Elder Zachary Andrews: Dear President Wall, Lamar and Lemuel

THE VISION OF THE SOUTH

"Make no small plans: This is the vision I have for the South. I believe that one day the South will baptize more people into the church than all other English speaking missions in the world together....We will see the time when we will baptize hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands...In your day you will see a million members of the church in the South. There will be temples plural in the Southern States. What a great call you have to serve with these marvelous people." President Spencer W. Kimball

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Dear President Wall, Lamar and Lemuel

Sent Date: Monday, October 7, 2013

Author: Andrews, Zachary Jacob

President,

I don't really have a lot to say. This week was interesting with the evacuation and all. But there is one thing that I want to share with you. It is something that I learn in my study of the Book of Mormon. For some time now I have been thinking about Laman and Lemuel. I have been thinking about why they did not change? Why did they not truly repent and follow the Lord, and one of the reasons that I had impressed upon me during ZTM, was that they were too busy looking behind them. They were too busy looking in the past, at the life they had, at the life they could be having. I am sure they talked about "home" all the time. I probably have a lesson to learn from that, even though I did not know it was a problem. I need to not look back because even though I can like Laban and Lemuel do all the things that Nephi did, well go through the motions. They did not let the experience change them. They did not let God mold them as Nephi did. I will do better.

Elder Andrews

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Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission

The first branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in New Orleans with 334 members in 1841. The prophet Joseph Smith sent the first missionary to New Orleans in March of that year. After reaching 169 members in 1849, the New Orleans branch disbanded because of the threat of serious disease in the area. The Southern States Mission, which included Louisiana opened in 1878, but the first missionaries were not sent to the state until nearly 20 years later. Missionary work spread throughout the state during the early twentieth century and by 1930, there were 1500 members. The first ward was established in Shreveport in 1953 and the first stake in New Orleans in 1955.In 1975, the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission was created and by 1980, there were over 12,500 members in the state of Louisiana. By 1989, Louisiana had 22,000 members in seven stakes. In 1998, the First Presidency announced the building of a temple in Baton Rouge. That temple was dedicated on 16 July, 2000.The Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission extends from Natchitoches South to the East and West borders through the state including the Gulf of New Orleans. The mission also includes the South West corner of Mississippi including Natchez, Liberty, and Macomb.