- “I talked to President Farnsworth this morning who told me that the three years he served in the Ecuador Quito Mission were miraculous. He was approached by a general authority in the beginning of his mission to set goals and expectations. Up to this point, the Church in Ecuador had four stakes created in the span of 28 years. This general authority told President Farnsworth that he and his missionaries needed to create seven stakes in the next 3 years so that the church could build a temple. President Farnsworth responded, “You are asking me accomplish this goal when it has taken 28 years to create only 4 stakes?” He was told, “President, we will give you the best missionaries possible to make this happen.” Three years later, President Farnsworth and the missionaries in the Quito mission had activated and converted enough people to have 11 chapels built, when typically only 1 chapel is built per year. That’s an average of over 3 chapels per year built. Also, there were 6,000 baptisms where, 10,000 reactivated members, and 1,000 children were baptized from these reactivated members. Because of the hard work and dedication of the missionaries from 1993 to 1996 in Quito, 7 stakes were formed. While I was a missionary, President Farnsworth asked me to do a program in Puyo, Ecuador where I would identify on a map where all the inactive members were and lived. I did this with my companion Elder Navarro. I was to then go around and meet with them, and simply find those ready to be baptized. Most of the inactive members had kids or husband or wives not baptized, and so the program became a big success. President Farnsworth then duplicated this effort in other areas of the mission. Later on in my mission he put me in charge of a “coordinator program”. That coordinator program essentially allowed me and a group of the some of the best elders and sisters in the mission to go around to the stakes and train Stake President, bishops, ward mission leaders on how to do missionary work properly. President Farnsworth said that this program is now being implemented church wide, which is true because I sit in on PEC and other meetings where this missionary process and program is now being implemented, where missionaries do go into the home of inactive member and part member families for the purpose of activating and baptizing.” Clinton Brown, after having lunch with President Farnsworth and Elder Steve Beck in Mesa, AZ in February, 2013. Also, see Clinton Brown Missionary Journal Entries: January 27th, 1995; February 8th, 1995; February 24th, 1995
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January 4, 1996 – Thursday – Quito Ecuador… “This morning Elder Abril & I took off to President Farnsworth’s house. We had a meeting with him to organize the mission, and talk about it’s 3 programs: Activate, Proselyte, Coordinate. President helped me to understand how Missionary work functions. 1st of all, the Stake President is in charge of all Missionary Work. He needs to establish a program in how to find investigators or the chosen in his stake boundaries. His program is the Stake Mission program: Stake Missionary President, Ward Mission Leaders, Stake Missionaries. The Bishop’s in their ward are in charge of fellowshipping and returning the new converts. He should plan activities and assign Home TEachers, give collings and priesthood, etc. The Regular Missionaries are there to just teach. Nothing else. They’re there to support the wards and the Stake Mission. After eating a great breakfast (by Sister Farnsworth) and finishing up the papers to send to the Area Presidency and Apostles, I waited in the office for Herrera. He got me and we took off to our citas. He taught 8 charlas in the morning. Sweet. We had a pretty successful day. Satan is getting all over me. I’m tired of him, his tricks, and his way of getting us.” – Clinton Brown Missionary Journal
- March 26, 1996 – Wednesday – Quito Ecuador…”We got a call from Elder Wisan last night and he told me that we needed to be in President’s house this morning. President Jay E. Jensen asked President Farnsworth to write up the Coordinator program so that he could take it up with him to Salt Lake City and the General Conference to suggest putting it in all South America. I feel it could be used in any part of the world that needs their leaders trained.” – Clinton Brown Missionary Journal