Elder Zachary Andrews: P.S.

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, February 4, 2014

P.S.

My comp and I are getting along really well. He is cool. We have met our one investigator. We call him everyday and go over there a lot. Our apt. is so nice. It is so big!! I mean I have spent every spare moment fixing crap that is broken but it is getting there. I am down the street from my old area. I used to bike past my apartment twice a week to get to church.

The erosion of families is so hard. I don't know what to think. All I know is that when I sit in sacrament meeting I hardly look at the speaker. I look at the families. I look at the Falcons poking and messing with each other. I see the Gough kids messing around until their dad gives them a glare from the stand so they try to contain themselves, but to no avail. I look at the English branch that has kids constantly escaping the pews to run up on the stand and sit by the branch president. All I can think about is how people want to break away from how society "traditionally" views family life should be and I think, Why? Have you ever met someone on drugs who is happy? Have you ever met someone cheating on their wife who is happy? People think they are going to be the exception to the rule. THEY ARE NOT. And with people who choose not to have kids. I think kids are the best part about being married. Sure they are a drain and some days I am sure you want to kill them but it is like everything in the Gospel and everything that is Good. It is all Delayed Glorification. You get your reward after the trial of your faith. No one wants that; everyone wants it now. I have been going crazy just trying to show people that there is a simple formula almost everyone already knows to be happy. It is one word: FAMILIES.

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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.