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Recently the missionaries in our stake set a weekly goal of having 35 lessons with members present. This goal was nearly doubled, and the goal became 70 lessons with members present each week. Our taking the time to work and serve with the missionaries has brought great miracles! Please share these miracles this week with your families and with those you minister to and support so that they can be encouraged in their efforts as well. Thank you for all that you do!

Alta Vista Branch
Some great miracles have been occurring here! Five friends of the church all got baptized on the same day, three of them received the Aaronic Priesthood, and one has been ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood as well. The branch members scheduled a temple trip with these new members to help them serve and worship in the House of the Lord, and then invited the missionaries to join them. This is how we should all be doing it!

One day the missionaries scheduled a time to make calls to the people they were teaching from a member's house, so that they could include the members in that effort. The members agreed, but due to a scheduling mistake, the missionaries showed up two hours earlier than planned. Even though there was some initial confusion, the Lord turned it into an opportunity to share the gospel as two less-active members stopped by for an unplanned visit shortly after, and they were able to be taught a lesson and receive a priesthood blessing!

Some members found a job for a recently reactivated member and his nonmember friend in late February, who had started taking the lessons. They started a ranch job, and soon after, they were asked if they could work late on a Saturday. They said no because they needed to go to a baptismal service. The boss asked, "Who is getting baptized?" and the friend responded, “I am!” After this courageous introduction, the boss asked, “Can we go?” Plans were made; then that Saturday right at 3 PM the nonmember boss and his wife and son showed up for the baptismal service and witnessed the baptismal service for the friend who invited them and four other people. The boss often drinks heavily and is frequently drunk, but he made sure to come to the baptism sober because he recognized the importance of the occasion! The willingness of branch members to help friends of the Church, and the new members’ willingness to be “valiant in the testimony of Jesus” by inviting others and setting an example such as praying over meals is making a great difference in the lives of those who are learning about the Church in our stake!

Three members have recently moved into the Saint Joseph area (which is a part of the branch), several more people have desires to come to church, and the Lord is moving things closer and closer toward establishing a Spanish unit there. Three friends came to church from that area, which was difficult for them, but they were able to come and asked many good questions during Sunday School, and the members rallied around them to lift them up.

Crooked River Ward
The missionaries made a calendar for how they would serve with ward members every day of the month, and the ward has been seeing great miracles from collaborative effort!

The members and missionaries fasted for missionary work in this area, and they have been able to find so many new friends to teach. The Lord often has great blessings and miracles to give us as we act in faith.

The missionaries went with a member to visit a hard-to-contact friend for one last time before moving on, and right as they showed up, he came outside to take care of his dog. They were able to teach him that day, and learned why he hadn't gotten their messages.

The missionaries were out with another member, and the member rolled down the window and initiated a conversation with a man outside. This man's wife had recently passed away, and he was blessed to learn about the plan of salvation. The member’s courage in reaching out to others brought great blessings!

The ward has been welcoming a part-member family that the missionaries are working with, ministering brothers and sisters have been supporting them, and now the missionaries are teaching the daughter who wants to be baptized.

Far West Ward
The ward has been helping a friend come to church who is planning on being baptized, along with children who haven’t yet made those covenants with God.

Far West YSA Ward
The missionaries contacted a new friend on the street and invited him to their game night the next day! He went and was welcomed by the members, who made friends with him. He said he had been wanting to find a young adult ward the week before, and the Lord led them to him. Subsequently, he came to church on multiple occasions including stake conference and Easter Sunday!

Many miracles have come from members sharing testimonies with friends of the Church. Even when members can't make it to lessons, they have written their testimonies for the missionaries to share with the people they meet. Those who read these testimonies have been impressed that so many people hope to testify of Christ at every moment!

Fishing River Ward

More members have been going with the missionaries on their visits, and the ward has seen so many miracles from these visits. One friend of the Church has met three sisters from the ward and made many connections with them. They were able to relate to her in ways that the missionaries could not, and the experiences they shared were perfect to help this friend feel comfortable in learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Another miracle is that another friend of the Church has been thinking about baptism and wants to be baptized! He was invited to church by a member family and welcomed by them, and by watching their example, he gained a strong desire to share the gospel himself and already is planning to serve a mission after his baptism.

The missionaries visited a friend who wasn’t really interested, but they asked the friend for referrals on that street, were directed to one house, and found a lady who was interested. She has been progressing so much as Church members have participated in lessons.

Gallatin Ward

The members have been working on ministering to all the people in their area. One family has been doing especially well with this effort and shared the names of both members and nonmembers for the missionaries to visit.

Grand River Valley Ward

The missionaries have a new friend who is coming to church every week and has scheduled a date for baptism. The ward members have worked to help him feel so welcome. They have made a focus of sharing family history work with him, and a ward member helped him set up his family tree. He has loved learning about his family with the help of the ward!

Grindstone Creek Ward
A sister in the Grindstone Creek Ward shared 14 copies of the Book of Mormon as she participated in a YouTube channel challenge where subscribers were invited to share at least 10 copies of the Book of Mormon. Through this challenge, members who participated helped 40 friends join the Church, with several more meeting with missionaries! She shared the excitement and joy that came from working with others to accomplish something great and from seeing the fruits and eternal blessings that came from doing so. We can receive this same joy as we work together in our stake.

After someone referred himself to the missionaries online, the missionaries set up a lesson and discovered that the man was a member of the Church! He had stopped coming for a few years, but he now wants to return to the Church, and he has a desire to help his nonmember fiancé also to learn about the Church!

Spring Hill Ward

The missionaries have been teaching the missionary lessons to active members and inviting the members to teach them in return to give the members practice in sharing doctrine and supporting others! They have also been blessed to find many less-active members.

Three Forks Ward

The missionaries and members have seen blessings from being at the right place at the right time to help others and from working together!

Trenton Branch (Tongan)

The ward has been fellowshipping all the new members and have opened their arms to them by making friends with them and giving them callings. This outreach is enabling the new members to greatly grow in the gospel!

Whitmer Ward

The members have been going out with the missionaries and have seem miracles as they have found new friends to teach and have contacted many people who needed to be visited!

Yellow Creek Ward

A family has worked to help a new member of the Church to make it to church consistently, which has made a huge difference.

The missionaries have been using every method they can think of to find new people and have seen great miracles, including finding nearly 10 new people interested in taking the lessons each week and having nearly 20 lessons with members present every week! This collaborative effort has helped the missionaries, the members, and the people being taught.

The Stake Presidency
President Mayne teaches for a living, and as he was talking about prayer as it relates to school and court cases, he was twice asked if he were a Mormon. Following our prophet’s counsel, he clarified that he is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was able to share a bit about his Church membership, and then because of his example, in another class when someone asked him the same question, a less-active girl in the class gained the courage to defend and explain the Church’s true name as well!

Your diligently service in the Lord’s kingdom blesses many around you and helps others have the courage to serve and defend Him as well. Please share your consecrated efforts and the miracles that you see! The Lord lives, and this is His Church!