My impression is that the Church is focusing its more traditional missionary efforts (deployment of missionaries in flesh and bones) in area of the world where people are more open and interested in the message of salvation.

Places like Europe or North America seem to be losing missions through combining of them, as it is happening in Italy, where the Italy Catania Mission will be absorbed by the Italy Rome Mission.

However, this does not mean necessarily a reduction in missionary work in Europe or North America, since those are also countries where the Internet is used by most people, and where the message of the restoration can move forward through electronic means, such as the Internet, saving the missionaries some of the effort of finding people interested in their message.

Since the number of Mormon missionaries is naturally declining, more and more people in the world will have to learn about the message of the restoration through their friends, in person or by electronic means, or they will hear from church members who they do not know.

This may seem like a problem, but ultimately, nobody in his sane mind and who understand the mandate to the Church of preaching the Gospel to each creature before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ – and who believe that the Second Coming is not 300 hundred years away, could honestly believe that we will ever have enough missionaries in flesh and bones to knock on the doors of 6 billions people.

Therefore this is one more confirmation (if we ever needed one at this point), that modern technology, including the Internet, and perhaps future inventions we still do not know about, are key to the progress of this work and to the fulfillment of the mandate of the Lord to his apostle to go and preach the gospel to all creatures.

For the full article about where the new missions will be located go to ldschurchnews.com

Some years ago, President Gordon B. Hinckley told “something of a parable” about “a one room school house in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough no teacher had been able to handle them.

“Then one day an inexperienced young teacher applied. He was told that every teacher had received an awful beating, but the teacher accepted the risk. The first day of school the teacher asked the boys to establish their own rules and the penalty for breaking the rules. The class came up with 10 rules, which were written on the blackboard. Then the teacher asked, ‘What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’

“‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response.

“A day or so later, . . . the lunch of a big student, named Tom, was stolen. ‘The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old.’

“As Little Jim came up to take his licking, he pleaded to keep his coat on. ‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’

“The boy took off the coat. He had no shirt and revealed a bony little crippled body. As the teacher hesitated with the rod, Big Tom jumped to his feet and volunteered to take the boy’s licking.

“‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’ the teacher asked.

“After five strokes across Tom’s back, the rod broke. The class was sobbing. ‘Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. “Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”

President Hinckley then quoted Isaiah:

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. . . .

“. . . He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

No man knows the full weight of what our Savior bore, but by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know something of the supernal gift He gave us

I then remembered the feeling I had the first time I was in an apartment of the Mormon missionaries. That day (sometimes in December of 1984) I had accepted their challenge to be baptized in the Mormon church, and my mom was absolutely contrary to that.

In fact, she had challenged me to leave her home or give up the idea of becoming a member of the Mormon church. I had then decided to leave my home but without really knowing where to go. Having in my hands a pamphlet with the address of the missionaries, I had decided to go talk with them. I arrived there around 10 pm and they offered me to stay with them for the night. The first thing I noticed in their apartment was that on the top of their bed there wasn’t a crucifix, but a picture of Jesus resurrected.

That had a profound impact on me. What a different feeling brings to you to see a picture of Jesus resurrected – in this case a representation of his Second Coming, than a crucifix. Not that in the Church we do not believe or we do not give importance to the fact that Jesus suffered for us, on the contrary, but it is important to realize that is His victory over death and sin that should be the symbol of our religion, and not his death and suffering.

I understand that many can have different taking on this matter, but for me that was another step toward understanding and accepting the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. In harmony with this experience I like the focus given in the church about not only working for our happiness in the future life, but about how keeping the commandments in this life will allow us to experience true happiness right now, and not only in the future worlds. Suffering is a “necessary evil” not the purpose of our lives here on earth.

This quote from Joseph Smith well explain this doctrine:

Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God.

This is the position of the Mormon Church on the issue. The focus is not attacking the gays but protecting marriage. Many gay activists try to distort this simple concept by saying that Mormons hate gays or by making other similar accusation, but

“Allegations of bigotry or persecution made against the Church were and are simply wrong. The Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians. Even more, the Church does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches. (KSL.com)

When they showed the beginning of the Berlin Wall’s fall I was amazed and thrilled. For those of use who lived in Europe, the Cold War had a strong influence in our lives, even if just as a background feeling of uncertainty. The USSR and the other nations of the Eastern block were just so close to our home that there was always a feeling of concern about what could happen.

At that time I was also a recent convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), and it is part of our doctrine to believe that before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Gospel need to be preached to all nations. The Iron Curtain seemed to be a major block to the spreading of the gospel in those countries, and many were thinking that it would take many more years to see a change in that area of the world.

But suddenly, the Berlin Wall’s went down and we experienced first hand how the Lord can open doors when He wants, and it was a sign that He will still open many doors and the Gospel will actually be preached to all nations.

