Elder Bennett Letter and Mission Updates

Elders and Sisters,

For our mission update this week, Sister Horgesheimer and I wanted to express our incredible admiration and love for each of you. We loved feeling your spirits of enthusiasm and optimism we felt at Zone Conferences, carrying forth this wonderful work of salvation and exaltation here in the Great Ohio Columbus Mission.  We look forward to being together again these next two weeks for interviews and District Council. 

We decided to share with you the update and progress email we sent to Elder Bennett he requested to share with several members of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles on the excitement we are experiencing here in the mission after the mission tour.  We are so blessed to serve with each of you and are constantly amazed at the light of Christ you possess and powerful ambassadors you each are.  Have a wonderful week and know our prayers and love are always with you!!!

With Love,

President and Sister Horgesheimer

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Elder Bennett, 

We wish to again thank you for the wonderful opportunity the Ohio Columbus Mission experienced during the mission tour last month. We were all blessed by the inspired new format with trainings each morning on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with opportunities to return and report miracles from the previous day companionships experienced. During the week we had every companionship report great success after applying the Christ focused, Mathew 22:35-40, the two great commandment pattern of engaging while speaking with both members and friends of the gospel alike. We were grateful to have received valuable trainings on effective member work, area book mining and applying the powerful steps of the commitment pattern found in Chapter 11 of Preach My Gospel. 

In the previous weeks prior to the mission tour we were seeing new people being taught at roughly 50 or 60 per week. There was a feeling of heaviness and still some feelings of desire to have the opportunity to knock on doors and street contact; the old way of doing missionary work. After the tour witnessing 100’s of miracles and watching and experiencing the dialogue you and Sister Bennett had with Elder and Sister Birch it was almost as if the entire mission grasped and embraced the charge Elder Uchtdorf gave that,  “We must focus on what we can do and can control rather than what we cannot do and cannot control.”

During the week of mission tour alone we experienced an incredible number of members and individuals we were teaching provide us with names of neighbors and friends totaling over 225 people. We also recorded over 100% increases in new people found and taught at least one discussion during the week totaling 121 and totaling over 325 the three weeks since the tour.

As a mission we had several mission wide zoom calls the following weeks and a strong emphasis to keep up the momentum. We are excited to report that over the following two weeks we had over 320 additional names given and over 200 additional new people were taught at least 1-2 principles with a return appointment. Many of these individuals are progressing with over 35 individuals on date for baptism. The fire and momentum is still moving forward and we are grateful for the missionaries keeping the two great commandments as their primary focus in all they do.  

This week, we had the great opportunity to meet live for Zone Conferences. We reemphasized the importance of doing everything focusing on, Loving God and Loving our Neighbors. We discussed and counseled over the incredible messages from General Conference of hope, eternal perspective, steadfastness, preparation and living Christ centered lives as full time ambassadors of our Savior. 

We challenged the mission to continue applying and implementing the mission tour principles and introduced the: Love God and Love Your Neighbor 555 initiative, (see attachment) and expectation which is:

• 5 Member interactions per day
• 5 Friend interactions per day using the 
• 5 Commitment pattern points from Preach My Gospel Chapter 11
• Extend Invitations
• Ask Direct Question
• Promise People Blessings 
• Bear Testimony Frequently and always
• Follow up

We are excited to report that over the past three weeks since the Mission Tour our numbers of finding, teaching lessons and leading people to the waters of baptism are all consistently up from before the mission tour.  

The Kirtland Zone alone reported the following increases since mission tour with their New People being taught: 

• Self Referrals: +77%
• Member Referrals: +53%
• Area Book Mining: +187%
• Other: +75%

We have compiled the following Ohio Columbus Mission Wide numbers/individuals progressing that we have experienced since mission tour:

• How the 324 New People were Found in the past 3 Weeks:
• Area Book Mining: 46%; 149
• Member Referrals: 18%; 58        
• Self Referrals: 28%; 91
• Other: 8%; 26

Hopefully this information is helpful as we move forward this work of salvation and exaltation. We are so very grateful for the continued guidance and support from you.  Let us know your thoughts of how to improve this wonderful work of our Savior Jesus Christ.