Rex Wrote: On December 1, 2015, we were in charge of a dinner at a mission tour with Elder S Gifford Nielsen of the Seventy. He is also a counselor in the Pacific Area Presidency.

     We ordered Chinese, picked up bread, made salad, bought ice cream and pop, and had the other senior couples bring fruit and cake. It was good!

     We met President and Sister Layton and President and Sister Nielsen at the airport. They were both friendly and acted interested in everything we said. I told President Nielsen we were attending BYU Provo when he was the quarterback there. We graduated the same year. Betty thought Sister Nielsen was darling. She visited with us as if we were her best friends. She had their first four children in 4 ½ years. We had our first four children in 5. They have 6 children just as we do. Sister Neilson is in great shape and looks up to the challenge of the rigorous schedule they meet. She says, “Bring it on!” She just comes up to her husband’s shoulder, but her spirit is giant, and they both radiate energy and enthusiasm.

     In the missionary training meeting, Sister Nielsen taught us the importance of having a balanced life. She compared life to a wheel with the spokes being mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, and social. She noted that if anything is off balance, it becomes a wobbly wheel that can’t roll smoothly.

     Elder Nielsen talked about connecting with the people around us and especially strategies for missionaries to quickly connect with potential investigators. He used the example of Ammon on his mission to the Laminates in Alma 17-27. Ammon made such a great first impression that the King offered him to choose one of his daughters to marry. Nielsen made the story of Ammon come to life.

     At the end he opened it up for questions and answered with some personal stories. I had asked him at the airport, “What is your favorite game that you played?” He didn’t have time to answer then; but in the meeting, he told about playing Arizona State in Provo. Arizona State was ranked 10^th in the nation. He said Coach Doug Scovil had designed a special play to use against them. It was a slight modification of a regular play. He told Gifford what defense it would work against and to be looking for it. As Gifford came to the line, he saw Arizona  in the right defense. He smiled as he knew he was about to throw a 70 yard touchdown. He got the snap and dropped back and looked to the left where the play would normally go. The defense converged on the receiver to the left. He shifted and threw the ball down the middle of the field where another receiver was waiting. He caught the ball in stride and went all the way to the end zone for a touchdown. Gifford went to the sideline and told Coach Scovil he was a genius. The coach replied, “Was it fun?” Gifford came back with, “Yes!” Coach Scovil said with a smile, “We’ll do it again.” BYU won that game, and it worked the next time they tried it, too.

     He told another story about what is was like in the NFL. He was the only member of the church on the Houston Oilers. The other players smoked, drank, many did drugs and chased women. He was married with two children. He told the other players he wanted to be their teammate, but he would live his religion and not party with them. His first start came against the Dallas Cowboys. They won the game. He had given it his all. He was hot and thirsty and tired and might have lost about ten pounds. Before he had a chance to get a drink or do anything, he was bombarded with reporters. For over an hour, they askied him questions about how he was able to beat one the best teams in the NFL as a rookie. He told them it was a team effort, and he was just one of the players. After the media were sent out of the locker room, the young quarterback sat on his bench exhausted. He said, “I was totally spent, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually!”

At that point a teammate come to him with two ice-cold beers and said, “I know you don’t drink, but I want to celebrate this victory with you. One beer won’t hurt you!” Gifford said at that moment the cold beers did look pretty good. Before he could answer, one of his offensive linemen interrupted, “I never want to hear you ask him that again! Don’t you know Mormons don’t drink!” After that, they always had his back on the field and off.

     President Nielsen also showed the group what he was up against as a quarter back in the NFL.  He took our broadest missionary, one about six-foot tall, and told him to stand on a chair, hold his hands above his head, and growl. (It looked like a big bear.) He said, “This is an example of what was coming after me, and they were paid to try to hurt me.”

     President Nielsen and his wife have so much energy. They were both fun to listen to. They trained all of us from 9 AM -2:30 PM only breaking at noon to eat and take a group picture. I have never seen a day go that quickly and never enjoyed a training more.

