Overview
Welcome to Helaman Sons Letters - 4 Steps to LDS Mission Prep!
For those who have recently discovered Covenant Pathfinders, I am busy updating information here.
In the meantime, while you are waiting for your local wards or stake to begin a Covenant Pathfinders, please share with other Mothers and ask them to check out the simple steps to use right now.
They can be modified for a family, a group of your sons' or daughters' friends, your ward, or your stake. Some Mother you know, a sister or a friend, really needs this information.
Questions? Click on the "Questions" button above and I'll respond as quickly as I can.
Thank you!
You have found the best mission prep system for youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We can say that confidently because we have the testimonies of hundreds of former Youth Guides, trained for their missions in the Gardens of the Mesa Arizona Temple. We have revised that system to work for you today. They hit the MTC running and were way ahead of their peers. Serving valiantly as leaders in 30% of the missions of the Church, they baptized thousands!
They were able to do that because they followed our Youth Guide system of developing faith in themselves and in the Lord. We are here to show you how to obtain the FAITH you will need to set HEROIC GOALS and accomplish them on your mission. No matter where you are in the world, you can use it alone, or gather with your friends and together set goals and use our methods to even baptize before your mission! (We are not here to teach you doctrine or the basics of missionary work. Your local priesthood leaders are responsible for that in your ward or stake Mission Prep Class and at the MTC.)
This is all about YOU, and what you can do individually to prepare for your mission. It is about who you are and how you can become the missionary you want to be. We have made it simple, but it is not easy. However, we will be here all the way with you. On this site you will have access to and if you want you can read up to 600 letters from former Youth Guide missionaries, where they discuss every facet of missionary work, as they served is 21 countries and in at least 28 of the United States.
The information here and in our book (4 Steps to LDS Mission Prep: Spiritual Self-Reliance for Mormon Youth) is about preparing you spiritually and was developed over 20 years in the Youth Guide Program at the Mesa, Arizona Temple Visitors' Center.
There is a huge amount of information here for free, but if you want the basics for easy reading on Kindle or in paperback form, purchase our book on Amazon.com.
There was only ONE Youth Guide Program. Nowhere else in the Church did the youth have what we had here in Arizona. It helped prepare them for their missions for 20 years but was disbanded over 24 years ago when all Youth Missions of the Church were discontinued. That was a sad day for all of us. However, since I had been the Director of the Program for a time and saved massive amounts of information, we now have the opportunity to share it all with you!
Everything at Helaman Sons Letters is all about YOU! Here you can increase your personal spiritual self-reliance and learn essential principles of faith, hope, and charity that will help you be more successful in the mission field.
My Youth Guide nickname is Bro. P. (short for Brother Parker) and I am the owner of this site. We want to assist you in anyway we can as you get ready for your mission. We can't do it for you, but we can provide the path and encourage you.
How 4 Steps Will Help You
Following the 4 Steps will enrich your preparation in these ways:
Step 1: Studying and living the gospel (Standard of Performance),
Step 2: Learning how faith operates in setting goals (Set-A-Date*),
Step 3: Building confidence in yourself by recording your growth (Missionary Study Journal),
Step 4: Entering the mission field with real missionary experiences, having actually designed and created a way of finding and teaching that you can use anywhere in the world. (Missionary Evening of Sharing).
Faithfully using the 4 Steps will help you be ready and able to serve a successful full time mission.
*Set-A-Date is amazing and also includes an easy method for talking to those you meet and how to invite them to church functions. It is called F.O.R.M.
So, since there was nothing else like it in the Church, it takes some explanation to help you understand how important it was and how fortunate you are to be here learning about it today!
Imagine how big it was. Youth from more than 20 high schools in the Greater Phoenix, Arizona area were introduced to the program in our Sunday Night Training Meetings, and hundreds of young men and women decided to join us and then used this program in the 1990's to get ready for their missions. At one time they were serving in up to 1/3 of the missions of the Church worldwide and had a huge impact on missionary work because of their advanced training prior to their missions.
4 Steps will complement Preach My Gospel and help you be even better prepared. It is important to develop confidence in yourself and gain a strong testimony of the power of faith in your life. Full time missionaries need a solid foundation of discipline and faith to succeed. Following the guidelines in this book will help you in both of these essential areas.
As a bonus, using the concepts 4 Steps teaches, when combined with Preach My Gospel, can also be used effectively by the youth in local units to increase success in member missionary work. It is especially adaptable to the new emphasis on ministering, by having the youth teach the members to use F.O.R.M., along with Set-A-Date to introduce someone to the gospel. When used with Preach My Gospel you will have the best of what the Youth Guides learned along with current instruction and training provided in Stake Mission Prep classes.
