One Percent Better in CASRM

One Percent Better in CASRM

President Quinn’s Weekly Message

California Santa Rosa Mission

May 11th, 2026

We enjoyed being with Ukiah, Fairfield, and Vacaville Zones last week in interviews. This week we will be in Woodland, Napa, San Rafael, and Santa Rosa. We look forward to being with you.

A missionary last week in interviews asked me if I really believed we could achieve our goal of 752 baptisms for this year. I could sense the doubt and hopelessness this missionary was feeling. He clearly had concluded this goal was not possible for us. I told this missionary I absolutely believed we could achieve this goal. I reminded him that he and each missionary in CASRM set this goal last January for their area and themselves. I explained to the missionary that achieving this goal would require each of us to exercise greater faith and diligence in fulfilling our missionary purpose. I assured him that working together, as we have in the past, I was confident we can achieve our baptismal goal.

As I have reflected on this missionary’s question, I was reminded of a talk given by Elder Michael A. Dunn in the October 2021 General Conference entitled, One Percent Better. In his talk, Elder Dunn shared the story of the Great Britian Cycling team becoming one of the most successful in the world:

“In 2003, Sir Dave Brailsford was hired. Unlike previous coaches who attempted dramatic, overnight turnarounds, Sir Brailsford instead committed to a strategy he referred to as “the aggregation of marginal gains.” This entailed implementing small improvements in everything.”

Elder Dunn went on to explain the focus of Brailsford’s efforts to achieve improvements:

“Brailsford’s small gains began with the obvious, such as equipment, kit fabrics, and training patterns. But his team didn’t stop there. They continued to find one percent improvements in overlooked and unexpected areas such as nutrition and even maintenance nuances. Over time, these myriads of micro-betterments aggregated into stunning results, which came faster than anyone could have imagined.“

I invite each companionship to consider how you can incorporate the strategy of “the aggregation of marginal gains” to improve your missionary work in finding, teaching, inviting – and ultimately baptizing and confirming your friends as members of the Church. Please prayerfully and carefully consider where you can make a one percent improvement in the obedience, diligence, urgency, and faith you bring to your missionary work. Counsel together as a companionship, as a district, and a zone to identify “micro-betterments” you can do to improve – and then make a detailed plan to work on these improvements. As you work to improve, I promise your motivation and faith in your missionary work will grow. The Lord will bless your sincere efforts – and we will continue to see miracles across CASRM.

Sister Quinn and I are approaching the end of our mission. We have a goal to “hand-off” a mission that demonstrates discipleship to Jesus Christ each day through the obedience, diligence, and faith of our missionaries. We join with Elder Gong in recognizing your diligence and hard work. On our Miracle Monday call this week, we will extend an invitation for each companionship in CASRM to consider by name the friends they are currently teaching – and then to prayerfully consider which of those friends can be baptized by July 1st, the day your new mission leaders, President and Sister Peterson, begin their service in CASRM. We will record these names and track their progress over the next seven weeks. I will report our progress each week in my CASRM letter to you.

I know that as we seek to improve – even just one percent, the Lord will magnify our efforts. Remember the miracle of the loafs and fishes we shared in our most recent zone conference. I know as we each give the Lord something to work with, He will multiply our offering. The Lord is a “multiplier!” Please apply the promise Nephi has given us:

“And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.” (1 Nephi 16:29)

Please accept these invitations to find a one percent improvement in your work as a missionary and to prayerfully identify friends who can be baptized in the next seven weeks. I testify this is the work of the Lord. With His assistance, we can accomplish the righteous ends He desires of us.

Love,

President Quinn

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