The Parable of the Pen

There is nothing quite like a good pen.

Hello sweet mother of mine! President is always telling us that as assistants when we do divisions with other zone leaders, we have to show them that reaching our very highly put goals is not only possible, but they can be overachieved, so every-time we finish divisions president always asks us what we did. I always do my best to kill that days goals and so far, always have. The other day, when we were preparing for the next conference we are going to give, president asked me, "What makes you so different?" At first I was like uh oh, what did I do, but then he followed with "Why is it that you can complete the goals every single day?"

Honestly I had to think about that for a minute. I wasn't sure. To be completely honest I was asking myself that question. Why have I been so blessed in my mission with so much success? I don't think I am the best missionary in the world. I have done divisions with people, that in my opinion, are excellent teachers of the gospel! So what is the difference? Well after thinking about if for a while, reflecting on all the different teaching styles of everybody, I finally noticed a key difference. The difference for me was Radioshack, and Bed Bath and Beyond. You might think I am crazy, but I honestly think that is what has made the difference for me. Many people are AMAZING at teaching the gospel, but what I have realized is that you can't just teach the gospel for understanding. That isn't enough. You have to teach it in a way that makes them WANT to live it. That is where my salesman side kicks in:) Let me give you a simple example. I will call it the parable of the pen. Most people trying to sell this pen would say something like, "hey I have a cool pen for $30 bucks. You wanna buy it?? Well everybody in their right minds are probably going to say, no. What is so great about that pen? Why would I spend $30 for it when I could probably find it cheaper somewhere else? But when I sell it, I would tell them WHY they need THIS pen. I would say that this pen has a golden tip and that it writes in the most beautiful way you have ever seen with a special ink cartridge that never runs out and a grip that never scratches or breaks. That is why it is worth the $30 bucks. Of course this is a parable. The pen doesn't really have all those features, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ does. When a person really recognized the "LIVING WATER", they do you want to buy it? I personally use a pen as an example because know how I like a good pen;) Do you see what I am trying to say though? If people don't understand WHY the gospel is so amazing and WHY it is worth the effort, almost everybody will just say no! That is the easy way out! I feel like that is where I have learned the difference in teaching. Anybody can say, hey if you pay your tithing God will bless you. Well yeah that is true, but how?

What I am trying to say, is I feel like my whole retail life has been preparing me to sell the most important product on the face of the earth, "The Gospel of Jesus Chrsit," and for that reason I am so thankful that you guys have always pushed me to work and learn since I was a young lad! I wanted to say thanks! and I love you!

Elder Hacklema