This training is for both youth AND senior adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Share this information with grandparents and older adults who might be getting ready for missions so they can benefit, too.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, programs for youth like The Arizona Temple Visitors' Center Youth Guide program are carefully evaluated by leadership to make sure they follow church doctrine and the teachings of the General Authorities. The Youth Guide program was approved by members of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Area Presidency, Mission President, Stake Presidents, and the Director of the Arizona Visitors' Center. 4 Steps is solely for your personal development. It is not a substitute for the doctrine and instruction of your Mission Preparation class as outlined by your Area Presidency or local priesthood authorities or for what you will learn in Preach My Gospel.
Youth are beginning to prepare for their missions in earnest by the time they are seniors in high school. Many are leaving soon after graduation. This is an amazingly busy time of life for them. They need an easy to follow system that takes into account their busy schedules but still gives them what they need to be prepared personally for their missions. The Youth Guides were busy, but together they worked to get ready for their missions by using a system designed especially for them, and it can work for you too.
What Parents and Leaders Need To Know
The Youth Guides operated under the direction of the Arizona Tempe Mission President, and was authorized by The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the Southwest Area Presidency. They gave many tours to the Apostles, General Authorities, and LDS Church Officials as they came by assignment to our area. As the Director of the Youth Guides, I was called by the Arizona Tempe Mission President, set apart by my Stake President, and reported to and was supervised by the Visitors’ Center Director. We were not provided with an official church manual for the organization or operation of the program. We were allowed to seek inspiration and guidance from the Spirit, and using the wisdom and knowledge of our extensive leadership experiences in the church, along with what was then being taught in the Missionary Guide, designed a program that worked.
Discontinued After 20 Years…
Although it was not at all like any other program in the Church, when youth ‘mission-like’ programs were discontinued church-wide in 1998, so was the Youth Guide program.
Who Were the Youth Guides?
The Youth Guides were young men and young women, 16-19 years of age, who worked in a program at the Arizona Temple Visitors’ Center that spanned 20 years. They gave tours in the Gardens to members and non-members alike, and received thousands of referrals for the full time missionaries working in the Arizona Tempe Mission, and throughout the world.
How Are You Like the Youth Guides?
The young men and women who served as Youth Guides were just like you. They loved the Lord and wanted desperately to serve him in any way they could. They were going to school, playing sports, acting in plays, dating, working, helping their families, serving in ward callings, and like most LDS youth, were very busy in all kinds of extracurricular activities. However, they had a vehicle to use to maximize their faith and build on it and help it to grow into something so marvelous they were amazed at what they could eventually accomplish. That vehicle was the Youth Guide Program. They came to the program wanting to go on missions so they could serve the Lord with all of their heart, might, mind and strength, just like you! You do not need to be a Youth Guide to benefit from what they learned in the Gardens, because the 4 Steps has the essentials you can use right now as you prepare for your mission.
You CAN Do It
The 4 Steps is not written for the “cream of the crop” of LDS youth. It is written simply for youth with a willing heart. You will be regarded just like the young men and women of our area in the past. We didn’t have to know anything about them when they came to apply as a Youth Guide. It didn’t make any difference if they were good in school, or not, or where they were in developing their testimony. It could be strong or weak. If they promised to begin, right then, faithfully following the 4 Steps, then that was all that was required. If you make that same promise, it will change your life.
To the Young Women of the Church
More than half of the Youth Guides were young women, who stayed in the program much longer than the young men because, at that time, the age when sisters could leave on their missions was 21. That meant they generally served longer as Youth Guides, often in leadership assignments specifically tailored to sisters, and were some of the best trainers we had. They sent many young men on their missions better prepared than they would have been without the wisdom and experience of these faithful sisters.
Many of these sisters did serve missions, but those who didn’t were able to use the personal development skills they learned in the gardens for their later roles in life as independent, strong women, and as wives, mothers, and now grandmothers, as well as in their chosen professional and voluntary careers. In addition to being a great resource for the young men of the Church, I encourage you sisters to use these 4 Steps for the valuable skills and principles you will learn and practice throughout your life.
Not Going on a Mission?
Whether you are a young woman or young man, who is either unable to or is not currently planning on serving a full time mission, for any reason, you will not be judged within these pages. You are still encouraged to use the 4 Steps to help you develop an abiding faith in the Savior, and to enhance your member missionary efforts throughout your life.
