President's letter March 2011

Dear Elders and Sisters:

The Virginia, Richmond mission has awakened from its slumber of status quo. We have baptized 41 more people in the first two months of this year than for the same period last year. We are awakening to increased faith individually and in our districts and zones. We are weaving unity into the fabric of the mission. This is evidenced by a remarkable statistic; 80% of our companionships have baptized over the past 13 weeks. We are claiming the promised blessings of power and validity, in our unity (D&C 107:27).

We have been blessed with too many miracles to count but I believe it is because we followed the council of Helaman and yielded our hearts unto God (HEL 3:35) through fasting and prayer. We prayed for 3 things during our mission fast, 1. Greater unity in our companionships and in the mission 2. Greater personal conversion and 3, an increase in convert baptisms. We are now enjoying the fruit of that fast.

I’m thrilled to see the great diversity among our newest members. They come from all walks of life and from many different countries. I have met many of them and they express gratitude for you and your willingness to come here and share with them, the ultimate message of hope (Moroni 7:41).

Meeting these wonderful converts reminds me of a quote from President Benson found in “Preach My Gospel”, he states, “We are commanded by God to take this gospel to all the world. That is the cause that must unite us today. Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self-destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family” (PMG page 1).

The baton of preaching the gospel has been passed to us and we are moving the work forward. It is our time and our responsibility to build a legacy of the gathering of Israel within our mission boundaries. We have an individual and collective purpose to bring souls to Christ.

President Benson’s statement should be our vision. I pray we will continue to be steadfast and immovable in this work and that through our unified efforts, the world around us may know that the Father has sent his Son (John 17).

I testify that the work in which we are engaged is divine. Sister Perry and I are thrilled to be shoulder to shoulder with you in this sacred endeavor.

Thank you for all you do. Let us set a new standard for excellence in the Virginia, Richmond mission!

Kind regards,

President Perry