Elder Pixton trainer letter

THE CHURCH OF

JESUS CHRIST

OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS




FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE MISSION

8663 Baypine Road, Suite 102

Jacksonville, Florida 32256-7530

February 27, 2024




Elder William Turrell Pixton

7184 Notah Court

Eagle Mountain, UT 84005




Dear Elder Pixton,

I am grateful for your willingness to accept this new and most important assignment to train a new

missionary in the Florida Jacksonville Mission. There is perhaps no more important assignment in our

mission than the training of a new missionary. So, as you approach this new assignment, remember that who

the Lord calls, He qualifies. In other words, so long as you are willing and have a desire to fulfill this

assignment, the Lord will bless you with the ability and capacity to fulfill this assignment, despite any

concerns or apprehensions you may currently have about how well qualified you are to accept this new

assignment.




In working with your new missionary, emphasize the importance of being Christ-centered and Spirit-

directed in all that you do. Encourage your new missionary to seek and find answers in the scriptures




(specifically the Book of Mormon) and in Preach My Gospel. Study those resources daily, both individually

and together, and make them the core of your new missionary training and teaching.

It is vital that you help your new missionary develop a celestial attitude of obedience, and one critical

way to help instill that attitude and habit is by following the daily schedule with precision and accuracy.

Recognize that the daily schedule is given to us as part of a divine pattern, the steady and consistent

implementation of which produces growth, strength, and power.

Part of that daily schedule involves planning your day. It is critical that you help your new

missionary understand and follow the divine pattern set forth in Doctrine and Covenants section 29, verses

31-34, which states in part: “For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and

temporal . . . Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual and not at any time have I

given unto you a law which was temporal.” This additional divine pattern teaches us that Heavenly Father

engages in the creative process by first creating things spiritually (much like an architectural blueprint), and

then secondly by creating the same thing temporally (much like actually constructing the building from the

architectural blueprint).

We follow this divine pattern through our daily and weekly planning. When we plan our day, we

start by creating a blueprint for what the day will look like in our minds (i.e., creating it spiritually), and then




we do the manual labor of actually building and constructing the day in accordance with the blueprint (i.e.,

creating it temporally). So, the daily planning that you engage in is simply following this divine pattern of

creating things first spiritually and then temporally. That pattern is repeated for weekly planning as it is

always important to look ahead and be planning for the future.

A consecrated missionary would thus begin each and every day in prayer offering his or her whole

heart, might, mind and strength to the Lord and asking to be an instrument in His hands that day in finding

people to bless and teach. That missionary then creates the day spiritually (planning the day), and then

implements the plan throughout the day (creating the day temporally), always acting upon spirit-directed

adjustments to that plan throughout the day. At the end of the day, that consecrated missionary then has the

blessing and opportunity to return and report in nightly prayer to the Father on how that spiritually and

temporally created day turned out, seeking further instruction and direction as to how tomorrow can be used

to refine and add upon the things accomplished during the day. This is a divine pattern that you need to

teach your new missionary to follow throughout the time in the mission field, and to continue using after

being released as a missionary.

You are striving throughout your life to become a fully converted disciple of Jesus Christ. Recognize

that the words “disciple” and “discipline” are both derived from the same Latin word, and are thus related in

their meaning and scope. Hence, a disciple of Jesus Christ is someone who has self-discipline and has

gained mastery of the spirit over the flesh. Strive each day to win this battle of the desires of the spirit vs. the

desires of the flesh, and as you do so you and your new missionary companion will find great happiness,

success, and joy in your labors.

Know that the Lord has tremendous confidence in you and trusts you to train, teach and watch over

this new missionary with great love, kindness, patience, and tenderness. And so do I. Work hard and work

smart. As you strive to boldly declare the glorious message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, I know

that He will bless, protect, guide, and watch over you.




Sincerely,




Kenneth P. Elbert, President

Florida Jacksonville Mission

(904) 352-3240

ken.elbert@churchofjesuschrist.org




cc: Parents (email)

Stake President (email)