2023 Stake Mission Plan
“I Am Trying To Be Like Jesus”
“Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you” (3 Nephi 18:16). Living a Christlike life is the ideal we strive for (Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48). One of the best ways to emulate Christlike attributes is to study the Savior’s life and try to become like Him. The more we become like the Savior, the longer our view becomes. The more we see His truths, the more we feel His joy, and want to share the good news of the Gospel.
Stake Goals
- Five (5) Convert Baptisms
- MLS Couple called and serving
- Encourage all Family Wards to call a Ward Mission Leader
- All family wards have a Ward Mission Plan
- Each ward maintains the lists mentioned under Ward Council below
- 80% of YM 18-25 serving missions
- 60% of YW 19-25 serving missions
Note: We hope our efforts to increase youth serving missions results in YM going from 68% to 80% and YW going from 50% to 60%
Ward Council
Maintain and regularly discuss the following groups:
- Recent converts
- Part-member families
- Unbaptized children of record
- New move-ins
- Prospective elders
- Nonmembers
- Less-actives
- Prospective young-adult and senior missionaries
- Members needing to progress on the covenant path (e.g. priesthood or temple ordinances)
Leaders in Partnership with Full-time Missionaries
Mission, stake and ward leaders provide training for and hold the following missionary coordination meetings:
- Mission: Periodic mission coordination meeting
- Stake: Regular stake coordination meeting
- Ward: Brief, informal weekly ward missionary coordination (huddles)
Members
Members are encouraged to regularly “invite all to receive the gospel.” Every invitation is success and demonstrates our faith and manifests our testimony. Many individuals accept invitations when members didn’t expect it. Pondering and prayer will be helpful as members strive to target their invitations to those ready to receive the gospel.
Members are invited to execute one of the following ideas each quarter of 2023 and are encouraged to periodically share their stories of faith and invitations with others, including in EQ, RS, youth and primary meetings.
Quarterly Ideas:
- Post Your Testimony or Faith-Filled Messages on Social Media and Follow Up. Flood the Earth with Good News!
- Show a Member, Non-member, Or Less Active Member How to Use Family Search to find Their Ancestors or prepare their Temple Work.
- Invite Someone to Listen to the Full-time Missionaries, Come Back to Church or take the next step along the covenant path.
- Give a Book of Mormon Away and Invite Them to Read It and Pray About It or Invite a Member to Be Taught an M3 From the Missionaries.
- Invite a Non-Member, or Less Active Member to dinner, lunch or to your home and openly discuss the love you have for the gospel and share ideas with them on how they can feel the spirit in their life and enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel.
Other creative and supporting activities can be located at https://highlandutaheaststake.org/gather/
RESOURCES
Missionary Quotes
“It [Missionary work] is by definition the most important thing you can do in the world, in time or eternity. For this reason you are engaged in the saving of the human soul. And that is the highest and holiest work in the universe. That is the thing that God Himself said was His work and glory. It is the purpose for which the Savior came to the earth and gave His life and was resurrected to open those possibilities and promises of Eternal Life. It is the purpose for which every prophet has lived and every apostle has spoken. It is the purpose for which every missionary since Adam and Eve has gone forth to declare the truth. You join those ranks! You join that brotherhood and sisterhood and it is as I said by definition, by theology, it is the most important thing you can do.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland | The Miracle of a Mission
“Understand that it’s not your job to convert people. That is the role of the Holy Ghost. Your role is to share what is in your heart and live consistent with your beliefs.”
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Handbook
One of the Works of Salvation and Exaltation is “Inviting all to receive the gospel” (HB 1.2). Stake and Ward leaders and members of the Highland Utah East Stake can effectively advance this particular work by emphasizing and implementing the initiatives in this document.
The bishop holds the keys for the work of salvation and exaltation in the ward and with his counselors he oversees member missionary work in the ward. The bishop assigns the responsibility to lead this effort to the EQ president who likely delegates it to one of his counselors. The EQ counselor works closely with the WML and a counselor in the RS presidency to further this work. The ward council helps develop and review progress towards achieving the ward mission plan (HB 23.1.1 & HB 23.1.2).
In addition to the above, Bishops and Bishoprics will want to prayerfully consider those in the ward that are unendowed or do not have current temple recommends. We hope that Bishops, EQ & RS presidents, and WML’s will find it beneficial to discuss these groups with members of the stake presidency, stake RS presidency, high councilor and stake mission leader.
Section 23 of the General Handbook, “Participating in Missionary Work, Retention, and Activation” will be a great resource.
