Baptisms in the Kentucky Louisville Mission — which include an increasing number of families — come as the result of doing "what we've been asked to do," said President Dennis C. Brimhall.

Photo courtesy Kentucky Louisville Mission

Elder Pablo Peralta, left, and Elder Tyler Leavitt walk on one of the many storied horse farms in the Lexington, Ky., area. Missionaries find that as they give of themselves, others are more receptive to the gospel.

Photo courtesy Kentucky Louisville Mission

Elder Travis Atkinson, left, and Elder Brent Betts meet with servicemen in Fort Knox, Ky., during a summer open-air discussion. Many servicemen, like others in the Kentucky Louisville Mission, are showing interest in the gospel.

Now in his third year of service, President Brimhall correlates an increase in baptisms with an increase of obedience among the missionaries as taught in Preach My Gospel.

"Missionary work is all we think about," he said. "We're having success and loving it.

"There is no question, the missionaries we receive are terrific. If they are willing to give of themselves by setting aside their personal interests — if they are dedicated — they will find joy and success in this work."

President Brimhall told of a missionary and his companion who were about to leave an area after tracting one day. As they were mounting their bicycles, they noticed a man at the end of the street and felt prompted to talk with him. He accepted their invitation to learn of the gospel and attended Church meetings several weeks later.

On the day he attended Church, he told the missionaries how, on the morning they had met, he received a phone call from his family in the Philippines encouraging him to find the Mormon missionaries. He was later baptized.

"If we had not opened our mouths," the missionary later told President Brimhall, "he would not have known about the gospel."

"The promises of this work are true," continued President Brimhall. "It's part of the miracle of this work. As taught in Alma, people are being prepared to hear the gospel all the time. We sometimes hear these experiences and think they are sporadic. But they happen all the time."

The Kentucky Louisville Mission encompasses most of Kentucky and parts of Indiana and Illinois. Currently, 190 missionaries serve in this country of rolling hills with its vast stretches of corn and bean fields.

Particularly beautiful are the 500 horse farms in the Lexington, Ky., area with hundreds of acres of "gorgeous green."

Where others see some of the world's finest horse country, President Brimhall sees a land ready to be spiritually harvested.

Each of the five stakes has seen an increase in baptisms, President Brimhall said. "Everything we do involves members. Missionaries work with less active members everyday and have much success."

To be a successful missionary, there is a transition to be made, President Brimhall said. "All make this transition from young man to missionary. It's just a matter of how soon, and how painful."

They must decide why they are here, he said. When a missionary says, "I feel like a missionary," President Brimhall knows he's ready.

A great challenge in that transition is learning to converse with others. Young men don't talk much during the high school years in ways that develop their confidence with people or their ability to teach the gospel, he said.

"If they come with confidence to open their mouths and talk with people, they are way ahead," he said.

For President Brimhall and his wife, Linda, the summation of 2 1/2 years of service is that missionary work is "tremendously satisfying."

"My heart goes out to those missionaries around the world who are obedient, but don't see the results."

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