     At the airport parking lot, Elder Nielsen had a minute to answer my question from that morning. He said the Arizona State game in Provo was his favorite collage game, and his best NFL memory was a play-off win against San Diego, a game they were not supposed to win. I asked, “Was it hard not being allowed to pass very much?” He said when you have Heisman trophy winner in Hershel Walker, as a running back, the coach wants you to give him the ball. I said, “But if you had thrown a little more, it would have loosened up the defense, and Hershel Walker would have had an easier time running.” He just smiled and nodded. I could tell he wanted to pass more, but he was a team player and did what the coach wanted. He waved and went into the airport.

President Layton commented:
"Elder and Sister Nielsen commented several times about the spirit they felt in our mission and how respectful and obedient they found our missionaries.
Just another confirmation we have the best missionaries serving in the best mission."

Taveuni Zone with President and Sister Nielsen

Front row: Elder Alonzo, Elder Davis, Elder Mumford, Elder Tupou, Elder Tera, Elder Mong Yen and Elder Condie

Second row: Elder McLean, Elder Talamai, Elder Aoina, Elder Lemusu, Elder Jonutz, Elder Barnaby, Elder Boyack and Elder Fong

Third row: Sister Malito, Sister Fanene, Elder & Sister S Gifford Nielsen, President & Sister Layton, Sister M Elias and Sister Aumua

Back row: Elder & Sister Woodward, Elder & Sister Roth, Elder & Sister Vermeeren, Elder Dunn, Elder Afatasi, Elder van der Linden,Elder Stock, Elder Larsen, Elder Lemalu, Elder Luatua, Sister Buring, Sister Kevaru and President & Sister Harward

Master Teacher

Three of our district - Elders Aoina, Luatua, and Sister Aumua  joined Elder Afatasi and sang a special number for the Mission Tour. Their voices are incredible!

At the end of the training, we were all asked for a few of our spiritual impressions. 
Following is our impressions plus more from the other stops of the Mission Tour:

• Nothing is impossible- We are Children of God

• Who are you? Whose are you?

• Be totally in!

• Never stop preparing

• His Game time

• Prepare yourself-Receive Revelation

• Plan of Happiness = Love

• Connect with others

• Spread Good News- Temple

• Keep your Saints! Fellowship!

• Let your light shine!

• Don’t waste a minute

• Don’t be objects to be acted upon. Be agents.

• Obey leaders; exact obedience

• Be the solution not the problem

• Preparation brings the Spirit

• Be grateful for our Redeemer and our leaders

• You have a special mission

• Begin with the end in mind

• We are on the Lords errand, we are entitled to his help.

• We all grow at different paces

• This is your time!

• Balance your wheel

• Live a balanced life

• Choose someone balanced to marry

• Marry the right person, in the right place, at the right time

• Ask inspired questions

• Be consecrated

• Where are you in the gospel?

• Don’t compare your wheel to others

• We need to connect

• Listen to the Spirit

• Appoint the Holy Ghost to be your teacher

• Turn to Christ

• Engrave in your hearts

• Be a walking Epistle

• Be thou an example

• President Monson is a prophet of God

• Give it your all

• Miracles are possible 2 Nephi 32:9

• Share your light

• Be an agent, not an object

• Talk to everyone

• We’re not here to be average

• Preparation brings the Spirit

• Be thou an example

• We are called by God through a living Prophet

• Be optimistic!

• Are you in the game or on the bench?

• Attitude is the mind’s paint brush

• Align yourself with Savior and companion

• Be equally yoked

• Faith becomes knowledge

• God loves to be asked to fix broken things and broken people

• Listen to the Spirit

• Doubt not, fear not

• Temple = Temporal and Spiritual light

• Expect and act on miracles

• Christ’s grace is sufficient

• There is no end: Endure

• Be one with the Savior

• There’s no excuse to fall away