For those who have recently discovered Covenant Pathfinders, I am busy updating information here.
In the meantime, while you are waiting for your local wards or stake to begin a Covenant Pathfinders, please share with other Mothers and ask them to check out the simple steps to use right now.
They can be modified for a family, a group of your sons' or daughters' friends, your ward, or your stake. Some Mother you know, a sister or a friend, really needs this information.
Questions? Click on the "Questions" button above and I'll respond as quickly as I can.
Thank you!
You have found the best mission prep system for youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We can say that confidently because we have the testimonies of hundreds of former Youth Guides, trained for their missions in the Gardens of the Mesa Arizona Temple. We have revised that system to work for you today. They hit the MTC running and were way ahead of their peers. Serving valiantly as leaders in 30% of the missions of the Church, they baptized thousands!
They were able to do that because they followed our Youth Guide system of developing faith in themselves and in the Lord. We are here to show you how to obtain the FAITH you will need to set HEROIC GOALS and accomplish them on your mission. No matter where you are in the world, you can use it alone, or gather with your friends and together set goals and use our methods to even baptize before your mission! (We are not here to teach you doctrine or the basics of missionary work. Your local priesthood leaders are responsible for that in your ward or stake Mission Prep Class and at the MTC.)
This is all about YOU, and what you can do individually to prepare for your mission. It is about who you are and how you can become the missionary you want to be. We have made it simple, but it is not easy. However, we will be here all the way with you. On this site you will have access to and if you want you can read up to 600 letters from former Youth Guide missionaries, where they discuss every facet of missionary work, as they served is 21 countries and in at least 28 of the United States.
The information here and in our book (4 Steps to LDS Mission Prep: Spiritual Self-Reliance for Mormon Youth) is about preparing you spiritually and was developed over 20 years in the Youth Guide Program at the Mesa, Arizona Temple Visitors' Center.
There is a huge amount of information here for free, but if you want the basics for easy reading on Kindle or in paperback form, purchase our book on Amazon.com.
There was only ONE Youth Guide Program. Nowhere else in the Church did the youth have what we had here in Arizona. It helped prepare them for their missions for 20 years but was disbanded over 24 years ago when all Youth Missions of the Church were discontinued. That was a sad day for all of us. However, since I had been the Director of the Program for a time and saved massive amounts of information, we now have the opportunity to share it all with you!
Everything at Helaman Sons Letters is all about YOU! Here you can increase your personal spiritual self-reliance and learn essential principles of faith, hope, and charity that will help you be more successful in the mission field.
My Youth Guide nickname is Bro. P. (short for Brother Parker) and I am the owner of this site. We want to assist you in anyway we can as you get ready for your mission. We can't do it for you, but we can provide the path and encourage you.
How 4 Steps Will Help You
Following the 4 Steps will enrich your preparation in these ways:
Step 1: Studying and living the gospel (Standard of Performance),
Step 2: Learning how faith operates in setting goals (Set-A-Date*),
Step 3: Building confidence in yourself by recording your growth (Missionary Study Journal),
Step 4: Entering the mission field with real missionary experiences, having actually designed and created a way of finding and teaching that you can use anywhere in the world. (Missionary Evening of Sharing).
Faithfully using the 4 Steps will help you be ready and able to serve a successful full time mission.
*Set-A-Date is amazing and also includes an easy method for talking to those you meet and how to invite them to church functions. It is called F.O.R.M.
So, since there was nothing else like it in the Church, it takes some explanation to help you understand how important it was and how fortunate you are to be here learning about it today!
Imagine how big it was. Youth from more than 20 high schools in the Greater Phoenix, Arizona area were introduced to the program in our Sunday Night Training Meetings, and hundreds of young men and women decided to join us and then used this program in the 1990's to get ready for their missions. At one time they were serving in up to 1/3 of the missions of the Church worldwide and had a huge impact on missionary work because of their advanced training prior to their missions.
4 Steps will complement Preach My Gospel and help you be even better prepared. It is important to develop confidence in yourself and gain a strong testimony of the power of faith in your life. Full time missionaries need a solid foundation of discipline and faith to succeed. Following the guidelines in this book will help you in both of these essential areas.
As a bonus, using the concepts 4 Steps teaches, when combined with Preach My Gospel, can also be used effectively by the youth in local units to increase success in member missionary work. It is especially adaptable to the new emphasis on ministering, by having the youth teach the members to use F.O.R.M., along with Set-A-Date to introduce someone to the gospel. When used with Preach My Gospel you will have the best of what the Youth Guides learned along with current instruction and training provided in Stake Mission Prep classes.
