October 18, 2010 - President Bishop's Letter

Dear Elders and Sisters,


I have not written for 2 weeks. I will not have a letter every week, but from time to time I will continue to send a general email to all missionaries. During the past 2 weeks, I have spent time with the Stake Presidents, new missionaries, departing missionaries, zone leaders, and regular companionships. Again I am impressed with how hard you work and how good you are.

I have a couple of requests for you as well as some clarifications:

At my request, Elder Porter made a visit to all missionary apartments. In general the apartments were in good condition. While most were clean, some apartments did have clutter and left over stuff from missionaries who had long since been transferred. There were some leaky plumbing fixtures, lights that needed replacement etc. Please follow up on any assignments that were made by Elder Porter.

The stake presidents have requested that we keep missionary stuff in the closet designated for missionaries. If the chapel does not have such a closet, you might check with the bishop or branch president to see if you can get storage designated for missionaries. In any case, please do not leave your things strewn around the church.

We still have some questions about confirmations. Both Preach My Gospel and the General Handbook of Instructions state that confirmations should be done at Sacrament meeting. When there is a Stake or General Conference this may delay the confirmation. If the Bishop wishes to do it at another time, such as at the baptismal service, it is his prerogative to do so. We should not encourage the confirmation to be done other than in sacrament meeting. Also, a member of the bishopric participates in the confirmation(stands in the circle), and may, but does not need to, perform the actual ordinance. All confirmations are under the direction of the Bishop. I have neither the right, the inclination, nor the authority to interfere with how the Bishop wishes to conduct confirmations.

There have been questions and some discussions about investigators partaking of the sacrament. General Handbook of Instructions says the following:

“Although the sacrament is for Church members, the bishopric should not announce that it will be passed to members only, and nothing should be done to prevent nonmembers from partaking of it.”

Because of this clear statement in the Handbook, I need to retract what I said a few weeks ago in Gaoxiong. We should teach the significance of the sacrament and why partaking of the sacrament is special to us as members. We should not in any way discourage investigators from partaking of it.

Thank you for your hard work. Elders, thank you or polishing your shoes. Everywhere I go I see shined shoes and smiling faces. You look as good as the message you bring. I look forward to seeing all of you and having interviews with each of you in the coming weeks. I remind you that we are now setting goals and making plans on a month to month basis rather than a 6 week transfer cycle.

Faithfully, your brother,

President Clark Bishop