I’m here to share a brief message about preparing to serve a mission. Like most speakers, I hope that you will be able to perhaps gain some new insights from my remarks about how we can prepare ourselves to gather our Heavenly Father’s flocks. That being said, today my thoughts are directed specifically to the young men.
I am the youngest of all the close friends I had throughout junior high and high school by well over a year. This meant that the good times and “boys of summer” mentality of my youth came to an abrupt end as soon as my friends started receiving mission calls and were out and gone within a few months. The Philippines, Mexico, Germany, Chile, France, Australia, Thailand, Russia, Sweden – our close-knit group of friends is now scattered throughout the globe, and I was still here. I would like to think it put things into perspective for me, but at that time, a mission was so far off that I didn’t quite grasp the whole process.
I have seen a lot of young men soon-to-be missionaries prepare themselves for the lofty calling, and the conclusion I have come to is not the most traditional and not necessarily an early-Sunday-morning-mission-preparation-class-type answer. Today, I felt like I should talk about how living a good life, from the front row of the Primary all the way to the back row of priesthood meeting opening exercises prepares us to be the best missionaries in the world. For some, the mission preparation process begins when their call is read; a fairly recent high-school graduate who is finally ready to get his act together. At that time, he might take advantage of a stake mission preparation class. He might challenge himself to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover for the first time. He might become more conscious of the day-to-day choices he makes. He might start to take care of himself a little better. He might start to value his relationships a little more. These are all great things to do of course, but why start when the call arrives? From the time we breathed our first breaths on this earth, we were bred to be missionaries.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke to the young men of the Church in his General Conference address in October 2002.1 In that talk, he gave a detailed list of what to do to effectively prepare for a mission:
- Develop a meaningful prayer relationship with you Heavenly Father
- Keep the Sabbath day holy
- Work and put your earnings in a savings account
- Pay and honest and full tithing
- Limit the amount of time spent playing computer and video games. How many kills you can make in a minute with a game will have zero effect on your capacity to be a good missionary
- Give the Lord more of your time by studying the scriptures and gaining an understanding of the marvelous message of the Restoration that we have for the world
- Serve others and share your testimony with them
Think about how you were introduced to these things early on in life. As a three-year old child with a very limited vocabulary, you may have begged your parents to let you pray at the dinner table. Your family attended church weekly. You learned about Jesus Christ and the simple truths of His gospel as Sunbeams – no different than the masses of God’s children being taught by missionaries around the world somewhere, 24 hours a day. You should have learned to be independent in taking care of yourself. (Parents, hopefully you are beginning to see the importance of the role you play in the lives of future missionaries) Saving money a dollar at a time in a “Mission” account is another great place to start. You may have also learned, hopefully, to appreciate the scriptures early on in life through simplified Book of Mormon stories of ‘heroes’ and ‘villains.’ You once took great pride in scribbling pictures of Jesus and the prophets for your parents to put on the refrigerator. See how simple and routine all this is? If we are raised in righteousness and live in obedience, we are both preparing and being prepared to serve missions, perhaps without consciously realizing it.
In Alma 17:2-3, Alma the Younger is reunited with the sons of Mosiah for the first time after many years in the mission field. It reads:
2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
3 But this is not all; they had given themselves up to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.2
I speak now specifically to the Priest-age young men. Are you “brethren in the Lord”? Have you waxed strong in the power of the truth? Have you searched the scriptures diligently? Have you prayed? Are you prepared to teach with the power and authority of God? Many of you have lived this stuff now for seventeen or eighteen years. Do you still have the spark of the Spirit you did when you went to church with a clip-on tie, a Book of Mormon in your hand that you didn’t even know how to read, and a miniature black tag on your shirt that so boldly stated: “FUTURE MISSIONARY”? Think about it. What are you doing now to prepare? The time is closer than you think.
On a more direct, personal note, I will encourage you all to do some more specific things. Pay attention in Seminary. Surround yourself with good people. Find a productive passion. Learn how to work. Be independent. Be worthy to attend the temple and perform baptisms for the dead and familiarize yourselves with what the ordinance of baptism really means. Talk to people. Be kind and compassionate. Love your family. As you ponder on it, you would be surprised with how many invaluable life skills and learned lessons your Heavenly Father has given you to prepare you for missions if you but take the opportunity to notice them.
In the First Presidency message on the first page of Preach My Gospel, it reads:
“We challenge you to rise to a new sense of commitment to assist our Father in Heaven in His glorious work. Every missionary has an important role in helping ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’ The Lord will reward and richly bless you as you humbly and prayerfully serve Him. More happiness awaits you than you have ever experiences as you labor among His children.”3
This is a promise from Heavenly Father made to us by the mouths of living prophets, and it is inspiring.
In closing, I would just like to share my testimony of the importance of living a life that is in accordance with principles of missionary preparation. Even if you are an adult that already served mission, did not have or take the opportunity to serve a mission, or if you have the desire to serve one day in your later years, these principles apply to you just as well. Missionary work is a sacred and eternal effort, and how blessed we are to be entrusted with the power and privilege to perform it. I would also like to bear my testimony that Heavenly Father lives and loves us and that He gave His Son to live and die for us so we can return to Him. I know the Book of Mormon is true and its teachings can change hearts. President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God, and I am grateful for him. To everyone here today, I hope they call you on missions when you have grown a foot or two. And I hope by then you will be ready to teach and preach and work as missionaries do. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
References
- Ballard, M. Russell. “The Greatest Generation of Missionaries,” Ensign, November, 2002, 48.
- Alma 17:2-3
- “First Presidency Message,” Preach My Gospel, 2004, v.
Dillon Boss 