Doctrine of the plan of happiness: In order to qualify for eternal life, we must "repent, all ye ends of the earth and come unto me and be baptized in my name that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day." (3 Nephi 27:20) This is the doctrinal foundation of missionary work. Repent means change. Being sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost means being purified and standing spotless before God in the last day is the challenge. We must listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and do what He says.
Principle of Prayer and Fasting: To receive promptings of the Holy Ghost we must ask with real intent. (Moroni 10:3-5). Alma gives us a wonderful example of this in Chapter 5:46 - "I say unto you that they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God., Behold I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirt; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me." We can and should be specific in our prayers. In Alma 34: 19-27, Alma's missionary companion Almulek counsels us about praying for our fields, our flocks, our houses, our enemies, our crops, our welfare and for the welfare of those around us.
Application - The Story of the Missing Martinique Elders: On Monday December 3, 2007, Grandpa Robison received a phone call from Elder Beck, a zone leader serving in Martinique. Elder Beck reported that two missionaries, Elder Tyson Gray and Elder Thomas Swain had not returned home that evening. This is the first time Grandpa and Grandma Robison had received this type of message in the 18 months that they have been serving. The next morning Grandpa and Grandma boarded a plane and flew from Trinidad to Martinique to direct the search for the missing elders.
The week prior to the disappearance of the elders, Martinique had been hit by a serious earthquake and on August 16th of this year, the island had been plastered by Hurricane Dean. (See Section 43:25 of the Doctrine and Covenants.) The Lord is speaking to the people of Martinique, which has the lowest rate of baptisms in the mission.
Grandpa did not know for sure where the elders were lost. They had been very vague in their report to their zone leader the night before preparation day. The two elders had also been warned about how difficult a hike up Mount Pelee would be because of the difficulty in getting transportation back to their proselyting area by 6 p.m.
Grandpa organized the members and missionaries in their search efforts. He flew in the two elders who had trained the two missing elders from French Guiana. He flew in 4 members from Guadeloupe to search and put 4 missionaries from Guadeloupe on a ferry with their van to assist in Martinique on the search. Members distributed flyers all over the island at every hospital, taxi station, city hall and market place in every village in Martinque. Everything that was possible to do to find the elders was done. Search parties were organized on Mont Pelee and the police had dozens and dozens of men hiking through the woods in search of the two elders. The elders and members were counseled to pray specifically for inspiration as to exactly where to find the elders.
The newspaper put a picture of the elders on the front page. Everyone Martinique was talking about the missing elders. It was at that point on Thursday morning, that the words of this scripture came to mind: "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie within our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." (D&C 123:17)
After it it was all said and done....we had done everything within our power...the missionaries and members had held a mission-wide fast...members and leaders throughout the world had fasted and prayed for the missing elders as did their families and the wards of their families...it was a Hindu man who had a vision Wednesday night that he would find the elders on his property in the dense vegetation....and Thursday morning he found them.
The missing elders told us that they had started off the volcano in search of a little village they saw in the distance so they would be home in time to proselyte. They quickly found that there were unseen dangers (crevices, cliffs, etc) for having strayed from the path. They were protected from wild animals such as snakes. They were not exposed to severe weather conditions such as the rain that fell before they left and after they were found. They found an irrigation pipe that gave them clean water. They found an abandoned refrigerator that held some flat coke and a bottle of rum with soaked apricots. By not touching the rum, the media learned about the word of wisdom. Who else would the Lord provide an old refrigerator other than two lost missionaries....is this all a coincidence? Do you see the hand of the Lord every step of the way?
Prayers had been answered....we had done everything in our power to find the elders and the the salvation of God was made manifest.
Family Home Evening Discussion Questions:
1) What is the importance of the Holy Ghost in our lives?
2) What are the things that we should pray for?
3) Why is fasting important and what is its purpose?
4) What is Heavenly Father telling the people in Martinique?
5) What must we do in order for Heavenly Father to show us His miracles?
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