At that time I was also extremely impressed by with Mikhail Gorbachev. I always thought that he was one of the main instruments used by the Lord to make that miracle happen. I am sure that he did not know exactly were his actions will lead, and I think he did not envision the complete change that would happen to his country in a few years, but I believe he was an honest man who did what he felt was right, and the rest… became history.

Thinking of the situation created by this debate about same-sex marriage and the non democratic actions of many, I could not avoid thinking about a few comment made by Elder Bruce McConkie:

Persecution is an essential part of the creeds of all false religions. There is an eternal law…. that truth will prevail. Left to itself true religion – though it may be delayed or hindered in its progress – must and will prevail. The only effective weapon of false religions – and it yields only momentary success – is to persecute true believers (The Mortal Messiah, 2:317).

Now, a religion does not necessarily needs to include the worship of a God. Many dictatorial political systems are very similar to false religions. But not only that, any group of beliefs organized can become a religion, even atheism is a religion, since it implies a strong belief that there is no God.

Therefore, it is unfortunate, but I am not surprised that some (or many people) are attacking the Mormons and other good people because they try to stand for what is right. Over time, if those who attack what is right and sacred prevail, we will probably see the calamities predicted by the scriptures to come on this country and many others.

The talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks about religious freedom and its challenges in the US (and in the entire world) is a masterpiece and needs to be read in its entirety, but I want to stress a few points here.

First, the story of  the 42-year-old married woman, Oyun Altangerel, who fought for religious freedom in Mongolia and then became one of the first members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints in his country is an example for all of us that we should be anxiously engaged in making this world a better place for everybody, and that we need to be brave and defend what is right.

Second, I particularly like and agree when Elder Oaks explains the deceit that is pervasive among many who would like to silence those who oppose same-sex marriage. Elder Oaks says,

Along with many others, we were disappointed with what we experienced in the aftermath of California’s adoption of Proposition 8, including vandalism of church facilities and harassment of church members by firings and boycotts of member businesses and by retaliation against donors. Mormons were the targets of most of this, but it also hit other churches in the pro-8 coalition and other persons who could be identified as supporters.

He continues

As such, these incidents of “violence and intimidation” are not so much anti-religious as anti-democratic. In their effect they are like the well-known and widely condemned voter-intimidation of blacks in the South that produced corrective federal civil-rights legislation.

Contrary to what many proponents of same-sex marriage suggested, are not the Mormons, and others who defended Prop 8, who are trying to deny the importance of civil rights: they are only trying to speak up for what they believe to be right. The real problem are the intimidations and violences of many of those who were against Prop 8. Their course of action is the real threat to the civil rights.

Finally, it is important to remember the history of the United States of America, that were founded by people who were anxious to defend religious freedom

Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms. I maintain that this is a political fact, well qualified for argument in the public square by religious people whose freedom to believe and act must always be protected by what is properly called our “First Freedom,” the free exercise of religion.

Some people attack our church. Some professionals religionists make a living at it. This can cause confusion for people who are looking for information and most people really do not know what Mormons really believe and listen to fables and myths about them.

A person who wants clear water should go to the spring. A person who wants fruit should go to the tree. Those who want to know what Mormons actually believe can visit the lds.org web site, or mormon.org (official websites of the Mormon Church), or other good websites such as MormonWiki, Mormonbeliefs.org, Christ.org).

If you have Facebook, you can join this Facebook site and enter the discussion. They want your feedback.

The Church also created a web site where they link to some things they are thinking about. It’s called Labs. You can check out some prototypes on Labs.  Use the ID “youthtester” and the password “helaman2000.”

They are accepting a limited number of people to have a more personalized experience on Labs. To apply, sign up for an LDS Account. You’ll need your member number, which you can get from the ward clerk, and your birth date. Then send your LDS Account name to dehlinjp@ldschurch.org. They are accepting as many as they can until the servers get overloaded.

Once you send the email and they get back to you, you’ll be able to log into Labs with your own LDS Account and you’ll be able to view your own ward directory online and record your thoughts and feelings about General Conference and recall them later.

In addition, you’ll be able to use your LDS Acccount for other web sites the Church is currently working on that will come out this year.

It looks like a great initiative from the Church trying to use the Internet for good. Share it with others.

Because you are a Mormon, people who visit the site will automatically learn more about who we are as a people, our diversity, and our varied interests. This can often lead to further interest in our faith and serves in a significant, yet simple way to dispel misperceptions that are otherwise prevalent on the Internet and in the media about Mormonism and Mormons.

If you decide to adopt a site, the foundation will design and host the site and then train you how to upload content, photos, videos, and posts. It can be an individual or group project. All you need to know is how to type and have an interest in a particular topic that you would like to share online as a Mormon in a positive way.

For more information contact Karen at the More Good Foundation at adopt@moregoodfoundation.org.