with Elder and Sister Powell for our office assignment, and since their time was limited, we decided we better spend the day with them instead. So this was our first Zone Conference in the mission, and it was a wonderful experience. President Wada is an inspiring speaker and teacher, and the missionaries who presented training and conducted discussions did a great job.

I gave the following spiritual thought:

In the book of Helaman, at the time of Nephi and Lehi, sons of Helaman, we read of the cycle of righteousness and prosperity followed by pride, wickedness, and destruction. The Nephites in some of these chapters are going around that cycle so quickly it kind of makes you dizzy. In Chapter 4, beginning around verse 20, we read how the Nephites are starting to panic because they are recognizing their wickedness and remembering that they know better. Verse 22 says they had altered and trampled under their feet the words of Mosiah, they saw that they had become corrupt and wicked, and because of their iniquity, the Church began to dwindle. Verse 24: And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren the Lamanites. Verse 25: the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power. And verse26: For behold, they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man. And thus had they fallen into this great transgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because of their transgression, in the space of not many years.

Looking back at verse 13, which was in an earlier cycle of this prosperity, pride, wickedness, destruction, it says; And because of this their great wickedness and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength. They were left without the strengthening power of the Lord; they had no advantage over their enemy. They were maybe even worse off, because they must have known what they had lost.

It is an obvious but still powerful lesson hat sin weakens people. It weakens us. It weakens our investigators. I was looking at the Evidences of Conversion chart that you use to evaluate the progress of your investigators. You look at each of these “evidences” and then you assign a number from 0 to 10, 0 being weak and 10 being very strong. The higher that number, the greater indication we have that this investigator is leaving sin behind and actively seeking to do right and to come unto Christ. I think these evidences of conversion could also be very well used by us, with maybe a higher standard than we might ask of an investigator. Are we not only reading the Book of Mormon, but are we searching and feasting, asking questions, gaining insights? Are we seeking the Spirit and having revelatory experiences as we attend sacrament meeting, even if we don’t understand a lot of what is being said (and I have tremendous respect for you missionaries who have that experience). Are our prayers routine or do we cry unto the Lord in mighty prayer? Do we have a real, true desire to improve our own life, knowing that because so much has been given to us, much is required of us? Are we obedient in our thoughts and in our hearts, as well as our actions? Are we feeling the Spirit? Do we desire to have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion?

We who are here at this zone conference today know what we need to do to strengthen any of these areas in which we might be weak. Going back to Helaman, to this familiar verse in chapter 3, verse 35: Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

It’s my prayer that we will trust and follow the pattern the Lord teaches us, that through humility and faith, coming unto Christ and trusting in his grace, we will be strengthened to do the work here that he has called us to do.