This training is for both youth AND senior adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Share this information with grandparents and older adults who might be getting ready for missions so they can benefit, too.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, programs for youth like The Arizona Temple Visitors' Center Youth Guide program are carefully evaluated by leadership to make sure they follow church doctrine and the teachings of the General Authorities. The Youth Guide program was approved by members of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Area Presidency, Mission President, Stake Presidents, and the Director of the Arizona Visitors' Center. 4 Steps is solely for your personal development. It is not a substitute for the doctrine and instruction of your Mission Preparation class as outlined by your Area Presidency or local priesthood authorities or for what you will learn in Preach My Gospel.
Youth are beginning to prepare for their missions in earnest by the time they are seniors in high school. Many are leaving soon after graduation. This is an amazingly busy time of life for them. They need an easy to follow system that takes into account their busy schedules but still gives them what they need to be prepared personally for their missions. The Youth Guides were busy, but together they worked to get ready for their missions by using a system designed especially for them, and it can work for you too.
What Parents and Leaders Need To Know
The Youth Guides operated under the direction of the Arizona Tempe Mission President, and was authorized by The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the Southwest Area Presidency. They gave many tours to the Apostles, General Authorities, and LDS Church Officials as they came by assignment to our area. As the Director of the Youth Guides, I was called by the Arizona Tempe Mission President, set apart by my Stake President, and reported to and was supervised by the Visitors’ Center Director. We were not provided with an official church manual for the organization or operation of the program. We were allowed to seek inspiration and guidance from the Spirit, and using the wisdom and knowledge of our extensive leadership experiences in the church, along with what was then being taught in the Missionary Guide, designed a program that worked.
Discontinued After 20 Years…
Although it was not at all like any other program in the Church, when youth ‘mission-like’ programs were discontinued church-wide in 1998, so was the Youth Guide program.
Who Were the Youth Guides?
The Youth Guides were young men and young women, 16-19 years of age, who worked in a program at the Arizona Temple Visitors’ Center that spanned 20 years. They gave tours in the Gardens to members and non-members alike, and received thousands of referrals for the full time missionaries working in the Arizona Tempe Mission, and throughout the world.
How Are You Like the Youth Guides?
The young men and women who served as Youth Guides were just like you. They loved the Lord and wanted desperately to serve him in any way they could. They were going to school, playing sports, acting in plays, dating, working, helping their families, serving in ward callings, and like most LDS youth, were very busy in all kinds of extracurricular activities. However, they had a vehicle to use to maximize their faith and build on it and help it to grow into something so marvelous they were amazed at what they could eventually accomplish. That vehicle was the Youth Guide Program. They came to the program wanting to go on missions so they could serve the Lord with all of their heart, might, mind and strength, just like you! You do not need to be a Youth Guide to benefit from what they learned in the Gardens, because the 4 Steps has the essentials you can use right now as you prepare for your mission.
You CAN Do It
The 4 Steps is not written for the “cream of the crop” of LDS youth. It is written simply for youth with a willing heart. You will be regarded just like the young men and women of our area in the past. We didn’t have to know anything about them when they came to apply as a Youth Guide. It didn’t make any difference if they were good in school, or not, or where they were in developing their testimony. It could be strong or weak. If they promised to begin, right then, faithfully following the 4 Steps, then that was all that was required. If you make that same promise, it will change your life.
To the Young Women of the Church
More than half of the Youth Guides were young women, who stayed in the program much longer than the young men because, at that time, the age when sisters could leave on their missions was 21. That meant they generally served longer as Youth Guides, often in leadership assignments specifically tailored to sisters, and were some of the best trainers we had. They sent many young men on their missions better prepared than they would have been without the wisdom and experience of these faithful sisters.
Many of these sisters did serve missions, but those who didn’t were able to use the personal development skills they learned in the gardens for their later roles in life as independent, strong women, and as wives, mothers, and now grandmothers, as well as in their chosen professional and voluntary careers. In addition to being a great resource for the young men of the Church, I encourage you sisters to use these 4 Steps for the valuable skills and principles you will learn and practice throughout your life.
Not Going on a Mission?
Whether you are a young woman or young man, who is either unable to or is not currently planning on serving a full time mission, for any reason, you will not be judged within these pages. You are still encouraged to use the 4 Steps to help you develop an abiding faith in the Savior, and to enhance your member missionary efforts throughout your life.